I hope you’ve been pondering the invitation Jesus spoke that is recorded in the gospel of Matthew chapter 11 verses 28-30. Looking back: Come to Me…

This week’s phrase is “…all who are weary and burdened…”

The invitation is comprehensive. ALL. There are none who are excluded from this invitation to Come. Every.Single. Human. Being. Throughout. History and in the Present and Yet to be born. ALL.

This reminds me of a concert verse ( a verse that speaks of this topic in another way, enriching the meaning and reinforcing the message)

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The concert term? Whoever. It’s another way of saying ALL.

(on a side note: a search for the word ALL in scripture is time consuming but has had a lasting impact on my understanding of the character of God)

Weary and burdened may seem redundant but they actually emphasize different aspects of tired and weighed down.  Weary is a present tense verb, which can also be translated exhausted. Exhausted with trying hard to live up to expectations. Exhausted with trying to solve problems, do good work, be the best version of ourselves…all in our own strength.

Photo by Yolanda Leyva on Unsplash

 

Anyone?

Burdened in this context is the word for putting something on the back of an animal to carry the weight. Jesus was speaking specifically about the religious rules that the Pharisees had added to the Law; these burdens were unnecessary to say the least. Here Jesus is telling the people He sees they’re exhausted from trying to deal with all the brokenness in their lives and He sees the unnecessary performance rules put on top of them by the Pharisees.

What about us today? Where are you weary of the try-hard-life?  What unnecessary burdens from a broken understanding of Christianity do you bear?

Jesus sees. He cares.

Come to Me All who are weary and burdened…