Matthew 11.28-30
The Bible is funny. It contains sections that are intellectually demanding, things that challenge the best of thinkers. But alongside of that are tender words intended to comfort struggling souls. It is important that we engage the demanding parts of Scripture. But it is just as important that we cherish and enjoy the tender parts. This morning's text is one of the tender parts. It is my hope that the Spirit will use it to comfort and encourage and yes, even challenge you so that you might enjoy Jesus more.
Let's start where the text starts. 'Come to Me...' Do you see what Jesus is doing simply by uttering these words? There is grace here. Jesus calls. But bear in mind that He is under absolutely no obligation to do so. None. We are needy creatures and desperately so. And why? It's our own fault. It's not as if we were innocent bystanders and something out of the blue hit us. Our problems find their source in our rebellious sin. We, from the very beginning of our existence, are rebels against God. That's just a fact. Jesus could be as cold as many are. He could say, 'Is your life hard? Well, don't look at Me. It's your own fault. Deal with it.' Would that be wrong? Oh no. It would be just. How many times have we been warned about our sin and simply ignored the warnings, plunging ourselves on into more rebellion? We deserve hell. And there would have been nothing unjust with Jesus letting us to go our merry way down the road that leads there. But that's not what He does. Instead, He comes to us. That's Advent, Latin for 'coming'. Jesus comes to us. He comes, and then He calls. 'Come to Me.' And while Jesus' First Advent occurred in Bethlehem and we look forward to what we call His Second Advent at the end of the age, in another sense every Sunday is an Advent of Jesus because every Sunday when we gather together in His presence, Jesus comes to us and calls once again. In fact, that is what He is doing right now. His coming and calling us week after week is another example of His kind favor, His grace, toward us. This point alone is something worth spending a lot of time meditating on.
Let's move on. To whom does He call? Well, what does it say? 'Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden.' Jesus calls to the weary and the burdened. He calls to those who know, from daily experience, that life is hard. And that it is hard should be no surprise. We live in a fallen world, cursed by sin throughout. Nothing has been spared. So, it is no wonder that people are weary. Dealing with this life is wearying. We, here, as a group, have been insulated from much of the harsh realities of this life. Imagine life in some Third World country. And yet, who here, though so privileged, leads a life that is without difficulties? Who here never feels the weariness of dealing with it all, not merely a weariness of body but a weariness that afflicts the soul? What is that but the fruit of dealing with sin in its different forms. Don't buy the line that your neighbors do. 'Well, what are you going to do? That's life.' No it's not. It's death. And until a person sees it that way there will be no solution and no hope. We are weary because of sin.
Now, notice that Jesus does not call to the carefree and the jovial. In fact, elsewhere, He has strong words for such people. 'Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.' Jesus' call is for those who feel the difficulties of this life, not for those who try to hide from them. Consider so many of your friends and neighbors who do exactly that. They try to hide from the weariness of this life. They do their best to keep it down and not to let it come into view. Their motto: 'I live to be happy.' All that would challenge that goal must be kept at bay. Jesus' call is not for such people. They would not even listen to such a call. Jesus' call is for those who know that life here - without Him - is a taste of hell. How else can we understand being wearied and burdened by life?
Next question. What does Jesus offer? It's obvious, isn't it? The answer is right there in the text. Jesus offers rest. And yet, what is that? What is this 'rest' that Jesus offers? Rest is a significant theme in the Scriptures. God rested from His labors of creating. Noah got his name because his father thought, 'This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.' Then, from the Psalms, God says, 'For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."' Hebrews: 'So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.' And finally, Revelation: 'And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"' Jesus offers rest from all that wearies the soul, from the burdens that drag you down. It's a rest from sin and all that goes with it. That this rest is so significant in God's Word shows that the difficulties of this life are not minor. Life in a fallen world is hard. Anyone who cannot see that is either too young to understand or is distracted by the allure of this world that Satan flashes before our eyes.
