Come To Me! - page 2

If God merely wanted to make His existence known to every person on the earth, God would not hide. However, the direct presence of God would inevitably overwhelm our freedom, with sight replacing faith. God wants instead a different kind of knowledge, a personal knowledge that requires a commitment from the one who seeks to know Him.[1]

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you . . . (NASB) Jer. 29:13-14a

If we will seek and search for Him with all our hearts, we will find Him. Why does God hide? The answer is simple. He wants our searching. He wants us to search and seek for Him. Many of the religious leaders were no longer seeking or searching. They had stopped. They were finished. It would have been a waste to pursue them further, but God continued to reveal truth to a few.

God provides the spark of truth about Jesus Christ in a person’s heart by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11). Anyone who is destined to believe will respond by seeking and searching and God will provide him or her more spiritual insight.

Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” (NASB) Matt. 11:26

Notice the phrase “this way.” He referred to the fact that God had “hidden these things.” God takes pleasure in hiding things. He hides truth from those who reject Jesus, and He slowly reveals truth to God-seekers. He wants our seeking and our searching. It is the proof of the desire of our hearts to know Him.

Those who believe in God will always be seeking Him. That was the passion of King David’s heart.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? (NASB) Ps. 42:1-2

All Handed Over. Those religious leaders did not understand that the very One they rejected was in absolute control of everything. And it was He who knew God the Father and it was He who could give them insight about the Father. That was Jesus’ next revelation.

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. (NASB) Matt. 11:27

In John 17:2 we discover that all authority has been given to Jesus. In Matt. 7:21-23 we discover that Jesus has authority and has power over the demonic forces. In Matt. 9:18-26 we find that He has authority over disease and death. In Matt. 8:24-27 we are reminded that He controls nature. Matthew 7:22-23 tells us that Jesus will determine who will experience eternal punishment or eternal joy. Jesus has the keys to eternal life.

The very one the religious leaders rejected, insulted and later abused was and is the God of this earth and our universe. How very foolish they were.

Come To Me! Jesus was not angry or grieved because of the religious leaders, nor was He disturbed by the questions that the disciples or the crowd probably had. Instead Jesus had compassion for them and offered this call,

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. (NASB) Matt. 11:28-30

The Greek word that Jesus used for “yoke” was a Jewish term that referred to the “yoke of the commandments,” “yoke of the Law,” “yoke of the Torah,” and the “yoke of the kingdom of heaven.” These phrases referred to the keeping of the Jewish laws, rules, prohibitions, requirements for almost every aspect of life: the Sabbath, foods, business, religion, agriculture, and marriage for example. The rabbis encouraged people to take as many obligations as possible. Supposedly, they helped one gain favor with God and gain an entrance into heaven. Anyone who attempted to keep all of these hundreds and hundreds of rules was indeed “heavy-laden” and weary.

So when Jesus said take “my yoke,” He was referring to a different set of religious rules. He was not talking as a farmer nor was He comparing them to cows and steers. Did you notice that He said “you will learn of Me”? When we understand the identity of Jesus and His expectations, we discover that He does not demand that we keep a long list of rules in order to have sins forgiven and to have peace with Him. He calls us to start seeking and searching for Him.

Conclusion. Matt. 11:25-30 reminds us that human wisdom and education are not required to understand the Bible. It is God who gives us the spiritual insight. It is God who helps us understand truth (Matt. 13:10-13; Luke 24:45; John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:12-13). He starts us down the path and brings us to Jesus Christ (John 6:37, 44, 65). He gives us the faith to believe (Eph. 2:8-9) and then to find Jesus.

After we find Him, after we believe in Him and yield our lives to Him, He asks us to keep seeking and searching to know more about Him. Jesus’ demands are a not a list of “dos” and “don'ts.” Remember, He said, “you will learn of Me.” As we seek and find Him in the pages of scripture, we will respond to Him from the depth of our hearts with love and obedience. We will be changed and a peace will consume our lives.

Jesus will not hide Himself from one who seriously seeks and searches for Him. It is God’s desire that we seek Him with all our hearts. There is a lifetime of treasure in the Bible to be found about Jesus. Remember, the goal of the journey is not to know the Bible but to know God.

Jesus said, “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest.” The journey is to be filled with delight, the joy and thrill of discovering Him now and in eternity and the peace of knowing that we belong to Him forever.

1. Philip Yancey. Reaching For the Invisible God. Discovering Intimacy With God. Book 2. Center for Church Based Training. 2002. p. 2.9.