Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
I’ve heard the ‘rest’ that Jesus offers described in various ways. Typical modern folk like to think of it purely in psychological terms. But, in the context of biblical theology it takes quite a clear shape:
Rest is rooted in God’s Sabbath-act of resting on the seventh day. After six days of creation, God was content that His works were ‘very good,’ and therefore he ceased. Jesus, along with the author of Hebrews in chapter 4, is playing off of that idea here.
Throughout his ministry he speaks to ‘legalists’ upon whom the demands of the Law are constantly weighing. They have taken seriously God’s charge: ‘You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD’ (Lev. 18:5). They are seeking life in the Law but are, in actuality, only becoming burdened.
The weight of the Law is a greater burden than most of us realize. God’s standard is perfection – perfect obedience. With every attempt at trying to establish our own righteousness before God we will only find the Law therefore to be a weight too great for us to bear. Indeed, the very weight of it it will crush us and bring us down to the depths of hell.
And so, it is in that context that Jesus says, ‘Come to me, all of you who are burdened and weighed down, and I will give you rest.’ Jesus is offering us complete spiritual contentment. He is saying that it is possible that we, like God on the Sabbath, can look back on our labors and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’
But how can this be so? If we are honest we know that our labors don’t meet up to the standard of God’s Law. This is so because Christ does the work for us. For, as we are justified by faith, we are being judged by His record, not ours. Therefore it is Christ’s work that we look back to, and indeed it is very good.
Not the labors of my hands, can fulfill Thy Law’s demands. Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone, Thou must save and Thou Alone. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die.
It is only when we come to this point of absolute trust in the record of Christ that we will find rest. The Christians rest is a resting from efforts to earn a righteous standing before God. It is a rest from seeking to justify myself. It is a rest from worrying whether or not I am good enough, or meet up to the standard. It is an absolute reliance on Christ that lets the soul experience the Sabbath of God.
If you find yourself trying to earn God’s love by moral efforts, or any type of effort for that matter, Jesus’ command to you is that you find rest in him. Jesus is the end of the Law for you. He is the end of self-righteousness. He is the end of pride. Rest from these things. Don’t you see they’re burdening you?
To offer a paraphrase, he is saying, All of you who are working so hard trying to please God. Stop it! Come to me, I’ve already pleased Him for you.
If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true, not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly (Martin Luther).
