Get Some Rest, Part 1

Today on Insight for Living, from Chuck Swindoll. Come. Jesus said, come. We come on his terms. We come receiving his offer, believing in him, trusting in him. Please observe that we are not obligated. It's an invitation. He says come to me.

Come to me. The responsibilities of life can feel exhausting. Some of our weariness is self-inflicted because we're trying to pack 12 hours of work into an eight-hour workday. But most of the time, our fatigue is the natural outcome of a busy day. Whether it's physically strenuous or mentally draining, we crawl into bed late at night with a heavy sigh. Well, today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Sound inviting? Chuck titled today's message, Get Some Rest. All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be brought to maturity, and therefore we place great emphasis on these ancient words ever true, changing me, changing you. We're looking at a very small section of God's Word today. Jesus spoke them. They're at the end of Matthew chapter 11.

If you have a Bible, please turn. Matthew 11, 27 through verse 30. Four verses, really the last three will be the focus of our attention, but all of these verses speak volumes to us. Though they are brief, short, they're full of significance.

I'll be reading from the New American Standard Version. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to me, all 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 is light. Though these are familiar words, our hope is that we will enter into them in a fresh way, realize how powerful they are for us in our walk with Christ. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck about Get Some Rest. Great gifts often come in very small packages. We've said that all our lives. Less is often more, and brief is often better. It's never more true than in these closing words of Matthew 11. Though they are familiar words to most of us who have been Christians for some time, they hold meaning that I think we may have missed or we may have never really, really gotten hold of. Hopefully we'll be able to resolve some of that in our time together as we look into this very small package of information and ancient words that are ever true, able to change both you and me.

First of all, let's sort of set the setting for them. In Matthew 11, you remember from days past that Jesus has been standing before a crowd of people. Most of them are never named.

In fact, none of them has a name. They're simply called the crowds at the end of verse 7. The disciples of John have walked away and now he's speaking, please observe in verse 7, to the crowds.

They're a mixture of people just like a crowd would represent today, all different ages and stages in life, many of them with needs that are not revealed. Of course, he knows them all. So he speaks to them, first of all, John the baptizer. They were familiar with John's ministry because it had come before Jesus and it had been out of the wilderness and filled with strong words and even commands that they repent and that they turn to the one who is yet to come. John is now gone.

In fact, he is imprisoned. So Jesus speaks to them about John in the next few verses of Matthew 11 and then he tells them about his kingdom, which is an authentic offer. He offers them several times, and this is an occasion where he speaks of the kingdom, calls it the kingdom of heaven, verse 12, and he describes this kingdom as having been under attack and it has been right up to that moment. You'll remember those words as we developed them last time and even talks about the response of these people to the message that he has offered them. He compares them to children at play and then later, you'll recall, he denounces several towns. They are named for us, Corazene and Bethsaida and Capernaum in the verses that follow 20 and 21. And he tells them that these who lived in those towns, though they had witnessed many of the things that Jesus did and said, had sort of yawned their way through them.

And you remember they had sort of a perfunctory attitude toward them. And then suddenly he prays. Verse 25, O Father, he begins, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever and for revealing them to the childlike.

They're listening as he prays, no doubt orally. I think what he's saying, among other things, is the one who has pride for his mother cannot know God as his father. He calls them in this particular version, those who think themselves wise and clever. And second, he says that the Lord reveals them only to those who are like children willing to be taught and to learn from the one teaching them. And he's saying there that, and a little later, he who doesn't know the son doesn't know the father and cannot know the father until the Lord reveals the son to them. It sounds like double talk.

It sounds confusing. And in the midst of it, he says in verse 27 something else that they have never thought of before because they only knew him as the carpenter's son from Nazareth. A little more than that, who had begun an itinerant ministry of evangelism in the Galilean area. He says, my father has entrusted everything to me. It tells us in John's gospel that all judgment is given to the son. So he's saying that the Lord has all authority himself, the Lord Jesus.

He has been given all authority. He and the father are intimately in touch with one another. No one truly knows the son except the father.

