August 2, 2025 • 17 mins
What does it mean when Jesus offers us His yoke? In this enlightening exploration of Matthew 11, I unpack Jesus' incredible invitation to trade our heavy burdens for His perfectly balanced alternative.
The chapter opens with John the Baptist sending his disciples to question Jesus—not from doubt, but as a teaching moment. By directing them to witness the blind seeing, lame walking, and dead rising, Jesus demonstrates how He fulfills ancient Messianic prophecies. The evidence speaks for itself.
Jesus then delivers an extraordinary tribute to John, calling him the greatest prophet ever born, while simultaneously declaring that even the least in God's kingdom surpasses him. This paradoxical statement reveals our privileged position as believers today—we experience fulfillment of promises the prophets could only anticipate.
The heart of this passage culminates in Jesus' revolutionary invitation: "Come to me all who are weary..." As a skilled carpenter, Jesus uses the metaphor of a custom-fitted yoke to illustrate His offer. Unlike poorly crafted yokes that chafe and injure, Jesus' perfectly balanced yoke distributes life's weight evenly. He doesn't remove our responsibilities—He teaches us to carry them properly, with boundaries and perspective that transform burdens into manageable loads.
Whether you're a parent feeling overwhelmed, struggling in relationships, or facing any imbalance in life, Jesus doesn't promise to eliminate challenges. Instead, He offers something better: His presence alongside you, bringing wisdom and rest to your soul.
Are you carrying something heavier than it should be? Accept this kingdom invitation today and discover how Jesus can bring divine balance to your life. Subscribe to continue our journey through Matthew's gospel and learn how the King's wisdom transforms everyday struggles into pathways of growth.
Contact us-
Ask a Question
Send Encouragement
Take a Next Step-
SOAP Bible Study Method.
Bible Reading Plan.
Free Weekly Newsletter.
Socials-
Facebook.
Instagram.
X.
YouTube.
The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 0 (00:00):
Well, hello everybody .
Welcome back to the BibleBreakdown Podcast with your host
, pastor Brandon.
Today, matthew, chapter 11, andtoday's title is Kingdom
Invitation Kingdom Invitationand we're going to see at the
end of this chapter.
It's one of the most amazinginvitations in the entire Bible.
Jesus invites us into arelationship with him.
(00:23):
That's awesome.
We're also going to get to seea reemergence if that's the word
of one of my main men, people Ilove the most in the Bible, mr
Johnny B, and I have a littlebit of a different take on what
he's doing in this chapter thansome people do.
So we'll read this together andI'll let you decide.
So we're going to jump intothat and more of God's word.
So, if you have your Bibles,want to open up with me to
(00:45):
Matthew, chapter 11.
While you're doing that, ifyou're new around here, make
sure you take just a moment andlike, share and subscribe to the
YouTube channel and the podcast.
Make sure you leave us afive-star review on the podcast
and make sure you're going tothe Bible Breakdown Discussion
on Facebook.
There's an amazing group ofpeople doing a wonderful job and
, when it comes to the book ofMatthew, there's just so much
(01:05):
here that we just don't have theopportunity to go into.
And so I will go ahead and kindof tip my hand to you a little
bit and tell you an idea that Ihave, and that is, once we are
finished reading through theBible the entire way and we're
actually getting relativelyclose to doing that we're going
to continue to read the Bible,but I'm going to go back and I'm
(01:26):
going to do another podcastcalled Bible Breakdown, deep
Dive, and the goal of it is totake books like Matthew and just
take it, not one chapter at atime, but one passage at a time,
and really dive deep into God'sWord.
So I can't wait to do that.
But at the same time, I lovewhat we're doing right now, and
so we're going to dive intoMatthew, chapter 11, and remind
(01:48):
us that the overall goal ofMatthew is to talk about how
Jesus is the king, king Jesus.
And, as we've been saying everychapter, in chapter one, matthew
just kind of is waving hisreceipts around.
He's saying, hey, I can provethat Jesus is at least the
earthly king of Israel.
