Giving His Invitation — Rolfe Barnard

The Savior’s Invitation and Its Scriptural Context

I speak this morning on the Savior's invitation, and I read the invitation and ask you to keep the Bible, if you have it, open before you as we're going to look at the invitation of the Savior in the scriptural context of it.

I'm greatly interested in this subject because it's the Savior's invitation. My invitation is no good, but his is. And the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to stand in his stead and speak from him his invitation.

We are not to change it, we are not to add to it, nor take from it. The invitation begins in verse 28, and before we read it, let me make this statement to help us understand it a little better. Bible teachers, rightly I think, speak of the law of first mention.

By that, they mean that the first time a truth is found in the Bible, that whatever it signifies and means and outlines there, it will do that all through the scripture. The first time, for instance, that judgment is mentioned in the Bible, there you'll get the key, whatever it means there, it means throughout the Bible.

This is a very helpful thing, for this is the day of confusion where you can prove most anything by the Bible, and where a thousand different tongues are all speaking as from God and all basing their message on some part of the word of God.

This law of first mention will help you understand what repentance is, or what grace is, or what glory is, or what judgment is entering the first time it is mentioned in the Bible. This invitation in Matthew 11 is the first gospel invitation that came from the lips and heart of Jesus Christ.

Thus I am greatly interested in it, because it means that this is his invitation, and that all the other invitations in the Bible, none of them disagree with it, and that if we as God's people issue invitations to lost men and women, we must be dead certain they do not mix up and do not add to or take from this invitation.

Jesus’ Invitation to the Weary

Here it is, this is the first invitation to individuals. Up until now, in the record of Matthew, Matthew has been presenting Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the elect nation of the Jews. And here has come, as we'll see in a moment, beginning in verse 20, across the divide, and the nation, having rejected the Messiah, is rejected of the Messiah and the kingdom given to another.

Here is the first invitation that the Lord Jesus gave to individual men and women. It's a precious invitation, let's read it together. The Lord said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will, and I like the bed of the Greek there, I will rest you, I will rest you.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me. Now, that's the invitation. Then he encourages people to embrace him in this invitation by saying, I'm meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall rest unto your soul.

That's the precious promise. Then he encourages people still a little more, for my yoke is easy. You think it would be rough to be under the Lordship of Christ, but you're wrong. He said it's not nearly as rough as being under the Lordship of sin.

He said, My yoke is easy. You don't know it now, but it is. He encourages people. And my burden is life. Yesterday somewhere around, my husband came home from work or somewhere to find his two boys shot in the head and his wife shot below the heart.

Officers now are saying that the mother killed her two boys and then sought to kill herself. She is in the hospital now. I asked my wife this morning, I said, I wonder what sort of pressures and burdens were on that woman.

It must have been heavy to kill her two boys and then seek to kill herself. The Lord said, My burden is life. Not like that woman must have had. Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll rest you.

Well, suppose I come to you, Lord, by faith, you're not here in the flesh. I come to you, what takes place when I come into your presence as a seeking sinner? Well, he said, Bow your neck, I'll put my yoke on you, and then I'll enroll you in my seminary, the school of Jesus Christ, of all.

I'll put my yoke on you, and as you wear my yoke, go to school to me, you'll learn of me. That's his invitation. I want us to look a little more carefully than usual at who it is that gives this invitation.

Then second, what is the invitation, what is involved, and third, to whom is it given? Let's turn to the 20th verse and let's notice four things about the one who says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll rest you, take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.

Jesus as Judge of All the Earth

In the first place, the one who gives this invitation is the one who has been appointed judge of all the earth. He is the one upon whose shoulders has been laid the task of saving or damning every son and daughter of Adam's ruined race.

He is the one who said of himself, The Father judgeth no man, but hath given all judgment unto the Son, and hath given him authority to execute that judgment. Here he is executing judgment on the nation.

Then in verse 20, the verse starts with this word,. Then, then, something's happened. This is the first note of judgment in the ministry of the Lord. What an awful note it is. Then, when they've looked him over and said, We won't receive him, he's not the kind of Messiah we're looking for, then, when the diest cast began, it's been invitation, it's been proffer, it's been offer, it's been miracles, it's been accreditation, I'm the one the Old Testament talked about, here I am!

But now he begins to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done. He upbraids them because they repented not. He pronounces, Woe unto them, judgment, woe unto thee, show reason, woe unto thee, besthead, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable before the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. The judgment of all mankind, glory, hallelujah, grace upon grace, condescension upon condescension, many women to get into his presence and take his yoke and start the school to him.

The one who must deal with every sinner, that invitation ought not to be treated lightly. Let's look at the second thing about the one who gives this invitation, verse 23. It comes from the one man, of all men who had utter trust and faith in God the Father.

Jesus’ Trust in the Father and God’s Revelation

At that time, verse 25, Jesus answered and said, Remember thou that Jewish nations rejected him. He has declared judgments on them. And here he is, down on his knees, thanking the Father. That time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.

Look what he thanks God for, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto thee. Isn't that something to thank God for, as the whole Jewish nation rejected him?

Still rejected, brother, as I speak to you this morning. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? What's that Jew walking down the road? Blind! Who blinded him? God did. Your gospel pours off of him like water off a duck's back.

Blind! Something's been hid from him. Who hid it? God Almighty. The kind of God church people tell me today, but the Lord Jesus Christ, I don't know whether he could understand it or not, I dead sure can't, but whether he could understand it or not, he's thanking God for it.

Utter trust in the Father. You mean to tell me that God hides truth, yes, for smart alecks, they get to where they wouldn't know it if they met in the road, and he reveals it to little old dumb Belgians, he reveals it to me.

