25At 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. 26Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27All 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. 28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
It says Jesus answered. Answered what? What is the obvious question at the end of the last verse? The topic seemed to be the importance of repentance. Maybe the questions Jesus answered here are along the lines of: What does repentance mean? Who needs to repent? What did they do that needs repentance? Keep in mind that many of those hearing Jesus' words are faithful Jewish followers. Jesus is preaching in many of their synagogues. These people have been trying so hard to simply follow the Jewish law, how could they have something to repent? They were only trying to do what was right. It's not like they were practicing wickedness or evil ways. The wise men have studied the laws, have polished them, made them as complete as they could get them. They are struggling to follow these laws. And still Jesus said they need to repent. But the interesting thing is that Jesus said is that even though they still do not understand what is required of them, it is obvious to babes.
Here Jesus is showing something that is very hard to do. The wise men hadn't been able to see for themselves what they are required to do. Jesus seems to be saying that the reason this was hidden from them was God's doing. And God must have done it because it was good in His sight. Wouldn't your reaction be to be upset with God for hiding something so necessary from you? And yet Jesus thanks God for making it this way! When we feel that God could so easily make things much easier for us and yet we don't get that extra help from God, can we too recognize that God felt it was better for us this way? Can we go even as far as thanking God for making things the way they are? I think this is very hard for us to do, but is something that we should strive for.
How is Jesus so wise, wise beyond all the wise men He is meeting? Jesus gets all His knowledge from God the Father. No one knows Jesus for who He really is except God the Father. And no one knows God the Father except Jesus, and those who Jesus reveals God to. Jesus is our doorway to knowing God. God will be revealed to us through Jesus.
When Jesus next talks of all who labor and are heavy laden, I don't think He is necessarily talking of those who labor in their fields, who must work very hard for their living, but even more to those who struggle to do what is right by the law. Doing what is right should not be a labor nor a heavy burden. Doing what is right will give you rest, especially from all the struggles with the law.
I believe that taking on the yoke of someone else, means to do the tasks that they were doing. A common phrase today is "What would Jesus do?" Jesus said we should do what He would do and learn from Him. He is gentle and lowly in heart. Following the guidance of a gentle person, who is lowly in heart should give your soul rest. Jesus said His yoke is easy, it should be easy to do what Jesus would do, not the impossible struggle to meet the Jewish laws. And he said His burden is light, you will not feel burdened down with more than you can handle. Usually doing what is wrong puts more of a burden on your shoulders than doing what is right.
Do you feel bogged down with trying to meet what Jesus expects of you? Do you find it difficult to do the right thing? Do you feel burdened with what you believe is expected? Do you think Jesus expects too much? Maybe you haven't quite figured out exactly what Jesus expects of you yet. For what He expects should be easy and with very little burden. It has been hidden from wise men who tried to figure it out, but it is obvious to babes. Thank God for the marvelous plan He put in place. Repent of your struggles to figure it out on your own, but turn to Jesus to reveal God and His desires to you. For God will only be revealed to you through Jesus. Learn from Jesus. He will give you rest.