Let us turn to the portion of
Scripture we were reading in Matthew chapter 11. And I'll
read again the last part of that chapter from verse 25. Matthew
11, 25. At that time Jesus answered and
said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
Thou hast Hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. Come unto me. all ye that labour
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon
you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye
shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden
is light in particular I want us to consider those last three
verses a familiar passage where we read of the invitation to
gospel rest, the invitation to that blessed rest that is found
only in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But then at verse 25 we're told,
at that time Jesus answered and said, and we might be wanting
to understand just what particular time this was if we're going
to rightly interpret what follows. What is the time that it's being
spoken of? Well, it's generally reckoned
that in Luke's Gospel we have the events of Christ's life set
out in their proper order. And if we turn back to the account
that we have in Luke chapter 10, we might see as to just what
particular time it was when the Lord uttered these words, certainly
the words that we have here in verses 25, 26, and 27, because
those words are repeated in that 10th chapter of Luke, Luke chapter
10, and there verse 17 following we're told how the 70 returned
remember how Christ had sent them out the 70 in twos and they
returned with joy it says saying Lord even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name and he said unto them I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven behold I give unto you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the
enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you notwithstanding
in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you
but rejoice rather because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in
spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it's
in good in thy sights. All things are delivered to me
of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father,
and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whomsoever the
Son will reveal Him. So we see that Christ utters
these words, the words that we also find back in Matthew 11
and verses 25 through to 27. He utters these words as though
70 have returned from that ministry
that he had commissioned them to undertake and they come back
and they're full of great joy and gladness. They speak so much
of the success of the ministry that they've been enabled to
exercise. But what they seem to be rejoicing
in most of all is those external things. how that the spirits
were subject to them. But how different are the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't so much rejoice in
those externals but he rejoiced in that internal and inward work
of the gracious Spirit of God in the conversion of sinners
That is the greatest of all the works that the Lord ever speaks
of and it's interesting when we come to those discourses in
John at the end of the Lord's ministry those great chapters
14 and 15 and 16 in John and there in verse 12 of chapter
14 What do we find the Lord declaring
to his disciples? He says, Verily, verily, he that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater
works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. And it's interesting that the
word, the second use of the word works in that text is One of
those words has been introduced in the translation, it's in italics. Literally, he says, verily, verily,
he prefixes his statements with that double verily, it's an important
statement, clearly. He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do, he says, and greater than these
shall he do. The Lord's works, of course,
in the main are those great works of the performance of miracles,
giving sight to the blind and ears to the deaf and feet to
the lame, and raising the dead to life again. Great and mighty
miracles did the Lord perform. But as He is about to go to the
Father, He speaks of how there will be greater things to be
done. And what are those greater things? It's the work of the
Spirit in the soul of the sinner. It's bringing the sinner to that
new life that comes by the gracious ministry of the Spirit in the
soul, even in the new birth. These are the greater works,
those works that are to be evident throughout this day of grace. And what we have here, of course,
In the words that I really want to concentrate on for a while
this morning is this great invitation of the Gospel. This invitation
to find true spiritual rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come unto
me, he says, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. and ye shall find rest
unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This is that great message, this
invitation that is to be proclaimed throughout the day of the gospel. It concerns what God will do
in the soul of the sinner. And I want this morning to observe,
to notice these two things. The bounds of this invitation
and then also the fullness of the promise that we have here.
The bounds of this invitation and the fullness of the promise. First of all, who is it? Who is it that is being addressed? Well, it's those that label,
it says, and are heavy laden. Or, as the margin says, those
who are burdened. They labour and they are heavy
burdened. Now there is a sense in which
all peoples as sinners are those who are burdened. They are laden
with a great load. It is the load of that sin. They sinned in Adam, they were
conceived in sin, they were shapen in iniquity, they have sinned
also in their own persons. And remember the language that
we have back in the book of the prophet Isaiah. There in the
opening verses, chapter 1 verse 3, what does the prophet say? The ox knoweth his owner, the
ass his master's crib, But Israel doth not know, my people doth
not consider, our sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity,
a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors. They have
forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel
into anger, they are gone away backward." Here is such a description
of a people, you see. Children that are corruptors.
