All who are weary
Part 1
4th May 2013
Last week, we looked at:
Matthew 11v25-26
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
We saw that God chooses to whom he will reveal himself. And Jesus confirmed this immediately after:
Matthew 11v27
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows
the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
We can't see God unless Jesus Christ chooses to reveal Him to us.
So it might be surprising to some that the very next thing Jesus says is:
Matthew 11v28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Doesn't that sound like an open invitation? Isn't Jesus saying that He will welcome anybody that wants to come to Him? And won't that welcome include revealing the Father to those who come to Him? The answer must be "Yes".
So why isn't this a flat contradiction of what Jesus had just said? We get the answer in:
John 6v44a
"No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him"
The invitation is, indeed, open. All who come will be welcome. But we're incapable of coming unless God sends His Holy Spirit to give us a desire to come, and faith to believe that we can come.
As so often in scripture, we find that the answer to the question "Predestination or free will?" is, in fact, "Both!" Do we have free will? Yes! Has God chosen who will be saved? Yes!
But the invitation remains. Can you find it in your heart to respond to it? Will you acknowledge that you're weary and burdened? (I don't know anybody who isn't) Do you want the rest that Jesus offers? (You'd have to be mad to say "No", wouldn't you?) So the question must be: "Do you believe that Jesus can do what He says?" Can Jesus give His rest to all... who are weary and burdened?
Logically, if Jesus is God then, yes, of course He can. And if Jesus isn't God then, no, of course He can't. So here's the question that will determine whether you enter into God's rest: Is Jesus God?
And the second is: Will you come to Him?