Matthew Chapter 11

Jesus & JtB
Under great trials and in times of great uncertainty we may have the same response as John the Baptist. John was in prison, things looked bleak, and he questioned Jesus saying, “Are you the Messiah...... or should we keep looking for someone else?” This is the same guy who was ‘preparing the way’ back in chapter 3. This is the one that was shouting from the hilltops that Jesus was the Lamb of God. This is the one who baptized Jesus and witnessed the Spirit and heard the voice of the Father. This is the man who lived for God with a lifestyle that was radical to say the least. What happened?

Doubt. We all have it. It is an inescapable reality of those that live on planet earth. We doubt ourselves, we doubt others, and when times are tough we may even doubt God. It seems to be a natural response to trials and tribulation, after all even the great John the Baptist did it! I am going to tell you though that it does not have to be your natural response concerning your Creator and Savior!!

In what has been one of the darkest periods of my life I had these verses to hold on to. I had the response of Jesus to believe in. He told JtB to look at the evidence and then He challenged him. He said, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.” Then he turned to those that were around Him and praised JtB. You see, Jesus could handle the doubt in John’s heart and He can handle the doubts that creep into ours as well. When you doubt just look at the evidence that Jesus leaves in His wake wherever He goes. Look at the miracles in the changed lives. See the miracles of restored health and answered prayers in the ones who call Him Lord. In the darkness I never lost sight of God’s glory. When things seemed to be at there worst I never took my eyes off of Jesus. When things looked uncertain I held on to the certainty of my relationship with Jesus Christ. And you know what? He saw me through my dark valley just like He did for King David when he wrote Psalm 23. Verse 4 (NLT) says “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.”

Judgment
In this section we see some of the annoyance and irritation that Jesus must have been feeling towards those that wouldn’t accept Him. He had healed the sick and raised the dead and yet the people in the surrounding towns would not repent and turn to God. Their hearts were hardened and they refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus doesn’t want to see anyone perish, it is His will that all enter the Kingdom of Heaven (we will look at that premise as we continue to go through the NT). When evidence of Jesus’ divine nature is ignored or unheeded it must not only frustrate Him but we know from Scripture it also breaks His heart (the book of Hosea is a great example of this). As a holy and sovereign God He will judge those who don’t believe. Judgment day is coming (verse 24).

Jesus Prays
Jesus’ prayer must seem bizarre to some, it did to me at first. He is consistent though in His desires for us. He desires us to be childlike in our faith. This means that we are to approach Him with nothing to offer, after all what could we have to give to a God who already has the universe in the palm of His hand? The only thing we are to do is come to Him wide eyed and expectant, like a child. Come to Him with your belief and nothing else. My son believes that when I throw him up in the air (much to the chagrin of his mom) I will catch him. My son believes when I say I will make him dinner that food will be on the table. When I promise to buy him something my son can trust that I will live up to my promise. That is the faith and belief that we are to come to God with. When we think of ourselves as more clever and wiser than God we shut ourselves off from the revelation and blessing that He has for us.

Yoke Up!
Verses 28-30 are some of the most encouraging words from Jesus that we have seen so far. He tells those of us who are tired and burdened to come to Him and He will give us rest. Who of us couldn’t use some rest these days? With work and full-time school plus raising a two year old son I know my days are full. A lot of days there just doesn’t seem to be enough daylight for me to accomplish all I need to. “Don’t worry”, Jesus says. “Take my yoke upon you”, He declares. When I first read that and for years afterward I thought to myself, “Why would I want to take more upon myself?” I thought that there was no way I could take upon myself anything that Jesus could. A dear brother corrected me one Saturday morning.

When two animals are yoked together the burden is split between them so no one animal has to do all the work by itself. A yoke also keeps both animals going in the same direction. Jesus is saying to hitch up to Him and let Him help you carry the load. By yoking up to Jesus He will teach you how to handle your load. When you walk with Jesus He will keep you going in the right direction. The hard part for me is to give up control. I think of myself as clever and wise. I think that I can do it on my own. Whenever I think this way Jesus has a way of reminding me that I can’t......and it usually hurts. Yoke up to Him. He will lead you in the right direction and He will help you carry your burden. He has for me.

Have a great weekend.

God bless.