Two Rests: Part 1

In the precious invitation given by the Lord, it is recorded by Matthew that he spoke thus:

Mat 11:28-29  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls

You might have noticed that the Lord spoke of 2 distinct rests. There is a rest that is given and one that is found. Of the rest that is given, the text reads: “I will give you rest” and concerning the rest that is to be found, he says: “ye shall find rest unto your souls”.

What then are these 2 rests spoken of by the Lord?

Let’s consider the first rest, the rest that we speak of as given. It was spoken to such as “labor and are heavy-laden”. But who exactly fit such a description? Allowing scripture to be its own expositor, this description can be shown to fit every child of humanity — every human being stung with a sense of sin and feeling the burden of it.

Psa 38:4  For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me 

Psa 32:4  For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Notice how in the above quoted Psalms, David likens his sins to a heavy burden that he has to carry. Concerning his iniquity with Bathsheba, he speaks of the accusing of a wounded conscience as the Lord’s hand “heavy upon me”. Isaiah, in his description of the apostasy of Israel, describes their spiritual condition as a “people laden with iniquity”. Well, has this been your experience? Have you drifted into some gross sin, hidden perhaps from the knowledge of your fellow man but weighing heavily on your conscience? Have you left your Father’s house for a far-away land and wasted your inheritance on prodigal living? Do you now feel the qualms of an oppressing conscience, the ravaging effects of the sin that you once cherished? It is to such as yourself that the promise was given: “Come unto me, ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I shall give you rest.”

But it is not just to this class alone that the given rest is promised on their coming, but it was spoken also to such as are said to “labor”. The question immediately suggests itself: what kind of labor is referred to here? Well, it is easy to see that since the burden and the labor are connected, the labor must be in the service of sin. Of this service, the scripture speaks of its laborers and wages thus:

Jhn 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

As wages are the labourer’s due at the end of his workday, death is likewise the unfailing wages of a life of weary service to sin. How precious then the Saviour’s invitation appears in light of this truth: “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I shall give you rest.”

Close attention to the initial part of the text, would suggest another precious truth. Only those who come, in response to the Saviour’s invitation, will receive the promised rest.

“Come unto me… I shall give you rest”. The precept is joined to the promise. Both stand and fall together. By inference, this would mean then that those who will not come, will also not receive the promised rest. For instance, if a man is satisfied with his moral or spiritual condition, and feels no need of help, he will not come, and thus cannot obtain the promised rest.

Of such a class, examples in scripture are extant, the Pharisees and Sadducees of Christ’s time being prime. Of this class he said:

Mrk 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

So we find that it is to sinners, weighed down by the burden of sin, and given to the service of it, that this precious invitation is given. It is to such as groan( like Israel under her Egyptian bondage) under the whip and lash of sin, under the excruciating and excessive burdens of sin — who are tired of the service to it, and who desire rest from the burdens thereof, that the promise of rest is extended.

But what is the nature of this given rest? We can understand it in light of the condition of those who are called. They are said to “labor and are heavy-laden”. The rest therefore must be adapted to their condition. It must provide a way to bring an end to the service of sin, and a release from its burdens. That the rest in Christ does bring an end to the service of sin, the scriptures testify thus:

Jhn 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Jhn 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness 

But what about the heavy burden of sin? How does this rest provide relief from this burden? With the piercings of a guilty conscience upon him, the greatest desire of the sinner is for pardon and acceptance. These are provided for in this rest:

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit 

The sinner resting in Christ is free from the condemnation of the law. He is pardoned and accepted in the beloved. He is no longer considered a wanderer, a prodigal from his Father’s house, but a son of the Father. Accepted, pardoned and received.

But is this rest all? Evidently, there is yet another rest spoken of by the Saviour, an abiding rest, one of which he says thus: “ye shall find rest unto your souls.” This rest we shall consider in our next post.