Let us turn again to Matthew
chapter 11 and reading once more the latter part of that chapter
from verse 25. Matthew chapter 11 from verse
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 babe, even so, father, for so it seem good
in my 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. We read then there at the beginning
of verse 25, At that time Jesus answered and said. And we might well ask, what is
the time that he's being spoken of? And I would say that we find
the answer more particularly in Luke's account of these things. Remember how in the preface to
the Gospel, as Luke writes to Theophilus, he speaks of setting
these things in order, and it is generally reckoned that of
the four Gospels it is in Luke that we really find the chronological
order of those things that occurred in the life of the Lord Jesus.
So if you turn to Luke chapter 10 and see what we read there In verses 21 and 22 we have the
same things that are spoken of here in Matthew 11 at verse 25
following. If we look at the general context
there from verse 17 in Luke 10, we're told, "...the Seventy returned
again with joy, 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 rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven,
in that our Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, and so forth. When the disciples returned then,
they were speaking of that success that they thought had attended
their ministry. They were rejoicing in spectacular
things. Now that the devils were subject
to them, they were rejoicing in these great deeds, external
things. And yet in contrast we see how
that the Lord Jesus himself rejoices more especially in internal things. in spiritual things. He rejoices
more particularly in the conversion of sinners, that those whose
names are written in heaven are being manifest through the ministry,
the preaching of the Gospel. These surely are those greatest
of all the works of God. Remember again, when Christ preaches
in those valedictory discourses, in John's Gospel there, In chapter
14, he speaks of greater works. Well, greater is really what
he says. The word works, there in John 14, 12, is in italics. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also,
and greater greater than these shall he do, because I go unto
my Father." What was that that was greater than the works of
Christ? Christ performed many remarkable miracles. Here in
the portion that we read, he directs the disciples of John
the Baptist to those mighty works that he had been performing.
The blind received their sight, the lame walked, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up. The poor
have the gospel preached unto them. And blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in myrrh." Well, what are those greater
things that Christ is saying that the disciples will do there
in chapter 14 and verse 12 of John? It is the ministry of the
Word, the preaching of the Gospel. It's those things that occurred
at the beginning of Acts. Thousands are being converted
at the preaching of the Apostles. These are the works in that the
Lord Jesus Christ himself delights in. The disciples make much of
mighty works and miracles. The devil's being subject onto
them. But the greatest of all the works of God is that of the
ministry of the Gospel. And so at that time Jesus, thanks
God, Lord of heaven and earth, because I have hid these things
from the wise and prudent, He says, and have revealed them
unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy
sight. And then we come to the closing
part of the chapter. and that great gospel word, that
gospel invitation. And it's this verse, 28, that
I want to turn to most particularly tonight. Christ's gospel proclamation. The invitation, 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."
Well, as we turn to consider particularly these words in verse
28, I want you to observe that the invitation in some ways is
a limited invitation. We have to carefully note who
it is that the Lord is addressing himself to. And he speaks quite
clearly to those who are labouring and heavy laden. come unto me
all ye that labour," he says, "...and are heavy laden." Now,
there is a certain sense, and we have to recognize this, in
which all sinners are thus burdened. In Isaiah chapter 1 and verses
3 and 4 we find these words, "...the ox knoweth his owner,
and 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 people laden with iniquity,
the seed of evildoers, children that are corrupt as they have
forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel
unto anger, they are gone away backwards. Here we see, you see,
that they're in this awful condition, they're laden. The margin indicates
that the word means of heaviness. We have here, you see, those
who are heavy laden. And yet it says quite clearly
concerning that people, Israel does not know. My people does
not consider. There is that sense in which
all sinners, though they be ignorant of the fact, are really burdened. And they're burdened by that
awful weight of sins again. if we consider the words of the
preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes. In the opening chapter at verse
8, Solomon says, "...all things are full of labour. Man cannot utter it, the eye
is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing."
It is part of the very nature of sin that it is insatiable,
and it is restless. Therefore, in that sense, all
are laboring under sin, and cannot find satisfaction, whatever they
may do, wherever they may look. But surely, these that Christ
is speaking to in the Gospel, are a people who are not ignorant. As the Lord utters this gracious
gospel invitation, is he not addressing himself to those who
have been convinced by the Holy Spirit? Come unto me all ye that
labour and I have ye made, and he says, and I will give you
rest. Is it not the covenant office
of the Holy Ghost to convince the sinner of his sin? to make
him very conscious of that awful burden that is upon him, that
yoke of his sins. When he is calm, says Christ,
he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and
of judgment. Of sin, because you 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. That's the ministry of the Spirit.
