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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter eleven. Matthew chapter eleven. I'll just begin reading in verse 
twenty. Then he began to rebuke the cities 
in which most of his mighty works have been done because they did 
not repent. Woe to you, Corazin. 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. But I say to you, 
it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of 
judgment than for you. 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. But I say to you that it shall 
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment 
than for you. At that time, Jesus answered 
and said, 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. All things have been delivered 
to me by my father, and no one knows the son except the father. 
Nor does anyone know the father except the son and the one to 
whom the son wills to reveal him. 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for our Lord Jesus 
Christ and for the redemption that he accomplished at Calvary. 
We thank you for the covenant of grace and for your sovereignty. 
We thank you for election and predestination. We thank you 
for the offer of mercy through Christ our Lord. We thank you, 
Lord God, that you have drawn us. It was not we ourselves. 
It was you, Lord God, who caused us to know our sin and to know 
the Savior from our sin. And we rejoice in this truth, 
Lord God Most High, and we pray that it would always humble us. 
God, do forgive us for our pride. Do forgive us for our arrogance. Do forgive us, Lord God, that 
at times we believe that we deserve this. God, if we understand our 
Bibles rightly, all we deserve was hell and wrath and condemnation. We praise you for free and sovereign 
grace, and God, may it be our delight this morning as we consider 
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you would forgive 
us and cleanse us afresh in that precious blood and cause us to 
come into your presence with our hearts and our minds and 
our consciences being cleansed and purified and enable us, God, 
to think your thoughts after you. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, this morning, we're 
going to consider the theme, the sovereignty of God and the 
salvation of sinners, and we're going to focus primarily on verses 
twenty five to thirty. I did read the preceding section 
because it is part of the context. that we need to give attention 
to. But this text or this section or passage in verses 25 to 30 
does break down into three sections. And the first is simply a declaration 
of God's absolute sovereignty. And it comes in the context of 
prayer and praise, which I believe is very instructive for us. God's 
people. So we'll notice that in verses 
twenty five and twenty six. And then secondly, the mediatorial 
office of Christ is set forth in verse twenty seven. No one 
knows the father except the son. No one knows the son except the 
father. But Jesus, in his grand task 
as the mediator and as the surety of a better covenant, does bring 
men into a saving knowledge of our triune God. And then on the 
heels of this, which serves basically as a foundation, then Jesus gives 
the commands of verses 28 to 30, the command to come to him, 
the command to take his yoke, the command to learn from him. And then he gives blessed reasons 
and enticements and incentives as he issues forth these these 
wonderful commands will take up. First of all, the declaration 
of God's absolute sovereignty. And just so you know, the larger 
context, if you go back just for a moment to chapter nine 
at verse thirty five. Chapter 9, verse 35, sets for 
us the larger context in which our Lord Jesus here praises God 
for his divine sovereignty. Matthew 9, 35. Then Jesus went 
out or went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their 
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every 
sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the 
multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they 
were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Then 
he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but 
the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. So our Lord 
sees the multitudes. He sees them perishing in their 
sin, and he has moved to compassion for them. And then he encourages 
his disciples to pray to God. And then he not only says to 
pray, but Christ act. In chapter ten, beginning in 
verse one, he sends his disciples out to go and preach the kingdom 
of God. He sends them to go out and heal 
disease and to cast out demons and to preach repentance. So 
Christ recognizes the need. Christ tells the disciples to 
pray concerning that need. and then Christ acts upon or 
consistent with that need by equipping his disciples, giving 
them the necessary authority and sending them out on their 
task to preach and teach the gospel of the kingdom. He gives 
them very vivid instructions are explicit instructions in 
chapter ten and then when we get to chapter eleven These disciples 
return when we compare Luke's gospel and we compare the parallel 
to Luke. We see that the occasion was 
the same. Turn to Luke 10 for just a moment. 
Luke chapter 10, beginning in verse 17. Luke ten seventeen, then the 
seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject 
to us in your name. And he said to them, I saw Satan 
fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority 
to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the 
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, 
do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, 
but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. 
In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the spirit and said, I thank 
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these 
things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even 
so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. So it's the 
same occasion, the same prayer, the same context. Even here in 
Luke chapter 10, verses 13 to 16, we see the condemnation upon 
the cities that had rejected Christ. that had neglected to 
act upon the mighty deeds and the miracles that he had wrought. So, I say that again to highlight 
this. Go back to chapter 11, verses 
20 to 24. There is a specific condemnation 
that Christ issues forth to those who had witnessed his works and 
didn't repent. We need to learn from this section 
of Matthew 11, 20 to 24, just by way of an aside, that miracles 
don't change man's hearts. Miracles do not convert man. 
Miracles authenticate, miracles signify, miracles function as 
the grounds or means by which gospel preaching can take place. 
