"Learn from the Lord Jesus”
Matthew 11:28-30
English Sermon delivered by Rev. Sakae Tomokawa on May 30, 2021
Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) At Tajiri Church, we have communion every first Sunday of the month, and this verse is often read at communion. I had preached on this verse about four years ago, but I was astonished by the depth of this verse again.
The Moffatt translation of "rest" is "I will refresh you. I will refresh you." It's not just "rest. You will be refreshed again. Williams translates "I will let you rest" as “I, yes, I will lead into rest," which is faithful to the original. It's a good idea to use the word "I" in the original. In other words, the Lord Jesus will give us new strength. It is not something that you can attain by yourself through discipline or study. The next words are, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble" (verse 29).
E.H.Peterson boldly translates this passage as follows; “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” Note the words, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”. A yoke is something you put around the neck of your livestock when you plow the fields. The Lord Jesus will take the yoke with us. We are not to live as we please. The Lord Jesus is with us to help us. We must also remember that we have friends in the faith who will walk with us in our faith. We must cherish the friends who sometimes point out our mistakes, and the friends who are there for us when we are grieving and accept our sorrow as if it were their own. The "fellowship of the saints" means such a deep fellowship. Furthermore, I don't think he forgot for a moment that the Lord Jesus even gave up his life on the cross. The same goes for what the Lord Jesus said after washing the disciples' feet, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34).
But the disciples abandoned the Lord Jesus when they were about to face the cross. In the end, human beings love themselves. But the compassion of the Lord Jesus is far greater than human egoism. He resurrected and made his disciples vessels to preach the "gospel of God. The disciples are our spokespersons. Therefore, we should come back to the Lord Jesus again and again, bear His yoke, and continue to learn from Him. Even if we encounter difficulties, trials, and sorrows, we should live with gratitude.