Matthew 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29  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.
30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Salvation is a gift of God. True salvation is owned by God. Man has no input in God’s salvation. Man is the recipient if he submits to God’s will. Man is dependent upon God’s mercy and grace in order to be saved. Man cannot demand salvation of God. The Bible tells us that man is not even looking for a Saviour.
When Adam sinned, he did not run to seek out God. He and his wife Eve, tried to fix the problem by sewing themselves aprons out of fig leaves. They discovered this was worthless when God came into the Garden. However, Adam still did not run to seek God’s forgiveness. It was God Who reached out to Adam. Even after God reached out to Adam, Adam still did not acknowledge his sin. God had to point this out to him.
In Genesis 4, Cain did not reach out to God to understand what was wrong with his offering. He became angry and turned that anger into hatred of his brother. God accepted Abel’s offering because it was according to His will. Rather than repent and get right with God, Cain murdered his brother. He never sought forgiveness. He eventually accused God of being unjust with him. This from a man who just killed his brother out of hatred and jealously.
In our text Jesus invited the people to come to Him. He did not categorize who could come. He simply invited people to come unto Him. He talked to those who were labouring and heavy laden. The problem then as now, is that we do not realize we are labouring and heavy laden. We know that from the Biblical record. The Bible states that man is not seeking after God. We noted that in our opening remarks in this devotional.
The reality is that every lost person, and that includes all of us from birth, is labouring and heavy laden. The weight of sin and guilt is heavy on all of humanity, without God’s salvation. Jesus invites all people to come to Him. Jesus does not ask for money. He does not ask that we do some spectacular thing. He does not require a certain IQ. He invites all to come to Him. The good news is that God, the Holy Spirit, is working in the heart of every person to show them they are labouring and heavy laden. There is no human remedy for man’s trouble. The answer is found in God.
In verse 29, Jesus stated that those who will acknowledge that they are labouring and are heavy laden, need to take His yoke upon them. Jesus offers to do the labour and take the heavy burden. In the context of our passage, He had not done that yet. When He went to the cross and shed His blood and died there, He made provision for man to be saved. He was buried and He rose again victorious over sin and death on the third day. He ascended back up to heaven forty days later and is seated on the right hand of His Father in heaven today.
A yoke is used to join two powers together. It can be used by animals and in our text it is used by people. However, in our text it is more than just between two people. One of the people, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the Creator of all things. He is also the Saviour of mankind.
In verse 28 the invitation is to salvation. In verse 29 Jesus is talking about those who are saved. The saved person is not on his own. This is why the born again Christian can please God. He cannot honestly state that he cannot overcome some temptation. He is yoked to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ provides the salvation. He provides the power to walk with Him. When a person is saved, he needs to learn Who Jesus Christ is and what salvation truly entails. Jesus declared that He is meek and lowly in heart. That is Jesus’ nature. He does not put on meekness and humility for show. He is meek and lowly in heart.
Those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour will find rest for their souls. That is the fact of true salvation. The matter of salvation is settled. The saved person has eternal life. He now needs to grow in the Lord. There is no room to remain crippled and bound in sin. The person who claims to be saved, needs to understand what salvation provides. It is a great gift. It is a powerful gift. It is dishonest to support a person in their sin if they claim to be saved. They need to be taught that they need to confess their sin to God and they need to move into greater holiness.
In verse 30 Jesus stated that His yoke is easy. The Greek word translated as “easy” means “fitting” and “useful”. Of course Jesus’ yoke is useful. Every gift of God is good and it is useful. Jesus’ yoke is also fitting. God knows what we need and He is able to supply our every need. He knows just what we need and when we need it.
Jesus also stated that walking with Him is a burden. He stated that His burden is light. The Christian life is a war. It is a war against the wiles of the devil. It is not an overwhelming burden. The burden that a child of God encounters is not more than he can handle in the yoke. The true child of God needs to be reminded of the importance of walking with God. This is again why a born again Christian needs to be a part of a true Bible-believing church. No born again Christian can grow if he chooses to be disobedient to God’s commands. He also needs to be involved in discipleship classes. He needs to be taught by a Godly person using the Word of God accurately.
There is a man that puts out a blog every so often. I was introduced to him a while back and I see his headlines but do not often read them. He is a professing Christian but does not attend a church. He claims there is no good church around him and yet he thinks he has the capacity to help others grow in the Lord. He is deluded and anyone who is following him is being deceived by him. He is not someone that anyone could learn the truth from.
Jesus declared that the person who is saved is under His yoke. The person yoked to Jesus Christ cannot make His own road. He needs to go God’s way. He will go God’s way. We have looked at the fact that God chastens His child as needed. He decides when it is needed, not the child of God.
If you want to know God’s blessings, you need to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. If you are truly saved, you will desire to know Him and serve Him. God changes the heart of the saved person. There is a desire to grow and there is the ability to grow. Be careful that you don’t accept the lies that abound. If you are truly born again, you will not be content with the sloppy life of so many professing Christians. Your soul will hunger for the truth.
Pastor Bartel