AN EXCLUSIVE INVITATION TO REST & DISCIPLESHIP
MATTHEW 11:25-30
INTRODUCTION
- Most everyone likes to receive an invitation to a special event. Perhaps the event is a graduation or wedding. Sometimes we send out invitations for birthday parties. Ladies send out invitations for baby showers. Invitations are used (usually in paper or card form) for a variety of different occasions. If you have a list of people you want to make sure will be at your event, or at least know that you wanted them there, you use invitations.
- We enjoy receiving invitations to such things because it lets us know that whoever is putting the event on was thinking about us and wants us to be there. On the other hand, if we know there is a special event going on and we do not receive an invitation we are often upset because we think just the opposite may be true. We were not being thought of but we were being overlooked. Our presence was not wanted. Depending upon the circumstances those things may or may not be true; but in all cases invitations have a way of announcing that something important is happening and you should seriously consider being there.
- There are many great invitations recorded in Scripture intended for mankind on behalf of God. In fact the very last verses of the Bible include an invitation. In Revelation 22:17 it says: The Spirit and the Bride [the church] say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
- This is an invitation to eternal life. Anyone who is thirsty can drink of the water of life freely. Which is to say, anyone who desires eternal life can have it if they come to the right source. It is a kind of wedding invitation itself; inviting people to be a part of the marriage supper of the Lamb. Which is, again, a picture of the fellowship and communion that believers will have with Jesus Christ for all of eternity. This has been a favorite invitation of believers throughout the centuries.
- As far as scriptural invitations go, however, the invitation found in Matthew 11 is probably my favorite. At the end of the 11th chapter of Matthew’s gospel Jesus himself is speaking. He is speaking about his relationship to God the Father and what that means for anyone who would follow him. He has just been questioned by followers of John the Baptist as to whether or not he is the true Messiah or Anointed Deliverer of Israel. And he has also just denounced several cities for not believing in him when he had done extraordinary works there.
- Those things will be important to keep in mind as we take a look at what Jesus says here. We are going to have to keep in mind the situation in which Jesus makes this famous invitation. Doing that, we then are going to look at the substance of this invitation. And I want you to ask yourself this question that we will hopefully answer by the time we’re finished, “What exactly is it that Jesus is inviting me to do?”
[READ MATTHEW 11:25-30]
- Let’s hone in on vv.28-30 for a moment as these verses are the actual text of the invitation. These are some of the most well known and beloved words of the Bible, and rightly so. They are also a preacher’s best friend because they are easily outlined. There are actually a few invitations here. Three to be exact. One in v.28 and two in v.29. The first is rather obvious: come to me.
COME TO ME: AN EXCHANGE OF BURDENS
- The invitation to come to Jesus is an invitation to an exchange of burdens. At its simplest level this is an invitation to faith. “Come” means come in faith. In John 6:35 Jesus says: I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. To come to Jesus and to believe in Jesus are one and the same.
- Now to whom is this invitation addressed? Any individual who is weary (or labors) and burdened (or heavy laden). “Weary” indicates working to the point where you have no energy left. In this spiritual context it means working to please God on your own until you have no energy left. “Burdened” implies external demands set upon you. So the first century listener to Jesus’ words hears this: “Is there anyone who has come to the point where they realize they can’t please God on their own and they are tired of trying? Is there anyone who is fed up with trying to live up to the demands of Jewish religious law placed on them by hypocritical leaders? Come to me and let’s make a deal.” Let’s look at what he offers.
- It is a very simple statement of an offer with massive implications. “If you labor and are heavy laden and you come to me: I will give you rest.” The rest to which he refers is eternal rest. It is rest from the burden of having a severed relationship with the Creator that you cannot mend on your own. It is rest from the burden of sin and self-righteousness; from the burden of pride and works. It is rest from all the vain efforts of pleasing God by accomplishing something in your own strength or according to religious tradition or rules.
- Notice carefully the conditions of the offer. Those who are weary and burdened are invited to come. There are two things at work here when we speak of those who are weary and burdened. First, this includes every human who has ever lived or ever will live. The burden of sin which causes separation from God that we cannot close with our own efforts or religious virtues is a burden that everyone carries. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and the wages of that sin is death. We all have a burden that we cannot carry and if we are left to ourselves to lift it we will die.
- But here’s the second dynamic at work here: not everybody realizes this or is willing to acknowledge this. Some people refuse to accept the fact they are in deep danger of an eternity without God unless they repent and trust Christ. These people, though they are burdened with sin, do not know that they are or do not believe that they are. These people are not found in the invitation of v.28, but in the denunciation of vv.20-24.
