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25 Then Jesus said, “I give you thanks, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, this has been your good pleasure. 27 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one understands the Son except the Father, and no one understands the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. 28 Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Comments

Jesus has been misunderstood by the religious leaders, the people, and even by the Prophet John. The only ones who have understood him (at least partially) are his own disciples: manual laborers like Peter, Andrew, James and John; men who existed on the fringes of Jewish society like Matthew the Tax Collector and Simon the Zealot; and his female disciples like Mary Magdalene, who as women had circumscribed roles in Israel’s social and religious life. These people are “childlike” in the sense that their contemporary society did not expect much from them, but they are also childlike in the sense that they have responded to Jesus with gentleness and trust.

Jesus, instead of being frustrated, gives thanks to the Father. The people who have responded positively to him are exactly the people he wants. It is to these kinds of men and women that the Son will reveal the Father.

Jesus ends by inviting everyone to come to him and learn. Learning from Jesus and taking his yoke upon one’s shoulders are essentially the same thing: In Jewish culture the yoke is used as a metaphor for discipline and learning (cf. Sirach 6.18-25, 51.13-26), and especially for study of the Torah, of which Jesus is the authoritative interpreter, as will be highlighted in chapter 12. Jesus’ yoke is “easy” not in the sense that he is lax and permissive (cf. 10.38), but because it leads people to God and frees them of everything that binds them.