All of this heightens the beauty of this rest that Jesus offers. However trying this life might get, Jesus promises a rest that will swallow up all weariness until there isn't a trace of it left in your soul. Not a trace. As gloomy as the struggle might get, the promised rest will shine and that ever so brightly. What rejoicing for those who get to enjoy this rest because there will be no lingering taste of the weariness that they once suffered. None. Jesus offers rest that completely satisfies the soul.
There are, however, conditions. It's here, of course, that the cynic thinks, 'Ha! I knew there was a catch. I knew that it was too good to be true. So much for this foolish notion of grace. Okay, so what do I have to do? What's the cost?' If our cynical friend would only listen a bit more he would see that he has misunderstood the idea of a condition. Jesus' rest is free to all. The conditions, the requirements, are not some kind of payment. But no one will enjoy His rest without meeting these requirements.
Here's the first: acknowledge the need. And that just makes sense. Someone who rejects the idea that his soul is weary and burdened because of sin will not come to Jesus to accept His offer. Why would he? Many do not come to Jesus because they think that they have already found rest for their souls. And the fact is that there are many things that can give a sense of rest, a sense of relief from the weariness - for a time. And the list of such things is not limited to the addictions of drugs and alcohol and sex. Also on this list are things like a job that is challenging and satisfying, children to care for, books to read and know and spout about, hobbies, sports, computer games and just general busyness. There are many ways to keep the awareness of one's weariness at arm's length. But in due time the sense of weariness returns, and that with a vengeance. Those who do not admit their need, their need of Jesus to rescue them from the weariness of sin, will never come. But that is the first requirement. True rest is impossible without meeting it.
There is another requirement. This one is explicit in the text. 'Take My yoke upon you.' Now, what is this? First, let's define terms. A yoke is a harness, especially for oxen. Jesus pictures Himself as a farmer who plows His field using yoked oxen. He calls us to take that yoke. Now, let's unpack the image. Jesus is talking about submission to Him as Lord. He will rescue from the weariness of this life by guiding into His rest. But only those who submit will allow themselves to be guided. You see, rest is not something in a box that a person just unwraps, and it's his to enjoy. No. The rest Jesus gives is something that is gained by means of a process, a bit at a time. When someone takes His yoke, when he submits to Jesus, the process begins. And Jesus says, 'Let's take the left fork' and then, 'We'll go straight here' or 'Let's wait a bit right here.' Jesus guides into rest.
This explains a lot. Though taking on Jesus' yoke has a beginning, it isn't a once-for-all kind of thing. Each day, it's submitting anew to Jesus' Lordship. Each day, it's ,'Let's take the left fork', or whatever instruction He might give. And when the Spirit points out sin, what is that? That's Him saying, 'Going in that direction will only lead to weariness. Listen to Jesus instead. Go the other way.' And those who are wise know enough to quickly repent and submit once again to Jesus yoke. So, you see, those who resist Jesus' Lordship least enjoy His rest most. Those who resist Him most enjoy it least. That explains the difference between the saints when it comes to experiencing this rest. But as we learn to trust Jesus, to submit more and more willingly to Him, we enjoy more and more of His rest.
Now, experiencing Jesus' rest more does not mean that you will experience sin less. Ironically, as a Christian matures and becomes more and more holy, his awareness of sin, especially his own sin, grows. It's as we become more like Jesus that we see the ugliness of this fallen place more clearly. But experiencing Jesus' rest more does mean that you will be able to handle the fallenness better. Jesus' rest includes things like joy and peace and hope and endurance and so much more. Sin will still confront you. Satan will still be doing his best to get at you, but the sense of weariness will lessen. The battle will continue, and it will still be hard, but underneath the tiredness will be a strength that only Jesus can give.
And all of this explains heaven - or at least a little bit of heaven. Heaven is the destination that Jesus is guiding us toward. It is the place of perfect rest. It is not a place where we do nothing. Rather, it is a place where we get to completely enjoy what we do because nothing that we do there will have that taste of weariness that flavors everything here. What we do there will only enhance our experience of Jesus' rest.
In one sense we are all the same. We've all heard Jesus' call and have come, submitting to His yoke, that we might find rest for our souls. But there are differences. Let me speak to that.
