The believer in Christ has so many blessings. And my unsaved friend Mike is helping me to “count my blessings.” I’ve been thinking about what I enjoy as a follower of Jesus. Sadly, my lost friends, although they enjoy much by way of God’s providential care (common grace), these are some blessings they don’t yet have.
There’s a rather strange one that I have and they don’t. I don’t believe my unsaved friends —
21. THEY DON’T HAVE THE BLESSING OF A BURDENED HEART!
I am not suggesting that my unsaved friends don’t weep at the death of a loved one, or agonize over poor life-choices that their children make, or that they aren’t concerned with the many faces of evil in our world. But I think those “burdens” are the result of being made in the image of God, not necessarily of being a new creation in Christ.
The classic passage on becoming a burden-bearer, I think, is Matthew 11 where the Lord Jesus says,
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
A burdened heart is actually a healthy heart, if the burden is of Christ. Prior to receiving Christ as our Savior, there is a weariness and a burdenness (new word!) that can only be remedied by the rest that He gives. If “I will give you rest” refers to salvation, then it is critical to see that the believer after conversion has work to do and learning to pursue.
A burdened heart looks out at the world and weeps. It looks at friends and family without Christ . . . and prays! It looks at itself and asks not that the burden be taken away but that it be increased, trusting God to work in His way. We read in Galatians 6 the following:
Please notice that this section is directed at “you who live by the Spirit.” It would easy for someone to say “I’m not really living by the Spirit, so I don’t have to seek to restore a brother or sister who is caught in sin!” No! We are supposed to be living by the Spirit so that we can help a fallen comrade!
Notice we are to “carry each other’s burdens” and by so doing we will “fulfill the law of Christ” (v. 2). But there is individual responsibility as well: “each one should carry their own load” (v. 5).
So, how do I pray for my unsaved friend? I show by my life that my heart is burdened for his salvation. And I pray that he will become burdened about his sin and trust the Savior. (to be continued)
Tags: benefits of being a believer, burden, burdens, Galatians 6, Matthew 11, the Bible
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Let’s look at that famous text once again:
We’ve seen the context of this incredible invitation, noticing some of the Koiné Greek and its implications. We began to outline the passage, observing that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one, inviting not all, but all who are weary and burdened. We’ve also seen two great promises and two challenges to work and to learn of Him. In our last post we looked at His promise of SOUL-REST.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”
III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
A. We are to WORK!
and —
B. We are to LEARN!
IV. A Second Great Promise — of Soul-Rest (v. 29)
As we conclude our study, let’s notice —
V. A Great Explanation (v. 30)
Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This seems to be Jesus’ explanation as to why we should come to Him to work and to learn. Or is it the reason why we should come to Him at all? Some might look at these two seemingly oxymoronic expressions (an “easy yoke” and a “light” burden) and respond, “An easy yoke? A light burden? Yes, that’s what I want!” But let’s examine the text carefully.
A. His Yoke Is Easy
Let’s not miss the fact that there is, indeed, a YOKE for the follower of Jesus! But it is of Jesus‘ construction (some commentators suggest that “easy” here means “non-chafing”) and fits us precisely. Notice that He describes it as “easy,” a term (χρηστός) which is used 7 times in the New Testament and has the meaning of “fit for use,” “useful,” “mild,” “pleasant.” It is opposed to harsh or hard or bitter. It is the opposite of burdensome here in Matthew 11:30. We read of the kindness of God in Luke 6:35 and Romans 2:4 and I Peter 2:3 (“you have tasted the kindness of the Lord”). We are told in Ephesians 4:32 to “be kind” to one another. “Kind” or “non-chafing” seem better translations than “easy.”
B. His Burden Is Light
The term φορτίον (“burden”) is close to the word “burdened” in verse 28 (πεφορτισμένοι). The prefix περι can mean “about, concerning, around.” One is only concerned with one’s concerns, surrounded by worries! Those who “are burdened” in verse 28 are, in a sense, over-burdened. When one comes to Christ, he or she does not begin to live a burden-free life, but the burdens are given by Christ Himself. Someone has said that a burdened heart is a healthy heart!
