It is wonderful to turn our attention to Matthew 11:28-30, a passage that flows like a sweetest song from our Savior’s lips, revealing the infinite love of Christ for sinners. The context in which it was spoken adds so much richness.
In verses 20-24, the Lord issued a terrible rebuke for the unbelief of cities like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, highlighting man’s responsibility. Then, immediately in verses 25-26, He found great comfort in the doctrine of divine sovereignty, praising the Father for hiding these things from the wise and revealing them to babes.
It is highly significant that Jesus immediately follows this declaration of God’s sovereignty with a universal free offer of the Gospel. He places His gracious invitation, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,” on the platform of His absolute authority.
By doing this, the Lord Jesus says to:
- His disciples: “Let no views of predestination ever keep you back from proclaiming My gospel fully to every creature.”
- The unconverted: “Do not be discouraged by the doctrine of election. Never let it be a stumbling block in your way, for when My same lips have affirmed God’s sovereignty, I also proceed to speak to you in the deepest sincerity of heart and say, ‘Come unto Me.’ If you are not saved, it will be only because you failed to come.”
Until you have a balanced understanding of these two aspects—man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty—you will wrongly understand this invitation and tend toward extremes: either Arminian thought (salvation depends on man’s will) or paralyzing Hyper-Calvinism (God will save whom He wants, so why evangelize?). Seeing this universal free invitation sandwiched between the city rebukes and the Lord’s rejoicing in divine sovereignty keeps us from both extremes.
We will examine three things in this invitation:
- Who is inviting?
- Who are being invited?
- What is the invitation and the wonderful promise?
1. Who is Inviting? The Unique Authority of “Me”
The most important word in this invitation is not “come,” but “Me.” The confidence in the fulfillment of these words depends entirely on the One who utters them. Who is it that makes such an audacious claim?
The one who claims He can resolve the problems of guilt, bondage, confusion of sin, and the emptiness of formal religion is none other than God Incarnate.
Look at the extraordinary claims Jesus makes in Verse 27, right before the invitation:
“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
The Only Mediator
This invitation comes from the only appointed Mediator between God and man. The phrase “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father” is a declaration of Christ’s official delegation and authority.
As revealed in John 17:1-2, this authority was given to Him specifically to perform the role of Mediator: “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”
- The Lord Jesus Christ not only has deep compassion for sinners, but He has God’s authority to support Him! The Father delivered all things into His hands and appointed Him to be a Savior.
- “There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The All-Sufficient Supply
The phrase “All things delivered to Me” means that Jesus is able to supply everything a sinner needs.
Sum up all that the sinner requires, and you will find Christ able to supply it:
- Do you need pardon, a change of heart, or perfect righteousness in which you may be accepted? Christ has it.
- Do you need to be purged from the love of sin? Christ can do it!
- Do you need wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption? It is all in Christ.
- Are you afraid you cannot persevere on the road to heaven? Persevering grace is in Christ!
- Do you need perfection? Perfection is in Christ!
Whatever you need, “all things” have been delivered to Him.
2. Who Are Invited? The “Laboring and Heavy Laden”
While some invitations in the Bible are to all men indiscriminately (like God commanding all men to repent in Acts 17), this invitation is limited; it is specifically addressed to particular people, described as “all you who labor and are heavy laden.”
- Labor (kopiaō in Greek) is a strong word, meaning to toil unto weariness and pain.
- Heavy laden (pephortismenoi) means bearing an unbearable, crushing weight that bends the person over and almost presses them to the ground.
Christ is using vivid word pictures from the ancient world—a time before automation where men toiled manually until sunset, and burdens were often carried by people, stooping beneath crushing weights of 100-150 kilograms. He uses this imagery to describe a spiritual condition where people feel the intense effects of sin.
You are “laboring and heavy laden” if you are suffering under:
A. The Crushing Weight of Guilt
This is the passive effect of sin.
- Guilty Conscience: God’s Law is written in every conscience, and sin has violated and broken that law, filling the conscience with guilt. You cannot dodge the voice of conscience. The accusations of a condemned conscience are like a lashing scourge.
- Fear of God’s Wrath: This guilt is a horrible burden that removes all confidence and boldness to approach God. It holds you in constant fear of God’s punishment, the terror of judgment, and the awfulness of hell. This is the fearful looking unto judgment and fiery indignation (Hebrews 10:27).
- No Peace: This burden never allows peace. Passively and secretly, this guilt is the primary cause of all emptiness, sorrow, troubles, boredom, depression, and meaninglessness in life.