(02:08):
He has a claim to the throne,but then he spends chapter two
through 28 saying he is so muchmore than that.
And we've been talking abouthow, in Matthew five, six and
seven, jesus lays out you knowkind of the game plan of the
kingdom, like this is what thekingdom of heaven looks like.
And then in chapter 10,yesterday, he sends out 12 of
(02:29):
his disciples, calling themapostles, sent out ones and he
is sending them into the world.
And then, as he is now doingministry and continuing it we're
going to see today is he gets avisit from some disciples of
John?
Is he gets a visit from somedisciples of John and John the
Baptist?
He also has some disciples,people that he was mentoring and
teaching.
(02:49):
And he sends some of thedisciples to ask Jesus, are you
the one or are we looking forsomebody else?
And we're going to see whatJesus does.
Jesus shows them a bunch ofthings and he says go back and
tell John this.
Now, what I see when I readthis is I see two things
happening.
First of all, what he is goingto show.
(03:10):
So I'm going to go ahead andtell you this.
So when we read it, you seewhat we're talking about, right,
but he is going to do a bunchof stuff and say go back and
tell John.
These are the things that arehappening.
The things that he does are thevery things that have been
prophesied in the Old Testament,that when the Messiah comes,
these are the things Messiah isgoing to do.
So he is saying I'm not justgoing to tell you, I'm going to
(03:33):
show you what I'm doing.
And all of these things arefulfilling prophecy.
Here's the other thing.
There are some theologians whokind of say well, listen, we
can't put too much credit onJohn the Baptist here.
He might not have known whatwas going on, and so he might
have very well been asking Jesusthis through his disciples,
because at this point John is inprison.
(03:53):
And he may have been askingbecause he was like, wait a
minute, if you're the Messiah,why am I in prison?
Why aren't we taking over,right?
And so some people think thatJohn was sending his disciples
just as a hey, just wanted tomake sure that we're on the same
page here.
But in my opinion, john isdoing something else.
(04:14):
John is showing his disciples.
I promise you this is the guy,because John was so certain who
he was.
I don't think that John is nowshaking in his belief.
I think John is sending some ofhis disciples just as a
reminder to them.
No, I was right, this really isthe guy.
He's just doing it differentlythan what we thought.
(04:36):
And so let's jump into this andlet's kind of see what's going
on here and just let the word ofGod just wash over us today.
So, if you're ready, matthew 11, verse 1 says this when Jesus
had finished giving theseinstructions to the 12 disciples
, he went out to teach andpreach in the towns throughout
the region.
That's a reminder that, eventhough Jesus had sent out his 12
(04:58):
apostles, he didn't go onvacation.
He didn't go to Hawaii, hedidn't get his pina colada and
get his tan on.
He goes and he is also stillworking, which is also amazing
If you think about it.
When Jesus sends us out, he'sstill working.
I love that.
Verse two Johnny B, who was inprison, heard about all the
things the Messiah was doing, sohe sent his disciples to ask
(05:22):
Jesus, are you the Messiah we'vebeen expecting, or should we be
looking for someone else?
Now, remember, in my mind, he'snot doing this because he's not
sure.
He's sending his disciples togo ask to make sure they're sure
.
All right.
Verse four Jesus told them goback to John and tell them what
you have heard and seen.
The blind, see the lame walk,those with leprosy are cured,
(05:46):
the deaf hear, the dead areraised to life and the good news
is being preached to the poor.
And he added God blesses thosewho do not fall away because of
me.
As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him
to the crowds.
What kind of man did you gointo the wilderness to see?
Was he a weak reed being swayedby every breath of wind?
(06:08):
Or were you expecting to see aman dressed in expensive clothes
?
No, people with expensiveclothes are in the palaces.
Were you looking for a prophet?
Yes, he is more than a prophet.
John is the man to whomscriptures refer when they say
Look, I am sending a messengerahead of you.
He will prepare the way beforeyou.
(06:29):
Pause.
