“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is EASY and My burden is LIGHT.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
Jesus isn’t speaking here of physical burdens. Rather, it was the heavy burden of the “system of works” that the Pharisees laid on the backs of the people that Jesus was offering to relieve. Later on in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus will rebuke the Pharisees for laying heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people, Jesus said, “…they bind HEAVY BURDENS, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matt. 23:4) There were 613 commandments in the rabbinical law, which included “positive commandments”, to perform an act (mitzvot aseh), and “negative commandments”, to abstain from certain acts (mitzvot lo taaseh).
God gave us ten commandments to live by, Jesus added one new commandment to summarize the intent of God’s ten commandments. Jesus said, “A NEW commandment I give to you, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER; AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, that you also love one another. By this ALL WILL KNOW that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
I think this new commandment came about as the result of a question Jesus was asked by the, “…Pharisees who got together. One of them, an expert in the law, TESTED (to trap) JESUS with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL and MIND.’ This is the first and GREATEST commandment. And the second is like it: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself.’ The ENTIRE LAW and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:34-40) This is perfectly expressed in these verses, “Beloved, let us love one another, for LOVE IS OF GOD; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE (agapē: undeserved, unconditional love). In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON (monogenēs: the only one of its kind within a specific relationship) into the world, that we might LIVE THROUGH HIM.” (1 John 4:7-9)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham