When I ask people if they know Jesus, most people answer yes. But the reality is that their lifestyle and moral choices do not remotely reflect a relationship with Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to know Jesus? Is he knowable?

In Matthew 11, Jesus was teaching people in the region of Northern Galilee, a region where he had performed many incredible miracles. While the people had seen Jesus do amazing things, most of them did not know him. They loved what he did, but they had no desire to know him.

Many people today know what Jesus did; they can explain the Gospel and that salvation is only found by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Jesus. But do they really know him? Do we?

Come to Me

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus offers an incredible invitation, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This invitation was so different from the teaching of the Pharisees, who taught a list of things to do and mandated endless rules to follow. Jesus knew the burden of the law of Moses. Instead of piling on more expectations, he invited the people—as he invites us today—to enter into a relationship with the God of creation, where he promises rest.

In 2025 it seemed that burnout was all too common within Christian ministries. I believe that the feeling of ministry exhaustion can be a result of laboring for Jesus rather than with Jesus.

At the start of 2026, Jesus invites us to come to him and rekindle our relationship with him—or perhaps get to know him for the first time. Take my Yoke

Jesus continues in verse 29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

A yoke allows two animals to share a load and pull together. The animals yoked together need to be close in size and weight for the cart or plow to pull evenly. In the Bible, the yoke is sometimes referenced metaphorically to describe the weight of a task or obligation (see 1 Kings 12:11 and Isaiah 10:27). When Jesus speaks of his yoke being “easy”, he means that when we let him share our yoke, our burden is no longer heavy because he is pulling with us. When you work for Jesus, it is a heavy yoke; when you work with Jesus, it is easy.

Jesus invites us to take his yoke, and we will find rest for our souls (see Philippians 4:5b-7). When you are yoked with the Lord, you know the peace of God that passes all understanding (see Philippians 4:7).

Learn from Me

Jesus invites us to learn from him. As we come to Jesus,submitting to his leadership in our lives, we learn from him. We learn his ways, we learn his nature, and we find peace. Do you know what it means to learn from Jesus? The best way to learn from Jesus is by meditating on his word. The Bible is the revelation of Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we see Jesus revealed in its pages.

Developing and growing our personal spiritual disciplines is good, but what if this year, our goal is to know Jesus more and to learn from him rather than trying to do more things for him?

His Yoke is Easy

In verse 30, Jesus continued, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The yoke that Jesus has for us is tailor made for us. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and when we are yoked together with Christ, it fits us perfectly.

However, Jesus does not mean that the Christian life will be one of carefree ease. The Greek word for “easy”, can be translated as, “suitable fit” or “kind”. Jesus is saying that his yoke is kind and a suitable fit for our lives, and it will not weigh us down. This does not mean we won’t have challenges in life (see John 16:33); rather, we will be yoked with Jesus through the challenges of life.

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Merry Christmas!

May the Lord bless you and your families this Christmas week, and may you know the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ over your homes.

As we continue our series on the “why” of Christmas, I have three more questions.

Why is His Name Jesus?

As Shakespeare once wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?” We associate people or characteristics with names. Let’s face it; the reason we don’t like certain names is because we once knew someone by that name whose actions or personality ruined the name for us.

But the name Jesus is a name that means so much to us. Not because the letters grouped together carry any sort of power in themselves but because the man Jesus gives power to the name.

The name Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Joshua” meaning, “God Saves”. The Hebrew name Joshua and the Greek equivalent Jesus were common names at the time of Jesus’ birth. The name Jesus continued to be popular during the life of Jesus Christ, but after he died and rose again, the name became uncommon.

Historians have found that after the 1st century, the name Jesus simply vanished from use in that region, presumably because the name held controversial meaning following Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. For early Christians, the name means so much that they felt that no child was worthy to carry the same name as the Messiah. For those who did not believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah, they did not want their child to be associated with such a controversial character.

