The Need for Rest
28. Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I Am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
30. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Finding Sabbath Rest
Since the beginning, God has instituted the Sabbath Law. Those some refer to it as a day, it is really a state of perfect peace with God. That peace cannot be attained by owning things, going places, achieving goals, or even enjoying activities. God’s peace for the soul fills a void that every person needs. Humans and all of creation craves for God’s peace. This is rest for the soul. This is contentment and calmness that fills the heart. This rest can only come from One source and One source only. It must come from God for no one else and nothing else has the power to produce it but God.
This is what God meant when He established the Law of the Sabbath. God was saying first to Adam, “You need My Rest.” God was saying, “You need to take some time out of your schedule and spend it with Me so I can give you rest.” Rather than obeying God, Adam and Eve chose the path of restlessness. They chose the forbidden fruit as they embraced knowledge outside of God. They chose to walk in a way that is not good and turn from the Living God to the dead works of self-pursuit. The tragic result was restlessness of the soul and the death that separated them from God.
The Sabbath Rest was extended to Israel in the Law. While many of them kept the formality of the commandment, few of them enjoyed the real treasure of embracing God’s peace in their heart. They were often condemned by the prophets for doing that which was unlawful on the Sabbath. They oppressed the poor, they committed sin, and ignored God’s Word while at the same time claiming to honor God’s command to rest. As a result, they suffered for their rebellion and even suffered captivity and the destruction of the Temple. Sabbath means to rest with God and to enjoy His presence as well as His peace. Without that comfort in our souls, our lives will quickly disintegrate into restlessness and eventually hopelessness. For this reason, the end times will be marked by tremendous unrest. People will try to find answers to the woes that are coming on the earth, but they will be shut out of the Presence of God by their own selfish will.
Here’s what the Bible has to say about the need for rest in the end times. These are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled … And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring … men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:23, 25-26. The world will be in chaos. Restlessness and heart wrenching fear will seize the minds of people as they run to the rocks and caves to hide from the wrath of Almighty God. That will be the outcome for those who refuse to heed God’s warnings to repent. Think about it. If people are suffering from unrest and anxiety now, how much more will that state of mind dominate the lives of people during the end times?
On the other hand, those who acknowledge their need for God’s Rest, their lives will be embraced by God’s wonderful and abundant peace. Even as God’s people face life’s challenges, they yet enjoy a Sabbath from God that keeps them calm and tranquil even in the most trying times. The moment the believer accepts Jesus’ invitation of Sabbath rest, they will embrace such hope and joy that will be more than the mind can conceive. Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The New Testament scholar William Barclay, noted four principles for the Sabbath rest that Jesus offers to every person. First is the principle of warfare or the battle to arrive at the place of rest. Until we meet Christ all our lives are marked by labor and being heavy laden. The next principle is choice. Jesus issues this choice in the word “Come.” Our Lord calls to those who are willing to make that choice and respond to His glorious invitation. Then there is the cross that one must bear if they are to find sweet rest in the Lord. Take My yoke upon you. The Sabbath offered by Christ is not inactivity but rather to become active in the Lord’s service. We simply follow His instructions. Lastly, Barclay notes the adventure in the Sabbath of rest that Jesus offers. We must learn from Him and then we discover His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The struggle is over, but the fellowship has just begun.
Entering the Sabbath Rest
Using William Barclay’s assessment of the Sabbath Rest of the Lord, I would like to expand on what the rest of God means in our times of crisis. I have discovered that the times we are living in are also filled with great turmoil and chaos. As the hymn writer noted, Time is filled with swift transition. Naught of earth unmoved can stand. Build your hope on things eternal. Hold to God’s unchanging Hand.
Most of us have read the closing verses of Matthew 11 as Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and find rest for the soul. That is certainly true. However, if you look deeper into the passage, you will find that Jesus was talking about the Day of Judgment that was coming on the cities that had heard the Gospel but had not repented. Specifically, Jesus condemned the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not heeding the warnings that had issued to them. Mighty works had been performed in Chorazin and Bethsaida. Yet, they had not repented. Jesus said of Capernaum, that if the same mighty works were done in Sodom that had been performed in Capernaum, Sodom would have remained … Then our Lord turned His attention to thanking the Father for hiding these truths from the wise and prudent but revealing them to babes. Here is the point. Jesus was inviting people to enter the Sabbath of Rest by repenting and turning to Him. Therefore, Jesus gave the invitation for everyone who would hear His voice to Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The Day of Judgment is coming and only those who turn from their wicked ways and come to Christ will enter into eternal rest.
