Matthew 11:28-30 - The Gospel Call

Mat.11:28-30; The Gospel Call

"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."
Mat 11:28-30 (NIV)

"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very
beautiful; but I never read in either of them: 'Come unto Me all ye that
labour and are heavy laden.'" St. Augustine [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]

Through the ages these verses have been among the most beloved
in the NT. [Ryrie SB]

Only in Matthew is this invitation [Cambridge Annotated SB]

This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come. [Matthew
Henry Commentary]

This great invitation, extended to all, is threefold: (1) to
come and receive salvation; (2) to learn in discipleship; and (3) to
serve in yoke with the Lord. [Ryrie SB]

    Sinners, wearied in the ways of iniquity, are also invited
to come to this Christ, and find speedy relief.
    Penitents, burdened with the guilt of their crimes, may come
to this Sacrifice, and find instant pardon.
    Believers, sorely tempted, and oppressed by the remains of
the carnal mind, may come to this blood, that cleanseth from all
unrighteousness; and, purified from all sin, and powerfully succoured in every
temptation, they shall find uninterrupted rest in this complete Saviour.
    All are invited to come, and all are promised rest. (Adam
Clarke Commentary)

The rest that Jesus promises is peace with God. [Small Group SB]

Rest. Those who come to Christ do not cease to work, but instead
of laboring "for the meat which perisheth," and becoming utterly
weary in the attempt, they labour "for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life"
Take my yoke. That is, submit to the discipline and training of
My way of life.... By "my yoke" Christ meant His way of life. The
"yoke" of Christ is none other than the divine will as summed up in the
law of God and magnified in the Sermon on the Mount [SDA
Commentary]

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden:
That's you.  Whether you're a millionaire or deep in debt, you
are carrying a load of sin.  Can you come to God in such a
condition? Yes, You can!  Jesus Christ welcomes you.  He will cleanse you
and make you presentable to His Father.
And I will give you rest:
That's the best news in the world.  For a while you may think
money or success or many friends will give you satisfaction.  But they
cannot supply your deepest need.  Only Jesus Christ can give you true
rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me:
Yes, there is a yoke.  No one is free.  Everyone is either in
slavery to the devil or to Jesus.  To obey the devil will bring you to
destruction, but to obey Jesus Christ brings you peace and joy both now and
forever.  The best way to learn of Him is to read the Bible, which is
truly the word of life.
For I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls:
It sounds like becoming a Christian is only for weaklings who
need a crutch to get them through life.  But it's not.  Being meek
and lowly means that Christians win tremendous victories and lead
successful lives by love and service rather than by hate and power.  The
basic motives of your living will change.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light:
Yes, it is!  The burden of Jesus is a joyous one.  Coming back
to God puts you in harmony with the purpose of your creation.  You
discover that doing the will of God is the best way to live.
Faith, Prayer & Tract League, Tract #243, Come.

    Here it is again! A description of a job nobody wants.
    I mean, who wants work as a sheep among wolves? (10:16) Who
wants to be handed over to local councils to be flogged? (v. 18) Who
wants family conflict? (v. 21) Who wants to be hated? (v. 22) Who
wants to be persecuted? (v. 23)
    It's fine to say things like, all this happened to Jesus
first (vv. 24-25). And, hey, they can only kill your body, can't they?
(v. 28) But no matter how you cut it, this business of being a
disciple doesn't look all that attractive. Try putting this kind of ad in
the paper, and see how many applicants you get.
    But then, at the end of Matthew 11, Jesus added something
that makes it all worthwhile. He invites us, "Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me" (11:29). The yoke, which rested on the shoulders
of oxen hitched to a plow, was used to distribute the burden of
work. The oxen pulled together, and neither was overwhelmed.
    Being yoked to Jesus doesn't so much mean that we take on
His burdens, but that He, pulling alongside us, takes on ours. Yes,
it's tough to be a disciple. It's a challenging and disciplined life.
Yet the disciple by the very fact of his commitment is yoked to
Jesus. And in that relationship, with Jesus taking on most of the load,
we find not added burdens but an amazing inner rest.
    Despite all appearances, the disciple of Jesus knows the
truth. Jesus' "yoke is easy and My burden is light." [The 365-Day
Devotional Commentary]

    There is a very common excuse, that it is a very hard thing
to be a Christian......  Is it true that the Lord is a hard master,
and the devil an easy one?...  Go and ask that child of God, who has
been serving Christ twenty or thirty years, whether He is a hard
master.  He will tell you that His yoke is easy and His burden light....
 And all the men who are serving the devil faithfully will say
that they find the way hard....
    Don't go off with that delusion that it is a hard thing to
serve God.  I will tell you where you have made a mistake.  You have
tried to serve God in the flesh, before you have been born of the
Spirit, and you have failed...  It is not only a hard thing, but it is
impossible for any one to serve God in the flesh...  But when the Lord
Jesus comes into the heart, and we have been born of the Spirit, and
have passed from death into life and become heirs of eternal life...
I testify to it that the yoke is easy and the burden is light.
[D. L. Moody; The Gospel Awakening; Spirit Filled Life Devotional
SB]

Human nature is ever struggling for expression, ready for
contest; but he who learns of Christ is emptied of self, of pride, of
love of supremacy, and there is silence in the soul. Self is yielded
to the disposal of the Holy Spirit. Then we are not anxious to have
the highest place. We have no ambition to crowd and elbow ourselves
into notice; but we feel that our highest place is at the feet of our
Saviour. We look to Jesus, waiting for His hand to lead, listening for
His voice to guide.... When we receive Christ as an abiding guest in
the soul, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will
keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. MB14-16

So often we feel that God isn't present in our lives.  But it's
not because he doesn't want to be there.  Maybe it's because we
haven't made a place for him inside of us.  We are so filled up with our
addictions and compulsive activity that we leave no room for God.  Reading
the Bible, praying and Christian fellowship and service help us
start creating a place for God.  [Life Recovery Devotional SB mod]

Jesus says "Come unto Me and I will give you rest," i.e.,
Christ-consciousness will take the place of
self-consciousness.... It is never God's
will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him.
Anything that disturbs rest in Him must be cured at once, and it is not
cured by being ignored, but by coming to Jesus Christ. If we come to
Him and ask Him to produce Christ-consciousness, He will always do
it until we learn to abide in Him. [My Utmost for His Highest by
Oswald Chambers]

Jesus says, "My burden is light." As a Rabbi had it: "My burden
is become my song." It is not that the burden is easy to carry; but
it is laid on us in love; it is meant to be carried in love; and
love makes even the heaviest burden light. When we remember the love
of God, when we know that our burden is to love God and to love
men, then the burden becomes a song.  There is an old story which
tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy,
who was lame, upon his back.  "That's a heavy burden for you to
carry," said the man.  "That's no' a burden," came the answer. "That's
my wee brother." The burden which is given in love and carried in
love is always light. [Barclay Commentary]

Jesus places mankind in two categories:  those who follow Him
and those who do not.  Those who follow Him are in the minority and
must struggle against the current of our time in order to be obedient
to Him.  The Lord calls His followers to a life of selflessness;
the world encourages each to get all that he can.  The Lord calls
His followers to a life of patient waiting; the world urges
immediate gratification.  The Lord calls His followers to labor for the
kingdom; the world strives for bigger, better, and the most now.  What do
you do more than others?  Are you more selfless or selfish?  Are you
waiting or striving?  Does what you do have eternal or temporal
significance?  Think about it! [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom re Mat.5:47]