Matthew 11:25-30
July 5, 2026
We have been hearing a lot about freedom in the weeks and months leading up to this July 4th weekend. Freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination, political freedom, economic freedom, and the freedom to live where and as we choose. This weekend I wondered what was it that caused my great grandparents on my father’s side of the family to give up everything they knew in Germany and to venture off across the Atlantic Ocean to come to America in the late 1800s? Why risk so much, your livelihood, your health, and your life, to come to a foreign land where they built a farm and settled in northern Wisconsin? Had things gotten so bad, so hopeless, that the prospects of a new life, a better life, a free life, were just too good to pass up? I don’t know, but I can only imagine how hard it must have been for them to make that journey.
While life is certainly different for us today, compared to the 1800s, it is still hard and it is filled with burdens. Wars are taking place around our world that affect us in different ways and can cause us to worry. Some of us live with the fears of cancer coming back. Others of us struggle to make the mortgage payment on time. We see the burdens of divorce that affect not just former spouses, but children, extended family, and friends. We worry about job security and what that will mean for our families. Some of us have adult children who are becoming caregivers or parents who are becoming dependents. These and countless other struggles we face everyday, and I’m sure there are days we wish we could just leave it all behind and start fresh with a new life free from these burdens.
And in a sense that is what Jesus freely offers to us today. He tells us in our Gospel lesson, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus knows our weaknesses, our pains, and our concerns, because He has promised to be with us always to the end of the age; and He understands our sorrows and challenges, because they are nothing new to Him. He has seen it all. Go back to the Old Testament book of Exodus and there you will read about a group of immigrants, known as Israelites, millions of them, who after being freed by God from 400 years of slavery in Egypt found themselves wandering in the wilderness in search of a new life, a free life. But the search went on for another 40 years, because they doubted God’s care and power. Even after God freed them from slavery in a very dramatic and miraculous way, and protected them and provided everything they needed, many still turned away from Him. Even after they finally reached the Promised Land, again in a very dramatic and miraculous way, they struggled to take hold of this new life, because they still failed to honor God and to put their trust in Him alone. In our Second lesson for today we see that Paul really wrestled with the concept of slavery to sin and freedom. In frustration he said, “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” – Romans 7:18-19.
It’s interesting how we, as Americans, define the word, “rest,” especially in light of a holiday weekend or maybe even a summer vacation. The month of July is probably the busiest vacation time of the year, and I have learned that there are basically 2 types of vacationers. First, there are those who pack shorts, a swimsuit, and a stack of books, and they go off to a place where they do as little as humanly possible for an entire week. All they want to do for their vacation is read, relax by the pool, soak up the sun on the beach, eat, drink, and sleep. These are vacationers who rest literally by doing very little activity.
The second type of vacationer tries to pack as much into their days as is humanly possible. They fish, hike, shop, exercise, go to amusement parks or museums all throughout their vacation. Anything out of their ordinary routine is explored, experienced, and enjoyed. These are vacationers who rest by actively doing things in new places.
Both types of vacationers are celebrating their time of rest in a way that relaxes them, fulfills them, and refreshes them. So what kind of rest do you crave? What is your ideal resting place? When we look at this text, we will see that the way Jesus defines “rest” actually involves both types of vacationers, both sitting – namely listening to His Word – and moving, by putting the His Word into practice. But the order of sitting and moving is important. Before we can go out into the world, into our communities, and do the things that Jesus wants us to do, we need to rest first by sitting and listening to His Word. That might be one reason why in the Jewish tradition each new day begins at sunset – after the day’s work is done and it is time to go home. Each new day begins with rest. Likewise, for us as Christians, our Sabbath – that being Sunday – this day begins a new week as the sun rises with a specific directive to rest. The 3rd Commandment tells us to remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy, meaning we set aside a day each week to listen to God’s Word and learn about it. Begin the week with rest by taking a break from our old routines and freeing ourselves from the burdens we tried to carry alone last week, and gather around the Word of God for worship.
But after hearing the Word of God, Jesus goes on to offer us in the text a form of rest with movement and responsibilities. “Rest,” Jesus says in verse 29, “by taking my yoke upon you.” Now that might not make a lot of sense. After all, a yoke is one of those wooden things that go around the necks of cattle that enable them to pull a plow. That doesn’t sound like rest, it sounds like work. But what Jesus is saying here is that His yoke is the entire Christian life, and the Christian life is not meant to be a burden. The 10 Commandments and other commands of Jesus are intended to make life easier and more enjoyable. So Jesus’ yoke is intended to give us rest and freedom – freedom from the burdens of life that we often try to carry ourselves. And Jesus’ yoke is always built for two.
However, that doesn’t mean we are equal partners or that we each do the same amount of work. I remember when my daughter was very young, she always liked to help me do things around the house. If I was trying to move a large piece of furniture from one side of the room to the other, she loved to say, “I’ll help you, Daddy.” So she would put her hand on the edge of the piece of furniture, thinking she was helping me move it. And I would always tell her, “Thank you, Sarah, you were very helpful. I couldn’t have done that without you.” Now, who was the one who did all of the work? I was; she thought she was actually lifting the piece of furniture with me, but I was the one who did all of the heavy lifting.
Likewise, when Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden in light,” in verse 30 what He was saying to us, His children, was, “Come, follow me, and I’ll do the heavy work. I took on the weight of your sin and died on a cross so you could live, because you cannot save yourself. I’ll even carry you if I have to, but come to me so that you can receive rest through a life of service.” Now, again, that may sound a little odd – rest through a life of service – but being a yoked follower of Jesus involves a pattern of sitting and moving. While we all need to take the occasional vacation from our jobs or routines, even Jesus took time away from His routine to rest and pray, the life of faith involves sitting and listening to Jesus every day, while at the same time always being ready to move, to actively share the love of Jesus with others.
This weekend we remember that freedom still involves a tremendous cost as people give their lives for freedom in countries around the world. But the greatest news of freedom that we can share with others is that our spiritual independence is the result of a perfect man, Jesus, paying the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life on a cross for us. So let us celebrate everyday, by sitting and moving, our dependence on Jesus for the great gifts of rest, freedom from sin and its punishment of eternal death, and life with Jesus today and forever.
