29. Take my yoke upon you—the yoke of subjection to Jesus. and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls—As Christ's willingness to empty Himself to the uttermost of His Father's requirements was the spring of ineffable repose to His own Spirit, so in the same track does He invite all to follow Him, with the assurance of the same experience. read more
A. Evidences of Israel’s rejection of Jesus 11:2-30Matthew presented three evidences of opposition to Jesus that indicated rejection of Him: John the Baptist’s questions about the King’s identity, the Jews’ indifference to the King’s message, and their refusal to respond to the King’s invitation. read more
IV. THE OPPOSITION TO THE KING 11:2-13:53Chapters 11-13 record Israel’s rejection of her Messiah and its consequences. Opposition continued to build, but Jesus announced new revelation in view of hardened unbelief."The Evangelist has carefully presented the credentials of the king in relationship to His birth, His baptism, His temptation, His righteous doctrine, and His supernatural power. Israel has heard the message of the nearness of the kingdom from John the Baptist, the King Himself, and... read more
3. The King’s invitation to the repentant 11:25-30This invitation is a sign of Israel’s rejection of her King since with it Jesus invited those who had believed in Him to separate from unbelieving Israel and to follow Him. In Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus addressed the condemned, but in Matthew 11:25-30 He spoke to the accepted. This section is a Christological high point in the Gospel. read more
This invitation recalls Jeremiah 31:25 where Yahweh offered His people rest in the New Covenant. The weary are those who have struggled long and toiled hard. The heavy-laden are those who stagger under excessive burdens."The one [term] implies toil, the other endurance. The one refers to the weary search for truth and for relief from a troubled conscience; the other refers to the heavy load of observances that give no relief, and perhaps also the sorrow of life, which, apart from the... read more
The yoke that farmers put on their oxen is a metaphor for the discipline of discipleship. This is not the yoke of the Mosaic Law but the yoke of discipleship to Jesus. Learning from Him involves assimilating what He reveals, not just imitating Him or learning from His experience.Jesus is not only the authoritative revealer. He is also the humble Servant of the Lord. He deals gently with the weak (cf. Matthew 18:1-10; Matthew 19:13-15). Jesus quoted Jeremiah 6:16, a passage that pointed to Him.... read more
The Disciples of the Baptist1. Tours of Jesus after dismissing His apostles. The apostles started on their mission about five weeks before the second Passover of the ministry (28 a.d.) and were away about a month. Jesus spent the interval partly in Galilee and partly in Jerusalem, whither he went to keep the Feast of Purim at the beginning of March (John 5:1). He rejoined the Twelve shortly before the Passover (John 6:4), and immediately afterwards fed the five thousand (Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10).... read more
(28) Come unto me.—As in the consciousness of this plenitude of power, the Son of Man turns with infinite compassion to those whose weakness and weariness He has shared, and offers them the rest which none other can give them.Labour and are heavy laden.—The words arc wide enough to cover every form of human sin and sorrow, but the thought that was most prominent in them at the time was that of the burdens grievous to be borne, the yoke of traditions and ordinances which the Pharisees and... read more
(29) Take my yoke upon you.—As the teaching of the Pharisees was a yoke too grievous to be borne, so the yoke of Christ is His teaching, His rule of life, and so is explained by the “learn of Me” that follows. (Comp. Sir. 51:26.)I am meek and lowly in heart.—The stress lies upon the last words. Others might be lowly with the lowliness which is ambition’s ladder, but pride and self-assertion were reigning in their hearts. The Christ, in His infinite sympathy with men of all classes and... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 11:28
28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest—Incomparable, ravishing sounds these—if ever such were heard in this weary, groaning world! What gentleness, what sweetness is there in the very style of the invitation—"Hither to Me"; and in the words, "All ye that toil and are burdened," the universal wretchedness of man is depicted, on both its sides—the active and the passive forms of it. read more