Continuing in Matthew's Gospel
[0:00] When you make notes, people sometimes read them. And Linda read and found a correction. Chapter 10, verse 28.
[0:11] Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Now I picked up from somewhere that that word destroy didn't really mean destroy.
[0:24] But I cannot, for the life of me, find out where I got that from. So please ignore that. It means destroy. Just so that you know, it was my error.
[0:36] Right. Chapter 11, we're going to go from verse 20. Well, we were going to go from verse 20, but we're actually going to go from verse 16, because that's where we got to last time.
[0:49] So let me... If you remember, we didn't quite get to verse 19. We dealt with this factual account of John the Baptist's questions, which were sent by John's disciples, because John was in prison, so he couldn't go himself, asking, was he the promised one or not?
[1:09] And he said, tell him what you see and hear. And so these disciples of John were seeing and hearing the very works of Jesus that fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures. And we did quite a bit on that.
[1:23] And then we took a bit of time to look at the uniqueness of John's ministry. The fact that he was the only prophet that I can find who was prophesied. Not the arrival of the Messiah, but the arrival of the prophet was prophesied.
[1:38] The others kind of emerged. But the scriptures actually prophesied that this man would come who would be a forerunner of Jesus and a herald to open the way for Jesus to come.
[1:50] So he was a unique man. And then we finished last week on this verse that talks about where Jesus says this kind of awkward phrase for Bible teachers.
[2:03] That if you're willing to accept it, verse 14 of chapter 11, if you're willing to accept it, John could be Elijah who was to come.
[2:15] And there's that kind of, hang on, was he John or was he Elijah? Or was he a reincarnation of Elijah and all that? And I hope we clarified that, that he wasn't a reincarnation of Elijah.
[2:26] He could have been Elijah's substitute if the Jews had been open-minded enough to accept him and his message. But they rejected John's message. Hence, he was in prison and was later beheaded.
[2:38] And they rejected Jesus's message. So John couldn't fulfil the role of Elijah. Hence, Elijah is still to come. And we saw that that probably is the case in Revelation 11 verses 3 to 6, where we see the two witnesses arise, one of which seems to have the same qualities as Elijah, in that he manages to stop it from raining and so on.
[3:06] So that's where we've got to. And then we've got these verses to finish up. Verse 16.
[3:21] Children, behave. Jesus says, With what shall I compare this generation?
[3:34] It is like children sitting in the marketplace who call out to the other children and say, We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon.
[3:47] The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is vindicated by her needs.
[3:59] And I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because I'm hoping to get to the end of the chapter. But when Jesus looks and compares this generation, what's the purpose of that?
[4:10] Is to reveal their hard-heartedness, their immaturity, and their blindness. Everything's going on around them, and they're completely blissfully unaware.
[4:22] And it doesn't matter whether you want them to rejoice at a wedding or sing a dirge at a funeral. They do not have appropriate responses to give because they are so far from God.
[4:35] There is no maturity there. And if you think of children arguing over which game they're going to play, you know, I want to play Iden Seek.
[4:45] Well, I don't want to play Iden Seek. It's that kind of thing. What Jesus is saying is this generation is childish. And therefore is unable to give a grown-up response.
[4:57] Is unable to provide an appropriate response. And so, in the end, such children finish up either playing on their own or getting left out of the game because they can't integrate.
[5:13] And this speaks to me of people who, in terms of the Jews, remember Matthew's Gospel is preached to the Jews. You have the Jews who are God's people who can't integrate with their God because they are too busy with their own agendas, with their own games, if you like.
[5:30] They get consumed by their own game and they can't relate to their God. If you turn to Matthew 24, verse 38, it's a very similar and I would say parallel verse.
[5:45] Matthew 24. And verse 38. And Jesus is admonishing them, the Jews, and he's talking about the coming of difficult times and the end times and times of judgment.
[6:06] And he says, if we look at verse 37 to lead us into it, for the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark.