Man labors under this burden, trying to find rest through temporary means (drinks, drugs, pleasures, relationships) or through works-righteousness (religious rituals, self-help, charity, earning God’s favor). He keeps laboring and toiling, but the burden doesn’t leave him.
B. The Oppressive Bondage of Sin
This is the active effect of sin.
- Slavery to Sin: Proverbs 5:22 states that the wicked “will be held with cords of his sin.” John 8:34 confirms, “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” This bondage is heavy; the slavery of Egypt is a dim sample compared to the bondage of sin.
- Toilsome Life: It makes life toilsome, like a man attempting to live a normal life wrapped up in heavy cords or ropes. Everywhere you go, sin follows and controls you. You toil and labor to free yourself with vows and resolutions, all to no avail. You cannot break the bondage alone, and this ceaseless toil doesn’t give you rest.
C. The Emptiness of Confusion
You may be laboring and pressed down, not yet fully focused on your offense against God, but because of the confusion and hopelessness that sin brought into your life.
- Meaninglessness: Sin makes life meaningless and empty. Everything becomes confused: Why do we live? What is the purpose of life? Your mind is blank and dark, facing basic questions like Who are you? and Where will you go after death? The lack of answers and that hopelessness crushes you.
- Hopeless Confusion: You are hopelessly confused, standing in the midst of a swirling mass of ideas, fed up with no answers, which is a heavy burden.
D. The Burden of Formal Religion
This is the primary reference of the Lord’s words (Luke 11:46).
“And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.”
You are toiling in the emptiness of man-made religion, following all the trappings of form, rules, and rituals, thinking that doing this will earn acceptance with God or peace of mind.
To those here who find all external activities of worship in the church a weariness and a burden—coming not out of joy and gratitude to the Savior, but to satisfy your conscience or parents, hoping to earn God’s favor—the Lord speaks to you tonight.
Are you laboring and heavy laden under the guilt, bondage, confusion, or the burden of formal religion? The Lord Jesus is talking to you.
3. The Invitation and the Promise
The Lord’s message to those who are laboring and heavy laden is: “Come to Me.”
The Invitation: “Come to Me”
This is the simplest, most direct, and most profound command in Scripture. It is not an invitation to:
- Do something great.
- Feel a certain way.
- Clean up your life first.
- Go somewhere else.
It is a command to Come to Him personally.
The Promise: “I Will Give You Rest”
When you obey the invitation, you receive the wonderful promise: “I will give you rest.”
This rest is the complete opposite of all the labor and heavy burdens:
- Rest from the burden of guilt by receiving His pardon.
- Rest from the bondage of sin by receiving His freedom.
- Rest from the confusion of life by receiving His truth and purpose.
- Rest from the toil of works-righteousness by receiving His imputed righteousness.
Christ doesn’t say He will help you find rest; He says, “I will give you rest.” This rest is a divine gift, not a human achievement.
The subsequent verses (29-30) explain how we receive and continue in this rest: by taking His yoke and learning from Him. But for now, let the absolute authority and love of the Sovereign Son penetrate your heart.
Do you feel the crushing weight of your sin or the endless toil of trying to save yourself? If so, your only hope is found in accepting the invitation of the One who holds all authority: “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.”
The question of “What kind of mediator is He?” is answered by the profound claims Jesus makes in Matthew 11:27. The significance of the invitation “Come to Me” hinges entirely on the identity of the “Me.”
The Unknowable Son
Jesus first claims an Unconceivable, Un-graspable Mediator whose person is known only to God:
“no one knows the Son except the Father.”
What a claim! For a mere man or even an angel to say, “No one fully knows me,” would be false, as God knows them completely. But here, the Lord says no one knows the Son but the Father. It takes a God to fully comprehend God. This points to the great mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.
In this fusion of deity and humanity in Christ, He is so glorious, so full of all richness and treasures for needy sinners, that our puny human understanding cannot estimate His worth. Even the longest-living believer or the highest angel cannot comprehend even one percent of His glory. None but the infinite God can comprehend His value as a Savior.
If you are saying, “Christ cannot save me—I am such a big sinner,” you do not know Him! You are measuring Him by your insignificant notions. He is too grand and too good for you to comprehend. The growing wonder in eternity will be to discover how precious, powerful, immutable, and divine a Christ He is.
