Matthew 11.25-30

Have you ever felt tired?

I don’t mean the kind of tired that comes from a lack of sleep.

I mean the kind of tired that comes from working non-stop and feeling like you are never going to be able to finish the job?

In our house with two kids, three if you include me, which my wife does, there are never ending piles of dirty dishes and never ending piles of dirty laundry.  

Just when you think you have washed the last plate or folded the last pair of underwear, someone needs a snack and then drops that snack all over their clean shirt. 

Do you sometimes feel like the list of burdens of life, the to do list at your office, the to do list in your home, the to do list in your marriage, the to do list with your children, and the to do list at your church are too much to handle?

Today, heavy, unimaginable, and overwhelming burdens are being felt because:

Our kids are rebelling against what is good and right for them.

Our marriages aren’t experiencing all that was promised in the vows at the altar.  Instead, we are experiencing daily struggle and the hardest of hearts — things we could never have imagined when getting married. Stubborn disagreement. Refusal to compromise. Addiction. Insurmountable debt. Verbal abuse. Mental abuse. Physical abuse. The Jumbotron Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert.

Today, heavy, unimaginable, and overwhelming burdens are being felt:

Because of the constant news of natural disasters taking human life.

Because of worry about tomorrow.

Because of personal failure in the past.

Because of injustice.

Because of self-loathing and guilt over what we have thought, said, or done.

Because of wars and possible wars with Middle Eastern countries, Russia, and China.

Because of the decisions of politicians to fight each other instead of fighting for the good of the American people.

Burden stinks.

When we are burdened, we can’t sleep, we find it hard to breath at moments, we can’t focus, we can’t move forward, and we can’t accomplish the simplest of goals — like taking a shower or getting dressed, just to name a few of the side effects of burden.

And, all of that to say that when we are burdened, we just can’t rest.   

There is too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

If all of this sounds like the way you feel, and I am sure it does, there is good news for you this morning as we hear much needed good news from one of the four (4) biographies of Jesus.

Our Biblical text this morning comes from the Biblical book of Matthew.

It is here that we are told about living at rest instead of living with burden.

Matthew 11:25–30, brings us the words of Jesus, assuring us that life with Him is a life of rest.

Let here what Jesus says about rest:

[25] At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] 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. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (ESV)

In these words, Jesus tells us that when we go to him, that is, when we have faith that He is God’s gift of a Lord, Savior, and Friend, we can rest.

And we can rest because of who Jesus tells us he is and what Jesus tells us he does for us.

This is what Jesus tells us about himself in these words:

Jesus speaks to you.

Jesus prays to God the Father in Heaven for you.

Jesus thanks God for you.

Jesus who alone knows God the Father, because He is One with Him, reveals God the Father to you.

Jesus reveals God’s grace to you.

Jesus is in charge of all things for your good.

Jesus calls you to come and be with Him.

Jesus gives you rest because of who He is and what He does for you.

Jesus teaches you who God is and what God is like and what God’s standards are for life and love.

Jesus is gentle with you.

Jesus is humble with you.

Jesus’ yoke is easy for you.

And, Jesus’ burden is light for you.

Writing about this morning’s text, one author says,

“At the end of the day, the Christian life is not about what you and I can do in and for the kingdom in our own effort; that’s a recipe for failure. Following Christ is about Jesus the Christ living in and through and for us on a daily basis. He helps us in our struggles with sin, in our battles with temptation, and in our suffering in trials. Believers are in the yoke with Jesus, and the One who calls us to righteous living is the One who enables us to live a righteous life. The One who beckons you to trust the Father is the One who enables you to trust the Father. And the One who calls us to preach the gospel to the nations is the One who empowers us to preach the gospel to the nations.”

The first thing we are going to briefly examine is the good news that Jesus speaks to us and reveals who God the Father in Heaven is and what God the Father in Heaven has done and is doing for us.

Ultimately, Jesus reveals himself.

Jesus reveals salvation.

Jesus reveals the way to forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life.

In another biography of Jesus, John, a personal friend and follower of Jesus tells us that Jesus said:

[1] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1–4, 6,  ESV)

This is good news because God did not have to make Himself known to us.