[6:26] And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the Son of Man be. But in the days of Noah, you had these people who were just having picnics, getting married, going to funerals, leading life as if God didn't really exist.
[6:43] And they didn't have a clue until it started raining. And I guess in Matthew 11, you have a picture of a very similar situation.
[6:57] And because of their ignorance, and by ignorance, I mean it in the biblical sense, which is, for those of you who didn't know there was a biblical sense to the word ignorance, it kind of means ignorance.
[7:12] They ignore stuff. Which is a foundation of the word ignorance anyway. But it's not just, oh, I don't know about that. It's actually, I could and should know about that, but I'm deliberately ignoring it.
[7:24] And because of their ignorance, if you like, what they do is they look at John in verse 18. They look at John and they say, this man's come neither eating nor drinking.
[7:37] And they say he has a demon. They don't take time. They immediately assume the worst. And they don't take time to understand. And then verse 19, the Son of Man came eating and drinking.
[7:49] And they say, behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard. In other words, they're looking for anything to disparage him. Rather than to embrace him, rather than to embrace his teaching, rather than to go with him.
[8:04] Having seen his miracles, having seen all the prophetic signs, having heard the best preaching that there has ever been on the face of the earth. They want to find a way to dismiss him because they do not want to change.
[8:20] It's hard-heartedness in the extreme. So they're never, ever satisfied. And I must admit, one verse that is kind of difficult to make best use of is this last, well, not verse, but the last line.
[8:35] Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. And what we find about wisdom, mostly it's written about in the book of Proverbs.
[8:46] And it's even personified in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is referred to as a woman. And a woman you want to spend your life with because she is very, very reliable.
[8:59] But if you, I've put some, I've put some references in the notes, but if you turn to Proverbs 16 and verse 16, you'll get a flavour. Proverbs 16 and verse 16.
[9:29] How much better is it to get wisdom than gold? And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. So highly prized.
[9:44] If you turn to Proverbs 4. Back a few pages. Proverbs 4.
[9:56] And we can read from verse 5. Acquire wisdom. Acquire understanding. Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
[10:07] Do not forsake her. This is the personification of wisdom. Do not forsake her and she will guard you. Love her and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is acquire wisdom and with it and with all your inquiring, sorry, and with all your acquiring, get understanding.
[10:26] Prize her and she will exalt you. She will honour you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a garland of grace. She will present you with a crown of beauty. So, and I'll leave you to look up the other references.
[10:41] But Colossians 3.16 is, turn there too. Colossians 3.16.
[10:53] And it's this wonderful, encouraging verse that was given to the Colossian church by Paul.
[11:08] Let the word of Christ dwell richly within you with all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
[11:23] That little verse there is the pathway to wisdom. And all of the things that are associated with wisdom are also associated with humility.
[11:35] It has to be a dumping of the pride. One of the reasons Jesus said, suffer little children to come unto me, because the kingdom of God is made for such as these, is because children don't, they don't come to you knowing lots.
[11:54] They come to you with empty minds and empty opinions. And as a parent, you kind of fill in the gaps of their opinions and you discuss and you debate and you encourage them to learn how to think and so on.
[12:08] But they learn it from you and we should learn it from him. Which is why we become wise only when we let the word of God richly dwell in our hearts.
[12:20] So what Jesus is saying about wisdom vindicating herself is that those who take that wise path will eventually see the vindication of God.
[12:34] The ones who are saying, oh, he's a glutton, oh, he's a drunkard, who are immediately disparaging and will not listen to God's word, will never ever have the wisdom to settle their lives on an eternal pathway to God's best.
[12:54] So that finishes last week. So it would be good if we could start on this week. So let's read on first. So we're in Matthew 11.
[13:08] And we will read the rest of the chapter. And whether I'll get to the end of the chapter remains to be seen. But you know the drill. If I don't, we'll do it next week.
