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TH 482 - Come unto Me, Ye Weary
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Hard/Loving Words for Hardened/Labored Hearts
Matthew 11:20-30
As a society, we’ve mistaken being loving and kind for never saying anything that might hurt people. In the whole recent gender debate, many insist we must use a person’s preferred pronoun rather than speaking the truth in love. That isn’t that far fetched. In some places, it’s illegal, even seditious to wound the religious feelings of others. And that can be challenging, because feelings are subjective. What wounds the feelings of one person may not wound the feelings of another. And yes, believers living under such laws must be wise, but also faithful to God. In the end, according to Scripture, it’s not wrong or sinful to speak truths that may hurt. We must do it; but lovingly. Paul himself asked in Galatians 4:16 - “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”
Yes, we don’t do it sinfully. James 3 reminds us that cursing and blessing shouldn’t come from the same mouth. We can’t bless God and curse man at the same time.
At the same time, we also know God blesses and curses. But he’s without sin. He is love and justice. He proclaims his love in Christ and calls people to repentance. But when people don’t repent, he warns them of just and eternal punishment. He speaks the loveliest words; but also gives the most intense promises of judgment. That’s the gospel! So as believers, we must declare such hard truth - words of judgment and loving words. In this passage, we see Christ - the Son of God - speaking this truth; threatening curses and offering blessing. He speaks hard truths to hardened hearts; but loving words to labored hearts. There are 3 lessons from Jesus in this passage.
Firstly, greater light obligates greater faith. Secondly, God’s arrangement is good and wise. Thirdly, the gospel call is a call to surrender.
Firstly, greater light obligates greater faith.
In our study of the Life of Christ, we’ve seen Christ shining forth all over Israel. He declared his divinity and was hated by the religious elite. He preached salvation. People came from everywhere to hear him - God’s people from Judea and Jerusalem and Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon. They also witnessed his miracles. As he healed, he taught the gospel. To be saved, you must repent - to be poor in spirit. And you’ll be transformed, even to love your enemies, as God loves his enemies. Those who believe will be transformed. What was the response to his Word and works? Yes, some believed and were transformed! But many didn’t. And here he revealed his deep grief against them. You see, greater light obligates greater faith.
There should’ve been repentance, but there wasn’t.
In verse 20, we learn - “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.”
Jesus denounced these cities he ministered to. Previously, he told his disciples not to judge unrighteously lest they be judged. But Christ is God - he has no sin. He rebuked them because they didn’t change their ways. He must’ve reflected - remembering all the people coming to him, all his sleepless nights
healing and teaching; and saw the disappointing outcome. There should’ve been repentance. They saw his mighty works.
They saw him healing in the synagogue, turning water into wine, healing a paraplegic man, cleansing a leper, and casting out devils. Many fishermen saw how he led Peter to catch fish enough to fill several boats. He did many other wonders. In fact, he did far more than was recorded. John 21:25 says the world can’t contain all the records of Jesus’ works. And they heard his teaching. He taught the attitude of the saved. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn for their sins. Blessed are the meek that come to Christ, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The saved have a spirit of repentance. Yes, some did repent. After Peter caught the fish, he confessed - “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
The Centurion whose servant was healed? - “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”
So faith and repentance are responses to Christ.
But most of them didn’t repent despite great evidence. So Christ pronounced a curse on them. Verses 21-22 - “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.”
Chorazin and Bethsaida were big towns on the shore of Galilee. Chorazin was 3 kilometers away from Jesus’ headquarters in Capernaum. Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, and John - a rich fishing city.
Now understand this. The cities, unlike Nazareth, were not hostile to the gospel. They were just indifferent. And indifference to clearly presented and evidenced truth is sin.
Greater the light, greater the obligation. So these “woes” showed both his anger and sadness. It indicated their coming doom - “it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.”
This is the price of ignoring the king. And he compared them with Tyre and Sidon - twin pagan cities north of Israel famous for idolatry.
But Christ knew they would’ve repented if they witnessed his miracles.
In fact, they’d have repented in sackcloth and ashes. It would’ve been national repentance. This is what Nineveh did when Jonah preached judgment to them. The whole city repented. So, if Tyre and Sidon had seen the miracles and heard the gospel, they would’ve repented of their idolatry.
But not only repentance, there should’ve been righteousness.
