Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
— MATTHEW 11:28 —
Evis Carballosa: Evangelical Ministries of the Americas | Honduras
Christ directed this offer to the people who were overwhelmed by the religious leaders at the time. The religious leaders tied up heavy burdens and laid them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves were unwilling to help—even a little—those on whom they had placed the load (Matt. 23:4). These loads came in the form of worldly commands, traditions, and religious rituals that were worthless for satisfying God’s demands. Jesus compassionately invites you to come to Him so that you might find true rest for your soul. Jesus the Messiah, the eternal Son of God, however, came into the world to relieve sinners of the weight of sin—“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Jesus’ call is urgent, but at the same time it is a loving and compassionate invitation, as is expressed by the phrase, “Come to Me.” Jesus’ listeners were “overwhelmed,” that is, in a state of exhaustion because they had been “heavy-laden” with impossible-to-carry loads by the religious leaders of their day. The Lord Jesus told them to lay their loads on Him so that they could find spiritual rest. Maybe you, too, feel overwhelmed by the heavy load of your sin or by the burdens of everyday life; or maybe you are distraught by the burdens imposed by men or the religion that you have been practicing. Jesus compassionately invites you to come to Him so that you might find true rest for your soul. If you do, you will find immediate rest and solace.