But in order for a sinner to be saved, God must change the 
heart. And in chapter 11 verses 20 to 
24, there is that statement that there are those who reject gospel 
preaching. There are those who reject gospel 
truth. The gospel cuts one of two ways. It either condemns those who 
reject or it blesses and gives great, great encouragement to 
those who receive it. So that's what we're dealing 
with in the context. Chapter 11, 20 to 24. is a condemnation 
for those who oppose and chapter 11 verses 25 to 30 is the blessed 
reception for those who come to the Lord Jesus Christ by grace 
through faith. Now again, notice in verse 25 
at that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth. He's praying. You notice the 
context of the parallel in Luke 10. It said he was rejoicing 
at this particular time. This is very important. Christ 
makes a statement in this passage that asserts unequivocally, without 
doubt or challenge, the absolute sovereignty of God. He praises 
God for hiding gospel truth. He praises God for revealing 
gospel truth. But in the context, he is not 
arguing. He is not debating. He is not 
trying to prove it is the case, but rather he is engaged in praise. This is where the Apostle Paul 
learned a similar disposition in Ephesians 1. When he sets 
forth the glory of the triune God in the salvation of sinners, 
when he extols God for sovereignty and for election and for predestination, 
he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
places in Christ. These doctrines aren't given 
primarily for us to fight over. They are given for us to worship 
because we are to take these truths of sovereignty and election 
and predestination. And it's to be like when you 
take your car to the gas station, you put gas in so that when you 
push the accelerator, your car can go. You take these doctrines 
of the sovereignty of God and you put them in the gas station 
of your heart, so that when you come in here on a Lord's Day 
morning, you don't sing praises to you. You sing praises to our 
triune God, the one who chose us, the one who predestined. 
Those things that are offensive to the natural man and to many 
professing Christians ought to be the heartbeat of God's chosen 
people to serve and to adore and to praise him. We ought not 
to be ashamed of these truths. We ought not to shrink back from 
declaring these truths. And when I say chosen people, 
I don't mean because of anything good in us. Let's just make sure 
we understand that we are chosen in Christ before the foundation 
of the world. That's the reality that God sets 
forth. CH Spurgeon says here is the 
spirit in which to regard the electing grace of God. Amen, 
a hundredfold. So many times people stumble 
over these mentions of God's sovereignty. In fact, this very 
text may cause you in our survey this morning to say, well, that's 
not really fair that God would have the audacity to hide gospel 
truth from the wise and the prudent. That just doesn't seem very right. Spurgeon corrects us. Here is 
the spirit in which to regard the electing grace of God. I 
praise you, Father. I praise you, Lord of heaven 
and earth. We come with joy in our hearts, 
imitating the Lord Jesus Christ. And also why I wanted to share 
or illustrate the larger context. Humanly speaking, at this point, 
the gospel ministry wasn't that successful. They didn't have 
megachurches. They weren't in a shopping mall. 
They didn't have a website that got, you know, a million hits 
a year. And yet Christ praises God for 
his sovereignty. I think John Gill hits the nail 
right on the head. He says this is an address to 
God by way of thanksgiving, glorifying and praising him, confessing 
and acknowledging his wisdom, power, grace and goodness discovered 
in the things he after mentions. So far was he from being discouraged 
and dejected at the poor success of the seventy and his ill treatment 
by the Pharisees and at the general impenitence and unbelief of the 
cities where he preached and wrought his miracles. He is abundantly 
thankful and admires the distinguishing grace of God in the calling of 
a few in those places. He's not going back to the drawing 
board. He is not going to the conference 
on how to win men to himself. He is praising his father. He 
is glorifying his God. He is full of joy in the Holy 
Spirit as he returns this praise to his God. And I think this 
does serve to highlight two things that we ought to avoid as reformed 
Christians. Two things we ought to shine 
as those who subscribe to the doctrines of sovereign grace. 
The first is what Dr. Talbot calls a Scottish revival. A Scottish revival simply means 
this. We preach the truth and everybody 
leaves our church. And we conclude everybody left 
our church because we preach the truth. Now, the offense of 
the cross is a reality. There will be those who are repelled. 
There will be those who leave our churches in mass when we 
preach sovereign grace. However, even at the time of 
Elijah, God had his seven thousand that did not bow the knee to 
bail. So we want to avoid the Scottish 
revival and think that somehow we are doing great things when 
we have our wife in the front row and we're simply preaching 
to her. Everybody hates the truth. Everybody 
despises us. We're doing the right thing. 
We want to avoid that. But also, we want to avoid this 
idea that thinks we can manipulate the Holy Spirit, that thinks 
we can hawk Jesus. that we can be technicians, that 
we can be performers, that we can promise people, if you come 
to church tomorrow, I'll swallow a goldfish and then we can lambast 
them into making a decision for Christ. Or we move them in with 
promise of food and drink and all sorts of things and then 
try to sell them a hard sale on to Jesus Christ. We want to 
avoid these extremes. We want to be faithful. We want 
to be like our Lord Jesus. We want to take accurately or 
we want to take consistently the biblical text and accurately 
expound it and understand it and live by it. It was Rabbi 
Duncan who said that Calvinism or hyper Calvinism rather is 
all house, but no door. Arminianism is all door, but 
no house. What we see Christ preaching 
is a house with a door. And it depends not on the will 
of man, not on the strength of the sinner, but on the sovereign 
discrimination and purpose of our God. Now, when I say discrimination, 
God is not a respecter of persons in terms of the rich or the white 
or the black or the whoever. But he is discriminating when 
it comes to the election of grace. All you need to do is read Romans 
9 to see something of that with reference to Jacob and Esau. 
