Invitation to Rest
The Backpack and the Invitation
Good morning. If I haven’t met you, my name is Dave Obewald, and welcome to our Summer Teaching Series. As Kevin mentioned, we are pausing our regular series for the summer to look at the theme of “Invitation.” We’re going to explore the different ways Jesus invites us into things throughout the Scriptures, and I am very excited to be here with you this morning.
I’ve been on staff here at The Well for eighteen years, but normally I don’t hang out here teaching on a Sunday. Usually, you’ll find me at our Monday night Regeneration gathering or on Thursday nights with our marriage ministry. Because of that background, here is what you’re going to get from me this morning: I tend to teach like a counselor. I feel like if I could just have all of you in my office with a whiteboard where we could talk about your relationship with Jesus and how it intersects with your real life, that would be ideal. My goal is that it feels like we’re just sitting down to talk about Jesus and His Good News together.
We’ll be in Matthew 11 today, so if you want to start turning there, that’s where we’ll find this specific invitation from Jesus. While you’re turning, let me tell you a quick story. I have five kids, and when my oldest, Cole, was eleven, I decided to be a “good dad.” I had heard that taking your kids backpacking was a cool thing to do, so even though I had never done it, I borrowed some packs from a buddy and we headed up above Shaver Lake.
As we packed, I thought, “My backpack should be a little heavier than Cole’s because he’s only eleven.” I probably put about 25 pounds in his pack. For those of you who are actual backpackers, you know that was a terrible idea. We got onto the trail, and about a quarter-mile in, Cole said, “Dad, my legs hurt a lot.” I told him he’d be alright and to keep going. Another 200 yards later, he said, “I feel some things in my lungs that I’ve never felt before.” We got a little further and he finally said, “I can’t walk and I can’t breathe.”
We sat down, and I realized we weren’t going to make it to our destination if he kept carrying that pack. I asked him, “Would you want me to take your pack the rest of the way?” He said, “Yes, please.” So, I put my backpack on my back, his backpack on my front, and we slowly made it to where we needed to go. He matched my pace, and we made it together. That picture is exactly what Jesus is inviting us into in Matthew 11. We are carrying a pack in life that we were never meant to carry, and He is inviting us into a new way.
Before we dive into the text, I want to frame this whole series. Every invitation has a few aspects: it is given to someone, it is an invitation to something, it is given by someone, and it is an invitation that can either be accepted or rejected. Throughout the summer, the most important aspect to remember is the giver of the invitation. If we don’t trust the giver, we won’t take the invitation. If Cole didn’t trust that I could carry his pack, he wouldn’t have given it to me. Our hope and prayer this summer is that our view of Jesus will grow, because who you believe Him to be will determine whether you accept His invitations.
Today’s invitation is to a yoke. The main idea is this: it is an invitation to a yoke designed around soul rest from the inside out, rather than trying to find rest from the outside in.
The Two Groups
A yoke is an agricultural term. It’s a wooden beam placed between two animals—usually oxen—to help them pull a heavy load together. But in Jesus’ time, a “yoke” also represented the teaching of a religious leader. The Pharisees had a yoke; if you followed them, that was their way of being. Jesus is inviting us into a different way of living. His assumption isn’t, “Do you have a yoke?” It’s, “What is your yoke?” You are either yoked to Christ or you are yoked to something else.
Matthew 11:25-28 (NASB)
At that time Jesus said, ’I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from [the] wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ’Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ’All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal [Him]. ’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus says this invitation is given to “little children,” not the “wise and understanding.” At that time, the Pharisees were the “wise and understanding” in their own eyes. Put simply, they used God to stay away from God. They knew God mentally, but they didn’t know Him relationally. When Jesus showed up, they dismissed Him because He didn’t fit their pre-packaged religious system.
The challenge for us is that we can be the same way. We can think we know just enough about God to hide from God. We are invited to be like little children—beginners. It is impossible to learn what you think you already understand. If we want to hear from Jesus, we have to be open to the fact that we don’t have it all figured out. Jesus says He reveals Himself to those who are open, to the ordinary people who say, “I have needs. I’m not in perfect alignment with God’s thoughts, and I’m open to a shift.”
The Heavy Yoke of Performance
This invitation was also given to people who were “weary and heavy laden.” They were carrying the stresses of life, but they were also being crushed by the yoke of the Pharisees. The Pharisee yoke was an “outside-in” system. They believed they needed things outside of themselves to make them right with God. They focused on righteousness through performance, tacking on endless man-made laws and constantly comparing themselves to others.
Jesus had some strong words for this way of being.
Luke 11:39 (NASB)
But the Lord said to him, ’Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
He also said this about their leadership:
Matthew 23:4 (NASB)
’They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with [so much as] a finger.