- This is all one big flowing discourse. Listen to the woes that Christ pronounces and pay attention to why he is uttering such judgment: Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
- For those who do not recognize their need to come to Jesus eternal rest is not offered but eternal judgment is promised. In order to receive eternal rest there has to be a change in the way you view Jesus. Listen to the beginning of his prayer in v.25: At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
- The wise and understanding – those who are smart in their own eyes and think they have it all together – they don’t get it. They don’t get it because the Father has hidden the wonders of childlike faith from them and he will continue to hide it until they acknowledge their need of him.
- The little children however – those who humbly admit their need of Jesus – have these things revealed to them. “These things” are the things of repentance in v.20, the things of knowing God through Christ in v.27, and the things of eternal rest in v.28.
- So since everyone is under the same burden, the invitation goes out to everyone. But only those who recognize their burden can come find eternal rest at the foot of the cross. Anyone can come to Jesus but they have to come on his terms: repentance, faith, and trust solely in him.
- So if you’re new to this Christian thing, here is the foundation of everything (and I hope those who are already in the faith never get tired of hearing me say it): come to Jesus in repentance and faith. Repent and believe. But a lot of us have already done that right? Don’t worry, there’s more for you.
- The first invitation is: Come to Me: An Exchange of Burdens. The second is:
TAKE FROM ME: AN EXCHANGE OF AUTHORITY
- Jesus says: Take my yoke upon you. To some of us “yoke” may be an awkward word. We know it means something and it sounds important but we’re not quite sure what it’s there for. A yoke is an agricultural instrument. It is a type of harness. Most of us would be familiar with putting a harness of straps on a horse. A yoke is most often used on oxen. It is usually made of wood and consists of a crosspiece and two head pieces. The head pieces go around the heads of two oxen and the crosspiece connects them. It is a way of harnessing and controlling the oxen. The yoke keeps the oxen together and allows you to use their gathered energy to plow land, etc.
- It makes sense then that the word “yoke” was often used as a symbol of submission to authority. You may remember that in 1 Kings 12 Solomon’s son Rehoboam was taking over the throne of Israel. And the people come to him and say in v.4: Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you. The idea of course is that Solomon exercised his authority over the people as they worked for him; even to the weariness of his people. So they were asking Rehoboam, who had now assumed that authority, to lighten the work load.
- We find the same word that is here in Matthew 11 in Galatians 5:1 when Paul writes: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. He’s saying “Do not submit yourselves again to the authority of sin.” Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death. Why do you act as if you are still under its authority?
- Jesus is using the same imagery. He says “Take up my yoke.” It is an exchange of authority. It is giving up your own authority and the authority of sin in your life and receiving Christ’s rule over every facet of your being. And this goes against everything inside of us. Everyone likes to be in charge. We love to think that we are the captains of our own souls, that we are the masters of our own fates. We don’t like it when things are out of our control. But if we want to follow Jesus, we have to let that go. You’re no longer in charge. (As a side note, even when you think you’re in charge you’re really not. So this is really just acknowledging what is already the case.)
- And the “yoke” language goes on into v.30: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The exchange offered is weariness for rest. It is slavery for freedom. It is burden for relief.
- Essentially what he is saying is this: “Give up! You lose! You can’t do it on your own. You’re not going to win this one. Stop trying and receive. Give up the yoke you are currently toiling under for my superior yoke. Come under my authority and let me lift the burdens you can’t.”
- If “come to me” signifies faith, “take from me” signifies repentance. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. You don’t come to Jesus in faith without also recognizing your own insufficiency because of your sin and relinquishing control of your life to him.
- Be very careful to remember that the freeness of the gift of salvation doesn’t mean that you don’t change and turn from your sinful ways. You’re not saved by cleaning up your act. Salvation isn’t given to you because you decide you’re going to ax some bad habits. But true faith always brings about a change of heart and mind. So you can’t have “come to me” without “take from me”. You can’t have faith without a corresponding change of authority; a corresponding repentance and submission to the lordship of Jesus.
- Well, there’s one other facet of these verses that makes the invitation complete. First Jesus says “Come to me.” and this initiates an exchange of burdens. Then he says “Take from me.” or take my yoke and this initiates an exchange of authority. Finally, he says:
LEARN FROM ME: AN EXCHANGE OF LEADERSHIP (DISCIPLESHIP)
- The invitation to learn from Jesus initiates an exchange of leadership. Learn from me, Jesus says, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. To learn from Jesus means to become his disciple. In fact, the word disciple (μαθητής) is a derivative of this verb “learn”.
