The King and His Rest
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. I want to take a moment on the front end just to explain a little bit of how we do things in our approach to preaching. We have a team approach to preaching. So every Wednesday, one of us who's preaching brings their sermon to our teaching team.
And our teaching team is preached live, and then for the next hour or so, we go through it. We try to make sure that it's actually coherent here on a Sunday morning, that it preaches the Bible, that it's not boring, because we care about preaching. We care about this time as we open up God's Word. And we also have a team approach to how we do preaching. So we have multiple people that preach throughout the calendar year.
Most of the time, it is myself, it is Chet, and it is and has been Dr. Ken. But if you were at our member meeting a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Ken is going to be going back into semi-retirement again. And he's going to be at the end of March. He's going to be transitioning to just being a member here until God calls him to an interim position somewhere else.
So after that, it will be mostly Chet and I. Raz also, who's in the back walking around, he also preaches sometimes. We try to get Matt Freeman, who leads worship, to preach, but we do it very unsuccessfully. He does not say yes. So we have a team approach to preaching.
We value that. We think it's good to have different personalities. Chet and I have different styles. It also allows us to focus on other parts of the church on weeks that we're not preaching. So that's a little bit of how we do things.
I'm going to be here for the next four or the next five weeks. So if you've been coming around for a little bit, that might throw you off. That just explains a little bit of our philosophy of preaching. So we also preach through books of the Bible. And we are in the Gospel of Matthew. We have been for the last six months.
And we preach verse by verse, section by section. And every now and then we encounter a section that's a little more difficult. It's a little bit harder to absorb. And we don't skip parts of the Bible because they're difficult. We lean into them. And that's one of the parts that we're walking through this morning.
So we're going to be in chapter 11, verses 20 through 30. If you have a Bible, please follow along with us. If you don't have one, there's blue Bibles around you. That's on page 476 is where we will be. But I would encourage you this morning especially to open up a Bible.
There won't be a ton of text on the screen. This is a little bit more of a confusing passage. And it would be helpful to have it out in front of you. All right. So I have learned quite a few things since becoming a parent.
I have learned that you can operate on way less sleep than you thought you could. I have three kids, four and under. And right before our first, I was like, man, I don't know how we're going to do this. I really value sleep. But you just adjust.
It's fine. Your body adjusts. And you'll be okay. I've also learned that dads get way more grace than moms. So I was in Chick-fil-A a couple months ago.
It was the first time taking all three of the kids by myself to Chick-fil-A. And it was an unmitigated disaster. Every kid was crying by the time that we left. Multiple kids were injured. And I was fumbling around. I had a baby that was crying.
I had a daughter that was crying. My son fell out of his chair and conked his head on the towel. And moms came out of the woodwork. Like, they just, they were so there. They were helping tie shoes. They were like, let's get them some ice.
And I could see it on their face. It was, you go, dad. You're doing it. You're figuring this out. If that was my wife, she would not have gotten that kind of help. She would have gotten judgment, stares.
Like, girl, you ain't got it together. You need to figure this out. Like, they just, I've learned that dads get more grace. And the other thing that I've learned is that children are smaller case studies for later future brokenness. They are small little case studies for later future brokenness. So, when my kids get their minds set on something.
And it's just, they, like, they think they're going to get ice cream after dinner. They think that some friends are coming over and they cancel last minute. They lose their minds. They scream. They cry. They fall on the ground, limp, flailing.
And I used to think, stop overreacting. This is ridiculous. But what I've learned is, is they're not overreacting. They're reacting. That's what's going on in their heart. And they're three.
So, all of their emotions are on display. Right? All of their feelings. All of their thoughts. It's just out there in the open. But as you get older, you realize that it is culturally unacceptable to pitch a fit and to lose your mind.
Like, I just, I go to McDonald's a few times a week. And, uh, and listen, you know what you're getting. Like, every now and then they're going to mess up your order. That comes to the territory. Set the bar low. You won't be disappointed.
But I'll go to McDonald's and if they mess up my order in the drive-thru and I start screaming and shaking, I got, I will end up on a viral video. It will not go well. We just, we know you can't do that. You get older, you learn that actually that looks like weakness. You're not going to get what you want. But we do it in more culturally acceptable ways.
