How Can I Find Rest?

“It is very well to rest on God when you have other props, but it is best of all to rest on him when every prop is knocked away.”

Charles Spurgeon

The Context: (Matthew 11: 20-27)

Rejection of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum

20. Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:

21. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

23. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Invitation to Come to Jesus

25. At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.

26. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

27. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

The Invitation. VS. 28 A

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Question:

Why did Jesus say this? There is a reason that these specific words rolled off His tongue. It is vital that we know why.

Answer:

The Answer is found in VS. 25. Jesus says the word “wise.” In context, Jesus is talking about the Religious leaders who were preaching legalism.

The Jewish people struggled under an enormous load of religious expectations and legalities that were laid on them by their false religious leaders. Jesus was saying, “Come, take on yourself the light burden of obedience under the covenant I will seal with my own blood, and I will give you the covenant reward of deep-down, peaceful rest—freedom from guilt, the power of sin, and self-striving.

If you continue carrying the heavy burden of works-oriented, self-serving Pharisaism, you will never find rest. You were designed by God to carry my load, not man’s” (cf. 23:4).

“Come”- It means to draw near.

“To Me”- To Jesus the Saviour. Not your works, your things, money, family, church, pastor, or friend. Jesus said “Come to me.”

Supporting Scripture:

John 6:35–40 “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.””

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””

John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Qualifications. VS. 28 B

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

The People were so burdened down with failures due to the requirements that the religious leaders had put on them.

“Labor”- to be tired, grow weary. The Point of exhaustion.

“Heavy Laden”- Overwhelming Load or burden.

In Summary:

The tense in the first verb of the phrase, weary and overwhelming burdened, conveys the idea of continual weariness and exhaustion, without a minute of relief. The perfect tense in the second verb implies that the people were completely loaded up at some time in the past, and the load remains directly on them. These people needed a break! Pharisaical legalism surrounding the Mosaic Law had ground them to spiritual powder. The Lord offered himself to them; “Come to me...”

Supporting Scripture:

To The Lost:

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

John 3:16–18 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

To The Saved:

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”

Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

Hebrews 4:9–11 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”

Philippians 4:6–7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””

The Declaration VS. 28 C

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

“I will” - A declaration, a promise from our Lord. Here in this context this phrase also points us to a source. BUT THE SOURCE OF WHAT?

“Give you”- A gift… BUT THAT STILL DOESN’T ANSWER OUR QUESTION...

“Rest”- Refreshment, peace, Soothe…

Supporting Scripture:

Ezekiel 36:25–28 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

Just plugging in the definitions, the verse says:

“Draw near to me, for I’m your Saviour and I promise that I will freely gift you peace, refreshment, and your soul will be soothed.”

Closing Statements:

No soul can have rest until it finds created things are empty. When the soul gives up all for love, so that it can have Him that is all, then it finds true rest.

Julian of Norwich (English Spiritual Writer)

You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.

Saint Augustine of Hippo