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, for 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. Matthew 11:28-30
This is one of those “so familiar” verses that we often read right through it, assuming that we fully understand it. Those are the verses in which it is often best to slow down, read word by word, and ask the Spirit to give you an additional revelation. So I wanted to do that myself tonight.
The first phrase is an emphatic invitation. Many Greek concordances translate it with an exclamation point next to it. It might be translated, “Come to me now!!! The word “come” can also be translated as “follow.”
The ultimate goal of most of us…especially as we grow older is to find peace, rest, or renewal in our lives. Over the months and years, the world nibbles away at our souls. If we are not careful there will be an accumulation of stress, anxiety, regrets, losses, and a longing for something we have not yet found that robs us of peace and joy. Life and even ministry can become a burden.
Jesus recognizes that condition with the words weary and burdened.One suggests the tiredness and exhaustion that comes from a long march or days of hard labor with little to show for it. There is a sense that those who are weary are on the verge of quitting. Remember, Paul tells us to not grow weary in doing good because eventually there will be a harvest (Gal.6:9). He is encouraging believers at Galatia not to quit or give up because they have labored hard but have not yet seen any harvest. His call is to keep going because God has promised a harvest that will surely come if we keep believing. Sometimes staying faithful seems like labor. You serve, you pray, you cry out and have yet to see a breakthrough. You begin to question the promises of God or your own faith because no fruit , no answered prayer, is yet discernable. Those can be hard days.
The word burdenedcalls to mind a heavy load. Some translations call it “heavy laden.” Caring for a special needs child or a spouse with a long-term disability can begin to feel like a heavy burden where the responsibility weighs you down. Maybe a child torn by addictions or a marriage in which you feel like the only one trying can bear on your soul. On those days, the road seems too long before you get a break.
Jesus has a remedy for the labor and heavy burdens. He calls it rest.Rest can b translated as relief, recovery, renewal, or restoration. Remember David’s 23rdPsalm where he says that the Lord restores his soul by making him lie down in green pastures and leading him beside still waters. This is the same thought. I think it is closely akin to peace.
Jesus declares that this rest is available, but he is the only provider. Come to me!!! He declares and no one else. You come, you follow, and I will give it to you. The promise implies relationship. You can’t just drop by the corner pharmacy and get a box of tablets that make you feel better as you continue to live for yourself and follow you. That is where the emptiness comes from in the first place. It is only found in him.
He then describes the process of gaining rest. It is not sitting down and ceasing to serve but it is yoking ourselves to him and learning how to live in the abundance and peace of the kingdom. Yokes tie two animals together, who then labor together. The untrained animal would learn how to pull and plow by being yoked to the one who was already trained for the task. Simply doing what he saw and felt the other do trained him. Being yoked with Jesus in a relationship and as a co-laborer in the kingdom teaches us how to live and how to trust in kingdom resources to get us through hard times. Trust is the forerunner of rest.
Jesus doesn’t train us with a whip and harsh words. He encourages us and brings us along at the pace that fits us. He is gentle and humble and even though he is King he will not lord it over those who come to him. His yoke is easy and his burden is light because he shoulders most of the weight. Once again, scripture reveals God as a God who wants to partner with his people, co-labor in the kingdom, and grow close by doing great things together. Intimacy and training in how to live in the kingdom while still on planet earth is what restores our soul.
Too often when we have labored long and carried a weight, we want to run away from the call God has on our lives. We want to ditch our responsibilities ands chase the promises of the world that offer peace, love, and significance at a minimal cost…but those things truly only come through Jesus. The key to rest is to press in, not to pull away. In fact, weariness and burden bearing are hints that we have already drawn away and are trying to face life in our own strength. When you feel the weariness and the burden, remember the words of Jesus – “Come to me…I will give you rest!”
