Matthew 11:25-30 - An Appeal to the Weary
25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Background to the text. Matthew’s Gospel is written with the tension between Jesus and the power structures of his day as the subtext of every story. That tension is like a watermark on fine paper, when you look closely it underlies every line. When we pick up the text today, Jesus’ Galilean ministry is at a low point. Those within the Jewish establishment are resistant to his teaching. It is too radical. They can not hear it and they cannot receive him because to do so would require that they reevaluate everything they have known understood. The first part of this passage (verses 25-27) is a prayer of thanks that Jesus utters from the point of discouragement and apparent failure. He is grateful that even though the wise and powerful can not see his truth, the lowly and the broken have flocked to him. The second section (verses 28-30) show the benefits for those who come to Jesus. The result of coming to Jesus is a radical reorientation of life so that it is rooted in God’s grace. This reorientation produces a new kind of obedience. It is not the forced obedience of a fearful law keeper. It is the joyous obedience of one who knows love and longs to stay in the presence of that Love and to love in return.
Hidden and Revealed. What are we to make of the notion that God hides truth from some and reveals it to others? Doesn’t God long for all to see and understand the truth? The problem for understanding for us lies with a clash between ancient and contemporary thought patterns. Modern thought tends to need to tidy things up in logical and systematic ways. The ancient writers had no need for that. They were able to hold paradoxes together in one thought without a problem. While we get confused trying to understand how human freedom and Divine omnipotence (control of events) fit together, the ancient writer simply accepted that both of these realities are true. The important points to remember are these 1) there is something about being aware of our need that opens people to the Gospel, 2) those who consider themselves wise and self sufficient have a hard time accepting the radical call to servanthood and a childlike faith that the Gospel offers, 3) the fact that the Gospel attracts the weak and helpless and is scorned by the rich and powerful is not an accident. It is essential to the nature of the good news and the nature of God. (I am indebted to Tom Long and his commentary on Matthew for helping me begin to understand this dynamic.)
Word Study
Verse 25 – At that time – this phrase locates Jesus’ prayer in the time of rejection and conflict.
Wise and intelligent – refers to those who have made a lifetime of studying and following the law. Remember, it is not the law that is the problem. The law was a great gift from God that allows us to see and understand God’s values. The problem comes when the law is used inappropriately as a tool to resist God rather than to approach God.
Infants – this word refers to the lowly, poor, weak, powerless, unpretentious, little people of Jesus’ society.
Verse 27 – knows – refers to a living relationship coupled with knowledge that transforms a whole relationship. The point is that no one on earth can know the Father the way Jesus does because no one has as perfect an intimate relationship. This is also a dig at the religious establishment because he is saying that intimacy and not religious status is what matters.
Verse 28 – heavy burdens – Jesus is referring specifically to the burdens of religious obligation that were laid on the people by the dominant interpretations of the law. People lived in a constant state of vigilance about law keeping that became burdensome rather than freeing. The principle and grace that Jesus offers in these verses can also be applied to other types of burdens that robe us of joy, peace and freedom.
Rest – this is not the rest of inactivity, but of harmony. This is the rest that comes when heart, mind, desires and affections are in harmony and at peace. The word also implies satisfaction, wholeness and congruence.
Verse 29 – yoke – this word was commonly used in terms like “the yoke of Torah (law) or the “yoke of the kingdom.” It implies obedience. The root word is for something that couples things together. This is an inflammatory statement! By taking about “my yoke” Jesus would have been understood as claiming to be the expression of God’s will, just as the law is an expression of God’s will.
Learn – very important concept in Matthew. Learning was the heart of discipleship. Jesus had no problem with learning. It was mis-learning that gave him fits.
Gentle – seemly, equitable, fair, moderate, considerate, not insisting of the letter of law, patient. One form of the word is used to describe the way a good nurse deals with a trying child.
Humble – low lying, of low estate or degree. Always used in a positive sense in Matthew.
Heart – stands for the self, all of one’s personality, will, mentality.
Souls – the part of a person that perceives, reflects, feels and desires.
Verse 30 – easy – root ‘fit for use’. We could translate this word “user friendly.” It also implies good, virtuous, mild and pleasant.
Light – easy to carry
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. Have you ever found yourself resistant to a new approach to an idea or issue that you thought was settled once and for all? If so then you can understand a bit of how the religious establishment was responding to Jesus’ teaching. Can you identify specific examples of this? What did you fear would be lost if you accepted the new idea or way? Did this turn out to be true? What might be gained by a new openness?
2. Jesus was not always successful by the world’s standards during his lifetime. Can you think of a time when you were not able to achieve the success you had hoped? Have you ever tried to lead change and been rejected for it? Have you ever had an insight to share, but nobody seemed interested? If so, you know a bit about how Jesus felt at this point in his ministry. What was your comfort in those times?
3. This passage highlights the beauty and comfort of God’s loving grace that frees us from the burdens of having to be perfect all the time. How easy is it for you to accept that you are loved even if you do not always behave perfectly? What might it take to help you in that regard?
4. In these verses Jesus talks about the harmony that comes into the soul when we rely on him and his grace. Can you identify a time when you felt that harmony? What was it like? Can you identify areas of your life, our community or national life that seem out of harmony? How could Jesus’ true grace bring peace and rest to those situations?