Growth Groups

LIVINGTHIS IS : Week 4 Designed by God Week of October 11th

Growth Group Fall 2015 – This is Living: Designed by God Week 4 – October 11th 2015 - :25-30

Getting to Know One Another (Optional Question for Groups)

1. Share a family story or memory that is special to you. For instance, one that gets told often at family gatherings or meals.

Setting the Context

Matthew 11:1-13:58 reveals the nature of the Kingdom of God. Where is it? What is it? How is it coming? Matthew’s record is divided into two parts: (1) Kingdom Persons: John and (Matthew 11:1-12:50) and (2) Kingdom Parables (:1-52).

In Matthew 11:25-26 we see the expression, “you have hidden . . . and revealed.” God is sovereign in choosing those to whom he will reveal his truth. All human wisdom and learning is irrelevant to the question of knowing God (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and Matthew 11:21-24).

In Matthew 11:27, Jesus makes an extraordinary claim that God’s sovereign disposition of all things has been committed to Jesus. Jesus possesses an exclusive knowledge of the Father, and only the Father truly knows him. His knowledge is thus equal to the Father’s, and his sonship is unique. Jesus sovereignty extends even to deciding who will know the Father. This parallels Matthew 11:25, but here it is Jesus who reveals the Father.

Jesus knew God and his character because he had been with God from the beginning. (see John 1:1). N.T. Wright suggests that Jesus serves as a window through which we can see what God is really like.

In Matthew 11:28-30, because the Son is sovereign in revealing God, he has the authority to invite people to himself. Because he is gentle and humble, he extends his invitation first to the weary and burdened and secondarily to the strong and comfortable.

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h a • • L La Jolla Presbyterian Church 858-454-0713 www.ljpres.org Jesus speaks of the “yoke” in Matthew 11:29-30. The and religious leaders of Jesus’ day often spoke of the “yoke of the Torah” which had to do with the burden that the laws and commands of Judaism placed on the people (Acts 15:10). Jesus offers not independence, but a different yoke. It is easy and light (Matthew 11:30), not because it is less demanding, but because it is administered by a Shepherd desiring personal relationship, rather than by the impersonal harshness of the law divorced from the Lawgiver. Jesus, the , offers rest (Matthew 12:8). (all of the above i - ii)

Exploring the Text

This week we are looking at the same verses in both the NIV translation and The Message:

Read Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV) 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Read Matthew 11:25-30 (from The Message) 25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.” 27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen. 28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”iii

2. When Jesus uses the words “sophisticates and know-it-alls” he is most likely speaking about people who were too busy to notice what Jesus was doing. Why do you think Jesus praised God for choosing to work with “ordinary people?” Are you too busy to notice what Jesus and God are doing around you?

3. Imagine Jesus speaking just to you and asking you, “are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?” How would you respond?

4. What do you think it means to have “unforced rhythms of grace?”

5. Jesus says in this passage, we should walk with Him and work with Him, and “watch how I do it.” What are some examples you see in scripture of how Jesus doesn’t worry about life, but instead has an unforced rhythm of grace?

6. How do you plan to give God your burdens and allow Him to give you rest? Bringing It Home

This week be especially aware of worry. If you notice yourself worrying about something, pray and give it to Jesus. Make a list of the heavy things you have been carrying and take some time to release them to God in prayer, trusting Him to take care of you. Be conscious not to take those things back from God and begin worrying about them again.iv

i. www.thirdmill.org ii. Mattthew for Everyone Part 1 by Tom Wright iii. The Message by Eugene H. Peterson iv. cornerstoneweb.org