This Yoke’s For You – Matthew 11: 25 - 30
Intro: Have you ever known a person who was so smart, they were stupid? “If you had a brain, you would play with it.” “Book” knowledge vs. “common sense.”
I. Three wisdom sayings of Jesus. Verse 25 & 26 – There is a difference between the “wise” and the “learned.”
A. The word time is not chronos (tick-tock-time). Rather it is “kairos” – opportunity time. First of three “wisdom sayings” of Jesus.
B. “I praise you” – “exomologeo” – give thanks, confess, praise.
C. Not that God has actively hid himself – infants/little children versus scribes and Pharisees.
II. Verse 27 – “All things committed to me by my Father.”
A. Second of sayings – confession of special relationship of Father and Son.
B. “knows” – “hepiginoskay” implies personal knowledge rather than intellectual apprehension or understanding – more than a passing acquaintance.
C. “to know” - my grandmother used to say, “I just feel it in my water.” - “to know with every fiber of your being” “know without doubt”
III. Verses 28 – 30 – 2 part invitation by Jesus.
A. Come for Rest – does not mean doing nothing. “Come to me and I will recharge you.”
B. Come for a yoke – EX. 2 oxen side by side – older to lead & teach younger. – Jesus’ promise to walk beside. – exchange one yoke for another.
C. Jesus says, “The life I give you is not a burden; it is made to fit.” --- “easy” means “well-suited” - difference between an off-the-rack suit and one custom made.
Conclu: An anxious parent was speaking with a friend about his unappreciative children. “Maybe,” the friend suggested, “you have tried to give them too much to live with and not enough to life for.” --- Here, in this passage, Christ Jesus assures us that he offers both --- This yoke’s for you. Come let’s pull the load together.
