Daily Writing

Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“You come to Me, all those laboring and having been encumbered, and I, I will give rest to you” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of the intimate connection of knowing the Father and the Son, and that knowing the Father can only come through the Son’s revelation of Him. Next, Jesus speaks some of the most comforting words found in all of Scripture, beginning with, “You come to Me.”

As noted, He just spoke of the Father/Son relationship. He is now building on that thought, not stating something disconnected from it. It is the hope of the human soul to be reconciled to God, to know that He hears and will respond to our prayers, and to feel assured that the relationship between the two is sound.

Even people who deny this know deep inside that it is true. When the greatest crises of life arrive, we utter prayers and ask God for relief. We want Him to favor our steps and bless our efforts. It is instilled in us, and such knowledge must be suppressed. Jesus is essentially saying, “If you want the favor of the Father, come to Me.” He next defines who He is referring to, saying, “all those laboring and having been encumbered.”

The first word, kopiaó, was already seen in Matthew 6:28. It signifies to labor, toil, be wearied, etc. The second word, phortizó, translated as encumbered, is new. It signifies to load up, as in a vessel or on an animal. Figuratively, it gives the sense of overburdening. A single word that fits this thought is “encumbered.”

The words speak of those who are working to please God, feeling the weight and burden of both the law and their sin, which is imputed from violating the law. Add in the doctrines of the leaders of Israel, and the weight upon the people’s souls would have been a heavy burden. And yet, in their attempts to be pleasing through their efforts, they only felt more disconnected from God.

This is the problem with law. It seizes the moment and traps us, just as it did with our first father. Paul carefully and precisely details this in Romans. The weight and burden of the law could never provide rest to the people. On the other hand, Jesus emphatically declares, “and I, I will give rest to you.”

Here is a new verb, anapauó. It signifies completing a process. The thought is that of giving or experiencing rest after a needed task is complete. One can think of finishing a job and stopping for refreshment.

What is one of the main purposes of the plan of redemption? It is to return man to the state of rest that existed at the beginning –

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3

This is why Jesus spoke of the Father/Son relationship before speaking of the granting of rest. The word used by Jesus here is not the same as a Sabbath rest, but it would be what one does on a Sabbath rest. There is the week of toil followed by the Sabbath. The rest that occurs on that day would be the refreshing effect that is realized.

God rested from His labors. That state of rest was set forth for man to eternally enjoy His Creator in a harmonious relationship. But that relationship was disrupted through sin. Sin came by a violation of law.

Adding more law to man only increased the knowledge and imputation of sin. Jesus, without yet explaining how He would do it, asks those around Him to trust Him. The rest that was lost would be restored through Him. To make that happen, Jesus said this in John’s gospel –

“But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’” John 5:17

“But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” John 5:36

The Father is working through the Son to effect the redemption of man. Jesus is the One who offers and grants God’s rest to His people. As it says in Hebrews 4:3, “For we who have believed do enter that rest…”

Life application: Jesus has promised rest, the rest offered by the Father through Him, to His people. How would this come about? What works can we do to be right with God? Paul says in Romans 7 –

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ⁸ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. ⁹ I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. ¹⁰ And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. ¹¹ For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. ¹² Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” Romans 7:7-12

The law only exacerbates man’s problems. When there is no law, there is no imputation for wrongdoing. But when a law is introduced, violating that law brings about guilt. This is why Jesus came. He was born under the law to fulfill it for those who could never do so. In His fulfillment of the law, He now imparts His righteousness to those who trust Him and His accomplishments.

In believing this good news, a person moves from law to grace. There is no longer the imputation of sin because that person is no longer under law. This is what Jesus is telling the people. He is the offering of God for release from the burden and toiling that man faces. He is the One to grant God’s rest. Through Him, harmony between the Creator and His creatures is restored.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:29

Lord God, thank You for the giving of Your Son for our transgressions. He has lifted our burden! He has restored us to You! In Him, we have found Your promised rest. Thank You, O God, for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday, 15 July 2025

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. Matthew 11:27

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“All, it was delivered to Me by My Father. And none, he knows the Son if not the Father, nor any he knows the Father if not the Son, and whom if the Son He should will to reveal” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus acknowledged the Father’s decisions, noting that it was satisfaction before Him. Now, to build upon that thought, He next says, “All, it was delivered to Me by My Father.”

The context of the word “all” determines the meaning. He has just referred to things hidden by the Father from the wise and prudent but which have been revealed to infants. Jesus is saying that these hidden things have been delivered to Him by His Father. He is the central focus of the illumination of the plan that the Father has set forth. From there, He continues with, “And none, he knows the Son if not the Father.”

