03-08-2026 Come and Find Rest

Text: Matthew 11:28-30

                   As we continue to look at the invitations given to us throughout the Bible, today will look at Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and find rest.  Our text is found in Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says:  “ (28) Come unto Me, all you who labor 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 you shall find rest unto your souls.  (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

                   In my Bible, these three verses are given the heading of “The Great Invitation.”  Let’s look at why that is.  This invitation reminds us that Jesus is an inviting Lord, that His invitations are expressions of His love for all of us, and are extended to both saints and sinners.  Today’s invitation is the first one found in the New Testament.  It’s extended to all who are tired and need rest from the difficulties and uncertainties of life in a fallen world.

                   Verse 28 tells us that He is offering us physical rest when Jesus speaks of “all that labor.”  Our Lord identifies with working people.  He grew up in a home as the son of a carpenter, and likely worked for a time with Joseph, His earthly father, at that trade.  People of the time that Jesus walked this earth didn’t have all the modern conveniences that we have when it came to keeping house, preparing meals and obtaining food, cleaning cloths, doing maintenance projects for their home, or even traveling from place to place.  There were no grocery stores, or Amazon to deliver to your door.  Preparing meals, cleaning the house and maintaining the physical structure of the home was hard work.  Working at a trade was just as difficult.  No power tools, no Home Depot or lumber yards to go to for supplies needed for their workdays.

                   So we can understand and trust that Jesus knows about long hours of hard labor.  He often spoke of sowers, shepherds, fishermen, and many others who worked hard for a living.  And He chose hard-working men to be His disciples.  All of this assures us that Jesus understands and cares about our physical tiredness.  He is always ready to give us strength if we just let Him.  Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those with hope will renew their strength and Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Everyone who comes to Jesus will find rest.  We also find strength in our worship and refresh ourselves by resting in Him.  We rest in Him when we trust and allow Him to take care of us.

                   When Jesus invites those who are heavy laden with cares and concerns to come to Him, He is also offering emotional rest.  He promises us that He will give us rest within our souls.  Those who are weighted down with cares, concerns, and worries will find rest in Jesus because He is the greatest Problem Solver that there is.  We miss out on His relief when we let our pride take over thinking we don’t need or want His help.  Peter tells us in I Peter 5:7 to take all our cares and concerns to Him because He cares for us.  Jesus tells us in John 14:27 that the peace He gives us is not the peace that the world gives us.  Emotional burdens drain our strength more than physical burdens.  Worry makes us tired and robs us of energy.  We all know that it’s easy to rest from physical labor because you hit the bed at night often times sleeping before your head hits the pillow.  When you wake up the next morning your body is rested and you’re physically refreshed and ready to continue on.  But constant worry often causes us to lose sleep.  No matter how much sleep we may get, our minds aren’t resting because of the concerns we have.  But when we turn our worries and concerns over to Jesus, He will show us = a way to fix what is concerning us.  All we have to do is let Him.

                   Jesus’ invitation also invites us to spiritual rest as we see in verse 29.  He gives us peace and rest in our souls.  The peace that the world offers is simply the absence of conflict.  The peace and rest Jesus offers us comes from the Holy Spirit living in us and brings a deep and lasting peace to our minds.  His peace gives us confident assurance in every circumstance we face.  With His peace we don’t have to fear the present or the future.  Anyone who is willing to accept Jesus into their life is given this peace.  So don’t ever be afraid to tap into it when the stresses of life overwhelm you.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:6-8 that Jesus’ peace guards our hearts.  And we learn in II Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient for all our needs.  All humans struggle for rest in their soul.  We work at doing good things, help others where and when we can, participate in religious rituals, and work to be perfect.  We even try hard to keep God’s instructions on how to live our lives.  But all of this can bring spiritual exhaustion because of the world around us.  When that happens, Jesus is the only one who can bring true peace and rest to our souls.  Note how He uses the pronouns me, I, my, and me, in verse 29 of our text.  With Jesus, we can be free from a ‘try harder, do more’ kind of religion.  We can throw off the yoke of burdens and legalism of our religion.  A yoke was the heavy wooden harness that would be put on oxen and attached to equipment the oxen pulled.  It tired the animals out and they needed to be rested.  Today, it’s a metaphor for living a Christian life in a sinful world.  Our worries and concerns tire us out as well if we don’t let Jesus help us. 

                   In this verse Jesus was also referring to the hundreds of extra rules and requirements the religious leaders put on the people of the day.  And religious leaders are still doing that today.  But Jesus’ teaching make sense to humble learners, not proud legalists.  If you have been devastated by sin, drained of joy by rule keeping, or crushed by persecution or oppression because of your faith, the rest Jesus offers is always there for you.  He gives us love, peace, and healing now, and one day we will have eternal life and joyful unity with Him.

                   Jesus knew that living a Christian life in a sinful world would not be easy for anyone.  This is why He’s reminding us where and how we can find peace when the world works to make us tired and question our beliefs.  All that’s required to accept what He is offering with faith in what our Bible teaches us about God, Jesus, and the love they have for us.  When you exercise your faith and trust that what Jesus is offering will always be available when you need it, you will find that your anxiety over all the cares and concerns you have will be lifted.  You’ll be able to enjoy your life without stress and sleep better at night. 

                   This sounds simple and it is.  All you have to do is have faith.  But it will be difficult at times to keep your faith strong.  That’s where your work begins.  People will ridicule you when you live your faith but instead of giving in to that, look to Jesus.  He is the source of strength in our faith and relief from our worries and concerns.  When your faith is strong, you never have to worry about losing sleep because Jesus will be right there with you. Never forget that you can always go to Him and He will always give you the rest your mind and body needs.

                   This is the great invitation because accepting it will give us physical rest, emotional rest, and rest for our souls.  Accept it and let Jesus give you peace.  When you do, I can guarantee that you will indeed find peace that you didn’t have before.  We don’t have to live this Christian life on our own.  We have all the help we need in Jesus.

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.