Have you ever unpacked a suitcase when you got home from a trip, only to realize you had not worn some of the items you packed? Sometimes we take more than we need; and so, all that we have done is carry around extra weight. Unfortunately, we all carry around weight that we do not need, like the weight of a troubled past, conflicts that we cannot seem to let go of, sadness or grief that does not go away, fears of the future, or even the argument from yesterday. We all carry things that are unnecessary, things that only weigh us down, slow us down, and keep us from being and doing what God intends for us.(1) Sometimes these burdens can even hinder us from coming to Christ. In our passage today, Jesus urges us to lay down our heavy burdens to find rest and renewal in Him.
The Ones Who Understand the Father (vv. 25-26)
25 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. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”
In verse 25, Jesus was surrounded by His disciples and some others from the towns through which He had passed. He declared in their hearing that God has “hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” “These things” refers to the revelation of Jesus being the Christ. The “wise and prudent” were the Rabbis, whose teachings and traditions carried into the second and third centuries. In the Haggada Shel Pesach, which is a Passover guide from the third century, we hear echoes from the rabbinic schools of Hillell and Shammai; schools that existed in Jesus’ time. They would “applaud themselves at the eating of the Passover every year, and say, ‘We are all wise, we are all prudent, [and] we all understand the Law’.”(2) This statement is preserved in the Haggada.
The “babes” were the commonfolk who, in Jesus’ estimation, were not yet hardened in the pride of their own understanding. They were still open to receiving Him as Messiah and Savior. It is noteworthy that Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai, from the second century, continued to pass on Jewish tradition from the time of Jesus. He once stated, “It is not the pleasure of God that wisdom should be so revealed to the world; but when it is near the days of the Messiah, even ‘little children,’ or the ‘babes that are in the world,’ shall find out the hidden things of wisdom’.”(3)
There is no doubt that Jesus was familiar with these rabbinic traditions when He made His declaration. Bear in mind that He was speaking out of experience. “The experience He had was that the Rabbis and the wise men rejected Him; and the [common] people accepted Him. The intellectuals had no use for Him; but the humble welcomed Him. We must be careful to see clearly what Jesus meant here. He is very far from condemning intellectual power [or ability]; what He is condemning is intellectual pride.”(4) “Those who repented, the ‘babes,’ were those humble people who were open to God and able to see Him at work in Jesus. ‘The wise’ were people like the Scribes and Pharisees who felt secure in their own knowledge and so failed to see God revealed in [Christ].”(5)
Commentator William Barclay says, “The heart, not the head, is the home of the gospel. It is not cleverness which shuts out [the Savior]; it is pride. It is not stupidity which admits [one’s sins]; it is humility. Jesus is not connecting ignorance and faith; He is connecting lowliness and faith. A man may be as wise as Solomon. But if he had not the simplicity, trust, [and] innocence of the childlike heart, he has shut himself out [of the kingdom].”(6) The apostle Paul said, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty . . . that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27, 29).
Jesus Reveals the Father unto People (v. 27)
27 “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.”
Barclay says that here we see “the greatest claim that Jesus ever made, the claim which is at the center of the Christian faith. It is the claim that He alone can reveal God to men.”(7) In what is called “The High Priestly Prayer” in John chapter 17, Jesus lifted His disciples up in prayer to the heavenly Father with these words: “I have manifested Your name . . . I have given to them the words which You have given [to] Me; and they have received them and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (vv. 6, 8). According to Christ Himself, we obtain a relationship with the heavenly Father by receiving His words, and by believing that Jesus was sent from God.
In John 14:9, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” “What Jesus says is this: ‘If you want to see what God is like, if you want to see the mind of God, the heart of God, the nature of God . . . look at Me!’”(8) It is “in Jesus Christ alone [that] we see what God is like . . . and Jesus can give that knowledge to anyone who is humble enough and trustful enough to receive it.”(9) Today, we can both hear His words and see His actions by reading the Holy Bible; and according to Isaiah 28:9-10, the Lord reveals His precepts, or His words, to “those just weaned from milk” (v. 9); or rather, He has “revealed them to babes” (v. 25). I should also note that a childlike faith allows us to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The declaration in verse 27 may sound “as though Jesus selected some for salvation and withheld it from others, [but] the preceding paragraph [in Matthew 11:16-24] rules out such interpretation. The cities of privilege are condemned because they rejected the light offered [to] them,”(10) a light that is offered all men. “Verse 28 makes it clear that [no one] is arbitrarily excluded from salvation. Jesus’ gracious invitation is [available] to ‘all you who labor and are heavy laden’.”(11) And all means all! Just as “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), “the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him” (Romans 10:12). The invitation to “Come unto Me” (v. 28, KJV) is open to all people, not just a select, prechosen few. So, let us now look at this great invitation.
Receiving Rest within His Knowledge (vv. 28-30)
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Commentator Adam Clarke says, “The metaphor here appears to be taken from a man who has a great load laid upon him, which he must carry to a certain place. Every step he takes reduces his strength and renders his load the more oppressive. However, it must be carried on; and he labors, [using the] utmost exertions to reach the place where it is to be laid down. A kind person passing by, and seeing his distress, offers to ease him of his load, [so] that he may enjoy [some] rest.”(12)
Jesus invited people to take His “yoke” upon them to find rest (v. 29). The rabbis used the word yoke for a school of thought, and we know that theirs was difficult to follow.(13) Jesus once declared of the Scribes and Pharisees: ‘They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders’ (Matthew 23:4). The word “yoke” among the Jews signified any kind of bond or obligation to do some task or work.(14) They “used the phrase [yoke] for ‘entering into submission to.’ They spoke of ‘the yoke of the Law’ [and] ‘the yoke of the commandments’.”(15) To the Jew, religion was a thing of endless regulations, all of which had to be observed”(16) to stay in right standing with God.
