The Rest Only Christ Can Give

Come to Me

In the pervious verses, we learned that salvation is a soverign trinitarian gift. The Spirit regenerates the heart. The Father Father sovereignly conceals truth from the proud and reveals the truth to the humble. The Father has also handed all authority over to His Son signifying Jesus is the divine Son of God. The Son has the authority to reveal the Father to those whom he desires. Jesus ends chapter eleven with a call to “Come to Me,” that is be converted. Who does he call? He calls those who are weary, fatigued, crushed, burdened by their guilt of sin.

The Burden We Cannot Carry

We live in a restless world. People are exhausted—not just physically, but spiritually. Some are weighed down by the burden of performance—trying to be good enough. Some are crushed by failure—ashamed of sin, haunted by guilt. Others are just weary from life—burned out, beaten up, and broken down.The truth is that in our broken, sinful state, we become exhausted by the burden of sin, the law, and relying on ourselves to be the righteousness God requires.

We have a love/hare relationship with the law of God. On the one hand, the law of God does nothing but expose our moral failure, but on the other hand, the law of God is good in that it reveals the character and nature of God; His holiness, righteousness, justice, judgment, purity, goodness. David is right to say,

“92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.” Psalm 119:92–93

“97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97

People who loved God in the Old Testament always spoke of God’s law in superlatives; it is the greatest! Why does the law provoke such affection? The late theologian, R.C. Sproul expounds,

“The law reflects the will of the Lawgiver, and in that regard it is intensely personal. The law reflects to the creature the perfect will of the Creator and at the same time reveals the character of that being whose law it is. The law of God proceeds from God’s being and reflects His character. When the psalmist speaks of his affection for the law, he makes no division between the law of God and the Word of God.” R.C. Sproul

The law reveals how amazingly beautiful and glorious is the one true God. It is like looking at the blazing glory of the sun. Yes, the sun is astonishingly beautiful, even breathe-taking. But you better keep your distance because it will consume you. The closer you get to it, the deadlier it is to you. Martin Luther says,

The law opens not nor makes visible God’s grace and mercy, or the righteousness whereby we obtain everlasting life and salvation; but our sins, our weakness, death, God’s wrath and judgment.

Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)

What Martin Luther is saying is the law does not reveal God’s grace and mercy, nor the righteousness that grants us eternal life and salvation; instead, it perfectly exposes our sins, weakness, death, and God’s wrath and judgment. The law reveals that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages of sin is eternal death. To add insult to injury, the Pharisees of Jesus day were adding more regulations and rituals to the law to such a degree that the people they were supposed to be shepherding, grew exhausted in trying to keep the law.

Jesus rebukes the religious elite in Luke’s gospel. He says,

“46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” Luke 11:46

The ‘burdens’ referred to following the law are the same burdens Jesus speaks of in our text, These are burdens as defined by lawyers, who expanded and made the OT law harsher, encouraging strict ritualism. Their explanations of the law caused suffering, introducing many regulations that stripped people of freedom and peace of mind. These duties were so heavy and hard to fulfill, and traditions made adherence impossible for most. Being under the yoke of the Pharisees and lawyers was wearisome and exhausting to the point that the people of Israel felt hopeless. In words that maybe we can understand today, they were spiritually fatigued, wearied, burdened by religion, and perishing.

If you read of Martin Luther’s testimony, you might be able to relate to him, especially some of you who have been in the church for a while. He was once trapped in the endless cycle of penance and confession. He strived tirelessly to find peace with God through the law. He felt the burden of religion crushing him. I found myself identifying with him when he realized that weariness from the law does not lead to righteousness. Luther’s soul did not find rest until he discovered the truth of grace.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus speaks into your spiritual fatigue. And what He offers you is not more rules, but rest. Not religion, but relationship. Not a heavier yoke, but His own yoke—a gentler, kinder, and life-giving yoke.

Jesus calls to you who are running hard after the law, or even running from it, this morning,

“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 11:28–30

In a Genesis 3 world filled with burdens, weariness, and self-reliance, Jesus invites you to find rest not in what you do, but in who He is.

Come to Jesus: Rest in His Grace (Matthew 11:28)

“28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

The word “labor” (κοπιῶντες) means exhausting toil, extreme fatigue; “heavy laden” (πεφορτισμένοι) implies burdens laid upon us—by others, by the Law, by guilt. It’s a presence active participle that conveys a continuous action. You are in a continuous state of exhaustion. That is what Martin experienced when he tried to find rest in the law.

You won't find rest in the law because the Bible teaches that the law isn't intended to provide it. It cannot grant rest since it cannot save you. While it can expose sin, it cannot justify you before God.

Paul says,

“19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19-20

In verse 20, the phrase “works of the law” describes attempts to follow God’s commandments to earn righteousness. The word “Justified” (Greek: dikaioō) signifies being declared righteous before God—meaning more than just innocence, it denotes being in a right relationship. The verse concludes by clarifying why this justification cannot be achieved through works: the Law's purpose is not to save but to expose sin. The Law is like an MRI. It doesn’t fix the tumor—it reveals it. The clearer the image, the more urgent the need for a surgeon.

If you read Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan, he describes a massive bag-like burden on the back of Christian. Christian’s burden symbolizes the weight of sin and the guilt associated with it. It is so crippling that it causes Christian to sink the Slough of Despond.

Christian attempts to heed Mr. Worldly Wiseman's advice by seeking assistance from Mr. Legality and Civility in the Village of Morality. Essentially, he is being encouraged to depend on his own efforts to attain righteousness and free himself from the burden of sin, which ultimately proves ineffective.

