Matthew - 12

Lord of the Sabbath
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3 He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

11 He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

God's Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope."

Jesus and Beelzebub
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.

30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

Jesus' Mother and Brothers
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Matthew 11 - Switch yokes

Have you ever felt totally exhausted? Wiped out physically? Emotionally spent?

The picture (above) is of Liudmila Kalinchik of Belarus. Here she is on the finish line after the women's biathlon 15 km individual race at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Weary doesn't begin to capture how she's feeling does it?

We don't generally feel this extreme exhaustion do we? Though life can be busy can't it? Lately life's been busy around here. I've found myself feeling a little burdened and a lot weary! In the midst of it I've been 'hearing' those verses at the end of the chapter running through my head: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest". "Come to me!" In the middle of the hectic pace and weariness these words are continually being whispered in my heart.

I'm tired today. Weary without a doubt. And so I've been wondering if Jesus really meant 'rest' in the physical sense of the word. Doesn't it mean 'restoration' - a restored relationship between us and God? Rest for our souls. It seems they often go together don't they? There isn't much physical rest if our souls are in turmoil. And sometimes our physical exhaustion causes our heart to feel burdened.

I looked up the Greek word 'rest' for Matthew 11:28 hoping to expand my understanding of Jesus' meaning and found the other English words used to translate 'rest' in this verse are: 'ease' and 'refresh'. There is definitely the idea of physical rest in the meaning.

God invites us to come to Him to 'ease' our situation. Not necessarily to remove it or to take us out of it but to ease it. How? I think that comes in the second invitation. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (v29, 30)

It's a switching of 'yokes'.

Long before Jesus' invitation the Israelites were yoked. In the Old Testament we're reminded of this by the reference to the yoke of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 6:6) and by the yoke of oppression of other nations (Isaiah 9:4). Yokes that were removed by God. By the coming of Jesus the Pharisees had produced their own type of yoke by their expansion of and strict adherence to the law: a religion unlike anything God ever had in mind for His people - or for us. The apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia and talks about the yoke of this un-Christlike religion.

Galatians 4:8&9 5:1
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Being yoked with Jesus is a great metaphor. If we think of the picture of two oxen linked together by the wooden bar of a yoke, both pulling the weight of the plow, neither having to do all the work, not a lone oxen, a pair. We can draw a lot of comfort from that picture and from the reality of being joined with Christ.

Sometimes though the burden can get in the way of the reality can't it? I think perhaps this happened to John the Baptist. In prison he became uncertain of his calling. Alone, physically far from Jesus, he needed reassurance that he had done the right thing in proclaiming Jesus as the One to save His people.

The Pharisees, caught up in their legalism, failed to see that the answer to this burden was right in front of them! Jesus was there - alive - willing to remove that yoke of oppression.

Cities of people caught in their own form of yoke couldn't see what Jesus had to offer. Corazon, Bethsaida, Capernaum all privileged to have witnessed Jesus' miracles still chose to cling to their own strength in life rather than to embrace His way.

Only children - and those who were childlike in faith - were able to accept Him.

Jesus recognized the weariness of carrying unnecessary burdens. He offered them a better way. He invited them ... "Come to me ..."

He invited them.

He invites us.

What will we choose? Will we be blinded by the current thing that we are yoked to? Will we cling to it? Or will we accept His invitation, trade yokes, and live a life united with Christ?

Lift your eyes up from your current surroundings and see that He is calling to you, "Come to me!"

Say are you weary? Are you heavy laden?
Burdened with sorrow, weighted down with care?
Are you in bondage? Do you want deliverance?
Come, then, with me there is refuge from despair.

I know a fount where sins are washed away.
I know a place where night is turned to day.
Burdens are lifted, blind eyes made to see;
There's a wonder working power in the blood of Calvary. - Oliver Cooke