An Open Invitation

Matthew 11:20-30

Context: Matthew 11:1-30

Memory Verse: Matthew 11:28

Main Idea: Jesus invites anyone willing to follow Him to join His kingdom.

FIRST THOUGHTS

     Many of us regularly receive invitations to weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, anniversary celebrations, graduations, and other social gatherings. If connected to the internet, we may get invitations to buy products, subscribe to publications, contribute to charities, visit vacation sites, and join travel groups. We get informal invitations to join friends for lunch or to meet them for coffee and conversation. The sheer volume of invitations dictates that we must be discerning and disciplined in choosing those we accept. Many invitations come with a sense of obligation attached to them due to ties of friendship or family loyalty. Others are more elective, giving us greater latitude to refuse them.

List the different kinds of invitations you have received in the past month. How do you determine which to accept and which to decline?

     Jesus offered His hearers a special invitation: come to Him and find rest from their weariness. This invitation included the opportunity to learn from Him and serve alongside Him. The issue was whether the people would accept or decline Jesus’ invitation.

I. UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT

Matthew 11:1-30

     Matthew continues to alternate between extended teaching discourses and segments devoted to Jesus’ miraculous deeds. Matthew 8:1–9:34 highlighted Jesus’ miracles, each emphasizing Jesus’ authority. Another extended teaching section was in 9:35–10:42. Chapter 11 opens with a brief summary of Jesus’ ongoing public ministry (11:1). The summary leads to the next narrative passage.

     Chapter 11 begins with John the Baptist, now in prison, sending his disciples to question whether Jesus was in fact the Messiah (11:2-6). Jesus took the opportunity to teach the crowds about John the Baptist’s identity. John the Baptist was an exceptional man and prophet and fulfilled the expectation of the appearance of an Elijah figure before the coming Day of the Lord (11:7-15).

     Israel’s growing rejection of Jesus’ ministry (11:16-19) prepared the way for Jesus’ harsh condemnation of three unrepentant cities in Galilee (11:20-24). Jesus praised the Father for revealing truth to the humble, comparing such people to trusting infants as opposed to those who considered themselves to be wise and learned (11:25-27). The chapter concludes with Jesus’ invitation to weary and burdened people caught up in a religion of law-keeping to find rest in a personal relationship with Him (11:28-30).

II. EXPLORE THE TEXT

A. Promised Judgment (Matt. 11:20-24)

²⁰ Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Verses 20-21

     Despite Jesus’ earlier popularity, it is clear at this point that fame was turning into rejection. The basis of Jesus’ rebuke in these verses was that these were towns that had witnessed the majority of His mighty deeds, and yet they did not repent. The judgment on these towns would be harsh because of the opportunities they had been given.

     Jesus employed the woe oracle format in order to announce the impending doom. In so doing, he borrowed the Old Testament prophetic tradition of announcing judgment looming on the horizon for Israel and its leaders. (For example, see Isa. 5:8-25; Jer. 23:1-3; Ezek. 34:1-3; and a series of five woes in Hab. 2:6-19.)

     The first woe was pronounced on the city of Chorazin. While the details of this ancient city are not known, it is often identified with Kerazeh, a city about two miles from Capernaum. This would make it about a two-hour walk from Capernaum. Woe was also pronounced on the city of Bethsaida, a neighboring city of Chorazin about three miles from Capernaum. Much more is known about Bethsaida. It was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44). It was the destination of the disciples when they found themselves in a boat in a terrible storm (Mark 6:45-52). It was also the site where Jesus later healed a blind man (Mark 8:22-23). Finally, it was a city to which Jesus withdrew to find rest (Luke 9:10). Most significantly, however, was the fact that Jesus had performed many mighty works in these cities and yet few of their inhabitants had repented.

Verse 22

     To highlight the harshness of the coming judgment on Chorazin and Bethsaida, Jesus compared them to a couple of ancient cities of Phoenicia that were known for sinning against God in grave fashion, Tyre and Sidon. These two cities were the object of numerous judgment oracles pronounced by Old Testament prophets (Isa. 23:1-17; Jer. 47:3-5; Ezek. 28:20-21). Jesus said, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. If God had allowed the people of Tyre and Sidon to witness the work of God through Jesus, as Chorazin and Bethsaida had, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes, two ancient symbols of mourning and repentance. The specific sins of Tyre and Sidon are not narrated. But regardless of their pride, injustice, greed, or immorality, the sin of Chorazin and Bethsaida was greater. What was the sin of the latter two cities? They had rejected Jesus—no small transgression.