When we fix our eyes and our hopes on something and we don't get it, man, we will find other ways to do it. We'll throw our tantrums in silence or away from other people. If you're driving in traffic, that's when you're going to throw a tantrum. You're going to grab the wheel and shake it. Right? We'll beat ourselves up internally to the point of just deep anxiety, even depression.
We'll respond by over-drinking to medicate the pain of loss. When we set our mind on something, we find adult, culturally acceptable ways of dealing with it. But the reality is, is that we're really just a three-year-old version of ourselves. We just grow up a little bit and know how to change. I oversee, one of the things I oversee here is care and counseling. And I've been involved in some form of care and counseling over the last few years in different churches.
And what I've seen is, is that we will forge the good life out of anything we can put our hands on. So if it's a career, if it's comfort, if it's the pleasures of this world, we'll find something that we'll put all of our hopes in. We'll aim for it. And ultimately what happens, just take success for instance. A lot of people will make success the end goal. That's the hope.
They'll put all their eggs in that basket. And they'll ultimately pursue it. And it'll cause them to use their best hours at work instead of at home. They'll cut corners. They'll make questionable ethical decisions. They'll do whatever it takes to be successful.
But here's what ultimately happens. Success is never enough. It's never enough. You'll go and you'll go and you will eventually be disappointed. And what will happen is, is that you will be left disappointed and broken and tired and exhausted. This happens with anything.
You can fill in the blank there. And ultimately it will never actually bring fulfillment. It'll never actually bring joy. And it will leave you tired. It'll leave you broken. It'll leave you depressed.
It'll leave you anxious. Because we were designed to put our hope in something more. And that is what we're going to see as we walk through this passage today. As we get to the end of this passage, we're going to see that the things of this world, the good life that we try to forge and aim for, is not enough. So, I want to pray. And then we're going to jump into the text.
Father, I thank you that you have given us your word. Father, I pray that you would open up our eyes to see, that you would give us ears to hear what you have to say this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. All right. Follow along with me. Verse 20.
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done. This is Jesus. Because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.
Now, Dr. Ken ended there last week. And we're picking up right here. Jesus is pronouncing woes on these cities. He's been doing ministry all over the region of Galilee. We saw in chapter 8 and chapter 9, he's healing the masses.
He's casting out demons. He's doing all kinds of mighty works. And the people are coming out to see him. They're coming out to see them. But also, he's not just healing.
He's not just serving the least of these. He's not just casting out demons. He's actually also proclaiming a message that we see as early as chapter 4. He's saying, repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's performing mighty works, but he's also preaching a message of repentance.
And these cities aren't getting it. They're not hearing and understanding the message. They're actually just focusing on the mighty works. So when Jesus comes to town, it's, let's see what he can do next. What more do you have, Jesus? Are you going to perform more miracles?
The crowds want to see, but they're not understanding what he is saying. So he starts to pronounce these woes on these cities. Verse 21, woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done in you have been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
So Jesus, he calls out these cities in Galilee where he's been performing these miracles. And then he mentions two other cities, Tyre and Sidon. Now these are, at the time, these are older cities that have been known. They're not Jewish cities. They're pagan cities. They don't worship God.
And they were known for this. And Jesus just said that if his mighty works had been done in those cities, they would have repented long ago. And then he pronounces this woe on these cities because they have not repented at seeing the mighty works. In verse 22, he says, But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades.
Now, a little bit of what he's getting at and what commentators may see this. He calls out Capernaum, which is actually where he's been living. That's his home base. He calls out this city and he says, Will you be exalted to heaven? Now, that is a statement that if, as the commentators have looked at this, they think this is probably calling out the posture of that city. That they thought there was something special about them since they are seeing these mighty works on display.
Well, now that we've seen these, aren't we too going to be exalted to heaven? They've missed it. They've absolutely missed it. They thought that proximity, nearness to the mighty works of God would gain them passage into heaven. Now, that is a warning that I think is helpful for us to hear as southerners. Because the reality is, is that we have access to these mighty works.
There are churches all across our city. There are preachers preaching this morning about the mighty works of God. There are ministries all across the city that are proclaiming the mighty works of God. And for us as southerners, there's a little bit of a general mindset down here that says, well, I believe in Jesus. I'm a Christian. I'm a Baptist.
I'm a Lutheran. I'm a Presbyterian. I can say that I believe that Jesus died for my sins. Because we have access to hearing about the mighty works of God. When in reality, there's a whole lot of lack of repentance. In a lot of ways, we look like the rest of the world.