That was a special prophecygiven to the one who would be
the forerunner of the Messiah.
So once again, jesus is sayingI am the Messiah.
He's just.
He's constantly putting it outthere plain to see Verse 11,.
I tell you the truth of allthose who have ever lived, no
one is greater than John theBaptist.
Yet the least person in thekingdom of heaven is greater
(06:52):
than he is.
From the time John the Baptistbegan preaching.
Until now, the kingdom of Godhas been forcefully advancing
and violent people are attackingit.
For before John came, all theprophets and the law of Moses
looked forward to this presenttime and if you're willing to
accept it, I say yes, he isElijah.
One of the prophets said wouldcome.
(07:13):
Anyone who has ears to hearshould listen and understand.
Now pause.
What he's saying is a couple ofthings there.
Number one is he is saying Johnthe Baptist is the greatest of
the prophets because he is theone who is ushering in the time
of the Messiah himself, jesus.
However, he is saying thekingdom of heaven is so blessed,
(07:33):
and those of us who are able toreceive the gospel of Jesus
Christ, that we're so blessedthat the least person in the
kingdom is greater than all thathas come before.
So it wasn't a disrespect ofJohn the Baptist, but it was a
wonderful compliment, if I cansay it that way, to all those
who are in the kingdom of heaven.
(07:53):
Secondly, one of the things thatconfuses people sometimes is
they go wait a minute.
He it almost sounds likereincarnation, right, he's
saying that he is John theBaptist or John the Baptist is
Elijah.
That's not what they're.
They're not saying that he isthe reincarnation of Elijah,
that is, that is, reincarnationis not a thing.
Okay, he is saying, is that heis coming in the same attitude,
the same um quote, unquotespirit.
(08:15):
So in other words, the samepersonality, the same, the same
desire as Elijah.
Elijah was an unashamed in yourface prophet of God, and he's
saying John the Baptist is justlike that.
He is the guy who was going tousher in the time of the kingdom
.
All right, verse 16.
To what can I compare thisgeneration?
It is like children playing agame in the public square.
(08:36):
They complain to their friendswe played wedding songs and you
did not dance.
We played funeral songs and youdidn't mourn.
For John didn't spend his timeeating and drinking, and you say
he is possessed by a demon.
The Son of man, on the otherhand, feasts and drinks, and you
say he is a glutton and adrunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and of sinners.
(08:57):
But wisdom is shown to be rightby its results.
Then Jesus began to denounce thetowns where he had done so many
of his miracles because theyhadn't repented of their sins
and turned to God.
What sorrow awaits you,chorazin and Bethsaida.
He had done so many of hismiracles because they hadn't
(09:18):
repented of their sins andturned to God to show their
remorse.
I tell you, tyre and Sidon willbe better off on judgment day
than you and you, people ofCapernaum.
Will you be honored in heaven?
No, you will go down to theplace of the dead, for if the
miracles I did in you had beendone in wicked Sodom, it would
(09:41):
still be here today.
I tell you, even Sodom will bebetter off on judgment day than
you Now pause.
Now, that is a big time critiqueof these people.
What he's saying is is he saidI did so many miracles in
Chorazin and Bethsaida andCapernaum, but you didn't care.
There is a greaterresponsibility on you because
(10:03):
you have seen greater things.
Can I tell you that's heavywhen you think about people who
grow up in countries like theunited states and in other
places where we have seen somuch of the goodness of god and
what.
What jesus is saying here isthe more you experience, the
more you see, the greater theirresponsibility is on your life,
(10:25):
and so that's a heavy heavy,these people.
All right, let's finish it upwith this wonderful invitation,
verse 25,.
At that time, jesus prayed thisprayer O Father, lord of heaven
and earth.
Thank you for hiding thesethings from those who think
themselves wise and clever andrevealing them to the childlike.
Yes, father, it pleased you todo it this way.
(10:46):
My Father has entrustedeverything to me.
No one truly knows the Sonexcept the Father.
