The Jesus Alternative
Matthew 11:28-30
August 27, 2023
When you think about it, we make so many decisions on a given day. I really don’t want you to think about it, just trust me, because it’s overwhelming to think about. Want a cup of coffee? You can go to the Alexandria Bakery, Casey’s, Get Go, Village Pantry, or Rachels, of just make your own cup of coffee. That’s if you don’t want to drive outside of Alexandria. You can come to church and we’ll make you a cup as well.
We also have decisions to make when we go to the store . . . do we buy generic or the name brand? Do I buy Kellogg’s cereal Fruit Loops, or Looped Fruits, or Fruit Spins or Fruitie Tooties? And is there really a difference?
Or the one I personally use - - Raisin Bran Crunch or Crunchy Granola Raisin Bran. And I might add the Aldi version is perfect!
You see, we have lots of choices in so much of what we do, and then you add online buying and those choices, decisions, alternatives dramatically increases.
Many times when we think of an alternative, we think of something that’s worse. We think of something that’s worth settling for. Oh well, it’s not the main thing, it’s an alternative, it’s not quite as good, the flavor’s not as good, but it’s cheaper. We make some of our decisions that way, thinking, we’re just settling.
Then when life issues hit us, we have alternatives as well. We can turn to the self-help culture, Dr. Phil and others and buy into finding wholeness through ways which may seem quicker and easier.
But, I want to talk about an alternative. An alternative named Jesus.
We’re going to look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11 - - -
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11
When we get to chapter 11 of Matthew we see that there’s a lot going on. There’s a crisis. It’s a spiritual crisis.
John the Baptist is in prison and he’s heard about what Jesus has been doing. He’s baptized Jesus, but they still aren’t sure if Jesus is the One. So, his disciples come to Jesus and ask Jesus very directly - - -
3 Are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for another? - Matthew 11
They don’t recognize who He is, His true identity. They want to know if you’re not the real one, then we need to look for an alternative. Jesus doesn’t simply say YES, I’m the guy. Instead He tells them to report back what they’ve seen. In other words, I’m the One!!
But then he adds a series of WOES! Jesus - - -
20 Then began to denounce the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.
He’s playing off of what John’s disciples have asked Him. You saw me, you experienced me, yet, you have not changed at all. You’re still the same. You’re still deep in your sins. You should have changed because you met me, but you didn’t. So, Jesus says WOES to various cities where He was.
In spite of His disappointment and frustration with the people, with Jesus, there’s always hope. That’s really part of the beauty of who God is. He’s a God of hope. That never ends! And Jesus offers that hope beginning in verse 28
There’s still an opportunity even for those who have not accepted Him. So we will look this morning at Jesus as the alternative.
It would have been cool to have been there and have Jesus look you in the eye and say COME TO ME . . .
I could hear Him saying it in an almost whisper like voice, yet with power and conviction . . . . COME TO ME . . . COME TO ME . . . . COME!
This phrase, “Come to me,” is something that we see throughout the Bible, but with different words. The Lord God says to Israel many times in the Old Testament, “Return to me, return to me.”
He says to Jeremiah, “Call to me and I will answer, and I will tell you great and mighty things that you do not know.” And here He says these great words of comfort . . . COME TO ME . . . All Who Are Weary
And Jesus calls who? All those who are weary and heavy laden. This is who He’s addressing. It’s not just these followers of John, but it’s all who are tired, all who are weary, all who are laboring or toiling or working.
There’s a distinction between the way in which the world views work and reward, and the way in which Jesus talks about work and reward. It’s another one of the choices we have. It’s how we can approach our everyday world. We have the choice to follow the world’s path or Jesus’.
You see, Jesus calls us to “Come to me as you are working, as you are toiling, and even in this working you will have a rest.” And this is a call, an offer which is at the same time eternal, timeless; and yet, it’s available in the here and now. It’s experiencing peace which fills our hearts. It’s finding joy in your daily toil as His offer makes a difference in our lives right here and now.
The world views work and reward as work, work, work, and you’ll get a reward. You’ll at least get a paycheck, something like that. But that doesn’t endure. That reward won’t last. It’s a reward that isn’t eternal. And this rest that Jesus gives is an alternative kind of rest that is eternal.
So, Jesus invites us into His presence . . .
Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened.
I mean who’s not weary and heavy burdened. We all have our issues and struggles we’re trying to navigate. All looks good on the outside, but the inside is hurting. Maybe it’s our heart, our spirit, our mind, maybe our body is just tired and weary. There’s a brokeness to us that occurs because we’re human.
We grieve, we mourn, we over-think, we have daily decisions which wear us down. We have medical concerns, financial issues . . . and sometimes, simply living is wearying. You ever wake up and think about when you get to go to sleep 14 hours later. That’s what I mean. Life isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s wearying.
And Jesus offers us this amazing hope. He’s pleading with us . . . come to me!!
. . . . And I will give you rest.
But that’s not so easy to do is it? On the surface it should be, but we struggle because we have lots of alternatives. We have daily choices. Do I intentionally draw closer to Jesus? Do I remember Jesus in my decisions? Do I pray? Do I read the Bible? Am I trying to grow in Christ?
