One of the most recognized verses in the Bible is also, in my opinion, one of the most misunderstood.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
-Matthew 11:28,30 (ESV)
I have read this verse more times than I can count but the freedom that is so crystal clear here isn’t in verse 28. This verse is the reward of the work happening between Jesus and the Father and that work, our marvelous freedom, is revealed in verses 25-27.
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, yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 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.”
Jesus lifted this prayer in the midst of a people who were wasted with legalism. The people were burdened by the lawyers and Pharisees who ruled over them the impossible law of God. His thankfulness to God is the screaming joy of the grace we have in Jesus. The doctrine of election is not a means for endless debate and frustration but an invitation to realize that our “salvation belongs to the Lord”.
These verses welcome weary people into a work they cannot complete. A work they could not even begin to fulfill. The work has been accomplished with absolute perfection by an absolutely sovereign God and King and Savior. We can rest in Christ because it isn’t up to us to be the savior we could never become.
Election is medicinal. It heals our broken bones and it kills the cancer of legalism.
- Commentary: Ephesians 5:21 - March 15, 2016
- Preference or Revelation: Church Attendance in the 21st Century - March 1, 2016
- Pray for Chattanooga - July 18, 2015