Verses 23-24

     Jesus then turned His judgment toward Capernaum, the city that served as the epicenter of His Galilean ministry. The rhetorical question (will you be exalted to heaven?) reveals the presumption, pride, and audacity of a city that heard more of Jesus’ preaching and witnessed more of His miraculous deeds than any other city in Galilee. Yet the population had not turned to Jesus in repentance. As a result, Jesus depicted the coming doom on the city using two contrasts. First, rather than being exalted to heaven, they would be brought down to Hades. The word Hades is transliterated from the Greek hades, which translates the Hebrew sheol, meaning the realm of the dead. It would have been something akin to our contemporary term grave, but with more negative connotations, such as a domain of darkness and silence whose gates imprison. Thus, while Hades is not necessarily synonymous with the term for hell in the Gospels, gehenna, both terms imply judgment.

     The second contrast is between Capernaum and the infamous city of Sodom. Genesis 18–19 narrates the wickedness of Sodom and its twin city Gomorrah. Not even 10 righteous people could be found there (Gen. 18:23-32). In a stark illustration of Sodom’s immorality, the male population tried to gang rape the two angels who were staying in Lot’s home (19:1-5). As a result, God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah, raining burning sulfur down on them (19:24-25). Ezekiel mentions yet another sin of Sodom: “she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy” (Ezek. 16:49). Sodom’s sins were sexual immorality, pride, injustice, and lying. Yet Jesus declared that it would be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you What had Capernaum done to deserve such doom? They had rejected Jesus and His message, the gravest sin of all.

List in order the five most grievous and destructive contemporary sins. Based on Jesus’ teaching here, where should rejection of Jesus rank on the list?

B. promised revelation (Matt. 11:25-26)

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; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Verses 25-26

     Jesus thanked His Father that although many had been blinded to the truth, the truth had been revealed to others. We should not overlook the fact that Jesus addressed the eternal God as Father. While Jesus, the eternal Son of God, had taken on human flesh in His birth and had lived in every way the life of a human being (while remaining sinless), He did have a unique relationship with God. He was and is the only natural-born Child of God. Every other person who calls God Father has been adopted into God’s family through the redemptive work of Christ. Jesus has given us the authority to address God as Father, but no other will ever be the Son of God in the same way Jesus is.

     Jesus began His prayer of thanksgiving by declaring the Father Lord of heaven and earth, a phrase that declared God’s sovereignty over the entire creation. The basis for this assertion was God’s divine purpose in making known the truth taught by Jesus and the truth about Jesus to those who would receive it. God had hidden these things from the wise and understanding. While God’s sovereignty is strongly asserted in the image of God hiding these things, the language of free will is equally strong in verses 20-24, where judgment was coming on the residents of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because they had rejected the revelation God had given them.

     Even in verse 25 there is an undeniable connection between those who arrogantly think themselves wise and those who are blinded to God’s wisdom. The theme of wisdom hidden from those who think themselves wise appears frequently in the Old Testament (for example, see Job 12:2; Isa. 19:11-12; Jer. 8:8-9; Ezek. 28:3-12). Paul drew a direct relationship between those who arrogantly claim to have wisdom and knowledge and those who see the message of the cross as foolishness (see 1 Cor. 1:18-31).

     While hiding the things related to Jesus and His ministry from the wise and learned, God revealed these things to little children. Surely Jesus did not mean infants in a literal sense, but rather infants as a metaphor for those who are simple, humble, and childlike in the sense of a willingness to acknowledge dependence. Later in the narrative, Jesus stated: “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3-4). God’s revelation comes more readily to these. In response, Jesus expressed gratitude to God that the truth of the gospel has been revealed to those who are willing to receive it and believe.

     Verses 20-26 actually offer a wonderful balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Only those whom God calls can receive the message. And yet repeatedly Jesus invited His audiences to have ears to hear. It is a glorious mystery of God’s wisdom how both divine sovereignty and human responsibility are at work in salvation. There is no contradiction between the sovereign purposes of God and the need for a personal, volitional faith in Christ. We have certainly witnessed a robust debate over the past 25 years between those who tend more toward divine sovereignty and those who emphasize more the role of human responsibility. The reality is that Scripture affirms both are present in salvation. Craig Blomberg captures the balance well when he states: “without God’s prior activity none could ever hope to be saved, but God saves only through the free human actions of preaching and conversion.” Rather than allowing this issue to divide, we must embrace together the glory of the mystery of salvation in the spirit of Paul: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33).