This way of being creates a cycle of pride and despair. When you think you’re doing well, you feel the pride of “I nailed it.” When you fail, you fall into despair. Then you bolster yourself by looking at someone else and thinking, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as that person.” Jesus says that is not an easy yoke. It is self-salvation, and it is exhausting.
I want to give you a few of the yokes I’ve carried over the years, and maybe you can relate. If Jesus were talking to me, here are some of the “Come to me’s” He might have said:
“Come to me, all of you who feel like your performance on the field, in the classroom, or at work defines your worth. Come to me, all of you who have a loud voice in your head saying you’ll never be good enough for God or others. Come to me, all of you who think you need to figure ‘it’ out before God will fully love and accept you. Come to me, all of you who feel the need to hide your brokenness behind a polished image. Come to me, all of you who feel like just a little more money or the right relationship will finally take away your anxiety. Come to me, all of you who feel like holding onto anger and resentment will finally punish the people who hurt you.”
Do you relate to any of those? That is human nature—trying to find something “out there” to create peace “in here.” It leads to an exhaustion of the soul, anxiety, and stress. It’s an eternal loop of behavior modification that is never enough. And when we get exhausted from that lifestyle, we often turn to addiction or numbing out—scrolling, Netflix, substances—just to escape the burden of pride and despair.
The Invitation to the With-God Life
Jesus meets us in that exhaustion and offers the Good News.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)
’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ’Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ‘For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’
This invitation has three facets that lead to one result. First, “Come to me.” This is salvation. It’s the point where you take the backpack off and give it to Him. You can’t earn favor; you can’t do enough. Jesus says, “I paid for it. It is done. Will you receive it?” Paul describes this in Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
When you receive this, the shame is gone. Your past is wiped away, and your future is secure.
Second, “Take my yoke upon you.” This is the “with-God” life. It’s the exchange of living in autonomy for living in partnership with Him. In our analogy, Jesus is the Master Ox. He carries the majority of the weight, He breaks up the hard soil, He sets a sustainable pace, and He steers us away from danger. Our job as the Junior Ox is simply to match His pace, learn His voice, and build endurance as we walk with Him.
Third, “Learn from me.” This is the idea of apprenticeship. We are learning what Eugene Peterson calls “the unforced rhythms of grace.” When you are yoked to Jesus, the weight of your identity is carried by Him. You don’t have to go into a room wondering if people like you; your identity is already secured. The weight of your outcomes is carried by Him. You don’t have to be stressed about the future because He is your security.
The weight of your transformation is also carried by Him. You aren’t trying to behave better to get Him to love you; you are matching His pace, and He is transforming you. Sometimes He’ll steer you toward something hard, like forgiveness. I’ve had moments where I preferred my bitterness, and I started chafing against the yoke. It started to hurt my neck. Jesus whispered, “Bitterness is actually the hard yoke, David. Forgiveness is the easy one. I’ll pull the weight; you just trust me.”
The Heart of the Master
The result of all of this is rest. Not just a nap, but a soul rest that allows you to live from a place of peace regardless of your circumstances. Saint Augustine famously said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in You.”
But why should we trust Him? Jesus gives us the reason by describing His own heart.
Matthew 11:29-30 (NASB)
’Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ‘For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’
This is the only time in the New Testament where Jesus describes His own heart. He says He is “gentle and lowly.” In that context, “gentle” meant strength under control—like a powerful stallion that is tender. The most powerful Being in the universe chooses to be tender toward you.
And He is “lowly.” In the ancient world, leaders were expected to be untouchable. But our God is the opposite. He touched the leper; He went toward the unclean; He is near to the brokenhearted. If you think God is standing over you with His arms crossed, waiting for you to fail so He can lecture you, you’ll never take His yoke. But He isn’t. He is patient. He loves you. He is for you.
Taking the Yoke Today
Every invitation must be accepted. You have a choice today. For some of you, this is the first time you’ve realized you’ve been carrying the backpack of your own righteousness. You can’t earn it. Today, you can say, “Jesus, take my pack.”
For others, the invitation is a daily one. You’ve been chafing against the yoke. You’ve been trying to get out in front of God, and you’re feeling the anxiety and the “yokey-ness” of trying to control your life. The invitation is to confess that, surrender again, and step back under the easy yoke of Christ.
Finally, remember that you were never meant to walk this way alone. We need community. I need people to help me recognize when I’ve picked up a heavy yoke again. I need people to pray with me when I’m struggling to choose forgiveness over bitterness. It is very hard to stay yoked to Christ in isolation.
Matthew’s Gospel begins with the name “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” It ends with the Great Commission, where Jesus says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” And here in the middle, Jesus invites us to do life with Him under His yoke.
Would you receive that invitation anew today?
Jesus, we need You. We want to take Your yoke today. You say Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light, no matter what our circumstances are. Teach us to walk with You, our Master Ox, and to live in the unforced rhythms of grace. Amen.