And there can be this posture of arrogance. It's because we are Christian by confession. Because we are surrounded by churches that somehow proximity to the mighty works of God gains us entry into heaven. I think that's a warning for us that we need to absorb as we look at this woe that he pronounces on the city of Capernaum. So he pronounces this woe.
And in this, this is a little bit difficult to catch and wrap our minds around. He also says, it'll be more tolerable for these cities than for you. It'll be more tolerable for the cities of Tyre and Sidon than for Capernaum, than for Bethsaida, than for Chorazin. And what he just said was, is that because you have access to the mighty works, and they did not, it's going to be more tolerable for them on Judgment Day. That's a hard thing to wrap our minds around. But that is an implication of what he just said.
And he keeps going. Verse 23 says, for the mighty works have been done, and you have been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it'll be more tolerable on the day of Judgment for the land of Sodom than for you. So he gives another example, the city of Sodom, which in the Bible is one of the primary cities. It's a primary example of the city that has fallen and rejecting God. Sodom, as we walked through this in Genesis a few years ago, they were known for their sexual depravity.
They were also known for their lack of care for the poor, for the downtrodden, which is something that the heart of God deeply cares about. And because of this, his judgment rains down from heaven and it consumes the city and reduces it to ashes. He just used Sodom as an example of judgment for these cities to see. If the works had been done in Sodom, they would have repented. But works are being done in front of you and you are not.
It'll be more bearable for Sodom than it will for you. That is some pretty intense language, some pretty intense woes that Jesus pronounces on these cities. Now on the surface, that's exactly what it is. But as we walk through this, there's actually a little bit more of a bigger picture that's happening here. He picks up in verse 25. At that time, Jesus declared, Now, here's the bigger picture of what's happening.
As he's pronouncing these woes on these cities, for not repenting at his mighty works, Jesus starts to pray. This is a prayer of thanksgiving. And he prays to God the Father, saying, I thank you, Father, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Now, wise and understanding in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospels as a whole, that's generally referring to the religious establishment. This is the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the religious leadership of the Jewish people who thought they knew it all, the wise and understanding. And little children is applied to the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the sinners, even the children who hear of these mighty works.
And that actually leads to repentance and faith. Now, I want to take just a brief moment to address this. Just give me some range here. There are, in our culture, highly educated, elite people. So professors, people on TV, famous people, that look down on Christianity as a whole.
There's an arrogant posture about our faith. And what they will do is they will belittle our faith, because the hope for them has been that with actual education, with the 21st century happening, as the world is evolving and getting smarter, the hope was that we would drop this superstition, as they claim. That we would stop this. That the world would evolve, and it hasn't. Man, the gospel is exploding all over Africa and Asia and South America. I mean, the gospel is moving even in our city.
And there's this arrogant posture. They can't figure out why this is actually happening. And the reality is, it's this right here. That God has, you can see it throughout the Bible, that God humbles the proud and He gives grace to the humble. That He has hidden these things from the wise, the learned, the elite. And He's revealed them to little children.
He's revealed them to the simple. He's revealed them to people like you and me. And I say that to say that if you're in a situation, maybe you're a student, maybe you're just overwhelmed by how much some people in culture are talking down. You don't have to get frustrated. In fact, you can have a little bit of pity and pray. Because the reality is, is that their pride keeps them from believing.
And God has hidden this from the elite. He's hidden this from the wise and the understanding. Now, that's an aside. I don't want to bury the lead because I don't want to miss exactly what God is doing here. Because what He just said was, is that God the Father has hidden these things. He's hidden these things.
These things is a little bit of a vague term. But when you look at it in the context of the Gospel of Matthew, this is the whole package of belief. This is repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is God displaying His mighty works that lead to repentance. This is repentance and faith.
He has hidden these things from the wise and understanding. And when you understand what He is getting at, what He is saying is, is He has hidden faith from the wise and understanding. And when you go back and look at the previous five verses, this makes a little more sense of how God works. That God could have displayed His mighty works in Sodom, but He didn't. God could have displayed His mighty works in Tyre and Sidon, but He didn't. God displays His works even in His hometown in Capernaum.
And they still don't get it. It's been hidden from them. They still don't believe. It doesn't actually lead to faith and repentance. And when you skip down, you read it. Verse 27, it makes it even more clear.