[13:19] It's like when you say to children, you can't have your pudding until you... So verse 20. Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not repent.
[13:35] Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
[13:46] Nevertheless, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you?
[14:01] You will descend to Hades. If the miracles had occurred in Sodom, which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you, that it will be more tolerable in the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.
[14:19] At that time, Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
[14:30] Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him.
[14:48] Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
[15:05] So he is, in verse 20, he is denouncing these cities, and he names them as Chorazin and Bethsaida, and in verse 23, Capernaum, these three cities.
[15:21] And I'm just, I think the map is on the next slide. If you, so you have, can you see?
[15:39] Chorazin here, Bethsaida here, Capernaum here. I think the longest distance is this, which is about five miles, and this is about two miles, and this is about three miles, and it's often referred to as Jesus's ministry triangle.
[15:56] And he did something like 75% of his ministry in those three towns. So the inhabitants of these three towns had the benefit of seeing 75% of his miracles and heard 75% of his teaching, and yet they would not embrace him as Messiah.
[16:16] And what's been said to them is absolutely scary, awe-inspiring, deadly, because he spoke a curse against them, and he said, you're not going to go to heaven, you're going to go to hell.
[16:40] We did read that, didn't we? Right? And, yeah, in verse 23, Capernaum will not be exalted to heaven, will you? But you're going to go to Hades.
[16:51] And everybody in those days knew, particularly if you're a Jew, you knew about Sodom and Gomorrah, you knew how they were treated.
[17:04] They were utterly destroyed, and they were utterly destroyed in a single day. They ceased to exist. And one of the things we must remember is that Lot was in Sodom, and there were actually five cities in the plain in those days, and there was one, the smallest of them was called Zoar, and all five cities were set for destruction.
[17:32] And in the end, when Lot said, can I go to Zoar, it's only a little place, can I go there, the angels relented, and they spared Zoar, because Lot and his family went there.
[17:48] And the angels said to Lot and his family, we cannot destroy this place while you're here.
[17:59] We can't destroy this place until you're gone. And that gave me two thoughts, which are related to Chorazin and the others in a moment, I'll show you, but the two thoughts I had was, number one, God couldn't destroy Sodom until the believers had gone.
[18:19] And number two, God couldn't destroy Zoar, because that's where the believers went. And I don't know the extent to which Southampton is preserved because of the believers in it.
[18:34] I mean, this is a principle of God, that he can't destroy a city while there are still believers in it. So, the other thing I suppose is worth remembering is Lot was called, later in Scripture, he was called Righteous Lot, and covered it in a previous Bible study.
[18:57] Well, he didn't come across as all that righteous. But it's not how righteous you are, it's whether or not you are righteous at all. And if you are saved, you are righteous at all, if you see what I mean.
[19:12] You are righteous by the skin of your teeth. Now, during your lifetime, you may be, you may, or hopefully will, come under progressive sanctification. As you go through your life, you will improve, but you will never become sinless.
[19:26] So, he didn't, he didn't hold back his destruction, destruction because everybody there was sinless. It was simply that they'd been declared righteous because they had responded to God.
[19:38] Chorazin did not, Bethsaida did not, Capernaum did not. Now, if you were to go to any of these places today, and before I put the slides up, if you were to go to Bethlehem, for example, today, there is still a thriving city of Bethlehem.
[19:52] There may well be some ruins for the, you know, the old buildings that have crumbled. But there's still a thriving city in Bethlehem. On a holiday previously, Tony and I went to Corinth.
[20:06] There's still a city of Corinth. Now, they've got the old ruins, and it's, I recommend it if you ever go there. It's quite, quite inspiring to stand where Paul stood and preached, and look over the marketplace that he would have preached into.
[20:19] It is quite inspiring, I thought, but, there's still a city there. There. And, this is Chorazin today. No sign of any modern buildings whatsoever.