Because of our ungodly thoughts, words, and behavior, we broke off our relationship with God.  In effect, we sent God divorce papers.  We told him, by our ungodly thoughts, words, an behavior that we thought our life would be better without him.

However, God refused to sign those divorce papers and instead did everything in his power to fix our relationship with him.

Because of God’s great love for me and for you, He chose to let us know that He would forgive us and forget our wrongdoing.

And, He would forgive our sin and forget our wrongdoing by paying off the debt that our sin incurred by trading the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross for ours.

The second thing that we are briefly going to look at this morning, flows directly out of the first.

We find rest in what Jesus reveals to us about God the Father and Himself.

We can rest in the truth that that God provides all we need to be accepted by Him today, tomorrow, and forever, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

There is nothing left to do to gain God’s approval.

In the person and work of Jesus Christ, God has come alongside of us and rescued us from the burden to work hard to perfectly complete the over 600 commandments in the Bible.

When I was in high school and had a day off, I would often go with my Dad to his job in New York City.

Back in those days, my Dad worked for a company that dealt with marine insurance claims.  

I know, I know, it sounds exciting and fascinating — just the place a high school student would want to spend an 8 hour work day.

But, I really like to go to help my Dad catch up on the stack of claims that he had to process and record.

Now for some of you, this is going to shock you, but there were no computers back in those days.  Every insurance claim had to be recorded by hand with a pen in a giant log book.   It was tedious work.

On those days that I went to help my Dad with his work, I would get up early, travel with him from Staten Island into Manhattan by train, boat, and subway.  

And, before heading up into my Dad’s office in midtown, we would stop at the deli for buttered bagels and a Snapple.

I would then sit at the desk next to my Dad and log in dates, claim numbers, company names, and payouts for the remainder of the day.

I worked alongside my Dad, helping him with the work he had to do.  Or, in other words that come from our Biblical text for this morning, I was yoked to my Dad on those joint work days, sharing the burden created by the job he had to complete.

Now, when I say “yoke,” I am not referring the yellow center portion of an egg.

I am referring to the farming tool that would hook two animals together.

This is what a yoke looks like.

And, this is what a yoke looks like on a pair of oxen.

The yoke would be used to help the oxen share the burden of plowing a field.  Instead of one animal bearing the weight and physical exertion of pulling a plow all day long, the farmer would yoke two oxen together and then hook up the plow to the yoke so that the weight and physical exertion would be shared by the two animals.

As a Christian, have you ever felt tired?

I mean the kind of tired that comes from working non-stop to prove that you are a good person or good Christian?

good enough for God and His Kingdom of Heaven; 

good enough for the people in your church; 

good enough so that you don’t feel like a hypocrite?

Do you feel like the burdens you read about in the Bible, learn about in Bible study, and hear about in sermons are too much to handle?

Well, if you feel that way, you are right.

The to-do list of what it takes to please God by obeying all of His laws for life and love is too much for you to handle. 

The laws of God and His rules for life and love are actually impossible for you to live up to.

However the good news for you this morning in our text, is summed up by author Todd Brewer in his latest post for the culture meets theology blog Mockingbird, when he says:

“Christianity is not a road-map of rules to follow before gaining eternal life, or a set of general principles that govern God’s creation and our ethical decision-making. Christianity believes in a personal, benevolent, creative God who has already and is in the process of fundamentally altering the course of human history. Christianity posits itself as the one truth that changes everything.”

The good news for you this morning is that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has altered human history and changed everything for you!

He comes to work with you to help you catch up and finish the stack of claims piled up against you and in need of recording as being “finished” in God’s logbook.

However, when you are yoked to Jesus, you are yoked to someone who has already finished the job before you got there. You are partnered with someone who has first finished the job that needed to be completed.  You are connected with someone who leaves nothing left for you to do.

In the yoke, Jesus takes the full weight of our sin and Jesus gives us full pardon for our sin on the other side.

Therefore, you can always rest with peace before God in the completed work of Jesus Christ.

When you feel the burdens of the world piling up on you and when you feel the burdens of trying to please God pile up on you, remember the good news that Jesus speaks to you when He says:

[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14.27, ESV)

[33] I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33, ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 20, 2025.