Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19960623.htm

MATTHEW: JESUS AS ISRAEL'S MESSIAH AND HIS MESSIANIC KINGDOM
Part IX: Christ's Messianic Kingdom Certified
D. Messiah's Certification By His Sovereign, Gracious Call With Inclusive Solutions For All
(Matthew 11:25-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. The world over, people are seeking peace and rest of mind. However, even precious few believers find it.
    2. Matthew 11:25-30 dwells on the way Jesus proves His Messianic credentials by calling all men to find in Him by grace the complete peace and rest of mind and soul for which the world yearns. It calls out to us as a reminder that if we as believers lack any rest or peace of mind, we must adjust one of several specific ways to Christ, the true Messiah, and only by adjusting properly to Him can we find peace and rest.
  2. Messiah's Certification By His Sovereign, Gracious Call With Inclusive Solutions For All.
    1. Item One - Jesus alone, sovereignly reveals truths of Messianic blessings for man, Mtt.11:1-19, 27.
      1. In an extended section, Jesus defended John the Baptizer's and His own ministries as the Messianic Forerunner and Messiah respectively, Mtt. 11:1-19.
      2. Jesus then concluded that He alone was the vehicle the Father had sovereignly chosen to use to reveal God's Messianic blessings to man, Mtt. 11:27:
        1. Jesus had the heavenly Father's truths of blessings delivered unto Him by the Father, Mtt. 11:27a.
        2. In fact, no man would have intimate knowledge of the heavenly Father except through Himself, 27b.
    2. Item Two - The Father sovereignly chose to reveal these blessed truths through Jesus not unto those who were self-sufficient, but to those who in childlike faith came to Christ, Mtt. 11:27c & 11:25.
    3. Item Three - Jesus would give His rest and peace to those who ceased their own toils to find it, choosing rather to come to find it in Christ by grace, Mtt. 11:28a,c.
      1. The verb "labor" is kopiontes, meaning those tired from hard toil or self-effort, B.K.C., N.T., p. 45.
      2. In finding peace and rest, one must abandon his own toils to that end and come to Christ in faith, 28a,c.
    4. Item Four - Jesus would give His rest and peace to those who ceased trying to please the expectations or demands that other people placed upon them and instead yield to His will and sovereignty regarding what to do and what not to do, Mtt. 11:28b,c.
      1. The word translated "heavy laden" is pephortismenoi in the passive tense, meaning "those loaded down" (Ibid.). It speaks of people burdened by the guilt-laden duties placed on them by the religious leaders of Jesus' era, Mtt. 23:4; Acts 15:10. So, to find peace and rest, one had to resist seeking to please the extra-biblical expectations of man and come to Christ, yielding to His will, Mtt. 11:28b,c.
    5. Item Five - Jesus would give His peace and rest to all those who then learned to live by grace, 11:28-30.
      1. Verses 29 and 30 are a figure of discipleship, Ryrie St. Bible, KJV ftn. to Mtt. 11:28-30.
      2. However, discipleship with Christ involves learning about living by God's power and leading instead of by man's self-sufficiency or by self-effort so that when one is yoked with Christ, Jesus bears the load and not the disciple who is in the yoke with Him, Mtt. 11:29-30:
      3. We use an example out of the life of Timothy as follows:
        1. Paul addressed the needs of struggling Timothy who was in tears over his pastorate, cf. 1 Tim. 1:3.
        2. Timothy was to offset his trepidation of people by working with the spiritual gift that GOD supplied (1:6-7) and handle persecution in the Holy Spirit's power (1:8) and preserve his doctrinal beliefs by the Holy Spirit's power (1:14) as his calling was plotted out from eternity past (1:9) and could only be successful if Timothy utilized these spiritual resources GOD had thus supplied for him to use.
        3. In this way, Timothy was to be strong in the grace that was in Christ Jesus, 2 Tim. 2:1.
Lesson: If we are lacking rest or peace of mind, (1) EITHER we have not looked to Christ's will and Word as our sole authority for such solutions, (2) OR we have not ceased from our self-sufficiency (3) OR self-help efforts in preference for trusting God's Word in a matter, (4) OR we are subjecting ourselves to unbiblical expectations of man, (5) OR we are not properly utilizing the spiritual gift given to us for service or the Holy Spirit's power to handle specific matters of need as we should!

Application: As a believer, check all of these areas and correct as needed to find peace and rest!