“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
What a comforting passage of Scripture! Jesus is contrasting His teaching with that of the Jewish leaders. The latter group established rules and regulations that weighed people down. These religious duties also distanced people from God. A blizzard of policies and prescriptions will distract us from seeking the Lord.
But have you read the Sermon on the Mount? In this address (Matthew 5-7), Jesus describes life in the kingdom of God. He instructs His disciples about the responsibilities they will have as loyal citizens of God’s realm.
Several years ago, I preached a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount which I called “Living Tomorrow’s Values Today.” Let me unpack what I meant by that phrase.
For centuries, the Jewish people waited for the promised Messiah. When this anointed leader arrived, he would liberate the nation from Gentile domination, restore Israel to glory, and usher in unparalleled blessings.
That’s all wonderful, but it assumes the Jewish people were ready for the age to come. All God had to do was inaugurate it and they would receive and enjoy it.
But that’s now how God saw things.
So He sent a man, John the Baptist, to prepare the people.
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.”’” – Matthew 3:1-3
Those who want to enter the kingdom must repent first. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the Jews of the first century, since Isaiah’s prophecy was hundreds of years old. But John caught people off-guard because they thought everything was set. All they had to do was wait for the Messiah, and then the blessings would flow!
Jesus began His ministry by repeating John’s declaration. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” – Matthew 4:17
People wanted the kingdom, but they didn’t realize what it would demand of them.
The Sermon on the Mount showed them.
Even though John and Jesus preached the arrival of the kingdom, nothing looked any different. Rome still ruled, corrupt leadership ran the temple, and the world remained full of sinners and evil spirits.
I used the word “tomorrow” to represent the future kingdom of God, that time when evil will be eradicated and Edenic conditions restored. In Matthew 5-7, Christ explains how we are to conduct our lives as if “tomorrow” is today. We disciples are to live like we’re in the kingdom age now.
This sounds like an inspiring way to elicit our best efforts. But it’s so much more. In God’s kingdom, there will be no violence, so disciples are to live today without malice or vengeance. In the kingdom, there will be no poverty, so disciples are to exhibit generosity today.
You get the idea.
Jesus’ teaching doesn’t sound easy or light! It’s one thing to live a kingdom lifestyle when we’re in an ideal environment. But here? Now? That’s a tall order!
Yet this is what Jesus insists on.
And at the same time, He also maintains that what He’s teaching isn’t difficult. Well, what about this?
“I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven … 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:20, 48
Sounds hard to me!
So what is Jesus getting at when He offers an easy yoke and a light burden for His disciples?
I suggest the answer lies with the necessity of repentance. The Greek noun (metanoia) means a change of mind. The world has its way of thinking, but so does the kingdom of God, and they’re not the same. To transfer from one to the other, we have to change our thinking.
About what?
About righteousness, about what forms a well-ordered life.
Jesus was calling for people to surrender their chaotic and destructive manners of living. They were to adopt the life of the kingdom of God–a life ordered around the Creator and Redeemer.
When we enter the kingdom of God, when we take upon ourselves the yoke of Christ, we begin to live the way the Lord designed us. We’re no longer at odds with ourselves or with others. Furthermore, as the apostle Paul states, “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Right relationships with God, others, and ourselves. This is what Jesus gives us through His gospel. It’s a yoke that fits us, allowing us to work in His fields without chafing or straining.
Comforting words indeed!
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