Matthew 11:28 – Come to (AF)Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Have you ever been weary and tired not just physically, but mentally and emotionally worn out? Have you ever felt like you carry such heavy burdens that you can hardly stand? And it seems like there is no end in sight to this tired, burdensome journey doesn’t it? If this is you, then you know how the crowd listening to Jesus in the cities felt.
They were under Roman occupation, veritable slaves to the Romans. They were under the heavy rules and directives of their religious leaders the Pharisees who kept applying law after law and burden after religious burden to them. And they could not match up. They were poor, sick, feeble, struggling and without hope. In their minds was the question as to when this would end. Or will this tired, burdensome existence perhaps go on until the grave?
To these tired and burdened people Jesus gives an invitation. “Come to Me” He says. It is an invitation that stands today to all of us – come to Jesus. Come just as you are, weary, tired, and with all the burdens of life and your sin which so easily gets the best of you. Take the first step and ask no questions – just come to Him. Jesus asks nothing of you other than you come to Him; there are no conditions, no prerequisites, no judging you. Just come to Jesus as you are.
And when you do come to Jesus, He promises to give you something. Rest. The words as written in Greek actually mean that He will “rest” you. You can’t rest yourself because your mind is a mess, you’re emotionally drained, mentally stressed and you can’t focus or think, much less rest. But Jesus promises to “rest you”. You “come” to Him, He “gives” you something. Rest.
True rest. Jesus promises to take your mental stress, your emotional burden, your depression, your anxiety, and the physical symptoms of your anxiety and stress and give you rest. Jesus exchanges your burdens for rest.
But this rest that Jesus offers is not just for those who are physically, mentally, and emotionally stressed out with life. It is for you Christian, you who are missing the mark and failing God in your walk. You are tired of failing in spite of your best efforts. The burden of sin and failure overwhelms you and saps your joy. Yes, you too are a tired laborer laden with burdens, the burden of sin and failure.
The Bible says in Psalm 38 verse 4 – “For my iniquities (sins) have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me”
To you Jesus says “come”. Come to your Savior. He didn’t die just to save you, but to set you free. You were saved because you put your faith in His atoning, substitutionary death on the Cross. The penalty of sin is death, He died in your place so that you receive the gift of eternal life. A grand exchange, your sin exchanged for His goodness and righteousness.
Do not think you can live the Christian life in your own strength and by the power of your flesh. You will labor with will power and best intentions, and for that you will be rewarded with carrying your own burdens of failure. Cease your own efforts and works to free yourself. Jesus invites you to come to Him, to believe that at the Cross He broke the power of sin in your life.
He began the good work in you and He will complete it by the power of the Holy Spirit, if you come to Him and cease your work to live the Christian life in your own flesh. When you came to Christ the old you died. Therefore, the new you cannot live by the power of what is dead – the old you. The new you has to be empowered and live by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus put in you the day you were saved.
Rest in Him and surrender to Hm. Put your faith in His power to break the power of sin in your life and you will see Him remove the shackles that bind you and stop the sin that so easily defeats you. Surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit
To you who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, to you He says the same thing – “come to Me”. He will not only take all your heaviness, burdens, stress and anxieties, but all your sin that is at the root of all that. Tell Him of your disobedience, your sin, your rebellion against Him, ask forgiveness, invite Him into your heart and life and you will be made new. You will enter into His rest.
For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15
We are a local church in Astoria Queens New York
