Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. “Come unto me.”
What a beautiful invitation for people living in a suffering-burdened world. A world marked by indifference and rejection where outstretched hands find little response and pleading cries go unanswered.
The words are simple, and the meaning is unmistakable. Anyone who struggles with problems or difficulties and seeks relief is urged to come to Jesus. For you see, God does not remain at a distance. He, who is high above us, as Lord of all, is also our Loving Father and Gracious Savior with us. He came to us in His Son, Jesus Christ, to reveal Himself as the God of deliverance.
He does not intend our struggles to continue indefinitely, surely not eternally. Burdens will be lifted, and ordeals will be terminated. Gathered around his word and seated at His table, we hear His voice, feel his presence, and experience His Grace. How wonderful to commune with God and how amazing such communion is even possible. Yes, Jesus opened the way, and He continues to say: “Come unto me!”
To Jesus, the great need of humanity and the world was apparent. This 11th Chapter of Matthew underscores John the Baptist’s doubt concerning Jesus’ Messiahship, the fickle and critical attitude of the multitude toward His message, and the persistent impenitence of those cities where Jesus had performed most of His mighty works.
Now, confronted with these reactions to His ministry, would Jesus have justified bidding farewell and leaving men to the consequences of their attitudes and actions?
When men doubt the message, why continue to proclaim it? When men refuse salvation, why continue to offer it?
But Jesus came on a mission of mercy. He remained sensitive to the needs of those lost and persisted in His efforts to save them. This was His Father’s will. So, as He did before, He raised His voice in a pleading invitation, “Come unto me.”
For He understands us better than we know ourselves. Picture, if you will, for a moment, the world in which Jesus lived – the donkey with a heavy load on its back, the camel transporting an even greater cargo, and people weighted with yokes on their shoulders or carrying vessels and baskets on their heads. What a life of stress and strain!
Then everywhere, Jesus saw the deaf, the blind, the lame, the leprous, the poor, and the oppressed. But the most significant burdens were those weighing on hearts and minds: Questions people could not answer, problems they could not solve, conditions they could not change, and hearts they could not heal. Yes, the Lord of Life had come into a dying world!
But Jesus could never remain indifferent because the heart of God is not cold and hard. He was moved with infinite compassion, and as the great physician, He healed all manner of diseases. He performed deeds of might, mercy, and miracles of Grace; he provided blessed relief and signified that He came to deal with the underlying cause – to lift the burden of sin. He was God’s answer to a universal need. For He is the sinner’s only hope of salvation.
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Thank you for reading an excerpt of Rev. Rocky Brown’s’s article on scoopusamedia.com. To read more of the article, “Rest for the Weary – St. Matthew 11:28-30,” please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
