"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, NIV). It is today's Daily Words of Jesus. On the eve of a tense U.S. election day, after months of noise, many of us are simply tired. Jesus did not ask the weary to try harder. He asked them to come.
One simple fact
This invitation appears only in Matthew's Gospel. Matthew 11:25-27, Jesus' prayer of thanks to the Father, has a parallel in Luke 10:21-22, but the words that follow, "Come to me ... take my yoke upon you," have no parallel in Mark, Luke, or John (Matthew 11:25-30).
In His own words
"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."
— Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Old Testament foreshadowing
"You will find rest for your souls" is a quotation. Centuries earlier, God spoke through Jeremiah: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16). And to Moses in the wilderness, the Lord promised, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14). In Matthew, Jesus speaks the Lord's own promise in the first person: I will give you rest. He presents Himself as the good way and the Presence that goes with us.
A historical reference: the yoke of Wisdom
Jesus' listeners knew the yoke as a picture of learning. Around 190-180 BC, the Jewish teacher Jesus ben Sira closed his book with a poem inviting students: "Draw near to me, you who are uneducated ... Put your neck under her yoke, and let your souls receive instruction ... I have labored but little and found for myself much serenity" (Sirach 51:23-27, NRSVue). That poem was popular in Jesus' century: the first half of it was copied into the Great Psalms Scroll (11QPsa) found in Qumran Cave 11, which you can view through The Book of Ben Sira site, with images courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. BYU Studies' "Take My Yoke upon You" sets the two texts side by side and notes the key difference: Ben Sira points to her yoke, Wisdom's, while Jesus says my yoke. He does not just point to wisdom; He offers Himself, a teacher who is gentle and humble in heart.
A witness: "He never left me"
Sheila S's experience is published by the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF, NDE 9025), recorded by her friend of nearly 30 years. Sheila had three heart attacks about three weeks apart and, by her account, was clinically dead the longest time for about 15 to 18 minutes. Weak and exhausted, she says she saw Jesus, and His love was so strong she fell to her knees. In her words:
"He was just looking at me like I was the absolute apple of His eye ... He was not saying to me, 'Get up! Other people dying. Women having babies. People praying. I gotta go!' There was none of that. He just sat down and let me go through my feelings ... He just sat down and let me go through it peacefully. He was real relaxed and just sat there. He never left me."
She reports that He spoke of His people as "lambs" and told her that fellowship with other believers and forgiveness matter greatly. Her full account, presented as she reported it, is at NDERF. It is a picture of what "gentle and humble in heart" looks like: a Lord who is not in a hurry with a tired soul.
Living it today
Whatever tomorrow's results bring, take five quiet minutes today. Name the burden you are carrying, out loud if you can, and hand it to Him with His own words: "Come to me." Then take one small step of His gentler way, a kind word to someone who votes differently, or an early night's sleep.
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