Rest for the Laboring

So the question is, well, why preach a sermon on this text this morning?

Matthew chapter 11.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

It's a familiar one to many of us.

And why I felt led to preach on this text, I think, is because sometimes the Christmas groaning doesn't let up by Christmas.

And so we preach the gospel every week.

And there are perhaps a few clearer invitations to gospel rest from this passage in Matthew.

And so I want us to take the posture of a little child this morning and receive this word to us with meekness so that it would work its way into our hearts and minds a little more deeply.

It's like grilling a good steak.

I know many of you are good cooks.

But when cooking a steak, you you sear it on both sides, right?

You do that to keep the juices and the flavor in as you cook it.

You trap them in there.

And likewise we preach the gospel in season and out of season.

And it's because the Spirit is pleased to use the preaching of the gospel week in and week out in worship to sear the love of God upon our souls more and more.

So that the juices of his goodness and his love are stored up in us in ever-increasing measure.

And so the prayer and my preparation has been that the Spirit would be pleased to press the image of Christ into us, if not already this morning.

And where his image is already imprinted on our hearts, that he would search and truth into our deepest selves more vividly.

And so in light of that, let us read now from Matthew 11, 25 through 30.

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.

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 any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

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.

Let us pray.

Imprint it upon our hearts more and more we pray.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So we begin with the reason to come to Jesus.

It stands that for Jesus to invite people to come to him, there's a reality that not all do come.

In context, Jesus had just pronounced woes upon various cities who had failed to receive him.

The wise and understanding in particular were those who had these things hidden from them.

What are these things?

Well, verse 27 sheds some light on that.

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.

And so the essence of what he means when he says these things is a knowledge of God and his purposes, his plans, his very character.

And so Jesus is saying that he alone knows the Father, and that only his words can bring someone to a knowledge of him.

It's like a witness who testifies in a court.

Only those who are witnesses of such an event can with, can speak to it with a first-hand knowledge.

And Jesus is saying, like such a witness, I have firsthand knowledge of the Father, since I have dwelt with him.

I have been in his presence from all eternity.

So I speak of what I know and I embody him.

No one else can do that.

No other revelation comes from the immediate source.

No other professed revelation can speak to God's purposes, to his plans, to his character.

But not all received this word in Jesus' time.

And likewise it's true today.

There are competing narratives that attempt to bring meaning and explain the world we live in apart from Christ.

And yet in the end they fail to satisfy.

Neil Postman in his article, Science and the Story That We Need, writes of the failure of science as one competing narrative to that of Christ.

He writes, In the end, science does not provide the answers most of us require.

Its story of our origins and of its end is, to say the least, unsatisfactory.

To the question, how did it all begin?

Science answers, probably by an accident.

To the question, how will it all end?

Science answers, probably by an accident.

And to many people, the accidental life is not worth living.

Moreover, the science God has no answer to the question, why are we here?

And to the question, what moral instructions do you give us?

The science God maintains silence.

It places itself at the service of both the beneficent and the cruel, and its grand moral impartiality, if not indifference, makes it in the end no God at all.

And so, in other words, as a worldview, science isn't personal.

It's indifferent to morality, it can be wielded by both the beneficent and the cruel.

It's an it and not a who.

And yet Jesus says that it's a who that he is concerned to reveal.

One who does care about right and wrong, good and evil.

One who does have a knowledge and wisdom of all things.

He is concerned to reveal his father.

Now, why does Jesus emphasize his concern to reveal his father before he invites them into his rest?

And I think that question gets to the root of what people are in need of salvation from?

Salvation essentially means deliverance.

And there's a lot of confusion, I think, about that today.

Many think all they need salvation from are certain immoral acts or actions that they can't stop.

And so this question is of huge importance because if you get this wrong, you get the gospel wrong.

It's no longer good news.

It's like going to a doctor.

Perhaps you've had an illness.

The medication prescribed hasn't alleviated the problems.

It's like you're taking a medication and perhaps it's even relieving some of the symptoms you're feeling.

But it just doesn't seem to be dealing with the core problem.

And that's because for a doctor to be of any use to their patient, they first need to make a correct diagnosis.

Once they determine the cause of the problem, then they can provide a remedy for treatment.

However, if they fail to determine the cause, they'll fail to really deal with the problem and only be treating the symptoms.

And so that's why this question is of crucial importance because if we get the diagnosis of our problem with sin wrong, then the treatment will likewise fail us.

We'll look to treat the symptoms.

And so it raises the question: what is the need that we have?

What's the nature of sin that Jesus is offering to treat?

To provide rest from?

