God’s Gracious Revelation
Matthew 11:25-27
The end of Matthew 11 contains one of the most beautiful and gracious invitations from Jesus in the whole Bible. Probably most of you are familiar with Matthew 11:28-30 and Jesus’ offer of rest for your soul. There Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28). We will examine that great invitation in detail next time. But before we can understand the offer of rest, we must understand the setting of the offer.
Matthew has made it clear that Jesus was the long-awaited King and Messiah. Through his genealogy and birth narratives, Matthew showed that Jesus is the promised King and that the prophecies of scripture are fulfilled in Him. And as Jesus grew into adulthood, and when the time was right, God sent John the Baptist to announce Him to the Jewish people. John proclaimed the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Everyone in Jerusalem, and the surrounding areas of Judea, and in the regions all around the Jordan River, came and heard John’s message. And when Jesus Himself came to be publicly baptized by John in the Jordan, even God the Father Himself confirmed His identity. He opened up the heavens, sent the Holy Spirit to descend upon Him in the sight of all, and announced, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 4:16-17).
What’s more, Jesus began to show Himself to them unmistakably as their King. He Himself took up the message of the gospel, preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He taught the principles of His Kingdom in the Sermon on The Mount (Matthew 5-7). It was a very public event, and we’re told that “the people were astonished at His teaching” (Matthew 7:28). And then, as if that wasn’t enough, He then publicly authenticated His message by performing one miracle after another demonstrating His power and authority.
Matthew indicates that people were aware enough of Jesus’ words and works to respond rightly to His call. We’re told such things as, “the multitudes . . . marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men” (Matt. 9:8), that “the report of this went out into all that land” (Matt. 9:26), that “they spread the news about Him in all that country” (Matt. 9:31), and that they said, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” (Matt. 9:33).
Jesus then gave power to His twelve disciples to “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,” and “cast out demons” (Matt. 10:8) and sent them throughout the land to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to proclaim, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:6-7).
Matthew makes it abundantly clear in his Gospel that Jesus had been presented as the promised King of the Jews; and God the Father in Heaven had sufficiently authenticated Him to the Jewish people. Clearly, the promised kingdom was at hand, and the King had come. There was no excuse for not knowing this. The called-for response was to repent and believe on Him.
And yet, the Jewish rulers, the religious leaders, and many people did not receive Him. They would not repent. They would not believe. Instead, they accused God’s prophet, John the Baptist, of having a demon and Jesus of being a glutton and a drunk who cavorted with tax-collectors and sinners (Matt. 11:18-19). This prompted Jesus to denounce the cities in which He had done most of His miracles for their unrepentance and unbelief. Listen to it again from Matthew 11:20-24,
20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” (Matt. 11:20-24).
So, when we come to Matthew 11:25-30, we must remember that the Lord Jesus spoke these words in the hearing of the proud, self-righteous Jewish people of His day. He had lived among them and performed many miracles in their midst, and yet, in spite of all that they saw, He found it necessary to rebuke them because they did not repent and believe in Him.
Matthew 11:25 begins, “At that time Jesus answered and said…” What question was He answering? I believe that Jesus was answering a question that arose, not so much from their mouths, as from the hearts and thoughts of those who heard Him. You can imagine the Jews who heard Jesus rebuke them thinking, “But how can it be that we would be judged more severely than the wicked cities of Tyre and Sidon and, of all places, Sodom? We are God’s chosen people! We have Moses! We have God’s law! We are righteous before God! How could it be that WE would be judged more severely than those wicked pagans?”
In response to their stubborn, unrepentant hearts, Jesus answered with a prayer to His Father: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.” (Matt. 11:25-26). It was a prayer that Jesus said out loud so that others could hear and learn from it. Much like what Jesus did in John 11 before He called Lazarus from the tomb, He lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me” (John 11:41-42). Jesus prayed these prayers, in part, so that men would understand divine truth of a profound nature as He communed with the Father.
What do we learn from Jesus’ words to the Father?[i]
1. God is Lord of heaven and earth.
Notice three things about how Jesus begins His prayer. First, He begins with praise, saying, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” The word translated “thank” or “praise” in some translations, means to “agree with,” “confess,” or “say the same thing.” Jesus is in full agreement with what His Father has done, and in that sense, He is thanking the Father for doing it. Second, Jesus addresses God as Father. This indicates the special relationship He has with God. God is uniquely the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. Jesus has this unique relationship with the Father because He is God in human flesh. So, it is no wonder that we find God the Son giving praise from a basis of unanimity to God the Father. Third, Jesus addresses God as “Lord of heaven and earth.” This reminds that God is sovereign over all things. There is nothing in heaven or earth that lies outside His gracious power. He is in control of the whole universe. God is the creator of heaven and earth and He is worthy of praise.
For what does Jesus thank the Father?
2. God has hidden these things from the wise and learned.
I take the “these things” to be the truths revealed in the powerful words and works of Jesus that lead a person to repentance and to salvation. They are all the things that Matthew has been presenting in the previous chapters concerning the kingdom of God. Some could hear Jesus’ words and see His works, and be impressed by them, but not be led to repentance by them. Others could hear and see, have their minds and hearts opened up to the truth of Christ, and believe unto repentance and salvation. To some, the saving potential of these things are “hidden“; and to others, the saving potential of these things is “revealed“.
