The Great Invitation (A Study of Matthew 11:28-30) Part 10a (A Two-Part Conclusion)

Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Let’s look at that famous text once again:

We’ve seen the context of this incredible invitation, noticing some of the Koiné Greek and its implications. We began to outline the passage, observing that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one, inviting not all, but all who are weary and burdened. We’ve also seen two great promises and two challenges to work and to learn of Him. In our last post we looked at His promise of SOUL-REST.

I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”

II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”

III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

     A. We are to WORK!

         and —

     B. We are to LEARN!

IV. A Second Great Promise — of Soul-Rest (v. 29)

As we conclude our study, let’s notice —V. A Great Explanation (v. 30)

Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This seems to be Jesus’ explanation as to why we should come to Him to work and to learn. Or it is the reason why we should come to Him at all.

ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν.

A. His Yoke Is Easy

This word “yoke” has already been used in verse 29 – “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” We going to wear somebody’s yoke — why not Christ’s? What makes His yoke different?

We are told that His yoke is “easy.” Yes! That’s what we want! An EASY yoke! But what’s meant by that word χρηστὸς?

The term χρηστός is used 7 times in the New Testament and has the meaning of “fit for use,” “useful,” “mild,” “pleasant.” It is opposed to harsh or hard or bitter. It is the opposite of burdensome here in Matthew 11:30. We read of the kindness of God in Luke 6:35 and Romans 2:4 and I Peter 2:3 (“you have tasted the kindness of the Lord”). We are told in Ephesians 4:32 to “be kind” to one another.

Apparently this word χρηστός (an adjective) comes from the verb chraomai, a word meaning “employed” or “useful” or “better.”

[I can’t help but observe that this word is very close to the word for Christ: χριστος. Χριστος is χρητος!] (We will look at the second descriptive term “light” in our last post).

Today’s Challenge: If you are a Jesus-Follower, do you give the impression to others that your being yoked to Christ is an act of His kindness? Do you feel useful to Him? Has that pleasantness somehow dissipated? If so, why?

 

The Great Invitation (A Study of Matthew 11:28-30) Part 7

Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Here’s that famous text for us to examine once again:

We’ve looked at the context of this incredible invitation and some at the Koiné Greek and its implications. We started to outline the passage and saw that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one: He invites not all, but all who are weary and burdened.

I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”

We then noticed the second major truth in this text: Jesus’ promise!

II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”

The rest that Christ gives is refreshment, a soothing. One may cease from his trying to work for his salvation — and find rest in Christ! We can’t refresh ourselves.

Let’s move on and see Christ’s great command in verse 29.

III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

A. We are to WORK!

The term “yoke” is used twice in our passage. A “yoke” was used to bind two animals together to help them . . . WORK! There is work to be done for Christ — and we get yoked together with Him! The Apostle Paul tells us that we are “co-laborers with Christ” — “For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (I Cor. 3:9). We are also called “God’s co-workers” in 2 Corinthians 6:1.

(In our next post we will see that we are to LEARN!).

Today’s Challenge: Has it dawned on you that you are a co-worker with Christ, yoked with Him to do God’s will in this world? Wow. It is only by His grace that we can be partners with the Second Person of the Trinity! Praise Him for this truth today!

 

This Is No Yoking Matter! (A Study of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Friends: If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that my friend Frank (in New Jersey) and I have been doing an email Bible study for over a year. We read the same chapter every day for a week — and then send a brief email of encouragement to each other. We’ve completed most of the epistles of the New Testament — and it’s been a great discipline for both of us.

We’re now working our way through 2 Corinthians. Here’s my outline for several verses in chapter six:

This Is No Yoking Matter! (A Study of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

This is a very famous passage of 2 Corinthians. I remember verse 14 being wielded against me as a teenager when I would even entertain the thought of dating an unsaved person (good advice)! My elders would say, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (KJV)! Their intention — and their advice — were well-grounded in God’s Word. If a Christian dates a non-Christian, they will likely marry a non-Christian! Sometimes they would add the verse from Amos 3:3- “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

The immediate context of this verse has to do with spiritual fellowship. Notice the contrasts:These opposites are well-chosen. The opposite of righteousness is wickedness, the opposite of light darkness. The devil is the opposite of Christ. There is a present (and will be an eternal) difference between a believer and an unbeliever. And the temple of the true God has nothing in common with idols!

When it comes to spiritual fellowship, the believer has nothing in common with those who don’t know Christ! One commentator writes, “Christians should be separate from the wicked world, as Christ was separate from all the feelings, purposes, and plans of Satan.” The term “Belial” (“Satan” in the Syriac; used only here in the New Testament) is the god of this world. The term is used very often in the Old Testament to express men notoriously wicked and scandalous, Deu 13:13 Judges 19:22 1 Samuel 1:16 2:12 25:17 2 Samuel 16:7 2 Chronicles 13:7.

Granted, we are not to cast our lot with the wicked (Psalm 1), but this does not mean that we can’t be a friend of sinners like the Lord Jesus! This passage does not mean that we are to become monks who live in caves and have nothing to do with the world. But we are not to yoke ourselves, bind ourselves, with those who oppose God and the things of God.This would include marriage as well as business ventures.

True, when it comes to spiritual fellowship, we have nothing in common with unbelievers. But when it comes to being human, we have much in common with those not yet in God’s family. And we can befriend them for Christ’s sake!

Today’s Challenge: Don’t seek your spiritual fellowship with those who don’t know Christ! There’s nothing there. Find your spiritual nourishment among the people of God so you can reach those who aren’t yet the people of God!

 

Psalms of My Life (Psalm 62)

Psalm 62

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

³ How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
⁴ Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.^[b]

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God^[c];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

⁹ Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
¹²     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”