That's our context. It is an attitude of praise. At that time, Jesus answered 
and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. The 
very terms that he uses to address the father with shows us his 
sonship to the Lord God, and it shows us God's absolute sovereignty 
over all things. He is Lord of heaven and earth. As Carson said, God is sovereign, 
free to conceal or reveal as he wills. And as we consider 
this declaration of absolute sovereignty, notice the praiseworthy 
actions. Why does Jesus praise the father? 
Why does Jesus thank the father? In the first instance, he says, 
because the father has hidden truth. He has hidden truth from 
the wise and the prudent. If you've ever stumbled with 
the sovereignty of God, I am here to tell you, you're not 
going to like this passage. In the context, it is gospel truth 
is not talking about physics calculus. Not talking about accounting, 
not talking about how to diagram an English sentence. These things, 
in context, are how sinners are made right with God Most High. 
He is speaking about the preaching of the kingdom of God Most High. The wise and the prudent here 
are those who are such in their own eyes. Those who esteem themselves 
as having been very accomplished. They don't need any other help. They live in a spirit of independence. 
They live in a spirit of autonomy. When the Lord God commands, they 
don't respond. They don't see themselves as 
having offended a holy God. They don't see all these things 
that we go on about as being that big of a deal, really. They 
don't see the necessity for the Son of God to come and offer 
himself up as a sacrifice. Couldn't there be a better way? 
Isn't there a more ingenious way? Isn't there a non-bloody 
way where we could affect reconciliation between God and sinners? That's 
the wise and the prudent. They have no need for gospel. They have no desire for gospel. And we need to remember here 
that Jesus is dealing with a race, not just the Jews in the first 
century, but the race of man worldwide is sinful. He's not dealing with innocent 
people that he is hiding gospel truth from. He is dealing with 
a race of sinners and rebels and covenant breakers. As D.A. Carson points out, for God to 
hide gospel truth from such persons is not unjust, but is an act 
of judgment itself. Let me just repeat that because 
we stumble needlessly. For God to hide gospel truth 
from a sinner is not unjust. It's not unfair. It is a sign, 
ultimately, of his judgment upon them. Why did Jesus speak in 
parables? Oh, because he liked to illustrate 
spiritual truths with a homely illustration or a parable or 
a teaching that we could all relate to. Yeah, he did. to read 
why he did the power why he spoke in parables. It was for judgment. 
It was for judgment. Those outside the kingdom don't 
receive these things. I mentioned Dr. Talbot earlier. 
He's the president of the seminary, which, by God's grace, I did 
finish the course. I know I neglected to say that 
last week again. I thank you for your prayers. 
I hope to hear back this week concerning the final disposition, 
and then it's all over. One of the things that he said 
in the block on evangelism and missions, he said, Jesus couldn't 
have been more conspicuous. He said, even if he wore a white 
T-shirt with a red cross. Could he be more conspicuous 
as the Messiah? I mean, imagine. He was born 
in Bethlehem, Ephrathah, Micah 5. He was born of a virgin, Isaiah 
9. He was the son of David. There's 
no lack of proof to substantiate Jesus claims to Messiah ship. He walked on water. He healed 
people. He raised the dead. The very 
claims he made himself would be completely outlandish unless 
he was who he said he was. He is saying, come to me and 
I will give you spiritual rest. Who but God can do such a thing, 
especially when we'll see that he's got Jeremiah 16 in his mind, 
in his heart, and that those old paths and that that true 
truth leads to a knowledge of Jesus Christ himself. He couldn't 
have been more conspicuous man and sin man under the dominion 
of Satan himself, but ultimately man under the hardening of God 
refused and rejected him. Wasn't for lack of proof, even 
in even in Corazon, even in Bethsaida, even in Capernaum, they saw glorious 
deeds done. They saw wonderful miracles, 
mighty acts. Did they repent? No. You hear 
people today, if God would just put in an appearance or God would 
do something miraculously, well, then I would believe. No, you 
wouldn't. Our brother brought out in the 
scripture reading, with men it is impossible. You don't just 
see an evidence and say, well, I think I'll believe on that 
now. We don't preach an impossible gospel. We preach the truth that 
with God, all things are possible and that he hides gospel truth 
from the wise and the prudent, but he reveals it under babes 
and praise him that he does so. Calvin said those are called 
wise and prudent, who swell with diabolical pride, cannot endure 
to hear Christ speaking to them from above. Amazing people that 
you have met before. Again, Brother Cam brought all 
these things out before people. We may have shared the gospel 
with that are heavy on our hearts that we pray for continuously. 
Well, we can pray for them continuously. Not that they'll have some sudden 
urge or impulse to do the right thing. But we pray to the one 
who has all power, who has all authority. Some have said that 
when you affirm predestination and you affirm election and you 
affirm sovereign grace, you rip the foundation out of gospel 
preaching. I say just the opposite. Without 
that firm foundation, how could any creature ever go and tell 
men to come to Jesus Christ and ever hope that it would actually 
be successful? It is because we have a predestinated 
God. And I just want to repent publicly. 