The fact that God chose such a common name for His son demonstrates that Jesus came to the earth as a common person. The people of Israel expected their Messiah to come as a mighty warrior; they missed him because he came as a carpenter.

The name of Jesus holds profound meaning for us; we call on the name of Jesus for our salvation, and we pray in the name of Jesus (see 14:13-14 and Acts 4:12). The name of Jesus carries immeasurable power; there is no more powerful name in the universe than Jesus, not because of the name itself, but because of the One, the Christ, who gives the name power.

Why Did He Come as a Baby?

Why didn’t Jesus simply appear as a full-grown man and immediately perform miraculous signs and wonders? Why did he go through all the difficulties and challenges of youth and only begin his ministry when he was thirty?

The teachers of the day, when speaking of the promised Messiah, must have described someone who had the wisdom of Solomon, the charisma and authority of David, the leadership ability of Moses, and the military genius of Joshua. But instead, Jesus comes into the world as a little baby—weak, needy, and humble, just like any other baby.

But Jesus was both God and man. The virgin birth is proof that he was divine; he was not a product of this world—he was God. Being born as an infant shows that he was also human in every way. Jesus went through trials and testing of being a young boy, a teenager, and a young adult (see Hebrews 4:15).

If Jesus had not taken on the form of a man, his sacrifice would have been unconvincing because he would have been aloof and separated from the common man. If Jesus had been a mere man and not God also, he would have died a martyr’s death, just like thousands of others. We can trust this same Jesus with our lives because he knows what we are going through, yet he overcame the world and all its temptations (see John 16:33).

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Why did God decide to intervene in history at the time He did? It was a campaign to bring freedom and salvation into the world, to provide a way to reconcile man to God.The Creator of all things was on a mission to set the captives free. Jesus came to a world enslaved by sin to set us free. The timing of this mission had to be perfect; the pieces had to be in place. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4).

The Perfect Time

When we study the historical context of Jesus’ birth, we see that the pieces perfectly aligned for Jesus to be born. The Roman Empire had ushered in a time when all the nations and peoples of the known world in the Mediterranean region were unified. The Roman roads and transportation linked people groups and nations that previously had no contact with each other. Sailing ships had been developed, and the vast distances of the Mediterranean were connected. All these developments paved the way for the message of Jesus Christ to be easily spread.

This was also the period in world history of unusual peace, from 27B.C. to 180 A.D., known as Pax Romana. The Roman Empire was stable, and there was relative peace across the known world. The Prince of Peace came at a time of peace in the World.

The Perfect Language

The Roman Empire was influenced by the Greek Empire, and the common language across all the Empire was Greek. Greek became the common trade language. Language experts say that Hellenic Greek was one of the most articulate languages in history, making it a perfect language for the greatest story ever told.

The Perfect Town

Why should Bethlehem be the location for the one born who was to be the savior of the world?

Bethlehem was not a major city of any importance, but when Jesus was born there, it became the most important town on the face of the earth. Reading the Old Testament, we see that Bethlehem has quite a legacy. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was buried in Bethlehem (see Genesis 35). She died giving birth to Benjamin, Joseph’s favorite brother.

The story of Ruth and Naomi also takes place in Bethlehem. Boaz married Ruth and was the great grandfather of King David.

In 1 Samuel 16, we read of the prophet Samuel anointing young David, who became Israel’s greatest King and the man after God’s own heart. That is why Luke in his Gospel calls Bethlehem the town of David (see Luke 2). The name Bethlehem means “House of Bread”, and Jesus was well aware of that when, in John 6:48, he says; “I am the Bread of Life”.

These are just a few examples, but we see a thread running through the Old Testament that ties Israel to this little town. For most of history past, God had been preparing this place. Bethlehem was ready; it was the culmination of these people and stories across time.

For Christ to be born in Bethlehem at that time in history was not an accident. The fullness of time had come for the arrival of God’s Son.

