Thoughts from Matthew 11…
What will keep you from Jesus?
We have our ideas of what it means to come to God, thinking that God only wants us if we are good enough. We need to live a good life. We need to help others who are in need. We must go to church and pray a lot. We need to be kind and gracious to each other.
It is as if we are saying that God will take us only if we are nice or good enough!
But in Matthew’s Gospel Account, Jesus takes time from His teaching to call out to those who need Him. The kingdom of heaven is not about who is rich, who is smart, who is powerful, nor who is well educated. It is not even for the religious, but for those who are weary and worn down. It is for those who trust in Jesus Christ.
He doesn’t call the religious and the devout — instead, He sends them a warning.
He doesn’t call the smart and clever — instead, He shows His wisdom to the simple ones.
And finally, He doesn’t call the hard workers to earn their way into His Kingdom. Instead, He calls the weary and overloaded.
Just as in His Sermon on the Mount, He didn’t come for the successful and powerful, He came for the broken and grieving. Only the needy ones can know what it really means to trust in Him!
What does it mean to come to Him?
It means that we must first repent. No matter how spiritual or religious we may act, we need to turn from our own ways and follow Him.
It also means that we need to trust Him like a child. We can only know Him as He reveals Himself to us.
And finally, it means to come to Him for rest. He will take away our overwhelming burden if we only come to Him. We still have the responsibility to obey and follow Him, but He promises that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:20-30
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “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. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 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. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”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; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 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. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Sapphire Sky 