Come to Me

Setting and Overview
It should not be a surprise that the gods that people have dreamed up through history are much like us: imperfect, limited, untrustworthy, and uninterested or intolerant of human beings. After all, without God revealing Himself to us and without our accepting that revelation, then we are left to our imagination and its limits. What God reveals about Himself in Scripture, however, is beyond anything that we can imagine or fathom, not just in His perfection and omnipotence, but also in His love. Far from being uninterested in mankind, Scripture tells us of His love for us. Unlike the imagined gods who are typically assumed to have little interest or patience for the weak and foolish, Scripture tells us about Jesus calling us who are weak and foolish to him. For those who are not Christians, hearing and responding to Matthew 11:28-30 changes everything. For those who have already responded, then knowing it better can make all the difference in sharing Jesus with others.

Exposition
When Jesus calls the weary and burdened, he is not limiting his call, but rather using language that should awake all to the realization that he is speaking to them. While “weariness” can refer to hard work, it is primarily used in that manner in the New Testament to refer to the work of ministry (I Timothy 4:10, Colossian 1:29, I Corinthians 16:16) and Jesus is certainly not calling for relief from that. Rather, the word here is used to indicate weariness (as in Revelation 2:3) and that weariness is not tied so much to difficult toil (compared to Revelation 2:2) but rather to the futility of effort (contrasting to I Corinthians 15:58.) When used here in connection with being “burdened,” language that Jesus uses elsewhere to refer to manmade legalistic requirements (Luke 11:46), it indicates the futility and burden of attempts to earn God’s favor through self-righteousness. To those who will acknowledge that futility, Jesus offers the invitation to “come to him.” Coming to him certainly includes confession (Matthew 10:32) and ongoing relationship (Matt 7:23), but it also connotes dependence on him and growth in him (John 6:35, 7:37-38, 15:5-8) which is tied to obedience to him (John 15:9-10.) That is reflected here as well as the invitation to come to him is combined with submission to him (“take my yoke”) and obedience to him (“learn from me.) So, coming to him means to acknowledge him and draw near to him repentantly (Matthew 5:3), wholeheartedly (Matthew 10:38-39) and obediently (Matthew 7:21-23.)
To those who would be afraid to submit to Jesus because of his authority and power and perfection, Jesus gives the assurance that he is gentle and humble in heart. Yes, he is powerful and holy and so qualified to be the perfect high priest (Hebrews 7:24-28,) but he exercises those duties with sympathy and gentleness (Hebrews 4:14-16) to those who come to him. Those who come to him and confess him, are adopted as God’s children (John 1:12) and are no longer enemies (Ephesians 2:1-3.) So if we refuse him, then we face judgment as enemies, but if we come to him, then he deals with gently as children of God (Matthew 8:1-3, Ephesians 5:25-27.) Not only does mean that he sanctifies us, advocates for us, and acknowledges us before the Father, but it also means that he gives us rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16.)

Examination and Application
For those who are intimidated by sharing Christ, worried that they won’t know where to start, these verses can be a remarkably effective guide: a question, an invitation, an explanation, and a promise. Are you tired and weary from trying to be good enough on your own, to be worthy of a relationship with God? Then come to Jesus repentantly, wholeheartedly, and obediently. You can do so without hesitation because he is gently and lowly, not turning any away who come to him sincerely, but saving completely and always interceding on their behalf. When you do, you will finally find true rest, relief from all of the unworthy and insufficient satisfaction that you had been chasing, the intimacy with Jesus that your soul had been craving all along.