Jesus has rebuked the cities where His miracles took place. He came in the Father’s name because He is the Messiah. Only the Father knew this at first because He was with the Father in the beginning. Eventually, the time came for God to reveal Himself in the Person of Jesus, the incarnate Word and the Son of God. Only the Father could reveal this because He came from the Father –

 ^“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.’” John 8:42

God could have established His covenant with the Peruvians or the Thai people. Instead, it was with Israel. He chose them to reveal Himself and His plans and purposes. At a certain point, He could have chosen someone named Ben Gad to witness to Israel. Instead, He chose Isaiah. He could have chosen Gibeah to be His capital, but He instead chose Jerusalem.

God has been guiding the plan of redemption in a carefully set forth and methodically implemented way that ultimately leads to the coming of Christ. Along the way, He selected people to receive, write, and compile His word. The word tells of Christ Jesus, but not everyone has accepted that premise. But the Father knows the Son. Likewise, Jesus continues, saying, “nor any he knows the Father if not the Son.”

Because Jesus came from God, He intimately knows the Father. They are in eternal union. The knowledge of the Father is thus to be understood as knowing the Son. Again, Jesus said this to them explicitly –

“Then they said to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’
Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.’” John 8:19

Jesus unambiguously ties the knowledge of Himself to having knowledge of the Father. If the Son is rejected, the Father is by default rejected. It would make no sense to say, “I want that piece of bread, but I don’t want the dough in it.” The dough is the bread, and the bread is the dough. How much more is God One!? He is. He is unchanging. He is One. With this stated, His words of this verse finish with, “and whom if the Son He should will to reveal.”

Jesus uses the same word, apokaluptó, to take off the cover and thus disclose, that He just used in verse 11:25. He is tying the two thoughts together –

…You revealed them to infants
… and whom if the Son He should will to reveal

The hidden things of God are revealed by God. His word didn’t come through the Edomites or Moabites. It came through Israel. God revealed Himself to Abraham, He covenanted with him, and continued His revelation through a particular chosen line. He presented Himself to Israel at Mount Sinai in a formal, covenant-making way.

He revealed His faithfulness to them despite their constant turning from Him. He sent His word through the prophets. He judged, exiled, and returned the people at the time of the Babylonian exile. He faithfully maintained them under foreign rule, and He sent His Messiah into the world at the time prophesied in His word.

And there stood Jesus, the fulfillment of all that God laid forth from the beginning. And yet, despite His works that validated His messiahship, the people refused to believe. The wise and sagacious of Israel, the stewards of God’s word, failed to believe their own writings –

“And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. ³⁸ But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. ³⁹ You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ⁴⁰ But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:37-40

Despite their failure to acknowledge the Son and thus the Father, there are those who believe. These are those to whom the Father and the Son are revealed –

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:11-13

The choice of revealing by God is not active in the sense that God says, “I will make this person believe and this person not believe.” Rather, the choosing spoken of here is in the sense of, “I will present My Son to the world. Some will believe Him, some will not. Those who do are those whom I have chosen to reveal Myself to.” Paul confirms this when he says –

“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” Acts 26:19, 20

Paul could have said, “I just cannot accept these things. I am checking into a hospital to clear my head and get back to my work. However, he had sufficient evidence to support his calling. He chose to accept it, and he continued on in his apostleship from there.

Life application: Because of what Jesus says in His words in Matthew 11:27, and because it aligns with everything He said and that the Bible proclaims concerning a right relationship with God, there is a formula we must consider.

Jesus is not physically here among us today. Jesus has claimed that we cannot know the Father without knowing Him. We cannot know Jesus, because of His absence, without knowing the word that tells of Him –

You cannot know God without knowing Jesus.
You cannot know Jesus without knowing the word that reveals Jesus.
Therefore, you cannot know God without knowing the word.

Read and know the Bible if you desire to know, be pleasing to, and have a right relationship with the God who created all things. And when you read it, look for Jesus. In finding Jesus, you will find the Father –

“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:45-47

The word tells of Jesus. To accept the writings of the word, one must accept Jesus. And in knowing Jesus, God will be made manifest –

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:18

Jesus is the One who exegetes the Father, declaring Him to the world. Look to Jesus and you will find God.

Lord God, help us to fix our eyes on Jesus. In doing so, we will have our eyes on You because You have revealed Yourself through Him. May we always come to Your word with this in mind as we seek out Your glory in the manner You have chosen to reveal it. Amen.