And the Lord said, you've hidden the truth from the nation, and you reveal it to little old nothings. So, Father, so it seemed good in thy sight, I wish we could take off our shoes, well, you know not this is holy ground, we're getting awful close into the presence of a God who may not act like this cocky generation thinks they ought to, but life's end against brings the judgment of God and fix a man so he can't see.

In order to become a Christian you've got to be a little old baby, may have a brain enough like some of you men to help in this research work out here and all of that business, but brother, that won't help you, and you've got to be like a little old baby, if God reveals truth to you.

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight, this is the one who could pray like that, who condescends to still laboring heavy hearted men and women, come on, come unto me, I'll put my yoke on you, come on.

The Son Reveals the Father

Look at the third thing about the one who gives this imitation, verse 27, all things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father. Isn't that some statement, isn't that some claim?

The one who gives this imitation claims that God the Father has turned everything over to him and said, nobody knows the Son but the Father. Look at the fourth thing, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, read it, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him, yet more often I'll never get acquainted with God unless the Lord Jesus Christ reveals him to me.

That's how hepless you are, my friend, all this stuff you hear on the radio, calls itself the gospel, there's enough hell preached on the radio this morning, lying in the name of Christ. And, God, dear little people, they believe everything they say, but all of this stuff they call Christianity today based on the great big decisions of men.

This is the truth. You'll never experience God, that's what it means to know him, and a salvation don't get you right with God no good, unless the Son reveals him to you. And he says that as the Father gives life to whom he will, even so the Son of God gives life to whom he will.

He's the only one that's got it, and he's sovereign as he dispenses it. This is Solomon. He's the only one to make you acquainted with God, reserves the right to reveal the Father as he pleases. And if he don't make God real to you, you're going to split hell wide open.

You better come down off your religious high horse and quit listening to this stuff they call the gospel, and get your Bible and ask God to help you get a little truth in your heart and start crying, Oh, would you save?

You don't have to, but would you save? Would you reveal God to me? You don't have to. I've got no way to bribe you, but I'm on your hand if you would reveal the Father to me. That's the one that invites people to come to him.

Coming to Christ as a Person

There's no little old pitiful Jesus. He's the judge of all the earth. He's the one that can thank God that God hides truth and reveals to babes. He's the one who says everything's been turned over to me.

He's the one who says, I hold in my hand your destiny, if I don't reveal the Father to you, there's no hope for you. He's the one who says, Come on, come to me, come to me, not a doctrine, but a person.

He's alive, come to me. How will I do it? I can't do it physically. Come to me in the truth, and in leaning on the merits of his life laid down on a cross, bowing before him where he is now on a throne, serving him as the head of the Church, which is his body.

Oh, come on, I'll put my yoke on you, put my brand on you, come on! But my yoke's heathen, my burden's light, come on! What grace! What kind of people does he invite? People who are laboring and are heavy laden, can't find any rest, come on!

The Invitation to the Thirsty

Oh, everyone that touched this, come on, come to the water! Here's a caravan coming off the desert, here's some kind-hearted man going out, got some pure water, he's there by the highway, here come these straggling camels and the people have been days on a journey, and the fellow puts his hand to his mouth and says, Hey, hey, hey!

You thirsty? Come on, I've got water. Can't buy it, but I'll give it to you. The fellow says, Thank you, I've got some water. That's what the world says today, that of them cisterns that hold no water, but they think they do.

Somebody says, No, thank you, I'm not thirsty, but he said, I didn't invite people that weren't thirsty, I said, whoever won the thirst, you can lead a mule to water, but you can't make him drink. God's people just got one task, that's to take the truth in the bowels of the Holy Spirit, trusting God to use it to create a thirst.

Well, there's water for thirsty people. If any man thirst, my Lord said, let him come unto me and drink. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, let him that heareth say, Come, and whosoever thirst, let him come, and whosoever will, I'll tell you, whosoever will, thirsty people, let him drink the water of the Spirit.

I'm glad he didn't say, Whosoever's got enough money to pay for it, make it a roll, and he fixed it like tongs, and all the fitness he requests to feel your need of him. That's the kind of folks he invites.

Responding to Christ’s Invitation

I'm glad. Will you stand to your feet? Miss Barnard's going to come and play, I can hear my Savior calling, maybe the Holy Spirit has taken the truth of Christ and made Christ's invitation real to somebody this morning.

If it has, we want you to have the opportunity to respond to it. We're just going to sing, and if you want to, you do business with Jesus Christ this morning. You got to one day at the judgment, sure glad he invites you.

You say, Preacher, I don't feel any need of him, or I don't know a thing on earth to do with you, but if you feel your need of him, thank God, that's all the fitness he requires. And I'd like you to be able to respond to him, hope you can, while we sing.

We'll just sing a moment or two. I can hear my Savior calling, if you could, I wish you'd come to Jesus. He heals us if you're hungry, thirsty, weary. He says, Come on, come in. Bless he invites you, you can't make it, but he invites people who are hungry, thirsty, and weary.

Come on, lay your burdens down, I'll rest you. Come on. Nobody writes that verse, I will follow after Jesus. Let's sing that once. If you're coming, you'll do it while we sing that verse. Come on. I will follow after Jesus.

Just the chorus now. By God's grace, we'll be here tonight, or I'll come visit you. I want, before we go away for the benediction, I want to sing that little song, Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.

I wish you folks would lose your song books. You're married to song books. You don't sing unless you got a song book open. Learn some of the old songs, about a hundred of them by heart. So you didn't sing.

You can't sing with a song book in front of you. Let's sing it. I just love it. I'm so glad he said, Come on, Ralph, you saw her rescue. Come on. I'll put my yoke on you, but it's easy. I am. I'm glad Jesus loves people.

Let's sing it. Jesus loves me. This I know. Things from the smart aleck, but he reveals them to the babes. You're dismissed. God bless you.