Come to Jesus for rest
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.”
The Lord promises, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14). Amen.
When I was in high school, I worked at Level Valley Dairy. It was the hardest daily job I’ve ever had … and that’s saying a lot.
The job consisted of standing on a platform 10 feet in the air next to another guy, with two other guys on the other side. There was a metal table in between the two teams.
A forklift would place a pallet of cardboard boxes filled with 70 lb. blocks of frozen butter onto the platform. We had to quickly and efficiently open each box with a box cutter, lift the box, and slide the frozen block of butter out and into a hot vat of melted butter. The melted butter was used to make the sticks and containers of butter.
That was long, hot, hard work. There were many new hires who didn’t return from their first break. But I took great pride in doing that job. Especially because I was a short, skinny teenager … and all my coworkers had several inches and several years on me.
I could do that job 36 years ago. … I don’t think I could do that job now.
I’m guessing most of you have had similar long, hot, hard jobs in your past … or maybe in your present. By the end of the day, you are weary, burdened, and exhausted!
There are various burdens besides work that cause weariness and exhaustion. They may include finances, the economy, illness, aches, aging, and the unrest in our nation. These are burdens we all share.
We also have our own unique burdens. An elderly parent to care for. A spouse with dementia. Children who have an active sinful nature (Romans 7:19). Our own addiction to a sin that we can’t seem to break free from (Romans 7:17). A child who has fallen away from the Christian faith. A crumbling marriage. Unable to get pregnant.
You can add your own unique burdens.
The heaviest burden we all share is sin. Sin brings strife into our relationships. We are weighed down by the guilt of our past failures. We are worn out as our sanctified spirit fights daily against our Old Adam. We are bothered by the unloving actions of those who claim to love us. We are embittered by our unwillingness to extend love and forgiveness to those same people. We are drained as we watch our world warring with itself. It is exhausting seeing the love of most growing cold.
All of us carry various 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.
Jesus invites, “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.”
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 oxen to pull a plow. The yoke was an instrument used for hard work and heavy burdens. Taking up a yoke was used as a metaphor by Jewish rabbis to refer to becoming a disciple of someone.
Here the picture of the yoke refers to being connected to Jesus. His yoke is easy because he is the Savior who leads us along with him. He does all the work of saving us from sin. In the words of our Hymn of the Day, Jesus replaces the yoke of burdens with the benediction of blessing, the pardon of sins, the grace of undeserved love, the peace of reconciliation with God, the joy that has no ending, and the love that cannot cease.
Some of you are runners. The rest of you, I’m guessing, only run when something is chasing you.
Life can often feel like a race. It feels like something is constantly chasing us. We often find ourselves becoming faint and worn out from the marathon of life. We sprint for success. We are exhausted from the long days of work. We are wearied as we never seem to get ahead. This can be the experience of any person racing through life. We’re left gasping for air, holding our sides from the sheer exhaustion of it all. On top of our own daily struggle, our ancient foe of the devil and his demons are chasing us every step of the way.
Jesus invites the fainting to come to him for aid in our strife. His divine power gives us the power to keep running. His almighty strength is stronger than the strong man of the devil (Luke 11:21).
You are dirty and grimy with your daily sins. Jesus gives you the strength to carry on by baptizing you daily in baptismal waters. He refreshes you from your exhaustion as you wash away all the grime and sweat from your battle against your Old Adam the day before.
You know what a wretched person you are by continually falling and failing with the same old sins. Jesus saves you from your body of death by sacrificing his body on the cross and giving you its forgiving benefits. He gives you rest from your failures by sanctifying you and applying his victory to your life.
You are spiritually hungry and thirsty. Jesus nourishes you with his own body and blood as you find strength for your daily battle.
You feel alone and afraid, discouraged and despondent. Scripture reminds you there is a great cloud of witnesses who surround you, encouraging you to run with patient endurance the race that is laid out for you (Hebrews 12:1, 2). You find daily and weekly encouragement with your fellow Christians as you worship and study God’s Word together.
We can be like the children of Israel who grievously sinned with their worship of the golden calf. The Lord then refused to go with the people of Israel. He would send an angel, but he said he would no longer accompany his people. Moses pleaded with God to go up to the Promised Land with them. God responded in grace and mercy by promising Moses that his very Presence would go with them. We, too, have a God who is moved by our cries, forgives our sins, promises rest, and reveals his glorious goodness by promising to be with us. The Lord says, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).
Jesus’ invites, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Or in the words of our hymn, “Whosoever cometh, I will not cast him out.” 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.” That Greek word can also mean “good,” “kind,” or “better.” Its root word in the Greek means “suitable” or “well-fitting.” The yoke Jesus invites you to wear is one he has crafted to fit you specifically and uniquely. If you don’t fight against your yoke, it will not chafe your faith or cause a sore spirit. The Master Carpenter creates your specific yoke to fit you well.
Remember, the yoke he crafts is also made for two. It’s a yoke of kindness. Being yoked to Jesus is better than pulling on your own.
Nowhere in Scripture does God 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.
The people of Moses’ day tried to find rest in a golden calf. The people of Jesus’ day refused to find rest in the Promised Messiah who was standing in front of them. The people of our day try to find rest in anything and everything except Jesus Christ.
In response to this Jesus said, “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. Yes, Father, because this was pleasing to you. Everything 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.”
Though God hid his messianic truth from those who opposed him and refused to believe in his Son, God revealed his truth to little children, people who brought nothing to God but a trusting heart to receive his gifts. Jesus doesn’t say that the wise and learned are excluded. His invitation is to everyone. The difference is that the wise and learned must become like children through repentance and the recognition that they have nothing to offer, no right to dictate, nothing but a deep need and trust in the gift God offers.
If you are like this, if you are willing to become like a little child, if you are willing to receive what Jesus offers, then you will receive the gift of rest. Not a holiday weekend of recreation, but the removal of your burden of sin and the light and gentle new yoke of discipleship. When you accept Jesus’ invitation, you find rest from your burdens, rest from your battles, and rest forever in heaven.
You may have had difficult duties in the past, have wearying work in the present, or will have exhausting endeavors in the future. Quit struggling on your own. Stop trying to run the race of life on your own. Lay your physical, emotional, and spiritual burdens on Jesus. Jesus’ invitation is for you! Accept his invitation, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
The Lord promises, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19). Amen.