No one truly knows the Fatherexcept the Son and those to whom
the Son chooses to reveal Him.
Come to me all who are wearyand carry heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
(11:06):
Let me teach you, because I amhumble and gentle at heart, and
you will find rest for yoursouls, for my yoke is easy to
bear and the burden I give foryou is light.
Wow, what an amazing offering,an invitation for all of us.
And as we get ready to closeour time together, one of the
(11:28):
things I'd like to drawattention to is he doesn't say
come to me and I will removeeverything.
He says come to me and I willgive you a.
I'll give you rest and I willgive you a proper yoke.
Now, living in the 21st centuryand we don't live in an agrarian
society, we may or may not knowwhat a yoke is, but back in the
(11:49):
day, when you used to plow withoxen and donkeys and stuff like
that.
A yoke is a piece of wood thatthey would strap onto a pair of
oxen or a pair of donkeys orwhatever, and when they would
plow that yoke is how they wouldthen plow up the ground.
They would pull up against itand honestly, you'd have to go
to a carpenter which is whatJesus' earthly training was and
(12:14):
go to that carpenter and a goodcarpenter, an expensive yoke.
What they would do is theywould actually form that yoke
specifically to those oxen,because what they didn't want to
do is they didn't want it tonot fit right, because if it
didn't fit right it would injurethe oxen or it would cause them
to not be as effective and theycouldn't do it right and it
actually would decrease theirlifespan and decrease their
(12:36):
ability to do things.
And so a good carpenter wouldmeasure the oxen's shoulders and
the different things and thenshape the yoke to fit just right
, so that actually carrying aheavy load would feel only maybe
half as heavy, because theweight would be evenly
distributed between the two.
And Jesus uses that to say cometo me and I'm not going to take
(13:01):
away your life, I'm not going totake away all the things that
make life special.
I'm going to make it easier tocarry.
What an amazing thing that is.
What wisdom that is from God.
Because this is what he'ssaying is.
He's saying come to me, all youparents.
I'm not going to take away yourchildren, because children are
a blessing from the Lord, butwhat I am going to do is I'm
(13:22):
going to teach you how to carrythe weight of responsibility of
your children, so that you'reable to teach them, train them
and enjoy them.
And the heavy weight won't beas heavy because I'm going to do
it with you.
He would say to all those whoare married come to me, I'm not
going to get rid of your spouse,but instead I'm going to do
such a work in your life and I'mgoing to walk with you that I'm
(13:46):
going to teach you how to enjoybeing married, with the weight
and with the responsibility, butit's not going to be as heavy
because you're going to do itwith me.
He would say to all those whowere single but don't want to be
you know what I mean.
He's going to say I'm not goingto take away that desire for
companionship, but instead I'mgoing to help it fit right and
(14:07):
pick whatever difficult thingyou're having to deal with.
Many times it's not the thingthat's heavy, it's the
misplacement, it's theunequalness, it's not in a
proper perspective or a properbalance that what makes it bad.
And so what Jesus says is hesays come to me all who are
(14:32):
imbalanced, all who have heavierthan should be loads, and I
will give you rest because Iwant to do life with you and I'm
going to balance it out.
I'm not going to take away yourchildren, take away your
opportunities, take away allthese different things.
Many people think well, I don'twant to come to Jesus because if
I come to Jesus, I'm going tolose all that is fun in life.
You know what I mean.
Jesus says.
Actually, you don't know whatlife is until you come to me,
because everything in your lifeis out of balance.
But when you come to me, I'mgoing to teach you balance, I'm
(14:55):
going to teach boundaries, I'mgoing to teach you healthy
living so that you can enjoy thethings I'm trying to give you,
because it's going to be in theproper balance.
So my question for you today isis there something in your life
that is out of balance?
Is there something that isheavier than it should be?
Are you dealing with more thannormal anxieties of life, more
(15:18):
than normal difficult emotions,pressures, fear different things
.
You know.
Fear, anxiety and the properamounts is healthy.
