Matthew 11:25–30 25At that time, Jesus continued, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from clever and learned people and have revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, because this was pleasing to you. 27Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.
28“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
The first time the pastor saw George in church, George was in his mid-80s, with thinning silver hair and a charcoal gray suit. The pastor had gotten to know George over the past few years. Everyone enjoyed being around George. He was a pleasant, honest and respected senior citizen. He had lived a fascinating life that had taken him through the Great Depression and several wars. He was a widower twice over from cancer. Three times he had been on the receiving end of the call no parent wants to receive – news of losing a child.
George was about 10 years old the first time he went to church. He went with his next-door neighbor. The Sunday School class that morning was great. The Bible songs were fun to sing. The Bible story was about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. 10-year-old George had never heard anything like this before! No one had ever read the Bible to him before.
As the class ended, the teacher pulled George aside and whispered into his ear, “Son, please don’t come to church dressed as you are now. We want you to look your best when you come into God’s house.” George looked at his old hand-me-down overalls that were worn and tattered. He thought about it for a moment and said softly, “No ma’am. I won’t ever.”
And you know what? He never did. George didn’t come back to church for 75 years.
The pastor met George in the nursing home when George came and sat in the chapel for the pastor’s nursing home worship service. George spoke to the pastor for an hour after that first service. Each week, George kept coming to the service. Each week, the pastor sat and spoke to George after the service about Jesus as George’s Savior.
The first time the pastor saw George in church was when George was immaculately dressed … lying in his casket for his Christian funeral. The pastor’s mind went back to those words spoken by an impressionable little 10-year-old boy, “No, ma’am. I won’t ever.”
I’m sure the Sunday School teacher had meant well. She was probably representing the feeling of the majority of folks in that church. But, what if … what if, the teacher had put her arms around that little boy in ragged overalls and said, “George, I’m thrilled that you came this morning and I hope you will come every chance you get to hear more about Jesus because he loves you so much.”
George had carried tremendous burdens throughout his life – experiencing the atrocities of war; seeing his fellow soldiers fallen around him; burying three children; being at the bedside of two wives as they each died from cancer.
For about 80 years, George carried those burdens all by himself. They weighed heavily on him. They were a yoke too heavy to carry.
How different George’s life would have been if he had heard Jesus’ invitation, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” George could have given Jesus all those burdens – the wars and recessions; he could have given Jesus all those deaths – the deaths of his wives, children and buddies.
By the grace of God, at least George heard those words and accepted Jesus’ invitation for the last five years of his life. He took great comfort in giving his burdens to Jesus. He felt amazing peace giving his own impending death to his Savior.
George never made it back to church. While his immaculately dressed body was in church, George’s soul was in heaven.
George carried heavy burdens during his life – the kind of burdens Jesus invites us to bring to him. Jesus describes the burdens we carry each day as being like “a yoke.” The yoke that Jesus was referring to was a heavy wooden crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces enclosing the heads of the oxen in order to pull a plow. The yoke was an instrument used for hard work and heavy burdens.
What burdens do you feel yourself yoked to in your life? What makes you weary and in need of rest?
There are many common burdens we share – work, finances, the economy, this virus, the unrest in our nation. We have our own unique burdens. An elderly parent to care for. A spouse with dementia. Cancer treatments. A child who has fallen away from the Christian faith. A crumbling marriage. A couple unable to get pregnant.
You can add your own unique burdens.
These burdens are heavy. They weigh us down. We become irritable and indignant carrying these burdens with us wherever we go. We become depressed and disappointed when these burdens never lighten. We become offended and outraged when we can never seem to slip the yoke off our neck.
The heaviest burden we all share is sin. Sin brings strife into our relationships. We are burdened by the guilt of our past failures. We are burdened by the failures of those around us. We are worn out as our sanctified spirit fights daily against our Old Adam. We are drained as we read comments on social media and watch our world warring with itself. It is exhausting seeing the love of most growing cold.
I ran track for one year in college. I ran the 400 meters – one time around the track at a full sprint. I wasn’t very good at it. I finished toward the back of my heats. But I left it all out on the track. Usually, I left my lunch on the side of the track, too.
Few things can weary us more than the human race. Too many sprints for success. Too many days of doing whatever it takes eventually takes its toll. This is the ordinary life of any person racing through life. You’re left gasping for air, holding your sides on the side of the track, possibly leaving your lunch on the track. You’re exhausted. Worn out. You’ve given it your all.
How different is the extraordinarily ordinary life of the Christian?
Instead of going through the race of life like everyone else who is weary and exhausted, we listen to Jesus’ invitation, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Jesus’ invitation is extended to all of us – regardless of our age or upbringing, regardless of our background or past. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we’ve done. Jesus looks each of us in the eye, holds out his hand and invites, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Carpenters in Jesus’ day would spend considerable time measuring the team of oxen – their height, width, space between them. Within a week, the carpenter would bring the finished product and fit the yoke over the shoulders of the team, watching for rubbing and chafing.
Jesus is the Master Carpenter who carefully crafts a yoke specifically for you. Do not be misled by our English word “easy.” Its root word in the Greek means “suitable” or “well-fitting.” The yoke Jesus invites you to wear as an extraordinarily ordinary Christian is one he has crafted to fit you specifically and uniquely. If you do not fight against it, your yoke will not chafe your faith or cause a sore spirit. It fits you well.
Remember, the yoke he crafts is also made for two.
Unlike George, who carried his yoke alone for 80 years, by God’s grace, you were given your unique yoke at your baptism. Your yoke-partner is none other than Christ himself.
Give Jesus your specific physical and emotional burdens in your daily prayers.
Give Jesus the weight of your guilt. He has already gone to the cross to pay for them, die for them and cry out for them, “It is finished!” Jesus removes your sins and gives you absolution in return.
Bathe daily in your baptismal waters. Be refreshed from your exhaustion as you wash away all the grime and sweat from your battle against your Old Adam the day before.
Be nourished with Christ’s body and blood as you find strength for your daily battle.
Find encouragement as you worship and study God’s Word together with fellow Christians.
Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus make the promise that your life will be free of problems when you are following Jesus. Quite the opposite is true. A clear example of that is in the imagery of a yoke. Still, Jesus assures you he is always by your side. He restores your strength. He renews your desire to persevere. He refreshes you with rest.
Because of his presence and his saving work, Jesus can say that your yoke is “easy” and your burden is “light.”
See that cross laid on Jesus. There is your heavy load laid on him. There is the unbearable burden that he bore for you. He took it and bore it, and now you are freed from that load. The work is over, the labor is done. The weight is lifted. Your conscience is cleansed. God’s forgiveness in Christ is full and it is free.
Quit struggling on your own. Stop your human race. Lay your physical, emotional and spiritual burdens on Jesus. Accept his invitation, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” Amen.
“Therefore, let us make every effort to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:11).