Yoking with Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Jesus reveals himself as the ONLY way to know God and offers us rest. Rest in Christ is not a life of ease: it is slavery and submission to Christ… and laying down every other master. We don’t have to be God. We don’t have to get to God. We don’t have to be good enough. We take up our cross, his yoke… and find REST.
Are You Tired
Are You Tired
Today is Arabelle’s birthday… so we have to begin with the most classic Arabelle story.
In the days of yore, almost 15 years ago, we are at Sweet Tomato (man, I miss that restaurant)… and we are there with little Arabelle. And dinner with Arabelle in those years meant you had to “spend some time” in the restroom, like clockwork, every dinner.
And, with littles, going to the restroom is a surprisingly social activity, and so Kayleigh and Logan piled into the stall too, I think. Just, you know, hanging out.
And a woman enters the restroom on the phone. And she is yelling at the other person on the phone. “I am SO tired of this, I am SO TIRED!” Angry and frustrated.
Now, Arabelle is a very sweet and helpful child. And she knows how to solve this problem. So she pipes up in her sweet little toddler voice:
“You tired? You want to take a nap! You tired?”
Anyone tired this morning? Nap-time cometh… either later after lunch… or during the sermon if you try hard.
Recap
Recap
Jesus has sent his disciples out on mission, with instructions on how to proclaim the message of the Kingdom… and a warning that persecution will come.
He answers the doubts and questions of cousin John… he is indeed the Messiah, and signs and wonders testify to who he is… even if it isn’t the “Kingdom by violence” that some have expected. It certainly isn’t… it’s the road to the cross.
Woe
Woe
And Jesus speaks a prophetic “word of woe” over the cities who saw the MOST miracles and got the most teaching. The ones who got the most Jesus… and yet didn’t listen.
Woe to Chorazin. Woe to Bethsaida. Woe to Capernaum.
And then… he thanks God???
25 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; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
What “things” were hidden here? The judgment and woe pieces???
I think this primarily applies to what he is about to say. It is a loaded introduction. Because what he is about to say is big. HUGE.
27 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.
Just an INCREDIBLE Christological statement! Has he said anything quite this clear before?
He has been revealed as God’s son before. The voice from heaven at his baptism, the demons recognized him in fear as the “Son of God.” The Son, as opposed to a son, which is often used of angelic appearances.
He is my Father… and I am THE Son.
And no one knows me, the Son… except the Father. That’s not actually that crazy, no one knows me like God either. No terror yet.
And no one knows the Father except ME!
Wait… what? We are too used to Jesus saying these things, we know who Jesus is. Here with the ears of those who don’t, or don’t yet, or never will.
If someone on the street came up to you and said “No one knows God except me! Want me to introduce you to God?”
Umm… no, crazy person! These are the people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The people of Moses and King David, the recipients of all the prophets, the people of the Torah. They have the temple AND synagogue.
Can’t it be said that they “know” the Father? Like… a “bit.” A skosh? A skosh-and-a-half?
“NO!” Jesus says. “Just me!”
So very close-minded. So exclusive.
This is a closed loop.
No one knows the Son except the Father.
No one knows the Father except the Son.
Sorry. Bad news! That’s a closed loop… you can’t get in.
Except… PRAISE GOD!, there’s an entry point, an on-ramp.
“And anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
The only way anyone can know God… is through the Son. And that has ALWAYS been true, by the way.
When John says “The Word, the Logos, was with God and was God...” he recognizes who and what Jesus reveals himself to be, and here is the first time he has revealed himself to this extent.
The only way anyone has ever known God is through Jesus. He is the Logos, the Word, the revelation of God.
In light of this incredible revelation of who Jesus is… what is the action he invites us to?
Come to me
Come to me
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Come to me,” Jesus says. So far he has mostly said “follow me...” Come to me is a little different… I’ll be here when you get here. It’s not a chase, it’s an invitation to presence.
Who is he inviting?
Those who Labor and are Heavy Laden
Those who Labor and are Heavy Laden
Anyone laboring?
Anyone “heavy laden?”
Yeah. I think this is like the Beattitudes… blessed are those who mourn… and a whole bunch of folks in the crowd go “Oh… that’s me.”
Speaking to his disciples, but I think also to those in Capernaum and Bethsaida and everywhere else who have rejected him… or haven’t listened yet. Aren’t you weary? Aren’t you tired?
Jesus uses this “heavy laden” language multiple times to point at the law as wielded by scribes and Pharisees.
2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,
3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
It may literally refer to phylacteries, or tepillin, black leather boxes containing scriptural passages worn on the forehead and left arm. The weight of the law… and everything they’ve added to the law… and the “works based righteousness” implied by all of it.
This at least is a HUGE part of the “labor and heavy burden” Jesus speaks too.
They are trying to please God in their own efforts. And failing. Because it’s too much. It’s impossible.
They are trying to make it on their own. And they can’t… it’s too heavy.
And Jesus says the “religious leaders” are making it worse, piling on the guilt and shame. And I’m sure the foreign oppressors, the Romans, the government is making it worse, piling on the taxes and expectation.
And their families piling on the expectations. And a guilt/shame based culture… all piling it on.
Aren’t you weary and heavy laden? I will give you...
Rest
Rest
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
This “rest” thing is a big deal. It’s no accident what Jesus goes to next, it’s all about Sabbath.
I was chatting with Nick Kersten a couple months ago, he made a great case for our “identity” being all about “Rest.” Rest in Christ, Rest in Salvation, Rest in Sabbath… we are people of “rest.”
I love it. There’s something profound and powerful here.