Some of you are discouraged. You feel the weariness of sin. And you wonder about what's going on. Let me encourage you to cling to this promise of Jesus. He will bring you into a greater experience of rest in this life and complete that process in the next. You need to trust Him. He always keeps His promises. And pray. Tell Jesus that you feel the weariness - sometimes oh so greatly. Tell Him that you do believe the promise of His rest but that it gets hard, so very hard sometimes. Cry out to Him. Ask Him to act so that you might have a fresh experience of His rest and thus be encouraged to trust Him to deal with the remaining weariness. And then, think on heaven. It is real, and there is no weariness there. Jesus promises you a restful eternity. Trust Him to get you there even though the route He chooses may be hard.
Now let me speak to what may be another group. I sometimes wonder if any of you are in danger. I sometimes wonder if there are any who do not believe that the weariness of body and soul that you experience is because of sin. The danger here is that those fooled in this way will not see the Gospel as the solution to that weariness. Are any of you thinking like your neighbors and seeking the same solutions that they seek. That is the route to more weariness and not more rest.
All of this also speaks to those of you who are still preparing to take your place in this world. The ability to apply the language of weariness and rest to your life is an important life skill that you need to learn along with all the other things that you are in the process of learning. Sin brings weariness. Learn to recognize when that happens to you. And then remember that Jesus offers rest. Respond to His call with repentance and faith. Learning this skill will be challenging. Few of your peers think in these terms and, as a result, they are heading for a life of more and more weariness. But Jesus has better things for you.
And now, let me encourage those of you who are doing well at this. You may not be using the language of 'weariness' and 'rest', and that's fine. What's important is that you are believing the Gospel when it comes to dealing with these things. So, let me encourage you to keep at it. Jesus offers what no one else can. As you learn how to trust Him more, to submit more of your life to Him, you will experience more of His rest. And then comes heaven. This is not something that you do by trying harder. Pray and then listen. And when Jesus says, 'Let's take the left fork', do it. Rest awaits.
The Bible is funny. It contains sections that are intellectually demanding, things that challenge the best of thinkers. But alongside of that are tender words intended to comfort struggling souls. It is important that we engage the demanding parts of Scripture. But it is just as important that we cherish and enjoy the tender parts. This morning's text is one of the tender parts. It is my hope that the Spirit will use it to comfort and encourage and yes, even challenge you so that you might enjoy Jesus more.
Let's start where the text starts. 'Come to Me...' Do you see what Jesus is doing simply by uttering these words? There is grace here. Jesus calls. But bear in mind that He is under absolutely no obligation to do so. None. We are needy creatures and desperately so. And why? It's our own fault. It's not as if we were innocent bystanders and something out of the blue hit us. Our problems find their source in our rebellious sin. We, from the very beginning of our existence, are rebels against God. That's just a fact. Jesus could be as cold as many are. He could say, 'Is your life hard? Well, don't look at Me. It's your own fault. Deal with it.' Would that be wrong? Oh no. It would be just. How many times have we been warned about our sin and simply ignored the warnings, plunging ourselves on into more rebellion? We deserve hell. And there would have been nothing unjust with Jesus letting us to go our merry way down the road that leads there. But that's not what He does. Instead, He comes to us. That's Advent, Latin for 'coming'. Jesus comes to us. He comes, and then He calls. 'Come to Me.' And while Jesus' First Advent occurred in Bethlehem and we look forward to what we call His Second Advent at the end of the age, in another sense every Sunday is an Advent of Jesus because every Sunday when we gather together in His presence, Jesus comes to us and calls once again. In fact, that is what He is doing right now. His coming and calling us week after week is another example of His kind favor, His grace, toward us. This point alone is something worth spending a lot of time meditating on.
