(Text and Audio)
Title: Need Can Be A Powerful Motivator
- The Unique Relationship Between the Father and the Son
Who in your life knows you the best? (Take answers, most will say best friend or spouse.)
Who knows you better than you? (Your maker.)
Because the Father and Son come from one, are one, there is no lack of knowledge between them.
There is perfect unison, perfect communion. The Choice is not presented by the Father and then agreed upon by the Son.
Rather, from the beginning of time, the choice is the same.
- The Father’s Sovereign Will of Choice IS the Son’s Choice As Well
“Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him.” (NKJV)
“and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (ESV/NASB)
POINT: The Father is only revealed to humans THROUGH the choice of the Son.
- The Invitation is Given
Notice to whom this invitation is issued: all who labor and are heavy laden. He does not issue the invitation to the strong, but to the weary. Only those who are in need of saving need a savior. Those who are strong, those who are self-sufficient, those who are wise, those who are “doing just fine, thanks” have no need for Jesus.
The manner in which Jesus presents the invitation forces us to look at ourselves and ask, “Am I heavy laden? Am I weary? Do I need rest?”
The sad reality is that most people live and existence where this invitation is issued and their prideful reply is “No. Doing just fine, thanks.”
Pride caused Adam and Eve to sin, and pride causes us to not be interested in Jesus. Why? Because we see no need for him. We don’t understand our sin, our depravity, our lost-ness. We truly believe we are doing fine. The only way we don’t believe we are doing fine is if the Holy Spirit is showing us our weariness, our weakness, our sinfulness, our need for a savior. And that, friends, is not only the work, but the choice of the Father.
- Really Jesus? Really?
When most people read Jesus saying, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” they pretty much pass out.
This is such a controversial and difficult teaching from Jesus that an entire chapter of one of my all time favorite books: Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said by Viktor Kulligan (A book that I’ve taught through as a study, both here at HBC, and on campus at AU) is devoted just to unpacking what Jesus is saying here.
I want to make sure we really understand what Jesus is and is not saying here, so I’m going to unpack this visually on the overhead.
What Jesus IS NOT saying:
- Being a Christian is easy
- Being a Christian is a one-time decision
- Being a Christian is a magic potion that solves our issues
- Being a Christian is all rest and no work
What Jesus IS saying:
- The Law was originally given as a guide to be holy. The Scribes and Pharisees had instituted traditions that went far beyond the demands of God and became a heavy burden to the people. Compared to THIS, Jesus’ yoke is light.
- The Law was never given as a means to salvation, but rather to point us to Jesus, realizing our own sin.
- Jesus’ yoke, though often demanding, is “easy” because it comes from one who is “gentle and lowly in heart.” (In other words, one who LOVES us and WANTS us to thrive as HIS children.) The difficult tasks are given so that we might GROW, not FAIL.