Matthew
11:28
Mat
11:28 Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat
11:28 Come
unto me, all ye that labor (κοπιάω
kop-ee-ah'-o)and
are heavy laden (φορτίζω for-tid'-zo),
and I will give you rest.
κοπιάω
kop-ee-ah'-o
……. κοπιωντες
Thayer Definition:
1)
to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil or burdens or grief)
2)
to labour with wearisome effort, to toil
φορτίζω
for-tid'-zo………. πεφορτισμενοι
Thayer Definition:
1)
to place a burden upon, to load
2) metaphorically to load one with a burden
Mat 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Mat
11:1 And
it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples,
he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
Mat
11:2 Now
when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples,
Mat
11:3
And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for
another?
Where
is Yochanan (john)? Do good and
righteous men and women get thrown innocently into prison?
How would we feel if we were as faithful as Yochanan (john) was and wind
up condemned to death? Is this a pattern for us to take heed to since
Yochanan
had the spirit of Eliyahu (elijah) and we too are promised that same Spirit?
Lets
see Yeshua’s answer
Mat
11:4 Jesus
answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do
hear and see:
Mat
11:5 The
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the
deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to
them.
Mat
11:6 And
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Yeshua’s
answer was……….. the scriptures of prophecies concerning Himself.
What’s the significance of this unusual answer?
If you or I had been called upon to answer Yochanan (john) we most
probably would have made a very emotional plea to him to
“Please
don’t give up your faith in Him”.
The
very scriptures that should have been Yochanan’s confidence, will also be the
same scriptures that will be the indictment, on the judgment day, against those
who murdered Yochanan.
How
much weight does this put on the scriptures of prophecy, and all the scriptures
for that matter!!!
Mat
11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning
John, What went ye out
into the wilderness to
see? A reed
shaken with the wind?
Mat
11:8 But
what
went ye out for to see?
A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are
in kings' houses.
Mat
11:9 But
what
went ye out for to see?
A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
Mat
11:10 For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy
face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Yeshua
had just used the scriptures of prophecy to assure Yochanan and to condemn the
wicked murderers of the righteous prophet, now He is quoting the scriptures of
prophecy again, why??
If
the people in the city where He was teaching had understood the scriptures of
prophecy, they would have known who Yochanan was (as well as Yeshua) and would
have demanded his release from his murderous conspirators. Consequently these
folk Yeshua is speaking to also bear a responsibility.
Just
how much responsibility do we have regarding the scriptures of prophecy?
Will
anyone be able to use the excuse “Well I didn’t know.”
Mat
11:11
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not
risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
These
are words of encouragement. Even the least in the kingdom age will be greater
than Yochanan was in this life.
Mat
11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat
11:13 For
all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Rereading
Vs.12 in another translation….
Mat
11:12 From the time of Yochanan the Immerser until
now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been suffering violence; yes, violent ones are
trying to snatch it away. CJB
This
was the Centerpiece of the kingdom of heaven speaking and another very important
part was imprisoned, soon to be beheaded.
Would
you say beheading the innocent is violent???
If
Yeshua was speaking in the cities and towns of Israel as the account says, can
we not safely say there were those present who we would call religious, who
should at least know what the scriptures of prophecy were concerning
Yochanan’s mission??
Certainly
Herod was without excuse, he was supposedly from the tribe of Levi!!!
Why
were religious/violent men trying to hinder the kingdom of heaven then, and why
will religious/violent men in the near future try to hinder the kingdom??
Explain
Sihon King of the Amorites/pride of life.
Mat
11:14 And
if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come.
Mat
11:15 He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
These
verses speak very clearly for themselves.
Mat
11:16 But
whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the
markets, and calling unto their fellows,
Mat
11:17 And
saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto
you, and ye have not lamented.
Mat
11:18 For
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
Mat
11:19 The
Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and
a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is
justified of her children.
Here
again Yeshua is referring to the same scriptures of prophecy concerning Himself
that he had used to assure John that He is YHWH in the flesh.
Vs.19
in a more understandable style….
Mat
11:19 The Son of Man came, eating freely and drinking
wine -- so they say, `Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors
and sinners!' Well, the proof of wisdom is in the actions it
produces."
What
actions were being produced in Yeshua’s life???
The
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the
deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them
These
folks were not believing the scriptures of prophecy either, even though
religious!!!
Since
every man believes something, what would you say they were believing???
Sihon
king of the Amorites has a major hold on the people as well as most of the world
today.
Mat
11:20 Then
began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done,
because they repented not:
Mat
11:21 Woe
unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which
were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Mat
11:22 But
I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of
judgment, than for you.
Mat
11:23 And
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell:
for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
Mat
11:24 But
I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the
day of judgment, than for thee.
Can
we begin to see that these cities and the people in them believed any and
everything but what the scriptures taught?
Maybe
its not such a new thing that people will believe what others say above what the
scripture says.
Sihon
is truly alive and well today
Mat
11:25 At
that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes.
Mat
11:26 Even
so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Mat
11:27 All
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the
Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to
whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Many say these verses are teaching predestination, but it is
evident that Yeshua is looking for an honest heart that will admit when it is
wrong!!!! It is difficult to simply say, “I was wrong.” And then seek
forgiveness.
A
childlike spirit, to simply believe what our Father says without adding man’s
interpretations and commentaries is what he is looking for in us.
Mat
11:28 Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat
11:29 Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat
11:30 For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What would a childlike heart be laboring and
heavy laden for????
Would he be rebellious of the yoke?
How many of our brethren in the new covenant
church resent the yoke (torah)
Sihon, king of the Amorites has most of them
convinced that the law, Torah, is totally irrelevant and defunct.
These verses are a gracious invitation by Yeshua to us to bring our
selves to him as we struggle, labor, and are heavy laden with our unbelief.