And then vice versa. No one truly knows the father except the son. And if that isn't enough, we can't know the father except through the son. And none of it can happen unless the father reveals the truth, the son to us. You know, as I read that and as I read it now and as I sat alone to think it through for quite a while in my own study, the feeling sort of overwhelmed me that it's almost as if God is at a distance. That he is deliberately removing himself from us and words like this seem to underscore that feeling. That is not God's desire at all, because he speaks in profound terms in no way means that he wants to hold us at a distance.

Perhaps it's because of that, however, that Jesus says what he does in the verses that follow. Lest anyone think that God is aloof, distant, removed, and desires to remain away from us, the Lord Jesus now turns with words that are very personal and frankly much more easy to understand. I've given you an outline and I've put these words in five categories, making it, I hope, a little more simple for you to follow. Let me give you the words that I've described in these five categories and then we'll be able to go back and take them apart one by one and hopefully explain them a little further. There are in these verses, 28, 29, and 30, words that invite, there are words that expose, and then there are words that promise, followed by words that relieve, and among them there are words even that describe. So let's pick those words out. What are the inviting words? Look at verse 28.

Come would be one of them. Next verse, take, that's a word inviting us to do something, take something from him, and then learn, learn from me. See it right here in verse 29? So come and take and learn would be words that invite. When you're reading your Bibles, look for categories like this. It will help break the verses down into a little more meaningful segments. How about words that expose, and by this I mean expose our condition?

Where would they be? Well, look again at verse 28. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, you who carry heavy burdens. Here he tells us things about ourselves that we may not have told him.

We don't need to. He already knows it. And certainly those in that crowd were weary, heavy laden, some of them because of sin that had not been dealt with through salvation, others because they had lived under the thumb of legalistic rabbis who were demanding and severe. We'll get to that a little later. These are followed by words that describe.

Look at this statement. I am gentle and humble in heart. As best I can see from my study of the scriptures, this is the only time Jesus self discloses. By that I mean reveals his personal, what we might call his emotional makeup.

Nowhere else does he do that. Only here. I'm gentle and I am humble in heart. And then there are words that promise.

You've already seen them. I will give you rest. And later you will find rest. And finally, there are words that relieve. My yoke is easy.

My burden is light. First there are words that invite. Come.

Verse 28 begins. Jesus said, come. I can almost see him with his arms open. The gesture of open arms is an inviting gesture. Come on. Come on.

You know what jumps out at me? He doesn't say come to God. He doesn't say come to a creed or to a church or a priest or a minister. He says come to me.

Come to me. We come on his terms. We come receiving his offer, believing in him, trusting in him.

Please observe that we are not obligated. It's an invitation. Some of you have not come.

Many in that crowd had not come. And so it's a genuine offer, a genuine invitation. Come on.

Come to me. When we come, we're confident that he'll take us, that he'll accept us. And so once we have come, please observe there's something we take. And he invites us to do it. Take my yoke upon you. Pause there. I know I'm being very deliberate in this, and it's for a purpose.

These are ancient words ever true. Changing me, changing you. He does not say take my chair and relax, take my bed and lie down, not even take my arm and hold tight. He says take my yoke. What's that about? Unless you are from a farm, and that would be very few of us, you have never seen a yoke up close.

Oh, we know theoretically what it is, but that's about it, so I did a little study. Allow me to share with you what I found out. In ancient Israel, ox yokes were handmade wood by very skilled carpenters. No two oxen are the same. So each ox was to be fitted with a yoke by being brought to the shop, the carpenter's shop, and the oxen would be measured, much like a tailor would measure your body to put together a clothing for you or for me. The yoke was roughed out by the carpenter, and then the oxen would be brought back for a second fitting.

Isn't that interesting? The oxen would come, and the carpenter would carefully mark the yoke so that it would fit well. It wouldn't gall the beast. And as it would stand there patiently, the carpenter would make certain that this part would be shaved back, and that part would be left alone. Interesting, the term was widely used in ancient days as a metaphor for submission. When you took a yoke, you willingly submitted. And that fits, for with oxen, the yoke was a major part of a harness that was used to pull a heavy cart or plow hard soil. It was essential for the animal to be kept under control and guided correctly. Those that fit well would not irritate the animal, and he could wear it. And as we take his yoke, notice it's take my yoke upon you.