I know in the past, I have parroted that statement. That's a lot 
of peas right there. Parroted that statement where people say 
we need to believe like Calvinists, but act like Arminians. No, we 
don't. If Calvinism is true, then Arminianism 
isn't. And we do no one any favors by 
abandoning the truth and adopting a methodology which is inconsistent 
with the Bible itself. God is sovereign. He is able. He knows the power of his word. 
He says we're to be faithful and to tell man not that God 
loves them and has a wonderful plan for the rest of their lives, 
but that they are sinners. And if they come to Jesus, they 
will be saved. That's what we need to be about. 
We need to leave the results to God. We need to leave all 
the particulars to God. We need to faithfully undertake 
as Christians to witness, to shine his lights in a crooked 
and perverse generation, to hold forth the word of truth. Our 
churches need to make much of Christ and him crucified and 
preach the centrality of the cross. We need to be calling 
men and women and boys and girls to believe on him. who God made 
to be said so that men with us sinners could be the righteousness 
of God in him. The Lord Christ praised his father 
for hiding gospel truth. You have hidden these things 
from the wise and prudent, but he doesn't stop there and have 
revealed them to babies. He's revealed that it's not left. It is just. No one ever gets 
in the whole mission and purpose of Christ was to secure the redemption 
of these babes. These ones whom the Spirit comes 
and convicts and shows them their sin and shows them that they 
fall short and shows them that Christ alone is the Savior for 
sinners. You see, God's gospel cuts both 
ways. It is a saver of life unto life 
for those who are saved. It is a saver of death unto death. Paul says, Now thanks be to God 
who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses 
the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to 
God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and 
among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma 
of death leading to death and to the other, the aroma of life 
leading to life. And who is sufficient for these 
things? That's the reality. Our task 
is to faithfully proclaim God's task, God's privilege, God's 
desire, God's design, God's will is the salvation of sinners. 
So let us adopt the mindset of Christ when it comes to these 
matters. And then notice what our Lord 
says in verse twenty six. Even so, father, for so it seemed 
good in your sight. The NASB renders it. Yes, father, 
for this way was well pleasing in your sight. You ever met anybody 
who said, boy, it just doesn't sound right. You know, Adam and 
Eve, they eat the fruit. They fall into sin. You say that 
in them we die. We're all astray. We're all gone 
like sheep. And in God's grace and in God's 
mercy, he calls some to be saved. That just doesn't seem, doesn't 
seem right. Well, first of all, who are we 
to say what is right and what isn't? That's what got us into this 
mess. What happened to Eve? She started to think apart from 
God. She didn't think God's thoughts after him. She looked upon the 
fruit. It was desirable to make one wise. She listened to the 
devil instead of God. And Adam was right there culpable, 
he took, he ate, he fell with her, he fell in sin, and in him 
all died. So some people say, wow, that 
just seems odd. We need to be careful as Christians 
to ever utter such a blasphemy. It's not odd. It's not unfair. It's not strange. It's not weird. 
It is according to the pleasure of the will of the most holy 
God. Even so, Father, for so it seemed 
pleasing in your sight. God hides, God reveals according 
to his good pleasure. Isn't this what Paul parrots 
throughout Ephesians chapter one? He praises the Father and 
he says to the glory, the praise of his grace. This is where we 
need to be. This is where we need to come. 
If someone is offended, if someone is arrogant, if someone is upset, 
if someone is blaspheming, hope to God and pray to God that this 
doctrine would be the hammer in the hand of the Holy Spirit 
to shatter that pride. You see, we are all too proud. We all think we can tell God. 
We all think we know. Every time I see one of those 
RCMP checkpoints out and they stop me for either a seatbelt 
or ask if I'm drinking. Every temptation is in me to 
say, go catch guys that are raping people or breaking and entering. 
Don't do your job there. We go somewhere and somebody 
isn't serving us to our satisfaction, we want to tell them how they 
better perform and how they better operate. That's how sinners are 
with God. Well, we don't like this, God. We don't want you to rule this 
way, God. What's Paul say in Romans 11, 
who has become his counselor? Who does God consult with? Has God checked in with you? 
Remember when God told Job to stand up, to gird himself up? And he asked him that series 
of questions. Where were you, Job, when I laid 
the foundation of the world? Brethren, do you realize that 
many of us have trouble getting up on time? Many have trouble 
balancing their checkbooks. Many have trouble wondering what 
they're going to wear or eat for a day. But we think in our 
puny minds that we could govern the entirety of the universe 
in the matters of salvation and damnation, that somehow we think 
we're better equipped for the job than our most holy and wise 
God. Shame on Arminianism and Pelagianism. It's blasphemy. Now, I'm not 
saying every Armenian is going to hell. Praise God that not 
all of them are consistent with their doctrine. We're saved by 
grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Man, as a system, it 
certainly doesn't sound like Jesus. Thank you, Father, for 
hiding. Thank you, Father, for revealing. 
Even so, Father, it seemed good in your sight. That's what mattered 
to Christ. What was primary in God's mind 
and in God's heart? He didn't make you because he 
wanted to be complete. This was Paul's declaration to 
the pagans in Acts 17. He didn't create as if there 
was a void. We've got the void. Augustine 
was right. We have a God-shaped hole in 
our soul. Not God. He didn't have a man-shaped 
hole that he had to somehow fill. He created according to his good 
pleasure. He saves according to his good 
pleasure. And dare I say it, he damns according 
to his good pleasure. to the praise of the glory, according 
to Paul in Romans nine of his justice. See, we don't esteem 
justice, but God really does. And everything will be vindicated 
on that day of judgment. Notice, Jesus moves on to verse 
27 to speak of his position. All things have been delivered 
to me by my father, and no one knows the son except the father. 