Leiden, it says, with iniquity. This is at load. The Hebrew,
we're told, in the margin, has the idea of heaviness. They're
so burdened. This is the awful burden of sin,
and in a sense, I know it says here that the description is
that of Israel, but there is a sense in which that is true
of all peoples. and yet they're not aware of
what their real condition is. Even here in Isaiah it says of
Israel that they do not know. Israel does not know. My people
does not consider. So there is that sense in which
those who labour and are heavy laden must be a description of
all peoples and yet alas how ignorant they are of their condition. Again we can think of the of
the language of the King Solomon when he writes there in the book
of Ecclesiastes and you know the great theme that runs through
that book is that of the vanity of the creature and even there
in the opening chapter All things, he says, all things are full
of labour. Man cannot utter it. The eye
is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Oh, there is that labouring then
everywhere under the great burden of sin, that that came in so
soon after God's great work of creation, that work that was
so good And yet, within a short period of time, some would even
say on the very first day of creation, Adam and Eve sinned
and transgressed the commandment of God, and so the burden is
there right at the beginning. How we have to recognize then
something of the nature of sin in man in general and how that
sin is so insatiable and so restless and so all are laboring under
that fearful burden of their sins but what we have here in
this 28th verse really is a description of those surely who have been
brought to feel something of that burden of their sin Isn't this a description of those
who have known something of that ministry of the Holy Spirit when
He comes as the Great Convincer? Isn't that part of His covenant
office, as the Lord Jesus says there, again in those chapters
in John, in John 16 at verse 8 following, as Christ speaks
of the coming of Him whom He calls the Comforter, the Paraclete? he says when he is come he will
reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment
of sin because I believe not on me of righteousness because
I go to the father and you see me no more of judgment because
the prince of this world is judged all there is a work of the spirit
to bring to man's realization what that burden is that he is
laboring on and yet he is so unaware of. Israel does not know. My people does not consider. But when the Lord begins to deal
with the people they have a sense of what their need is. Was it
not the case with the with the prodigal when he had gone so
very far away? And we are told there in Luke
15 and verse 17 it was when he came to himself here he is far far away and he
came to himself oh this is that one who has been
awakened in some measure in his soul and he is bemoaning his
condition again we read concerning Ephraim there in Jeremiah 31,
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself. What we have here are
various aspects then that indicate to us that there is something
going on in the soul of these who are laboring, who are heavy
laden. And there are three things we
must observe with regards to just who this invitation is being
addressed to. it's addressed firstly to those
who are weary. That's the real meaning of the
word labour. Come unto me, says Christ, all
ye that labour. And the words has that idea of
growing weary through toil and labour. There is something now
being felt The weariness that has come as a result of all that
fruitless toiling. That restlessness. Or the wicked,
we're told, are like the troubled sea when he cannot rest. There's no peace, saith my God,
unto the wicked. They're laboring all the time.
Such is the nature of sin. It's so restless, it's so insatiable. and he cannot find any satisfaction
in this world and isn't that again the truth that we see so
conspicuously there in that book of Ecclesiastes again in the
opening chapter look at what King Solomon says vanity of vanity
sayeth the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity what profit
at the man of all his labour which he maketh under the sun. It is all fruitless, it is all
in vain. And he is wearied. He is wearied. And this is those who are brought
to a realization of what that means. But it's not enough, it
doesn't stop there. It's not enough to be wearied
because we find no satisfaction in the world there must be something
more than that. Here is one who is also burdened
as he is wearied. It's those that labour and are
heavy laden. As I said, the margin here has
the idea of those who are burdened. They labour and they are burdened. They're wearied not because the
world is unable to satisfy them, but really it's that sense of
sin that they're burdened with. They are brought really to the
end of themselves. It's not so much what they witness
about them, it's what they feel within their own hearts. There's
no satisfaction in this world. The Lord has brought them to
see that they have been made for himself. Man-made, of course,
in God's image, created after God's likeness. A man in his
creation, clearly a creature that is to find all his satisfaction,
all his happiness in the one who has made him, his creator.
Those familiar words of Augustine, thou hast made us for thyself.
