Finding True Rest in Jesus' Meekness and Love

Think about those questions and connection with our Lord Jesus Christ how long have you known him, probably for many of us relatively easy to answer but the second question is a little more testing isn't it tell me what he is really like tell me what he is really like. [00:00:59]

The real question is what is Jesus really like not just how do you like to think about Jesus but what is Jesus really like and these verses at the end of Matthew chapter 11 stand out in Matthew's Gospel in a sense they stand out in the synoptic Gospels as a place in which in a very singular striking way the Lord Jesus himself tells us what he is like. [00:03:36]

We know what Jesus is like first of all by the invitation that he offers us the invitation is come to me but what's interesting about the invitation is those to whom the invitation is extended at times in my life teaching and theological seminaries I've had inquisitive students coming up to me and saying if you were able to have a dinner party at the end of the week then which for theologians from the history of the church would you invite. [00:07:38]

Jesus guests those to whom the invitation doors come he says to me you who labor and are heavy-laden you who are we, you who are pertinent those are not the people you want a certain I guess because Louis people are enormously hard work those people are enormous ly difficult to love, most people are enormous ly difficult to draw how to unpick to untangle the complexities that make them weary and heavy-laden and burdened and sore Jesus says that's the people he wants to invite. [00:08:39]

And it's interesting just to think about this for a moment because the language he uses is deliberately general we're not able to tell from this text exactly what was it that buttoned these people what was it that oppress them and made them feel they were heavy made and made them feel that they were somehow or another yoked to something that was uncomfortable and irritating and caused friction and distress. [00:09:41]

But as you remember the Apostle Paul points out on more than one occasion when he's writing to Gentiles who do not have the law of God his basic response to them is you may not have the written law of God but you cannot escape having been created as the image of God and so long as you're the image of God created to function according to the law of God then there will manifest itself in your life the same kind of weariness the same kind of burden because of what the Scriptures call your sin and your iniquity your transgression your rebellion or what you may experience as your failure. [00:10:57]

Here is our Lord Jesus Christ one day he will remove all these burdens one day we will no longer be weary even the oldest person in the room will no longer be weary but even now he says if you're burdened heavy laden come to me and I will give you rest and that of course is the second thing to notice that he says there's the invitation that he offers us and then there's the promise that he makes to us I will give you rest I will give you rest. [00:16:31]

Rest was how God created the world indeed he created the world with so much rest but on the seventh day he was able to rest wasn't he, what a wonder if you ever thought about it like this the day of rest which was the seventh day was Adam's first day isn't that right he was created on the sixth day he apparently went to sleep twice one occasion this beautiful woman appears the other occasion the seventh day appears and he begins his life resting. [00:18:20]

The whole of the rest of the Bible narrative is a story of the restlessness of our sinful condition with the promise that one would come who would bring rest it would be it would be a rest but would be bought at a bloody price genesis 3:15 and you remember a couple of chapters later on when Noah's parents of their baby boy you remember why they called him Noah the name Noah sounds very like the Hebrew verb for rest and remember what they said about him perhaps this is the one who will bring wrath. [00:21:11]

And when Jesus says come to me you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest, he's saying the hopes and the fears of all the centuries the fulfillment of all the promises I am the one in whom the promises of God are yes and our men and this promise that God gave in genesis 3:15 his oldest promise and scripture his most difficult to keep promise in scripture his longest lasting promise in scripture is being fulfilled in me I am that rest to which all those shadows pointed. [00:24:15]

Our Lord Jesus bring rest well there are there are two aspects to the way in which he doesn't antler he does it first of all by entering into the deepest darkness of our restlessness and the the Gospel writers especially mark bring this out in very powerful terms as they as as mark sees Jesus going into the Garden of Gethsemane and describes Jesus experience in the Garden of Gethsemane he uses violently emotional language about what Jesus was going through his soul was sorrowful troubled and mark says that that Jesus began to be filled with sorrow. [00:25:15]

And he invites us to come because he is the way to the Father and as we come with him I am meek and lowly in heart he says come with me I'm inviting you you labor your heavy laden and I will give you rest you notice the words that precede all this not the uncomfortable words but the words that identify him as to who he is I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and you've revealed them to babes. [00:34:59]