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Matthew 11:28-30 - The Invitation of All Invitations.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

INTRODUCTION

   Jesus offers rest to those who come to him in childlike faith. Jesus invites all people, not just the wise and clever. The rest Jesus offers in his Kingdom means freedom from the extra burdens the Pharisees and teachers of religious law implemented in their day and the additional rules we try to add onto our faith today. Humble people can be free from a "try harder, do more" religion. To find rest, people must throw off the yoke of burdens and legalism. A yoke was a heavy wooden harness that would be put on oxen and attached to equipment the oxen pulled. Jesus was likely referring to the hundreds of extra rules and requirements the religious leaders were putting on the people (12:1-2). Jesus' teachings make sense to humble learners, not proud legalists. If you have been devastated by sin, drained of joy by rule keeping, or crushed by persecution or oppression, this rest is for you. Jesus gives love, peace, and healing now, and one day eternal life and joyful unity with him.
   Jesus' "yoke" refers to the challenges, work, and difficulties of following him as a disciple. Responsibilities - even the effort of staying true to God - still weigh us down as we work. So in what sense is this yoke easy? Jesus' yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative of dead-end legalism and self-powered effort. And although Jesus doesn't offer a life of luxurious ease - the yoke still implies hard work - he shares the yoke with us. His bigger shoulders carry the greater weight. He has more pulling power to help us. Suddenly we are participating in life's responsibilities with a great partner - and now our grimaces can turn into smiles, and our laments into songs of joy. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARLS

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....... MB14-16

There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world's standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their character is marred, and their life made a weariness. ...... He bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is that all things needful to them for this life shall be added...... Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. 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

COMMENTARY

   Whenever you receive invitations, you probably find yourself asking the same sorts of questions: Who is it from? Who is It for? Why does It matter? This verse presents one of the loveliest invitations in the whole of the New Testament - but to understand it best, we must ask those same questions.
   First, this is a personal invitation. It is not an invitation to a program, nor is it an invitation to a religion or philosophy to be included alongside Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, New Age-ism, humanism, or any other "ism" that may be found among today's worldviews. It is an invitation from Jesus Himself. He is bidding each of us, "Come to me."
   The significance of the invitation lies in who is issuing it. In the Gospels, Jesus declares who He is: the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the Son of God (see John 4:25-26; 1 John 4:14). By virtue of this identity Jesus could command a response - but instead, He extends an invitation.
   And who does He invite to come? "All who labor and are heavy laden." This invitation is all-inclusive. It doesn't single out a certain group among a larger group but describes all of humanity. Each of us needs to hear these words, because there's not one person who isn't figuratively pushing around a wheelbarrow filled with all the cares, responsibilities, fears, and failures that make up his or her life.
   Why does all this matter? Jesus invites us to find "rest for your souls." He's speaking in eternal terms of a rest that never fails. He's beckoning us towards a banquet, and He doesn't even ask us to provide the clothes. We show up for the banquet just the way we are. God takes all the "Here are my good deeds" clothes that so many of us like to dress up in, calls them rags, and tosses them aside. He takes all the "I'm so bad and messed up that there's no hope" clothes and tosses them aside too. In their place, He covers us over with "the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), which is provided by Jesus Christ Himself. We can rest from our striving to make something of ourselves or to earn heaven for ourselves when we come to Jesus and receive all we need, and could ever need, from Him.
   This is the invitation of all invitations. Today, for the first or the thousandth time, bring your burdens to Him. Receive His rest.
      Just as I am, without one plea
      But that Thy blood was shed for me
      And that Thou bidst me come to Thee-
      O Lamb of God, I come, I come. [Truth for Life by Alistair Begg]

CLOSING THOUGHT

   What does a parent ask their children after they come home from school?
   Some will ask, "Did you learn anything today?" But many more will say something like, "Did you have fun today?"
   With regard to schooling, perhaps it does not matter much which question is asked and which priority is therefore being revealed. But the same question is often asked about church: Did we have fun at church today? Did we enjoy church?
   Instead, we should be asking, "What are we learning of and from Jesus?"
   Jesus gives us the great privilege of having the opportunity to learn from Him. Throughout the Gospels, He speaks in a way that addresses life's big questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Does life even matter?
   Knowing Christ as personal Lord and Savior changes the way someone thinks about these big topics. It transforms their perspective on time, on resources, on career, on the kind of person they want to marry or the kind of spouse they want to be. It does this because to know Jesus truly is to invite Him to be the authority in life. Everything changes as we learn from Him.
   Coming to Jesus begins with learning that Christ died for sins once and for all, the righteous (that's Him) for the unrighteous (that's us), to reconcile us to God (1 Peter 3:18) - and responding to that. Simply having a head knowledge of this is not equal to believing it, trusting it, and being happily yoked to the one who offers us all this.
   We all know people who are trying to unscramble the riddle of their lives, putting the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together as best they can, and we've all been in the same position. But until we are willing to learn from God, the pieces will not fit. But now we can truly know God, not because of our intellectual prowess but because God chooses to make Himself known through the truth of His word.
   Are you willing to learn from Jesus in every area of your life? Do you see it as a privilege, and not a burden, to follow His teaching and place yourself under His authority? Be sure to seize every opportunity to learn gospel truth, and may it satisfy your heart's longings and transform your life day by day. [Truth for Life by Alistair Begg]

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY

Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to Christ and Find Real Rest!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201121-0955.html