Deo Gloria
Sermon for July 9, 2023
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Matthew 11:25-30
Theme: Come to Jesus for Rest!
- He leads you to a true understanding of the Father.
- He gives you true rest for your soul.
Summer time is vacation time. You pack up the camper or the SUV and you head out for a long weekend or a week of vacation, hoping to get a little R&R. Some head up north to their favorite camping spot or maybe to one of the national parks out west, where they do a lot of hiking and fishing and spending time in nature because there in the quiet of the forest or in the shadow of the majestic mountains they feel they can connect better with God. But before long the camping trip is over or the vacation comes to an end and it’s back to the hustle and bustle of work and soccer practice and baseball games and dirty laundry and preparing meals and… And before long you feel just as tired and worn out and empty inside as you did before. And you’re longing for something better, a different kind of rest, a rest that truly refreshes, a rest that truly lasts. If you have ever felt that way, I have some good news for you this morning. There is a rest like that, a rest that truly refreshes, a rest that lifts your heart and renews your soul. And it’s found in Jesus. This morning he invites you and me to come to him for rest.
At the beginning of chapter 11 Matthew tells us that some disciples came from John the Baptist to ask Jesus if he was the one who was to come, if he was the promised Messiah. Jesus answered their question by pointing to the many miracles he had been doing, miracles that proved that he was indeed the promised Messiah. Jesus also took the opportunity to commend John and his ministry. He made it clear to the people who were listening that John was none other than the forerunner of the promised Savior. And yet, so many people had not believed John’s message. And the same was true of him. So many people had not believed him and his message, including many of the people of Galilee, where he had spent so much of his time preaching and teaching and performing miracles in places like Korazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum. Would they be commended on the Last Day and receive God’s blessing and favor? No. They would be cast into hell and suffer eternal punishment like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
One would think that Jesus might be discouraged because of this rejection he had experienced. One would think he might say something like, “These stupid people! Here I am proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven, the good news of forgiveness and salvation for all, and so many make fun of me and ridicule me and accuse me of being a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. I give up. Why do I even bother,” which makes Jesus’ words at the beginning of our text all the more striking. Instead of uttering words of frustration and discouragement, Jesus praises his Father in heaven. “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure”(v. 25-26).
That’s often the case, isn’t it? To the wise and learned, to the university professors and the scholars and the philosophers the message of Jesus Christ is nothing but foolishness, just a fable, just a story, something for the simple folk, but certainly nothing true or worthy of believing. On the other hand, for the simple folk, even for little children, it isn’t foolish at all. They believe in Jesus and his message of forgiveness and salvation with all their hearts and sing about it from the bottom of their hearts: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That’s no accident. As Jesus says, it’s the Father’s will. It’s the will of the Lord of heaven and earth that no one will enter his kingdom by their own wisdom and understanding. Rather it is only by that simple, child-like faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, that you or I or anyone will enter into heaven.
Having spoken about the Father and his good and gracious will, Jesus then goes on to explain the special relationship he enjoys with the Father: “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”(v. 27). Jesus and the Father enjoy a very unique, close, special relationship, a relationship of equal glory and honor and power. They share everything. Everything the Father has the Son has. Everything the Son has the Father has. Even though he had humbled himself to come into this world to serve as our Savior, the Son was still equal to the Father in every way.
And no one knows the Father either, at least not like the Son. A better way to translate the original would be “really knows” or “truly knows.” “No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son.” There are people who claim to know God, who claim to have this close, personal relationship with God. But do they really? Have they ever seen God face to face? Have they ever spent time with God in his place, in the halls of heaven? Have they ever been admitted into the throne room of heaven and spoken personally to the Lord of heaven and earth? No, but Jesus has. Jesus really knows the Father. And the Father really knows Jesus, because Jesus is the very Son of God.
