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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. After Jesus appoints the 12 apostles, they start going around to their hometowns preaching while they're going from town to town. JTB seems to be having an internal struggle. He has seen the spirit descend on Jesus like a dove. He has heard the voice of the Father affirm Jesus as his son. But then Jesus went away into the wilderness and JTB got thrown into prison. Their paths barely crossed. And now JTB keeps hearing about how Jesus is doing all these miracles for everyone. Surely if Jesus is the Messiah, he'll actually come and do some miracles to get him out of prison, right? Maybe that's not what JTB is thinking. Maybe he just needs to be reminded that his life hasn't been wasted because his entire life has been about pointing to the Messiah. We don't know what JTB was thinking on. All we know is that he sends messengers to ask Jesus to confirm or deny that he is the Messiah. Personally, I don't think this is doubt. I just think this is despair. Jesus sends a message back telling the messengers to let JTB know they've seen Jesus do the things Isaiah said the Messiah would do when he comes. He quotes prophecies JTB probably would have known by heart. But he leaves off a part of the prophecy that almost certainly caught JTB's attention. The part where the prisoners get set free. I cannot imagine how it felt to be on the receiving end of this message. Yes, I'm the Messiah Isaiah prophesied about and the one you pointed toward. It has all been fulfilled, but you will die in prison. Jesus ends by saying, blessed is the one who is not offended by me. And while this certainly has wider implications, I think it may have also had very personal implications for jtb, too. As if it's almost an acknowledgment from Jesus that he's delivering hard news to him as they go on their way. Jesus praises JTB to his disciples. He says JTB is the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy about the coming of Elijah. But just to clarify, Jesus is not saying JTB is a reincarnation of Elijah. He's pointing out that Elijah was the archetype and JTB has followed suit. Jesus goes on to call him the greatest man who has ever lived. But then he says something interesting. He says, everyone in the kingdom is greater than jtb. So does that mean JTB is not in The Kingdom what's Jesus talking about? He seems to be pointing to a future kingdom, one that has already been inaugurated but that hasn't been fulfilled. Sometimes he talks about the kingdom in the present tense and sometimes he talks about it in the future tense. It's not uncommon to read the words of Jesus and think, so is it now or is it coming? And the answer is yes. Theologians refer to this as the already but not yet. The tension is intentional and hopeful, and it applies to us personally. For instance, we live in this tension when we think about how God has declared us righteous and views us as righteous even though we're still sinners and he still sees our sin. Kingdom realities may not be fulfilled until the future, but Christ calls us to be presently living in and mindful of them. That's how we live out kingdom values instead of earthly values. We'll link to a short article about this in the Show Notes in case you want to read more. Jesus says his present generation doesn't have a taste for the kingdom. Nothing satisfies them. They'll find something to condemn regardless, because they don't want to submit to the Deity of Christ. But his fruit speaks for itself. Then Jesus starts listing off cities that have seen him do miracles but still refuse to believe he is the Messiah. Jesus performed 90% of his miracles in his hometown of Capernaum, which is one of the ones listed here. They saw the most but believed the least. And it just goes to prove what we saw all through the Old Testament. God's biggest acts and miracles don't necessarily change hearts. Only soft hearts can submit to the evidence. Hard hearts resist it. By the way, these three cities he pronounces woe to none of them exist anymore, despite being in prime locations. They're all ruins and relics. Then, in contrast to the cities that rejected him, Jesus thanks his Father for the soft hearts of those who've accepted Him. Those who consider themselves wise have missed it, but those who are humble and needy have received it. Jesus thanks the Father for pouring out grace for them to hear the truth. Then he goes on to say that the Father has handed things over to him and that he will reveal himself and the Father to whomever he chooses. He sends out an invitation to the weary and burdened. And it seems this message is especially for those who are wearied. In an attempt to live up to the law, either God's law or the additional rules the Pharisees added on to it, Jesus references the Pharisees laws later in Matthew 23. He says they tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders. And that's exactly what the yoke here is a reference to. If you were with us in the Old Testament, you remember the yoke from Jeremiah 27 on day two 26. But for those of you who are new, here's a bit of info that might be helpful. A yoke is a long piece of wood that goes on the backs of two animals. Then a strap or another piece of wood goes around their necks. It's attached to a plow which the animals pull when they walk. In case you've never seen a yoke, we'll link to an image in the show notes here. Jesus is saying that the yoke of the law and the yoke of the Pharisees is crushing, but his yoke is easy and his burden is light. And this is where I saw my God shot today. I try to imagine him saying these words and I can hear it so many different ways. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. But my favorite way to imagine it is with the emphasis on the point. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to me. Come to me. I will give you rest. I I will give you rest. Are you starting to see it and feel it since you've been coming to him? I hope it's more evident every day. He's where the rest is and he's where the joy is. At tbr, we like to work smarter, not harder. And one of the ways you can make your device work smarter for you is by subscribing to this podcast. 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