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Jesus Is the Present Savior (11:25–30)(Luke 10:21-22)

In chapter 11 we studies John and Jesus’ relation to him.John’s Question to Jesus (11:2–6)Jesus’ Estimate of John (11:7–15)The People’s Assessment of Both John and Jesus (11:16–19)

The peoples failed assessment of Jesus resulted in a pronouncement of Jesus as judge (11:20-24).

Although to some he will be a judge, to others he is a savior and that brings us to the current section on salvation based on his sovereign election.

The Sovereign Election of God (11:25–27)

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

At that time Jesus declared…. At what time? “…‘at that time’ … tie vv. 25–27 with preceding materials, indicating that a line of thought continues.”1 At the time of Jesus’ discussion about John the Baptist, the unwillingness of the population to respond either to John’s message or Jesus’ one, and the time of Jesus’ comments of the coming judgment on the cities of Israel. This is the time Jesus prays this prayer. At first thought, this time would appear to be a “bad time” to thank God or praise God for anything, things aren’t going well. Yet, at this very time, Jesus thanks the Father.

declared or said2…. From the context we see that Jesus “said” these things to the Father by means of prayer and did so audibly, his disciples could hear him pray.

I thank you3 …. “I praise you” (HCSB, NASB95, ISV, NIV). “I am grateful” (CEV). Jesus is praising the Father because of something—what?

“When Jesus could have been discouraged, when he had to preach judgment to the unrepentant, when he had to characterize people as childish and had to acknowledge that he was not getting the kind of response—even from John the Baptist, the hardiest

1 Nolland John, “Preface,” in The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005), 470.

2 declared εἶπον “…to speak or talk, with apparent focus upon the content of what is said—‘to say, to talk, to tell, to speak.’” Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 396.3 I thank you ἐξομολογέω “To confess, admit, profess or express agreement with. Confession to God involves concurring with Him in His verdict.” Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

of all believers—that one expected a Messiah to get, Jesus gave thanks.”4 Of course, this serves as an example to us when discouraged; this is how to act under such circumstances, give thanks to God, praise God, for he is in sovereign control of all things.

“Somehow and somewhere, behind and above a discouraging world, stands a poised Father, completely in control and utterly unfrustrated. To believe that human beings are the final arbiters of history is inevitably to become a whiner rather than a thanker because human irresponsibility does embitter. The church needs her Master’s acquiescence in the sovereignty of God if she is to have Jesus’ poise in ministry. Excessive attention to an unresponsive world and insufficient appreciation of the relaxing reality of God’s sovereignty can drive Christians into the slough of despond.”5

Lord of heaven and earth…. Jesus’ right and capacity to speak with such certainty of judgment and now salvation is based on the fact that the Father is Lord of heaven and earth. The Lordship of God over the heaven and earth is based on creation, God made the world and everything in it. Creation gives him claim to being its Lord.

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,” (Acts 17:24, ESV)

This fact also explains why so many people are radically insistent that he did not make the world and everything in it; otherwise he would be Lord of heaven and earth—and that they cannot have.

And what does Jesus praise the Father for? He thanks God for hiding some things and revealing other things.

you have hidden these things…. What things? Details are not given but it appears that Jesus is here referencing all he has spoken so far in chapter 11. John’s disciples, Jesus’ evaluation of John, Jesus’ criticism of the culture that would accept neither John nor Jesus, and Jesus’ prophecy of judgment on the cities of Galilee. The meaning behind all this is not clear to some but is clear to others. “The things that are both hidden and revealed are presumably the activities of the good news of the presence of the kingdom of heaven that required humble eyes of faith to see God’s hand in them.”6

Why would Jesus thank the Father for hiding the Gospel?

4 Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12 (vol. 1, Revised and Expanded Edition.; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007), 527.


6 Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew (The NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004), 421.

“And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.”” (Mark 4:11–12, ESV)

It is God the Father who hides from one and reveals to another. This is based on his own sovereign election which itself is hidden in God.

from the wise and understanding…. “The “wise” are various groups in Judaism, depending on the context and the situation: Israel’s wisdom teachers, wisdom’s “pupils,” the followers of apocalyptic groups, the members of the sect and next to them the special class of the wise in Qumran, and above all the scribes. … The term includes all who in Israel are “wise” or who consider themselves to be such, the entire religious aristocracy.”7 In other words, their title to wisdom and understanding was self-proclaimed; the facts didn’t support it. These arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-alls had no need of Jesus to understand anything about God.