What are we to understand by the term “light” (ἐλαφρόν)? This term “light” is an adjective meaning “light, not burdensome, not heavy.” It is only used 2 X in the New Testament: In our passage here in Matthew 11 and also in 2 Corinthians 4:17 where we read, “For our momentary lightness of affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison . . .”
What is meant by Christ’s burden being “light”? Well, we are yoked together with Him, so whatever burden we carry, HE is also carrying! We get in trouble when we think we are the only one under the yoke!
Jesus’ explanation of His yoke and His burden is counter-intuitive. This yoke, properly constructed to fit His servant, and this burden, designed not to crush His child, both raise many questions. But His invitation and His promises must draw the child of God to Him.
Conclusion: There is so much here in Matthew 11. You may have heard the following story: John Stott discusses how an invitation often has the cryptic letters “RSVP” at the bottom of the invitation. This is a French request to “please reply to the invitation.” Stott says, “There was a couple who found political asylum in this country during the Second World War. They came from East or Central Europe. And they were not really well-versed in Western culture. One day they received an invitation to a wedding. And there, at the bottom of the invitation, were those cryptic letters: RSVP. And in his thick European accent, the husband said, “VIF, VAT does it mean? ‘RSVP’? I don’t know VAT it means!” So they thought for a while and then suddenly inspiration dawned on him. And the husband said, “VIF. I know VAT it means! It means ‘REMEMBER SEND VEDDING PRESENTS!”
The only gift we give the Lord is . . . ourselves! And then He chooses to use us and give us His rest. Thank God for Matthew 11:28-30 today!
Tags: invitation, Matthew 11, rest, work
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Let’s look at that famous text once again:
We’ve seen the context of this incredible invitation, noticing some of the Koiné Greek and its implications. We began to outline the passage, observing that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one, inviting not all, but all who are weary and burdened. We’ve also seen two great promises and two challenges to work and to learn of Him. In our last post we looked at His promise of SOUL-REST.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”
III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
A. We are to WORK!
and —
B. We are to LEARN!
IV. A Second Great Promise — of Soul-Rest (v. 29)
As we conclude our study, let’s notice —V. A Great Explanation (v. 30)
Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This seems to be Jesus’ explanation as to why we should come to Him to work and to learn. Or it is the reason why we should come to Him at all.
ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν.
A. His Yoke Is Easy
This word “yoke” has already been used in verse 29 – “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” We going to wear somebody’s yoke — why not Christ’s? What makes His yoke different?
We are told that His yoke is “easy.” Yes! That’s what we want! An EASY yoke! But what’s meant by that word χρηστὸς?
The term χρηστός is used 7 times in the New Testament and has the meaning of “fit for use,” “useful,” “mild,” “pleasant.” It is opposed to harsh or hard or bitter. It is the opposite of burdensome here in Matthew 11:30. We read of the kindness of God in Luke 6:35 and Romans 2:4 and I Peter 2:3 (“you have tasted the kindness of the Lord”). We are told in Ephesians 4:32 to “be kind” to one another.
Apparently this word χρηστός (an adjective) comes from the verb chraomai, a word meaning “employed” or “useful” or “better.”
[I can’t help but observe that this word is very close to the word for Christ: χριστος. Χριστος is χρητος!] (We will look at the second descriptive term “light” in our last post).
Today’s Challenge: If you are a Jesus-Follower, do you give the impression to others that your being yoked to Christ is an act of His kindness? Do you feel useful to Him? Has that pleasantness somehow dissipated? If so, why?
Tags: kindness, Matthew 11, work, yoke
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Let’s look at that famous text once again:
We’ve seen the context of this incredible invitation, noticing some of the Koiné Greek and its implications. We began to outline the passage, observing that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one, inviting not all, but all who are weary and burdened.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
We then saw the second major truth in this text: Jesus’ promise!
