The passage
      v20. Jesus denounces the Jewish cities which have rejected the gospel. They have seen the signs, but have not repented. These words of reproach may well follow on from Jesus' recent Galilean mission.
      v21-22. Korazin, near Capernaum, and Bethsaida, the home of Andrew, Peter and Philip, is singled out for condemnation. The "woe" (pity, alas) declares their loss. Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician cities to the North, are singled out as pagan cities which would have repented if they had received the same revelation from God.
      v23-24. Alluding to Isaiah 14:15, Jesus compares Capernaum with Babylon, the epitome of evil. Their failure to repent will bring upon them the horror of "Hades"; they will be trapped in the place of the dead. Had the citizens of Sodom been given a comparable revelation from God, they would have repented and escaped the fire of divine retribution.
      v25. Jesus now moves his attention from the condemned to the accepted. He addresses God as "Father", underlining his sense of sonship and praising the Father for his sovereign act of revelation. The mysteries of the messianic age are revealed to "little children" ("disciples", "simple ones", Jeremias), rather than the "wise". Only believers can unlock the secrets of the kingdom and access its blessings. This predestined act of divine sovereignty determines those who enter the kingdom. The blessings of the kingdom are not unlocked by the application of wisdom, power, status, goodness, piety......, but by humility. The "childlike", the lost and broken before God, those who seek divine mercy and forgiveness, only they "go home right before God."
      v26. Jesus delights in his Father's gracious revealing and concealing, as does the Father himself.
      v27. The task and authority of revealing the secrets of the kingdom is committed to Jesus by the Father. This knowledge belongs only to the Father and the Son. As a divine act of grace, the Son has decided to reveal this knowledge to those who seek it. So now, the secrets of the kingdom belong to believers, to the "little children", to the repentant ones. Note how these words are very similar in style to Jesus' words in John's gospel.
      v28. Jesus now invites the "little children" to come to him for "rest". They are described as the "weary and burdened" ones. They are weighed down by law and sin. The function of the law is to expose sin, even make it more sinful. There is no relief from this burden; sin reigns and the curse of the law condemns. Jesus offers the lost and broken the refreshment of eschatological rest and eternity in the presence of God.
      v29-30. Jesus calls on the "little children" to take his "yoke", to take to themselves the divine revelation he proclaims, namely, the gospel. He calls on them to set aside the yoke of the law and replace it with the yoke of grace. Listen to the message Jesus brings, the message of the free and gracious offer of salvation to all who reach out to God through him. This revelation is kindly and gentle, it is an easy yoke (good and comfortable); a light burden. It comes from a kind and gentle man, so how could it be otherwise?

A discriminating God
      In our passage for study, Jesus says that "no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Does Jesus actually "choose" those he intends to reveal himself to, those who will find rest for their souls?
      The notion that God determines those who are destined for damnation and those who are destined for salvation, is a disturbing one. Most baby-boomers tend toward the social agenda of the left, they are egalitarian, so they find the idea of spiritual discrimination repugnant.
      The Jews assumed that God's selection of his children was determined because of their family association with Abraham, and that this selection was confirmed by a willing obedience to the Law. Many protestants align with Calvin's notion of the "effectual call", the second point of Calvinism - unconditional election: God's choice of certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world. On the other hand, sacramentalists hold that the basis of selection rests on a believer's inclusion in "holy mother church" through the sacrament of baptism. And so the theories run on.
      From our passage for study we learn that Jesus chooses to reveal himself to anyone who comes to him; to the weary and burdened he promises rest for the soul. He gives "rest" to "all" who "come" to him. What the "Son chooses" to do is reveal the mystery of salvation to broken humanity; he is not into choosing to reveal divine mysteries to particular individuals. So, as far as Jesus is concerned, the criteria for selection is not based on any of the above theories, nor is it based on wealth, religious piety, wisdom, effort, v25. God has determined that "repentance" is the basis of selection. The criteria for God's selection is an acceptance of his gentle favour freely offered in Jesus.

v21
      ouai + dat. "woe" - pity, alas. As usual, followed by a dative. "How terrible it will be", TEV.
      sakkw/ (oV) "sackcloth" - heavy dark rough cloth suitable for mourning.

v22
      plhn prep. "but" - nevertheless, however, but, only... "And still", JB.
      anektoteron adj. "bearable" - endurable, tolerable. Carson's suggestion that there are "degrees of torment in hell" surely takes Jesus' words too literally when he is most likely just using an analogy to underscore the destructive judgment that awaits those who fail to heed his call to repent. There are two other theological ideas that can be developed from Jesus' words in this verse, but they also founder by putting too much weight on an analogy. i] Jesus knows how the pagan cities would have responded to the gospel. He is all-knowing, as God is all-knowing (omniscient); ii] God is not morally bound to reveal his truth to everyone, otherwise he could be accused of acting immorally in withholding it, especially from a people who would have responded to it.

