Sabbath: “Come to Me. . .”
Image © Pacific Press
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 11:20-30, Matthew 5:5, Deuteronomy 18:15, Galatians 5:1, Exodus 18:13-22, Galatians 6:2.
Memory Text: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
What a wonderful promise we have been given here by Jesus. After all, who among us at times hasn’t felt heavy-laden, if not so much with work itself (though that can often be the case) but with the labor and heavy-ladenness that life itself brings? And Jesus here is telling us that, yes, He knows what we are going through, and yes, He can help us — that is, if we let Him.
And then, after telling us to bear His yoke, Jesus says, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). In other words, Get rid of the yokes and burdens that you are carrying (give them to Me) and take Mine upon yourself instead, for Mine are easier to bear.
How can we experience the rest that Jesus is talking about? After all, we live in a world where, after sin, the Lord said to Adam “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). Thus, we have known what it is like to labor and to be carrying burdens that can seem way too hard to bear, at least by ourselves alone.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 31.
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When I was a kid living on the farm we had a yoke. It was a piece of wood that was shaped to fit around your neck and across the shoulders. It was light, but that catch was that on both ends of that piece of wood was a chain and a hook. and the idea was that when you were out in the orchard picking apples into buckets, those buckets had to be carried home. This is where the yoke came into its own. A bucket full of apples was attached to each side of the yoke and you stood up in the yoke and carried them back to the house.
So when I read my Bible as a child, I had a very clear picture of what a yoke was, and I did not think "easy and light" was a very apt description.
What does Jesus mean when he talks about resting and yokes in the same sentence? Well, we have the rest of the week to answer that question.
What is easy in the yoke Jesus offers?
Ronald you asked- what is easy in the yoke Jesus offers?
Answer- the purpose of a physical yoke is for the master to use on the physical animal mainly cattle for service. It allows two or more animals of the same to work in unison with each other. They start together, move together, rest together and finish together.
Jesus said his yoke is easy. (Spiritual).
“The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great law of love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new covenant written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to the will of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan’s ranks and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore God confines us to His will, which is high, and noble, and elevating. He desires that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. The yoke of service Christ Himself has borne in humanity. He said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” John 6:38. Love for God, zeal for His glory, and love for fallen humanity, brought Jesus to earth to suffer and to die. This was the controlling power of His life. This principle He bids us adopt. {DA 329.3}
Do you think anyone can claim he belongs to Jesus without engaging in service? The services may appear difficult but Jesus is saying trust me it is okay because I am bearing the burden and you only have to do your part.
And you grew up to be a strong healthy man because of the delicious apples and farm work. You made yourself useful. I'm sure the character building paid off in the long run.
Come to me ...is an invitation to all who are heavily burdened.(Christ who cannot lie)
gives us this assurance that everyone who comes to him will be given rest.
Today we are challenged with daily living ,especially in these times of turbulence and as we draw nearer to the coming of Christ our situation will become even worse, But every true believer can be comforted knowing that in Christ there's rest hope ,and victory to all faithful believers.
This invitation is a selfless invitation and is focus on what the recipient can get out of it , there's nothing to be gained by the one who invites us to come. His hope is that we will reach out and accept this invitation it is our own benefit.
Let us run to Jesus while Mercy still bid us Come.
Interesting that come to Me, return to the Lord, follow Me, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me into paths of righteousness for His name sake, all are an invitation and/or response to an invitation. Also the invitation can be in reverse. Ask Him, seek Him, knock on His door. Don’t be surprised that He will answer, He will be found, and open unto you. Matthew 7:7,8. At your invitation He will fill your entire heart, leaving no room for a dark corner of your heart.
I suspect that through out this coming week we will answer the question, of how to experience Christ rest of Matthew 11 near the end of the chapter. Maybe we will with our imagination put ourselves 2000 or so years back sitting or standing around Jesus as a follower, disciple, or a listener who is there out of curiosity, seeing Christ for the first time. What would we think of such comforting words, would His words impress us?
Jesus saying: “Come to Me …” implies that man is where God is not, but we are invited/encouraged to come to Him to find our Rest in Him.
I try to understand why knowing ‘good and evil’ has caused such a terrible state of affairs; our first parents were left without direction when fending for themselves, and God will need to create a new heaven and a new earth.
I think knowing ‘good and evil’ without first knowing God, has caused mankind’s spiritual darkness and resulting confusion. Adam and Eve were enticed to know good and evil for themselves before their personal relationship with their Father had developed sufficiently; their sin/alienation led to the need to develop their own ‘laws’ to govern their lives in the absence of the guidance of the Creator Father.
By the Grace of God, we, their offspring, have been given the opportunity to work backwards – ‘coming to know God’ after we know good and evil. This ‘Coming home’/‘Rest’ is essential for humanity because our identity is bound up in Christ Jesus. We were made in His Image and are meant to live according to this design; we are offered to live life ‘in’ Christ Jesus - resting - until the day we can be ‘with’ Him.
I see two yokes, the spiritual and the physical yoke – the second is defined by the first. We place them on ourselves when accepting demands of the cultural and religious society we live in. Christ Jesus explaines *His yoke* -
Matt.11:28-30: ”Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Christ Jesus asks us to accept His ‘Rest’; the Rest He enjoyes as He is one with His Father! If we give up our own ways to deal with ‘good and evil’ and follow His Way, our Rest will be again with Him in the Father; and that is where it all started.
Brigitte - you said "I think knowing ‘good and evil’ without first knowing God, has caused mankind’s spiritual darkness and resulting confusion. Adam and Eve were enticed to know good and evil for themselves before their personal relationship with their Father had developed sufficiently;".
We don't know how long Adam & Eve lived in the garden before their encounter with the serpent, after all it could have been days or years. During the daiIy visits from the Lord, don't you think he was instructing them all during that time.
Leilani - I appreciate your thought. Since we do not know how long, I qualified time by saying 'sufficiently'. Using my own reasoning, I would think that God's adversary did not want to loose any time, moving quickly to separate them from their source of wisdom, learning, and therefor establishing a deeper relationship of trust and love; we just don't know how long. Though, with hindsight we know now to be circumspect regarding deceptive reasoning.
When Peter wrote in his 2nd epistle about "the exceeding great and precious promises", I believe the passage we study this week was one of the foremost on his mind. What greater promise than this, with the conditions plainly stated so that a child would not miss the path to peace Jesus invites all to follow, yoked together with Him. And as Peter points out, it is through these promises we become "partakers of the Divine Nature".
Come to me
This is an invitation to come to Jesus.
Jesus is inviting all to come to him. But we can’t come except the Holy Spirit invites, draws and calls us. So, now we come with our own burdens to Jesus he is asking us to give him our burdens. Give him our troubles, anxious and unrest hearts.
When I thought about a yoke, my mind when to the device used to share the load or to keep 2 cows, horses etc pulling together. They both pull in the same direction because they are linked together. God wants us to yoke ourselves together with him. To walk together with him. To give our load of worry, sin and strife to him. I find the word "come" very interesting. "Come" implies that I am not where he is. Hebrews 13:5 God say he will never leave us. So in my mind I'm picturing God asking me to run around and face toward him not facing away from him.
The biggest burden that Jesus' Orginal hearers were bearing was the "heavy burden and labor" of trying to work their way to heaven by their good works. True Sabbath rest is found only when we are resting in Jesus and the free gift of salvation that we accept by faith.