Our souls are restless till they rest in thee. It's when that
guilt of sin has been charged upon the conscience. And then
we see that the fault isn't in the world, the fault is really
in himself. It's in himself. And that's where
the labor is really being felt. And we, of course, have the example
of that in the publican who goes into the temple the same time
as the Pharisee. It's the hour of prayer and these
two men, one a most religious man, the Pharisee, the other
a most despised man, the publican, that man who's in the employ
of the Roman authorities as a tax-gatherer, and so despised of so many. And now the Lord speaks of those
two men. And who is the man who goes to
his house justified? It's not that religious man who
has no sense of the burden of his sin, no awareness of that
that lies at the very depth of his soul. It's not the Pharisee,
is it? It's the publican. And what does
the Lord say concerning that man's prayer? He could not lift
up his eyes to heaven. He smote upon his breast and
cried, God be merciful to me, a sinner. So here is one who
clearly sees that the fault is in himself. Why does he strike
upon his breast? Because he feels that sin, he
feels that burden in the depths of his soul. It's in his heart
he strikes at his own heart. And what is it that produces
such a realization, such a burden? Isn't that the ministry of the
Law of God? We have in our Bibles Law and
Gospel and we must ever always recognize that truth. And when I say that I don't mean
that we have the Old Testament and the New Testament because
you know full well that there is much of Gospel in the in the
Old Testament and there is also law there in the New Testament
but they are very distinct and different ministries and the
particular ministry of the law is to bring the sinner to this
realization of what he is laboring under the realization that there is
a load that lies heavily upon his heart it's who he is as one
who has sinned and the law shows him that we know that what things
soever the law saith it saith to them who are under the law
Paul says that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty before God It's in the light of that Lord
of God that the sinner sees himself just as God sees him. Oh, what
is that Lord of God? Well, we know the Lord is holy. And the commandment, holy and
just and good, it's a good law. It's a holy law. Why? Because it's a revelation of
the very character of God. When God There on Mount Sinai
speaks those words. God spake all these words. What
is God doing? God is declaring himself. God
is revealing himself. Or there's nothing at all inadequate
in that holy law of God. But the ministry of the law is
not to bring salvation. but to bring that conviction
to the soul of the sinner and the Spirit is the one who will
take of that Lord of God and make the application and cause
the sinner to see what his sin is, how he has transgressed that
commandment which is holy and just and good, that he's completely,
he's utterly undone. But how shall you see it? Though
all are sinners in God's sight, there are but few so in their
own. And men are blissfully unaware,
they have no sense of these things. They're not laboring, they're
not heavy laden. They do not know. Just as we read there of
Israel in that opening chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah. And how about us? We come together
in this fashion we hear the word of God but what impression does
it make? what effect? we are hearers of the words but
what does James say? if we are hearers and not doers
of the words it's of no profit to us and he speaks of those
you see who are hearers only and then they go there why? and
they forget what manner of men they are and we should desire
that God's Word might ever remain with us and do its gracious work
within us and repeatedly convince us of our transgressions and
bring us again and again to that mercy seat that we might find
mercy and obtain grace and know the pardon of all our sins These
that are being spoken to then, here in this gracious word, this
invitation of the gospel, who are they? They are those who
are wearied, they are toiling, or they have been toiling, they
are those who feel the burden, they are laden with that sense
of their sins. Now what do they do? What does
this sinner do when there's first that gracious work of the Holy
Spirit in his soul? It's interesting, isn't it, the
response that we see as the Word of God is proclaimed and preached. Men want to set themselves to
work when first awakened. They want to look to their own
works. It's as if they're really wedded
to the idea of the covenant of works. They don't fly to the
covenant of grace when they're first awakened in their souls,
when they begin to feel something of these things. No, they really
look to themselves. We see it even on the day of
Pentecost, with the preaching of Peter. And we read of And
they responded, men and brethren, what shall we do? Well, surely
there's something to be done. Men and brethren, what shall
we do? Now we know Peter's response to believe. Again, when we read of Paul and
Silas and the preaching to the Philippian jailer, What does
the jailer say there in Acts 16, says, what must I do to be
saved? Why is it that men respond in
that fashion? Because, as I said, they are
in their very natures wedded to the idea of a covenant of
works. Surely there's something to be
done. But there's nothing to be done.
We know that all the work has been done. The Lord Jesus Christ
is that one who was made of a woman made under the law, and what
has He done? He has honoured and magnified
that law, and He's done it perfectly in terms of all its holy precepts,
and all its dreadful penalties, because He's lived the righteous
life and He's died the sin atoning death. Christ has done it all. but now the sinner has to learn
a lesson he has to learn the futility of all his fleshly efforts
that's what he has to learn that he can do nothing can the
Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots then might
you who are accustomed to doing evil do good we read in Jeremiah
Jeremiah 13, 23. We cannot change ourselves, whatever
we do. This is why the sinner must be
born again. He must be made anew. He must
be a new creature, a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh man, I'm brought, you see,
to feel the weariness of their sin labouring under that dreadful
load and then imagining there's something to do and they can
do nothing brought in that sense to the
end of themselves now this is what God does, he turns them
unto destruction there in Psalm 90 verses they
turn us unto destruction and sayeth return ye children of
men They must learn then the futility
of all their fleshly efforts, all their own doings. But there's
something else they also have to be brought to learn and that
is the real nature of the Lord of God, the spirituality of the
Lord of God. Wasn't that what that man Saul
of Tarsus had to learn? We know that the Lord is spiritual,
he says. But I am carnal, sold under sin. He didn't always think like that.
