for the weary...pondering a year of chaos

The year 2020 has taught us a lot. We have learned how vulnerable we really are. We have learned how to work and learn in new ways. We have seen the value and the limits of technology.

For those of us who know Jesus, there have been some crucial lessons as well:

some of us realized this year how important going to church is

some of us realized how important the ministry God has given you is

some of us came to the realization that relationships and people are more important than you ever thought they would be

some of us realized exactly how busy your life was

some of us came to the realization that your faith was much weaker than you thought it was

In December 2019, I preached a sermon where I said a reckoning was coming. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I had no idea what God was going to allow. How He was going to shake our state, our nation, our world.

The year 2020 has seen more upheaval and challenge and trial than we ever thought we would face.

A global pandemic

Hurricanes

Wildfires

Civil unrest

Political calamity

A reckoning on race and injustice

We have been sifted and weighed and tested and tried and brought to the brink.

And yet in the middle of all this, there is Jesus.

And His invitation to take upon ourselves a different way of life.

A yoke.

(Read Matthew 11:25-30)

Jesus has been pronouncing judgments on cities. Talking about what will befall those who will deny Him or reject Him or ignore Him. And then He pivots. And begins to talk about His people, How He will not only be with them, but will show them what is coming and enable them to endure.

He starts by thanking the Father for who He has revealed the truth about Jesus to: those who are “little children”

I know some people may bristle at being addressed as such, but this isn’t intended to be an insult or a comment on a person’s mental abilities. This is about dependence. Who should a child rely on? Their Father. As we grow older and “wiser” we rely less and less on our parents and more and more on ourselves. That is fine in the human, natural world (in fact it is an essential part of being a fully functioning adult!), but in the following of Jesus, that is not what we are pursuing. In fact, the opposite is true. The more we follow Jesus, the more we realize we need to rely on Him. Our “wisdom and understanding” are not sufficient to bring us into right relationship with Jesus.

Matthew 2. Opposition Experienced in Christ’s Mission (11:1–12:50)

“Little children” refers to those who respond to God by acknowledging their dependence on him (cf. comments under 18:4). The “wise and learned,” as the opposite category of persons, must therefore represent those who feel they have no need for God. Verse 25 thus cannot be used as a proof text for anti-intellectualism. Jesus does not contrast “wise” versus “stupid,” but he does declaim a godless intellectualism.

The Gospel according to Matthew 3. Jesus’ Invitation, 11:25–30

This knowledge, Jesus says, the Father has hid from the world’s great and wise ones and revealed to the lowliest, those who can be called babies. This does not mean that all the wise are lost and all the babies are saved; it means that the knowledge of God does not depend on human wisdom and education

Jesus goes even further- He claims, without reservation, that He fully and completely represents the Father. He speaks for the Father. And by knowing Jesus, we know God. And we know Him, because Jesus has chosen to reveal Him to us!!!

The Gospel according to Matthew 3. Jesus’ Invitation, 11:25–30

Jesus is claiming real knowledge of God (in contrast to what the teachers of the law claimed to have) and the ability to reveal the Father to other people. Jesus says that all things were handed on to him by my Father (not “the Father”); he is claiming a relationship to the heavenly Father closer than that held by anyone else.

Stop and consider that for a moment. If you know Jesus, it is because He has revealed Himself to you. And further, if you do not yet know Jesus, and yet are considering Him, that is because He is pursuing you and He will not stop pursuing you until He has you!

And yet, knowing Jesus DOES NOT mean you will not face hardship. Paul reminds us of that in

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

- “ 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

Verse 28-30 are where I want to land this morning. Because they describe where many of us have been- weary and heavy laden.

Matthew 2. Opposition Experienced in Christ’s Mission (11:1–12:50)

Jesus did not escape the hard life, but he could experience rest and refreshment in its midst. Christians are not promised freedom from illness or calamity, but they may experience God’s sustaining grace so that they are not crushed or driven to despair (2 Cor 4:8–9

The two words are a reference to the two ways we have experienced hardship this year:

Some of us have worked ourselves nearly to death- out of necessity or out of desperation or in order to survive- working from home has turned our homes into our offices…the line between when work begins and ends has truly shattered…for some of us the activity of work has consumed us…and we are exhausted

Others have had the opposite experience- this last year has been less about what we have done and more about what has happened to us- beyond our control- restriction of movement, job loss, masks, illness…the list is long…and all of it has combined to wear us out and ground us down

And yet, the words Jesus speaks here to those of us who are beaten down, are words of hope. They are like a hand extended to a drowning person offering them a way out.

Jesus offers REST! And even more…the word in this passage implies more than just a respite from work and labor- it promises ro REVIVE us…to bring us back from death into life

The Gospel according to Matthew 3. Jesus’ Invitation, 11:25–30

Jesus is calling anyone who is wearied with life’s burdens. To all such he says, “I will refresh you.” The verb seems not to imply the rest that is the complete cessation from labor, which is made clear when Jesus goes on to speak of his “yoke,” of learning, and of his “burden.” The rest in mind is the rest that enables the worker to go back to the task with renewed vigor. We should not miss the point that Jesus says that he will give rest, not that the Father will do this; this is underlined by the use of the emphatic pronoun I.

How do we do this? We move from an abusive master to a humble and gentle one

Jesus uses the term “yoke” which is what connects an animal to the person guiding it. He is offering to unyoke us from a world that is killing us, and to yoke us to Himself.

What does this yoke, teaching, look like?

What He teaches us:

1. How to change what we value

2. How to judge right from wrong

3. How to rely on someone other than ourselves

Each of these teachings are easier and lighter than what we are currently enduring. They are a NEW way to live. And the new way has demands and requirements, but rather than being heavy burdens- things we have to bear ourselves - as the Pharisees offered to their followers- Jesus offers to bear the burden of perfection for us, and asks us to take up the easier burden of following Him- He leads the way and we follow.

Matthew 2. Opposition Experienced in Christ’s Mission (11:1–12:50)

The rest Jesus offers his disciples enables them to overcome a certain measure of “fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and meaninglessness in the joy and peace of God’s very presence in Jesus Christ.” By way of contrast, most Jews found the interpretations of the law imposed on them by their leaders increasingly burdensome

And here, more than anything, is what I want you to hear this morning- this “rest” is not something you work for, or earn. It is something you sink into, provided wholly and completely by Jesus- not anything you do. It is not another task on the list of burdens and labor. It is simply a gift from Your Father who loves you. We know this because of verse 28- “I” will give you rest.

As we prepare to leave a year that many of us would like to forget, consider this- what burdens that have weighed so heavily this last year, is Jesus offering to carry? What have you taken up that Jesus has never called you to lift?

The yoke that Jesus is offering you is better than any you could create for yourself.