And no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. The reality is, is that Jesus has chosen to reveal Himself in a way that leads to repentance to some, but He is not to others. And when you read that, I know there's a part of it to say, wait a second, did He really just say what He said? He can't possibly mean what He just said. But the reality is, is that He doubles down on this again a few chapters later.
In chapter 13, verse 10, He's telling these parables, and some of the people in the crowds aren't understanding. And verse 10 says, Then the disciples came and said to Him, Why do you speak to them in parables? And He answered them, To you, talking to the disciples, it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. He's saying, to you the secrets of the kingdom, this faith that leads to repentance, that's been given to you, but to them it has not been given. And this idea that the Bible shows over and over again, that God gives faith to some, and not to others, it bothered me so much as an early Christian.
I came to faith right before I went to college. I got to college, started reading the Bible, started reading across passages like this, and I was like, the Bible can't be saying what it's actually saying, it must be something different. I had some friends that were Christians, and we would spend hours going back and forth about this. Hours in a coffee shop, hours in our dorm rooms, debating this. It's like the only time in my life that I've ever had, just endless hours to talk about this with other people. And we debate, we go back and forth, and I would, I would come up with these, these, these philosophical arguments, that had to explain away, this can't possibly mean what the Bible is actually saying.
I just think, I look back at it, the arrogance of a 19 year old college student saying, no, God has to work in my system, absolutely. But we go back and forth, over and over again, trying to say, no, this can't mean what it means. God can't give faith to some, and not to others. Choose to reveal His mighty works to some, and not to others. And the reality is, is that, I couldn't get on board with this idea, I think for a couple of reasons. I think the first reason, on a very macro, larger level, the reason why I couldn't, get on board with this, is because I think, me and I think others, have a basic understanding, of fairness, and entitlement, that says, that's not fair.
It's not fair. It's not fair that God reveal Himself clearly, that leads to faith to some, and not to others. No, that can't be. And the reality is, the Bible says, that is not the case. The Bible, when it addresses this, and its understanding is, fairness, is everybody, gets judgment. Fairness is, everybody, gets hell.
Because we have rebelled, against a holy, and perfect God, God is absolutely, just, and fair, because of our sin, to bring judgment. That's actually, what fairness is. And I just, I couldn't, wrap my mind, I cannot wrap my mind, around that. But I think, on a more personal level, for me, and this may be the case, for others, is that I had family, I had friends, that did not believe, and I could not, I couldn't possibly, fathom, no this doesn't make sense, that God would get faith, that clearly, is repentance for some, and not for others. That cannot be, the case. So for, pretty much the most, of college, I spent so much time, thinking about this, trying to figure this out, studying the Bible, looking at this, over and over again, and then finally, something clicked.
This summer, this one summer, after my junior year, I was at Myrtle Beach, and I was working, at a resort, cleaning bathrooms, and for some reason, when I'm doing work, especially by myself, it gives me time to think. And that whole summer, I'm thinking about a lot of things, but I'm thinking about this, this, the Bible, I'm thinking about this subject matter, and then finally, something clicked. And it's really bound up here, in verse 26. When in the midst of Jesus' prayer, He says, Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. Your gracious will. The first part of that, is grace.
The reality is, is that yes, fairness is, we absolutely deserve judgment. But God, in His rich mercy, and His grace, meaning we don't earn it, in His grace, and in His love, He comes from heaven, to redeem us. That He spills His blood, for the lost. That He comes, and He saves, many. And once I finally understood, God is gracious, to redeem many. That He's sending out, church plants, and missionaries, all across the world, to proclaim the gospel, that leads to repentance.
That God is gracious. But the part two of that, that really clicked for me, was His will. His gracious will. And what finally clicked for me was, is that I don't have to understand, the will of God. The greater will of God, is too wonderful, for me to comprehend. That this, the greater will, that is happening here, I don't have to understand it, because I don't actually have to know, the mind of God.
And when I finally understood that, man, it started to make so much more sense. That's a little bit, what Paul is getting at, when he's writing the book of Romans. The first 11 chapters of Romans, is this long, sustained argument, that is touching a lot, on God's sovereignty and salvation. And he's writing this, and there's two kind of basic responses, that come out of it. In chapter 9, he kind of gives a blunt one. And he says, basically, if you don't think this is fair, the reality is, is that you are a clay pot, and God is a potter.
