The Rest of Jesus

Drama:  “Hang On; I’ll Be Right With You”

[Tina enters from back stage, bath robe on, picks up coffee cup, waits for husband to say] “Honey, I’m heading out for the gym now” [Tina replies] “okay, have a good work out… maybe you should work out your legs a little more” [laughs] 

[Tina looks at congregation] “I know you’re expecting a message right now, but I have some things to do first, so “Hang On, I’ll Be Right With You.”  [Goes to notes and reviews list for the day, puts coffee down]  “Let’s see, what is on my to-do list for today—devotion  time with God, go to work, study, read two books for school, write papers, help out at church, clean the house, balance check book, serve at the snack bar, go to the gym, oh and its date night, almost forgot…[pause, let’s breath out]  “Okay, lets start with number one:  Devotion time—refer to separate list…[scramble for another list] “let’s see… for a “proper devotional time” you will need [grabs each item]; bible – check, journal – check;  devotional book– check…[pause and continue] assume some kind of posture…hands folded; hands at side, hands in air – I think Jesus likes that one… standing, sitting, kneeling, laying prostrate on the ground –  choose one or two…Phew!  I think I’ll just sit here.   And now for some relaxing time…[starts to sit down] Wait I forgot my coffee…[gets coffee, sits down, then looks up]. Ooops, I’m going to need a coaster. [gets coaster and Sits back down, opens devotional book]“Okay, let’s see, the scripture for the day is, Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” [pause, hands folded] Amen! [Close the book quickly and stand up] “Okay, that’s done what’s the next thing on my list…”  Ahhh, the sermon [Go to the front of stage, still in robe and begin sermon]

Now unless you have some kind of super powers, this scenario probably looks overwhelming but I imagine some if not all of it speaks to most of us here today.  This morning we’re going to talk about rest.  Please open your bibles or the insert in the bulletin to Matthew 11:28-30 …and yes I’m leaving the bath robe on for a little while longer… Let’s listen to what God’s word says “Come to Me, all you 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.”   

Let us pray.  “Lord Jesus, we welcome you into this place today, we ask Lord that you would show us the way to live in a restful attitude, that we could understand what it means to be yoked to you, to be tied to you each day, so that we might learn a better way to navigate our lives.  To learn how to find the way that you want for us, the way that will lead us to rest.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

I’m going to begin with the word yoke.   In the farming of biblical times and some farming communities today, people use oxen to move equipment in the fields.  A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that is handcrafted and custom made for each ox.  Two oxen are then tied together at the head or neck for working together.  When one moves the other one has to follow.   Jesus is using farming metaphor, and since I don’t think I’m talking to farmers today, I wondered how could I illustrate Jesus being yoked to me, sort of a representation so to speak of being tied to Jesus, so that when He moves I follow.  And then I thought (take off bath robe), what if this black suit represents the yoke of Jesus, my custom made “Jesus yoke suit.”  Could I wear it all day?  It feels comfortable enough, not binding (stretch arms and legs a bit), I think I could wear it all day.  (Begin to get dressed over the Jesus yoke suit).   It is interesting to think, that when Jesus offers us rest for our burdens, He actually is giving us a piece of equipment - the yoke – my Jesus yoke suit.  This yoke is going to help us navigate a hectic schedule.  A schedule that might include a religious devotional list or a list of things to do.  A yoke seems like something that ties us down, or makes us work harder like oxen, it almost doesn’t make sense, until we see the bigger picture in scripture.

 Let’s look at what is going on around this passage. There are two situations occurring that Jesus is admonishing the people for.   The first deals with the cities that have ignored Jesus even though they were witnesses to his mighty works.  The second dealt with the Pharisees—bless their hearts…they were trying so hard to follow the la laws of Moses, item by item.  They were busy looking at a religious “devotional list”  …a check list if you will, much like the list I was consulting earlier for proper devotion time. 

            It is here we find Jesus, after his Holy rampage…He begins to speak about the Father and then as if to pause He looks at the people and says “Come to Me, All who labor and are heavy laden.”  Notice he does not say “Come to God,” No He says Come to Me, to Jesus, because He is the only way to God the Father.  And, for the people of this time like today, there are other god’s that people worshipped, but this statement set Jesus apart from the other god’s of religions; just like it sets Him apart today.    Next He gives the invitation to everyone saying “All who labor and are heavy laden.” He is not saying only those of us who are doing things right… who served in the church 3x this week, who tithed, or who go to the top schools or have over a 4.50 GPA …No!  He is saying All people, everyone,  no matter what your age, or where you come from, Jesus does not discriminate; all of us are invited to Come to Him.   “All who labor and are heavy laden”  the Greek word for labor is κοπιάω [kopiao /kop·ee·ah·o/] and translates to grow weary, be tired, exhausted with toil or burdens or grief;  or actual physical labor. ..So in other words…

 Labor -- is our life to-do list

 Heavy laden -- is our devotional/spiritual to-do list

 And Jesus says I will give you rest – A refreshing.  Notice here Jesus does not say he is going to “rescue” us from the labor, he says he will give us rest.  Let me say that again, “Jesus does not say he is going to rescue us from the labor, He says he will give us rest, a refreshing .   Yes, this might be a hard concept to hear, but the good news is that although He won’t fix everything, Jesus will give us rest, a refreshing navigate the labors.

