Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28-30

Soul Rest

I.                    Jesus promises rest in Him for the overburdened soul, but we must come to Him (v. 28)

a.       Jesus is speaking to John the Baptist’s disciples who were weary and overwhelmed from carrying the weight of belief, and to the Jews who were weighed down with the works of the law. He calls these weary and overwhelmed people to come to Him, and He promises to give them rest. The application is the same today. Maybe you know Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, but you’ve gradually slipped back under the weight of the world one burden after another in your own strength until you’ve discovered that you’re worn out, weighed down, and feel as though you can’t breathe or move anymore as hope, joy, and satisfaction are squeezed out of you. Maybe you’ve never truly know the freedom Jesus’ grace. You’ve been laboring in your own effort to follow God’s rules, trying to be good so that God won’t be mad at you, and trying to work hard so that Jesus will love you more. But the harder it becomes to live a Christian life in our increasingly secular world, and the less people approve of anyone who attempts to live a life obedient to God’s Word, the wearier you’re becoming from the effort, and the more overwhelmed you feel by the weight of the expectations. It’s tempting to either shut yourself off from the world so that you can live in peace in your own efforts, or to lay down the hard parts of God’s Word, and meet the world halfway to try to gain a little rest, and ease your burden. Or maybe you’ve never known a relationship with Christ at all, and you’ve lived your whole life trying to make your own way, be the master of your own destiny, and single handedly conquer every mountain that life places in your path. But maybe the expectations of life, and keeping up with what the world defines as success, achievement, purpose, hope, peace, joy, and satisfaction has become an overwhelmed you with the prospect of failure. God causes or allows these burdens into our lives to move us to turn to Him, and Jesus promises that if we’ll humble ourselves, and come to Him with our worn out and sinking lives, He’ll give us rest! (v. 28; Ps. 38:1-22; 40:11-13; 62:1-2; Prov. 8:12; Jer. 6:13-19; Matt. 23:2-5; Luke 9:23-25; 15:11-32; 19:1-10; John 8:30-36; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 15:10-11; Rom. 5:1-11; 8:1-4; 10:1-13; 2 Cor. 4:8-11; 5:1-10; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 4:6-7; Tit. 3:5-7; 1 Pet. 5:6-11)

II.                 Jesus promises rest in Him for the overburdened soul, but we must take His yoke upon us and learn from Him (Vv. 29-30)

a.       Jesus promises to give rest to all those who are tired and sinking in life, but then He calls them to take His yoke upon them. A yoke doesn’t sound very freeing and restful? However the reality of life is that it’s not a matter of if we’ll be yoked, because we’ll all be yoked to someone or something in life; the only question is to whom or what will be yoked. We can struggle through life, drudging along day by day yoked to the world, trying to create meaning, purpose, peace, hope, joy, and satisfaction in life, continually straining and tugging in our own strength, but it won’t work, not even through our greatest efforts on our best days. Eventually the overwhelming expectations of life will weigh us down, and the pull of the weight of life against our yoke in those times will chafe our necks, pull muscles, and crush us under its weight. But Jesus calls us to “take” His yoke upon us and “learn” from Him. The world is a brutal task master which drives us relentlessly, whipping, and yelling with only selfish motivations, and no regard for us. But Jesus is a gentle and humble Master who patiently endures alongside on us, sharing our load, and even taking our whole burden when we can’t bear up under it, as He faithfully teaches us, encourages, and guides us giving us rest, peace, and hope in our soul! When we’re yoked to the world, we’re fitted with a crude, misshapen, and abrasive yoke which is attached to an overwhelming burden that either produces hopelessness as we’re pressed into the mold of the world, or produces bitterness, anger, callousness, selfishness, rebelliousness, and discontentment as we continually try to muster our own fleeting strength to drudge ahead. But Jesus’ yoke is easy, and His burden is light because He alone knows us uniquely as our Creator and Redeemer, fashions a yoke which is perfectly custom fit for us, and allows us the rest and renewal in Him which gives us true hope, peace, joy, purpose, and satisfaction in life. Jesus promises we’ll find true freedom and soul rest now and forever in Him when we come to Him, take His yoke upon us, learn from Him! (Vv. 29-30; Prov. 3:1-8; Jer. 29:11-13; Isa. 9:6-7; Mark 9:17-29; Luke 17:5-6; Rom. 8:18-28; 11:33-12:2; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Eph. 2:8-10; Phil 4:8-13; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 John 5:1-5)