“…therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:14, ESV)

“That wise and understanding people do not necessarily understand what is going on points to insight in this context as something that must be divinely bestowed and cannot be achieved at the merely human level.”8

“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”” (Jeremiah 9:23–24, ESV)

“The wise and intelligent foolishly depend on their native insight rather than on divine revelation.”9

7 Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A Commentary (ed. Helmut Koester; Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 162.

8 Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: A commentary on the Greek text. New International Greek Testament Commentary (471). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.

9 Robert H. Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament: Verse-by-Verse Explanations with a Literal Translation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010), 48.

revealed10…. “to cause something to be fully known—‘to reveal, to disclose, to make fully known, revelation.’”11 Knowledge of these things was hidden from some but here we are told that they are revealed to others.

From this Greek word, we get our English word apocalypse, which to us means coming cataclysmic coming events that are currently hidden. It actually means that are to some degree revealed by God. We find this word in the Book of Revelation as well.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,” (Revelation 1:1, ESV)

to little children12…. The revelation is not to all; it is to little children. The meaning of this world is that of an infant not old enough to talk yet. The very helplessness of an infant enhances the point. Such a one is not able to obtain anything, let alone the great mysteries of God. If little ones are to obtain this knowledge, it must be a supernatural gift to them from God. Natural ability is not enough. “Jesus will probably be thinking of his listeners: the women, the Galileans, the poor people on the land who have neither the time nor the possibility of going to school….to Israel’s poor, simple, and déclassé.”13

“The point of interest is not their education, any more than the point of interest in the “little children” is their age or size. The contrast is between those who are self-sufficient and deem themselves wise and those who are dependent and love to be taught.”14 Note that they love to be taught, not that they love to be ignorant.

“For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:19–21, ESV)

10 revealed ἀποκαλύπτω “…from apó … from, and kalúptō … to cover, conceal. Literally, to remove a veil or covering exposing to open view what was before hidden. To make manifest or reveal a thing previously secret or unknown….” Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

11 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 338.

12 to little children νήπιος “One who cannot speak, hence, an infant, child, baby without any definite limitation of age.” Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

13 Ulrich Luz, Matthew: A Commentary (ed. Helmut Koester; Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 163.

14 Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 275). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Verse 25 should remind us of another statement by Jesus.

“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”” (Matthew 9:13, ESV)

Those that think they are righteous or think they are wise are not the object of Jesus’ call; it is those that know they are sinners and know they are children when it comes to understanding spiritual things; it is the humble, these are the object of God’s love.

What he is saying is that the Father hides his divine revelation from the self-righteous and arrogant but reveals himself to the humble, the poor in spirit. So, why is Jesus giving thanks that the Father hides the truth of God’s revelation about himself to the wise and understanding but does reveal them to children? Because—

“…“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matthew 13:11, ESV)

“…doing such hiding and revealing and reemphasizes the sovereignty of his grace.”15 He is the Lord of salvation, we are not.

Matthew 11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

gracious will16…. or “such were your good thoughts.” God’s gracious will or good thoughts are to those upon whom he has fixed his love.

“The reversal of roles set out in v. 25 (the little children receive the truth while the wise and intelligent remain in the dark) is not an accidental exception to the normal order of things; it is God’s “good pleasure.””17

“The division in response to Jesus’ message is here unambiguously traced to the will of God himself….”18 “Any sense that there has been a miscarriage in the purposes of God is robustly contradicted; God is affirmed as the prime mover in the unfolding events.”19

The Union of the Father and Son (11: 27)15 Robert H. Gundry, Commentary on the New Testament: Verse-by-Verse Explanations with a Literal Translation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010), 48.

16 gracious will εὐδοκία “Derived from the adv. εὖ … (“well”) and the common vb. δοκέω … (“to think, consider”)….” Moisés Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 313.

17 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 445). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.



Matthew 11:27 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.