[20:33] It was utterly destroyed. And that in itself is something. If you go to Bethsaida today, you've got this.
[20:45] And once again, no modern buildings, no modern city. Nobody lives there. It's just a ruin. And then you've got Capernaum today, which, I mean, it's got, it's got, it's got this building at the back here.
[21:00] And I'm not sure what this is, but it's basically ruins, and nobody lives there. What's interesting to me, is in AD 330, all three of these cities were destroyed in a single day.
[21:16] God decided that it was time to bring that judgment to pass, that he'd made, when Jesus spoke these things out and said, basically, you're doomed. Now, I find myself wondering, I wonder if all the believers had left, when this earthquake hit, in AD 330.
[21:38] I wonder if, you see, 330 years is a long time to allow for repentance, but that's what he did with the Egyptians. Well, it was 400 years with the Egyptians, wasn't it? But, he gave, God's grace is amazing.
[21:51] He gave them all that time to sort their act out. Now, I'm going to suggest, although I have utterly no proof whatsoever, that God withheld his hand of judgment, until there was no believer in this place.
[22:08] I could be wrong, of course, we don't have the proof. But, it's interesting that, it was one earthquake destroyed, all three cities in one night, and according to the history of it, all the inhabitants were killed in those earthquakes, and the buildings all crumbled, and it's never been rebuilt, re-established as a community.
[22:30] Other communities, they get rebuilt, they get, you know, everybody rallies around, and puts it back the way it used to be, not with these three cities. They have actually suffered the same fate as Sodom.
[22:43] In a single day, they were utterly destroyed. So, coming back to Matthew 11, he says, in verse 24, it will be more tolerable, for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for you.
[23:06] Let's think on that for a moment. So, the cities have been destroyed, but keep in mind also, that this falling of judgment, was on communities, not on individuals.
[23:18] There are people who, use these scriptures to say, see, you can lose your salvation. This wasn't dealing with saved people, it was dealing with unsaved people, and it was dealing with whole communities, of unsaved people.
[23:31] And, the difference between them, and Sodom, was that Sodom had nothing. Sodom was judged, as much as it was, despite the fact, that it had no, miraculous signs, and wonders, and clever preaching.
[23:51] It was judged, simply because, it was in the wrong. Now, it had been in the wrong, for a long time, but it was getting worse, and not better, and eventually, God stepped in. The reason, that it's going to be worse, for Capernaum, the souls, that were, rebellious, in Capernaum, and the souls, that were rebellious, in Bethsaida, and the souls, that were rebellious, in Chorazin.
[24:16] The reason, the reason, it's worse for them, is they had fewer excuses. They had heard, the Lord speak. They had seen him, confirm his word, with signs following.
[24:28] They had, absolutely no excuse, for rejecting him. So, when judgment comes, it's going to be, worse for them. This also tells us, that there are, degrees of punishment, in hell.
[24:42] Now, I suspect, that even the, best deal, in hell, is awful. But, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, are going to get, a much, much worse deal, than even Sodom, and Gomorrah got.
[24:58] I find that, frightening. And those, who do not fear the Lord, need to fear the Lord. The reason I say that, is because right now, this is where we are, as a society.
[25:10] We're doing everything, that Sodom and Gomorrah did, but we've had, the gospel. And, although we're not, seeing miracles, on a regular basis, in our communities, we have, reliable accounts, of those miracles, that Jesus confirmed, who he was, through the Old Testament scriptures, by the signs, and wonders that he did.
[25:31] We are, without excuse. If God judges, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and Chorazin, like this, what, are the chances, for places like Southampton?
[25:46] We are just like Sodom was, in many respects. We abort babies, left, right, and centre. We fornicate, all over the place. We confuse gender. We call God, a liar.
[25:59] Every day, by the way, we treat, things like, the issues of gender, and, letting men, marry men, and women, marry women, and all of those things. We know better than Sodom.