I mean those are weary too!! But Jesus offers us this rest! And the rest comes after we’re weary, which means we’re exhausted from our hard work . . . . and when we’re heavy laden, Jesus wants us to picture wearing that heavy back pack. And He offers us this rest when we’re done.
Now, He says - - -
29 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.
When we think bout the yoke, we picture the hard work of two oxen working together. The two who are stronger than the one. And the yoke is not the work, but it’s the means to get the work done. The yoke is what helps to discipline us to do what we’ve got to do.
The yoke of Jesus is all about heart and mind. It helps shape us in the image of Jesus so that we become more like Him. It helps us become more like Jesus. It helps us love better. When we first put on the yoke, it will feel uncomfortable and disturbing. But as time passes it begins to feel natural until it eventually seems to be a part of us that we could not function without.
So, Jesus offers us His yoke. His ways of living and disciplining our lives. And we learn from Jesus. And that changes us because we better understand and believe He is gentle or meek. He has power, but under control. He is Lowly in spirit - - - which really means He’s reliant on the Father and Spirit for His power. Just as we should be.
And if we take His yoke, because His yoke isn’t to punish us, it’s not to make u work harder, it’s not to beat us down, but it’s ultimately to give us rest. To help us find that peace. To have that feeling of ‘well done’ at the end of the day.
Finally, Jesus tells us - - - -
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11
We live in a fallen world. And Jesus gives us this offer. That yoke that is going to help you find direction, that yoke that will guide you and enable you to do your work . . . know and trust that it’s easy.
It’s not going to weigh you down. It’s not going to be just another burden for you to deal with in your life. It’s going to be easy. That burden is going to be light.
Too often we become like the Pharisees, thinking we need to follow all of these laws to be considered a good person, we need to follow certain steps to get in with Jesus. Yet, that’s not who Jesus is. He’s giving us this amazing offer. It all starts with our coming to Jesus.
Where would we be if we really had to embrace all of our burdens? What about the fact that Jesus has forgiven me. He’s released me from my own self-condemnation. He’s died for me!
Most of us would be carrying a burden of trying to perform, trying to be perfect, and trying to keep a perfect standard. If not for the Cross, I wouldn’t know what grace is. I wouldn’t know what mercy truly is. And so this burden compared to that, compared to a crushing burden of trying to always measure up and be perfect, this is so light. This is a joy. This is something that I can live into and grow into.
Maybe if not for the Cross you’d be bearing a burden of people-pleasing. I fall into that sometimes. But thanks be to God that we work for God. We don’t work to please people, we work to please the Lord. So this is another kind of burden that is lifted from us. And if not for the Cross we very well could be bearing this burden of just people-pleasing and driving ourselves crazy to please everybody, which is impossible, by the way.
And finally, we hear the words that His burden is light!
I take this to mean I no longer have to compete with anyone. I don’t ahve to worry about having the most toys. I don’t have to win. That’s not the final battle. And that frees me. His burden is light. Again, think about all that we can get. All of the choices at Amazon for any single item. It’s overwhelming.
Then I think about the day to day choices . . . and if I would allow Jesus to direct me, to guide me, if I would allow the Spirit of God to fill me . . . how much would that lessen my burdens?
Jesus sets us free from this. He sets us free from this lie that says to have more is to be happier. That the next package I receive at my door is going to be the one that makes life perfect.
Nope!! Being content right here, right now, in this rest that God has given us. That’s it. That’s true freedom. So there’s a great paradox here. It seems like it’s a contradiction, but it really does fit together, so it’s a paradox.
The paradox is, to have true freedom, we must submit to Jesus. Only when we submit do we have freedom. And that seems to condracit itself. How can that be? But really and truly this is something that we only can grasp as Christians in that day by day living out of our faith. We live it out, and it doesn’t really make that much sense, but when you know Christ, when you are walking with him, when you’re seeking to be obedient to him, there is such a freedom and a liberty. So that submission to Him is freedom.
As maybe the world would render it in the world’s economy, maybe freedom would be “I get to do whatever I want, that’s freedom.” But that’s not true freedom. You’re still enslaved by the world. But true freedom is found only in Jesus Christ.
Think about all of the decisions you make. The choices that are always there at every turn. They say, you get what you pay for . . . which makes our choices and decisions even more difficult. We wonder how we can get the biggest bang for our buck.
And how many times when you get an alternative, you feel like you’re settling. It’s something that is worse. So if it’s poor quality, well, you pay for poor quality. You get what you pay for.
But thanks be to God that with Jesus we don’t get what we pay for. Because what we’ve earned is eternal separation from God. What we’ve earned is not being in His presence because of our sin.
Thanks be to God for His mercy, grace and His love for us that we get something we could never earn. We could never pay for it. So we receive something He freely gives.
So, Jesus is calling to us
COME TO ME!!!!!!
COME TO ME!!!!!!
COME TO ME!!!!!!
Would you come and meet the Savior and find rest!