“Now Jesus switches from talking to his Father to talking about him and their relationship to each other.”20

All things…. “In this context “everything” [all things] probably refers particularly to the revelation of truth….”21 “God has given all things over to Jesus because Jesus is his Son and therefore his heir.”22 This is also an explanation on how he could legitimately denounce the cites of Galilee. Such authority has been “handed over” to him by the Father.

knows23…. To “know exactly, completely, through and through….”24 “In biblical literature to “know” is more a matter of relationship than of intellectual attainment; it is personal rather than formal.”25

no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son ….

“… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. ….” (John 14:9, ESV)

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18, ESV)

We learn in John that “the only God, who is at the Father’s side” is Jesus. Jesus is here called God.




23 knows ἐπιγινώσκω…. “…to possess more or less definite information about, possibly with a degree of thoroughness or competence—‘to know about, to know definitely about, knowledge about.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 333). New York: United Bible Societies.

24 knows ἐπιγινώσκω…. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature : A Translation and Adaption of the Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition of Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch Zu Den Schrift En Des Neuen Testaments Und Der Ubrigen Urchristlichen Literatur (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 291.


“After declaring that the Father gives true understanding of “these things” to “little children” (vv. 25–26), Jesus now adds that he is the exclusive agent of that revelation.”26

Simply put, access to the Father is through the Son, Jesus Christ. See: John 1:18; 6:46; 7:29; 8:19; 10:15; 17:25.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12, ESV)

This exclusivity of salvation in Jesus only is most distasteful to a culture that delights in “my truth” and “your truth” and demands equal footing of all faiths by all people. The Bible will not countenance this desire to make Jesus Christ simply “a” god or one of many ways to the Father. “This is the scandal of particularity, the affront to other religions, the wound to all other claims of spiritual sensitivity and intellectual power. The Christian church must simply carry this offense as her cross if she wishes to be faithful to the revelation given her by her Lord the Son.”27

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. It is to anyone, not to everyone. “This combines the two major themes of 11:25–27, election and revelation.”28

“…because Jesus shares the Father’s nature as well as ours, he and he alone can reveal the Father.”29

the Son chooses…. “…it in effect places Jesus as the indispensable intermediary between God and the “little children:” it is only through him that they have received and can receive their special knowledge of God’s truth.”30

“…the knowledge of the Father depends on the “will” of the Son.”31

chooses32…. “To will, be willing, wish, desire.”33 It is the Son that does the choosing. Jesus is the only way of salvation. It is he who reveals the Father and no one else. It is

26 Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 277). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.


28 Grant R. Osborne, Matthew (vol. 1; Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 441.

29 Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven (The Bible Speaks Today; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 141.



not true that there are “many ways” to salvation. There is only one, Jesus Christ. It is the Son who chooses man. It is not man that chooses God; it is God the Father through his son Jesus Christ who chooses sinners—but not all of them:34

“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction , in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory — even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22–24, ESV)

It is no surprise to hear that God “prepared” us for glory; it is a little startling to read that he has also “prepared” others for destruction. But if one is true, the other of necessity must be true.

“Jesus’ words in 11:27 continue to teach that God alone takes the initiative in the making of disciples, the calling of people to faith.”35

A Call to All (11:28-30)

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

In verses 20-24 Jesus threatened judgment upon the cities of Galilee because they did not responded to his message of repentance. In verses 25-27 Jesus stated that the Father can be known only through the Son. Now verses 28-30, extend a direct invitation to find the solution to life’s problems by coming to Jesus, the only one who can reveal the Father to the human race.

Come36…. “Jesus does not say “come to God” and receive these promises. Instead, quite in line with his remarks in this chapter and throughout the Gospel, Jesus presents himself as the fully authorized representative of God.”37 And therefore says Come to me….

32 chooses βούλομαι…. “…to desire to have or experience something, with the implication of some reasoned planning or will to accomplish the goal—‘to desire, to want, to will.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 287). New York: United Bible Societies.

33 chooses βούλομαι…. Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

34 Jay E. Adams, The Grand Demonstration. 35 Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 11:2–20:34 (Concordia Commentary; Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 589.

36 Come δεῦτε “…extension toward a goal at or near the speaker and implying movement—‘here, hither, come here.’” Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 722.

Earlier Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew while fishing:

“And he said to them, “Follow [come to] me, and I will make you fishers of men.”” (Matthew 4:19, ESV)

Later, Jesus expands that call to all to be his disciples.

