September 14, 2023: Come To Me, I Will Give You Rest

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, ESV)

Matthew 11:28 is one of the most comforting passages found in the New Testament. Why? Because we all have experienced its opposite: tired, weary, depressed, etc. Jesus, in the face of that darkness, declares, "I will give you rest." The word 'rest' as used by Jesus means: "I will cause your work to cease. I will cause you to be refreshed. I will cause you to rest."
    
Jesus tells us, "If you come to me, I will give you rest; I will cause you to know the richest rest possible." In a roundabout way, Jesus is saying, "I am your Sabbath rest." The rest that God introduces to us in Genesis 2:1-3 and commands us to honor in Exodus 20:8 foreshadows the rest God would provide later in Christ Jesus. Let me say it bluntly:  There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus!
    
Therefore, we no longer have to 'labor' in keeping the law to be justified in God's sight.  Jesus did all the work! We just have to come to Him in faith and enter into His rest! Jesus was sent by the Father to provide for us what we could not provide for ourselves—righteousness. What God introduces us to in Genesis 2:1-3 and makes mandatory as a command in Exodus 20:8, Jesus now says, "I am that rest! Won't you enter in?"