[26:12] And, we are, if you like, I think, we're in the same position, in many ways, as Lot and his family were. That the only reason, God's hand of judgment, is held back, is because believers, are still here.
[26:29] I do hope, we're right about, the pre-trib rapture, because when the rapture happens, I won't want to be here. Once, once, once God's people have gone, I would not want to be here, when the restraint, of the Holy Spirit, is removed.
[26:42] It will be awful. It didn't happen in 400 AD, it happened in 330 AD, and I don't know why, I corrected it, but it didn't.
[27:02] Anyway, it was the historian, Eusebius, that tells us, that it happened in 330 AD. So, we've had total destruction. The account, of what happened in Sodom, you can read in Genesis 19, and it's in, verse 22, that it says, they could not destroy the city, while Lot was there.
[27:24] And, of course, a similar principle, is going to apply, at the end of time, when the rapture, of the church happens, God's outpouring, of judgment, on the earth, will not happen, until the church is raptured.
[27:37] Now, lots of people, would argue with that view, but I am convinced of that, and happy, to defend it, or debate it, with any of you. So, Jesus then goes on, to pray, having said this, quite devastating, thing about these cities.
[28:10] He says, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden, these things from the wise, and intelligent, and revealed them to babes. Or infants, your version might say.
[28:24] And, yes, Father, for this way, was well pleasing, in your sight. I struggled, with this one, a little bit, because I think, well, what does, what does this actually mean?
[28:40] Now, the first thing, that came to me, and I think it's, I think it's right, but do feel free, to come up, with a better explanation, if you can. I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden, these things, from the wise, and intelligent, and have revealed them, to infants.
[28:57] The wise, and intelligent, I believe, represents, the prideful man, represents, men who think, they can hack it, without God. And are we not, surrounded by that, in the science, of today, where, scientists, disparage, generally speaking, disparage, the whole idea, of creation.
[29:18] I was involved, in a discussion, the other day, about the fact, that apparently, they can see, the big bang, because they can see, this radiation, that came from it. And I said, yeah, you can see radiation, you can't see the big bang, you can see radiation, and you don't know, where that radiation, came from.
[29:36] And you might, be looking at, the initial thing, that God did, to create the heaven, and the earth, but you don't know, what that looks like. Nobody does. What you've found, is radiation.
[29:49] Don't make more of it, than it is. But they lock themselves, out of contact, with God, because they think, they know. They're wise, and they're intelligent, in their own eyes.
[30:01] That's what I believe, it's alluding to. And yet, God says, he will, reveal it, to babes. And it, it convicts me, that that's what I have to be, is a babe.
[30:17] That I have to sit at his feet, and let him teach me, and not think, that I know better. And to do that, is well pleasing, in the sight of the Lord.
[30:28] That's, that's my belief, about what is being referred to here. And in verse 27, he says, all things have been handed over, to me by my father.
[30:39] No one knows the son, except the father, nor does anyone know, the father, except the son. And this is, this is the, the line, that, grips my heart, and anyone, to whom, the son, wills to reveal him.
[30:59] The son is there, to reveal the father. The son came, to reveal the father. He said, when you've seen me, you've seen the father. He is the only source, it's a very exclusive comment.
[31:18] It says, there is only one way, to the top. All of the, people who say, well it doesn't matter, which God you worship, because they all go, they're all the same God, in the end, and we all get to the same place.
[31:31] No we don't. Jesus said, you can only know the father, if the son, leads you to him. Now that, that means, we are part of an exclusive faith, and we should unashamedly, say so.
[31:48] It can be very tempting, I've been in these discussions, I remember being away in a hotel, having a discussion, with a Muslim, and whenever I used, a reference to the Lord, he used, a reference to, the Lord, being Allah, and, it was as if, it was, a game of table tennis, you know, and, and yet, he does not have a Lord, because there is only one Lord.