II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”
Christ’s great command is here in verse 29.
III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
A. We are to WORK!
and —
B. We are to LEARN!
We are to study as believers — and our curriculum is CHRIST! He is gentle and humble. And such study produces a much sought-after result —
IV. A Second Great Promise — of Soul-Rest (v. 29)
Jesus promises to those who work with Him and learn from Him a commodity most pursued by human beings — soul-rest! What is meant by “soul-rest”? It is certainly deeper than mere physical rest. This is a spiritual benefit of being right with God — and being active in working and learning. We are not inanimate objects who simply allow God’s truths to passively wash over us. We pursue. We study. And we will be rewarded.
Today’s Challenge: What does someone who has Christ’s soul-rest look like? I’d very much like your reflection on this question! Please feel free to describe yourself or someone else you believe has (even momentary) soul-rest!
Tags: discipleship, Matthew 11, rest, soul-rest
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Let’s look at that famous text once again:
We’ve seen the context of this incredible invitation, noticing some of the Koiné Greek and its implications. We began to outline the passage, observing that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one: He invites not all, but all who are weary and burdened.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
We then noticed the second major truth in this text: Jesus’ promise!
II. The Great Promise (v. 28): “and I will give you rest.”
We then saw Christ’s great command in verse 29.
III. The Great Command (v. 29): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
A. We are to WORK!
As God’s fellow workers, we are yoked together with Christ. And there is work to be done! Let’s move on today and notice —
Jesus is described as πραΰς. The term praus means “mild, gentle” and is used four times in the New Testament. We learn that “blessed are the gentle” in Matthew 5:5. Matthew 21:5 tells us that the Savior would be “gentle and riding on a donkey” in the Triumphal Entry. In I Peter 3:4 we read about the godly woman that her beauty “ . . . should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” When I think of the gentleness of the Lord Jesus, I can’t help but think of Matthew’s quote of Isaiah 42:3 which says of the Messiah: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory” (Matt. 12:20). I imagine that a light touch or a simple pinch would be enough to completely break that reed or completely extinguish that smoldering wick. But that’s not the character or the conduct of the Savior.
He is also described as ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ. The word tapeinos is used 8 times in the New Testament and is translated “lowly” in the KJV (Mt. 11:29), “them of low degree” in Luke 1:52, “men of low estate” in Romans 12:16. We learn that the Lord comforts “the depressed” in 2 Corinthians 7:6. Paul speaks of himself as “meek” in 2 Corinthians 10:1. James tells the brother of “humble circumstances” that he is to glory in his high position (1:9). We learn that God gives grace “to the humble” (James 4:6; see also I Peter 5:5). The term can mean brought low with grief, lowly in spirit, deferring servilely to others.
This is our Savior. This is the One who calls us to Himself.
Today’s Challenge: While there seems to be evidence that our text is a gospel-type text, those of us who have known Him for a while are also to come! Praise God today for your gentle and humble Savior!
Tags: gentleness, humbleness, humility, learning, Matthew 11
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Here’s that famous text for us to examine once again:
We’ve thought a bit about the context of this incredible invitation and looked a bit at the Koiné Greek, seeing certain terms repeated with a variety of important implications. In our third post we began outlining the passage. And we noticed that Jesus’ invitation is a qualified one: He invites not all, but all who are weary and burdened.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
The term “weary” is used 23 times in the New Testament and includes the ideas of working with effort, growing weary, working hard (sometimes to the point of exhaustion).
But please notice a second description of the one being invited to come to Jesus. It is one who is “burdened.” The term there is πεφορτισμένοι.
The form here is the Perfect Passive Participle of φορτίζω, a verb which means “to load, to overload, to cause someone to be weighted down.” It is used only two times in the New Testament (here in Matthew 11:28 as a Perfect Passive Participle) and in Luke 11:46 (three times: once as a Present Active Indicative verb and twice as nouns): Jesus said to the lawyers, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear (literally, “you are presently burdening men with burdens”), while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”
One can’t help but think of Pilgrim burdened down with the weight of his sin in The Pilgrim’s Progress. From what we’ve seen so far in this text, this certainly seems to be a gospel challenge, doesn’t it?