Anxious thoughts are notintended to overwhelm us, but
it's intended to motivate us.
But when it gets out of hand,to where now?
We always feel anxiety and it'scrippling, well, that's
(15:38):
unhealthy.
Healthy fear is how you don'tjump off a building.
You know what I mean.
Unhealthy fear causes you tonot be able to step into proper
environments.
Is there something out of syncin your life?
Jesus is calling you to come tohim.
It's a kingdom invitation sothat he can speak life and
(15:58):
balance to your soul.
Let's pray together right now.
God, thank you so much fortoday.
Thank you that you speak lifeto our soul.
I pray you'll give us thewisdom and the courage to bring
to you everything so that youcan bring balance, you can bring
wholeness to our life.
In Jesus name, we pray Amen,amen.
What God's word says in Matthew28, verse 19,.
(16:18):
It says all authority in heavenand on earth have been given to
me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations.
I love you.
I'll see you tomorrow forMatthew, chapter 12.
Well, hello everybody .
Welcome back to the BibleBreakdown Podcast with your host
, pastor Brandon.
Today, matthew, chapter 11, andtoday's title is Kingdom
Invitation Kingdom Invitationand we're going to see at the
end of this chapter.
It's one of the most amazinginvitations in the entire Bible.
Jesus invites us into arelationship with him.
(00:23):
That's awesome.
We're also going to get to seea reemergence if that's the word
of one of my main men, people Ilove the most in the Bible, mr
Johnny B, and I have a littlebit of a different take on what
he's doing in this chapter thansome people do.
So we'll read this together andI'll let you decide.
So we're going to jump intothat and more of God's word.
So, if you have your Bibles,want to open up with me to
(00:45):
Matthew, chapter 11.
While you're doing that, ifyou're new around here, make
sure you take just a moment andlike, share and subscribe to the
YouTube channel and the podcast.
Make sure you leave us afive-star review on the podcast
and make sure you're going tothe Bible Breakdown Discussion
on Facebook.
There's an amazing group ofpeople doing a wonderful job and
, when it comes to the book ofMatthew, there's just so much
(01:05):
here that we just don't have theopportunity to go into.
And so I will go ahead and kindof tip my hand to you a little
bit and tell you an idea that Ihave, and that is, once we are
finished reading through theBible the entire way and we're
actually getting relativelyclose to doing that we're going
to continue to read the Bible,but I'm going to go back and I'm
(01:26):
going to do another podcastcalled Bible Breakdown, deep
Dive, and the goal of it is totake books like Matthew and just
take it, not one chapter at atime, but one passage at a time,
and really dive deep into God'sWord.
So I can't wait to do that.
But at the same time, I lovewhat we're doing right now, and
so we're going to dive intoMatthew, chapter 11, and remind
(01:48):
us that the overall goal ofMatthew is to talk about how
Jesus is the king, king Jesus.
And, as we've been saying everychapter, in chapter one, matthew
just kind of is waving hisreceipts around.
He's saying, hey, I can provethat Jesus is at least the
earthly king of Israel.
(02:08):
He has a claim to the throne,but then he spends chapter two
through 28 saying he is so muchmore than that.
And we've been talking abouthow, in Matthew five, six and
seven, jesus lays out you knowkind of the game plan of the
kingdom, like this is what thekingdom of heaven looks like.
And then in chapter 10,yesterday, he sends out 12 of
(02:29):
his disciples, calling themapostles, sent out ones and he
is sending them into the world.
And then, as he is now doingministry and continuing it we're
going to see today is he gets avisit from some disciples of
John?
Is he gets a visit from somedisciples of John and John the
Baptist?
He also has some disciples,people that he was mentoring and
teaching.
(02:49):
And he sends some of thedisciples to ask Jesus, are you
the one or are we looking forsomebody else?
And we're going to see whatJesus does.
Jesus shows them a bunch ofthings and he says go back and
tell John this.
Now, what I see when I readthis is I see two things
happening.
First of all, what he is goingto show.