And the answer is the problem of a sinful nature and disposition.

Sin is not merely mistakes we make here and there, the occasional slip-up.

It's a problem with our very nature.

Welsh minister Dr.

Lloyd Jones spoke to it in this way.

He said, we tend to think of sin in terms of separate acts of the will.

And therefore, we tend to lose sight of the fact that we are our sinful apart from our actions.

That sin is in us and is a part of our very.

The fatal mistake is to think of sin always in terms of acts and of actions rather than in terms of nature and of disposition.

Did you get that?

The fatal mistake is to think of sin always in terms of acts and actions rather than in terms of nature and of disposition.

We know something of the depth of the problem by experience, don't we?

It doesn't matter if we're in the most pleasant place on earth, perhaps we're on a nice vacation somewhere with all the attractions.

It only takes one flare-up of our fallen nature or a sullenness in our disposition to settle in for everything else to be rendered insignificant.

And so if the problem that you and I have is merely one of separate acts of the will, an occasional moral slip-up, then salvation is found in mastering the will.

Self-restraint, morality.

That's where that diagnosis will take us.

But if the problem of sin is in our nature and disposition, then we have a much bigger and deeper problem.

And so Jesus offering to reveal the Father begins to make complete sense to us.

And is of greatest importance for our salvation.

Salvation with this diagnosis lies in our need for God to be our Father.

We need to be reconciled to God so that we might know him to be for us.

Only then could his wrath be put away and he impart to us his perfection and his love toward us as a Father.

And so John 17, 3, Jesus says, and this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

And the term for knowledge here is not merely a knowledge about God so much as it is a familiarity with God.

In Jesus we have one who came to make the Father known.

Which means Christianity is not to be boiled down to mere forgiveness.

It is that.

And then again, 1726, Jesus says, I made known to them your name.

And I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

There it is.

Jesus' purpose was to make God in the person of the Father known in us.

The greatest expression of love.

That's eternal life.

Clearly, Jesus knew that salvation lies in him being made known.

The reality is that apart from Jesus, we could not know God as Father.

Nor did we want to even know Him.

That's why Jesus is expressing the importance of His coming.

The cross was of such importance, such of great necessity, because something was needed to deal with God's wrath stored up against our sin and disobedience.

Something had to be done so that he would be drawn toward us, not away from us.

And if that reality has been hidden from you until now, you're blessed to have the ears to hear it.

It's so easy to miss, friends.

Those who think themselves to have understanding and wisdom miss it.

Have you come to understand and believe the depth of your need?

Jesus came to give you an eye, the status and identity of sonship.

An entirely new nature.

And so it makes sense, no sense whatsoever, that Jesus would come to make the Father known if we needed salvation from some other problem.

All other problems are derived from this one essential problem of lost fellowship with God.

Once we saw no need to come.

But now through Jesus we do come.

In Jesus, God has turned his face toward us and poured his love into our hearts.

Charles Spurgeon once spoke of a captain on board a vessel who had a cabin boy whom he treated very roughly and to whom he scarcely spoke without an oath.

But one day the boy fell overboard, and the captain, who had a kind heart beneath a rough exterior, sprang into the sea and rescued him from drowning.

The next time a gentleman who had noticed his ill conduct toward the boy was on board the vessel, he observed him speak to the boy very gently and almost affectionately.

And he could not help saying to him, Captain, you seem to speak to that boy very differently from what you used to do.

Look here, sir, he replied.

That boy fell overboard and I saved his life.

And I took to him wonderfully afterwards.

And I have loved him almost as if he were my own son ever since.

You see, like the sailor, the reason why our Lord Jesus loves sinners so much is because he died to save them.

And he desires the Father to be known, enjoyed, and glorified in them.

And so that leads us to the invitation.

Jesus has purchased for us the identity and experience of sonship.

That's true and lasting blessedness.

And so he says, Come, all who labor and are heavy laden, come and I will give you rest.

In fact, the translation that captures it best is, Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, I will rest you.

We need frequent rest in the presence of Christ who embodies the Father's love.

The story is told of two men who had the tiring job of clearing a field of trees.

The contract called for them to be paid per tree.

One man, Bill, wanted the day to be profitable, so he grunted and sweated, swinging the axe relentlessly.

Ed, on the other hand, seemed to be working about half as fast.

He even took a rest and sat off to the side for a few minutes.

Bill kept chopping away until every muscle and tendon in his body was screaming.

At the end of the day, Bill was terribly sore, but Ed was smiling and telling jokes.

Amazingly, Ed had cut down more trees.

Well, Bill said, I noticed you sitting while I worked without a break.

