Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

Do you seek to have peace and rest in your life? If so, the only answer is Jesus. And the only way to understand Jesus is to come to Him.

But what exactly does that mean?

Some think this means that Jesus is inviting us to be born again and that by coming to Him we have chosen to receive eternal life. But what would cause a person to want to come to Christ except that he believes in Him? John 5:24 teaches that a person that believes already has eternal life. So, this cannot be what Jesus means.

This call is to those who are laboring with sin and feel the weight of it upon their shoulders like a heavy yoke. This does not apply to those who are righteous in their own eyes like the Scribes and Pharisees. This call to come to Jesus is for those who know they are sick from sin and need the Great Physician.

Furthermore, this call is true gospel call. It does not list requirements for getting or keeping eternal salvation. A believer already has salvation. This call shows the believer how they should live after having been saved.

The key to understanding this is the yoke that we are called to bear. We easily remember that the yoke is easy and light. Some teach that this means all we have to do is believe. But what about the times that I waver and don’t believe? Am I eternal lost?

No.

The definition of Jesus’ yoke is further described by the character of Jesus – meek and lowly at heart.

This means that the believer is called upon to act like Christ. We are not doing this in order to be saved for He has purchased our redemption. We are doing this, and it is light and easy, because all we are called to do is live for others just like Jesus did! There is no threat of losing our salvation if we falter for that would be a yoke of “sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

Jesus’ yoke is easy because we have passed from death unto life. We are already eternally alive in Christ. Any doctrine that would tell us we must do something to gain or keep this life is a burden that we can lay down. It is a burden that He already bore.

So, Jesus invites us to find rest. There is a true rest in the grace of God when we see that Jesus truly did “pay it all.” Our calling is not about how to save ourselves. We are called to love others. When we do this, we stop worrying about ourselves and focus on others. The result?

Rest.