Let's move on. To whom does He call? Well, what does it say? 'Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden.' Jesus calls to the weary and the burdened. He calls to those who know, from daily experience, that life is hard. And that it is hard should be no surprise. We live in a fallen world, cursed by sin throughout. Nothing has been spared. So, it is no wonder that people are weary. Dealing with this life is wearying. We, here, as a group, have been insulated from much of the harsh realities of this life. Imagine life in some Third World country. And yet, who here, though so privileged, leads a life that is without difficulties? Who here never feels the weariness of dealing with it all, not merely a weariness of body but a weariness that afflicts the soul? What is that but the fruit of dealing with sin in its different forms. Don't buy the line that your neighbors do. 'Well, what are you going to do? That's life.' No it's not. It's death. And until a person sees it that way there will be no solution and no hope. We are weary because of sin.
Now, notice that Jesus does not call to the carefree and the jovial. In fact, elsewhere, He has strong words for such people. 'Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.' Jesus' call is for those who feel the difficulties of this life, not for those who try to hide from them. Consider so many of your friends and neighbors who do exactly that. They try to hide from the weariness of this life. They do their best to keep it down and not to let it come into view. Their motto: 'I live to be happy.' All that would challenge that goal must be kept at bay. Jesus' call is not for such people. They would not even listen to such a call. Jesus' call is for those who know that life here - without Him - is a taste of hell. How else can we understand being wearied and burdened by life?
Next question. What does Jesus offer? It's obvious, isn't it? The answer is right there in the text. Jesus offers rest. And yet, what is that? What is this 'rest' that Jesus offers? Rest is a significant theme in the Scriptures. God rested from His labors of creating. Noah got his name because his father thought, 'This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.' Then, from the Psalms, God says, 'For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."' Hebrews: 'So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.' And finally, Revelation: 'And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"' Jesus offers rest from all that wearies the soul, from the burdens that drag you down. It's a rest from sin and all that goes with it. That this rest is so significant in God's Word shows that the difficulties of this life are not minor. Life in a fallen world is hard. Anyone who cannot see that is either too young to understand or is distracted by the allure of this world that Satan flashes before our eyes.
All of this heightens the beauty of this rest that Jesus offers. However trying this life might get, Jesus promises a rest that will swallow up all weariness until there isn't a trace of it left in your soul. Not a trace. As gloomy as the struggle might get, the promised rest will shine and that ever so brightly. What rejoicing for those who get to enjoy this rest because there will be no lingering taste of the weariness that they once suffered. None. Jesus offers rest that completely satisfies the soul.
There are, however, conditions. It's here, of course, that the cynic thinks, 'Ha! I knew there was a catch. I knew that it was too good to be true. So much for this foolish notion of grace. Okay, so what do I have to do? What's the cost?' If our cynical friend would only listen a bit more he would see that he has misunderstood the idea of a condition. Jesus' rest is free to all. The conditions, the requirements, are not some kind of payment. But no one will enjoy His rest without meeting these requirements.
Here's the first: acknowledge the need. And that just makes sense. Someone who rejects the idea that his soul is weary and burdened because of sin will not come to Jesus to accept His offer. Why would he? Many do not come to Jesus because they think that they have already found rest for their souls. And the fact is that there are many things that can give a sense of rest, a sense of relief from the weariness - for a time. And the list of such things is not limited to the addictions of drugs and alcohol and sex. Also on this list are things like a job that is challenging and satisfying, children to care for, books to read and know and spout about, hobbies, sports, computer games and just general busyness. There are many ways to keep the awareness of one's weariness at arm's length. But in due time the sense of weariness returns, and that with a vengeance. Those who do not admit their need, their need of Jesus to rescue them from the weariness of sin, will never come. But that is the first requirement. True rest is impossible without meeting it.
There is another requirement. This one is explicit in the text. 'Take My yoke upon you.' Now, what is this? First, let's define terms. A yoke is a harness, especially for oxen. Jesus pictures Himself as a farmer who plows His field using yoked oxen. He calls us to take that yoke. Now, let's unpack the image. Jesus is talking about submission to Him as Lord. He will rescue from the weariness of this life by guiding into His rest. But only those who submit will allow themselves to be guided. You see, rest is not something in a box that a person just unwraps, and it's his to enjoy. No. The rest Jesus gives is something that is gained by means of a process, a bit at a time. When someone takes His yoke, when he submits to Jesus, the process begins. And Jesus says, 'Let's take the left fork' and then, 'We'll go straight here' or 'Let's wait a bit right here.' Jesus guides into rest.
