MY BURDEN IS LIGHT

Matt 11:25-30 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Come unto Me, all ye that labor 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.

Immediately after Jesus denounced impenitent cities in Galilee, He delivered the teaching found in the lesson text. The Jewish leaders, having steadfastly rejected Jesus as the Son of God, as well as His doctrines, were unwilling to open their minds to any teaching that was contrary to their interpretation of Old Testament scriptures. For the few that heard, understood, and received Him as the promised Savior, Jesus was very thankful to His Heavenly Father. Many Jews, especially those that were spiritual leaders, refused to accept Jesus because of their self-righteous, worldly-wise minds toward the word of God. In a ridiculing manner, Jesus referred to these stubborn, unyielding Jews as "wise and prudent." And to the few that obeyed His teaching and followed Him, Jesus referred to them as babes. This was a common analogy that Jesus used when referring to those that have receptive hearts and minds. Notice Matthew 18:3-4: And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In a negative manner, Jesus stated the same thing: Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein (Mark 10:15). Indeed, for these babes (receptive Jews), Jesus gave God the thanks, for so it seemed good in Thy sight.

As the Son of God, sent to earth to deliver His message of eternal life to His believing children, Jesus was given the complete plan of salvation, which was delivered unto Me of My Father. Jesus was sent to fulfill God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Having been given all power in heaven and on earth, Jesus came as the promised Messiah, and also became Savior of the world, the Head of His church, and finally will be the Mediator between God and all mankind on the Day of Judgment. To know, and fully comprehend, God and His Son, Christ Jesus, has not been given to men and women of the world. However sufficient knowledge of God's plan of salvation, which gives mankind the hope of eternal salvation, was given to His Son. And through Him it was delivered to men and women of the world. No, we don't have complete knowledge of all things, but through our Savior we have been given a sufficient glimpse of afterlife, allowing us to understand, and obtain, the hope of eternal salvation.

And here we have God's call for all to come to Him and accept eternal salvation, which He made available through His Son, Jesus Christ. One of the sweetest passages found in God's word says: Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. To all that are tired, weary, and suffering from the burdens of a sinful life that will lead to eternal condemnation, Jesus says "come to Him". Through Him we are offered peace and rest for our souls - a complete relief from our earthly burdens of life. And how are we to come to Him? We are to repent of our sinful past and, as a symbol of our submission, take His yoke of obedience through complete belief in the word of God, confessing Him to be the Son of God, being baptized for the remission of our sins, and finally, being added to the church of Christ, we must follow Him as He follows the will of His Heavenly Father.

Instead of the yoke of bondage to sin, through Christ Jesus, we are offered the freedom of peace and rest. Our Savior tells us that the burdensome yoke of sin can be replaced with the easily-bourn yoke He offers mankind. He tells us that My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Even though it is His cross that we volunteer to bear, He will always protect us, guide us, and help us to bear it to the end of time. Whatever God requires of us as His children; whatever duty and responsibility we are asked to carry out as a follower of Christ; whatever doctrine He has asked us to submit to, it is easily bourn through Christ Jesus, our Lord.