Powerful Savior of the Weak—Matthew 11:20-30
Jesus is a powerful Savior of weak people. Many people who saw his power at work failed to recognize it. The people who seemed the wisest missed it, but little children saw it, because only God could make people see who Jesus really was. Likewise, only Jesus can make people see who his Father is.
In these verses, we see Jesus' power, his revelation, and his rest: the power he wields, his revelation of God, and the rest that he gives.
There are two sides to his power. First is the mercy of his power. In the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cast out demons, and raised the dead. And he asked two things of these people: Repent, and believe in the gospel. But, on the whole, they did not. And for this Jesus firmly condemns them. He compares them to Tyre and Sidon, Gentile cities known for their arrogance toward God. He compares them to Sodom, a city famous for inhospitality, homosexuality, rape, and neglect of the poor.
What is so bad about Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum? Not that their sins were so conspicuous, but that they did so little with so much. They, not Tyre and Sidon, had seen Jesus Christ with their eyes. They, not Sodom, had seen the power of the Holy Spirit working through him. The Son of God had come to them, and they had rejected him.
Much will be required of the one to whom much is given. What about you? Is this the first thing you have read about Jesus, or have you read a lot of the Bible? Have you read some Christian books? Have you heard sermons, or watched videos to learn about Christianity? Have you been to Bible studies or Christian clubs or conferences? If this is the first time you are reading about Jesus, be careful: God will hold you accountable for what you do with what you learn. If you know a lot about Jesus, be even more careful: what difference does it make if you have done all these things but have not repented? The difference is that you will be judged with greater strictness.
Jesus uses his power for mercy: to make the deaf hear and the lame walk and the blind see. But there is another side to his power. He came not to indulge people but to change them. Many of the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were not willing to change, not even for God. So Jesus promised, "It will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Sodom than for you."
From this heavy note, Jesus turns to offer thanks to his Father. What is he thankful for, if his mercy has been rejected? It has not been rejected by all. "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth," he says, "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." Behind people's rejection of Jesus lay a deeper reality: at the end of the day, it is God himself who makes his Son known or not known. True, the people who rejected him did so because of their sin: but they did so in accord with God's just plan. And the little children who received him did so despite their sin, because of God's gracious plan.
And, while only God the Father can make Jesus known, only Jesus can make God known: "no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." This is an astonishing claim. It is a declaration of exclusivity like that of John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is the way, the only way.
If we stopped here, we might be tempted to a kind of laziness or at least passivity about knowing God. Let's imagine a Christian philosopher: we'll call him Languid Leroy. Languid Leroy has read Matthew 11:25-27, and he has accepted it as truth. And so he has decided not to trouble about God or worry about Jesus. He has decided to go about his life as he did before, because he says, "I can't do anything to know Jesus: the Father has to reveal him to me. And I can't do anything to know the Father: Jesus has to reveal him to me. So I will just relax, and, for the time being, ignore them both."
But Jesus will have none of this. Languid Leroy may feel no desperation to know God, no hunger for salvation, no thirst for the forgiveness of sins, but others do. And so Jesus calls: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Yes, only God can make you know Jesus, but do not let that stop you. Let it encourage you. Come! Only Jesus can make you know God, so learn from him! Yes, Jesus has already said that it can be hard to be a disciple, but don't worry: this "hardness" is soft enough for the weak and the needy, though it is too heavy for the proud and self-reliant. Yes, Jesus is the mighty, holy, eternal God, but in God's kindness he became gentle and lowly, so that we might draw near to him and have rest.
Indeed, the very Jesus who did such mighty works of divine power in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, neglected to use that mighty power on the hill where he died outside Jerusalem. For the weary and heavy-laden, he wearily bore his cross. For our sake he became, not just gentle and lowly, but weak, bruised, bloody, abandoned, agonized, and, at last, dead and buried.
And God proved that the so-called wise and understanding were wrong, and the little children were right, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Never become too wise to believe that God raises the dead. Never tell God how he can save or cannot save. God says that he saved by giving his only Son to die on a cross for sinners, that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life. Are you too smart to believe it? Then lay aside your useless, sinful, presumptuous wisdom, as Jesus laid aside his glory. Become a little child, and come to Jesus, and find rest for your restless soul.
Pastor Nate Jeffries