When Jesus invites us into His Rest, it is first and foremost a fellowship. God could have invited us into the tutorship of an Angel. They certainly could teach us of their position in Heaven. The Angels could certainly show us how they stand in the Presence of God and honor His Glory. Angels could certainly impress us with their great strength and knowledge of heavenly things. But God did not call us into the fellowship of seraphim nor teraphim, nor powers, nor principalities. Jesus Christ calls us into fellowship with His own Divine Power. Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. No, our Lord does not call us into fellowship with any other being but Himself, for He is the only One that can offer the true Sabbath of God. Then we can join with Him and rest from all the cares of life as we share the glory of walking with the Lord.
Please note also that when Christ calls us into fellowship, we are called away from the life of failure and despair. He calls those who are heavy laden and burdened with the load of care. What a fellowship! What a joy divine as we feel the weight of our troubles lifted and we graciously accept our new place with the Savior. It is foremost a call into the Rest that only God can provide. The Bible says that after the Lord God had created all things, He rested the seventh day. God hallowed that day. That tells us that we are complete in Christ. Nothing else needs to be added for the work of God is finished to perfection. In other words, the fellowship with God is perfect and our need to improve upon our Salvation is therefore useless. Our souls are completely satisfied in Christ.
When we are called into the Rest that Jesus provides, we are also entering into His ownership. This invitation into rest is also an invitation of ownership where we ask the Lord to guide us and lead us into His Path. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I Am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. To come under the yoke in Bible terms means to come under the governing authority of another. O how wonderful to know that Jesus is not like the earthly tyrants and ruthless dictators! Our Lord, has committed Himself to train us and teach us His Righteousness so that we can walk uprightly in this world. If you think about it, the troubles we face are so often the troubles that we create through our foolish decisions. What we find when we turn to God for all our directions is that He leads us in the path for our good. The Lord does not deal with us as a harsh taskmaster, but as a gentle Shepherd. Even though He is all-powerful, His way is meek and lowly. Some would debate that they are not free to do as they choose if God becomes their owner. Others would argue that they can make their own decisions. The end result of such decisions is that they lead to tragic consequences. There is a way that seems right to mankind, but in the end, it leads to death. Would we rather choose death than to be led in the pathway of life?
One thing is certain, if God takes ownership of our lives, we have access to His Grace and Mercy that will keep us for all eternity. Ownership means God will take care of us. I cannot imagine living a day without God watching over me. I would dread the thought of waking up to a morning without the Lord Jesus in my life. That is how wonderful and awesome it is to truly know and belong to God.
Our fellowship with God means we have responded to the call to seek Him for our Sabbath rest. God’s ownership over our life is a testimony that we have come under the yoke of our Lord’s authority. Someone has said, “We cannot claim Christ as our Savior until we acknowledge Him as our Lord.” How true!
Then we consider also that entering into the Sabbath of rest also means becoming God’s workmanship. In this life, your character and identity will be shaped by someone or something. It will either be the people around you or the environment in which you dwell that shapes who you are. Those pressures become the very burden that people carry as they try to pretend that all is well and they are doing great. Greatness is not a measure of how much you own, nor is it how great you become. What is going on in your soul? Are you worth anything on the inside? Furthermore, are you fit for eternity? The only One who can shape you for eternity or this life is the One Who knows all about it. Jesus therefore calls us into His Sabbath of rest that we may be shaped into His image. I know, you were thinking of rest as doing nothing. Remember, Jesus Himself said, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath and not evil.” When we enter into the Lord’s Sabbath, we cease from our own labor and we also cease from becoming the victim of the world’s efforts to destroy us. O we will still have conflicts from the outside, but those things will not conquer our souls because they are in God’s Hands. Jesus says, Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I Am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. Through Christ, we learn how to truly live as a child of the King. Through Christ we learn what it means to walk with the Living God. Through Christ we learn that even the work that God has assigned to us is rest for the soul. In Christ, our need to rest is totally satisfied.