What right does the clay pot, have to say to the potter? And it's like, dang, that's a little blunt. It's true, but it's a little blunt. But then towards the end, right at the end, of this long sustained argument, you get to chapter 11, verses 33 through 36. And Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is writing all these, big theological points. And it's almost like, at the end of this long discussion, he bursts forth into praise.
He has a doxology, in verses 33 through 36. It's almost like he can't, his mind is ready to break, and he just bursts forth. He says, Oh, the depths, of the riches, and the wisdom, and the knowledge, of God. How unsearchable, are his judgments. They cannot be searched. How inscrutable, his ways.
For who is known, the mind of the Lord. That's rhetorical. Nobody. Who has been his counselor? Who has given a gift to him, that he might be repaid? For from him, and through him, and to him, are all things.
To him be glory, forever and ever. Amen. He just can't help it. He can't wrap his mind around it. He doesn't have to know, it's the mind of the Lord. He doesn't have to understand this completely.
But what he can do, is look at a gracious God, that is on mission, to redeem this world, and say, praise God, that he saves many. We don't have to know, the mind of the Lord. We don't have to know, these complicated things, in and out. Thank goodness, we are finite, because we will never understand, the infinite. Once that finally clicked for me, that it was actually good, to see God as sovereign, in how he saves. It changed the game.
In high school, I played high school football, and I was talking to someone, our church family about this, a little while ago, and they were genuinely surprised, that I played high school football. And I was genuinely offended, for a moment, and then I realized, I don't do anything, physically active now, except chase my children. Fair point. But I did. I played high school football, and I was quick. I ran about a 4.640, which in high school football, that puts you, in a few different positions.
I played defensive back, and I played tailback, and receiver. If you don't know football, I got the ball, and I ran the ball down the field. And I would burst past people, for 30 and 40 yard gains. I was quick. But what happened, almost every single time, is at 50 yards, at 60 yards, at the 10, I got caught.
Every single time. I can think of two times, my entire playing career, in high school, that I didn't get caught. It's because those teams, were terrible. But I got caught, every time, and I could not figure out, why in the world, can I just blow, bass people for 30, 40 yards, but I get caught, at the end, every time. And then I got to college, and I learned a thing. That when I do, anything high impact activity, I can be in my room, moving stuff around.
I hold my breath. I don't know why, that's natural to me. But I do. I will hold my breath. And when I played, intramural sports in college, I finally figured it out. I'm running for 20, 30, 40 yards, and I am on one, maybe two, three breaths max.
And you might think, really? Seriously? It took until you were like, 20 years old, to realize that, breathing is a thing, that you should actually do? Yes, I know. I know there are two people, in the room right now, that just went, man, explains everything. I got you.
Breathe. It's helpful. You need oxygen. You are designed, to need oxygen, when you run, when you do anything, high impact activity. You will not make it. Just think, if I would have known that, in high school, I would have gone on, to the next level.
I could have gone pro, guys. But I wouldn't be here, with you. So, I think everybody wins. We, we are designed, to need oxygen, when we do anything, high impact activity. We need that. That's how we are designed, in the same way, in the same way, we are designed, by God, to see him, as the sovereign ruler, the sovereign king, over all things.
And to look to him, with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength. that he, is the one, that we are meant to look to, that we are meant to pursue, that we are not, meant, to find lesser things, in this world, and make that our focus. We are not designed, to make lesser, to focus on lesser things, and to forge the good life, out of things, that do not bring fulfillment, and do not bring joy. Jesus, hammers this point, about judgment, about his sovereignty, about how big he is. And then he makes a shift, in verse 28. Now often times, when you hear, this is one of the most, popular passages, from the gospels, and it is one of my, favorite passages, from the gospels.
But a lot of times, you will hear it, just quoted, and you will miss the context. So you need to understand, this is Jesus, after everything he just said, showing how big he is, that he is God. And then he goes, verse 28, 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, and hard, and you will find, rest, for your souls. For my yoke, is easy, and my burden, is light. This is how we were designed, to function.
Just as a running back, needs oxygen, to complete a long run, you as a Christian, need to see, God for who he is, and to focus, all of your affections, your pursuit, your life, fixated on how good, our creator, our sovereign king is, we need him, to focus on, that we can make it, through this marathon, of life, called faith. That is what, we are meant to see here. God flexes, his power, Jesus flexes, his power, for seven verses, and then he says, come, to me. I want you to hear that, this morning. The God of the universe, the creator, of all things, the one who is on mission, to redeem this world, all over the globe, just said, come, to me.
