Matthew 11

Jesus Brings Rest

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When I was young my Dad, sister, and I would go on a Backpacking trip up Mt. San Jacinto. Backpacking is the kind of camping that the only things you take is what you can carry in your backpack. This is a relatively easy climb but no matter where you go an 30 pound backpack is still a 30 pound backpack. We would do the best we could getting up the Mountain but we would have to stop every 15 minutes or so to rest and take a breath. We needed rest because of the burden on our backs.

Are you carrying a burden right now? The religious leaders back in Jesus’ time made up many rules and added them to the Law that were burdens on the people. These Laws were not given by God but by men and were therefore not what God required. Jesus tells the the people that are with Him “Come to me, all who labor and heavy laden.” This would have got the attention of everyone around Him. He is saying the same to you! Do you feel like you are not good enough? Are you struggling with sin and cant seem to ever win that battle. Do you beat yourself up because you don’t pray, read the Bible, or go to church enough? Jesus is talking to you! He wants to give you rest!

“… and I will give you rest” is the next statement out of Jesus mouth. He want to give you rest from these burdens. Are you resting in Jesus? How can you rest in Jesus? “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus tells us how to rest in Him.

1. Take His Yoke
-A yoke is the tool used to tie 2 oxen to a plow(pictured above). Jesus wants us to attach ourselves to Him. Let Him help carry our burden.
2. Learn from Jesus
-We learned from Matthew 5 that Jesus is our teacher(but not just our teacher). As we attach ourselves to Him we must learn from Him and let Him lead us and direct us. Jesus will guide us gently and humbly as we attach ourselves to Him. He will never give us more of a burden than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13)

If we do these things we will find rest. This does not mean that we no longer have to work. When I would go on those backpacking trips my Dad would carry almost everything. All I would have to carry was my clothes and sleeping bag in my backpack. My burden was light because my Dad shouldered the heavy stuff. In the same way our Heavenly Father has shouldered the heavy stuff for us. He paid for our salvation with His Son. But we still need to do our part in this life. We can be free of guilt and shame because it has been paid for but we still need to live how Christ teaches us to live through the power of Jesus given to us by the Holy Spirit!