Between the Lines

WHAT MAKES YOU WEARY?

Here are some causes of weariness.[1]

Wounded affections, attacks on our character and self, Conflict

        Matthew 11:28-30 “defeated and soiled with the dust of conflict”[2]

• Hi-lite “Come to Me”, “I will give you rest”, “Take My yoke”, “learn from Me.”
• Underline “you who labor and are heavy laden,”
• Double underline “you will find rest for your souls.”Circle “for” twice.  He is giving us reason for coming to Him and taking on His yoke.
• Hi-lite in another color “I am gentle and lowly in heart” and “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Yoke in the greek is a metaphor for the “burden” of the law.

“1b) metaphorically, used of any burden or bondage

1b2) of troublesome laws imposed on one, especially of the Mosaic law, hence the name is so transferred to the commands of Christ as to contrast them with the commands of the Pharisees which were a veritable ‘yoke’; yet even Christ’s commands must be submitted to, though easier to be kept.”

(Thayer)

“The thought, therefore, here is not that those who come to Christ will have no more work, but that Christ will give them at once such rest and refreshment of soul that they may be fit for work, should God have any in store for them.”[3]

Who is Jesus talking to?[4]

1.Jewish Leaders

-striving to find their own righteousness

-“Such as were laden with the burden of ceremonial obedience. The observances of Christianity were few and simple, neither occupying much time, nor incurring much expense. They recommended themselves by their significance and force.”

2. Oppressed and burdened with a sense of guilt from their own sin.

3. Those who are overwhelmed with worldly calamities-the victims of worldly sorrow.

Jesus is the SOURCE of rest – Rest begins in personal contact with Christ.

“Our self-will is the source of our deepest unrest. When this is conquered we shall be at peace. Therefore the service of Christ, which involves the suppression of self, is the way of inward restfulness. To bear his yoke, nay, even to carry his cross, is to find rest. While we look for personal comfort and escape from duty, we are miserable and restless; when we cease to think of our own ease and give ourselves up to Christ’s service, to bear his yoke, we find peace.”[5]

Have you ever tried to comfort a troubled heart?  It is beyond your power. It is the prerogative of Him who made the soul to give it rest. There is more power in Him to comfort than in the world to disquiet.[6]

Psalm 6:6-7 – Enemies (from without, family, co-workers, brethren & from within – self-criticism)

• Hi-lite “I am weary with my groaning.”  
• What causes this weariness? Hi-lite “grief” and “enemies.”
• Circle “because” twice.
• How is this weariness expressed? Underline “I make my bed swim”, “I drench my couch”, “my eye wastes away” and “it grows old.”

The disappointment of our desires, grief

It can sometimes paralyze our heart When things don’t turn out like we think they should or when people in our lives die.

Galatians 6:9

     Weary means weak or exhausted.  Something we have all felt at one time or another.

• Circle “let us not” – a command!
• Circle “for” – a reason to not grow weary.
• Circle “if.”Hi-lite “let us not grow weary while doing good”, “do not lose heart.”
• Underline twice “we shall reap.”

A sense of monotony, uncertainty, Care and Worry

Matthew 9:36

• Underline “He was moved with compassion.
• Circle “because”, why was He moved with compassion?
• Hi-lite “they were weary and scattered.”  The Greek definition for weary is fainting or tired out.

The load of a guilty conscience – Sin keeps us from rest

Isaiah 57:20-21

• Hi-lite “there is not peace” and “for the wicked.”
• Underline “wicked are like the troubled sea”, “cannot rest.”

In the next lesson we will look at what the Bible says about Rest and how can we find it.

[1] A Word in Season to the Weary Matthew 11:28, E. Johnson, M.A., Biblical Illustrator, ESword.

[2] Matt. 11:20-30, Marcus Dods, Pulpit Commentary, ESword

[3] Matthew 11:28, Pulpit Commentary. ESword.

[4] It is not a local coming to Christ, Robert Hall, M.A., Biblical Illustrator, Matthew 11:28

[5] The Yoke of Rest. W.F.A., Pulpit Commentary, Matthew 11:28-30.

[6] Rest in Christ for the Heavy-laden, C. Bradley, Biblical Illustrator, Matthew 11:28.