- It is one thing to be under someone’s authority, but it is another thing to follow that person’s leadership. Satan himself is under the authority of Christ, but he does not follow his leadership. When a person truly comes in faith to Jesus, they will repent and relinquish their authority and this naturally leads to that person following after Christ and learning from him.
- There is a tendency today in some circles to teach that you can have saving faith without being a disciple of Jesus. You don’t have to follow Jesus to be saved. If you simply have a mental acceptance of the gospel facts you can be saved. No change is necessary. No repentance is necessary. No discipleship is necessary. To which I respond: “What kind of faith is that?”
- This isn’t faith at all. That is empty, dead faith. That is exactly what James got on his readers for. When Jesus invites us to come to him, he invites us to follow him. This is not optional. Jesus is not fire insurance. Think about how you view insurance. You have insurance policies in case something bad happens. Other than that, you don’t really think about them (except when the bills are due!).That’s how some people want to treat Jesus. They’ll say “Okay, okay, I guess I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Now let me live my life.” And just in case there really is a hell, they have Jesus in their back pocket.
- I don’t think so. Does that sound like what Jesus calls us to in Scripture? Does that sound like “If anyone desires to come after me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me.” to you? No. I suppose that the motivation behind telling someone that they can have Jesus as Savior without having him as Lord is to avoid demanding too much or offending them.
- Give me a biblical break! These will be the sad souls who hear the words of Matthew 7 despite their cries of “Lord! Lord!”: Depart from me you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you.
- It is tremendously unhelpful and even cruel to leave discipleship out of the gospel. Again, clarity is needed. We don’t change ourselves for Jesus. Jesus changes us when we truly come to him to follow him. So not only does Jesus invite us to come to him and take from him, but also learn from him. Where do you learn from Jesus? How do you follow him? The answer is the book you’re holding in your hands. You follow him by following his word.
- So there are the three aspects of this grand invitation. And I want to end with a point of emphasis that considers this invitation in the overall context of what Jesus is saying. Why does he say “Come to me.”? Because there is no one else to go to.
ETERNAL REST IS FOUND ONLY IN FOLLOWING JESUS
- There is a brilliant statement of the exclusivity of Jesus Christ here. Notice what he says in v.27: All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
- If you want freedom from the burden of sin, and if you want leadership and guidance from God the Father, you have to come to Jesus. No one, hear him well, no one knows God the Father except Jesus Christ the Son and anyone to whom the Son reveals the Father. There are echoes of John 14:6 here: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- Access to God is found only in Jesus. And as unpopular as that is to say, it is what the Bible clearly teaches. Most people want religion or spirituality according to their own thinking or own rules. Here is how I describe how most people think: I am a pretty big fast food fan. I try not to eat it all the time, but I definitely eat it a lot. Every time I have a craving for fast food I face a dilemma. My favorite french fries are made by a restaurant called McDonald’s. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. My favorite chicken nuggets are made by Wendy’s. And Burger King has my favorite burgers.
- So when I’m in the mood for fast food I have to decide what I want most. Do I want the fries, or the nuggets, or the burgers? Then I got to thinking one day: wouldn’t it be great if there was a restaurant that had all of these things under one roof? If I wasn’t convinced that I was called to preach I think I would try to open such a monster. I would call it McWendy King. McWendy King would be a fast food lover’s dream. All of your favorite food at one drive thru.
- That’s how a lot of people approach religious faith. If I like what the Bible says, then I’ll take a little Bible. I’ll toss in a little Christianity, a little mysticism, a little New Age, and a little Buddhism. Whatever I like, that’s what I want. Jesus and Buddha and Mohamed and Oprah and Dr. Phil make a great combination. I make my own rules.
- Well, as great as a McWendy King restaurant sounds, there is no such thing as a McWendy King route to heaven. There is no room to pick and choose. Jesus is your only option. Stop going to your neighborhood psychic. Oprah doesn’t have the answer to your most serious problem. Jesus says “You’ve got to come to me. Take from me. Learn from me. You will only know the Father if I will to reveal him to you. Christ’s famous invitation is sprinkled his own sovereignty and exclusivity.
- So we each must respond to what Jesus says here. We each must ask ourselves: have I recognized that I have a burden that I cannot carry? Or am I “wise and understanding” like the cities that rejected Jesus? Have I come to Jesus, exchanged my authority for his, and begun the process of learning to follow him? Or am I fooling myself into thinking McWendy King works in real life?
