Matthew 11
Sin against God may be looked at in two points of view: 1st, as seen in Adam's transgression in the garden, when he broke the first commandment, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart;" 2nd, as filled up in Cain's slaying his brother, who thus broke the second commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
But there is another character which sin takes, and is seen in connection with the pains God takes with the sinner, thus in his sins. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and set to work to make himself comfortable away from God. Now, suppose God sent messengers after him and pressed him to return, his remaining away would, in such a case, be additional guilt. But if God Himself came out and entreated him to return, and he would not, this would be a much greater sin than his having at first left him. Carelessness may take a man away from God; but refusing to return when besought is positive hatred of God. Not merely does the sinner see no beauty in Christ, but God has now to deal with him on the ground of refusing the activities of His love. Sin, therefore, now takes a new form, far more dark and more deadly, namely, that of a positive refusal of God's dealings in love.
The Jews were put under the law and failed, thus proving that man could not keep the law. But the rejection of Christ is a proof of what men's hearts are. If you take a piece of ground by the sea shore, and plant it, and then find it fruitless, you reject the whole shore; not only the piece you cultivated, but the whole shore. So the gospel proves what all our hearts are in the sight of God. God has given us the history of the Jews, not to tell us what the Jews are, but what we are. Thus do these plain testimonies about ourselves prove that our dependence is only on grace; for "by nature we were children of wrath, even as others." What resource have we, then? None, but to turn to God's nature, which is " rich in mercy." This is what the apostle is doing in Eph. 2:3, 43Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (Ephesians 2:3‑4). He there takes up what man is, in contrast with what God is. After speaking of the sins of Gentile and Jew, he sums them up by saying, "and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others;" and then he turns to God's nature, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,—by grace ye are saved," &c. God has now given up seeking fruit from man as—man. (From the saints He does seek fruit, the outward manifestation of the life within.) Christ came to the Jews seeking fruit, but finding none, He will throughly purge His floor. Then, as a certain King, God made a marriage, but those bidden would not come; "they all with one consent began to make excuse." Thus they rejected the one, as they had failed in the other.
"Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." And why? Because their natural conscience was not hardened by a profession of religion. " And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell," &c. The nearer they came to God outwardly, the farther they were from the reception of the truth, and the more hardened they became. They said of Christ, " Is he not mad, and hath a devil?" So now, men call themselves Christians from mere outward profession; this has the evil tendency to harden the heart against the truth.
But the peculiar feature which characterizes the saints of God is, that they hear the voice of the Shepherd. " My sheep hear my voice;" that is, they believe Christ's testimony. Christ is received into the soul, by His own testimony. " Now we believe, not because of thy saying, but we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." Every witness to Christ must come in on the same simple ground of Christ's testimony to that individual soul. As a matter of testimony, John did bear witness to Christ, and yet John comes in as one who must take the testimony of Christ about Himself. Christ testified, " Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." But woe unto him who rejects the counsel of God against himself. John was a believer, knew certain truths, and said, " there is One to come;" but that was not the point. It was the fixing the truth upon his mind, the testimony of Christ concerning Himself. The soul that hears the voice of Jesus Himself, and receives His testimony, is thus a believer in Jesus. You know that nothing can cleanse but the blood of Christ, that Christ is the only Savior; yet, perhaps, like John, you are saying, " Art thou he that should come, or look we for another?" You have not yet got your confession from the word of Christ Himself, that "He is indeed the Christ;" for when the sheep has heard the voice of the Shepherd, there is never any uncertainty about it. Moreover, He calls His own sheep by name. The moment He said, "Mary," she immediately responded, "Rabboni," without any hesitation or uncertainty whatever, because she had received the testimony of Jesus about herself. The voice of Jesus had reached her soul; she was sure it was the Jesus she loved, and she was happy. It is not merely a spiritual hearing of the voice, but receiving Christ's testimony about Himself. When Jesus had come to the house of Zaccheus, He said, " This day is salvation come to this house," because Christ's testimony about Himself had been received. The testimony of the Holy Ghost is still to the same effect, as we see in Acts 11;13;14, " Send for Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." And the testimony of a soul that has received Christ is this, " I know in whom I have believed." There is a conscious apprehension of the connection of the soul with Christ, which it is not in the power of Satan to undo.
