Understand the Invitation

Understand the Invitation

Jesus’ invitation to walk in the yoke with Him isn’t like receiving aninvitation to dinner. Grasping the importance of the invitation from Jesus requires some understanding that begins with looking at thoseinvited.Jesus says to us Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. The people Jesus invites have problems; life is not good. They struggle with burdens and labor under more than they can manage. They need rest! The people to whom Jesus speaks are people like us. They, like us,labored under the heavy burden of sin, and they weren’t able to get outfrom under it. Every day reminded them that they were heavy laden.

Rest was not to be found in all their religious rituals and efforts atobedience to all the rules and regulations of first-century Judaism. Here comes Jesus, however. He speaks to them in the hearing of theirreligious leaders and tells them that He’ll give them rest! It’s justwhat they wanted and needed. It’s just what we want and need. All their works and all their effort hadn’t worked. They still labored under their heavy burdens.

In this first part of Jesus’ invitation, He offers us Himself. Come to me, Jesus says and I will give you rest. He invites them to discover theforgiveness of sin—the cause of their heavy burdens. This initial coming, before stepping into the yoke, is the coming to faith in Jesus Christ, hisdeath, burial and resurrection.Notice the breadth of the invitation. He doesn’t limit it to one group orone gender or one age group. All you who labor and are heavy laden maycome. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus includes you and me inthe all! Anyone who knows the burden of their own sin and the futility oftheir own labors to remove the burden can come.His promise is simple. I will give you rest. His rest will release usfrom the burden we carry and free us of the labors that don’t accomplishtheir goal.

If you are one of those who labors and is heavy laden, you can come to Jesus. He’s already invited you! (Pastor John Strain – FirstBaptist Toms River)

SOMETHING TO THING ABOUT: Whenever you are concerned to think and actabout your salvation, you must put away all thoughts of works, traditionsand philosophy - indeed, of the law of God itself. And you must rundirectly to the manger and the mother's womb, embrace this infant andvirgin's child in your arms, and look at Him - born, being nursed, growingup, going about in human society, teaching, dying, rising again, ascendingabove all the heavens, and having authority over all things. In this wayyou can shake off all terrors and errors, as the sun dispels the clouds.This vision will keep you on the proper way, so that you may follow whereChrist has gone. Martin Luther