Come to Me



 



If you are struggling for peace today...take a deep breath, close your eyes and whisper a mini prayer...God honors truthfulness...

Jesus is calling, "Come to me."

Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…

He said, He will give you His shalom. (Peace)

Don’t wait until tragedy hits you, or your family or a neighbor or friend; stay so close to the Lord that you can hear his heartbeat…then when tragedy strikes you and Jesus can face it together by faith, with grace and rest (His peace).

NIV Application Commentary:

The yoke of discipleship brings rest because (hoti; niv “for”) Jesus is “gentle and humble in heart” (11:29). Jesus exemplifies the very characteristics his disciples will display as members of the kingdom of heaven—gentleness (5:5) and humility (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). He has castigated the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocritical self-righteousness (5:20; 6:1–18) and will condemn them for their prideful religious regalia, places of privilege, and elitist titles (23:5–7). But Jesus does not need to strut his authority. He has come gently, preaching and teaching the good news of the arrival of the kingdom of heaven, and in humble human form he has brought healing to sin-sick humanity. This is the true eschatological rest for which Israel has long hoped, “a realization of a deep existential peace, a shalom, or sense of ultimate well-being with regard to one’s relationship to God and his commandments.” Jesus’ teaching is the true fulfillment of the Law, and those who come to him will enter into a discipleship that produces rest for the soul (cf. Jer. 6:16).

While discipleship to Jesus brings relief from the burden of Pharisaic regulations, it is not lawlessness. He goes on to say, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” These two clauses are in synonymous parallelism to emphasize Jesus’ way of discipleship. His discipleship is an easy or serviceable yoke because his teaching equips us most effectively to live out God’s will in the way life was designed to be lived. Furthermore, his discipleship is not the oppressive burden of Pharisaic legalism (23:4) but instead turns the load of life into one that is manageable (cf. Gal. 6:5). Jesus does not release his disciples from burdens, just as he did not escape the burdens of human life in his Incarnation. Illness and calamity and tragedy remain a part of this fallen world until the final renewal, but for those in the kingdom of heaven there is a promise of Jesus’ sustaining help as we carry his yoke of discipleship.

In fact, in Jesus’ interpretation of the Law the challenge of following him may be seen as even more demanding than the Pharisees, because he calls us to fulfill the Law from the obedience of the heart, not simply through external obedience (5:21–47), and he calls his disciples to be perfect, as their heavenly Father is perfect (5:48). But Jesus’ demands are still a yoke that is easy to bear and a burden that is light to carry, because in the coming of the kingdom and the inauguration of the new covenant, his Spirit provides the same strength to carry the load that Jesus himself relied upon to carry his own load of redemptive service to humanity.

However, in the quest to learn from Jesus how to live God’s truth, it is critical to remember that Jesus’ disciples can also turn his yoke into an unbearable burden unless we consciously recognize that discipleship to Jesus is not essentially a religious obligation. Rather, ours is an intimate relationship with the One who calls, “Come to me” and “learn from me.” As complicated as life may become, discipleship is at heart simply walking with Jesus in the real world and having him teach us moment by moment how to live life his way.