Jesus says to the Father, “You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent” (Matt. 11:25). We may wonder why Jesus is glad that the things of the kingdom were hidden from the wise and the intelligent. Does that mean the kingdom is only for the foolish and the unintelligent? The terms wise and prudent here are used in the same way that Paul uses them in 1 Corinthians 1, where he writes,
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” … 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
The wise and prudent are those who think they can do it their own way. They do not think they need a Savior because they think they are already righteous. They think know it all and can do it all on their own. It is a reference to the foolish pride of man which schemes, plots, and develops his own religion so that he does not have to repent from sin to trust in God and His mercy and grace alone. This was exactly what the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time had done. They modified God’s Law to the point that they actually thought they were keeping it, and therefore were pleasing God and were deserving of His kingdom.
God has always resisted the proud and gave grace to the humble (Psalms 138:6; Isaiah 2:11, 12; Matthew 23:12; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The people who think themselves wise and refuses to repent and believe will find the truth about Jesus Christ and salvation hidden from them. Those who remained arrogant and wise in their own estimation were not granted access into the kingdom. God would not allow them to get it. God reserved the precious truth of the kingdom for the humble, and the frail, and helpless, for the “babes”.
3. God has revealed these things to little children.
What does Jesus mean when He says that God has revealed these things to “babes” or “little children”? Jesus is speaking here of the childlike qualities of humility and trust. God has hidden these things from the people who think they know it all, but he has revealed them to those who humbly trust God and His word rather than their own wisdom or strength. It is similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 18: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3-4).
Why did God choose to reveal these things to the humble and trusting rather than the proud and self-reliant? Jesus finishes off His prayer in Matthew 11:26 by saying, “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.” In other words, it is God’s choice. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and He gets to choose to whom He will reveal spiritual truth. And He reveals it to those who are humble and trusting.
We may struggle with the idea of God’s choice being strictly on the basis of His own good will. But in the end, we must also be humbled by it, and take notice of the fact that our Lord Jesus didn’t struggle with it at all. He set the example for us when He thanked and praised the Father for it.
Whenever we encounter this doctrine in the Scriptures, I’m always fearful that someone may misinterpret it. They may come away thinking that there’s no way to know for sure that they are among those that God has chosen to reveal kingdom truth to in a saving way. They may come away with fears and doubts and uncertainties. That’s why I am so grateful for what the Lord said next.
In Matthew 11:27, Jesus – it seemed to me – ceases to pray and then makes a set of affirmations before all that heard Him. And these affirmations show us that the Father sovereignly reveals kingdom truth in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.
4. God reveals Himself in Jesus Christ.
Here, God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility meet in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus makes four affirmations in this verse.
A. All things are delivered to Jesus by the Father
Jesus says, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father . . .” (Matt. 11:27). What a remarkable affirmation that is! Jesus is saying that God the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, has put all things under Jesus’ power and authority. Basically, Jesus is saying, “God has given Me charge of the whole universe.” And so, all those things that God is pleased to reveal come through Jesus.
In Psalm 2, speaks of the Father entrusting all things to the Son,
“I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession’” (Psalm 2:7-9).
After Jesus death and resurrection, before He ascended to the Father, our Lord told His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). So, just as the Father is “Lord of heaven and earth“, He has entrusted that lordship to His Son. He affirms that He is the final authority in all things, including the salvation of men.
B. No one knows the Son except the Father.
A second affirmation He makes is, “. . . and no one knows the Son except the Father.” Here, Jesus speaks of His deity. Only God the Father truly knows Jesus the Son. Jesus is the infinite, majestic, eternal Son of God. He was with God in the beginning, and He was God. All things were made through him; without Him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3).
But no one looking at Jesus 2000 years ago could have known that. He looked just like an ordinary man. Even John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, did not recognize Him on his own. God had to reveal it to him. At Jesus baptism, we’re told that the heavens opened up, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. And then, we’re told that the voice of the Father spoke down from heaven upon the earth; and He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Peter will make the confession about Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Do you remember what Jesus said in response? “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). Jesus is the Son of God, and He is not known apart from the Father’s gracious act of disclosing Him to the world.
C. No one knows the Father except the Son.
But a third affirmation shows us that there is such a relationship of loving mutuality between the Father and the Son that, just as the Son cannot be known without the Father, neither can the Father be known without the Son. Jesus says, “Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son . . .” This highlights Jesus as the Mediator between His Father and us.
John, in His Gospel, tells us that “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). There is no relationship with the Father apart from the Son. And as Jesus once said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . .” (John 14:9).
What a wonder of God’s grace it is, then, that the Father sent His Son to became a Man and walk among men; so that now, men can know the Father through the Son!
D. The Son reveals the Father to people.
And this leads us to a final affirmation; “. . . and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” This highlights our Savior’s role as the mediator between God and men. There is such a mutuality between the Father and the Son, in fact, that the Bible can tell us, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all . . .” (1 Tim. 2:5-6a).
Only Jesus can reveal the Father. And to whom does Jesus choose to reveal God? To those who are humble and trusting, to the little children rather than the wise and the learned.
And isn’t it good news that at this point, knowing the sovereignty of God in hiding and revealing salvation in His Son Jesus Christ, that Jesus then goes on to say, “Come to Me, all you 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” (Matthew 11:28-30).
That’s a genuine invitation. He who has all authority given to Him by the Father, and who is Himself known of the Father, and who Himself reveals the Father to whomever He chooses, and who possesses the exclusive role of Mediator between God and Man, says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden . . .”
The invitation is open to all who will humble themselves before God and come trusting in His Son. And if you take Jesus up on His offer, and sincerely come, He will give you rest for your soul, forgiveness of sins, a relationship with the Father, and eternal life.
Take His invitation; and thank Him!
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[i] Ray Fowler, Rest for the Weary, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/rest-for-the-weary/. I adapted Fowler’s outline for some points.