But wait there’s more…keep reading, in verse 29 He says “Take My yoke upon you. Stop there.   He’s going to give us the equipment to find rest AS we labor if we take His yoke upon us – are you following me here? WE have to take the yoke, WE have to do something, Jesus doesn’t just drop it on us against our will, we have to say “yes, Jesus I want your yoke.  Sort of like taking on this Jesus Yoke Suit that was handcrafted just for me!    To illustrate this point I’d like to ask [have a tall man stand up or come forward] to please stand up?  Do you think my black yoke suit would fit him [say name]?  No! Because he is a different height than me, a different size and different weight, and certainly different shoe size. And like me he has different needs, but when he yokes himself to Jesus, then his suit will fit him perfectly, because it is handcrafted by Jesus. Thank you [say name] for helping me.

Let’s bring this into perspective; many of us have heard teachings on the use of yokes in other ways, like the yoke of bondage found in the Book of Galatians, or being unequally yoked from 2 Corinthians.  The yoke of our passage is very different because we are talking about the Yoke of Jesus himself, not bondage or entangled relationships.  Jesus is offering His yoke as a piece of equipment to be able to better navigate our lives.  He is giving us a new way to carry out our life, a fresh way to maintain responsibilities where we can find balance and rest. 

So far, Jesus says He will give us a refreshing and the equipment to do it.  Don’t we  want that for our lives?  I know I do.  But HOW does this yoke thing work?  Let’s look at what else Jesus says.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. Stop there”   We find rest when we learn from Jesus?  I know I’m giving you a little bit of Greek translation this morning, but this is important.  To learn in the Greek μανθάνω [manthano /man·than·o/] is a verb which means to hear, to be taught, to be instructed, to study and to learn by use and practice.  So this means if we take the yoke of Jesus and allow Jesus to be our teacher and practice what He tells us then we will find rest.  Can I get an Amen? Hallelujah!  When we have someone who teaches us, we build a relationship with that person we learn their teaching form and style, we often learn about their character and watch them model for us.   But how do we learn from Jesus so that we can find rest? 

Let’s go a little deeper…How does Jesus speak to you?  Whoa now! She can’t say that here!  Yes I can! And I know that question can be a tough one, but it is not a rhetorical question, and I want each of you to think for a few moments how does God communicate with you, how does He speak to you?  [Hold for a moment] For many of us, the Lord communicates through the written Word—the Holy Bible, or through the words of someone, maybe even a sermon, some people might have dreams or visions, or some might hear the still small voice of God in their hearts, or sometimes He speaks through a gentle nudging by the Holy Spirit.  If you have received Jesus as your Savior then the Holy Spirit is in you and because of that I imagine that God is/has/will/or continues speaking to you in some form.  The question is; are you listening?  Are you responding? 

 Now here is the funny part about listening to God, He doesn’t always make sense.  Does that happen to you?  God’s says something that seems nuts to you, and you almost want to ask for a repeat because it doesn’t make sense. Well, you’re in good company, because I’m sure that has happened to most of us, but I’d like to remind you what God says to us through the Prophet –Isaiah 55: 8-9  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” 

   We all know Jesus was a carpenter before he started his formal ministry, and there is also a legend that He made the best ox-yokes in all of Galilee.  So good in fact, that many men came from other regions around the country to buy his yokes.   Shops in those days had signs hanging over their door with the name of the business, very much like our shops today.  It is suggested that when Jesus was still a carpenter the sign over the door of His shop read “My yokes fit well.” 

How different my morning could have started in this drama had I taken on the yoke of Jesus.  First of all, I would not be tied up by some rules, like my list of instructions for “proper devotion”.   

Verse 30 says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” [Ahhh, the sound of Glory!] Finally, we get to the glory part of the scripture.   Before we just skimmed by the passage, but now we understand that we participate, by taking the yoke and learning from Jesus.  We ALL are invited to come to Jesus, and He will refresh us and give us the equipment necessary to navigate life; a Jesus yoke suit custom fit to each one of us.  

 He will teach us a better way to live out our schedules and a better way to live our lives with rest.  It is His promise to us… relationship with Him is easy and the day to day battles or struggles of life will be light – His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

 Let us close in prayer.