Nor does anyone know the father except the son and the one to 
whom the son wills to reveal him. Christ possesses obviously 
all authority is God. He says that the father has delivered 
this authority to him. He's speaking as the God man. He is speaking as the Messiah, 
the fulfillment of the Bible, the greater king or the greater 
son of David that would take that Davidic throne. He would 
sit on that throne and he would reign forever and ever world 
without end. Amen. This Christ has the position 
of authority to bring sinners into communion with God most 
high. This is the synoptic parallel 
to John fourteen six. I am the way, the truth and the 
life. No one comes to the father except 
through me. He is highlighting his role as 
the mediator of a better covenant. And he says that he actually 
does this. This is what's so good about 
all this. It's not just theory. Christ actually does this. When 
we sang 393, you can bank your confidence upon the Lord Jesus 
that when you venture on him, venture holy, he will receive 
you. He will take you. He will cleanse 
you. He will justify it. He will sanctify 
and he will wash away all of your iniquity. You may say, I 
don't know about all this stuff. Here's what you need to know. 
Christ is an able sinner who are a savior, rather, who can 
bring your sinful soul onto his father. Strike that. It was a 
slip of the tongue. Christ is not a sinner. Never 
holy, harmless and undefiled. He is impeccable. He was without 
sin or he would not be successful in the redemption of sinners. 
But he not only speaks of this possession of authority, the 
father has delivered all things to me, but he has a position 
of intimacy. Don't you see that in our text? 
The father in the center like this. And the sun in his mission 
of mercy has covenanted to come into this world to live in obedience 
to divine law, which we couldn't do to die as a sacrifice for 
our sins and to rise again, as Paul says in Romans four for 
our justification and so that he can bring us into that circle 
of intimacy so that he could usher us into the presence of 
God most high. I love what Ryle said, he bears 
the keys to him we must go for admission into heaven. He is 
the door through him we must enter. He is the shepherd. We must hear his voice and follow 
him if we would not perish in the wilderness. He is the physician. We must apply to him if we would 
be healed of the plague of sin. He is the bread of life. We must 
feed on him if we would have our soul satisfied. He is the 
light. We must walk after him If we 
would not wander in darkness, he is the fountain. He must wash 
us in his blood. If we should be clear, we would 
be cleansed and made ready for the great day of account. Blessed 
and glorious are these truths. If we have Christ, we have all 
things. He is in a position or he has 
a position of authority and a position of intimacy. And he also says 
that he does do this and the one to whom the son wills to 
reveal him to love that the primacy here is God, not us. Luther said 
here the bottom falls out on all merit, all powers and abilities 
of reason. or the free will men dreamed 
of, and it all counts nothing before God. Christ must do and 
Christ must give everything. And he does. Please hear that 
he not only says that he does, but he does. We go through the rest of the 
gospel of Matthew. What does Jesus do? He draws 
men to himself. He speaks in John 12 of the necessity 
of going to the cross so that he may draw all men to himself. I don't believe he means all 
men without exception. He means all men without discrimination 
or distinction. Men from every tribe and tongue 
and people and nation. He's not a universalist. But 
he has promised to save a great multitude that no man can number. 
The very end of the gospel in Matthew 18 or 28, he says, all 
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, 
and make disciples of all the nations. Why? Because this isn't just talk 
with Jesus. See, we may gather together and 
pray and talk and say we should we should really go out and reach 
sinners. We should be more evangelistic, which, by the way, we should. 
But a lot of times our talk is cheap, it's not with Christ. 
God will indeed accomplish his purposes, and in that we can 
rejoice. Talk is not cheap with Christ, he says, go and make 
disciples of all the nations. So we've seen a declaration of 
absolute sovereignty, the mediatorial office of Christ, and then notice, 
certainly the command given by Christ. He says, come to me. It's a command. You're commanded 
to come to Christ. You say, but we're dead in our 
trespasses and sins, how can we comply? Because the one who 
issues the command has the power to enable you to obey. Augustine 
said, Grant what you command and then command what you will. That is the dividing line in 
Protestant theology over the ages. That was offensive to his 
contemporaries. It was offensive in the Protestant 
Reformation in the 16th century. It still is offensive to those 
who oppose biblical reformed theology. Grant what you command 
and then command what you will. Jesus says, Come to me. There is a vivid illustration 
of this in the physical realm in John 11, when Jesus issues 
a similar command to the dead corpse of Lazarus. If you were 
standing there that day, you would have said, why is he telling 
Lazarus to come out of the grave? Doesn't he know that Lazarus 
is stinking by now? In fact, Mary had told him he's 
been in the grave for a few days. He stinks now, Lord. And yet 
Jesus says, come forth. You'd be standing there scratching 
your head saying, eh, he's taken this a little bit far. And then 
what happens? Lazarus comes forth. Why? Because the one issuing the command 
has the power to enable the recipient to obey the command. So, when 
we go out and we appeal to sinners to come to Christ, it's not because 
there's goodness in their hearts, it's not because there's wisdom 
in their head, it's not because there's works that they have 
accomplished, but it's because we have a sovereign, predestinating, 
comprehensive, glorious, wise God who has called us to go out 
and tell sinners to come. He will go in and change the 
heart. He will go in and regenerate. He will go in and make alive 
those whom he has purpose to save. Come to me, Christ says. Jesus has the power to enable 
sinners to comply with the command. This one who has all authority, 
intimacy with the father and the role of mediator calls men 
to come to him. Beautiful statement. Again, if 
you're sitting here right now, the issue is not, have I been 
predestined? Have I been elected? Have I been 
chosen? The issue is what? Thank ye of 
Christ. You come to him and he will save 
you. That's what he says. Do not let 
sinners take this doctrine and say, well, I got to wait to see. 
