Rest (4)
Context
Character
Complication
Clarity
AN INVITATION TO REST
Jesus turns from frustration to praise. God is Lord of all. Even the way people respond to the gospel is in the Father’s hands. He hides his truth from those who know everything (or think they do) and makes it clear to ‘little children’—the humble people who know nothing but their need of God. How typical of the Father to work this way!
Jesus thanks his Father for the task he has been given. Only Father and Son know each other completely: mind to mind, heart to heart, they are God. And Jesus is commissioned to make his Father known—inviting sinful humans to share their life and love.
Jesus commits himself wholeheartedly to his Father’s will—and invites us to do the same (11:25–30). Those who are tired of life, or weighed down by dead religion, can come to him for rest. Like a skilled and careful carpenter shaping a yoke, he will fit us with the gentle, liberating purpose of God. Our yoke goes across his shoulders too, for he shares it with us—setting the direction of our life and taking the strain.