This is no different than the Pharisees and Scribes heaping loads and loads of ineffective moral regulations onto the spiritual backs of their people. Jesus is speaking to people crushed by legalism, exhausted by moral striving, and discouraged by life in a fallen world. And when they collapse, and you will collapse, the Law does not extend a helping had to lift you up. The Pharisees and the Scribes of the different religions of the world only tell you to pull yourself up, try harder, fix yourself, be more religious, and practice more of the disciplines.

Some of you are very good at being religious. You’ve embraced legalism. You love the being morally better than most people. I mean, you’ve cleaned yourself up well. You don’t drink, or you stopped drinking. You don’t smoke and you avoid pornography. You read your bible and you go to church. You memorize large portions of the Bible which you are ready to quote at any given moment. When people compliment your piety, you are quick to self-depreciate giving the appearance humility. When you look in the mirror, you like what you see, that is, until you turn and look over your shoulder. The burden is still there. As a matter of fact, it has gotten bigger and deadlier. You have not realized there is no rest in the law. You need the grace of blood wrought justification.

Paul explains that sinners are justified by grace through Christ redemption.

“24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” Romans 3:24

There are four wonderful truths of blood wrought justification that gives your soul rest.

Rest in Justification’s complete forgiveness of sins and imputation of righteousness.

Justification involves two components: the forgiveness of sins, meaning the declaration “not guilty," and the imputation of Christ's perfect righteousness, meaning the declaration “righteous instead."

Greg Allison explains,

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology Chapter 30: Justification

Justification is the mighty act of God by which he declares sinful people not guilty but righteous instead by imputing the perfect righteousness of Christ to them.

Justification was the fundamental doctrinal truth that brought peace to Martin Luther’s heart and soul. He realized he could not justify himself. God revealed to him that he needed Jesus to justify him through His own righteousness. When Luther understood that Jesus was eager to forgive his sins and bestow His righteousness, he was overwhelmed with joy. His soul was finally at rest. He was so at peace with God that he started a revolution known as the Protestant Reformation.

Rest in the Gift of your Justification

Second, justification with God is not earned, but given. The word (Greek: dōrean) gift literally means “without cause.” You have been justified by his grace without any cause of your own. The cry of Reformers hearts like Luther and John Calvin to the weary and burdened people under the thumb of the Catholic church, which teaches a works based salvation, is justification occurs by God's grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Christ's merits alone. New Testament scholar Edwin Blum helps us understand that,

No one can boast in one’s works. No one can boast even in one’s faith. Faith is not the cause of justification but the means of justification. The cause of salvation is grace and mercy.

Edwin Blum

God justifies you through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. He does so purely by grace; God’s unmerited favor. He only requires that you receive it by faith. Paul is helpful again. He says,

“28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Romans 3:28

Rest in the immediacy of your Justification

Third, God is not making you righteous by a process, but he is declaring you righteous by grace. Sometimes we mistake the process of sanctification for justification. Sanctification is the progressive wise process where God works out your holiness of time. It is a testimony of God’s power and faithfulness to conform sinners into the likeness of His Son. Justification is a declaration by God that is immediate. It is as if you are standing guilty before a judge. You deserve the full sentence. But then the judge steps off the bench, pays the fine himself, and declares you free—not because of what you did, but because of what he did. The Puritan Richard Sibbes is helpful in showing us the relationship of God’s grace in sanctification and justification.

Grace gives a Christian his form and being, his work and his working, for all working is from the inward being and form of things. By grace we are what we are in justification, and work what we work in sanctification.

Richard Sibbes

Rest in the Security of your Justification

Finally, God secures your rest through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Redemption refers to being bought back. It brings to mind a slave market—people in chains, powerless to free themselves. Then, someone intervenes and pays the ransom. Jesus paid that price to free you from sin. His blood was the payment, and the cross was the cost.

The outcome is freedom and forgiveness. Without Christ, there is no true redemption, there is no true rest—none through law, religion, or self-reliance. Your redemption is instant, not gradual. It is complete, not partial. It is free, but not cheap. It is eternally secure, not loosely held. David Martin Lloyd Jones says,

What grand security we have because we are ‘in Christ’! The Christian is not one who is redeemed and saved today but who may fall from it tomorrow and be lost. There is no ‘in and out’ in salvation. You are either ‘in Adam’ or you are ‘in Christ’, and if you are ‘in Christ’ you have eternal security, you are in Him for ever. Assurance, 182

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

Sinner, you are a traveler carrying a heavy burden on your back through a dry and barren desert—you stagger, you stumble, and finally you collapse. The weight of the Law of God will force you to your knees. And when it does, Jesus doesn’t yell at you to get up and try harder—He kneels, lifts the burden, and carries you. Christ doesn't say, "Fix yourself, then come." He says, "Come broken. I'll give you rest."

Jesus will give your soul complete immediate secure eternal rest from the burden of carrying the condemnation of God for your sin against his holiness the moment you come to the foot of his cross. It’s at the cross Christian’s burden falls off his back and rolls away.

“At the cross, at the cross, Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!”

The Cross in Pilgrim's Progress represents the central event of Christian faith – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sins of His fallen image bearers. It is the place where the burden of sin is lifted and where Christian finds true freedom and peace.

Come to Him, all who labor. He will give you rest.

Brothers and sisters, the cross is where you will find rest for your souls. It is the place where God’s justice and mercy meet to justify sinners through the redemption in Jesus Christ.

“1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” Romans 8:1–3

We are weary sinners trying to carry loads we cannot bear—sin, shame, the need to prove ourselves. Jesus carried the heaviest burden at the cross. He bore our sin, absorbed the wrath, and rose in victory. And now He offers you rest—not just one day in heaven, but today, in your soul.