So if you want to know God, if you want to have a close, personal relationship with the Father in heaven, then listen to Jesus. He and he alone can reveal the Father to you. And he does so through his Word. So often people talk about connecting with God in nature, that when they’re camping up north or out walking in the woods or fishing on their favorite lake, they just feel so close to God. And they can really connect with God. But then that becomes an excuse for not going to church because well, they don’t need to. They can connect with God in nature. That’s just a bunch of bologna. You can talk to a tree all day long and it’s never going to tell you about your heavenly Father and his great love for you, that he chose you to be one of his children already in eternity. You can talk to a wild flower all day long and it’s never going to tell you about your heavenly Father and his great love for you, that he sent his only Son to be your Savior, to rescue you from sin and death. You can talk to a fish all day long and it’s never going to tell you about your heavenly Father and his great love for you and the good and gracious plans he has for your life, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You can talk to a squirrel or a cute, little chipmunk all day long, but it isn’t going to tell you about your heavenly Father and his great love for you and the wonderful place he is preparing for you in heaven. Only Jesus can tell you those things, and he does so through his Word. So if you’re looking for rest, real rest and peace for your soul, come to Jesus. Spend time with Jesus in his Word day by day and week by week. He will teach you about your heavenly Father and what he really is like. Through his Word he will give you a true understanding of your heavenly Father. And he will give you rest.
“Come to me,” Jesus says. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”(vv. 28-30). According to the Muslim religion a person can potentially earn the favor of God by following the Five Pillars of Islam:
- Saying the Creed
- Saying ritual prayers five times a day
- Giving alms
- Fasting, especially during the month of Ramadan, and
- Making a pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the Buddhist religion you can escape the suffering of this life and enter Nirvana by following the Eightfold Path which includes:
- Right belief
- Right aspirations
- Right speech
- Right conduct
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right memory, and
- Right contemplation.
Did you notice anything about what those two religions teach about how to obtain eternal life? It depends on you and what you do. You have to fulfill the Five Pillars of Islam. You have to follow the Eightfold Path. You have to do these things to earn God’s favor and escape the suffering of this life and obtain eternal life. And that’s precisely the problem with false religions and people who claim to know God, but really don’t. They lay the responsibility for obtaining eternal life on you and your efforts. And instead of bringing you rest and peace, it just becomes a heavy burden for you to bear because how do you know when you’ve ever done enough, or if what you’ve done is good enough and pleasing to God? How do you know if it was good enough to make up for your sins, for the wrongs you have done? Do you need to do more fasting and praying and alms-giving? Do you need to do more right speaking and more right living and more right contemplating? Have you done enough that God will accept you into heaven?
The same was true in Jesus’ day. In Jesus’ day every rabbi had a “yoke,” a system or regiment for obeying God’s laws which they taught to their disciples. And if they followed their system or carried their “yoke” faithfully, they should make it into heaven. But all it did was put a burden on people’s hearts. Instead of giving them rest and peace, it just loaded them down with more guilt, because no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t keep God’s laws. Some days they may have done OK. And other days it was just one failure after another.
Notice the dramatic difference with Jesus. Jesus doesn’t offer people a new system for obeying God’s laws. Jesus doesn’t direct people to their own works or their own efforts in order to earn God’s favor or urge them to try a little harder. Jesus simply says, “Come to me.” “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus can give people rest because he already has done it all.
Do you know those 10 Commandments, the ones you and I are supposed to obey, but so often don’t? Jesus already obeyed them all, perfectly. Do you know all of those rules and regulations God recorded in the books of Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy, rules and regulations about religious festivals and offering sacrifices and not eating unclean foods, rules and regulations God’s Old Testament people were supposed to obey but so often didn’t? Jesus obeyed all those too, perfectly. He did that for you and me as our Savior. And do you know all of the sins you have committed over the years, all the times you have broken God’s commands and did what was wrong in his sight, all the good you wanted to do but didn’t do and all the bad you didn’t want to do but so often did? Jesus paid for every last one with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. Jesus did it all for me and for you, so that we might have forgiveness and peace and eternal life in heaven.
Are you tired of carrying around that heavy burden of sin and guilt? Are you tired of trying to earn God’s favor by being good and doing good? Are you tired of trying to earn a place for yourself in heaven by obeying God’s commands, when deep down you recognize how often you have failed? Then come. Come to Jesus for rest. Take that heavy burden off your shoulders and off your heart and lay it down at Jesus’ feet. And instead take his light and easy yoke, his yoke of full and free forgiveness for all your sins, his yoke of God’s blessing and favor, his yoke of sure salvation, his yoke of peace for your soul. If you’re looking for rest, real rest and peace for your soul, rest that will sustain your heart in this life and last for an eternity in heaven, you won’t find it hiking in the north woods or on your next camping trip to Yellowstone. You’ll find it in Jesus. Come to Jesus, and he will give you rest. Amen.