Truth For Life

Alistair Begg: Jesus issued an invitation. He said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest.” Then immediately he said, “Take my yoke upon you.” How do you find rest by putting on a yoke?

Today on Truth For Life, Alistair Begg unpacks Jesus' invitation and explains why his yoke isn’t a burden, but a delight. We’re looking at Matthew chapter 11.

Alistair Begg: And most people think the issue is about our sins, plural, the things we do or we haven't done. And so if we haven't done a lot lately, or we haven't really done as many as someone else we've known, we say to ourselves, well, you know, sins are not really that big of an issue for me.

Well, in actual fact, sins are not really that big of an issue for you. The issue for you is sin. Because it is our sin that has separated us from God. And the Bible says that all have sinned and are separated from God. All of us have fallen short of the standard that God has established. That is perfection, and none of us have ever lived to perfection. We've got a real dilemma. And the dilemma is simply this: that we're unfit for heaven, and we're unable to rectify our circumstances.

Now that would be a burden if it once dawned upon us, wouldn't it? I've discovered over time that there are two ways that people reject Jesus as Savior. There are two ways that they endeavor not to come to him, not to respond to his invitation. And here they are.

Number one, by being as bad as possible and breaking all the rules. Or by being as good as possible and keeping all the rules. And you'd be wrong.

The invitation is clear. The source is articulated, and the significance is undeniable.

Now we have three verbs to go. The second one is take, take. And there is a sense in which take, learn, and find extrapolate the nature of what it means to come. Or if we put it differently, what does it mean to come? Well, it means to take, to learn, to find.

So there's a sense in which the other three should be shorter than the first. I haven't, I haven't forgotten. All right. I haven't forgotten. Second verb, take. Take my yoke upon you.

Now the yoke, as some of you from a farming background will know, was a wooden frame placed across the back of oxen usually, yoking them together. But it also, if you have these wonderful pictures from Holland, I think, or maybe it's Scandinavia, of those lovely blonde girls with the two buckets on either side, and they balance those buckets as a result of having a yoke across their shoulders.

They, they use the yoke in order that the weight might be distributed evenly on both sides and make it possible for them to walk along the road. It's a lovely picture, it's a clear picture. It's the picture that Jesus is using. He says, “I want you to take my yoke upon you, my yoke upon you.”

Incidentally, and I don't pay much attention to this kind of thing, but it is a fascinating little concept. Some have even suggested through time that it may well have been that Joseph, that is the carpenter in Nazareth, had as his sort of advertising slogan outside his carpenter's workshop, he had as his slogan, “My yokes are easy.” Huh?

So people who said, you know, you if you're going to get a yoke for for yourself or for one of your beasts, get one of Joseph's yokes, because they don't chafe you, they don't rub the back of your oxen's neck. He's just wonderful in the way he makes them. I don't give much credence to that.

But I do give absolute credence to what Jesus says, when he says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Do you know what he was doing there? He was distinguishing himself and his message from the story that had been given to these people by the religionists of his day. Particularly, peculiarly, by the Pharisees.

These were individuals who were meticulous in their desire to do what was right. In fact, they were so consumed by it that when they had finished with all the things that God had said they ought to do, they added a good dose of their own. And so they made it virtually impossible for anybody to be able to do anything. And the idea that a man might be accepted before God on the strength of all of these external obligations was absolutely crushing in its implications.

In much the same way that many have been brought up in a religious background that has essentially been a succession of stories saying, “Come on now, you can do this. Come on now, try a little harder. Come on now, this is just there for you to achieve.” That will wear the neck of any thinking person quickly. But that's not what Jesus says. He says, “Take my yoke upon you.”

To be under the yoke, the authority of Jesus is not a burden, it is a delight. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Free in order to become the very bond slave of Jesus. Free not to do what I want, but free to do what I ought. Since by nature I cannot do what I ought, because I'm in bondage to my own desires, I need somebody to set me free from the bondage of my own desires in order that I might live in obedience to his will.

Jesus is Lord. That is not an expression of personal devotion. That is a statement concerning Jesus' identity. And because he is Lord, to come to him, to respond to the invitation, is to take on an obligation. And the obligation is a freeing obligation, but an obligation nevertheless. And let me tell you clearly, since Jesus is Lord, those who have come to Jesus and live under his yoke, have no freedom to behave in any other way than the way in which Jesus as Lord declares.

So the issues of morality, the issues of sexuality, the conducting of business, the practice of family, all of these things are gathered under the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when Paul summarizes it again in writing to people in Corinth, he says, “You're not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body.”

Thirdly, learn, learn. Come, take, learn. Learn. Have you listened as children come home from school? Ever so often I'm in a situation where it just so happens either the bus gushes out all these little bodies or I happen to be somewhere in a school playground and all the children come running out.