The Exclusive Revealer of God
Next, Jesus claims to be the Exclusive Revealer of God:
“Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
Sinful men cannot know God on their own and, therefore, create all kinds of false, horrible ideas of God. The only right way to understand God is through the Mediator, the Son. No one can know the Father unless the Son exercises His office as Sovereign Mediator and reveals Him. This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The idea that we can find God or Christ through other religions is absolute nonsense, according to the Bible.
The one speaking in this invitation is not an ordinary person. He is God Incarnate, the only appointed Mediator between God and man, the exclusive Revealer of God, and the one in whom all God’s treasures and riches are hidden. Placing the simple words of the invitation in this context reveals the enormous weight of “Me” and the confidence with which we should come for the promised rest.
The Invitation: “Come” and the Implication of Faith
The invitation itself is the simplest of commands: “COME.”
The word is simple, but full of meaning. To “come” is to leave the place where you are standing and advance to another place. In the Bible, “come” is synonymous with “believe,” “trust,” and “commit.” As John 6:35 says, “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
The command “Come” is composed of both Repentance and Faith:
- Repentance leaves the place where you now stand (your own efforts, your sins, all that you have trusted so long).
- Faith comes into reliance upon Jesus.
Our Lord calls all who labor and are heavy laden: “How long will you labor and continue with this burden? My simple command is: leave your place and come to Me in faith.” Cast the weight of your need on this unique God-Man, who alone is suited to meet those needs and give you rest.
He calls you to come only to Himself because:
- For Guilt: He is the appointed Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He bore the agony and the Father’s wrath on the cross and swallowed it, crying, “It is finished.” When a mountain of guilt looks at the hanging Savior and hears that triumphant cry, the guilt melts away. Don’t go to any man, organization, or religion; no one else bore that agony.
- For Bondage: As the ascended Lord who sent His Spirit in power, He alone can break the power of sin. “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
- For Confusion: He is the Light of the world. In Jesus Christ alone, life’s ultimate answers are found. Man’s deepest questions and yearnings are answered in Christ; confusion stops, and clarity comes.
The Promise: “I Will Give You Rest”
The promise is simply the word “Rest.” This is not physical rest, but spiritual rest—”rest for your souls.”
This is a weariness down to the deepest level of your being, caused by sin’s guilt, bondage, and confusion. It is a weariness from which you cannot relieve yourself. People run everywhere—to pleasure, money, relationships, and striving—trying to find this rest, but nothing and no one in this world can give you the peace and rest you seek.
Jesus promises rest at the deepest level of your being. This rest means:
- No more toiling and bearing the crushing load of guilt.
- No more despair or living in bondage to sin.
- No more living in confusion and meaninglessness.
- No more self-righteous works to please God.
Certainty and Exclusivity of the Promise
The promise is certain because the one who speaks is God and cannot lie. If you do not know soul rest tonight, it is only because you have not believed and come to Christ. If you come, you have rest.
The promise is also exclusive: “Come unto Me,” implying that rest is found nowhere else. The command is charged with eternal authority: Come or you perish. “He that believes shall be saved; he that believes not shall be damned.”
The Implication of Rest: The Yoke
The remaining verses (29-30) explain that this rest is found through an unreserved commitment to Christ.
“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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Coming to Christ for rest implies:
- Take My Yoke Upon You: Utter submission to Christ’s person and will. The yoke binds two animals together so they plow the same line and move in the same direction—an identity of will, labor, and purpose. Coming for rest means taking His yoke—being identified with His purpose and His will.
- Learn From Me: Absolute submission to Christ’s truth. This is how you clear all confusion and bring clarity into your mind and life.
You need rest, but He calls you to another yoke. He says the implication of coming for rest is that you become a bondslave of Christ. This is the only way you find true rest and freedom from the tyranny of sin.
He clears away every last excuse by saying, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
He invites burdened sinners to cast their all upon Him:
- Come to Him as our High Priest for rest, who bore our sins.
- Come to Him as our King under His yoke, who will rule and direct us.
- Come to Him as our Prophet by learning from Him, which clears all confusion.
If you are burdened by guilt, sin’s tyranny, or hopeless confusion, come to Him now. Right where you sit, say to Him, “Here, Lord, I come. I do not come to bargain. I long for release from the terrible weight of sin.”
Come now! By an act of instantaneous faith, rely upon Jesus, and He will give you rest. Without money, without merit, without preparation, come as you are. The promise is certain: “I will give you rest.”
This is not a one-time event; for the child of God, this is a continual coming—the Christian life is nothing but a continual coming to Him in faith, staying under His yoke, and learning from Him.
Do you have that instantaneous, unreserved faith to come to Him now for rest?
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 