THE KING’S BUSINESS
146
either the utterance of a lunatic or of One who knows that He is God. No one but God can oifer rest to every one who comes to Him, and actually give the rest that He offers. But that our Lord’s words here are neither presumption nor lunacy is amply proven by the fact that thousands upon thousands have put these marvelous, stu pendous and apparently incredible words to the test of actual experience and found them absolutely true. JESUS DOES GIVE REST to all who come to Him. JESUS THERE FORE IS GOD. Note five things in this wonderful invitation: (1) Who invites— Jesus. (2) Whom He invites— “all that labor and are heavy-laden.” Commentators have sought to settle various limitations upon these words of our Lord. For exam ple, some say they refer to those who “labor under the burden of the ceremonial law” ; others, “those who labor under the burden of guilt.” Indeed, it includes these but it is not limited to them; it means just what it says, “ALL that labor.” , Christ invites every one that has a burden; the burden may be sin, remorse, doubt, sorrow, sick ness, anything, no matter what over-bur dened man, Jesus says “Come.” (3) To what He invites—“rest.” This is what the human heart craves and this is just what Jesus gives. (4) The condition—“come.’-’ That is all—just “COME.” (5) To whom we are to “Come”—“unto Me.” Not unto a creed, not unto a church, but unto a Person, and just one Person— JESUS HIMSELF. Not to a priest, not to a pastor, not to some great theologian, not to the pope, "UNTO ME” —right straight to JESUS. He alone in all the world can give rest, but He can. If you haven’t rest it is because you have not come to Him. Come now. Then Jesus goes on to tell of a still deeper rest—rest in service. “Take my yoke upon you,” i. e. surrender yourself absolutely to My will and enter my service (John 14:21-23; 15:10-14), and “ye shall find rest unto your souls.” This yoke of Christ’s service is “easy.” The word translated “easy” means literally “useful,” “good” or “kind.” And His “burden light” (1 John 5:3; Prov. 3:17).
Thursday, February 11. Matthew 12:1-8.
We have here one of the many indications of the poverty of Jesus and His disciples and the simplicity of their lives. They lived from hand to mouth. More apostolic sim plicity in our lives would be conducive to more apostolic tenacity in our faith, and apostolic fervor and power in our preaching, and apostolic efficacy in our prayers. Critics always find something to complain about even in God’s Son and God’s Word (v. 2). In this case they had a good show of reason on their side : the action of the disciples seemed like a violence of at least the letter of the fourth commandment (Deut. 5:14; Exod. 31:15). Yet the criticism of the Phar isees, though apparently so Scriptural, was after all founded upon an incomplete knowl edge of the Scriptures. Jesus answered them from Scripture; He brought a com plete view of Scripture, against a fragmen tary view of Scripture; a view of the teach ing of the Bible as a whole against a view built upon isolated passages. He showed by the Scriptures themselves : First, that ceremonial prescriptions must give way be fore the needs of man which the ceremonial prescriptions were ordained to subserve. In illustration of this, Jesus brings forward the case of David. He showed, Second, by the Scripture that the demands of temple ser vice were superior to the prescriptions of the general law ; He Himself was greater than the temple, being the One in whom God really, and not merely symbolically, taber nacled (John 1:14 R. V. marg.), and of whom the temple was only a type. The Sab bath law must therefore give way before the necessities of Christian service. He showed, Third, from the Scriptures that mercy was more than sacrifice, and that, therefore, ceremonial demands must give way before the demands of mercy and com passion. This is a profound principle, the full significance of which many in the Church have not learned even yet. The Pharisees did not understand it, and so condemned the guiltless. He went on to declare that the Sabbath was made for man (cf. Mark 2:27,
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online