Rest

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

REST

Matt 11:25-30

25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

It would seem there are three distinct phrases Jesus says here. Three truths which we might be tempted to split up and delve into each separately, however it also is one complete truth. There are ideas within which we should consider, yet the whole brings us to the place we need to be. Certainly Jesus was referring to the Pharisees and scribes or teachers of the Law, who by their own standards were the wisest of men. Yet today we have such types among us. We hail those who have attained the higher degrees of education. We give them praise and honor, thinking them as men of great minds capable of deep thought. But it is this very thing which Jesus makes note of. Men seeing themselves as wise, but only in the sense of comparison to other men. The Pharisees, thinking themselves the wisest considered their own system of religious activities as their method of saving themselves. Therefore they could not see the truth of the gospel, it was hidden from them. Today it is not much different. Those who consider themselves the wisest among us look to their own methods for saving themselves, so to speak. They are the answer to the problems of the world, climate change, social injustice, racial divides, poverty, sexism as well as a host of others. Yet the true answer to all these is hidden from them because of their blindness and self-aggrandizement. It is we simple minded folks, those of us who are compared to his disciples, plain men, with no high and lifted up thought of their position in the world, who can see the truth of the gospel, because we are the ones who need the hope it brings. We recognize our lost state, unlike those who think they are the answer, the hope of the world, and we found the true hope in Jesus. The next thing which Jesus says makes it extremely clear that he is divine. He and the Father are in union. There is no closer union then being one. This is the idea Jesus is conveying here, he and the Father are one. The idea that Jesus chooses who he will reveal the Father to might be seem in light of the Calvinist thought. However, it has a more profound meaning. If we want to know the Father, we only need to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus reveals the Father to us. We can see all the character of the Father by observing the character of Jesus. The Greek word translated chooses actually is made up of two words which directly translate as whosoever. The first word is used as a pronoun, who, which, what that, and the second word is used to attach to that pronoun to denote uncertainty. Therefor it is unknown or whosoever the son reveals the Father to. This means us. Whosoever finds Jesus, whosoever seeks Jesus, looks to him for salvation will also have the Father revealed to him through Jesus. All this he says so that he can conclude with this truth. “Come to me, all”, although he continues about those who are heavy laden we should note, he did not say come to me those I choose. The words Jesus used were understood by his listeners. As in those days many men were in fact the beast of burdens. Men would carry heavy loads of produce or product of some sorts, hay, grain, or other items to get them to a place of storage or market. A man of compassion would see such a man under a heavy burden and offer to share the load. Today we have trucks and heavy equipment to carry those burdens. But the truth Jesus speaks here still bears meaning in our lives. Living within the culture we grow up in can be a burden. Making a living, trying to get by, can be a daunting task. True, it seems easier for some than others. But the fact remains life brings all sorts of burdens. Some might be of the financial nature, but others can be emotional or mental burdens, relational burdens, worry, anxiety, stress, tension just to name a few. Jesus says that when we are overwhelmed by the burdens of life, come to him, he will not only share the load, but he will give us rest. That would mean repose, to refresh. Jesus will refresh us, for he and the Father are one and he has revealed this truth to those whosoever seek him. So then we do not have to carry our burdens, we do not have to be overwhelmed by life or many of its facets. Does that mean we will never face any burdens, any adversities? Not at all, but the point is that Jesus, God, is there with us, and will sustain us, give us repose, rest, and we do not have to be overcome by those burdens. That is what our faith is all about, we look to Jesus, we trust in his everlasting arms to carry us through. Nothing in this world can harm our soul, our spirit, although the body might be harmed. It still comes down to our faith in Jesus. No matter the situations in life, in the physical, we can always find rest in our spirit, in Jesus. So we go back to the three statements which brings us to this peace. Don’t try to do it alone, by our own righteousness, trying to be a good person, having our own methods of living rightly. Understand Jesus is God and through him we see the care and compassion of God for his creation and look to him for everything, having complete trust in him and in doing so we will live free of all the burdens of life and we can live with rest. 

The final idea is that living the Christian life is not burdensome, nor should it be. We can make it so heavy, as the Pharisees did. We can add so much to the truth, so many rules and regulations, so many don'ts as well as a whole lot of do's. We can turn rest into turmoil. Jesus said his burden is light, it brings us rest.