Matthew 11:25-30
v.25
- “Jesus answered”
- no question was asked
- this is looking heavenly and this is His response to what he said about the rejection of his message
- God reveals his message to babes (followers of Christ)
- idea of followers being like children can be seen in Matthew 18
- almost a reassurance that the rejection of the message is due to God’s will
- Jesus thanking the Father for His sovereignty in the situation
v.26
- powerful affirmation of God’s sovereignty in His divine election
v.27
- no one knows the Father except to whom the son wills to reveal
- this is interesting as to who is doing the revealing
John 6:44
- seems to suggest the other way around, or at least a difference process
- however, John 6:46 keeps with the theme that only He who is from God has seen the Father
- verse suggests a divine election, which is part of the will of the triune God
- the Son wills, the same way the Father wills
- also repeated in John 6:65
- this revealing of truth works in tandem to the drawing of the christian
v.28-30
- only after Jesus talks about election does He provide the invitation for Christians to come to Jesus
- this reflects the wording, where those who labour and are heavy laden
- in light of the previous verses, only those who can hear will come
- human nature, which makes us unable to submit to God without the drawing, rules out those who are non-elect
- so the verses do not contradict, and the verses are not an open invitation to every single person (how it is often used)
Matthew 13:1-23
- parable of sower must be understood in light of Matthew 11
- the reason for this is because of how Luke 10:21-24 is phrased
Luke 10:21-24
v.21-22
- previous verse talks about how your name is “written in heaven”
- almost identical verse to Matthew 11:25-26
v.23
- almost identical to Matthew 13:16
- seems to suggest that they are linked, or that Jesus may have been talking about the parable of the sower around the same time as He was talking about God’s divine election in Matthew 11
- at the very least, they are linked
- key part of the parable of the sower is when Jesus is asked why he speaks in parables
v.11
- mysteries of the kingdom of heaven given to you
- mysteries refer to understanding of doctrines
- Christian doctrines referred to as mysteries in New Testament (Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:51)
- two verses after verse 9
- verse 9 must be understood in the terms that only those who God has given ears to hear will hear
v.13
- reason given behind parable
- God is obscuring the truth from those who are not divinely elected
v.14-15
- even fulfils a prophecy from Isaiah
- if read in isolation, verse seems to suggest there isn’t a revealing of truth
- however, in it’s context, clearly sees how God is sovereign in who becomes saved and who can respond
- original prophecy is referring to God blinding them
v.16
- but blessed are our eyes for we see
- linking back to Luke 10, we have blessed eyes that can see through the sovereign act of God, who reveals his truth to us
- with this established, you must go over the parable of the sower in this context, that God is totally sovereign in the salvation of His own
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