Rest for the weary is only found in Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1. How does Jesus describe himself?
Answer: gentle and lowly in heart

“Out of his heart flows mercy; out of ours, reluctance to receive it. We are the cool and calculating ones, not he. He is open-armed. We stiff-arm. Our naturally decaffeinated views of God’s heart might feel right because we’re being stern with ourselves, not letting ourselves off the hook too easily. Such sternness feels appropriately morally serious. But this deflecting of God’s yearning heart does not reflect Scripture’s testimony about how God feels toward his own.” (Dane Ortlunde), Gentle and Lowly

2. Who does Jesus invite to find rest in him?
Answer: the weary and burdened (those who labor and are heavy-laden).

Luke 5:5
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

John 4:6
Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Remember that the gentle and lowly Jesus who invites the weary knows what it’s like to be weary.

3. What does Jesus invite us to do?
Answer: come to him, let him carry the weight/yoke, learn from him, and rest in him.

“When Jesus offers a yoke he offers what we might think tired workers need least…But Jesus realizes that the most restful gift he can give the tired is a new way to carry life, a fresh way to bear responsibilities. For in the final analysis, realism sees that life is a succession of burdens; we cannot get away from them; thus instead of offering escape, Jesus offers equipment.” (Frederick Dale Bruner)

Jesus contrasts his light yoke to the heavy yoke of the legalistic Pharisees

Matthew 23:4
“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”

Application: Four Rhythms of Rest

1.Choose resting over relaxing
For more on this point, see Dustin’s article, “Why Resting is More Important than Relaxing” at https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/2020/2/19/why-resting-is-more-important-than-relaxing?rq=resting

2.Prioritize worship over simply “not working”

3.Exchange seizing control with surrendering to God

4.Live by promise, not performance