Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear your preached Word. Comfort us by your Word and lift up our burdens, carrying us to eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
In our gospel reading, Jesus issues an invitation. “Come to me.” This is not so much a command (“Come here!”), as it is an invitation (“You are invited and welcome to come to me. Please come!”) This free invitation is the gift of the gospel, and good news.
So who does Jesus invite? “All you who are weary and burdened.” Are you wearied or burdened? I wonder what baggage you carry around on your back? Let’s look at three things that can be a burden:
(1) Sin is wearisome. Sin, and its consequences, can weigh us down. Guilt. Shame. Hurt. Pain. Grief. Sickness. Even old age is a sign of the sinful, fallen world. We often hold on to sin, carrying it around for days or weeks, even years. Are you weighed down by sin at the moment? Is there an unresolved or secret sin in your life, something that feels like a load of bricks on your back? Something someone said or did? Something you said or did?
(2) Being the little guy is a burden. Jesus speaks about “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) and “the poor spirit, the meek, the lowly” (Matthew 5:3–6). These little ones are often oppressed, rejected, marginalised. In our society today this can happen due to race or the colour of your skin. Your sex. Your age (you might be considered too young or too old). Being discriminated against is burdensome and tiring. One of the issues being discussed at the moment in relation to Black Lives Matter, is how tired black people are having to live with the weight of racism on their shoulders day in and day out. Are you one of the little guys?
(3) Lastly, the hard work of life itself can wear you down. In the account of the fall in Genesis chapter 3, the ground is cursed, work becomes painful toil, with thorns and thistles and weeds. Life in this fallen world is hard work, tiring, wearisome. One commentator says that Jesus invites ‘those wearied by the sheer hard work of making ends meet and surviving in a tough world.’
What burdens you? What is heavy for you to carry? Whatever it is that burdens you at this time, Jesus invites all who are wearied and burdened — Jesus invites you to come to him.
After this invitation, Jesus then gives a promise to those who come. “I will give you rest.” The word “give” is gospel language, it’s good news. Jesus freely offers you a gift. In the next verses, Jesus elaborates saying, “Take my yoke upon you. … For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29–30). The giving is an exchange, we exchange one thing for another. We come and give our burdens, and in return Jesus gives us rest and his lighter load. We give our sin, Jesus gives us his holiness. We give our guilt, and Jesus gives us forgiveness. We give Jesus our sickness, and he gives healing. We give grief, and he gives comfort and hope. We give death, and Jesus gives us new life.
So Jesus takes all our burdens on himself. The word picture he uses is a “yoke.” A yoke was a piece of wood that you wore across your shoulders to evenly distribute a load. Beasts of burden would be “yoked” so that they could pull a heavier load. (We’ve got tractors these days, so we don’t really use yokes any more, but business shirts still have a piece of material across the shoulders called a “yoke”). Jesus invites you to give him all your burdens. And he carries them on his shoulders, on the cross. After Jesus is sentenced, the soldiers force him to carry his cross (probably just the beam upon his shoulders), like a yoke. Jesus carries your burdens on the cross as a yoke.
Jesus takes your burdens, then gives you a gift in return. This gift is rest. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). After we give Jesus all our burdens, we might think this rest we receive in return means we can do whatever we want: sit around all day with our feet up, lounge around on verandah with a beer in hand. But this is not the type of “rest” Jesus offers. He says, “Take my yoke upon you. … For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29–30). So what we receive is still have a yoke on our shoulders, we still have work to do, but the load we now carry is different and lighter.
Jesus explains the type of rest that he offers: “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.” (Matthew 11:29). The yoke we now carry is to learn. Our task is not to carry that burden of sin, but to be a disciple of Jesus. To be a disciple means to be a lifelong learner. In fact the word “disciple” simply means “learner.” Jesus takes all our burdens, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any work to do or burdens to carry, we just have new work: to learn.
Martin Luther explains it beautifully for us in the Small Catechism. The Third Commandment is all about “rest” — Sabbath rest. Remember the Sabbath day [the day of rest] by keeping it holy.’ Luther writes, ‘What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but … gladly hear and learn it.’ True rest is all about setting time aside to gladly hear and learn God’s Word. The rest Jesus freely offers to the wearied and burdened is to hear and learn God’s Word. This is his yoke and the load we now carry. When you hear God say to you through the pastor, “I declare that your sins are forgiven” — this is rest for your soul. When you listen to the preached Word, and you hear Jesus’ gospel invitation, “Come to me” — this is rest for your soul. When you spend time reading and studying the story of God and his people in the Bible — this is rest for your soul. When you listen to a hymn or spiritual song that proclaims God’s comfort and freedom — this is rest for your soul. When Jesus teaches you how to love God and love each other — this is rest for your soul. When you memorise a Bible verse — this is rest for your soul.
Challenge for the week: Set aside some time (outside of this ‘Worship at Home’ service) to listen and learn God’s Word to receive rest for your soul. Read the account of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in one of the gospels (Mark is the shortest). Listen to a Christian hymn or song. Watch a YouTube video that teaches you about the good news of Jesus. As a starting point, go to our website, navigate to the “Grow” page, then scroll down to the “Online resources” for some ideas to listen to and learn from Jesus.
When your burdens seem too heavy, may you listen to Jesus’ invitation to come to him. May you give him your burdens, so that he can carry them on cross. May he in return give you his yoke of learning. As you listen and learn from Jesus, may you hear the sweet Word of God teaching you to love God and love each other. As you gladly hear and learn the Word, may it bring rest to your soul, now and for all eternity. Amen.
