THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David
II. PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM, Matthew 4:12 to Matthew 16:12
5. Discourses and Kingdom Parables, Matthew 11:1 to Matthew 16:12
NB !Note:
The Judean ministry of Jesus, which lasted almost one year, is not discussed by Matthew. This one year period is covered in John 1;1 to the end of John 4: and fits between Mat_4:11 and Mat_4:12. Matthew takes us from the temptation directly to the Galilean ministry.
Today we will look at the following question in the outline starting with Matthew 11-21
38. Why did Jesus pronounce judgment upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum? What wonderful promises follow these declarations of judgment?
The answer for question 38; Why did Jesus pronounce judgment upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum? What wonderful promises follow these declarations of judgment?
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
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.
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.
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
The answer for question 38;What wonderful promises follow these declarations of judgment?
At that time Jesus answered and said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
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.
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Comments by F.B.Meyer
on
WOE OR WELCOME
The answer for question 38; Why did Jesus pronounce judgment upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum? What wonderful promises follow these declarations of judgment?
The voice of upbraiding, Mat_11:20-24. The Judge weeps as he pronounces the doom of those who reject Him. They would have crowned Him king, but refused to repent. See Joh_6:15. These cities did not crucify Him, but they had been deaf to His warnings and indifferent to His mighty works. Even where there is no direct opposition, indifference will be sufficient to seal our doom.
The voice of thanksgiving, Mat_11:25-27. He “answered” the voice of God within His breast. Babes are those who mistrust the reasonings of their intellect, but trust the instincts and intuitions of their hearts. The child-heart looks open-eyed into all the mysteries of God. Learn to say Yea to all God’s dealings. The Spirit reveals the Son, and the Son the Father. Our Lord must be divine, if only God can know him.
The voice of pleading mercy, Mat_11:28-30. Labor is for active manhood; heavy-laden for suffering, patient womanhood. The invitation is to commit and submit; to come and to bow under the yoke of the Father’s will. Submission and obedience are the secrets of the blessed life.
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
B. Woes on the Unrepentant Cities of Galilee (11:20-24)
11:20 Great privilege brings great responsibility. No cities were ever more privileged than Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. The incarnate Son of God had walked their dusty lanes, taught their favored people, and performed most of His mighty works within their walls. In the face of this overwhelming evidence, they had stubbornly refused to repent. Little wonder, then, that the Lord should pronounce the most solemn doom upon them.
11:21 He began with Chorazin and Bethsaida. These cities had heard the gracious entreaties of their Savior-God, yet willfully turned Him away. His mind reverted to the cities of Tyre and Sidon which had fallen under the judgment of God because of their idolatry and wickedness. If they had been privileged to see the miracles of Jesus, they would have humbled themselves in deepest repentance. In the day of judgment, therefore, Tyre and Sidon would fare better than Chorazin and Bethsaida.
11:22 The words “it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment” indicate that there will be degrees of punishment in hell, just as there will be degrees of reward in heaven (1Co_3:12-15). The single sin that consigns men to hell is refusal to submit to Jesus Christ (Joh_3:36 b). But the depth of suffering in hell is conditional on the privileges spurned and the sins indulged.
11:23, 24 Few cities had been as favored as Capernaum. It became Jesus’ home town after His rejection at Nazareth (Mat_9:1, cf. Mar_2:1-12), and some of His most extraordinary miracles—irrefutable evidences of His Messiah ship—were performed there. Had vile Sodom, the capital of homosexuality, been so privileged, it would have repented and been spared. But Capernaum’s privilege was greater. Its people should have repented and gladly acknowledged the Lord. But Capernaum missed its day of opportunity. Sodom’s sin of perversion was great. But no sin is greater than Capernaum’s rejection of the holy Son of God. Therefore, Sodom will not be punished as severely as Capernaum in the day of judgment. Lifted up to heaven in privilege, Capernaum will be brought down to Hades in judgment. If this is true of Capernaum, how much truer of places where Bibles abound, where the gospel is broadcast, and where few, if any, are without excuse.
In the days of our Lord, there were four prominent cities in Galilee: Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Tiberias. He pronounced woes against the first three but not Tiberias. What has been the result? The destruction of Chorazin and Bethsaida is so complete that their exact sites are unknown. The location of Capernaum is not positive. Tiberias still stands. This remarkable fulfillment of prophecy is one more evidence of the Savior’s omniscience and the Bible’s inspiration.
