Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.”
The title of today’s sermon is taken from a book I purchased a while ago, entitled, What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. The objective of this book is to get the reader to reconsider their strategies for personal improvement. Specifically, personal improvement toward a high and lofty goal. Most noteworthy for today’s discussion is the initial chapter that reflects on The Trouble With (past) Success.
Typically, you wouldn’t associate trouble and success in the same sentence. And at first glance you might think that success should be free from trouble. But the truth is a lot of trouble comes when we’ve been moderately successful in doing things a certain way, and now feel stuck continuing to do the same things because they use to be “successful”. Oftentimes, you must adapt, change course, and even abandon your position to move to a more profitable situation. In essence, this is what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 11.
Jesus speaks to a congregation of folk concerning the rigors of ministry. He notes how neither he nor John the Baptist were accepted by the religious leadership of his day. But accepted or not, they both excelled and delivered exactly what the Father required of them. However, their paths were not without controversy, trouble, challenges and temptations.
Even so, Jesus invites his audience to join him in pursuit of Kingdom, notwithstanding the obstacles laying ahead. And here’s the reason why. Jesus has a new yoke. He has a new direction, a new methodology and new lesson to be learned. The result of following Jesus in this new venture is to experience rest…rest for our souls.
Rest always sounds great, but what Jesus is offering is not simply a vacation, or getaway. What is being offered here is a new way of living. A new paradigm. A complete and utter change in the way we live, think, act and associate. The invitation is intense because of what Jesus if offering.
A yoke is a wooden collar that is placed on an animal so that the owner can control it. Very similar to a bridle on a horse, a yoke is a means to allow the driver to direct the animal. But watch this. Often the yoke is wide enough for two collars for two animals. A farmer would say that two animals that are in wooden collars together are “yoked.” Animals that were yoked together could do more work than independent of each other. Often smaller, weaker animals would be yoked together with bigger ones so that the big animal could carry the burden while training the younger one to carry the load. In other words, the younger or weaker animal often had a lighter or easier yoke.
The saying “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” is part of a larger passage in which Jesus tells all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest. He isn’t speaking here of physical burdens. Rather, it was the heavy burden of the system of works that the Pharisees laid on the backs of the people that Jesus was offering to relieve.
Now we’re getting to the crux of the matter. What Jesus was offering to give his followers was freedom from onerous rules and regulations in exchange for a true working relationship with him. Jesus was seeking partnership. Note his self description. I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The fact we have attain a certain status in Christendom, or reputation in our local fellowship doesn’t mean we’ve reached the top. In matter of fact, Jesus is saying the total opposite. Though there is nothing wrong or incorrect with the road we’ve travelled, when the path deviates from the leading of the Lord, we have a decision to make. There comes a time that you must breakaway and determine to follow Jesus at all cost.
Dear Children of God, things may look a lot different than they did a few years ago. The stress, strain, anxiety, heartache and grief brought on by unseen forces only exasperate the tiredness plaguing our souls. There’s often an internal fatigue that can’t be resolved with sleep, vacation or a quick getaway. This spiritual fatigue can only be remedied through the power of Christ’s love, fellowship and partnership. I’d say it’s time to make a new start to a greater destination. And, What Got Us Here, Won’t Get Us There!
God Bless.