It's the one I've fitted for you. We're able to pull whatever he asks us to pull or carry whatever we're to carry, including our cross, whatever it may be. Interesting, in ancient days, the word slipped into the world of education. A student was often spoken of as being under the yoke of his mentor. In ancient Jewish writing, there is this advice, put your neck under the yoke and let your soul receive instruction. Before I move on, let me state here that what you bear, no one else bears. Not even husbands and wives bear the same or deal with the identical situations. You are called to go through things that are very painful. And they are in part designed to bring you into submission.

Pain does that. It's awfully hard to find arrogance on a hospital bed or a demanding spirit among those wrestling with a terminal disease. Take his yoke.

I would even use the colloquialism, yoke up, put it on. It's yours to bear. Don't fight it. There's much more to learn about this masterful illustration from Jesus. He said, 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. You're listening to Insight for Living.

And please stay with us because Chuck Swindoll will present some closing comments in just a moment. And to learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. In light of our times, we understand that many in our listening family are bearing tremendous burdens right now. And this invitation from Jesus to find rest is certainly welcome. Perhaps you're feeling overwhelmed with responsibility because of the complications caused by the pandemic. Or maybe you're reeling from an unexpected loss.

You're certainly not alone. We often hear from listeners who tell us their heart-rending stories and the way God has used His word to bring them to a better place. Chuck wrote a devotional book that's brought comfort to thousands of readers. It's called Perfect Trust. When our world collapses and there's nothing but chaos left behind, nothing will accelerate our recovery quicker than relinquishing control and trusting God to provide. Well, that's the core message of this comforting book from Chuck. Again, it's called Perfect Trust. And you can purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org slash offer. Or call us.

If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888. Chuck? I want to share a personal story with all of you. To me, it's deeply personal. My mother's prayer for me years ago changed the course of my life. A few years ago, I browsed the books in my study, and my eyes fell upon an old volume by one of my favorite authors, F.B. Meyer, a British pastor of many years ago. On impulse, I pulled that little volume from the shelf, leaned back in my old leather desk chair, and began turning the pages.

To my unexpected delight, it was not F.B. Meyer's words that spoke to me that evening. It was my mother's words. In her inimitable handwriting, she had added her own observations and prayers on the margin of many of the pages.

On the back cover, she had penned these words. Finished reading this May 8, 1958. I looked up and pondered.

1958. And I thought, it was in May of 58, while serving overseas in the Marines, that I had written in my journal, The Lord has convinced me I am to enter the ministry. I need to begin preparing for a lifetime of serving Christ. Amazingly, that very same month, my mother had finished reading F.B.

Meyer's book. As I scanned her words with my eyes, I found one reference after another to her prayers, some of them including me, as I was overseas. Her concern was for my spiritual welfare. Her desire, obviously, was God's best for her son. I can still hear her voice as I was growing up.

I love you, Charles. Always walk with God, son. Finish strong.

While sitting there clutching F.B. Meyer's book, I realized that my mother had prayed for me when I didn't even know about it, and her prayer had changed the course of my life. I had been privileged to pass on the faith I learned from her as a child, as well as the lessons I've gleaned from poring over the Scriptures. That's my story. I suspect you have your story, too. So often when I meet Insight for Living Friends, I discover that our stories are often interwoven. Many times our stories converge with something we learn together right here on this program.

While engaging in the truth of God's Word. Using the admonition of my mother, let me urge all of us to finish strong. On June 30th, we'll close another chapter on the Journal of Our Memories this year, and your gift to Insight for Living will be used by God to perpetuate and propagate His story around the world. I cannot overstate the critical importance of your gift today.

That's right, today, no matter the size. Thanks so much for financially supporting this work of God. Let's heed the words of the psalmist, who called upon all of us to tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

Thank you, Chuck. Let me explain how you can respond today. Choose one of several ways to reach out to Insight for Living. The quickest and most convenient way to give is to follow the simple instructions at insight.org slash donate, or use our convenient mobile app. You can also speak with someone about giving a donation by calling us directly. If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org. Be listening again Thursday when Chuck Swindoll talks about the wisdom of getting rest. That's next time on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Get Some Rest, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.