Day 2
The passage I read was Matthew
11:25-30
You can find that passage here:
My summary of the passage is this:
Here Jesus
thanks His Father God for making the truth known to the disciples but allowing
the prideful and knowledgeable to remain blind to it. He then tells the disciples that He knows the
Father and can chose to reveal the Father to people. Also, He says He will give rest to the weary
and burdened that would come to Him. He
then wraps up this passage advising that His yoke is easy and His burden is
light and He is gentle and humble in heart.
We can come to Him and receive this yoke instead of the heavy yoke we
currently carry, and we can learn from Him.
These are my
words and as such cannot be taken as anything other than my attempt to
summarize this passage. Please do not
take my words as a replacement for the actual written word of God. Please read the passage for yourself if you
seek the complete knowledge and wisdom found in the Word and accept no
substitute.
As I reflect:
Absolutely
awesome! A great deal is actually
covered in this passage so I will try to keep my reflection notes short as to
not babble on for pages. 1st,
starting in verse 25 Jesus is speaking to God aloud. The word says “answered” which implies the
communication occurring both ways between this person of the trinity and God
the Father. Jesus is thankful that God
chose not to reveal to the wise and prideful but to the “babes” which is the
word used here to represent the disciples because of their lack of
education. It’s actually a bit sarcastic
in the light of making fun of the view that the self righteous prideful
educated men would have called the disciples who actually were more in the know
then them. The knowledgeable men of the
time were those that rejected Christ and His miracles. It was those that were willing to follow as
children and that God chose to reveal to us these things that were enlightened
as to the true nature… nay, super nature of this person of Jesus Christ. I believe this for me can be taken as a
reminder to not allow the search for knowledge or obtaining of knowledge to
become such a self serving pride that I might become blind to the truth found
in approaching our Lord as a child.
In verse 28
Jesus goes on to speak to the disciples regarding the difference in the yoke of
the world and the yoke that He offers. The
yoke of the world, this heavy burden that He speaks of is more fully explained
in Matthew 23:1-4 as He warns
against the Pharisees’ hypocrisy.
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His
disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they
tell you. But do not do what they do,
for they do not practice what they preach.
They tie up heavy cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s
shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’”
Matthew 11:28 sticks out most to me in this passage as
He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest.” This simply has to
make it into the memorization verse pile for the family. Such a useful thing to know and use when we
feel heavy burdened by this world. We
must remember as Christians that we carried the burden of this world. It was a huge burden upon our backs and we
have been relieved of that burden upon coming to Christ. He took away the troubles of this world and
replaced it with His yoke. We now no
longer toil in vain. We have rest for
our souls in knowing that the day our body dies, our spirit will be led out
from the body and into our Heavenly home in the presence of our Lord. Until that time, we have the joyous knowledge
that God is with us now through His Holy Spirit that guides us, leads us away
from temptation, gives us outs when we are tempted beyond what we can bare,
helps us carry when our burdens seem heavy, lights our path when we don’t know
which way to step, comforts us when we have been persecuted, and allows us the
many opportunities for growth and joy through trials and tribulations that the
world causes but just doesn’t understand.
And to think He says, “come”, thus inviting and driving away none. You are invited if you have not yet taken
hold of His yoke. It is freely offered
for you to exchange now your burdens for the light yoke of the Lord. Let none draw anyone to themselves but let us
draw the unbeliever to Jesus who says, “come”.
My response to the Lord:
Lord, I
thank you for your free offer and I fully accept. Thank you that because of your mighty
redeeming blood I do not have to walk in this world alone. I can come to you and lay my heavy burdens at
the foot of the cross, and walk in your ways.
I thank you that you allow me to disciple after you. I thank you that you would even hear me but
all the more that you would forgive me, be merciful to me, take my cold heart
out and placing your heart in me heal me, and call me your own. This yoke is truly easy when compared to the
yoke of the world. You took that weight
on for me and now when I fall or begin to struggle, you are there to carry me
that I would not be left behind. May I
never again approach the foot of the cross and pick back up my burdens. May my walk as one of your children reflect
my thankfulness for what you have done in adopting and teaching me your ways
Father. May I always give you praise and
all honor and glory due your name. In the
great and mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
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