Monday, 14 July 2025

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. Matthew 11:26

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Yes, Father, for thus it was satisfaction before You” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus acknowledged the Father’s plan concerning the reception of His revelation to the people. It is hidden from the wise and sagacious, and yet it is revealed to infants. Because of this, He next says, “Yes, Father, for thus it was satisfaction before You.”

Jesus introduces the term eudokia, a noun signifying satisfaction. It is that which is good or beneficial to someone. What God does is an extension of Himself. When He created, it was proclaimed good. The goodness of the creation was a result of His goodness. The wisdom in creation is an extension of His wisdom.

In the plan of redemption, there is no room for haughtiness. When God came in the Person of Jesus, He was lowly before others, even to the point of washing their feet. He possessed all of heaven’s power and authority, and yet, He did not use that which was at His disposal to secure obedience from His creatures, rule over His world, or seek protection from the torture of the cross.

If the Creator is mild and meek in this manner, it is to be expected that people will likewise reflect this quality when coming to Him for salvation.

Life application: Considering Jesus’ words to His Father, it is a remarkable attestation as to why those who observe the law since Jesus’ fulfillment of it are so odious to God. He came in the Person of Jesus, placing Himself under the law that He gave to Israel. He fulfilled it on behalf of those who could never meet its demands, as evidenced by almost 1500 years of people living and dying under it.

No person was found worthy to attain life through the law. But Jesus, because He is God, was both qualified and capable of fulfilling it, and He did. It is through His effort that relief from sin and the law is granted.

For a person to place himself, or continue to place himself, under the law after hearing about what Jesus did, is to essentially say, “Great job, God. You did well, but I can do even better.” It is essentially a slap in the face of Christ, rebuking Him for daring to say that we must come to Him by faith, apart from our efforts.

Let us not be found in such an arrogant state, dismissive of the work accomplished by God Himself in order to bring us reconciliation with Him.

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:5-7

Jesus came to do the will of the Father. He did just that. Through His effort, the law is annulled. If you want to be pleasing to God, trust in what He has done, not in what you think you can do. To God be the glory.

Lord God, forgive us for making everything about ourselves. May we exalt and glorify You. May we hold fast to Your goodness in the giving of Jesus for our reconciliation and fellowship. Praise be to You alone, O God. Amen.

Sunday, 13 July 2025

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. Matthew 11:25

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“In that time, Jesus answering, He said, ‘I acknowledge You, Father, Lord “the heaven and the earth” that You hid these from wise and sagacious, and You revealed them to infants’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told Capernaum that it would be sufferable on Judgment Day for Sodom in comparison to them. He now openly speaks to the Father with words based on how these things have played out, beginning with, “In that time, Jesus answering.”

As often occurs in Scripture, the word answer is not in response to a question but a matter. Jesus has been speaking about the judgment of God upon those who should have known better. As a response to that thought, He continues with, “He said, ‘I acknowledge You, Father.’”

The word exomologeó is used. It was already seen in Matthew 3:6. The word signifies to acknowledge. By extension, that can mean to confess, such as in confessing (acknowledging) one’s sins, professing one’s allegiance, etc. Jesus is acknowledging the ways of His Father who is “Lord ‘the heaven and the earth.’”

It is an all-encompassing thought that indicates what is expressed in Isaiah 55 –

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.
⁹ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8, 9

That this is what is expressed is seen in Jesus’ next words, “that You hid these from wise and sagacious.”

The word sunetos is introduced. It signifies someone who can mentally put things together. It may be deemed as intelligence where one plus one equals two. It may be a form of prudence, as in “this and this together are not safe and should not be mixed,” etc. The word sagacious fits because it describes someone with keen mental discernment and who possesses and uses good judgment.

In God’s infinite wisdom, He makes the most important matters of all those that must be received by faith. The wise and sagacious will spend their effort working out matters, relying on their own wits, experience, and mental acuity to come to conclusions. Such a person trusts in self, not in God, for the answer to a matter. On the other hand, Jesus says, “and You revealed them to infants.”

An infant is not capable of deep thought. He cannot process information because he has no experience or training to do so. He is given instruction, and he will trust that one who has the wisdom is rightly instructing him. This is what Jesus says about those He has been referring to.

Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Israel at large had all of Jesus’ words and miracles to attest to who He is. However, they failed to accept Him by simply believing what their eyes saw and what the Father had said in His word. They were trying to process a Messiah in their minds that fit a different paradigm, and they missed the simplicity of what Jesus presented.