[32:22] So, that line, apart from those, the son chooses to reveal to them. Now, gives me another thought that, and that is, there are people, who worry whether they're saved or not, and I think you have an answer here.
[32:42] Has, Jesus, revealed God to you? Right? Oh yeah, but I'm such a sinner. Yeah, but has, God, revealed, Jesus, to you?
[32:56] And, have you said, yes? Now, fortunately, because this is written for babes, it isn't complicated. You don't need an ology to get this.
[33:08] Did Jesus reveal God to you? And, have you said yes? Talk to Libby downstairs, she's got a very, very strong faith, because, God has, Jesus has revealed God to her.
[33:25] So, you can stop asking the question, am I really saved? What you should be asking is, what kind of a fist am I making, of my Christian walk? And, if I make a really lousy fist, of my Christian walk, you've still got your seat booked, in heaven.
[33:43] Now, I'm not suggesting, that's the way you should go, by the way. Most certainly not. You should pursue righteousness, as if it's, as if it's the most important thing, you can ever chase after.
[33:55] Righteousness is vitally important, and we should be pursuing it, and getting used to it, because one day, this corruption, corruption, will put on incorruption, and I will be righteous, and I won't have to try anymore.
[34:07] But, it's nice to get into the habit now. But, we will all sin, nevertheless, God, has a plan.
[34:19] In many places in scripture, Jesus states, that he is the only way, to the Father. In John, the famous verse, in John 3, 16, you can turn there, we'll have a look at, just a few of these.
[34:37] John 3, 16, but we're going to read, right through, to the end of verse, 18. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.
[34:56] For God did not send the son, into the world, to judge the world, but that the world, might be saved through him. He who believes in him, is not judged. He who does not believe, has been judged already, because he has not believed, in the name, of the only begotten son of God.
[35:14] So, your default position, we've said this before, your default position, is doomed. And if you've said yes to Christ, you then move into, those who don't get condemned.
[35:29] Our default position, swimming around, in the great sea of humanity, is doomed. Apart from when Jesus, shows us the way, to the Father. And to all of us, for whom that has happened, you are saved.
[35:48] John, 14, turn to John 14, and verse 6. Jesus is speaking, to Thomas, who said, you know, how can I know the way?
[36:12] And he says, I am the way, verse 6, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me. So, this statement of Jesus, in Matthew 11, is confirmed in other places, in scripture, that there is only one way.
[36:30] And we don't have to have the debate, about how many ways there are. There is one way, and we need to stridently, stand up for that. So, when Jesus says, this way is well pleasing, in your sight, it seems to me, to mean that the way of humility, teachability, and reliance upon the Lord, is well pleasing to the Lord.
[36:57] Again, it's not complicated, that. Quite often, when I stand here, and I've got my head around, some scriptures, and I think, actually, it's not complicated at all.
[37:10] If it's not complicated, why did it take me, so long to get there? Yeah. Yeah. Um, no, I suppose I should go back, to Matthew's gospel, and I nearly started reading to you, from John's gospel, which would have really, confused everybody.
[37:29] Matthew 11. So, we've got these final verses, of the chapter, and these should, these should console us, but not just console us, they should lead us, to an action.
[37:49] And the action, well, we'll read it first, and then we'll talk about the action. So, he says, come, this is verse 28, come to me, all who are weary, and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
[38:10] 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, for my yoke is easy, and my burden, is light.
[38:22] Um, before we deal, with anything else, just take a look, at, uh, do you know, I didn't write the, uh, verse down.
[38:33] I think it's Jeremiah chapter 6. I apologise in advance, if I'm wrong.
[38:52] Jeremiah 6. It's either Jeremiah 6, or Jeremiah 16. Jeremiah, I think it's 6, verse 16.
[39:05] Yes, it is. Jeremiah 6, verse 16. So this, this line, in your Bible, is a quotation, from Jeremiah 6, verse 16. And it says this, uh, thus says the Lord, stand by the ways, and see, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest, for your souls.