(03:10):
So I'm going to go ahead andtell you this.
So when we read it, you seewhat we're talking about, right,
but he is going to do a bunchof stuff and say go back and
tell John.
These are the things that arehappening.
The things that he does are thevery things that have been
prophesied in the Old Testament,that when the Messiah comes,
these are the things Messiah isgoing to do.
So he is saying I'm not justgoing to tell you, I'm going to
(03:33):
show you what I'm doing.
And all of these things arefulfilling prophecy.
Here's the other thing.
There are some theologians whokind of say well, listen, we
can't put too much credit onJohn the Baptist here.
He might not have known whatwas going on, and so he might
have very well been asking Jesusthis through his disciples,
because at this point John is inprison.
(03:53):
And he may have been askingbecause he was like, wait a
minute, if you're the Messiah,why am I in prison?
Why aren't we taking over,right?
And so some people think thatJohn was sending his disciples
just as a hey, just wanted tomake sure that we're on the same
page here.
But in my opinion, john isdoing something else.
(04:14):
John is showing his disciples.
I promise you this is the guy,because John was so certain who
he was.
I don't think that John is nowshaking in his belief.
I think John is sending some ofhis disciples just as a
reminder to them.
No, I was right, this really isthe guy.
He's just doing it differentlythan what we thought.
(04:36):
And so let's jump into this andlet's kind of see what's going
on here and just let the word ofGod just wash over us today.
So, if you're ready, matthew 11, verse 1 says this when Jesus
had finished giving theseinstructions to the 12 disciples
, he went out to teach andpreach in the towns throughout
the region.
That's a reminder that, eventhough Jesus had sent out his 12
(04:58):
apostles, he didn't go onvacation.
He didn't go to Hawaii, hedidn't get his pina colada and
get his tan on.
He goes and he is also stillworking, which is also amazing
If you think about it.
When Jesus sends us out, he'sstill working.
I love that.
Verse two Johnny B, who was inprison, heard about all the
things the Messiah was doing, sohe sent his disciples to ask
(05:22):
Jesus, are you the Messiah we'vebeen expecting, or should we be
looking for someone else?
Now, remember, in my mind, he'snot doing this because he's not
sure.
He's sending his disciples togo ask to make sure they're sure
.
All right.
Verse four Jesus told them goback to John and tell them what
you have heard and seen.
The blind, see the lame walk,those with leprosy are cured,
(05:46):
the deaf hear, the dead areraised to life and the good news
is being preached to the poor.
And he added God blesses thosewho do not fall away because of
me.
As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him
to the crowds.
What kind of man did you gointo the wilderness to see?
Was he a weak reed being swayedby every breath of wind?
(06:08):
Or were you expecting to see aman dressed in expensive clothes
?
No, people with expensiveclothes are in the palaces.
Were you looking for a prophet?
Yes, he is more than a prophet.
John is the man to whomscriptures refer when they say
Look, I am sending a messengerahead of you.
He will prepare the way beforeyou.
(06:29):
Pause.
That was a special prophecygiven to the one who would be
the forerunner of the Messiah.
So once again, jesus is sayingI am the Messiah.
He's just.
He's constantly putting it outthere plain to see Verse 11,.
I tell you the truth of allthose who have ever lived, no
one is greater than John theBaptist.
Yet the least person in thekingdom of heaven is greater
(06:52):
than he is.
From the time John the Baptistbegan preaching.
Until now, the kingdom of Godhas been forcefully advancing
and violent people are attackingit.
For before John came, all theprophets and the law of Moses
looked forward to this presenttime and if you're willing to
accept it, I say yes, he isElijah.
One of the prophets said wouldcome.
(07:13):
Anyone who has ears to hearshould listen and understand.
Now pause.
What he's saying is a couple ofthings there.
Number one is he is saying Johnthe Baptist is the greatest of
the prophets because he is theone who is ushering in the time
of the Messiah himself, jesus.