C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25-30)
11:25, 26 The three cities of Galilee had neither eyes to see nor heart to love the Christ of God. He knew their attitude was but a foretaste of rejection on a wider scale. How did He react to their impenitence? Not with bitterness, cynicism, or vindictiveness. Rather He lifted His voice in thanks to God that nothing could frustrate His sovereign purposes. “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”
We should avoid two possible misunderstandings. First, Jesus was not expressing pleasure in the inevitable judgment of the Galilean cities. Secondly, He did not imply that God had high-handedly withheld the light from the wise and prudent.
The cities had every chance to welcome the Lord Jesus. They deliberately refused to submit to Him. When they refused the light, God withheld the light from them. But God’s plans will not fail. If the intelligentsia will not believe, then God will reveal Him to humble hearts. He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty (Luk_1:53).
Those who consider themselves too wise and understanding to need Christ become afflicted with judicial blindness. But those who admit their lack of wisdom receive a revelation of Him “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col_2:3). Jesus thanked the Father for ordaining that if some would not have Him, others would. In the face of titanic unbelief He found consolation in the overruling plan and purpose of God.
11:27 All things had been delivered to Christ by His Father. This would be a presumptuous claim from anyone else, but from the Lord Jesus it is a simple statement of truth. At that moment, with opposition mounting, it did not appear that He was in control; nonetheless it was true. The program of His life was moving irresistibly toward eventual glorious triumph. “No one knows the Son except the Father.” There is incomprehensible mystery about the Person of Christ. The union of deity and humanity in one Person raises problems that boggle the human mind. For instance, there is the problem of death. God cannot die. Yet Jesus is God and Jesus died. And yet His divine and human natures are inseparable. So although we can know Him and love Him and trust Him, there is a sense in which only the Father can truly understand Him.
But the high myst’ries of Thy Name
The creature’s grasp transcend;
The Father only (glorious claim!)
The Son can comprehend.
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,
That every knee to Thee should bow!
—Josiah Conder
“Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” The Father, too, is inscrutable. Ultimately, only God is great enough to understand God. Man cannot know Him by his own strength or intellect. But the Lord Jesus can and does reveal the Father to those whom He chooses. Whoever comes to know the Son comes to know the Father also (Joh_14:7).
Yet, after saying all this, we must confess that in seeking to explain verse 27, we are dealing with truths too high for us. We see in a mirror dimly. Not even in eternity will our finite minds be able to fully appreciate the greatness of God or understand the mystery of the Incarnation. When we read that the Father is revealed only to those whom the Son chooses, we might be tempted to think of an arbitrary selection of a favored few. The following verse guards against such an interpretation. The Lord Jesus issues a universal invitation to all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest. In other words, the ones to whom He chooses to reveal the Father are those who trust Him as Lord and Savior. As we examine this invitation of infinite tenderness, let us remember that it was issued after the blatant rejection of Jesus by the favored cities of Galilee. Man’s hate and obstinacy could not extinguish His love and grace. A. J. McClain said:
Although the nation of Israel is moving toward the ordeal of divine judgment, the King in His final word throws open wide the door of personal salvation. And thus He proves that He is a God of grace, even on the threshold of judgment.
11:28 Come. To come means to believe (Act_16:31); to receive (Joh_1:12); to eat (Joh_6:35); to drink (Joh_7:37); to look (Isa_45:22); to confess (1Jn_4:2); to hear (Joh_5:24-25); to enter a door (Joh_10:9); to open a door (Rev_3:20); to touch the hem of His garment (Mat_9:20-21); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord (Rom_6:23).
to Me. The object of faith is not a church, a creed, or a clergyman, but the living Christ. Salvation is in a Person. Those who have Jesus are as saved as God can make them.
all you who labor and are heavy laden. In order to truly come to Jesus, a person must admit that he is burdened with the weight of sin. Only those who acknowledge they are lost can be saved. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is preceded by repentance toward God.
and I will give you rest. Notice that rest here is a gift; it is unearned and unmerited. This is the rest of salvation that comes from realizing that Christ finished the work of redemption on Calvary’s cross. It is the rest of conscience that follows the realization that the penalty of one’s sins has been paid once for all and that God will not demand payment twice.
|11:29 In verses 29 and 30, the invitation changes from salvation to service.
Take My yoke upon you. This means to enter into submission to His will, to turn over control of one’s life to Him (Rom_12:1-2).
and learn from Me. As we acknowledge His lordship in every area of our lives, He trains us in His ways.\
for I am gentle and lowly in heart. In contrast to the Pharisees who were harsh and proud, the true Teacher is meek and lowly. Those who take His yoke will learn to take the lowest place.
and you will find rest for your souls. Here it is not the rest of conscience but the rest of heart that is found by taking the lowest place before God and man. It is also the rest that one experiences in the service of Christ when he stops trying to be great.
11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Mat_23:4). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”
His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says:
The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.”
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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