Jesus invites those who are weary and Burdened – Matthew 11:28
The Jewish people were struggling to know God the Father. Their religious leaders, the Pharisees, and scribes, had set impossibly high standards for them to meet. These rules were so sweeping and harsh that those who didn’t keep them would have to suffer shame and humiliation.
They had tried to be good enough to please their religious leaders, but they were crushed under the weight of their impossible burdens. So they began to crowd around Jesus, expecting to get answers and hope.
Immediately after claiming that He could reveal the Father to anyone, Jesus gave this astonishing invitation. He said, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
It’s an invitation to come to Jesus as His people, to walk with Him and share in His ministry to express his innate Christ power (Matthew 9:12-13). These are the people who have been left behind in the artificial confines of religion.
But Jesus isn’t inviting them to simply stop trying to do it on their own. He’s inviting them to replace the yoke of self-righteousness with His yoke, which is much easier and lighter.
It’s a call to those who are tired of trying to do things their own way, but are afraid to stop and ask for help. It’s a call to come to Jesus and receive his rest for the soul, which is what God did for us in the Old Testament.
