Come Unto Me

COME UNTO ME

Text: Matthew 11:28-30

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.

In the history of the world, no one has ever been bold enough to call on the entire human race, not the people in his village, not the people from his country, but the whole world to come, bring your problems to me, I will solve them.

But JESUS said, come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.

The statement above implies that it does not matter the level to which you labour, or are laden with burdens, JESUS says come unto me, I will give you rest.

Let us define some terms,

Labour: This implies working a lot more than the rewards you receive. If you are working harder than your peers, and they are better rewarded than you are, that is labour. Putting more than usual efforts to raise your children, yet it does not seem they are learning anything; burning the night candle constantly, yet when the results come, it is as if you did not make any effort. When people begin to think you are the problem, because you are not doing enough, meanwhile, you are working harder than they all.

Psalm 127:2, It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: For so he giveth his beloved sleep.

The LORD will give you rest today.

Heavy Laden: To be heavy laden implies carrying a load too great for you to bear. Carrying a burden; perhaps financial, when it is as if you are catering for the whole world. After sorting the bills, settling everyone, you discover there is nothing left. A sick loved one? money going, physical stress, mental stress… Even your workload, as a career person, in ministry, or as a parent, could become a huge burden.

Psalm 55;22, Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

JESUS calls today, as you come to Him, and cast your burden upon Him, He will give you rest.

When you look at the second verse of our text, Matthew 11;29, JESUS said ‘ take my yoke upon you ‘; talking about the law of substitution. One thing, given to replace another. JESUS yoke to replace another, for you to have rest. This reveals that the laboring had been because of this other yoke.

Yoke: A yoke is built with wood or ropes, placed on an animal, or group of animals to enable them pull carts, do farm work e.t.c. The reward for the yoked fellow goes to the master, he is only given the little necessary for sustenance. So behind the scene, the yoked fellow is working for someone else.

When JESUS talks of being heavy laden, the individual in question certainly did not decide to carry heavy burdens. He is laden, means placed on him.

Hebrews 12;1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us , and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

To prevent one from running, from flying, from going far, from reaching the top, the enemy places heavy burdens to weigh down, to make drag. But it is written,

Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Acts 10:38a how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:

Today, JESUS will lift up every burden your enemies placed on you, He will lift up from your neck all the yokes of satan, and by the power of the HOLY GHOST, they shall be destroyed.

To really find this rest, our LORD gave these conditions.

1. Take my yoke upon you: Once again, the law of substitution. Nature abhors a vacuum. If satan’s yoke is removed, JESUS yoke must replace it, if you must stop laboring for satan, you must start working for GOD.

In Matthew 12: 43-45, JESUS said, 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.