And it's fascinating just to listen to the initial things that are said by the moms who are there to welcome them. And you must check, and I don't want to be unkind in this way, certainly I don't want to bring shame down upon myself, but would I be wrong in suggesting that almost the overarching and recurring question that is issued to the child as they come towards their mother is, “Did you have fun today?”

“Did you have fun today?” Now, if you happen to be in the company of a Chinese parent, or an Indian parent, if you listen carefully, they're not asking that question. They're actually asking, “Did you learn anything today?” Because that's why you went to school. To learn. Now, there's a revolutionary thought, isn't it? “Did you have fun today?”

I don't want to overstep my boundary, but have you been to some churches recently? Would I be wrong in thinking that the question when it's all over is akin to the standard maternal question of the children coming from school? “Did you have fun today at church?” My loved ones, that's not the question. “Did you learn anything?”

Well, if you want to learn something, presumably you'd have a Bible. If you had a Bible, presumably you would open it. If you open it, presumably you would look in it to see if what the person up behind this box is saying is actually in this Bible. I'd be very concerned if I were you. I'd be very concerned.

Christianity, you see, changes the way a man or a woman thinks. Hence the invitation to learn. Don't you love that great quote by C.S. Lewis when he says, “I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising of the sun, not simply because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything else.”

That coming to Jesus changes everything. Changes the way I view everything. Changes my perspective on Jesus, changes my perspective on time, changes my perspective on resources, changes my perspective on on career, changes the kind of person that I want to marry and live my life with. It just changes everything. As we learn from him.

It is as we learn the Bible, we learn that our acceptance with God is a result of the fact that Jesus has lived the kind of life that I should live, but can't. And that he has fully paid the penalty that I deserve for the kind of life I do live, but shouldn't. That's the gospel.

You see, the gospel is what God has done in Jesus in a moment in time. The gospel is not the story of the perils that attach to rejecting it, or of the benefits that accrue to those who accept it. Many of us, I think, have heard about what happens to us if we don't accept the gospel, or the benefits that we may enjoy if we do accept the gospel. But some of us are sitting there saying, I wish somebody would actually tell me the gospel. What is the gospel?

Christ died for sins, once for all. The righteous, that's him, for the unrighteous, that's me, to bring me to God. That he who was without sin became sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So that when we sing, “Oh, Christ, in thee my soul has found, and found in thee alone, the peace, the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown. Now none but Christ can satisfy.”

What we are affirming is that all of the blessings of God are made available to us in the person of his son, Jesus. And simply a head knowledge of that is not to be equated with our having come to believe it and trust it, and learn of it, and be yoked by it for ourselves.

I wonder, do I speak to an individual this morning, to somebody for whom this is absolutely so apropos, you think that I was driving in the back of your car with you for the last two months. I wonder, is that the case? How would I ever know? But I have prayed to this end. I have asked God that if I would extend this invitation of Jesus, that it would be for those who are there to receive it. A boy or a girl, a man or a woman.

Somebody trying to unscramble the riddle of their lives, putting the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle together as best they can, and finding no matter how much they look at the picture on the front of the box, they're unable to get there. Well, can I say to you, why don't you come then and respond to this invitation? Take this yoke. Learn from this Christ. And finally, find. Find rest for your souls. For your souls. There's a concept, isn't it?

Have you noticed how the last 25 or 30 years in Western culture have paradoxically become totally preoccupied with spirituality, while at the same time rejecting the notion of our souls as an entity, as that which will transcend and will go beyond us when we shuffle off this mortal coil?

Hence, all of the possibilities, all of the means available to aid us in our time-bound pursuits. Hence, all of the talk shows in the afternoon that are all about me and myself and my agenda, and all of the things that are understandably important to me. But the one missing element in them is the notion of eternity. Is the concept that the Bible makes so perfectly clear that death is not the end.

That it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes judgment. A judgment that will be absolutely fair, and a judgment that will be absolutely final, an inexorable appointment towards which each man and woman moves. That's why this is so important, because this is the only way that anyone ever may find such rest for their souls.

You remember when Jesus told the story of the man who had done so well in business. It wasn't a criticism of doing well in business. He had done well and he decided that it would be opportune for him to develop his holdings, to build bigger barns to store what he had. There was no problem in that either. That was a legitimate thing to do.

What what made it so galling was the fact that the one piece of the puzzle that he left out was the vital piece. And Jesus said, well, you know, that is really foolish because tonight your soul will be required of you. Your soul will be required of you. Then who will get all the stuff in your barns?

When Paul summarizes the experience of his Christian story, he just says, “To me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” You know, that's the only way that equation works. You just walk around this campground this afternoon and try any other word that you can put in after the is. “To me to live is,” and then finish it with “to die is gain.” Try success. To die is not gain. Try money. To die to die is not gain. Try the preoccupation with family. To die is not gain. There is only one way that you can complete the equation. “To me to live is Christ.”

