Matthew - Week 32

The Father and Son 

READ 

Matthew 11:27 

27 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 

Jesus told who truly knows Him—only the heavenly Father. He also told who truly knows the heavenly Father—only those to whom He chooses to reveal Him. This verse shows no one can completely understand God and all His workings. One would have to be God to completely understand Him.  

REFLECT 

Think of how special it is that you have a copy of the Bible to read what Jesus has revealed about the heavenly Father.  

RESPOND 

Join with a fellow believer and talk about the wonderful truths about God. Read Isaiah 55:8-11 and be encouraged that you will never completely understand God, but that His Word will never return without accomplishing its purpose. Read also Ephesians 3:8-9 for how the apostle Paul described the riches of Christ.  

Rest 

READ 

Matthew 11:28 

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

This wonderful verse has been of encouragement to many. Jesus invites all to come to Him. The greatest burden, of course, is the burden of sin. The greatest rest is found by trusting in Jesus as Savior. He will lift your burden and give you rest about your life and eternal destiny. Notice that none who come to Him is rejected.  

REFLECT 

Have you found rest by trusting in Jesus as Savior? Have you shared this with anyone? 

RESPOND 

Those who think they need to work to earn God’s favor need to read John 6:28-29 and Ephesians 2:8-9.  

My Yoke Is Easy 

READ 

Matthew 11:29-30 

29 “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 

Notice that the rest those find by coming to Jesus is rest for their souls. Their bodies may be weary from their activities, but their souls are at peace with God. Jesus may not prevent you from going through the storms of life, but He promises to be with you in the storms. The Jews in Jesus’ time on earth knew the heavy burdens the Pharisees placed on them. All of their efforts were to earn favor with God, which will never work. 

REFLECT 

Think of the relief you experience by realizing your salvation has come by grace alone through faith in Jesus alone. Some unbelievers would give all their wealth to experience the peace you have. 

RESPOND 

With a Christian friend, read and think on John 16:32-33. No matter what you are enduring here on earth you can take heart because your Savior has overcome the world. 

Harvesting on the Sabbath 

READ 

Matthew 12:1-2 

1 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” 

The Pharisees added to the requirements of the law. In their eyes, the disciples where threshing grain as they rubbed their hands over the heads of the grain. They decided this amounted to working on the Sabbath. Legalism has no limits, and the Pharisees were the best at adding requirements that God had never given.  

REFLECT 

Are you thankful for the grace of God for salvation and Christian living or are you trying to live by a set of rules not found in the Bible? 

RESPOND 

Before his conversion to Christ, the apostle Paul was a Pharisee believing what these Pharisees believed. After experiencing the grace of God in salvation, Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16-17 that you should judge no one based on diets and days.  

David's Example 

READ 

Matthew 12:3-4 

3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.” 

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees by indicating they didn’t know their own Scriptures. David was a highly respected ancestor, but the Pharisees did not seem to remember this incident in his life. Along with this comment, Jesus remarked about other things the Pharisees should have been aware of. This was the same as accusing them of being biblically illiterate.  

REFLECT 

Use the same question Jesus asked if others are falsely accusing you. You could ask, “Have you never read”—and point them to a portion in the Bible.  

RESPOND 

To read about the incident with David that Jesus referred to, see 1 Samuel 21:1-6. Consider also when debating a spiritual issue to ask, “Where do you find that in the Bible?”