Intimacy with Jesus Unlocks the Mysteries

David W Palmer

What Jesus said in the following passage may sound selective, but we can see in it the people to whom Jesus reveals God’s “things”:

(Mark 4:10–12 MKJV) And when He was alone, they who were about Him, with the Twelve, asked Him concerning the parable. {11} And He said to them, “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside, all these things are given in parables {12} so that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

At first this doesn’t seem right, because we assume that God should be “fair” according to our cultural understanding of fairness. However, God’s sovereign choice in the way he set up his system is right. He is God; so we would be wise to seek an understanding of his way of operating, and then to adjust our thinking to line up with his system.

What we actually see here is God’s very clever way of ensuring that only the people who are in the running to qualify for his eternal dwelling get to enjoy his revelation in the here and now. Who again are they? They are “those around him with the twelve”—those who came back to sit at his feet after the public meeting was over, and who asked him to explain what he had said. To them he gave further revelation.

Jesus seemed to indicate that the others—the ones who didn’t pursue personal, trusting intimacy with him—didn’t position themselves to receive revelation of the “mysteries of the kingdom of God.” This seems unfair, until we realize that God’s purpose is to find and “choose” those who qualify to be his family members in his eternal kingdom. The others were already disqualified; they were not even in the running to qualify. Which group do you want to belong to—those around him with the twelve, or “those outside?”

With this in mind, we can now more clearly understand Jesus’s statement in Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.” Our Lord is saying that receiving the mind-renewing revelation required for God-pleasing repentance comes from him—through intimate fellowship and communion with him.

Therefore, pleasing God is about developing a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. It is also about sitting humbly at his feet and listening to him speaking. It is certainly not about the proud, independent, intellectually derived “wisdom of this world,” which comes from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The world’s wisdom certainly does not lead to the repentance that God is seeking. On the contrary, partaking of the fruit from that tree is motivated by pride and mistrust, and leads to satanic deception. This in turn leads to depravity, destruction, and death—separation from God.

Learning from Jesus Renews Our Mind Effectively

Thankfully, Jesus encourages us to come to him, saying: “learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls” (Mat. 11:29 DKJV). Jesus is not proud or abusive; he is “humble.” When we come to him to learn from his revelation, we are safe. Moreover, among the many amazing things he imparts is obviously his own meekness and humility; in this process, more of him becomes manifested in us. Jesus doesn’t merely inform our intellect when he teaches us; he imparts life, peace, joy, faith, light, and revelation. What he says literally enlivens us, pours love and grace into our hearts, and brings indescribable life-change; he imparts himself into us. This is the other side of life-transformation.

(2 Corinthians 3:18 APE) But we all see the glory of the Lord Jehovah with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, and we are changed into the image from glory to glory, as from the Lord Jehovah, the Spirit.

Jesus is the living word of God. When he says in Matthew 11:29 (DKJV), “learn of/from me,” this is the living word inviting us to come and partake of his “bread of life”:

(John 6:35 MKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.”

This is Jesus’s amazing invitation; he is offering “life” to those who come to learn from him, the living Word. God is looking for humble, trusting, child-like people with whom to develop intimate relationships. Two passages bear witness to this: “Without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6 MKJV); God seeks worshippers (John 4:23).

(Matthew 11:25 DKJV) At that time, Jesus responding said, “I thank and agree fully with you Father, Lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual, and have revealed them to infants.

Jesus reveals the Father to the inarticulate childlike, not to the so called “wise and intellectual”—those who have self-derived or worldly wisdom. He imparts his revelation to those who completely trust him as their shepherd and Lord. Like little children imitating parents they love, he wants us speaking his words and copying his way of life. Are you among this group? Do you desire the humble, trusting, one-on-one relationship with him that he wants with you? If so, you will receive his revelation. He is calling to you now:

(Matthew 11:28–30 DKJV) “Come to me, all you who are worn out by heavy labor and are overloaded, and I will give you rest and refreshing. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is good, useful and kind, and my burden is light and easy to carry.”

(Matthew 11:28–30 NLT) “Come to me, all you who are worn out by heavy labor and are overloaded, and I will give you rest and refreshing. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. {30} For my yoke is good, useful and kind, and my burden is light and easy to carry.”