That for me was the sadness of reading the obituaries both in the New York Times and also in the Wall Street yesterday of Randy Pausch, the 47-year-old lecturer from Carnegie Mellon, whose final lecture was an inspiration to everyone who heard it, and to those of us who heard snippets from it. Who wouldn't be inspired by somebody who was able to speak so clearly to a generation he was about to leave behind concerning the importance of values, the importance of memories, the importance of family and every other thing? Absolutely masterful all the way down the line, with only one part missing.

In fact, if you read the the the Times yesterday, the final paragraph reads, “Dr. Pausch gave practical advice in his lectures, now knows here's the phrase, avoiding spiritual and religious matters.” He did, however, mention that he experienced a near deathbed conversion. He switched and bought a Macintosh computer.

I suggest to you that that is a level of sardonic wit that can only be possessed by someone who has said, “Don't come to me with your invitation. I'm fine. Thank you very much.” But for those who recognize that life is frail, that fading is the worldling's pleasure, all the boasted pomp and show, that solid joy, that lasting treasure is found in Jesus. Then here I suggest to you is the loveliest of invitations.

The loveliest of invitations. “Come to me,” to Jesus, “I'm humble. I'm gentle. I'm approachable.” Your problem is so severe that I had to die on the cross for you. I love you so much that I was willing to die on the cross for you. Come to me.

Do you get lots of invitations? We do. They come into the house from all different places. Some of them are standard mail and everything else. They go in a, they go in a kind of system. I think there's a system, I don't know. But ever so often you have to say, well, who did it come from? How are we going to deal with it? What should we do? And sometimes it comes down to, it comes down to well, we're going to go, and then the question is, what are you supposed to wear?

What are you supposed to wear? And ever so often, someone will say, well, I don't want to go to that. I have nothing to wear. That's never me that says that. But, uh, I think I've heard that phrase, I I don't want to go to that. I have nothing to wear.

Well, you just go to this banquet just the way you are. Clothes are provided. He takes all the all the “I'm so good I don't need this” clothes, which are rags, disrobes us. All the “I'm so bad and messed up, there's no hope” clothes, which are rags, disrobes us. And he covers us over with a robe of righteousness provided by Jesus Christ himself.

So we're able to say, “Just as I am, without one plea, but that your blood was shed for me, and that you bid me come to thee. Lord Jesus Christ, I come.” Let us pray.

There may be some for whom today just represents the closing link in a huge long chain of family prayers and friends' invitations. Perhaps we've made it all so complicated, as if somehow or another by our intellect we're going to find God. There is no intellectual road to God. The only way we know God is because God has chosen to make himself known. That was part of the reading. “I thank you that you've hidden this stuff,” he says, “from the wise and the learned, and you've revealed it to little children.”

Not that we would become childish, but that we might become childlike. Perhaps for some this brief prayer will give voice to your heart today. If that's the case, you may say it in your heart along with me. And if it is the case, I hope someone, you'll tell someone before the day is out that this was your prayer, and that you have responded to this invitation.

Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed. But through you, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment, and offering me forgiveness. I turn from my sin and receive you as my savior.

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest upon and remain with all who believe today and forevermore. Amen.

Alistair Begg: You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. If you find yourself wanting to tell others about Jesus' invitation, but you're not sure how to open the conversation, Truth For Life has a resource that will help you. It's something I recently talked to Alistair about, a new gospel tract titled, "Ever wonder why your world feels broken?" And here's a portion of our conversation.

Guest (Male): There's a tract that was released this past year. Tens of thousands of those are in circulation as well. Talk about that.

Alistair Begg: Yeah, basics, just a very simple that God made the world is good. People don't believe that, but we need to reinforce that. They don't know why it's bad, but they know it's bad. And so it tries to explain that. They don't know how it gets fixed, and so it then explains how all things are made new in the work of Jesus, that he forgives and he fills. And then they often say, yeah, well if that's the case, why are things the way they are? And the answer is, because it is not yet perfect. And so it's a good framework. Again, our folks have picked up on that, and it fits what we're trying to do.

Guest (Male): What are the three words?

Alistair Begg: Oh, uh, the good, the bad, the new, the perfect. Good, bad, new, perfect.

Guest (Male): Here at Truth For Life, we're able to make gospel-sharing resources like this tract available at our cost because of the generosity of our Truth Partners. These are listeners who give each month to offset the cost of these helpful materials, making them accessible to everyone. Join our Truth Partner team by visiting truthforlife.org/truthpartner or calling us at 888-588-7844. Many will be grateful. Thanks for joining us today. What is it that God is doing with you? That's the question we'll explore tomorrow. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life. Where the learning is for living.