Matthew 11:28-30 - THE GOSPEL CALL - part 3
MAT.11:28-30; THE GOSPEL CALL - part 3
"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)
INTRODUCTION
"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]
TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU; FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS
LIGHT.
The purpose of a yoke was not to make the burdens of draft
animals heavier, but lighter; not harder, but easier to bear.... [SDA
Commentary]
The yoke is an instrument of service. DA328-332
The yoke of service for the glory of God and the uplifting of
humanity, MB14-16
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]
The value of our work is in proportion to the impartation of the
Holy Spirit. DA328-332
A person may be carrying heavy burdens of (1) sin, (2) excessive
demands of religious leaders (Matthew 23:4; Acts 15:10), (3) oppression
and persecution, or (4) weariness in the search for God. Jesus
frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is
love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A
relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual
productivity and purpose. [Life Application SB]
Following Jesus would not be a free ride; Jesus had already
described the persecution and rejection his followers could expect
(10:17-42). They were not free from all constraints; they would carry a
yoke, but it would be easy and light. Again, this did not belittle the
importance or difficulty of carrying out his mission; indeed, Jesus asked
for more than mere obedience to the law. Discipleship required
extraordinary effort. These words focused on Jesus' care and concern for his
followers, his promise of guidance and presence (28:20), and the ultimate
future rewards.... efforts of Jesus' followers would not result in
dead-end toil or drudgery or in frustrating cycles of guilt and
depression from trying to please God by being good enough. Jesus' yoke
would result in fruitful service. (Life Application Commentary)
Responsibilities weigh us down, even the job of staying true to
God. It's a tough grind, and you're tired. You may be trying hard and
still falling short of the mark. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy." Jesus
doesn't offer you a lawn chair and soda -- the yoke is still an oxen's
tool for working hard. But it's a special kind of yoke, with weight
falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power
is up front helping. Suddenly you're sharing life's
responsibilities with a great Partner -- and now that frown is turning into a
smile, and that gripe into a song. (Life Application Commentary)
"Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." How petty our
complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us into the place where we can have
communion with Him, and we groan and say--'Oh Lord, let me be like other
people!' Jesus is asking us to take one end of the yoke--'My yoke is easy,
get alongside Me and we will pull together.' Are you identified with
the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God for the pressure
of His hand.
"To them that have no might He increaseth strength." God comes
and takes us out of our sentimentality, and our complaining turns
into a psalm of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is
to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and learn of Him.
"The joy of the Lord is your strength." Where do the saints get
their joy from? If we did not know some saints, we would say-- 'Oh, he,
or she, has nothing to bear.' Lift the veil. The fact that the
peace and the light and the joy of God are there is proof that the
burden is there too. The burden God places squeezes the grapes and out
comes the wine; most of us see the wine only. No power on earth or in
hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit, it is an inner
unconquerableness.
If you have the whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a
positive crime to be weak in God's strength. [My Utmost for His Highest
by Oswald Chambers]
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]
Those who accept the one principle of making the service and
honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path
before their feet. DA328-332
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]
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