Jesus now accused Capernaum. Verses 23-24 - “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
There’s an accusation here - you Capernaum! You’ve been exalted to heaven. You had front row seats to Jesus’ teaching and signs. You should’ve been raised to heaven! But the whole city didn’t trust Christ. Nineveh only heard the threat of judgment and repented and changed her ways. But you had the gospel, but you aren’t righteous. Instead, you’ll be brought low to hell. Now, again, Christ compared the fate of Capernaum to unrighteous pagan cities - Sodom was one of them, and this would’ve included Gomorrah - twin cities; but there’s another pagan city - unnamed. While unnamed, Christ was referring to Babylon.
The phrase “you shall be brought down to hell” comes from Isaiah 14.
Isaiah was indicting Babylon - a city so wicked it was used in Revelation to refer to all wicked systems of the world. Why a formal charge? Because she took pride in her wealth and weapons. She conquered and oppressed other nations. And she was very successful. And that made her proud. How proud? Satan spoke through the King of Babylon - he said he’d ascend to heaven, be higher than God, make himself the Most High. But God said that he’d be brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. That’s what Jesus was quoting. And so this comparison means that Capernaum thought she was too good for Christ. She was small, not even wealthy or powerful like Babylon, but she was guilty of the same pride. She was newly rich and wicked. There was no righteousness. She was compared to Sodom - so immoral and cruel a city that God rained judgment on her. But get this - both Babylon and Sodom had nothing on Capernaum. Why? Because she had more knowledge than both of these cities, and therefore, more culpable. She wasn’t righteous. So she’d receive far greater judgment than brimstone from heaven - it would be hell fire. And this is a reminder to us. We’re more culpable because we have more knowledge. Greater light obligates greater faith. We must respond with repentance and evidence it in our lives - in righteousness.
And this is a reminder to us who’ve heard the gospel again and again. Children of the church, you must give your life to Christ. Don’t be hardened in your heart towards him - trust in him. And perhaps this “woe” is to you. And it’s a good thing. Christ was not afraid to speak such hard words. These were hard words for hardened people. But at the same time, it’s a word of mercy. “Woe” implies there’s still time to repent. Jonah’s words to Nineveh - “yet forty days, Nineveh shall be destroyed!” Such warnings are gracious triggers for repentance. His words would’ve offered a shred of hope for people who heard. There’s mercy in woes. So this is a hard word for some of you here - and you need to hear it. But after Jesus pronounced curses, he explained why some believed and others didn’t.
It was because of God’s good and wise arrangement. That’s the second point.
Now, why didn’t the multitude believe despite seeing and hearing wonders? They were hardened. Yes some heard and repented.
These are the humble believers of the gospel.
Verses 25-26 compare the two groups. They say that God, the Lord of heaven and earth, had hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. It was good in God’s sight, and to be thanked! Wow! What does this mean? It speaks about election and justice. The multitudes were hardened despite all the miracles they witnessed. So God kept the gospel from them. You don’t want it right? Then you won’t hear it. That’s why in their wisdom and learning, the gospel was foolish! The ones who are blessed are poor in spirit? I must admit I’m a sinner? I must ask God for forgiveness? Yes! That’s the gospel. But the wisdom of the world is different. The world values strength, not weakness. If you’re smart and successful, that’s strength. When you win and succeed, you don’t have to make peace - you have the higher hand. Why bother with meekness, you can fight and bully others into submission. Trust in yourself for salvation. Now certainly, Christ isn’t putting down the wise and educated. Rather, when he uses the term “babes” he identifies the kind of people will receive the gospel.
“You’ve revealed these truths to babes.”
Babies cry out for filling and help. They’re not self-sufficient; but require God to save them. Those who have such humility, are truly wise. They have heavenly wisdom. Which is what? James 3:17 - “wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
True wisdom doesn’t fight and assert self, but shows Christ. He’s pure, peaceable - the prince of peace, he’s a gentle shepherd, he can be pleaded with, full of mercy, and fruitful. He ministered to rulers and beggars alike who came meekly to him. They saw the gospel. But the worldly wise didn’t; their hearts were hardened by their own wise stubbornness. Yes, we can say it’s a work of election. God reveals this truth of salvation to whom he wills. He humbles those he reveals it to. But the fact of the matter was this - if you don’t believe in Jesus, you will never be right with God.
That’s what verse 27 says.