[39:28] And they said, we will not walk in it. Now, the writer here, um, Matthew, has, referenced, a verse, that only Jews, would pick up, as part of the, Old Testament.
[39:49] And he's picked a verse, from a passage, where, the Hebrews, could not find rest, because they would not, walk in the path, that they were told, to walk in. And what he's saying is, come to me, and you will find rest, for your souls.
[40:09] Again, not complicated, simple instruction. When you're struggling, to walk, the way you want to walk, to do what you want to do, come to me, and you will find rest, for your souls.
[40:24] Um, and when he says, come to me, all who are heavy laden, it's encouraging them, to do the opposite, of what these Jews, did in Jeremiah 6.
[40:38] Um, and, given the context, of everything, that we've read, I'm convinced, that this burden, that, you might be carrying, um, refers to a burden, of sin.
[40:53] Now, once again, I can't, I can't prove that, conclusively, but, the burden, that we carry, uh, you know, will I have a job, next week, am I going to be, made redundant, um, is there enough money, in the bank, for the shopping, all of those burdens, yes, they're burdensome, and yes, we should take, those burdens to the Lord, I'm not saying, we shouldn't, but I think, the burden, he's referring to here, is when you are, beset, by sin, and you can't, get out, from under it, uh, it seems to be, pursuing you, most of us, what we read in, uh, in earlier, Bible studies, on this, this same gospel, about the hog, that returns, to its wallowing, in the mire, and the dog, that returns, to its vomit, and we all have, the propensity, to be like that, and there are times, when we are, I don't know, what you feel like, when you do that, but I feel like, when will it ever stop, it's a burden, to me, um, so, he says, in response, what do you do, to get rid of this burden, he says, take my yoke, upon you, now, this is, an agricultural, or agrarian, reference, and what they used to do, with oxen, or any draft animals, was, if you had, a young, up and coming, draft animal, that needed, to be trained, they would put it, in a yoke, with an older, more mature, and experienced animal, so you'd have, um, you'd have, yoked animals, and you'd have, the younger, and more inferior one, yoked, to the big, mature, capable one, and the idea was, that this one, would learn, from this one, and this one, being really big, and powerful, would cover, the weakness, of this one, so that was, the analogy, so what God, is saying, is not just, take my yoke, upon you, because that sounds, like a burden, doesn't it, it sounds like, take my yoke, haven't I got, enough problems, without another yoke, no, what he's saying is, come and be yoked, with me, let's pull, the plough together, and, that is, a relief, of burden, because, he's more powerful, than we are, stronger, than we are, more determined, than we are, more capable, than we are, when we take, his yoke, upon us, life gets, easier, for us, because, we're yoked, to the one, who cannot fail, and therefore, in the end, we cannot fail, does that make sense, so, take my yoke, upon you, and learn, from me, that's what this, partnership is about, right, take my yoke, upon you, and the little one, learns, from the big one, we need to learn, from our father, in heaven, and not from any, other source, whilst he's yoked, to that big oxen, he is, not learning, from any other source, he's just doing, whatever that oxen, leads him to do, and that, that certainly, ought to be, our position,
[44:23] I think for me, the important thing, is once yoked, that less capable, animal has absolutely, no control, whatsoever, over where he goes, he's given up, all control, now of course, in the case of an oxen, somebody's, put that yoke, what he's saying is, what he's saying is, yoke yourself, to me, so, give up your own ability, to steer the plough, and let him, steal it, I hope that, I hope that's been helpful, Father, your word is amazing, and we thank you, that, once we start to dig into it, we get so blessed, and it reveals so many, things to us, and we have so many of those, what, all of us at times, call light bulb moments, when, there is, a light goes on, and we, I never saw that before, thank you Lord, that you've provided, absolutely, sufficiently, in your word, so that we have everything, we need for life, and godliness,
[45:30] Father, thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.