The 11th chapter of Matthew opens with Jesus getting a visit from the disciples of John the Baptist. John, who is in prison, wants to know if Jesus is really the messiah or not. Jesus answers with a list of the signs and wonders He has performed: the blind see, the lame walk and the good news is preached. Jesus turns to the crowd and talks about John the Baptist. Then, Jesus addresses the people’s reaction to both John and Himself.

The Matthew passage is divided into two parts. In the first part, Jesus describes how the people’s perceptions of Him (and John the Baptist) are wrong; their expectations are wrong; their understandings are wrong. In the second part, Jesus describes in detail exactly who He is and why He came.

The picture in Matthew 11, verses 16-19 is this: neither John the Baptist nor Jesus fit the image of what the people thought they wanted. John lived out in the wilderness, he ate weird food and spent all his time ranting about repentance. Repent from what? What’s all this stuff about the Kingdom of God? The guy’s too radical; he must have a demon, they said.

Jesus. Messiah? Don’t make me laugh. He’s poor, He hangs around with the worst sort of people. That gang he runs with is just a bunch of losers and radicals. Fishermen, for Pete’s sake! A tax collector. Dreamers. Radicals. Yeah, He’s apparently done a few miracles, but come on, Messiah?

That’s not what we want, they said. They wanted John to lighten up and they wanted Jesus to settle down. John was too spiritual and Jesus was too worldly. Neither one of them fit the mold of the Jewish religion.

Here’s what we want, they said: A regular King, with a big army to put Rome in its place. Then let’s restore Israel to its former glory, the envy of the world. Let’s make everyone live by our rules. Let God rule from the temple and put the rest of the world in its place.That’s what we want! They thought if they could just recapture the glory of Jerusalem, the world would take notice and all would be well again. 

They forgot that things weren’t so great back in the old days. Their priests were corrupt. Their greatest king was an adulterer and a murderer. The bloody temple sacrifices had to be offered over and over. Enemies surrounded them. Now this Jesus comes along and tells them that God’s plan is much bigger and more grand than the restoration of the former glory of Jerusalem. How could that be?

Sometimes, when I read about those people I wonder how they could be so blind. Then I look around me, and within me, and ask the same question. Why don’t we get it? We hear about baby Jesus, or gentle Jesus or humble Jesus or teacher Jesus and we think, “Well, that’s nice but…” Even when we hear about the Risen Jesus, we celebrate without fully understanding what it means for us, right here, right now, in this place, on this date. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest miracle in the history of the world! Yet, we still look at the troubles that surround us, the struggles of each day and we have a hard time seeing how Jesus relates; what Jesus means to us in the midst of all this trouble.

What we learn from this scripture is that Jesus is so much more than what we expect Him to be. He is even more than what we desire Him to be.

Jesus did not come to meet our expectations. He came to obey the Father’s will. He came to save His people. Jesus turned the whole expectation thing upside down. Here it is in Matthew 11: 25-30.

1. Verse 25, 26. Human understanding is out, faith is in. God reveals truth. There is nothing wrong with learning or with study or with gaining wisdom. What Jesus is saying here is that worldly wisdom alone is not sufficient for salvation. Those who think they are wise, apart from God, they are fools. Salvation only comes through faith. The truths of God can be easily understood by anyone who has faith, even a child. God’s truth is revealed in His word, by His Spirit, through His Son. And God desires to reveal His truth to us.
2. Verse 27. Jesus is King. He is King of the universe. God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, has always been in existence. There was never a time when God was not. When God created the earth, the Father spoke, the Son acted and the Spirit moved and it was so. In the fullness of time, the Father sent the Son to save the world, to save His people. And because Jesus the Son was obedient to the Father’s will, even to the point of dying on a cross, the Father gave His Son all authority over the world and the people for whom He died. Jesus is King of the universe.
3. All people of faith are His subjects, not just ethnic Jews. Anyone who has faith in Jesus the Son, is reconciled to God and enters fellowship with Him. If you don’t know the Son, you can’t know the Father. But everyone, jew or gentile, man or woman, rich or poor can become the child of God through faith in the Son. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
4. Verse 28. Jesus invites all who are burdened with sin.”Come to me.” The religious leaders heaped on to the law one regulation after another. They kept their distance and said, “Do this and do that and jump through these hoops and maybe you’ll be acceptable.”

Jesus says “Come to me…” It’s an invitation to put down that burden. Jesus offers to carry it for us. In fact, He has already picked it up, and carried it away.

5. Verse 29. Jesus is humble and lowly so all may approach Him. The scribes and pharisees were proud. They knew their stuff, they made the extra rules and followed them. And they put it all out of the reach of the people. No one could measure up. They looked down their noses at the ordinary people who were just struggling to live. Jesus was not like that. He didn’t puff Himself up, He didn’t wear fancy clothes, He joined in their celebrations and in their sorrows and He loved them. Just come, He said. Believe in Me and in the Father who sent me. 
6. Verse 30. Jesus offers an easier yoke; just love God and your neighbor, which is the heart of the law. Every day, people wake up and put on a yoke. They pick up the burdens and struggle through the day trying to carry them. Everyone, rich or poor picks up the burden of care for the people they love, wives & husbands, children & parents. If they’re healthy, they worry about becoming sick. If they’re sick, they worry that they might not get well. Every day holds challenges; jobs, the economy, war and strife. But the biggest burden is the burden of guilt; the crushing burden of sin.

We all know that something is not right. Something is broken in the world and in us. Some try to ignore it by masking the pain with pleasure or drugs or alcohol. Some try to fix it by trying to pay for their sins with good works or sacrifices. But the guilt doesn’t go away. Jesus is saying, “Take my yoke. Put that stuff down, I got this for you. Put your faith in me and what I did for you, and you’ll never have to bear that guilt again.” Jesus offers rest from the striving. Jesus did not come to make us moral, He came to make us righteous, holy, unblemished. He didn’t come to make us nice, He came to kill us so that we could be born again.

Jesus came to break us and make us into new creatures who love God. He came to wrap us up in His own righteousness so that we would be acceptable to God. Jesus came to heal that great wound of sin that made us detestable in God’s sight. Jesus came to restore a right relationship between us and God, a relationship where God loves us and we love Him back; where we find peace because we are not at war with God anymore.

Jesus says to us, “When you struggle with life, when you are suffering, I’ll be right there. When things are good and you’re happy, I’ll be there too, to celebrate with you. Here, try this on. My yoke is not heavy. Put it on. All you have to do is love me and trust me. And love your brothers & sisters, because they are struggling too.”

When John the Baptist announced that the Kingdom of God is near, this is what he was referring to. You and I and all who put their faith and hope and trust in Jesus are now citizens of God’s Kingdom. For a little while, we are also citizens of the world, but all the nations and borders will one day pass away. One day all the citizens of God’s Kingdom will be gathered from every nation on earth. Washed in Jesus blood and wrapped in the pure white robe of His righteousness, we will finally lay down every burden, every heartache, every pain and sing Holy!, Holy!, Holy!, with angels and the whole company of heaven. Like a tender Father, God will wipe away every tear. This Jesus, who did not meet the expectations of those who saw him, has exceeded every expectation and hope of a people who were dead in their sins. He has raised us to new life and given us an eternal hope. Come to Jesus. Lay down those heavy burdens at His feet, and you will find rest for your soul. Thanks be to God!