A Gospel Invitation
Matthew 11:25–30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. Matthew 11:28
It is difficult to think of an invitation more important or more gracious than this. There are several reasons why this invitation is so gracious.
1. The invitation is for everyone. Jesus’s words are for people of all ages, all nationalities, and all temperaments, and he calls people exactly as they are. We should emphasize this because we tend to think that Jesus’s call is for people who are somehow “suited” for religion or perhaps have “earned” a gospel invitation. But it is precisely here that the universal offer must be stressed, as it was by Jesus. Following Christ is, in a certain sense, the hardest thing anyone can ever do. But at the same time, it is possible for everyone, because Christ himself gives us the will to persist in our calling.
2. The invitation is for those who are burdened by sin. The phrase “weary and burdened” does not refer to physical weaknesses or to what we might call the burdens of a difficult life, though it may include them. It chiefly refers to a sense of sin’s burden and the need of a Savior. The people who were thus burdened believed that Jesus could lift sin’s weight and turned to him to do it. These people listened to him, trusted him, and found salvation.
3. The invitation is to learn about Jesus. When Jesus called his disciples to “follow” him, he was comparing Christianity to a path in which his followers were to walk, he going ahead of them. When he challenged his disciples to “learn from me,” he was comparing Christianity to a school in which he was to be both the subject matter and the teacher. This is the school in which every true believer has matriculated and in which a lifelong course of study is prescribed.
4. The invitation offers rest for tired people. In fact, it offers rest twice. There is a rest that is given: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That rest comes instantly when we first trust in Christ. Then there is a rest that is found: “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” (v. 29). That rest comes as we increasingly learn to follow Jesus in our daily lives.
Jesus is the only rest you or any other poor, struggling, burdened soul will ever need. Why not turn to him right now? Turn from all inferior teachers to the one who alone can teach true godliness and whose teaching will save your soul.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.