RTW 2024

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! 

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:25-30

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.
Luke 7:44-45

Why did Simon neglect these highly important customs?

• Jesus elevated the lowly, the vulnerable, those overlooked.
• “Animals often carried yokes; when a man carried a yoke he was normally very poor and would carry it on his shoulders (cf., e.g., Jeremiah 27:2); Judaism applied this image to subjection or obedience. Jewish people spoke of carrying the yoke of God's law and the yoke of his kingdom, which one accepted by acknowledging that God was one and by keeping his commandments. Jesus speaks of his own yoke in similar terms. Matthew intends Jesus's words about rest as a contrast with Pharisaic sabbath rules in the following passage (Matthew 12:1-14): the promise of ‘rest for your souls’ comes from Jeremiah 6:16, where God promises to stay his wrath if the people turn to him instead of to the words of the false religious leaders (6:13-14, 20).” The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Craig S. Keener.
• True rest is connection with Jesus and childlike faith, trusting him–not constantly striving and anxious.

Walk with Jesus in his “yoke” of love, gentleness, compassion, and grace. You are loved no matter what.