If I'm predestined to elect. No, you don't. You need to believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Confession of faith says this 
is a careful doctrine that demands that we handle it carefully and 
with prudence. I actually think it needs to 
be preached because it has a great impact on humbling men. We need 
to learn that we don't have power. We need to learn that God is 
not like the faucet. We don't just turn him on whenever 
we want to drink. He is not at our beck and call. 
He is not dependent upon our whims or our fancies or our desires. But we are dependent constantly 
upon this thrice holy God. And it bids us well to hear these 
things, to be humbled by it, and then with that public and 
say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Jesus says, come 
to me, he specifically tells those who labor and are heavy 
laden. Perhaps you're familiar with 
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. You know, he had that big burden 
on his back. Lots of alliteration today, big 
burden on the back. When did the burden fly off when 
he gazed at the cross? I've often wondered if the backdrop 
for Bunyan, when he's sitting in that prison, writing Pilgrim's 
Progress, as he pictures that burden upon Christians back, 
if perhaps this text was in his mind. And then I thought, perhaps 
the Psalm 38 was in the mind of Christ. When our beloved David 
said, there is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, 
nor any health in my bones because of my sin for my iniquities have 
gone over my head like a heavy burden. They are too heavy for 
me. My wounds are foul and festering 
because of my foolishness. Jesus is not a humanist. Jesus 
doesn't just look at the proletariat on that day and see men who have 
been working hard, who have put in a 16-hour day, whose backs 
are hurt, whose fingers are worked to the bone, who are struggling 
and who don't have enough food, and he wants to come and just 
tend to the outer man. That's not the significance of 
what he's speaking. He is talking about spiritual 
rest. He is talking about spiritual 
satisfaction, this weariness of this heavy laden, this and 
this burden that these people bear were because of their own 
sin and because of the pharisaical system that heat more burdens 
up and throw them on the backs of these people. Christ comes 
to bring liberty and peace and joy and salvation, and he comes 
to bring life and that abundantly. And then David in our song, Psalm 
38, says in verse 817, for I am ready to fall and my sorrow is 
continually before me for I will declare my iniquity. I will be 
in anguish over my sin. This is the mindset. This is 
the heartbeat. This, as Joseph Hart wrote, and 
we sang in three ninety three, all he requires is that you feel 
your need of him. And what does he go on to say 
this? He gives you this. He gives you 
this. He gives you your conviction 
of sin. Is God right? And Christ is the 
satisfier, the satisfaction, the answer to the convicted sinner. Come to me, he says, all you 
who labor and are heavy laden. And he promises, I will rest 
you. I will give you rest. But he 
doesn't stop there. He says, take my yoke upon you 
and learn from me. Well, he frees you from one yoke, 
but he puts a yoke on you. His liberty, his freedom, his 
blessedness, all those things, all those good gifts free us 
in the sight of God in terms of our sin and our condemnation. 
But Christ lays a yoke on us. Christ calls us to discipleship. You don't just get saved and 
go live however you want. You don't get saved and then 
continue in sin that grace me about. No, he says, take my yoke 
upon you. Yoke implies obedience, doesn't 
it? I've never driven oxen, but I 
suspect that when they have that yoke on them and you tug the 
reins, they obey. We're the only oxen that struggle 
with this whole concept of yoke and obedience. It also implies slavery. What's Paul saying? Romans six, 
God be thanks to obey from the heart that doctrine. You've become 
slaves of another. The Christian life is liberty, 
brethren liberty to do what God has made you to do not liberty 
to do what you want to do. Not freedom to do whatever it 
is you deem appropriate, but genuine biblical freedom and 
liberty is the freedom and liberty to do what God made me to do. To worship Him, to serve Him, 
to follow Him, to wear that yoke happily and joyfully and follow 
the Lamb in the language of Revelation 14. Wherever He goes. You imagine the yoke on the oxen 
and the oxen say, I don't want to go there. I don't want to 
do that. I won't go over that hill. I 
don't want to show up that you would smack that ox and make 
him perform. You know how many of us in the 
church profess to have that yoga and we continually look back. 