“Jesus spoke to [people] who were desperately trying to find God and who were desperately trying to be good; and who were finding the task impossible and who were driven to weariness and despair.”(17) He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The phrase “I will give you rest,” in the Greek, means “refreshing and rejuvenation.”(18) Jesus invited people to take His yoke upon their shoulders (v. 29), as He wants to “exchange” our burdensome yoke for something lighter. He does not offer to release us from carrying any yoke at all, but to exchange the one that is cumbersome for another one that will provide rest and renewal. Hebrews 6:1 describes this exchange as “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”
When Jesus stated, “My yoke is easy” (v. 30), the word “easy,” in the Greek, can mean “well-fitting.”(19) This brings us to another definition of the word yoke, which is the kind used for oxen. “In [ancient] Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood. The ox was brought and the measurements were taken. The yoke was then roughed out, and the ox was brought back to have the yoke tried on. The yoke was then carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well and would not [irritate] the neck of the patient [animal]. The yoke was tailor-made to fit the ox.”(20) “Jesus said, ‘My yoke fits well.’ What He says is [this]: ‘The life I give you to live is not a burden to [irritate] you; your task [and] your life is made to” fit you to measure.
“Whatever God sends to us is made to fit our needs and abilities exactly. God has a task for every one of us, which is made to” fit us perfectly. Barclay says, “It is not that the burden is easy to carry; but it is laid on us in love; it is meant to be carried in love; and love makes even the heaviest burden light.”(21) We do not receive a life free of effort or sorrow. Jesus’ own earthly life had its share of hard work, disappointments, and defeats. Jesus said that a disciple must bear his own cross and come after Him (Luke 14:27). The rest that He offers comes from the security of knowing that we have acceptance by God, and it means having a peace during life’s trials and struggles.(22)
Up to this point, we have considered only the single ox yoke, but some have envisioned the yoke here as being the double ox yoke. The double yoke consisted of a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs. The image of the double yoke helps us understand that, even though we must take up our cross and come after Jesus, we do not have to bear the cross alone. When Jesus carried His own literal cross to Golgotha, Simon of Cyrene stepped in the help carry it for Him (Luke 23:26); and in Galatian 6:2, Paul told believers to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We have Jesus and our fellow believers to help carry the load.
These are all valid applications that bring us great comfort, but the yoke that Jesus probably had in mind was a “yoke of learning” or a “mantle of learning.” He said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” (v. 29). Commentator John Gill says that the religious leaders of the day learned from people like Hillel and Shammai, who “were presidents of their universities about the time of Christ. But our Lord says, ‘learn [from] Me,’ not [from] Hillel or any of your [well-renowned] doctors.”(23) I think some good questions to ask this morning are: “What yoke are you wearing?” “From whom or what are you learning?” or “What is it that is preoccupying your mind?”
Are you learning from university professors who scoff at God? Are you getting your information from the Discovery Channel, which seeks to explain the miracles of the Bible as natural phenomenon? Is your worldview being shaped by Hollywood or the public news media? If your source of learning comes from any other place than Jesus Christ and the Word of God, then it is no wonder why you feel heavy burdened! Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . and you will find rest for your souls.” We should be getting our information from the Bible, which means reading it. When we do, we will find the refreshing that Jesus promised, and we will learn about Him.
Time of Reflection
The greatest refreshing that we receive is the knowledge of salvation; of how Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and receive eternal life. In Isaiah chapter 28, the prophet stated that when “those just weaned from milk” (v. 9), or rather, the babes; when they read the Scripture “precept upon precept, line upon line” (v. 10), they will come to understand about the Messiah. Isaiah declared of this wonderful knowledge, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing” (v. 12). I want to encourage you to lay down your burden at the foot of the cross today and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life.
Allow me to close by sharing the words of Christian songwriter David Crowder from his song entitled, “Come as You Are.” “Come out of sadness from wherever you’ve been; come broken hearted, let rescue begin. Come find your mercy, oh sinner come kneel; earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t heal . . . So lay down your burdens, lay down your shame; all who are broken, lift up your face. Oh, wanderer come home, you’re not too far; so lay down your hurt, lay down your heart – come as you are.”
NOTES
(1) “What’s in Your Backpack: Prayer,” Huntington Ridge Presbyterian Church: https://huntingridgechurch.org/2015/08/26/sermon-whats-in-your-backpack-prayer/ (Accessed May 30, 2026); words adapted and reworked.
(2) John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible: https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-11-25.html (Accessed March 30, 2026).
(3) Ibid.
(4) William Barclay, “The Gospel of Matthew,” The Daily Bible Study, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958), p. 15.
(5) Clair M. Crissey, “Matthew,” Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, vol. 15 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981), p. 66.
(6) Barclay, p. 15.
(7) Ibid., p. 16.
(8) Ibid., pp. 16-17.
(9) Ibid., p. 17.
(10) Frank Stagg, “Matthew,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 8 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1969), p. 145.
(11) Ibid., p. 145.
(12) Adam Clarke, “Matthew to the Acts,” Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 5 (Nashville: Abingdon Press), p. 132.
(13) A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1930), p. 92.
(14) Clarke, p. 132.
(15) Barclay, p. 19.
(16) Ibid., p. 17.
(17) Ibid., p. 17.
(18) Robertson, p. 92.
(19) Barclay, p. 19.
(20) Ibid., p. 19.
(21) Ibid., pp. 19-20.
(22) Crissey, p. 67.
(23) John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible: https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-11-29.html (Accessed March 30, 2026).
