Take a Load Off Your Soul, Brother!
Matthew 11:25-30
March 19, 2006
Introduction
I went to some of the games at the State “B” basketball tourney this weekend. My nephew Bo, all 6’ 3” of him was playing for the team from Hurley.
During the Friday game I commented to my brother’s friends that Bo had gotten his athletic ability from his uncle – me.
They laughed at me. Almost as much as you just did…
As lame as that as, it’s not nearly as bad as a short, skinny, white guy trying to make jokes like, “Take a Load Off Your Soul, Brother!” Soul brother – get it? Okay, I’m forgetting that we’re in NE South Dakota. Oh well.
Today, as we continue our walk through the gospel of Matthew, we finish chapter 11, where Jesus gives one of the most classic invitations in all of the Bible.
This invitation is for everyone, and it has eternal implications. It’s the offer of rest for your soul.
I’m going to talk about it later in greater detail, but I want us to look a bit at what led up to that.
And as we do that, we’re going to work our way through these six verses. So I’m going to ask you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 11, and we’re going to look at verses 25-30. If you’re using the Bibles in the seats, this is found on page 689.
Today I want to show you three facts Jesus gives us in this passage that are very significant for life here on earth and for our eternal futures.
Actually, it’s really two facts and an invitation, but I think you’re sharp enough to pick up on that!
But before I do that, let me just refresh your memory about what we talked about last week, because that’ll help us understand a bit more of what Jesus is trying to communicate here.
Jesus had just got ripping on a bunch of cities, because in spite of the fact that he had lived among them and performed most of his miracles in them, they still didn’t get the picture that Jesus was the Messiah.
And now he makes a little shift and discusses just what he has to offer. So let’s pick this up as we work our way through this passage, okay?
Fact #1: Real spiritual knowledge is for the humble.
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.
He’s not saying “little children” in the sense of being chronologically young, although that may be part of it.
He’s saying that those who aren’t so full of themselves with all their “knowledge” are more likely to get the real picture.
The religious leaders in Jesus day had all sorts of knowledge. They had all the “schoolin’,” and could quote chapter and verse from the Old Testament and from the writings of the early rabbis concerning just about anything you could think of.
But the sad fact of the matter was that for all their knowledge, they still didn’t get that the Messiah was right in front of them.
The very person that the entire Old Testament points to regarding salvation and freedom from sin was right there, and they didn’t recognize him.
But I think it’s also important to understand that Jesus wasn’t just talking about the religious leaders with all their religious upbringing and training. Jesus was talking about all who were self-sufficient and thought they were wise. Or they thought they could make demands of God.
I have been in a number of conversations where a person will say to me something like, “If he’ll just show himself to me, I’ll believe,” or things like that.
But there are two problems with that.
* First, God has already shown himself a number of times, but let me just share three ways:
- Nature, which the Bibles says shows God’s eternal power and divine nature, according to Romans 1:20.
- His presence on earth in the cloud of smoke and pillar of fire during the Exodus (every day for 40 years!). Every day they could look at those and say, “Our God is with us.”
- The physical presence of Jesus, who was God in the flesh.
Not to mention the fact that we have the Bible, filled with eye-witness accounts of God and his working in the midst of people.
* The second problem, and probably the one that doesn’t get enough attention, is that God doesn’t bow to the demands of those who don’t believe in him. God responds to humility.
There’s story about an atheist who traveled around giving lectures at colleges and universities.
At one of these lectures, he gave the challenge he gave every time. “If there’s a God, I challenge him to strike me down in the next 5 minutes.”
Of course, the time went by and the tensions rose, until the 5-minute mark had passed, and the atheist was still standing.
On the way out of the lecture one student said, “He really proved something tonight, huh?”
Another student said, “Yeah - he proved that God doesn’t take orders from atheists.”
1 Peter 5:5b –
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
He’s given us his word – the Bible, and his Holy Spirit to help us. But it takes humility and a desire to really know him.
Bottom line: Jesus says that the road to spiritual knowledge is paved with humility.
Real spiritual knowledge is for the humble.
Fact #2: Real spiritual knowledge is found in Christ.
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.
Jesus is saying that if you want to know the Father, the one described throughout the Bible, then you gotta go through him. It’s that simple.
He says that all things had been committed to him by the Father. This a reference to a couple of things: first of all his authority as the Son of God, and second, it references his knowledge of the Father.
He’s the gate-keeper of knowledge of God. And I’m not talking about knowing about God, but really knowing him.
There’s a huge difference.
I remember years ago bumping into a guy who was with the Unification Church – he was a Moonie.
In my conversation with him, he said that he had studied the Bible for 12 years and was still convinced that Rev. Moon was right about God.
Well folks, studying about God, and even studying the Bible without coming to it through Christ is just like studying the latest novel you bought at Wal-Mart.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT) –
But people who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means.
