Matthew 11:16–30

¹⁶“What can I say about the people of this time? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, who call out to each other,

¹⁷‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;

we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

¹⁸John came and did not eat or drink like other people. So people say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved to be right by what she does.”

Jesus Warns Unbelievers

²⁰Then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles, because the people did not change their lives and stop sinning. ²¹He said, “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! If the same miracles I did in you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, ⁿ those people would have changed their lives a long time ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. ²²But I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, ⁿ will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to the depths. If the miracles I did in you had happened in Sodom, ⁿ its people would have stopped sinning, and it would still be a city today. ²⁴But I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for Sodom than for you.”

Jesus Offers Rest to People

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. ²⁶Yes, Father, this is what you really wanted.

²⁷“My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son, except the Father. And no one knows the Father, except the Son and those whom the Son chooses to tell.

²⁸“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. ³⁰The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.”