Why Are You Here Today?

Why are you and I here at this time in history?

Time is one of the most precious commodities that we possess. But the truth is that we don’t possess time; we are given time with the purpose of stewarding it. In other words, each of us is granted a certain amount of time. God entrusts us with that time. We can choose to use it wisely, or we can simply sit back and let it run by like water running down a hillside stream. The Psalmist David wrote that God gives us a certain number of days and even writes them down before we are born (see Psalm 139:16).

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In a culture that can be described as post-Christian, why do we still celebrate Christmas?

What is the point of Christmas if we leave out Jesus? I fear that in a generation to come we will still have this celebration called Christmas because the retailers demand it, but nativity scenes will be illegal and all reference to Jesus will be taken out. When that time comes, people may begin to ask, why do we celebrate Christmas?

In Isaiah 9 we read about two tribal areas in the northern kingdom of Israel: Zebulun and Naphtali. In 732BC the Assyrian army attacked and overran the northern Kingdom, and the first two tribes to be routed were Zebulun and Naphtali. The area became dominated by Gentiles and was known as Galilee of the Gentiles, as described in Isaiah 9:1. Over time it was inhabited by many different peoples and became known as Samaria. At the time of Isaiah’s early prophetic ministry—before any of this had taken place—it must have been inconceivable to the Israelites that this region would be inhabited by Gentiles. In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, this part of Northern Israel was the first to be overrun by the Assyrians, the first to fall into darkness, and by God’s wonderful grace, they were also the first to see the light of the promised Messiah (Isaiah 9:2).

Jesus could have launched his ministry anywhere. In fact, it would have made sense for him to start his ministry in Jerusalem, as this was a major hub. Instead, as we read in Matthew 4:13, when Jesus began his ministry, headed to Capernaum, which was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Not only is this significant because Jesus is coming to the area where the destruction of Israel began, but Jesus was also demonstrating that he was coming for both Jews and Gentiles. In verse three we read; “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy”. Here the prophet is speaking of God enlarging the nation of Israel through the inclusion of the Gentiles.

As a result of Jesus’ coming, the kingdom of heaven expanded because Jesus came for both Jew and Gentile. We who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are part of the Kingdom of God, grafted into the nation of Israel. This is an incredible prophecy that Isaiah pens. The Old Testament has over three hundred prophecies directly relating to Jesus. So, the first question is:

Why Prophecies?

The role of a prophet is to preach, to declare the truth of God’s Word, declaring to the current age the eternal truths of God. Frequently in the Old Testament the prophets spoke about a coming champion. At the time of the prophets, Israel was a dying nation; many of the people had been taken into slavery and exile. They had lost their identity; the people yearned for the days of David and Solomon when the nation was at its greatest and most powerful. It was in this troubled era that God used the prophets were to encourage the nation and give them a glimpse of greater days ahead.

The prophecies were necessary because when combined, they reveal that Jesus must be the Son of God, the promised Messiah. Today, even though we have seen the fulfillment of almost 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Gospels, we need the prophecies just as much as the ancient Jewish nation needed them.

They needed the prophecies as a warning to keep them faithful and hopeful. We need them to remind us that Jesus was no ordinary man, and that God always fulfills His promises.

Every year we read those familiar words in Isaiah 7:14; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Immanuel means; “God with us”, God in human form, which leads us to our next question.

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Sunday November 23, 2025

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Pastor Athol Barnes

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Sunday November 16, 2025 Ephesians 4:11-16 Pastor Athol Barnes

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The 6th letter to the church at Philadelphia was a faithful and true church that held on to His word. The Lord had only commendation for this church, not correction. And Jesus introduces himself as the one who hold the key of David. We take a look at the end on how these churches actually show a progress or downfall in our own spiritual life. October 19th, 2025 Eric Spady

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Sunday October 12, 2025

Revelation 3:1-6

Pastor Athol Barnes

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