How do you outwork me?

Ed smiled back at him.

Did you notice I was sharpening my axe while I was sitting?

I like that.

Where are you going to have your soul sharpened?

As a laborer in Christ's vineyard.

Are you trying to live a life with a blunt axe?

Or are you coming to Him into His presence to sharpen your soul?

Those who take up the invitation are those who are weak and weary.

The term here actually has a passive and active sense to it.

It involves those who struggle with their inability in a passive sense, as well as those who are weighed down by their works.

Those who acknowledge their need in either sense are those who are welcome and those who accept such an invitation to be rested.

I'm sure many of you have witnessed putting a child down to bed when they resist it.

They're amped up and they just don't want to be there.

They're as far from a state of rest as they want to be, and it's a struggle for them to rest.

But then there are also times when you have a child and they're weak and weary, tired from the day's adventures, and they welcome the invitation to be put to rest with open arms.

And so you pick them up and you carry them and rest them.

And they sleep like a baby.

That's the kind of rest Jesus offers.

Here we have the invitation from him to us this morning.

Come to me, he says.

Come.

Are you looking for a burden to be taken off your back?

I invite you to me.

I will rest you, I'll receive you.

Bring your burdens, bring your questions, your concerns.

The world doesn't have any time for you.

Your needs are too heavy, too and too weighty.

But I do, I'll help you.

JC Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool last century, posed the invitation this way.

He that wants relief must come to Christ Himself.

He must not be content with coming to his church and to his ordinances or to the assemblies of his people for prayer and praise.

He must not stop short even at his holy table or rest satisfied with privately opening his heart to his ordained ministers.

Oh no.

He must go higher, further, much further than this.

He must have personal dealings with Christ Himself.

All else in religion is worthless without him.

The king's palace, the attendant servants, the richly furnished banqueting house, the very banquet itself, all or nothing unless we speak with the king.

His hand alone can take the burden off our backs and make us feel free.

We must deal directly with Christ.

Friends, if the Spirit is putting wings on your heart to come to Him, then come.

Put your works down.

They have no currency with Him.

Heaven's treasure chest is open to you.

He desires to receive you.

But someone says, Well, how is it that I can be rested when I would be given a yoke to share?

And the answer is that yes, although a yoke was placed over two oxen, Jesus is using in this illustration so as to say, walk with me.

I'll show you a new way.

Way of carrying your burdens.

I'll give you wisdom from above, which is pure.

I'll show you a new way of carrying your burdens that will bring lasting change and be more pervasively life-giving.

But you say, What do I do when I am yoked to him?

Learn from me.

You see, the reality is that whereas we once seldom inquired of Jesus, except for when we were in a bind, we now come to him knowing that we need him all the more frequently.

We need him to impart to us more and more of his unalloyed, blessed heavenly nature and wisdom to us as we walk through life.

And as we change, the change is pervasive.

Far beyond any single instance or set of actions that confront us or weigh upon us.

It results in a new life.

That's the kind of yoke that is easy and light.

We never lose our need to learn in the Christian life.

Our prayer life won't be sustained without a good devotional life feeding on Scripture.

And likewise, our devotional life will lose a sense of spiritual efficacy without prayer.

The two go hand in hand as the heartbeat of our walk with Christ.

I don't care how long you've been walking with him.

Are you willing to admit that you don't know all that there is to know?

Are you still learning from him?

Or have you lost your curiosity?

He invites you to learn from him.

Let him teach you.

But then finally you say, How does he receive me as I learn from him?

Well his heart is gentle and soft toward his students.

He doesn't reproach you.

Perhaps you were the kid at school who failed to ask questions out of fear of asking a question and being disdained for it.

You were more willing to burden yourself with unanswered questions and concerns than to face the possibility of approach.

Not at the school of Christ.

His disposition is welcoming and warm toward you.

He is welcoming and warm to all your questions and concerns.

Come and I will rest you, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

He invites all of your questions and concerns.

So come and rest your soul.

Friends, let us turn to him now.

I'll give you an opportunity personally and privately to come to him this morning, and then I'll close with prayer.

Let's pray.

We thank you for your gift of rest that you offer to us.

A glimpse of the final rest that we will one day enjoy for all eternity.

Father, we thank you for taking upon yourself our burdens, our cares and concerns.

We thank you that we can cast them upon you, knowing that you hear us, that you attend to us, that you lend us your ear, and that your heart is warm toward us.

Oh Lord, we pray that you would make us people who are keen to walk with you, to seek you, to inquire of you in all things.

Lord, we pray and thank you for all these things.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.