Come and Rest

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28–30

These verses can be very confusing at first. At one level, they are comforting because Jesus says he will give us rest. But he also says to take his yoke, which is something that represents hard labor or oppression. A pair of oxen would be yoked together to plow a field. In the Old Testament, King Rehoboam threatened his subjects with a yoke of hard work (1 Kings 12:11). So how do we reconcile Jesus’ promise to give us rest when he follows that with the imagery of a yoke?   

We could misunderstand Jesus’ words as a call merely to slow down and take better care of ourselves. We might think the answer to our weariness is to declutter our lives, reduce expectations, practice mindfulness, and seek a calmer, more comfortable life. 

But these verses aren’t meant to encourage us to find ways to relieve stress and balance our lives. This misapplication takes the verses out of context and strips them of the rich lessons that Jesus intended by these words. 

In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus denounces various cities for their lack of repentance. They had heard his words and seen his miracles, yet the people hadn’t changed. Instead of putting on sackcloth and ashes to mourn their sin, they continued to live in pride and would face judgment. 

Then in verses 25-27, Jesus explains that the Father and the Son reveal themselves to little children. And following verse 28, we see two accounts of the Pharisees complaining about Jesus and his disciples doing something on the Sabbath which was not lawful. The Pharisees had made rule-keeping the center of their religion, but had forgotten about compassion and mercy towards others. Jesus makes it clear that their Sabbath rules had drifted from the true meaning of the Sabbath and rest. 

So as we contemplate verses 28-30, we see that Jesus is contrasting those who come to him and rest in him with those who do not repent or burden themselves with perfectionistic standards. These two extremes are still seen today. 

We may refuse to deal with entrenched sins like bitterness, gluttony, laziness, or pride. Or we may be following standards we have imposed on ourselves that we think will earn us favor with God. For example, reading a certain number of Bible chapters each day and praying for every person on the church prayer list. Or never drinking alcohol, playing cards, or getting a tattoo. And making sure that others know that we never do these things. Neither of these extremes will save us from the judgment to come. 

And so, Jesus shows us the better way. He says, “Come to me.” If we are laboring and weary from trying to deny and hide our sin, come to him. If we are heavy laden by all the extra rules we are trying to carry, come to him. 
Jesus will give us rest. The rest that Jesus gives is a soul-rest. We can put off the yoke that we have made for ourselves. And we can put on his yoke instead. Yes, we will still be yoked — but we will be yoked to him!

 He will be beside us, helping us stay on the right path. With his yoke on, we won’t fall into the ditches of unrepentance or works-based self-righteousness. He will keep us on the path that leads to rest for our souls.

But there’s more! Jesus doesn’t just give us instruction, he tells us why we should do this. He anchors his command to who he is and his character. We should take his yoke and we will find rest because Jesus is gentle and lowly.* He asks us to come to him, and he draws us to him. 

Jesus moves towards those who are struggling with sin and suffering. He knows our weaknesses because he was willing to enter into this world as a human. After living a perfect life, he took the heaviest yoke of all by taking up the cross and the weight of all the sins of all who believe in him. He did this for the “joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:1-2). 

What was the joy he was looking for? The joy of welcoming undeserving sinners into eternal life and rest with him. 
Soul-rest isn’t about working harder or ignoring our sin. It isn’t achieved by scheduling a spa day. It’s about looking at Jesus. 

Yes, Jesus’ yoke is light. But this doesn’t mean that obedience is optional. The yoke is easy and light, but if we try to do things our own way, we will chafe from pulling in the wrong direction. Jesus will always do what is needed to bring us back. And that is when we will find the yoke easy and light. 
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The question is, are you yoked with Jesus? True soul-rest is found in a relationship with him. Come, and he will give you rest. His yoke is easy and his burden is light because he is walking with you. 

*In his books, Gentle and Lowly and The Heart of Jesus, Dane Ortlund gives a multi-faceted picture of who Jesus is and shows us his heart for sinners. 

See also: From the Mercy Seat to Christ

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