He comes as the reprover, the convincer of men and women to
show them their sins. The Lord is addressing those
then who have been made aware. We see it time and again. We
see it in the Old Testament, do we not? In the ministry of
the Prophet Jeremiah there, in Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse Verse 18, he says, I have surely
heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus. Thou hast chastised me,
and I was chastised, as a bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn
thou, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Oh, that bullock, unaccustomed
to the yoke. But when there's an awareness
of these things, and these things begin to be felt. We can see it, of course, when
Christ tells the parable of the prodigal son. When is it that
that young man sees that the only solution is to return home
to the father that he had forsaken? When he came to himself, it seems. When he came to himself, he becomes
aware Men, I say, by their very nature are those who are burdened
and heavy laden with sins, but they're not aware of it. Israel
does not know. My people does not consider,
but when there is that work of the Spirit, that awakening in
the soul, then the sinner is aware, conscious of these things. As we look at these words then,
here in verse 28, I want to observe three aspects in the experience
of these that the Lord is addressing himself to. First of all, they
are a people who are wearied. They are a weary people. The
word, the choose, to labour. All ye that labour. It literally means to grow weary
through toil and labour. It's not just the doing of the
laborious work, it's also the idea of what comes as a result
of that work, the consequence of it. It makes the person wear
it. How true that is, is it not,
with regards to sin? The wicked are like the troubled
sea that cannot rest. It casts up mire and dirt. There's no rest, says God. No
rest to the wicked. That's what he said, it's so
restless, it's so insatiable as we've said again. Look at
the language of Solomon there in Ecclesiastes, in the opening
parts, the words of the preacher, the son of David, David king
in Jerusalem, vanity of vanities. except the preaching. Vanity
of vanities. All is vanity. What profit doth
a man take of all his labour which he taketh on our men labour? They want to find satisfaction
and they cannot. And they grow wearied in all
their labouring, in all their seeking. These are the very ones
that the Lord is addressing. But you see it's not Enough is
it? We mustn't stop here. It's not
enough to be wearied of this world and to see that there's
nothing that can bring true satisfaction into the soul of man in this
world. There must be something more
than that weariness. And so we see also that they
are a people who are burdened. Ye that labor, ye that are wearied
in your labor and are heavy Leiden. The margin says burdened. They're
burdened. Weary, you see, not because the
world cannot satisfy them. Oh yes, there is that. But it's
not just a matter of the world not bringing satisfaction to
them. They're burdened with themselves,
these people are. That's what is the real source
of their trouble. They're weary with themselves
because they see their folly that ever they sought to find
satisfaction in the things of this world. The world cannot
satisfy the soul of man. Was he not that great church
father Augustine of Hippo who said it? Thou hast made us for
thyself. and our souls are restless till
they find their rest in the earth. For men labour till they are
wearied to find some satisfaction. But you see when God created
man he made his body out of the dust of the earth but he breathed
into his soft nostrils a breath of life and he became a living
soul. He was made in the likeness,
he was created after the image of God and he is made to enjoy
God. That is a man's chief end in
the language of the Shudder Catechism. To know God. To enjoy God. Thou hast made us for thyself. And he cannot therefore find
anything in this world that will bring true satisfaction. Here is his burden, it's himself.
It's himself. The guilt of sin is no charge
upon his conscience. The fault is not in the world
that he was looking to and laboring after. The fault lies in himself. This is what the man has been
brought to. And we see it so strikingly in
the The actions of the publican when those two men go to the
temple at the hour of prayer in the parable that Lord tells
in Luke 18. Remember what he said concerning
the publican. He stood afar off, would not
lift off his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his bosom, saying,
God be merciful to me, a sinner. or he strikes at himself, he
smites his own breast, he attacks his own heart, he knows where
the seed of his trouble lies. Here is the burden, it lies upon
his heart. Here is the man who is convinced
of his sin. Now what is it that produces
in the soul of the sinner that burden of the guilt of sin. That that is so laid upon the
conscience of the sinner. It's the law of God. It's the
law of God, is it not? We know that what sins whoever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, says Paul, shall no flesh be justified in his sight. By
the law is the knowledge of sin. Yes, it was given when it was
promulgated at Mansinai, given to the children of Israel, but
there is that application to all men, except to them who are under
the law, it says. That every man may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty before God." That is the ministry
of the Lord, the lawful use of the Lord of God, that ministration
of condemnation, that ministration of death. And it's in the light
of that Lord, of course, that the sinner sees himself, and
sees himself as God sees him. The law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good. Now why is that the case? Because
it is the law of God, it's God's law. And it is a revelation of
God. It is a manifestation of the
holiness of God, and the justice of God, and the goodness of God. In the law God reveals his own
character. And so, in the light of that
law, the sinner is brought to see himself as God sees him. He sees himself, as it were,
in the mirror of the law. James, remember, speaks of those
who behold themselves in a glass and then they go their way and
forget what manner of men they were. O God, grant that we might
be those as we see ourselves might see what we are. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. And yet, though
all are sinners in God's sight, there are but few so in their
own. Here are these, you see, who
are brought to this realization, our heavy laden or they've been
laboring, laboring even to the point of weariness, seeking to find some satisfaction. But then there's that awakening
in the soul, and they see where the burden lies. It lies in self,
and their own foolishness, and their own sinfulness. Here is the word of the Lord
Jesus to such sinners, come unto me. All ye that labour and are
