Jesus Blesses a Childlike Faith

Matthew 11:25–12:21

Jesus Gives True Rest

²⁵At 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. ²⁶Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ²⁷All 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. ²⁸Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

¹At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

⁹Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

¹¹Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. ¹⁴Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Behold, My Servant

¹⁵But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁶Yet He warned them not to make Him known, ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸ “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
¹⁹He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
²⁰A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
²¹And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

Devotional

When we put our trust in Jesus, He blesses us with many things. We see one of them in Matthew 11:25 when Jesus thanked God the Father for revealing heavenly truth to those with childlike faith. Praise God that we don’t have to be wise and clever! He simply reveals truth to us.

In the parallel passage in Luke, a blessing available to those with childlike faith includes authority over the Enemy (Luke 10:19). He makes us able to “put on the whole armor of God” and “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Jesus invites all who are heavy laden to come to Him for rest. What a great invitation! Don’t we all need rest today? If we have childlike faith, we’ll receive it.

Part of our rest comes from knowing and understanding that Jesus is Lord of all. Jesus demonstrated His authority over the Sabbath and the temple in chapter 12, which tells us He is greater than religion and all of its rules and regulations. As we put our faith in Him, we find freedom!

—Dr. Alex Himaya (theChurch.at, Tulsa, OK)

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Your Turn

Do you need rest today? Are worries stealing your peace? “Ask God to give you childlike faith and the revelation, rest, authority, and freedom that come from having Jesus Christ as your Lord.” Come join the conversation on our blog! We’d love to hear your thoughts! ~ Devotionals Daily