Jesus Said, "My Yoke Is Easy, And My Burden Is Light ... Come Unto Me, All Ye that Labour And Are Heavy Laden, And I Will Give You Rest!" - Part 1846

Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)

Note that just prior to this, Jesus is responding to two disciples of John the baptizer who was (at that time) in jail. During this time, Jesus is preaching and teaching to the multitudes in the cities. Indeed, Jesus answers and said unto the two disciples, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." (Matthew 11:1-6)

Herein, Jesus is citing prophecy from the Old Testament, so that John would recognize (without Jesus actually saying it) that He is the promised Messiah.

So, after these two leave to go to tell John what Jesus has said, Jesus then turns to those multitudes of people who have been following Him. At this point in the dialogue, Jesus has begun to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they, as the scripture has said, have repented not. Can we then conclude that these were not interested in following Jesus in their hearts, seeking only the benefits from Jesus that will enhance their own self interests here on earth? The scripture here does not actually say this but we can learn a similar lesson from the feeding of the five thousand, wherein, the people returned to Jesus the second day, because these were hungry. But I digress somewhat.

Jesus then asks the people, regarding John the baptizer, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, "Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before thee." (Matthew 11:9-10)

[John the baptizer was the one prophesied in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, destined to prepare the way for Jesus!]

Jesus continues, saying, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 11:11-15)

A couple of points worth noting here. Jesus was reminding them of their motives -- that if they were following Him to serve their own self-interests, or to reap the benefits that the Lord gives is not sufficient for entering into the kingdom. There has to be a heart response, wherein we follow Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and a heart desire to serve Him with everything we have -- doing everything in word or deed in the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is a secondary message here as well. John the baptizer was in jail because he told the truth to the powers that be, and those particular hearts that heard him were not willing to listen. Thus, John was put in jail. In much the same fashion, we should care enough about our fellow man to tell them also the truth from the Word, regardless of the consequences. This includes not wavering in the Word, or compromising, but rather standing up for truth -- this same truth wherein Jesus said, "Thy Word is truth." (John 17:17)

In fact, Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes unto the Father but by Me." (John 14:6) In that example, Jesus goes on to tell Philip and the other disciples that if ye have seen Jesus, ye have seen the Father also. Instead of elaborating on this now, I encourage one and all to read John 14, and also John 10:30, wherein Jesus states, "I and My Father are One!"

A third point worth noting here is Jesus' specific words about John -- that John was "more than a prophet." That indeed John was the greatest of prophets. That the law and the prophets were UNTIL John. This means, as Jesus stated, that John was the turning point between the covenant of law and this current dispensation of grace, wherein, the dayspring from on high hath visited His people. To clarify, John was not the expected or prophesied King/Messiah. That title, Emmanuel, being interpreted as "God with us" was intended for Jesus -- the absolute -- because through Jesus (God manifest in the flesh) the veil that kept us from God (because of our sins) was torn from heaven to earth.

The Son of man being the Lord of glory. (Matthew 12:8; Luke 19:10) The first Adam earthly but the second Adam the Lord from heaven. This is an important concept to understand, because there is only one absolute and His Name is JESUS.

Remember Matthew 25:31-46, wherein Jesus states, "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory!" (Matthew 25:31) Jesus -- Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending! The King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 1:8)

Continuing, Jesus asks, "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "he hath a devil." [Conversely,] the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." BUT wisdom is justified of her children." (Matthew 11:9-17)

Those who know the truth of their Lord God and Saviour Jesus the Christ also know that the truth will set them free. That as believers in Jesus by faith, and obeying His Word, we are sanctified by truth. (John 17:17) "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, [being] abundant in goodness and truth ..." (Exodus 34:6) From our perspective, our hearts reaching to our Lord God, saying, "Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day." (Psalm 25:5)

Does this mean our faith journey should be easy? Of course not. Like John the baptizer, we will be persecuted, and unjustly treated. Those who don't want to hear the good news gospel message will find reasons to reject you, simply because of Jesus within. And, as the hearts get harder, we may even be put to death for proclaiming the ONLY NAME under heaven whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) The Name that is above every other name. (Philippians 2:9) The Name of JESUS, wherein every knee will bow and confess that He -- Jesus -- is Lord. 

Nevertheless, the Word is forever established in heaven. Thy Word is a lamp unto our feet, to lead and guide us into all truth. (Psalm 119:105)

This is why Jesus continued saying, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. (Matthew 11:25-30)

Yes, as John proclaimed when he saw Jesus coming in the distance -- "Behold the Lamb of God.!" 

For "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4)

Stand in the offering plate.