heavy laboured, and I will give you rest. I say again that this
invitation in a sense is limited, it's being addressed to certain
case, certain condition of man. Now, what is the response of
those who hear this invitation, who hear the call of the Gospel,
who are awakened to their real condition? What is their response? Do they not initially look to
their own worth? It's amazing when we read in
the Scriptures in the New Testament the consequence of the ministry
of the Word of God and the preaching of the Gospel. We have that record,
we've been looking at it on Thursday evenings, that record of the
remarkable sermon that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. And 3,000 awakened, converted. Remarkable things. But remember
the initial reaction of those who were pricked in their consciences,
those who were convinced in their hearts What do they say? Men and Brethren, what shall
we do? Men and Brethren, what shall
we do? They want to do something. Now
it's a sign later in Acts chapter 16 when we come to the Philippian
jailer who is there. Attending to the prisoners, there's
Paul and Silas. He's put them in the innermost
prison, their feet fast in the stocks. And then a remarkable deliverance
is given to those men. God works a great miracle and
releases them from the prison. And at the same time we see that
jailer under terrible conviction of his sin. And what does he
say? Sirs, what must I do to be saved? At Pentecost they cry
out, men and brethren, what shall we do? And the jailer is to say,
what must I do to be saved? You see how men in their very
nature are wedded to the covenant of
works. They always think in terms of
doing something. Surely there's something that
I have to do in order to be saved. Or what do men have to learn?
They have to learn the futility of all their own efforts, all
their own fleshly endeavors. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin or the leopard his spots? Then you who are accustomed to
do evil do right. Says Jeremiah. The Ethiopian
can change the color of his skin or the leopard change his spots
which is an impossibility. It's an impossibility. And so
it is impossible for men who are accustomed to do evil to
do good. Men can do nothing and they have
to be brought to the futility of all their own efforts. There
is nothing to be done. Men must be delivered from that
awful attachment to the law of God. They have to see, you see, what
the law is. that to be brought to understand
something of the spirituality of the law of God. Men think
simply in terms of the letter of the law. That was how Saul
of Tarsus would reason when he was a Pharisee. He could say as a Pharisee touching
the righteousness which is in the law, I am blameless, I have
kept the law of God. He didn't understand the law
of God until there was that great work of the Spirit of God in
the soul. And then he was made to see and
to feel something of the spirituality of the law of God. He says it,
does he not? There in Romans chapter 7, we
know that the law is spiritual. But I am carnal. I am but a natural
man. And I'm sold on the sea. He was
made there, you see, to understand that the Lord is spiritual. And how the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself opens these things up in the course of His own earthly
ministry. Remember how here in this Gospel
of Matthew we have Him preaching up in the Sermon on the Mount,
there in Matthew chapter 5. And look at what Christ says. concerning the Lord of God. He speaks of the commandments,
speaks of the 6th commandment and the 7th commandment, does
he not? Matthew chapter 5 and verse 21,
he says, You have heard it was said by them of old, Time thou
shalt not count and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger
of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever
is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment, and whosoever shall say to his brother, Wacker, shall
be in danger of the counsel. But whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." This commandment, you
see, has to do not just with the deed, the killing of a man,
But what of your attitude? What of your words? Or do you
kill a man's reputation by speaking ill of a man? He goes on, You
have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart. Or never man spake like this
man. how he spake with authority, how he opens up the real spirituality
of the Lord of Gods. And this is what we have to learn,
isn't it? That God's law is a spiritual law. And so we have to see that we
cannot keep it with a carnal mind. We read in Romans chapter 8,
that is the natural mind is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be. We cannot of ourselves do anything. A man has to be brought to that,
to realize his dependence altogether on the grace of God. And here
is that Word of the Lord Himself, this gracious gospel invitation,
come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, all labouring
in vain, He says, I will give you rest. Oh, we're not to look
to ourselves, you see. We're to look to the One who
utters these gracious words. Pour not on thyself too long,
lest it sink ye lower. Look to Jesus, kind and strong,
mercy joined with power. Who is this one? Well, this one
who utters these words is the one who is the teacher. He is
the teacher of men. Take my yoke upon you, he says
in verse 29, 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." We are to learn of Him. We are to recognize
our need for Him to be our teacher, our instructor. What is the promise
that He speaks in John chapter 6 and verse 45? They shall be
all taught of God, He says. That is the promise of the New
Covenant Everyone must be taught of God. They shall be all taught
of God. Every man that has heard and learned of the Father, says
Christ, cometh unto me. Christ is the teacher. And we
have to look to him as that teacher. We have to receive instruction
at his hand. We have to be willing disciples
of the Lord Jesus. And as he is the teacher of these
things, so we see also that he is the revealer of these things. Look at what he says in verse
27, "...all things are delivered unto me of my Father, 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. And those are very striking words
that we have at the end of that verse, verse 27. Whomsoever the
Son will reveal Him. There are two particular words
to will. in the Greek New Testament. And the one word is much stronger
than the other word. And it is that stronger verb,
to will, that is used here. He to whomsoever the Son willeth. Willeth, to reveal Him. It's
the sovereign will of the Son, you see. The sovereign will of
the Son. I will give you rest, he says
here in verse 28. Oh here's that one you see, the
work is altogether God's work. Look at the context again in
what's said previously. As the Lord speaks to the Father
in heaven, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto thine even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. It is the sovereign will of God.