John sends to Jesus, and the Lord turned round and gave a testimony to His servant. It was Adam who named the beasts, and not the beasts who named Adam. So now Jesus must give John his character. " What went ye out for to see? A prophet F yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet," &c. The Lord's heart goes out in delight in testimony to John. The Lord delights in His people; and if John is suffered to doubt, and be a mark to others, it is but that he may receive a greater testimony from the Lord Himself.
Men were brought to the trial in two ways. " We have piped unto you and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented. 'For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he hath a devil." Why? Because he did not go on like other men. Men, who have fallen into the hands of the devil themselves, account that, when any testimony from God comes in, it must be of the devil, because it is not after the manner of men. John came in the way of righteousness, and therefore he could have nothing to say to any one; he could not eat and drink in company with any one, and therefore he went into the wilderness. He who was to testify about sin, said, "The ax is laid to the root of the trees," &c. " I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor," &c. Thus John was pleading with their consciences. Jesus came eating and drinking with publicans and sinners. When John does not do as man does, they say, he has a devil; and when Jesus comes in the way of man, " eating and drinking," they say, He is the worst of men, " a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." Thus they rejected the testimony of God, whether it came in the way of mourning or piping; and rejected it with the full testimony that God was there: " they repented not." John could not forgive sin, therefore he went into the wilderness away from it; but Jesus could forgive sin, and therefore He went amongst it. He had " power on earth to forgive sins," as we see in the case of the adulteress and others. Therefore He upbraids those cities; for, do what works He might in them, they rejected Him in them all.
But in this He submits to His Father. "I thank thee, O Father, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Having bowed His heart to the will of God, at once the glory breaks in: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father." As the rejected one Jesus has received all the glory of heaven and earth. " No man knoweth the Son but the Father, and no man knoweth the Father, but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." To bring man out of his lost condition the Son must reveal the Father. " No man bath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in. the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." The grace that is in Jesus alone can reveal the Father's love. " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, forgave sins, &c.; and what did these mighty works bring Him? Did they believe on Him? No; they rejected Him and knew Him not. Yet " at that time Jesus rejoiced in Spirit." And so He says, " Come unto me, I will give you rest." He knew where rest was to be found; and as having experienced the bitterness of trial and sorrow all the way through His labors on earth, He knew how to give rest to the weary. Therefore He says, if you are seeking rest for your souls, come unto me, for I know what is to be found in the world, for I have passed through it and tried the hearts of men; and I know where alone rest is to be found. Therefore " come unto me, and I will give you rest." How many a heart may be weary that cannot say it is sorry for sin! Well, then, if there be a weary heart, come unto me, and I will give you rest. And where did Jesus find rest? In the perfectness of the Father's love, and the wisdom of the Father's ways. Jesus came to reveal the Father; and He revealed Him as He knew Him. "The only begotten, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." And what did Jesus know of Him? Nothing that saved Him from the troubles of the world. If Jesus has revealed the Father, what more can you seek? That is perfect rest—rest, the perfectness of which nothing can disturb. It is a rejected Christ who could thus speak. For He has blotted out, by His blood, all that could have been against us, so that God has nothing to look for, or to seek about our sins. To speak otherwise would be to deny the efficacy and power of the blood of Christ. It is by coming unto Him that we get this rest; and when we have come to Jesus Himself, there cannot be a cloud to disturb it. There is no uncertainty there; the troubled soul has done troubling then.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." He had to bow his heart at every step, and this is the yoke put on the Christian. He gives us the rest, but puts this yoke upon our necks. He reproached the cities, but had Himself to bow—" Even so, Father." Then immediately He adds, "All power is given to me in heaven and earth." Therefore He is saying to each of us, " Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls," &e. And mark here, that no man ever gets to the point, and discovers it to be the will of God, but He finds a perfect rest in God's ways and bidding. It comes in and meets the soul as it needs it; and the soul thus practically learns the blessedness of following in the path of Christ. If you are weary and heavy laden go to Him, and He will give you rest. Perhaps you are not troubled about your sins, not feeling the greatness of them, &c.; but He well knew them all, having borne the judgment due to them; and He is now saying to you, if weary and heavy laden,
“Come to me, and I will give you rest."