However, he is saying thekingdom of heaven is so blessed,
(07:33):
and those of us who are able toreceive the gospel of Jesus
Christ, that we're so blessedthat the least person in the
kingdom is greater than all thathas come before.
So it wasn't a disrespect ofJohn the Baptist, but it was a
wonderful compliment, if I cansay it that way, to all those
who are in the kingdom of heaven.
(07:53):
Secondly, one of the things thatconfuses people sometimes is
they go wait a minute.
He it almost sounds likereincarnation, right, he's
saying that he is John theBaptist or John the Baptist is
Elijah.
That's not what they're.
They're not saying that he isthe reincarnation of Elijah,
that is, that is, reincarnationis not a thing.
Okay, he is saying, is that heis coming in the same attitude,
the same um quote, unquotespirit.
(08:15):
So in other words, the samepersonality, the same, the same
desire as Elijah.
Elijah was an unashamed in yourface prophet of God, and he's
saying John the Baptist is justlike that.
He is the guy who was going tousher in the time of the kingdom
.
All right, verse 16.
To what can I compare thisgeneration?
It is like children playing agame in the public square.
(08:36):
They complain to their friendswe played wedding songs and you
did not dance.
We played funeral songs and youdidn't mourn.
For John didn't spend his timeeating and drinking, and you say
he is possessed by a demon.
The Son of man, on the otherhand, feasts and drinks, and you
say he is a glutton and adrunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and of sinners.
(08:57):
But wisdom is shown to be rightby its results.
Then Jesus began to denounce thetowns where he had done so many
of his miracles because theyhadn't repented of their sins
and turned to God.
What sorrow awaits you,chorazin and Bethsaida.
He had done so many of hismiracles because they hadn't
(09:18):
repented of their sins andturned to God to show their
remorse.
I tell you, tyre and Sidon willbe better off on judgment day
than you and you, people ofCapernaum.
Will you be honored in heaven?
No, you will go down to theplace of the dead, for if the
miracles I did in you had beendone in wicked Sodom, it would
(09:41):
still be here today.
I tell you, even Sodom will bebetter off on judgment day than
you Now pause.
Now, that is a big time critiqueof these people.
What he's saying is is he saidI did so many miracles in
Chorazin and Bethsaida andCapernaum, but you didn't care.
There is a greaterresponsibility on you because
(10:03):
you have seen greater things.
Can I tell you that's heavywhen you think about people who
grow up in countries like theunited states and in other
places where we have seen somuch of the goodness of god and
what.
What jesus is saying here isthe more you experience, the
more you see, the greater theirresponsibility is on your life,
(10:25):
and so that's a heavy heavy,these people.
All right, let's finish it upwith this wonderful invitation,
verse 25,.
At that time, jesus prayed thisprayer O Father, lord of heaven
and earth.
Thank you for hiding thesethings from those who think
themselves wise and clever andrevealing them to the childlike.
Yes, father, it pleased you todo it this way.
(10:46):
My Father has entrustedeverything to me.
No one truly knows the Sonexcept the Father.
No one truly knows the Fatherexcept the Son and those to whom
the Son chooses to reveal Him.
Come to me all who are wearyand carry heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
(11:06):
Let me teach you, because I amhumble and gentle at heart, and
you will find rest for yoursouls, for my yoke is easy to
bear and the burden I give foryou is light.
Wow, what an amazing offering,an invitation for all of us.
And as we get ready to closeour time together, one of the
(11:28):
things I'd like to drawattention to is he doesn't say
come to me and I will removeeverything.
He says come to me and I willgive you a.
I'll give you rest and I willgive you a proper yoke.
Now, living in the 21st centuryand we don't live in an agrarian
society, we may or may not knowwhat a yoke is, but back in the
(11:49):
day, when you used to plow withoxen and donkeys and stuff like
that.
A yoke is a piece of wood thatthey would strap onto a pair of
oxen or a pair of donkeys orwhatever, and when they would
plow that yoke is how they wouldthen plow up the ground.
