Come Know Jesus: Embrace Enduring Hope and Rest Now
What is your version of a restful day? I have several options I like to choose from. I love a day when I can sleep in and spend as much time as I want sitting by my fire pit in the morning. Coffee and Bible are must haves. I also love a day set aside to shop for the entire day. Coffee, lunch, and friends are perfect additions.
However, my favorite version of a restful day is a day spent exploring. Whether it’s a museum, a new area of the city, a hike, or a charming Hallmark-esque small town, I delight in discovering. Coffee, my sweet Pastor husband and/or my girl make the day ideal.
Back to School
We’ve hit the point in the summer where some of you have gained a rest by sending your children back to school. Yeah you, yeah back to school! Or you might be exhausted from the early morning rush, homework, sports, and sharing the car. Perhaps you are desperate for a restful day.
I don’t have kids at home and just thinking about the back-to-school schedule makes me tired. All of us have elements in our lives that exhaust us. From back-to-school to a challenge at work, to a health crisis, or a broken relationship, we feel weary.
Hope for the Weary
In Matthew eleven we find another one of Jesus’ come statements, and we who are weary also find hope. Before Jesus says “come,” we read about Jesus calling out some of the people in the crowd. He’s very aware people are confused about who to believe and what to believe in relation to who He is. However, knowing who He is is key to experiencing rest.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30, CSB
Unexpected Messiah
John the Baptist’s Doubt
Jesus was not the Messiah the Jews expected. At the beginning of Matthew eleven, we learn that John the Baptist experienced a moment of doubt. He was in prison and, like all of us when left alone with our own thoughts, what once seemed obvious, now feels uncertain.
Jesus spoke to the crowds about John. He said John was the messenger prophesied about in Malachi 3:1. Christ described John as the Elijah who was to come. He knew they had followed John the Baptist eagerly and were anticipating the Messiah. However, even though they were looking for the Messiah, Jesus didn’t fit the profile they imagined.
Childish Attitudes
Jesus moved on from discussing John and described the current generation. He compared them to children playing. In fact, He pointed out a specific childish behavior. I’m sure you’ve noticed this behavior when you’ve been a child’s playmate.
Children like to dictate exactly how the play time will proceed. They give others specific roles, with precise actions, and even distinct lines to say. If you don’t follow the guidelines they set, they complain and tell you, “You’re not playing right!”
Next, Jesus presented their childish complaints about John the Baptist. He wouldn’t eat and drink with them, therefore, he had a demon. Then Jesus stated their childish complaints about Him. Christ ate and drank with others; therefore, He was a glutton and a drunkard. Neither Jesus nor John the Baptist was playing right.
Missing the Point
But Jesus didn’t stop there. He called out the various towns where He had performed miracles. Several of those towns didn’t repent. Somehow, they were not impacted by the wonders Christ performed in their midst.
This was not one of those feel-good days for the crowd surrounding Jesus. He clearly laid out truth, and the truth Jesus shared wasn’t pleasant. He wanted them to decide to follow Him. He wanted them to see the error of their ways and recognize He was the Messiah they anticipated.
Accepting Jesus as Messiah
The Son Knows the Father
Finally, Jesus gave them the truth that no one fully knows God’s Son except God. Plus, no one fully knows God except God’s Son and to whomever the Son chooses to reveal God. If the people saw Christ as the Messiah, then they also got to fully know God Himself.
In all of Matthew 11, Jesus was building an argument to pull the crowd to Him.
- He reminded them how they followed John the Baptist and believed him. Their repentance and baptism were solid evidence of their belief. Jesus spoke of John and how He was God’s messenger. And don’t forget, John the Baptist was the one who said Jesus was the Son of God.
- Jesus knew He was not the Messiah the Jews expected. For them to demand the Messiah be as only they expected was childish. God is the One who is Sovereign, and He is the One writing the story. Indirectly, Jesus challenged them to remember all the miracles He had performed and recognize He did what only God could do.
- Jesus clearly stated only the Son of God fully knows the Father and what the Father wants to do. The people in the crowd needed to believe what He told them, and not the opinions of others.
The Messiah offers Rest
With His argument in place, Jesus offered hope, rest, and peace. He invited them to come to Him and put down the burden of trying to figure everything out. He offered them a life where they didn’t have to measure up to a long list of right and wrong behaviors. Jesus simply said, “Learn from me.”
Jesus invited them to come without an expectation of perfection. He invited anyone and everyone who listened to Him. They could come without understanding everything, or even anything!
Christ reassured them that even though He fully knows God, He wouldn’t be domineering. He wouldn’t condemn and dictate. Instead, Jesus described Himself as “humble and gentle at heart.” (NLT) He confirmed He would gently and kindly teach them how to live and what to believe.
Just Like the Crowd
Many of us are very familiar with the last three verses of Matthew eleven. However, we often act just like the people Jesus talked to in the crowd. We get bent out of shape when other believers don’t behave like we think they should. We experience God’s miraculous movement in our lives, but we hold onto sins of selfishness, pride, materialism, anger, and more.
Some of us struggle with our faith because we think we should know more than we do. Or we doubt, but don’t want to admit it to anyone. In addition, each of us, at one point or another, has carried the burden of living the life of should and ought to instead of actually learning from Jesus Himself.
Jesus Invites Us to Come with our Burdens
Jesus invites us to come with our load that leaves us so weary. Whether we carry guilt, shame, uncertainty, the need to measure up, failure, or fear, Christ offers us rest. However, He may not give us our ideal day of rest. Instead, Jesus offers us something deeper, rest for our souls, peace that remains even when the days leave us exhausted.
When we come to Jesus, we can express our burden to Him just as John the Baptist expressed His doubt. Whether you pray silently, beg God loudly, or write out all your thoughts in a journal, Jesus listens and He hears.
Consider what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7. He tells us to “pray about everything. Tell God what you need…” You may think that sounds a bit like the children at play. However, Paul also tells us to thank God for all He has done. We must express ourselves while also looking for how God is moving in ways we may not expect. We must maintain the attitude that God is good, God is right, and we are to learn from Him.
Jesus Invites us to Come, Listen and Learn
When we come to Jesus, we must also come willing to listen and learn. Jesus wants to reveal who He is and who the Father is. We don’t come just to get our problems fixed. We come to discover the rest only Jesus can offer, the rest that gives our soul peace.
When Jesus came to the disciples on the water, He offered Himself, His presence, as an answer to their fear. We come to Christ and He teaches us more about who He is. We learn His presence is the answer to our burden.
Jesus Invites us to Come and Know God
When we come to Jesus, we must set our focus on knowing God in greater intimacy. As we know Him increasingly more, He blesses us with rest. We gain a deeper understanding of His love, His power, His mission, and His glory. Jesus reveals God, and we experience the rest of knowing all His presence provides us.
Jesus doesn’t tell us He will make life easier in Matthew 11:28. Instead, He promises to equip us with His presence so that we don’t feel burdened, fearful, and/or anxious. All we have to do is come.
Come and Come Again
I have lived seasons in my life when I come multiple times a day. I have the habit of coming to Jesus to learn from Him and engage with His presence every morning. And there are times I also read a devotional before going to bed, or I listen to scripture after lunch. I even experienced a season when I knelt in prayer every time I walked through the front door of the house because I was so stressed.
Jesus invites us to come. Come with our burdens and allow Him to carry the load. He will teach us the best way to live in that moment, on that day. He will reveal Himself to us and we fill find rest in the truth of who He is.
Restful Morning Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
