“I
Will Give You Rest”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. We meditate on Jesus’ beautiful invitation to you in today’s Gospel
Reading: “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and
my burden light.” The readings we use in our services are on a three-year cycle, so the
last time I preached on this text was in the summer of 2011. Rest was
something we didn’t get much of that summer. On Memorial Day, everyone in
our community was given notice to move out, immediately, for four months, due to
flooding on the Missouri River. Like most members of our church, Terry and
worked round-the-clock, with family members who came to help, packing up
everything in our home and moving out all our possessions. Because our own
church members were all busy with their homes, members of other Missouri Synod
congregations in the area moved everything out of our church, all in one night.
They were taking the pews out when I drove by at two o’clock in the morning.
Many of our members’ homes were flooded, but thankfully the water didn’t reach
our home or the church itself, which was closed for four months. The National Guard kept us all out of our homes, so thousands of people
were looking for someplace to sleep. I counted up that during the first 21
days of that June, Terry and I slept, or tried to sleep, in 16 different beds. “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest.” What are the burdens you are bearing in your life right now?
Where will you turn for help, comfort, strength? Where will you find
relief from your burdens and rest for your weary soul? “Come unto me”
Jesus says, “I will give you rest.” “Come unto me,” Jesus says, with the burden of your sin. He
carried your guilt to Calvary, he bore your sins in his body on the cross. “Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls.” In his heart God is not angry with you,
for he is gentle and humble in heart. He forgives you, he loves you, he
tenderly invites you to receive the salvation earned for you by your Savior.
“Come unto me . . . for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls.” That’s another way of saying you will find in him
forgiveness, salvation, eternal life. “You will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” The radio and television host Laura Ingraham recently said that on a
trip to Disney World she saw Islamic women in heavy black robes, with only a
small slit for their eyes, standing in line for hours in the sizzling Florida
sun and stifling humidity. That’s an illustration of the difference
between Christianity and all other religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
and cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses. They all burden their
followers with a heavy, crushing yoke. But, Jesus promises, “You will find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” The yoke that a Christian must bear is faith, trusting in him as your
Savior. “For my Father’s will,” Jesus says, “is that everyone who looks to
the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” Faith in Jesus is
not a hard yoke or a heavy burden, but an easy yoke, pleasant to wear, a light
burden, a joy to bear. Come unto Jesus with the burden of your sin.
Take his yoke upon you, trust in him as your Savior, and you will find rest for
your weary soul. “Come unto me,” Jesus says, with the burden of your fear. As
Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper, “Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.” The book of Hebrews puts it this way, “God has
said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’ So we say with
confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.’” “So fear not,”
says the Lord in Isaiah, “for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up with my righteous
hand.” Come unto him with the burden of your fear. “Come unto me,” Jesus says, with the burden of your troubles.
The psalms say, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in
trouble.” “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you.”
Come unto him with the burden of your troubles. “Come unto me,” Jesus says, with the burden of your needs and wants.
Paul says in Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.” “Ask, and it will be given you,” Jesus says.
“Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.” The
psalm promises, “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living
thing.” Come unto him with the burden of your needs and wants. “Come unto me,” Jesus invites you. “Come unto me with the burden
of your sin; come unto me with the burden of your fear; come unto me with the
burden of your troubles; come unto me with the burden of your needs and wants.
I will help you, I will comfort you, I will strengthen you, I will give you
rest.” “Come unto me, I forgive all your sins; come unto me, I relieve all
your fears; come unto me, I ease all your troubles; come unto me, I supply your
needs and satisfy your wants; come unto me, and I will give you rest.” On February 15, 1546, Martin Luther preached his last sermon, on this
text. Three days later he entered eternal rest. Luther closed his
last sermon with these words: “Christ says, ‘Come unto me, all you who are weary
and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’ It is as though he were
saying, ‘Just stick to me, hold on to my Word and promises and let everything
else go. If things go badly, I will give you courage even to laugh
about it. Just come to me, and if you are facing oppression and death, do
not be afraid; it will not be for you a heavy burden, but light and easy to
bear, for I am helping you carry the load and giving you power and strength.” “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and
my burden light.” A yoke is used for animals such as oxen to pull a load, like the oxen
pulling the pioneers across the prairie in their covered wagons. Sometimes
a yoke is a single yoke, for only one ox. But, if the load is heavy, you
need a double yoke, two oxen, pulling together, side by side. Picture in
your mind a weary ox, all by itself in a double yoke, awkwardly struggling
lopsidedly to pull a heavy load. That’s a picture of what life is like for you when you try to bear your
burdens alone. But, you are not alone. Christ is there with you,
pulling alongside you, bearing with you your heavy load. Trust in him,
turn to him, seek his help, his strength, his power. He will make the yoke
easy and the burden light, and you will find rest for your weary soul.
“Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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