v23
      mh "no" - Introducing a question that expects a negative answer.
      aJdou (hV ou) "hades" - a place or abode of the dead, including both the righteous and the unrighteous*. The NIV, as with NEB, is rather weak. "Go down to hell", CEV, expresses what the scripture says and is totally understandable to the modern reader, although "hades" was not really viewed as a place of punishment, as we view hell, but rather as a holding place. Possibly "Will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be driven down to the grave."

v25
      exomologoumai (exomologew) mid. "praise" - The word in the active means "agree fully / consent fully", or in the middle, "admit /confess / acknowledge." Here, in the middle, with a slightly stretched meaning of "praise" or "give thanks". Yet, "acknowledge", or "admit", would suit the context. "I thank you", TEV.
      ekruyaV (kruptw) aor. "you have hidden" - you hid. The kingdom is gained, not by intellectual pursuit, but by a humble acceptance of God's grace. So, not an active hiding as such, but more like giving a riddle for little children to discover.
      tauta "these things" - Undefined, but obviously the gospel concerning the coming kingdom.
      nhpoiV adj. "little children" - infants, a minor. Jesus tends to use the child image to illustrate a humble person, ie. a person who relies on the mercy of God for their salvation rather than on their own effort, or their status in the church/synagogue, or their birth/election (children of Abraham). The child is the one who repents and seeks God's mercy.

v26
      eudokia (a) "good pleasure" - [it was] pleasing, satisfaction, favour, good-will...... Of God toward us. "That is what it pleased you to do", NJB.
      emprosqen sou "you" - [it was pleasing] before you. "A reverential way of expressing oneself when speaking of an eminent person", BAGD.

v27
      panta (paV) "all things" - Given the context, it probably means "all knowledge", Morris.
      paredoqh (paradidwmi) aor. pas. "committed" - given, delivered to, handed over to. As of traditions, knowledge, being delivered over to.
      epiginwskei (epiginwskw) pres. "knows" - The prefix may carry the sense "know very well / exactly", so "know who he really is." Possibly with a touch of knowing in the sense of union with.
      wJ/ ean + subj. "those to whom [the Son chooses]" - the one to whom if [the Son wishes, wills, wants]. Introducing an indefinite adjectival clause, "whomever". Having given due consideration, Jesus chooses to reveal himself to "whomever" seeks him and his revelation. The sense "there are individuals whom the Son chooses to reveal God to", reflects a doctrinal position rather than expressing the sense of the passage. The point is that Jesus is the unique source of divine knowledge, and that he has graciously decides, as an act of his sovereign will, to reveal it to those who seek it, to "all" who seek it, v28. Note: the preacher will understand that the sermon makes much of a false reading of v27. The interplay of the divine will and human free-will in salvation is a contentious one and only indirectly emerges from this passage. My own view is that God's sovereign will determines the existence of a people destined for salvation ("the elect), and determines the method of inclusion in that people ("repentance and faith"), but does not determine the individual membership. The preacher will need to shape their words in a way that best reflects their own understanding of this thorny issue.

v28
      oiJ kopiwteV (kopiaw) pres. part. "weary" - the ones becoming weary, hard pressed, tired. The participle as a substantive. "Suffering" is sometimes suggested, but a labouring image is better. It is possible that the "weary" are those who are oppressed by the piety of the Pharisees, their stress on ritual cleanliness, food laws, etc. Yet, it is more likely that Jesus is focused on the law itself; the law is the oppressive burden. He is not implying that the law is evil, rather that in exposing and accentuating sin it becomes a massive burden. Christ, through the cross, deals with the curse of the law and thus frees the believer from the burden of the law, ie. its accentuation of sin. The gospel serves to lift this burden. See Roman's chapter 7.
      peforismenoi (forizw) perf. pas. part. "burdened" - The perfect tense indicates continuation. "Who are tired from carrying heavy burdens", CEV; "overburdened", NJB; "bent beneath your burdens", Barrett.
      anapausw (anapauw) fut. "rest" - refresh. The "little children" find "rest" in Jesus in that they are no longer burdened by the demands of the law, for the law did not help them toward holiness, but rather exposed and accentuated their slavery to sin. "I will lift your load."

v29
      arate (airw) aor. imp. "take" - take up, lift up.
      ton zugon (oV) "yoke" - A symbol of subjection, so here an invitation to submit to Jesus as opposed to taking up "the yoke of the law."
      maqete (manqanw) aor. imp. "learn [from me]" - "Become my disciple"
      prauV adj. "gentle" - meek, humble. The English words "meek" and "humble" now have a negative connotation and are best replaced by "gentle", "considerate".
      tapeinoV adj. "humble" - poor, of low estate, lowly. In a negative sense, "servile", but used by Jesus to express submission to the divine.
      anapausin (iV ewV) "rest" - relief from trouble and related anxiety*. Rest from the burden of the law, and thus, the "soul", the self, is set free.