This explains a lot. Though taking on Jesus' yoke has a beginning, it isn't a once-for-all kind of thing. Each day, it's submitting anew to Jesus' Lordship. Each day, it's ,'Let's take the left fork', or whatever instruction He might give. And when the Spirit points out sin, what is that? That's Him saying, 'Going in that direction will only lead to weariness. Listen to Jesus instead. Go the other way.' And those who are wise know enough to quickly repent and submit once again to Jesus yoke. So, you see, those who resist Jesus' Lordship least enjoy His rest most. Those who resist Him most enjoy it least. That explains the difference between the saints when it comes to experiencing this rest. But as we learn to trust Jesus, to submit more and more willingly to Him, we enjoy more and more of His rest.
Now, experiencing Jesus' rest more does not mean that you will experience sin less. Ironically, as a Christian matures and becomes more and more holy, his awareness of sin, especially his own sin, grows. It's as we become more like Jesus that we see the ugliness of this fallen place more clearly. But experiencing Jesus' rest more does mean that you will be able to handle the fallenness better. Jesus' rest includes things like joy and peace and hope and endurance and so much more. Sin will still confront you. Satan will still be doing his best to get at you, but the sense of weariness will lessen. The battle will continue, and it will still be hard, but underneath the tiredness will be a strength that only Jesus can give.
And all of this explains heaven - or at least a little bit of heaven. Heaven is the destination that Jesus is guiding us toward. It is the place of perfect rest. It is not a place where we do nothing. Rather, it is a place where we get to completely enjoy what we do because nothing that we do there will have that taste of weariness that flavors everything here. What we do there will only enhance our experience of Jesus' rest.
In one sense we are all the same. We've all heard Jesus' call and have come, submitting to His yoke, that we might find rest for our souls. But there are differences. Let me speak to that.
Some of you are discouraged. You feel the weariness of sin. And you wonder about what's going on. Let me encourage you to cling to this promise of Jesus. He will bring you into a greater experience of rest in this life and complete that process in the next. You need to trust Him. He always keeps His promises. And pray. Tell Jesus that you feel the weariness - sometimes oh so greatly. Tell Him that you do believe the promise of His rest but that it gets hard, so very hard sometimes. Cry out to Him. Ask Him to act so that you might have a fresh experience of His rest and thus be encouraged to trust Him to deal with the remaining weariness. And then, think on heaven. It is real, and there is no weariness there. Jesus promises you a restful eternity. Trust Him to get you there even though the route He chooses may be hard.
Now let me speak to what may be another group. I sometimes wonder if any of you are in danger. I sometimes wonder if there are any who do not believe that the weariness of body and soul that you experience is because of sin. The danger here is that those fooled in this way will not see the Gospel as the solution to that weariness. Are any of you thinking like your neighbors and seeking the same solutions that they seek. That is the route to more weariness and not more rest.
All of this also speaks to those of you who are still preparing to take your place in this world. The ability to apply the language of weariness and rest to your life is an important life skill that you need to learn along with all the other things that you are in the process of learning. Sin brings weariness. Learn to recognize when that happens to you. And then remember that Jesus offers rest. Respond to His call with repentance and faith. Learning this skill will be challenging. Few of your peers think in these terms and, as a result, they are heading for a life of more and more weariness. But Jesus has better things for you.
And now, let me encourage those of you who are doing well at this. You may not be using the language of 'weariness' and 'rest', and that's fine. What's important is that you are believing the Gospel when it comes to dealing with these things. So, let me encourage you to keep at it. Jesus offers what no one else can. As you learn how to trust Him more, to submit more of your life to Him, you will experience more of His rest. And then comes heaven. This is not something that you do by trying harder. Pray and then listen. And when Jesus says, 'Let's take the left fork', do it. Rest awaits.
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