I don't want to do that. I don't want to go here. I don't 
want to have to. I don't want to have to. That's not the attitude that 
Christ's disciples bear. You come to him by grace alone, 
through faith alone, and you're justified. You receive the pardon 
of sins and the amputation of Christ's righteousness. And then 
he puts his yoke on you and you need to live for him. We saw in Titus 2.14, I quoted 
from Gordon Clark, a very appropriate statement that we need to be 
reminded of what passes so apparently as good works are not good unless 
preceded by justification. Somebody says, Oh, I do good 
works. Not if you've not been justified. You may be a humanist. You may be a pagan, but that's 
not a Christian or a Bible. Good work. Then he goes on to 
say. And if a claimed justification, 
that's our coming to Christ. If a claimed justification does 
not inevitably produce good works, it simply was not justification. You can talk to your blue in 
the face, but if you don't have that yoke of Christ on, you haven't 
come to him. There was a theory in the later 
part of the 20th century called the carnal Christian theory. Said you could have Jesus save 
you from your sins, but you didn't submit to him as Lord unless 
you felt lead. You'd have Jesus save you long 
term fire insurance, but until you got to a point to yield to 
him as Lord, you were a carnal Christian. You imagine that? You imagine justifying ungodliness 
and calling it Christian under the guise of a carnal Christian 
theory that is elish by nature? I got news for you, brethren. 
If you don't wear that yoke, you've not come to Jesus. You 
know what else he says? You take that yoke and you learn. Praise God, we don't get into 
heaven based on how much we read our Bible or theology or we know 
scripture, because there wouldn't be many of us there. I am amazed at how little we 
know. And it's not knowledge puffed 
up. Paul says that first Corinthians eight. But don't take that and 
say, well, I don't want to be proud. I already struggle with 
pride, so I'm not going to study the Bible. Wrong application. We are to learn from our Lord, 
as Matthew Henry said, we need to be scholars in the school 
of Christ. That's our calling. This promise 
of rest that the Lord Jesus gives, he says in verse twenty nine, 
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. The prophet Jeremiah 
chapter six sixteen says thus says Jehovah stand in the ways 
and see and ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk 
in it. Then you will find rest for your 
souls. That's what Jesus offers. Jesus 
is the one to whom Jeremiah is pointing. It is only in Christ 
that you can have rest. It is only in Christ that you 
can have peace. It is only in Christ that the 
tyranny, the bondage of sin can be broken. Sin is a bad taskmaster. I know it takes a lot of people 
a long time to learn this, but sin never delivers a good paycheck 
at the end. It offers to, it promises some 
things, it holds forth the passing pleasures of sin, but what's 
its final payment? Death and hell. Some of you young 
people and some of you children have not come to this conviction 
yet. You think it's okay to sin. You think that there is no bad 
taskmaster about it. You like to entertain it. You 
like to play with it. You like, not just young people 
and children, all of us. Who am I kidding here? This is 
getting real. We all have our pets. We all 
want to engage and indulge. You know what? The end is death. That's sin's payment. I love 
it when people say, not really, I'm being sarcastic or facetious. 
Oh, that's not fair. You know what's not fair? Is 
that any sinning, hell-deserving sinner, hell-deserving sinner 
should ever go to heaven. For the wages of sin is death, 
makes a whole lot of sense in a moral universe governed by 
a holy God. But the free gift of God is eternal 
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's amazing. That's glorious. That's beautiful. Do not be deceived. The sin that 
you engage in now, while it affords some passing pleasure, will ultimately 
bring death. That's its payment. I love that 
statement concerning Moses in Hebrews 11, who would rather 
suffer affliction with the people of God, who would rather suffer 
reproach for Christ than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. 
Now, brethren, we're not high up in Egypt with basically everything 
at our command. Some of us in God's good grace 
have been restricted. Don't ever discount the restricting 
power of God. How much more could you have 
sinned if you had those resources? How much more profligate would 
you have been with a huge bank account, with servants and attendants 
in a godless society? where wickedness was engaged 
in and promulgated and promoted. And yet he looked at that. He 
saw his brethren suffering for Christ. And he said, I'd rather 
have that than what they have. I don't want those passing pleasures 
of sin, but I want you to follow this. Moses didn't do that because 
he was a monk. He didn't go home and wear a 
hair shirt and put ashes in his suit and punch himself in the 
head And he was just a mercenary. I don't want I want the good. 
I only want this. You know why he did what he did, 
according to the book of Hebrews, because he esteemed the riches 
of Christ as better. Was more to be preferred. Sin offers its passing pleasures 
for a time and then comes death and hell, Jesus offers pleasures 
now and forever. You gotta be crazy to go that 
route. And I think this is the thrust 
of the prophet in Isaiah 55. Why do you spend your wages on 
that which does not satisfy your crazy? You're out of your mind. You're not. This is why we revel 
in sovereign grace, because we are crazy. We are out of our 
minds. We are nuts. The Book of Ecclesiastes says 
that madness has filled the hearts of men. It's no accident, brethren, 
when Jesus came to that man who lived among the tombs, who was 
naked and who cut himself and who howled all through the night 
and people were afraid to walk in that region. It is no accident 
that when Jesus saved that man, we read that he was sitting with 
Christ and he was clothed and he was in his right mind. Love it when people say, oh, 
you Christians, you're crazy, we ain't crazy. Non-Christians 
are crazy. You Christians are sticking your 
head in the sand like the ostrich and just hoping the world will 
fly by. Who's sticking their heads in the sand but the God-hating 
rebel who suppresses truth in unrighteousness? Jesus says, 
pull your head out of the sand and come to me and I will rest 
you. Take my yoke upon you. Learn 
from me. Learn from me. And then he says 
in verse thirty from my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The apostle John picks this up 
in his epistle. He says the commandments of God 
are not burdensome. They're not grievous. When you 
meet a Christian, a professing Christian that's rolling his 
eyes concerning God's law, you must wonder what's going on here. 