They would pull up against itand honestly, you'd have to go
to a carpenter which is whatJesus' earthly training was and
(12:14):
go to that carpenter and a goodcarpenter, an expensive yoke.
What they would do is theywould actually form that yoke
specifically to those oxen,because what they didn't want to
do is they didn't want it tonot fit right, because if it
didn't fit right it would injurethe oxen or it would cause them
to not be as effective and theycouldn't do it right and it
actually would decrease theirlifespan and decrease their
(12:36):
ability to do things.
And so a good carpenter wouldmeasure the oxen's shoulders and
the different things and thenshape the yoke to fit just right
, so that actually carrying aheavy load would feel only maybe
half as heavy, because theweight would be evenly
distributed between the two.
And Jesus uses that to say cometo me and I'm not going to take
(13:01):
away your life, I'm not going totake away all the things that
make life special.
I'm going to make it easier tocarry.
What an amazing thing that is.
What wisdom that is from God.
Because this is what he'ssaying is.
He's saying come to me, all youparents.
I'm not going to take away yourchildren, because children are
a blessing from the Lord, butwhat I am going to do is I'm
(13:22):
going to teach you how to carrythe weight of responsibility of
your children, so that you'reable to teach them, train them
and enjoy them.
And the heavy weight won't beas heavy because I'm going to do
it with you.
He would say to all those whoare married come to me, I'm not
going to get rid of your spouse,but instead I'm going to do
such a work in your life and I'mgoing to walk with you that I'm
(13:46):
going to teach you how to enjoybeing married, with the weight
and with the responsibility, butit's not going to be as heavy
because you're going to do itwith me.
He would say to all those whowere single but don't want to be
you know what I mean.
He's going to say I'm not goingto take away that desire for
companionship, but instead I'mgoing to help it fit right and
(14:07):
pick whatever difficult thingyou're having to deal with.
Many times it's not the thingthat's heavy, it's the
misplacement, it's theunequalness, it's not in a
proper perspective or a properbalance that what makes it bad.
And so what Jesus says is hesays come to me all who are
(14:32):
imbalanced, all who have heavierthan should be loads, and I
will give you rest because Iwant to do life with you and I'm
going to balance it out.
I'm not going to take away yourchildren, take away your
opportunities, take away allthese different things.
Many people think well, I don'twant to come to Jesus because if
I come to Jesus, I'm going tolose all that is fun in life.
You know what I mean.
Jesus says.
Actually, you don't know whatlife is until you come to me,
because everything in your lifeis out of balance.
But when you come to me, I'mgoing to teach you balance, I'm
(14:55):
going to teach boundaries, I'mgoing to teach you healthy
living so that you can enjoy thethings I'm trying to give you,
because it's going to be in theproper balance.
So my question for you today isis there something in your life
that is out of balance?
Is there something that isheavier than it should be?
Are you dealing with more thannormal anxieties of life, more
(15:18):
than normal difficult emotions,pressures, fear different things
.
You know.
Fear, anxiety and the properamounts is healthy.
Anxious thoughts are notintended to overwhelm us, but
it's intended to motivate us.
But when it gets out of hand,to where now?
We always feel anxiety and it'scrippling, well, that's
(15:38):
unhealthy.
Healthy fear is how you don'tjump off a building.
You know what I mean.
Unhealthy fear causes you tonot be able to step into proper
environments.
Is there something out of syncin your life?
Jesus is calling you to come tohim.
It's a kingdom invitation sothat he can speak life and
(15:58):
balance to your soul.
Let's pray together right now.
God, thank you so much fortoday.
Thank you that you speak lifeto our soul.
I pray you'll give us thewisdom and the courage to bring
to you everything so that youcan bring balance, you can bring
wholeness to our life.
In Jesus name, we pray Amen,amen.
What God's word says in Matthew28, verse 19,.
(16:18):
It says all authority in heavenand on earth have been given to
me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations.
I love you.
I'll see you tomorrow forMatthew, chapter 12.
Popular Podcasts
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!