There he's speaking, you see, as a new man. A man who is a
new creation in Christ Jesus. When he was a Pharisee, he was
so self-righteous, he imagined he was blameless before the Lord
of God. But then he saw that that Lord
of God is a spiritual law, even as the Lord Jesus Christ expounds
it Himself, of course, in the Sermon on the Mountain. You know
the passage is there in Matthew 5, here in Matthew chapter 5,
how the Lord expounds those commandments, the sixth commandment, thou shalt
not kill. And He says, hatred in the hearts
and unjust bitterness of spirit towards another that assassinating
a person's character which we can so easily be guilty of running
people down that's a transgression of the commandment that's to
kill a man and then he expounds that seventh commandment they
shall not commit adultery all those wanton thoughts those lustings
isn't that a transgression? the Lord is spiritual What a
lesson it is we have to learn. These then are the characters
who are being addressed in this gracious words of invitation. There are certain bounds here.
Whilst it is true that all men are laboring under sin, they
are so ignorant of it, but when the Lord begins to deal with
them when the Spirit works that conviction
in the soul of the sinner. And what is the Lord saying here?
Well, this man is not to look to himself. I don't want to encourage
that idea at all in what I'm saying, that we've got to look
to ourselves in order that we might find certain marks within
ourselves. That's not what the text is saying,
is it? You don't look to yourself, pour not on myself too long,
lest it sink thee low, and look to Jesus, kind and strong, mercy
joined with power. Oh yes, it is good to examine
ourselves, it's good to to prove ourselves and to know ourselves.
Certainly those sort of exhortations are found in God's Word. We do
need to know ourselves, but we don't keep pouring on self. What
does the text say? What is the invitation? It is
so plain, so simple. The Lord simply says, come unto
mine. For these who are so troubled,
weary, burdened, wanting to put themselves right, as it were,
ready to work. What does the Lord say? He says,
come unto me. Who is this one? Well, it's the
Lord Jesus Christ, but we see something here of the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. What do we see? Well, he is that
one who is the teacher. Doesn't he say, learn of me?
There in verse 29, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Learn of me. Christ is that one
who will teach his people. Isn't that the great promise
of the new covenant? It is written in the prophets,
they shall be all taught of God. says Christ, every man therefore
to learn of the Father cometh unto me we are to learn of God,
we are to learn of God the Father, we are to learn of God the Son
learn of me, what is the lesson that the Lord will teach? well
you know that lesson, we have it of course so strikingly in
that second chapter a great second chapter of the epistle to the
Philippians which speaks to us so much of the the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ that great portion in which we we see the
wonder of the incarnation how he is that one who was in the
form of God and thought he not probably to be equal with God
he was equal with God but makes himself of no reputation takes
upon in the form of a servant he's made in the likeness of
men you know the passage but remember the context in which
Paul is setting forth that great doctrinal section regarding the
the person and work of Christ it's very practical isn't it
he says fulfil you my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let
each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus." Oh, there's the context. Let this
mind be in you, It's the mind of Christ. And then he goes on
to speak about how Christ humbles himself. Although he's God, he
becomes the servant of God in the covenant. And as the servant
of God in the fullness of the time, he is made of a woman,
he's made under the law, he puts himself under the law, he's under
the law, he humbles himself again, he's obedient. And he's obedient
even to the death of the cross. It's all humiliating. This is what we have to learn
of Christ take my yoke he says upon you learn of me for I am
meek and lowly in heart all this one who issues the gracious word
of invitation come unto me he is the one who is a teacher he
teaches us and how does he teach? his very life is the lesson We're to follow that pattern.