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37, ESV)

me38…. In the grammatical construction of the sentence, there is an emphatic use of me; it is come to ME and no other “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, ESV)

all39…. Jesus reiterates his call to all to come for salvation. Who will respond? All “to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27, ESV) This statement is a reiteration of a recent one:

“So everyone [all] who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 10:32, ESV)

labor40…. Jesus is not primarily using the words labor and heavy laden in a literal, materialist sense; these words are largely used metaphorically of the burdens of a works salvation. Yet, they do resonate with the fallen condition of sinful man with its material consequence.

“… cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”” (Genesis 3:17–19, ESV)

All such labor is a product of man’s sin; all solutions are found in Jesus’s righteousness.


38 me εγω “…personal pronoun, 1st person acc. sing., an abbreviated form of the emphatic emé … me, I, my.” Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

39 all πας “…the totality of any object, mass, collective, or extension—‘all, every, each, whole.’” Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 596.40 labor κοπιάω “…to be tired or weary, as the result of hard or difficult endeavor—‘to be tired, to be weary.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 259). New York: United Bible Societies.

So to those burdened by the consequence of the fall and to those burdened by the burden of Pharisaic religion, Jesus offers an enduring rest.

heavy laden41…. The nation is weary and burdened, and heavy laden with sickness and spiritual oppression but especially with the burdens put on men by the Pharisees. Jesus is willing to heal and deliver. “…we should understand the heavy burdens in the light of 23:4 as the unreasonable demands of the scribes with their excessive concern to regulate people’s behavior….”42

“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” (Matthew 23:4, ESV)

And what is the origin of these labors and burdens?

The origin of labor and heavy laden is Adam’s disobedience and sin, its solution is the obedience and righteousness of the new Adam, Jesus Christ.

rest43…. The demons that are cast out in Matthew 12:43 seek “rest” and find none. But what they seek and cannot find, Jesus promises to his own family.

“And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”” (Exodus 33:14, ESV)

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for [or that] I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

yoke44…. “…when Jesus offers a yoke he offers what we might think tired workers need least. They need a mattress or a vacation, not a yoke. But Jesus realizes that the most restful gift he can give the tired is a new way to carry life, a fresh way to bear responsibilities.”45 “To call those who are weary and heavy laden, to take a yoke upon

41 heavy laden φορτίζω “…to cause to carry or bear a load—‘to cause to carry, to cause to bear a load.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 206). New York: United Bible Societies.


43 rest ἀναπαύω “…to cause someone to become physically refreshed as the result of resting from work—‘to cause to rest, to give rest.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 260). New York: United Bible Societies.

44 yoke ζυγός “…a bar or frame of wood by which two draft animals are joined at the head or neck in order to work together effectively in pulling a plow, harrow, or wagon—‘yoke.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 53). New York: United Bible Societies.


them, looks like adding affliction to the afflicted….”46 You will notice that he does not tell them he will take off the yoke and free them to whatever behavior that suites them. Instead, he offers to exchange the one demanded by the Pharisees with his own. “The one yoke gives place to another; independent and gods we can never be.”47

46 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1670.

47 Franklin Johnson, The Gospel according to Matthew, with Notes, Specially Prepared for the Use of Sunday Schools (New York; London: American Bible Union; Trübner & Co., 1873), 66.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Melchers,_In_Holland.jpg

“… we should remember that the “rest” Jesus offers is not a relaxation of the demands of righteousness … but a new relationship with God which makes it possible to fulfill them. It is not the removal of any yoke, but a new and “kind” of yoke which makes the burdens “light.””48

Peter makes it clear that the yoke is the burden of the law misunderstood and misapplied.

“Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10, ESV)

Paul agrees saying,

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, ESV)

Notice the word “again.” This is what we are delivered from when saved.

learn49…. “The noun “disciple” (μαθητής) and the verb “learn” (μανθάνω) share a common root and a common meaning; to be Jesus’ disciple is to learn from him.”50 But what if you say you are a disciple but have no interest in learning from him? What are we to learn?

for51 or that…. There are two ways to understand this Greek word, either, because I am… (causal) or that I am…. (content); come to me and learn that I am gentle and


49 learn…. μανθάνω “…to acquire information as the result of instruction, whether in an informal or formal context—‘to learn, to be instructed, to be taught.” Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 326.