If anything, we ought to be rolling our eyes that we don't love it 
more, that we don't submit more, that we don't joyfully concur 
in the inner man, that the law is good and it's holy and it's 
right. It is the non-Christian who is 
offended at the law of God. And, you know, just if you want 
to study this later in the context, chapter 12, verses 1 to 13 illustrates 
this principle so beautifully. It illustrates it so beautifully. 
Jesus heals on the Sabbath. The Pharisees complain whose 
yoke is easy, whose burden is light. It is the Lord Jesus Christ 
and his alone. Well, we conclude with a couple 
of thoughts. First, the primacy of God's will in salvation. We 
need to understand this. Jonah, the prophet said it in 
Jonah to nine. Salvation is of the Lord. The saints in heaven when we 
get a glimpse of the worship at the church triumphant. What 
are they praising God for salvation belongs to God and to the lamb 
sits upon the throne. What is the apostle Paul declare 
in language that you cannot evade for it does not depend upon him 
who wills or upon him who runs but on God who shows mercy. The 
primacy of will in the matter of salvation is God's. This is helpful for us when it 
comes to, as I've already alluded to, evangelism. We need to know 
where the power lies. A brother reminded us after the 
rich young ruler. You get why those the disciples 
said who then can be saved. Riches meant blessing, fewer 
rich, you are blessed. If you are rich and blessed, 
why wouldn't you go to heaven? Who then can be saved? That's 
what the disciples asked. It rocked their world. Rich men 
are blessed men. They go to heaven. Jesus says 
it's going to be harder for that man to get into heaven than a 
big, nasty, humpy camel to get through the eye of a needle. 
We like to try and explain that's not really what it means. That's 
what it means. You ever tried to put thread 
through the eye of a needle? It's pretty tough, isn't it? 
I can't even imagine trying to get a camel through one. See, 
Jesus, the way he taught was some sort of outlandish things. 
Why? So you get the point. That's why they said, who then 
can be saved? With men, it is impossible. But 
with God, all things are possible. You need to know when you go 
into the workplace or when you go to your family reunion or 
when you come here on Sunday and you're praying for someone 
to be saved, the power is of God. And in that we have confidence 
in that we have hope, because you know what? God loves to save 
sinners. That's what he's about, what Jesus is about. The Son 
of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Not this 
angry, mean God who's just doing it because he has to. God so 
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Whoever 
believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We 
need to understand this for worship and for all of life. Again, quoting 
Luther, he says, Now, if I am ignorant of God's works and power, 
I am ignorant of God himself. Just let's hear that. If I am 
ignorant of God's works and power, I am ignorant of God himself. And if I do not know God, I cannot 
worship, praise, give thanks or serve him. For I do not know 
how much I should attribute to myself and how much to him. We need, therefore, to have in 
mind a clear cut distinction between God's power and ours 
and God's work and ours. If we would live a godly life. 
Amen, you need to understand this because it bears on how 
you witness to people. It bears on how you come to church. It bears on how you worship and 
it bears on how you live. Theology, according to Luther, 
does matter. Secondly, we need to appreciate 
as we leave this particular passage that centers are responsible. 
Sinners are responsible. Come to me is a command. If you 
do not come to Jesus, you are responsible for that sin. Let's 
just clarify. Sinners are not responsible because 
of an imagined free will. Sinners are responsible because 
of a holy God who has promised a judgment who break his law. Oh, we're responsible. You're 
responsible. You need to come to the Lord 
Jesus. You need to believe the gospel. I love the language that 
Peter uses in Acts 412, there is one name given under heaven 
by which we must be saved. I'm sure it's a must of necessity, 
it's a must of we go to him and him alone. But it sounds like 
you better flee to him. Venture on him, venture wholly. And then let us leave concerned 
or considering the character of the Redeemer, the one who 
possesses authority, who is in a position of intimacy, who is 
a mediator, reveals himself as gentle, lowly in heart, whose 
yoke is easy and whose burden is light. That's enticement. That's invitation. That's taste 
and see that the Lord is good. Do not carry. Do not play games. Come to Christ and you will be 
saved. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for our holy Lord 
Jesus and the way that he preached and taught and declared these 
truths. And God, I pray that we would do likewise, that we 
would rejoice in you, that we would praise you, that we would 
understand that your will reigns supreme in the matter of salvation. 
And our God, we pray that you would just give us a genuine 
compassion for the hearts of men, for the souls of men. Jesus 
in Matthew 9 looks upon the multitudes and he feels compassion for them 
because they were like sheep having no shepherd. God, we see 
these things are not inconsistent to affirm the sovereignty of 
God and to be brokenhearted over sinners. God, I pray that we 
would imitate this disposition, that we would go and do likewise. 
And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.