Matthew 11:27a-28 The Lord Jesus is speaking, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father” … “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
The Lord Jesus when He was here on the earth was very conscious of His relationship with God is Father. Often we read of the Lord Jesus saying, “My Father”. John 13:3 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God.” So the Lord Jesus Christ was fully and confidently aware of His history and of His future. He knew that He had come from God in heaven and would, without any shadow of a doubt, be going back to God His eternal Father in heaven.
We find, towards the end of His life, that in Matthew c17 on the Mount of Transfiguration, where some of the disciples saw something of His heavenly glory, that God said in v5 “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” So God was really pleased with all that the Lord Jesus had said and done. That included all the “My Father” statements which included included Matthew 11:27a “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father”.
That is an incredible statement which can be connected with John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” It is that all God’s things are known to this world and are delivered to Christ. This covers:
1. The full knowledge, authority and maintenance of all that is “of/from God.”
2. That includes the creation and the maintenance of the universe, with its billions of galaxies, until the end of time.
3. The knowledge and fulfilling of all God’s will while the Lord Jesus was here on the earth.
4. The power to fulfil all God’s will while the Lord Jesus is in heaven and absent from the earth including who should be sent and for what purpose.
5. That includes the power to know and work out all the details and keep those who have trusted in Him.
6. That includes keeping all God’s promises both now and right to the end of time both for blessing and for judgment.
7. Also John 5:22 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” So God is totally happy that His eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be the righteous judge of every body’s sins. This automatically shows that the Lord Jesus knows everybody’s sins and all their motives and circumstances.This shows that Christ has the full confidence of God and has also full control of the future.
The implication is that God knows His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, perfectly. That is not left to speculation but is stated in Matthew 11:27 “and no one knows the Son except the Father”. The human race does not fully know the Son of God and only God fully knows the Son and happily delivers everything into His hands. Also we read, “Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son”. So again the human race does not know God the Father. Only the Son fully knows the Father and that means He knows the awesome responsibility of completing to perfection all that a holy God requires … and will happily fulfil that.
Now it is this One that confidently says “Come unto Me.” This is a personal statement or command. He does not ask you to believe in anything material, certainly not any wealth which is only temporary, but in Him. The One Who God is happy to give all things to do.
Come
This does not mean some physical movement but is another word for believe. Acts 16:31 “So they (Paul and Silas) said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
Christ asks you to come because as God has confidence in Him and so can you can as well. As Christ is the Son of God He is faithful and cannot fail. Christ is therefore worthy of your trust and wants people to come to Him.
All
Who are welcome? Those out of every nation, tongue and culture. There are no personal or positive preconditions attached. Also Christ never makes an invitation and then wonders if He can cope with the numbers of people that come. He can more than cope with all sinners that come.
You Who Labour
Are you labouring or working hard to get right with God but always failing somewhere or another? Or perhaps badly failing and wondering if ever I can be good enough for God? Trying to keep some religious rules and growing weary with the hard work that is involved. This “hard labour” is a characteristic of your life. You are conscious of an end in view but never yet reaching it.
And Are Heavy Laden
Are you conscious of your sin? That is a good thing because there are many who sin and are not conscious that they have God to face for it. When you think about God do you feel guilty before Him? You do not have a conscience at rest before God.
We all know that there is a pandemic going round the world. It is the Covid 19 version of the coronavirus. However there is another pandemic going round the world and that is not a pandemic unto possible death but it is a pandemic unto definite life, eternal life. And it is coming to you vire us, and by anyone else who also preaches salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. The problem with this pandemic is that you cannot receive it’s eternal and great benefits by infection. If you could receive it be infection I would not be here giving this message. Because it is so important and such wonderful truth I would have had you infected already or at least if you live fairly locally I would. But God’s salvation is not received that way.
And I will give you rest
God’s salvation is received because you decide that you will believe in another i.e. in the Lord Jesus Christ. While you struggle you will fail, because you are a sinner and you will never be good enough for God.
But if you believe that because Christ loved you, He died on the cross at Calvary, near to Jerusalem, to pay the perfect penalty which your sins deserved. If you will believe that He did it for you and for all your sins, then you do not have to struggle in your failing attempt to pay for your sins. You give up struggling and instead you believe that Christ paid all the price for you, then you will come into the rest which Christ will give you. You cannot earn that rest but if you trust in Christ He will give it to you.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and He will happily save you, and you will come into Divine rest.