If we're followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're to be those
who would live like He lived. But then also here we see Him,
not only as that one who is the teacher, saying, learn of me,
but He's that one also who is the revealer. in the previous 27th verse. He
says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no
man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man
the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him. All the Son is the revealer of
the Father, and he is equal with the Father. The Father knows
the Son, the Son knows the Father. But look at this, The Son, it
says, is the one who will reveal the Father. And it's interesting
because the verb that we have here, to will, there are two
verbs. And one is stronger than the
other. And this is the stronger of those two verbs. It's whomsoever
the Son willeth. Oh, it's the sovereign will of
the Son. It's the very will of God himself.
because he is equal with the Father. He is that one who reveals. He reveals the Father even as
the Father reveals the Son. Here in chapter 16 what does
the Lord say to Simon Peter with his great confession, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Flesh and blood hath not
revealed it to thee, Peter, but my Father which is in heaven. Oh, the Father reveals the Son,
and the Son reveals the Father. And now these two are of course
equal. In the great doctrine of the
Godhead, the doctrine of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy
Ghost, three persons, but one God. At that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Oh, it was good in the sight
of the Father, but it's also good in the sight of the Son.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." The
invitation then, this Gospel invitation to rest in Christ,
it is bounded in a sense, it's limited, and yet it's large,
it's full, and that's not a contradiction at all. What is it that we have
here? Well, we read as we've already
stated, we read of a coming. That's the gospel. That's the
gospel. As I said, there's law and gospel
in our Bible. What does the law say? Well,
the law says stand back. Oh, the law is such a revelation
of the holiness and the righteousness and the justice of God remember
how the whole scene is set there in Exodus we have the law as
you know in that 20th chapter of the book but the scene is
set in chapter 19 and what is the commandment that God gives
to Moses as he prepares the people for
this remarkable event. It's God bringing the people
to the mount. He's entering into covenant with
them. And he says, verse 12 of chapter 19, Thou shalt set bounds
unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves
that ye go not up into the mount or touch the border of it. Whosoever
toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death what does the law
say? the law says stand back don't
come near God is a consuming fire here but how different is
the language of the gospel and we have it of course when we
come right to the end of Holy Scripture we have it there in
the very last chapter of Revelation the spirit and the bride say
come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him
take of the water of life freely that's gospel that's what the
gospel is continually saying come and what is the coming come
unto me says the Lord Jesus you know this invitation applies today
the Lord Jesus was there physically of course when he uttered these
words and men could come to him in a physical sense well we cannot
come to Christ in a physical sense because Christ is no more
here upon this earth Christ is now in heaven and his presence
as the God-man is a local presence I know God is everywhere God
is omnipresent. He fills heaven and earth. But
the Lord Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven not only as God, but
as the God-man. And his presence is now in heaven,
in the presence of God. And we cannot come to Christ
in that physical sense anymore. But what is the coming? Well,
it's a spiritual coming. Christ says, He that cometh to
me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never
thirst." And those are interesting words in John 6.35 because they're
parallel statements and we see in those statements that coming
is equivalent to believing. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Again
in Hebrews 11.6, he that cometh to God must believe that he is
if we come to God we believe and we cannot come without believing and that's not just an intellectual
faith that's not just a recognition that God is and that Christ is
it's a coming in all the simplicity of trust It's that looking to the Lord.
It's coming to the end of our sounds. It's crying, it's calling,
it's seeking and it's finding. Oh, what a word is this and what
a promise is this, that sinners can come. Come unto me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, he says, and I will give you
rest. And here is that promise you
see, it's a promise of rest. Again at the end of verse 9 it
says, Ye shall find rest unto your souls. Oh it's soulish rest. It's resting in all that Christ
is and all that the Lord Jesus Christ has done. He is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it we're
told. Again, there we have it, you
see. It's coming in faith to Christ as that One who is righteousness,
even the Lord our righteousness. That One who was honoured and
magnified, that Lord that He was made under. He has obeyed
all the commandments of God, He has wrought such of righteousness
and not only that he has also answered the Lord in all his
dreadful penalties he has borne the punishment that was due to
the transgressors in Christ the Lord is satisfied
and God is satisfied and the sinner rests in Christ and we're
not only to rest in Christ for all that we might obtain from
him all the blessings of salvation wondrous things but all to know
Christ for all that he is that lovely man and to rest in him
there's that ceasing you see from all our own works as I said
the awakened sinner is prone to run to a covenant of works
what must I do? What shall we do? No, it's not doing. Seize from your
own works bad and good and wash your garments in my blood is
the language of the gospel. And he that believes, what does
he do? He enters into rest. I will give you rest, says the
Lord Jesus. Ye shall find rest for your souls. My yoke is easen, and my burden
is light. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Well, God be pleased to bless
His word to us. Amen.