What does Jesus mean by “rest”?
The word is connected, like our word “rest”, to peace and security. I am refreshed. I am at peace. I am restored by rest.
My picture of rest: a hammock on the beach, crisp breeze but warm sun. Great book, quiet music, but I can still hear the waves. Maybe some snacks? Maybe a nice drink…
That isn’t quite the picture Jesus paints. I honestly wish it was.
Or, I think I wish it was. What happens when I’m tired of sitting in that hammock? When I finish the book and the next one isn’t out yet! (Oh, the worst!)
My drink is tapped, my snacks are gone.
What Jesus is talking about is much bigger than a quiet moment of rest. He offers “rest for your souls.”
The deepest and truest and forever part of you. What does “soul rest” mean or look like?
He has a very different picture for us.
It looks like a “yoke.”
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Yoke
Yoke
What is a yoke?
We have one of these on the wall up at Camp Paul Hummel. Made of wood, maybe some metal in there, used to harness the power of the animal to a plow or wagon.
And I’ve heard this analogy used with Jesus pulling next to us, and he’s strong, so we barely have to do anything. We are partners in this thing and he is doing most of the work.
I don’t think that’s what Jesus is saying.
Because this is a yoke too. One oxen, one animal. And given the price of animals, this was a more common occurrence. But more than that...
This is a yoke too. A slave yoke, or collar. And prominently in biblical literature, this is used metaphorically to refer to the responsibilities of slaves.
God laid his yoke on the people of Israel.
When they followed other gods or other nations
8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break his [Nebuchadnezzar's] yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.
Dozens of other places. The “yoke” of one King of Israel heavier than another. It is a symbol of submission, of fealty… of ownership.
And Jesus speaks of “his yoke.” He owns it.
If I’m “yoked” up side by side with someone, we don’t talk about one of us owning the yoke. The farmer owns the yoke. The Master.
But this is bizarre… Jesus does speak of taking our yoke upon ourselves.
It’s a bizarre image. An animal harnessing itself to the plow. Or, the slave willingly donning the slave yoke, the iron collar.
It’s much like the criminal volunteering to bear the cross. And no accident, there is a powerful resonance here between “take my yoke upon you” and “take up your cross and follow.”
So, good news: So it isn’t so much about pulling a plow. Good news!
It is a symbol of slavery. Less good news???
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Is there a non-slavery option?
No.
This is one the BIG truth of Christianity. There is “non-slavery” option. That’s hard for the modern hearer to believe. It’s hard for any red-blooded American to believe!
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
In the context of oppression of one man over another… sure, that can be stirring and right.
In the context of God… those are Satan’s lines. He chooses death and destruction over submission to God. And he gets it.
There is no non-slavery option for human beings. We trade one master for another. In your “freedom” you simply choose a different master to serve. Money, pleasure, addiction… and every yoke has its own burden.
Crushing and brutal in the end.
Aren’t you tired? Weary and heavy laden?
Why take Jesus’ yoke?
Learn From Me
Learn From Me
Take up the yoke in order to what? What is the immediate task that the yoke is put to? Learning.
Jesus is the Master. Master of Life. Master of Rest. The task to which the yoke is harnessed, the command given to the slave.
Learn from me… for only He knows the Father. He is the only way to God. He is the only way to REST for our souls.
It is NOT do these things for me… though God will give us things to do. But the things God gives us to do our for our good, that we may learn the next thing. Learn from Jesus. Learn to know Him, to love Him.
God doesn’t use people to get ministry done. He uses ministry to get people done.
God doesn’t use people to get ministry done. He uses ministry to get people done.
Who is the “learner” who comes to the Master? Disciple. All of these are the same. Jesus says “follow me,” “be my disciple,” “take up your cross,” “take my yoke upon you.” It’s all the same.
And at his feet we learn. In his footsteps we are shaped by Him to be more like Him. The disciple in the Way of the Master.
Laying down every other burden, every other yoke to take up His.
Gentle and Humble
Gentle and Humble
He is gentle… and humble.
What does it mean for the “Son of God,” the Logos, God-incarnate… to be humble?
It is other-centric, not obsessed with desires of self. Two things are quoted when talking about Jesus being humble. Born in a manger, willing to incarnate as human flesh. And, willingly laying down his life on the cross. Behold our master, gentle and humble.
If you had to choose a master, would you choose one who would lay down their life for you?
If you had to choose a master… and you do, would you choose one who would lay down their life for you?
Easy and Light
Easy and Light
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
I like the translation “good” better than “easy.” Easy as opposed to heavy, yes.
It is not a “life of ease” for there is load here, there is effort, there is “burden.”
But it’s good. And compared to every other burden from every other brutal master out there… it’s easy and light.
In fact, it is the fulfillment of everything you were created for. Like the joy of the perfect job, in the center of your skills and talents and gifting, serving an awesome mission.
Are you Tired?
Are you Tired?
Are you tired?
Tired of trying to do it on your own?
Whether you have been a Christian for a lifetime… or considering Jesus today…
Come to the Master and learn.
Learn salvation. Learn peace. Learn love. Learn freedom.
It is slavery, but to the only Master who knows you fully and loves you completely. Your Creator. Your Savior.
Come to the Master and Rest.
Rest in the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. He took up his yoke, his cross, and already carried the heaviest of burdens: the sin and death of the world.
Rest in the accomplished work of Jesus.
You don’t have to be “good enough” anymore. Rest.
You don’t have to “earn it.” Rest.
You don’t have to solve it, figure it all out, get there fast enough, be enough… Rest.
And you aren’t responsible for all the things… because you aren’t God!
