Despite the good intentions, it has been a hectic week for my wife and me. I drove 11 hours to assist my brother and sister post-surgery. Following several days of service to them, my plans were to attend a business meeting and then drive home the next day. In the middle of this, my wife called to tell me a close friend who had been battling cancer just died. It’s an awful situation as her husband is recovering from a tough fight with brain cancer a few years ago.
My wife has a partially broken knee, is on crutches, and has been watching our 5-month-old puppy as I’ve been away. She changed her plans to drive up to attend the funeral with me. (She ended up making a 6-hour trip up and back in a little over 24 hours.) While together, we visited with our friend’s husband and other mutual friends. He’s doing remarkably well but putting up a good front. The cancer that took our friend robbed her of her life but not her dignity or peace. I studied her face for a while and noticed that she didn’t look pained or sick. She looked like she was resting.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
Jesus spoke these words to invite those who are struggling to find true rest in Him. He wasn’t talking about a physical rest where you take your feet off the ground, He was asking for His audience to abide with Him. To come to Him for comfort, consolation, and peace. “Come to Me” is a personal invitation to come to Jesus Himself, not to a philosophy, religion, or ritual. Being at rest with Him emphasizes a relationship with Christ as the source of pure relief. It is inclusive, extended to “all” who are weary, underscoring that His rest is for everyone, regardless of background, status, or sins.
The people Jesus addressed in Matthew were burdened by legalistic religious demands on the Sabbath imposed by the Pharisees, as well as the spiritual and physical struggles of life. The Sabbath is God’s day of ordained rest, but the Jewish Mishna, a detailed rulebook, laid out 39 main types of human work that were off-limits to do on the Sabbath. These 39 were broken down into smaller rules, filling up 24 chapters! While the rules were intended to protect God’s law, most of them were fabricated by mankind and not directly from God Himself. Jesus offered His followers an alternative: rest through a relationship with Him.
“I will give you rest” meant rest for the soul. This rest is more than physical; it is spiritual refreshment and peace found only from trusting Jesus. Rest also symbolizes the assurance of eternal life, where believers no longer labor under sin’s consequences. God’s rest could be as simple as providing us with complete enjoyment of His creation. Following Jesus should not be a burdensome task but a joyful and fulfilling way of life. Amid life’s struggles, we can find solace and renewal in Christ. Only by turning to Him can we experience true peace and rest.
For whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Hebrews 4:10
God, after completing creation, entered a state of perfect peace and satisfaction, often referred to as “rest.” The Hebrew word “shabat,” translated as “rest,” doesn’t imply tiredness but rather a cessation of creative work. Similarly, as believers, we are invited to rest in Christ, trusting in His finished work on the cross. This spiritual rest frees us from the burden of striving and allows us to experience a deep and abiding peace.
Our friend lived her life for Christ. My wife said to many people at the viewing, “If I know anyone who is definitely in Heaven, it’s (S).” She battled breast cancer as a young woman and then again when it reoccurred a year ago. The latest resurgence brought the sting of death but not the loss of hope. While texting with my wife last week, she informed me of (S)’s deteriorating condition in the ICU. I was going to text her husband but had a premonition to call him instead. “Is (S) with you?” I asked. “Could you put me on speaker?” He did. We spoke for a few precious minutes, and it was beautiful. I feel immeasurably blessed to have had the opportunity of our last conversation. Her voice was weak and quiet, and she cried as she told me how moved she was by the prayers, love, and support from everyone. “I feel them all,” her voice trembled.
[S] had a high-level position at a local bank and dedicated her life to serving her church. Yet, she understood that her accomplishments, no matter how significant, would not earn her salvation. Her faith rooted in the finished work of Christ triumphed over her works. She recognized that salvation is a gift of grace, not a reward for her good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). This belief brought her profound peace and the assurance of eternal life.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Genesis 2:2-3
After completing creation, God declared the seventh day holy. Despite knowing God’s laws, the Israelites repeatedly turned away from Him. Though they neared the Promised Land, their lack of faith prevented them from entering God’s rest. An entire generation missed out on this promised rest due to their disobedience. The Sabbath was intended as a gift, a time for renewal and restoration, not a burdensome obligation.
Pastor John Macarthur said, “Nobody experiences God’s rest apart from faith. That’s the key to entering into rest.” God blessed the seventh day, setting it apart as Holy. Without the faith of a relationship with God, the Sabbath is just a day off from work. There’s nothing special about it. God modeled the importance of taking time to pause, reflect, and appreciate the fruits of labor. In a culture that often glorifies busyness, this passage calls believers to honor the balance of work and rest. Rest is not laziness; it is a sacred rhythm that acknowledges God’s provision and our limits.
In the New Testament, Jesus fulfills a deeper meaning of the Sabbath. He provides ultimate rest for our souls, freeing us from the burdens of self-reliance and sin.
The rest God modeled in creation points forward to the spiritual rest believers find in Christ, both now and in eternity.
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27
Did Jesus ever teach anyone to keep the Sabbath? Not directly. He taught us to obey the spirit of the law, not the letter of it. As a matter of fact, on several occasions, he was accused of breaking the Sabbath. Countering these attacks, He replied that it was a day to benefit man, not to bind us to strict religious observance. God created His rest to help us and save us because He loves us. He created it as a reward, not an impending day of obedience.
Jesus, as the compassionate Savior, calls the weary to find rest in Him. He offers relief, and hope in His rest is a divine gift rooted in grace that replaces the heavy burdens of self-effort, sin, and legalism. By coming to Him, we find the peace, freedom, and renewal our souls long for.
(S) found God’s rest both in her earthly life and now in her permanent, eternal life. Grounded by her faith and powered by the Holy Spirit, she enjoyed a lifetime of intimacy with Jesus. Yet her new life is set apart by an even greater relationship with Christ and a much deeper rest with no more tears, pain, or sorrow — just the joy of Christ’s presence. As I watched the top of the casket close down upon her, I cried. It was a goodbye that I wasn’t prepared for. Yet, it’s an event all believers will experience. God asks all of His children to place their utmost faith and trust in Him so we can experience His rest personally.
Key Applications:
- Trust in Jesus’ sufficiency, not your own. Stop striving for self-reliance or trying to meet impossible standards. Jesus’ invitation reminds us that peace comes not from effort but from faith in Him.
- Whether it’s anxiety, guilt, shame, or grief, Jesus asks us to surrender these burdens. Pray that you’re open to His promise of rest. Know that His rest means we don’t have to carry our burdens alone.
- Enter His Rest Daily. Talk to your Christian friends. Worship. Praise. Pray.