Matthew 11:25 Commentary and Bible Study

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rejoices in the perfect will of the Father who ordains and arranges all things. He calls him ‘Lord of heaven and earth’, a reference to his supreme sovereignty. In this world of sin, only the triumph of the work of God can please one who loves God. As the perfect man, this is Christ’s consolation, his encouragement. This compensates for all the sinfulness of sin, and all the victories that Satan appears to gain in this world. Even in this fallen world God the Father is still at work; his wisdom is not extinguished by the darkness. If light appears to be extinguished by darkness, if evil appears to overcome God’s righteous purpose, we need to look again. For those with eyes to see, the works of God continue amidst all the chaos of the fall and the curse. That truth assures the righteous that evil will not prevail, and that God is still triumphing over Satan, and will ultimately bring forth his victory for all to see. If evil had reduced God’s work to nothing or if ‘the rod of the wicked should rest upon the righteous’, then the righteous might have cause to despair, but while God is still at work, we can be confident his work will prevail. However quietly it proceeds, and however unseen by the world, that work is more powerful than anything that man and devils do.Christ thanks the Father for hiding and for revealing. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum have had the truth hidden from them, and although Christ has upbraided them for their unbelief, he sees the wisdom of God in what has happened. In their case, it is not as though they have not heard. The gospel has been very clearly preached to them by the Son of God himself, and yet the light has not penetrated them. Their failure to believe is due to the judicial blinding of their understanding by the Father, so that the gospel does not enter into their hearts. This is a work of God which is greatly to be admired, Christ tells us. God is entirely free in his choice of those to whom he will reveal the message. He is under no external constraint and acts alone. He decides whom will receive the truth and who will reject it. How does God ensure that the gospel comes to one and not another? He has ensured that without the effectual call of the Spirit none can understand. Repentance and faith are both gifts of God. The gospel can reach the outward ear with the greatest clarity and yet, without the work of the Spirit, it does not reach the heart. ‘Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent.’ The one who rejects the gospel, does so in his own estimation for what he considers good reasons: ‘I am ashamed of this message. It is about a Saviour who was crucified in weakness and in degradation. How can I trust in one who could not save himself from such humiliation? How can I follow him, when to do so I must take up my cross daily? This will make me appear a fool in the eyes of men.’ And so wisdom and prudence, or rather the wisdom and prudence which the world values, keeps that person from coming to Christ. They care more about what the world thinks of them than about what God thinks of them. Thus God makes pride a barrier to salvation which prevents men and women coming to God. While they use the faculties of wisdom and prudence to try to come to know God, they will never find the gospel. Not that those who are gifted in this way are excluded, but that while they trust in it, they are held off. He can have a knowledge, but not a convicting understanding, and so he will be judged.‘And hast revealed them unto babes.’ Babes are the humble minded, who are happy to receive knowledge as a given thing. The younger they are, the more readily they receive it. A humble mind receives, and truth of God must be received. The wise reject salvation, because it leaves them with no credit, and they want the credit. They don’t want their existing views thrown down, but the gospel turns all human thinking upside down. This is a work which the great ones of this world hardly know is taking place. They cannot discern what God is doing, for they cannot even see in their own case what stops them coming to faith.