Based on a series of sermons preached in PCC Prayer Meetings in 2023-2024
28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
Matthew 11:28-30
These are the words of our Saviour as He seeks to encourage the sensitive souls listening to him in Capernaum. Not everyone listening to him cares about what he has to say. Many are there out of curiosity or desire to fulfil some of their temporal needs. Many consider themselves righteous, religious, knowledgeable, wise and prudent enough already. They hear, but they are not listening. Or they listen, but they are not hearing.
But there are a few who are struck by His words. It is often like that in the ministry of the gospel. People who need to be provoked unto repentance are either not there or unmoved, whereas gentle and sensitive souls who need comfort are convicted of their failures and sins.
This is why after His fiery condemnation of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, the Lord Jesus turns his eyes towards those who are pierced by his word and says those touching words of our text: “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 my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
As we saw previously, (1) The Lord’s invitation is given to those who labour and are heavy laden because of their sin; (2) To take the yoke of the Lord and to learn of Him is to serve under His headship; and (3) His yoke is easy and His burden is light because those who are yoked to Him know they are forgiven of God and are empowered to live the Christian life with joy.
In this follow-up study, we want to meditate on something very significant that we did not comment on previously. Ironically, some of us may even find these words of our Lord to be the most comforting of everything He says on that occasion. I refer to the words, “for I am meek and lowly in heart.”
Now, the Lord says this to encourage those who are weary and heavy-laden to take His yoke upon themselves and learn of Him. It is the first of two reasons. The second reason is, “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
When properly appreciated, this confession of the Lord—that He is meek and lowly— can be the basis of profound comfort for every child of God facing any situation of sorrow, confusion or apprehension. Therefore, let us pause to consider these two qualities of our Lord.
1. He Is Meek
What is meekness? Meekness is not merely gentleness or humility, as some claim. Instead, as Thomas Watson proposes, “Meekness is a grace whereby we are enabled by the Spirit of God to moderate our passions” (Beatitudes, 106). A person who is meek is patient in the face of provocations, injuries and even injustices. He is not spineless or cowardly. He knows his rights and will insist on them when the occasion demands them. But he is not quick to anger. Instead, like a wet tinder that refuses to ignite, he remains patient even when wronged or provoked. He will not push for his rights like a bull or ignore the rights of others when trying to secure his own.
So, the Lord Jesus asked those who were tormenting Him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?” (Jn 18:23). And yet, He patiently endured the suffering and even prayed for His tormentors, knowing that vengeance belongs to His Father. As Peter reminds us, “When he was reviled, [he] reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Pet 2:23).
So, how does the meekness of the Lord encourage us to come to Him with our burdens due to sin? We are not His enemies, are we? Well, His meekness comforts us because one who is meek is not only not easily provoked by enemies, but also by those he finds disagreeable or irritating.
Our Lord is not easily provoked or irritated by anyone. He is slow to anger, unlike the scribes and Pharisees, who are quick to condemn and harsh in their judgement when anyone fails their expectations. He dealt patiently and gently with the Samaritans, the sinners and publicans, the woman caught in adultery, and His disciples who were often forgetful and foolish. Matthew testifies of Him with the words of Isaiah, “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory” (Mt 12:20).
That’s how He deals with us despite our shortfalls, failures, foolishness, dullness and sins. Because He is meek, we know He will receive us gently when we go to Him. He will not add to our burden by forcefully and repeatedly reminding us of how unworthy of Him we are—the way that even our loving parents may do.
Moreover, He is, secondly, lowly in heart.
2. He Is Lowly in Heart
As one commentator puts it, “Meekness produces easiness of yoke; lowliness of heart, lightness of burden.”1 Not only does Christ gently receive unworthy sinners, but He also condescends to receive and teach the most unlearned and slow to learn.
Notice how He chose His disciples not from the schools of the rabbis or from the disciples of priests and Pharisees. Instead, He chose lowly men who were fishermen apart from a tax collector and a zealot. Paul was an exception.
And look at the teaching ministry of the Lord. His lessons are deep enough for elephants to swim in, but also shallow enough for babes to wade in.
Therefore, none of us need to feel intimidated against going to Him.
- Bengel’s Gnomon of the New Testament, comm. in loc. ↩︎
Conclusion
Our Saviour is meek and lowly in heart. If you do not know Him, may I invite you to go to Him to learn of Him and find in Him the peace that sin has robbed you of? He has promised that anyone who goes to Him in sincerity, He will in no wise cast away.
But if you know Him, do not allow the guilt and burden of your failures to keep you from drawing close to Him. Instead, be encouraged to go to Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart. And He has promised, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
—JJ Lim