Today’s Challenge: Feeling burdened? Weighed down with your sin? Come to Jesus and find that He — and only He — can deal with your sin and give you peace.
Tags: burden, Matthew 11, sin, weighed down
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Here’s that famous text once again:
In our first post we thought a bit about the context of this incredible invitation. Our second post on this text looked a bit at the Koiné Greek of this passage and we saw certain terms repeated with a variety of important implications. In our third post we began outlining the passage. And we noticed —
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . .”
Did you see that the great invitation is not given to all? What?! Not all are invited to come to Jesus?! Yes! Notice how the Lord Himself qualifies His invitation: “all you who are weary and burdened . . .” But let’s not be too hasty. He does use the term “all.” So the invitation is all-inclusive . . . for those who are described as “weary” and “burdened.” In our culture (which seems to worship inclusivism) Jesus’ invitation is exclusive to those who fit these two categories.
The term “weary” is the Greek word οἱ κοπιῶντες. This verb (whose root is κοπιάω) is in the present active participle form and includes both the idea of 1) the passive state of being weary from labor and 2) the activity of hard labor, sometimes to the point of exhaustion.
The verb means “to grow weary, to toil, to work with effort (of bodily and mental labor alike).” Its cognate κόπος refers to “exhausting labor, to labor until worn-out, depleted.”
Used 23 times in the New Testament, Matthew 6:28 speaks about the flowers of the field who “do not labor or spin.” In Luke 5:5 we learn of Simon’s complaint that “we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything . . .” Sometimes the word simply means “tired” as in John 4 where we read that “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.” Forms of the verb are found later in John 4 where Jesus says, “38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
In Acts 20:35 Paul is addressing the elders of Ephesus and says, “35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Other uses of this verb include Romans 16:12 (“12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
We read in Ephesians 4:28 that the one who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor . . . with his own hands.” In Philippians 2:16 Paul fears that he has toiled in vain. I Thessalonians 5:12 tells us we should appreciate those “who diligently labor among you . . .” Paul challenges ministers to discipline themselves and says, “it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (I Timothy 4:10). We read of hard working preachers in I Timothy 5:17 and hard working farmers in 2 Timothy 2:6. The church in Ephesus is commended in Revelation 2 for their deeds and their “toil.”
Today’s Challenge: Are you exhausted? Worn out from trying to work out your own salvation (in a wrong way)? Come to Jesus. Bring your weariness. And you will be glad you did!
Tags: labor, Matthew 11, toil, weariness, work
Friends: I consider it a great privilege to work on my blog every day. And for the next few posts I’ll be examining one of my favorite passages, Matthew 11:28-30. This is a text worthy of memorization (which I’m very bad at). I want to slowly go through these verses with you and see as much as we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help. Here’s that famous text once again:
In our first post we thought a bit about the context of this incredible invitation. Our second post on this text looked a bit at the Koiné Greek of this passage and we saw certain terms repeated with a variety of important implications.
Let’s begin in this post to outline this passage.
I. The Great Invitation (v. 28): Note that Jesus says, “Come to me . . .” He doesn’t say come to the Father, but come to me! We noticed in our first post that Jesus stated a few verses earlier: ” 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” In no uncertain terms, the Son claims to be the only One who truly knows the Father and He has the power to reveal the Father to those He chooses.
One can’t help but be reminded of John 14:6 where we read, ““I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If He is indeed right, then the most rational step anyone could take would be to come to Jesus!
In our next post we will notice that this great invitation is not extended to everyone. Really.
Today’s Challenge: Christians have no right to waffle on the issue of Jesus’ being the exclusive way to the Father. Let us not be ashamed to proclaim Him — and Him alone — as the only Savior and the only way to the Father!
Tags: exclusivity, invitation, Matthew 11
Dr. Larry Dixon
larrydixon.wordpress.com 