50 Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 11:2–20:34 (Concordia Commentary; Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 590–591.

lowly in heart. “In order to take the yoke of Jesus and find rest from one’s burdens, what one needs to learn is what Jesus is like: “learn from me that I am gentle and humble in heart.””52

I am gentle and lowly in heart…. “…the demands imposed by this yoke will bring relief to the weary and burdened because they are imposed by one who is ‘gentle (πραΰς) and humble in heart’.”53 This is something the Pharisees were not.

gentle54….

““Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, ESV)

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” (Matthew 21:5, ESV)

lowly55…. The gentleness and lowliness of Jesus is described by Paul in Philippians.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8, ESV)

Paul uses this information about Jesus to motivate believes to self-sacrificing lives.

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4, ESV)

and56 and so or with the result that….

51 for ὅτι “markers of cause or reason, based on an evident fact—‘because, since, for, in view of the fact that.” Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 780.

52 Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 11:2–20:34 (Concordia Commentary; Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 591.


54 gentle πραΰς “…pertaining to being gentle and mild—‘mild, gentle, meek.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (748). New York: United Bible Societies.

55 lowly ταπεινός “…pertaining to being unpretentious in one’s behavior—‘humble.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (747). New York: United Bible Societies.

you will find rest for your souls…. Again, sinners are promised what even the demons seek, rest for the soul. This is found ONLY in Jesus.

“Jesus is saying that “the ancient paths” and “the good way” (Jer 6:16) lie in taking on his yoke because he is the one to whom the OT Scriptures point.”57

“Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV)

“The value to Matthew of the link with Je. 6:16 is that it connects the present offer of peace with God’s offer of peace which, when rejected, led to the Exile.”58 Israel will again reject God’s offer of peace and will again in A.D. 70 go into exile. In our age we also reject the yoke of God, we also in some form will go into exile.

God’s rest in time and eternity is a product of obedience to God’s law as explained by the Psalmist.

“Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” (Psalm 119:165, ESV)

“When that holy man Mahatma Gandhi was dying, one of his relatives came to him and asked, ‘Babaki, you have been looking for God all your life. Have you found him yet?’ ‘No,’ was the reply. ‘I’m still looking.’”59 He never did find rest for his soul. He wasn’t looking in the right place.

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

easy60…. Some think that it is easy because it is a well-designed yoke that distributes the load comfortably. However, that misses the point, it is not the better distribution of the load that is the issue, it is the lightness of the load. It simply doesn’t weigh a lot, my burden is light.

56 and καί “‘Consecutive’ καί = ‘and so, so’: Mt 5:15 ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν (τιθέασιν), καὶ λάμπει … (= ὥστε λάμπειν, Lk 8:16 = 11:33 with ἵνα). It is especially frequent after imperatives….” The word “take” in “take my yoke” is an imperative. 57 Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 278). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.


59 Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven (The Bible Speaks Today; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 141.

60 easy χρηστός “…pertaining to that which is pleasant or easy, with the implication of suitability—‘pleasant, easy.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 246). New York: United Bible Societies.

“The lightness of Jesus’ yoke depends not only on his personal character as described in v. 29 but also on his new interpretation of the Torah which, in contrast with the scribal concern for detailed regulation, enables a person to see beyond the surface level of dos and donts to the true underlying purpose of God….”61

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3, ESV)

“Paradoxically, then, taking on the yoke of Jesus lightens the burdens of life and of eternity….”62

“…this last emphasis on “rest” (11:29) in Jesus’ words corresponds to what immediately follows in chapter 12, namely, the issue of the proper appropriation and purpose of Israel’s Sabbath rest.”63 Jesus seeks a rest for his people. The Pharisees seek to add to their burdens. It is not uncommon that people in power seek to boss other people around and tell them in some detail what they can and can’t do in life. This not only characterizes some political leaders but some religious leaders as well. And many people like it that way. This fact explains many cults and political philosophies. Many people feel secure when told what to do. It is a slave mentality. It is for this reason that in the Old Testament God allowed some people to sell themselves into slavery. Security is more important than liberty to many.

61 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 450–451). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.



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