New Testament:
Matthew 11:7-30
Old Testament:
Genesis 32:13-34:31
Wisdom & Instruction:
Psalm 14:1-7
Proverbs 3:19-20
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New Testament: Matthew 11:7-30
Summary: Jesus affirms John’s faithfulness, exposes hardened hearts, warns against rejecting revealed truth, and calls the weary to find real rest through humble submission to Him.
Light Rejected Becomes Judgment
Light Rejected Becomes Judgment
Yesterday left us with John the Baptist behind bars, faithful but hurting, asking hard questions. Today, Jesus answers without flattery. He tells the truth about John, about the crowds, and about us.
Jesus asks what kind of man John really was. Not soft. Not bending with the wind. John was sent by God to prepare the way, just as Scripture promised. “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” ~Matthew 11:11. John’s worth was not measured by freedom or success, but by obedience. Prison did not cancel his calling. God finished what He sent John to do.
Then Jesus exposes the crowd’s stubbornness. They wanted a message that fit their mood. John was too severe. Jesus was too free. Neither satisfied them. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him!’” ~Matthew 11:19. The issue was never the style. It was rebellion. God sent truth, and they judged it instead of obeying it.
Jesus does not soften His words next. Cities that witnessed His power and refused repentance were warned plainly. “You will be brought down to Hades” ~Matthew 11:23. Light rejected becomes judgment. Scripture does not leave room for comfortable unbelief. To hear Christ and walk away unchanged is to choose accountability before God.
Then Jesus lifts His eyes and thanks the Father. God reveals Himself to the humble, not the proud. “You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” ~Matthew 11:25. The door to truth is low. Pride will not fit through it. Only those willing to bow can see the kingdom clearly.
Jesus then draws the line straight to Himself. “No one knows the Father except the Son” ~Matthew 11:27. Knowing God is not about effort, heritage, or knowledge. It is about coming to Christ on His terms. And those terms are clear.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden” ~Matthew 11:28. This is not a sales pitch. It is a summons. Life wears people down. Sin crushes. Religion piles weight on already tired shoulders. Jesus offers rest, not by removing the yoke, but by giving a better one. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me” ~Matthew 11:29. Submission to Christ is the only road where the soul finally breathes. His burden is light because He bore the heaviest load at the cross.
This passage demands honesty. Are we critiquing Jesus from a distance, or are we coming to Him in surrender? Tomorrow, the tension will rise as Jesus confronts hardened hearts and exposes what truly defiles a person. Today’s takeaway cuts deep. The rest your soul wants is not found in control, comfort, or excuses. It is found in bowing to the One who says, “Come.”
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Overview: Matthew 1-13 – Click Here
The Whole Gospel
Gospel ministry, evangelism, demands honesty. It demands that we tell sinners the whole truth, not part of it, but all of it. And this kind of gospel honesty is the only acceptable ministry as far as our Lord is concerned; anything less than this falls short of our calling. And the truth is, honestly, that the gospel is both glorious and dangerous. It is eternally enriching, and it is eternally ruining. The gospel has the power to compound joys everlastingly and to compound sorrows everlastingly. The gospel will escalate pure pleasure forever or escalate pure pain forever. After hearing the gospel with a measure of understanding, no sinner is the same – no, not in time, and certainly not in eternity.
Exposure to the gospel makes sinners better or it makes them worse; doesn’t leave them the same. No one who understands the gospel and its claims and its commands remains the same in time or in eternity.
Marked by God, Not by Strength
Old Testament: Genesis 32:13-34:31
Summary: Jacob wrestles God and is changed, meets Esau in undeserved grace, and watches fleshly anger bring ruin, showing that surrender brings blessing but self-will brings destruction.
Marked by God, Not by Strength
Night has a way of stripping a man down to what he really trusts. Yesterday, Jacob stepped onto the road home afraid but obedient. Today, God shuts the lights off and deals with him alone.
Jacob sends everyone ahead and stays back. No schemes left. No ladders to climb. “Jacob was left alone” ~Genesis 32:24. That is where God meets him. The wrestling match that follows is not about muscle. It is about pride. When God touches Jacob’s hip and cripples him, the fight is over even though the struggle continues. Jacob hangs on and begs for blessing. God gives it, but not before changing his name. Jacob the deceiver becomes Israel, a man who learned that strength comes from surrender. He limps away marked forever, not cursed, but claimed.
Morning brings the meeting Jacob feared most. Esau approaches, and instead of violence comes mercy. “He embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him” ~Genesis 33:4. God settled the matter before Jacob arrived. The reconciliation is not earned. It is given. Jacob knows it and says so. “God has dealt graciously with me” ~Genesis 33:11. When God changes the man, the outcome changes with him.
Then Scripture pulls no punches. Dinah is violated, and Simeon and Levi answer sin with more sin. They lie, deceive, and slaughter. Their anger burns hot, but it burns wrong. Jacob sees the danger clearly. Their actions invite destruction and dishonor the covenant. Righteous ends do not justify fleshly methods. God never asked for this bloodshed.
This passage forces a hard truth into the open. Wrestling with God brings humility, blessing, and life. Acting from unchecked anger brings ruin. God’s people are called to trust His justice, not manufacture their own.
For believers today, this cuts close. God often wounds our pride to save our soul. He slows us down so we stop running on self-reliance. The limp Jacob carried was not weakness. It was a reminder of where true power comes from. Scripture later says of Christ, “He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” ~2 Corinthians 13:4. God’s way has always been strength through surrender.
Tomorrow, God will call Jacob’s household to clean house and return to Bethel. The takeaway today is plain. You cannot walk with God unchanged. If you cling to Him, He will mark you. The only question is whether you will limp forward in faith or keep fighting to stand on your own.
Psalm 14 does not tiptoe around the truth. It says the quiet part out loud. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” ~Psalm 14:1. That denial poisons everything. God looks down and finds rot in every corner. No one seeking Him. No one doing right ~Psalm 14:2–3. Strip away the excuses and Scripture says what remains is corruption.
The wicked strut for a while, feeding on God’s people like prey, thinking no reckoning is coming. But fear shows up anyway, because God stands with the righteous whether the world admits it or not ~Psalm 14:5. The psalm ends with a cry for rescue, not reform. “Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion” ~Psalm 14:7. Salvation does not rise out of human effort. It comes when the LORD moves, restores, and turns mourning into rejoicing. That is where hope lives.
Proverbs 3:19–20 grounds you. The universe didn’t come together by accident. “The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth” ~Proverbs 3:19. Every mountain. Every boundary. Every scientific law affirming creation exists because God spoke intelligently and with knowledge.
God who established the universe with knowledge hasn’t forgotten about dry ground. “By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew” ~Proverbs 3:20. He provides power and provision. Stability beneath our feet. Refreshment from above. The Bible is clear. The God who wisely created this world knows how to maintain it, and He knows how to maintain those who believe in Him.
Key Scriptures to Hold Onto Today
Jesus says, “He that endureth to the end shall be saved” ~Matthew 10:22. Following Christ will bring resistance, but perseverance rooted in obedience is the mark of those who truly belong to Him.
Scripture says, “God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me” ~Genesis 31:9 (KJV). What Jacob gained did not come from manipulation or endurance alone. It came because God saw the injustice and acted in His time.
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