Christ is central in salvation.
There, Jesus said that God had entrusted everything to him. No one knows God. Jesus does - he’s the Son. And those to whom Jesus will reveal God, those are the ones who will know God. This was Jesus’ point. He came to reveal God. The way of salvation. To repent of sins and turn to God. He knows God. That’s what God wants. Jesus is not just a son of God, he’s THE Son of God. No one knows God like he does. And Jesus has come to reveal God. And he only reveals who God is to babes - those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Those who cry and mourn.
So Jesus has given his hard words. Woe to those who won’t receive him. Woe to those who think they’re too wise and learned to be humble. God has hidden the truth from them because they won’t receive Jesus - who has come to tell people what God wants. Remember, the woes still give a chance for people to repent. And these words would’ve been hard hitting words - offensive words - but needful words to those who heard.
But here, Jesus gives loving words to those who would hear. He told the people to surrender to him. If he was God’s appointed bringer of truth, then they had to listen.
Thirdly, the gospel call is a call to surrender.
What were the words that the hard hearts needed to hear? Not just words of woe, but words of comfort. Verses 28-30 - “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
We see from these verses, Christ’s comforting call to the restless.
Perchance in the multitude who were just scolded, there were those whose hearts were softened by the hard words, Christ now offered hope. You see, it’s very tiring living according to the wisdom of the world. It’s hard work to fight to win your place. It’s hard to be moral so you can earn righteousness. It’s very tiring to work for your status. So Jesus’ call was to the ones who recognized the futility of this kind of life. In those days, the religious elite had a lot of rules - rules that seemed to promote righteousness but made life moralistic and laborious. In our terms today, some would say - since drunkenness is sin, then one must never drink alcohol. And to avoid temptation, you should never cook with alcohol. And to keep pure, you must check the ingredients of all food to ensure there’s no alcohol - especially in restaurants. And if they do have alcohol, the faithful should never dine at such restaurants. This is such a difficult life to lead. This is not the gospel. They made up all kinds of rules - you can write a two letter word on the Sabbath, but not a three letter word.
But instead of this kind of work, Jesus calls us to another kind of work. He uses the metaphor of a yoke. Farmers would place yokes on animals to plow the fields or to bear burdens. In the Old Testament, yokes were metaphors for bondage or service to a master. And so Jesus was saying that the kind of life in the world of fighting is a terrible master - but Jesus was offering himself as a gentle master. And when he said “take my yoke”, he meant for the people to lift it onto their shoulders.
You see, the Lord Jesus was giving a working solution to the restless.
It’s still a yoke. It’s still work. But what kind of work? Humility. It’s the gospel. Admit you’re a sinner, that you’re weak, that you can’t have your own righteousness. And this is light work. It’s not something you do for your righteousness, it’s something you let done to you. We are following the example of Christ. He was meek and lowly - to come from heaven as God’s Son - the Son of the Lord of heaven and earth - to save. And if we learn that humility and lowliness, we will be saved. These were the loving words to labored hearts to stop being hardened, but to start being humbled.
Today, many people are laboring and burdened by many things. By working for their righteousness. Young people want to be one up and better than others, trying to be what you aren’t - what a terrible way to live. Instead, we can find the sweetness of being complete in Christ. Some people are weighed down by guilt over past sins and remorse over past errors. You can never make them right. But when you come to Jesus, he’ll forgive you. And when you’re humble and lowly, you’ll repent gladly of them.
But loving words alone do nothing. Of course, hard words alone do nothing but cause anger. But hard words do lead to loving words. There are wonderful lessons for us as we look at the life of our Savior. He offers rest to us. Some of us this evening have to be reminded about repentance. We’re living a life that is far from God. Come to Christ and he forgives. But there’s another lesson for us too. These hard words and loving words of Christ are words that we must also speak. For no one will come and take the yoke of Christ if they don’t know about their futile labor; if they aren’t confronted with their folly. And that means that we must speak hard words of judgment as well, along the loving words. May the life of Christ teach us how we must live.
1. Greater Light Obligates Greater Faith
A. There should be repentance
B. There should be righteousness
2. God’s Arrangement Is Good and Wise
A. The humble believers of the gospel
B. The centrality of the Son of God
3. The Gospel Call Is a Call to Surrender
A. Christ’s comforting call to the restless
B. Christ’s working solution to the restless
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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