Think back to your own salvation experience. Can you recall people and/or events that God providentially brought into your life that served as catalysts for your conversion?

C. promised relationship (Matt. 11:27)

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.

Verse 27

     If the “these things” from verse 25 refer to the truth about Jesus and the truth taught by Jesus, the all things in verse 27 likely refers to Jesus’ authority. Thus, the “Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (v. 25) has entrusted all authority in heaven and earth to Jesus. This authority places Jesus in a unique position: no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him. As God’s unique Son, Jesus has exclusive knowledge of the Father, just as the Father has exclusive knowledge of the Son. Even more, Jesus has the authority to make the Father known to anyone He desires. Because Jesus alone has intimate knowledge of the Father, it is only through the Son that the Father can be known.

     The Gospel of John declares: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). Again, John records Jesus as follows: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Thus, the Father has given Jesus the sole authority and prerogative to make God known. If anyone attempts to approach God by any means other than through Jesus, he will not find Him.

     Jesus is nothing less than the Son of God in whom the fullness of Deity dwells. As such, Jesus is the living embodiment of all that it means to be God. The declaration that Jesus alone is truth sounds out of step with a world that celebrates religious diversity. The prevailing philosophy of the day insists it is not possible to elevate the truth claims of Christianity over the truth claims of other religions. “You have your truth and I have mine” reflects the spirit of the times. In the face of all this, Matthew 11:27 demands that the church have the courage to declare that some things are true for all people. Not all truth claims are equal. The basis for all truth is the confession that God, the source of all truth, can only be known through Jesus Christ His Son, who is Himself truth. To surrender this belief is a recipe for theological disaster.

How do you respond when people label Christians as narrow and uncharitable for asserting that Jesus is the only way to the Father, with no other alternative?

D. promised rest (Matt. 11:28-30)

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

VerseS 28-30

     Despite the fact that many in Israel had begun to reject Jesus and His call for faith and repentance, the invitation remained open: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. The call for all to come to me once again provides balance to the statement in verse 27 that only those that the Son chooses can come to the Father.

     The requirement is that they are willing to take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. The image of the yoke is ironic. The yoke was used to harness animals in order to pull a plow. The yoke symbolized labor, toil, burden, and submission. Yet those who accept Jesus’ invitation will find true rest and freedom. Jesus declared, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The “children” of verse 25 would recognize their burden and weariness and turn to Jesus. The “wise and understanding,” however, would likely cling arrogantly to the belief that they could figure it out for themselves.

     Twice in these three verses, Jesus promised rest to those who would accept His invitation. The rest Jesus alluded to would involve relief from all those burdens and stresses that weigh down the soul. The greatest burden of all was and is the weight of sin and the pressure to keep the entirety of God’s law in order to appease Him.

     The yoke of the law was anything but easy and light. Peter captured the contrast well in his address to the leaders of the Jerusalem church on the occasion of their debate about whether to impose circumcision, and thus the law, on Gentiles in order to consider them truly Christian. Peter asked, “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? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:10-11).

     The burden of the law is contrasted with the grace of Jesus in the very next passage in Matthew 12:1-14. The Pharisees challenged Jesus on whether it was appropriate to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath in order to feed His hungry disciples (12:1-8) and then whether it was proper to heal a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (12:9-14). These conflict stories present a stark contrast between the burden of life under the law against the grace, mercy, and rest of a life committed to Jesus.

Jesus promises that following Him is a life of rest, serving Him is an easy yoke, and bearing His burden is light. What factors make this true?

KEY DOCTRINE

God’s Purpose of Grace

     Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end.

BIBLE SKILL

Use multiple passages to understand a major doctrine.

     The most important theological question we should ask of any text is “What does this text teach about God, His character, and His ways?” Read Matthew 11:20-24. What does this text teach about God? Now read Matthew 11:28-30 and Jesus’ words of care and hope. What does this text teach about God? Allow both sections to inform your understanding of the nature of God. What is the determining factor in whether God brings retribution or rest? How might you respond the next time someone pits God’s love against His wrath?