He is that one who must reveal these things. Now we need then
to be those who would look to Him and cry to Him and call upon
Him, that He would teach us, that He would show us these things,
that He would come and reveal Himself to us. Come unto me,
He says. How are we to respond to such
an invitation as this? He says, come. We are to say
to Him, even so, come Lord Jesus. We want the Lord to come to us
as our teacher and our revealer. Now I say again that we see that
the invitation in that sense is limited, it's addressed to
a certain case, certain condition. But then let me just briefly
say this also, it is a large promise that we have here. It
is a large promise. Although limited, it is large. And that's no contradiction.
What does he say? Come unto me, all years, all
years, that labour and are heavily laden. And what does he speak
of? He speaks of them coming and
he speaks of them resting. Come and I will give you rest, he
says. What is the coming? Well, it's not local, it's not
physical, it's not just coming in a physical sense, coming in
the body. It's a spiritual coming that
the Lord is speaking of. How do we come to the Lord Jesus
Christ? Well, he tells us himself, "...he
that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth
in me shall never thirst." Now those are parallel statements
in John chapter 6 and verse 35. And as we compare those two statements
which are really declaring the same truth to come to have the
thirst slated and to have the hunger satisfied. It's the same
truth really that we have in those statements. He that cometh
to me shall never hunger. He that believeth in me shall
never thirst." You see, coming is believing. That's how you
come to the Lord Jesus. You would come to the Lord Jesus,
you believe in the Lord Jesus. And what is it to believe in
the Lord Jesus? Well, it's not just an ascent with the mind,
it's not just an intellectual acceptance of the truth of the
Gospel, it is at resting in Christ, at trusting in Christ. And we
see that at the end of the text, do we not? I will give you rest. Oh, that sinner who comes to
Him, that sinner who believes in Him, he that cometh to God
must believe that he is, that sinner who comes and believes,
why? He rests. And where does he rest? He rests in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is seized to be the end
of all things, the end of the law for righteousness. All this poor sinner, he needs
a righteousness. Wherein he can stand before God
as one who is justified. One who is acquitted from all
his guilt, he needs a righteousness. And Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness. But Christ is not only that one
who is the righteousness of his people. Christ is that one who
has also died as their substitute in their room and in their stead
and born in his own person. That punishment that was due
to their sin, he has died. The just for the unjust to bring
the sinner to God. And this coming sinner, you see,
he rests in that blood and righteousness of Christ. Seize from your own
works bad and good and wash your garments in my blood. We sing
it sometimes in that hymn of Joseph Hartz. All to believe,
you see, is to rest. It's to trust in the Lord Jesus
Christ and to see that there and there alone is all our salvation. We which have believed," says
the Apostle. In Hebrews 4 and verse 3, we
which have believed, do enter into that. Are we those who desire
that we might be obedient? to the Word of Christ as He speaks
so graciously here in the Gospel, are we those who desire to come
to Him and to trust in Him, to believe in Him and to find all
our rest in Him. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For we speak,
you see, with such authority He to Whomsoever the Son willeth
to reveal Him. He reveals the things of God.
He is that Teacher sent from God. And we are to be those who
would trust in His works and embrace His gracious promise
in the Gospel. Take my yoke upon you, 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
his life. Amen. The Lord bless his word
to us. Let us conclude our worship today as we sing the hymn 1109. And the Tune of Ends, 276. Hymn 1109. Come weary souls with
sin distressed, come and accept the promised rest. The gospel's
gracious call obey, and cast your gloomy fears away. 1109.