As such, Jesus is acknowledging the wisdom of God because of how things had been laid out by Him. Surely, His ways are higher than the ways of man.

Life application: The words of Jesus are later reflected in the words of Paul –

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’
²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Paul tells us that the simplicity of the gospel is something most intelligent and prudent people will stumble over. They cannot grasp that God has brought man’s salvation down to simple belief. Their great intellects will call out to them, “You can do it! You can figure out how to please God with your wisdom.”

But God has said, “I have done it all. I just want you to trust Me. Have faith that I will carry you through.” This is nonsense to those who look at their own power, determination, wisdom, etc.  It is the “I” problem that seems hopelessly instilled in humanity. Only those who trust like a little child will set themselves aside.

Later in the same passage, Paul says not many of those higher categories will do so. He doesn’t say none will. Some are so prudent that they know they will never be prudent enough. Such a person will acknowledge, “I can’t attain to Your station, O God. Receive me despite my failings. I trust in Jesus.”

This is what God expects from His creatures… trust. Have faith in what God has done. It is sufficient to restore you to Him.

Lord God, help us to be people of faith. May we be willing to remove ourselves from the salvation equation and trust You, wholly and without reservation, to restore us to You. Your plan is set, it is recorded, and You ask us to believe. May our hearts be tender and do so. Amen.

Saturday, 12 July 2025

But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” Matthew 11:24

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Moreover, I say to you that it will be sufferable – land Sodom – in Judgment Day than you” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted that if the miracles done in Sodom had been done in Capernaum, it would have remained till that day. And more! He continues with, “Moreover, I say to you that it will be sufferable – land Sodom – in Judgment Day than you.”

The thought is the same as that of Tyre and Sidon in comparison to Chorazin and Bethsaida in verse 22. Just as the judgment of those two Jewish cities would be weightier than for the two wicked Gentile cities, so would the judgment of Capernaum be in comparison to that of Sodom.

The people of those cities would have been offended at such a thought. The judgment on Sodom because of their vile deeds was a key theme in their Scriptures. To be compared to Sodom, and then to be condemned as more deserving of judgment than it, would have been the highest form of offense.

Jews reading that today would still find it offensive. No wonder so many hear Jesus’ words and find them offensive. Until one understands the reason, the pronouncement would seem intolerable. However, with greater revelation comes greater responsibility.

The city of Sodom may have been filled with sexual deviants who rejected the natural order for humanity, but they only had the general revelation of God to guide them. Capernaum had the full body of Old Testament Scriptures to instruct them.

In seeing Jesus’ miracles and not making the connection of Him to being the fullest revelation of God ever made manifest, they were more worthy of condemnation than the perverted city of Sodom.

Life application: Imagine the guilt of those who have read the entire Bible, understood the evidence for the coming of Jesus, His fulfillment of the promises of God, His atoning death, internment, and resurrection, and then rejecting what they have read!

What more can God have done than what is recorded in Scripture to make it evident that He has fulfilled every promise concerning the restoration of life for those who believe? At some point, faith must be a part of the equation. Five days after Jesus ascended, some Jew may have arrived in Israel who had never heard of His coming.

He couldn’t say, “Ok, God, please send Jesus back so I can verify what these men say is true.” Nor could he ask for a video recording of it all to make sure He really did what had been claimed. For that Jew, faith must now come into play.

The same is true with us. People who sit on YouTube all day watching videos from false teachers about their visions and divine revelations are using faith in believing what they are being told. Their faith is just misdirected.

Though not a video recording of Jesus’ life, the Bible is a record of it nonetheless. It was carefully compiled over the centuries, slowly and methodically expressing God’s ongoing hand in the plan of redemption. When that plan was fully expressed, the final word of Scripture, the word Amen at the end of Revelation 22:21, was penned.

Now, we have everything necessary to competently know what God has done. From there, we can decide if the evidence is sufficient for us to accept and believe. Assuredly, it is. There is no need to look for further evidence from God concerning visions, prophecies, and revelations on YouTube. The word has been sealed.

Trust what God has presented, accept the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and be saved. To reject what is penned there, due to the complete nature of the revelation expressed, means that the one who is rejecting it is worthy of great condemnation. Don’t be such a person. Believe and be saved! Trust what God in Christ has done by believing the message found in the pages of the Holy Bible!

Heavenly Father, may we not neglect the truth of Your word, but read it, accept it, and apply it to our walk with You all the days of our lives. In it is found life, because in it we find Jesus. Thank You for what You have done in the sending of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Yes, thank You, O God. Amen.