Do not make, the good life, about lesser things. Do not pursue, comfort. Do not pursue, the pleasures of this world, approval, money, sex. He says, no, come, to me. And I want you to hear this, I want you to right now, think about, what are the things, that so much, of your focus, so much of your attention, so much of your affection, so much of your focus, is fixated on. Jesus comes in, and says, no, no, no, come to me.
Come to me, you who are living life, on your terms. Your whole life, has been about, living life, on your terms. You're forging, this life, out of things. You're focusing, on everything else. He just says, no, no, no, come to me. They were so focused, on things, here in the earth.
He lifts up our head, he says, no, come to me. For those of you, whose plans, have fallen apart. Maybe life has not gone, the way that you, wanted it to. And you feel disappointed, you feel broken, you feel weary. He says, no, look, look, come, to me. Those of you, that are burdened, with shame, and guilt.
That all you can think about, is your sin. That all you can think about, is that I'm gross, that I'm dirty, that I'm unworthy. How could a God like this, possibly love me? He says, no, no, I'm way bigger than your shame. I'm about to take that, at the cross. No, no, no, come to me.
Look at me. Come to me. Those of you, that are anxious about work, anxious about money, so those of you, that have focused, so much of your life, on success, and thinking, that's going to bring fulfillment. The God, the universe cuts through, and says, no, come to me. If you focused your life, on the pleasures of this world, it could be sex, it could be drugs, it could be anything else. He says, no, look, come to me.
For those of you, that are perfectionists, that so much of life, is about controlling, your circumstances. Those of you, that are moms, that are trying to compare yourself, to other moms, and trying to do this perfectly, and it leads to anxiety, and it leads to depression, and it's just a cycle of crazy. He steps in, He says, oh, look at me, come to me, you were burdened, you were heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We need that. We need to see the sovereign king, who looks at his creation, and says, come to me, I will give you rest. He says, take my yoke.
Yoke is a wooden frame, that is placed on two animals. They're meant to pull a load, together. Jesus says, I'm in this. Come with me, come join this yoke. Take my yoke. And a lot of times, in the Bible, in the Old Testament, especially, yoke is used as a negative term.
It's when the people of God, the nation of Israel, has yoked themselves, to a foreign king. They've yoked themselves, to foreign idols, and it's crushing them. Or in the New Testament, Peter, when he's talking about, the Old Testament law, that the people have yoked themselves, to the Old Testament law, thinking, that obedience to the law, that performing good works, is going to earn obedience. Jesus cuts through all of that, and he makes this a positive. He says, no, no, no. Don't yoke yourself to lesser things.
Yoke yourself to me. I will carry the load. Take my yoke, and learn from me. Learn from me. I will teach you, for I am gentle, and a lowly in heart, and you will find rest, for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
And the reason, that he can say that, is because of where he is going. The yoke that he is going to take, the wooden frame he is going to take, is ultimately going to be a wooden cross. And he is going to carry that cross up a hill. And his blood is going to be poured out. He is going to take his perfect, righteous obedience, with him to the cross. And for those of us, that hear this call, and come to him, he is going to give us that standing, before God the Father.
And he is going to take our sins. He can say this, so helpfully. And it be so true. That he can take, our burdens. He can carry it. But we have to hear the call.
There is an early church father, named Augustine. He said, our heart is restless, until it finds its rest in God. We have restless hearts. Aren't you tired? Aren't you tired of this world? Aren't you tired of the things of this world?
Aren't you tired of the focus, that leads to more stress, that leads to more depression, that leads to more anxiety? We don't have to be tired anymore. Our restless hearts can find rest. We just have to hear the call, and come home. The band is going to come up. And we are going to take, the Lord's Supper.
And it is a meal, it is a meal of a reminder, of everything, that I just said. That on the night, that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, and he broke it. And he said, this is my body, that was broken for you. And he took the cup, which is the cup of the new covenant. He said, this is my blood, that was shed for you, that as often as you eat, and drink this, you proclaim my death, until I return. So we are going to take this, there is going to be, members in the front and the back, serving it.
And if you are, if you are a Christian, if you have trusted in Jesus, what I want you to do this morning, is I want you to sit for a moment, and I want you to, to think. What are the things, in this world, that I have placed my hope in? What are the things, that have left me tired, and weary, and I want you to very clearly, hear, the sovereign king, say, come.