Paul is saying that you have to have more than just your own brain power to know God. You need the Holy Spirit of God to help you understand what the Bible says and how to apply it in everyday living.
But to get the Holy Spirit, you first need Christ. Christ gives us the knowledge, the Holy Spirit helps us understand and process that knowledge.
This guy I just mentioned didn’t have Christ, and so he didn’t have the Holy Spirit to help him understand and see.
But back to the point of these verses. Jesus is claiming an authority that no mere human can have. He’s saying that he has divine authority to reveal God to people. And he reveals it to whomever HE chooses. And he does on his terms.
John 14:6-7 –
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Jesus was talking to the 12 apostles at the Last Supper – they had seen Jesus now for about three years – had lived and worked with him.
And Jesus says that their knowledge of Christ gives them knowledge of the Father.
But notice what Jesus says here: he says he is the way, the truth, and the life. Not one of many, the only one.
He says that no one can come to the Father except through him. And everyone means everyone. He is the conduit of spiritual knowledge.
Folks, if you want to know God, and I mean really know him, you need to come to him humbly through Christ.
Let’s move to the third fact Jesus gives us here, and this is really what I want to emphasize today:
Fact #3: Real spiritual rest is found in Christ.
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."
This is the invitation I was mentioning at the beginning. Jesus is offering relief from burdens and rest for your soul.
What was Jesus offering relief from?
* The burdens of sin and its consequences.
* The rules and regulations of man-made religion.
If you’ve ever felt guilty about something, then you know about the burden of sin. It weighs on you. And if it’s not dealt with correctly, then it can gain weight and add pressure to life.
And it can affect every part of your life.
And not only that, sin has consequences, both here and for eternity. Some sins affect other people. Maybe your sin hurt someone you love, or caused an injury to someone.
Living with that kind of guilt can be tough. That’s what I mean by the burden of sin and its consequences.
What do I mean by “man-made” religion?
Well, in the context of our passage, and shown throughout the New Testament, the religious leaders had placed so many rules and regulations on the people that religion had become like “labor,” and a life of devotion to God and his Word had become a burden to carry.
Today, it’s just as easy to let yourself get burdened by a bunch of religious activity that you think will make you more holy or more acceptable.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s important to come to regular worship, to get time in the Bible and prayer, good fellowship with other believers and involvement in ministry.
But we have to understand that none of these get you to heaven or make God love you more.
Jesus is saying that rather than burden yourself with man-made religion and with the hassles of sin, to come to him. Shed the yoke of these things and take on the yoke of Christ.
Well, what’s he talking about with all this “yoke” stuff, anyway?
A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of animals, such as oxen, that is attached to a piece of equipment that the animals are to pull. The load of rules that the religious leaders had added to God’s law was a “yoke” that was considered hard to bear.
But the yoke of Jesus is not burdensome. What is his yoke? Loving Christ and living for him. And he says that compared to these other things, his burden is light.
It’s like moving from having a big ol’ wooden or leather yoke to having a Styrofoam one.
Why? Because unlike the Pharisees and the enemy of your soul, the devil, Jesus is gentle and humble in heart.
He says to come under his yoke and learn from him. We’ve already talked about how real spiritual knowledge is gained through Jesus. When we take on the yoke of Jesus, we gain knowledge of God.
And how do we learn from Jesus? By getting into his Word, humbly, asking the Holy Spirit to make it clear to us.
It’s not always easy to live under Jesus’ yoke. He never offered a free ride. But it’s much lighter than the alternatives – living with the burdens of sin and man-made religion.
Conclusion
Well, let’s bring this in for a landing.
What did Jesus say is the benefit of taking his yoke? Rest for your soul.
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.
That begins now, and it continues through eternity.
In other words, Jesus is offering not only a lighter burden for this life, he’s offering life in heaven when you leave earth.
So here’s the conclusion of the matter: take the invitation. Take Jesus up on the invitation of a light yoke and rest for your soul.
It’s an invitation to shed the religious baggage of the past and start new with Jesus – refreshing your spirit for this life and giving you heaven when you leave it.
It’s simply a matter of saying to Jesus, “I want that rest. I want freedom from trying it my own way. I want freedom from my sin. And I want rest for my soul. I want to know for sure that I’m going to heaven when I die.”
How do you do this?
Admit your need for forgiveness.
Believe Jesus died for you and rose again.
Call on him for forgiveness, a new life on earth, and a home in heaven.
It’s important that you get this taken care of. Don’t put it off. I have found that earth is easier to take when I’ve got heaven squared away.
And I’ve also found that living for Christ is easier than living for myself. I’m not proud to tell you that I’ve tried it both ways, and living for Jesus is waaaay easier. His burden is light. The world’s is heavy.
(Pray)
