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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 as we continue 
to work our way through the gospel according to Matthew. I want 
to begin reading in Matthew 11 at verse 16. But to what shall I liken this 
generation? It is like children sitting in 
the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying, 
we played the flute for you and you did not dance. We mourn to 
you and you did not lament. For John came neither eating 
nor drinking and they say, he has a demon. The son of man came 
eating and drinking and they say, look, a glutton and a wine-bibber, 
a friend of tax collectors and sinners. wisdom is justified 
by her children. Then he began to rebuke the cities 
in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did 
not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to 
you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which 
were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would 
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, 
it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of 
judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted 
to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works 
which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have 
remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall 
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment 
than for you." At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank 
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these 
things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 
Even so, father, for so it seemed good in your sight. All things 
have been delivered to me by my father, and no one knows the 
son except the father, nor does anyone know the father except 
the son, and the one to whom the son wills to reveal him. 
Come to me, all you 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for this, your word. We pray 
now for the ministry of your spirit. As we call upon you, 
God, we're mindful of your holiness and of your righteousness and 
of our own sinfulness. And we pray for forgiveness, 
we pray for cleansing, In the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we pray that genuine good would be done to our souls. We pray 
the Spirit would write these things large upon our hearts 
as believers. We pray for those who've come 
here this morning that are outside of Christ. We pray that today 
would be the day of salvation, that you would reach down in 
mercy and in grace, that you would awaken them and cause them 
to see the glory and the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Cause 
them to believe on him for pardon, for righteousness, for every 
good thing that you promise in your word. We just commit ourselves 
to you now. We pray that your grace would 
be sufficient for each and every one of us here. And we ask these 
things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, we have 
been dealing with chapter 11, specifically verses 25 to 30, 
under the observation, or overarching observation, about those who 
accept. Remember, the context is one 
of condemnation. The Lord Jesus addresses and 
he opposes the rising opposition that is being leveled. As I said, 
in chapters 11 and 12, what we find are varying responses to 
the life and the ministry of Christ, with emphasis upon those 
who oppose. He condemns, or rather he indicts, 
his generation. in verses 16 to 19. They rejected 
the message of John the Baptist, they rejected the message of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. In verses 20 to 24, he then offers 
up condemnation specifically upon the cities in Galilee that 
had witnessed his mighty works, that had seen the things that 
he had done, and yet they continued to refuse and they did not repent. But here in verses 25 to 30, 
He takes time to praise the Father. Though the Father is divine, 
though the Father is sovereign, though the Father has reprobated 
or chosen to hide gospel truth from some, He has nevertheless 
revealed it unto others. And we see that man gains acceptance 
with God, not because of his goodness, not because of his 
law-keeping, not because of his merit, but as Jesus specifies 
here in verses 25 and following. Man is accepted with God because, 
first of all, the sovereign will of the Father. Verses 25 and 
26. The Father chose. In Ephesians 
1-4, the Apostle Paul celebrates this reality in the same disposition 
that Jesus here praises His Father. He thanks His Father for sovereignty. He's not an opponent. He's not 
anti, he is not against these things, but rather he praises 
the Father. Paul does that in Ephesians 1. 
He says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
places in Christ. He then says, He chose us in 
Him before the foundation of the world. So sinners come by 
God's grace according to God's sovereign will. The second reason 
is because of Jesus' office as mediator. Notice in verse 27, 
All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one 
knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father 
except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal 
Him. We have the sovereign will of 
the Father, we have the mediatorial office of the Son, and then we 
have this gracious declaration of the Gospel in verse 28, where 
Jesus says, come to me. all you who labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest." Those who labor under Pharisaic 
religion, those who seek to work their fingers to the bone in 
order to accomplish what they never can by virtue of their 
sinfulness, those who are heavy laden because of sin, Remember, 
we noted that last week in the Psalter, Psalms 38, Psalm 130. Sin is a hard, it's a heavy taskmaster. Sin never brings joy and peace 
and happiness. It never brings lasting security. It never brings lasting comfort. If you want those things, come 
to Christ. That's what he says in verse 
28. We noted that in the movement 
of the text, God in eternity past, or God before the foundation 
of the world, chooses us. Christ comes in history to die 
and rise again. And then this gracious declaration 
of gospel truth comes on the heels of that. He says, come 
to me. Justification. Verse 28, those 
who come receive forgiveness and receive a righteousness that 
avails with God. But Christ does not stop there. He speaks of the blessed yoke 
of discipleship in verses 29 and 30. In other words, when 
we come, when we believe the Gospel, when we, by God's grace, 
turn from our sin and know the forgiveness that Jesus brings, 
and we know that righteousness that avails with God, as Christians 
now, we have a yoke. As Christians, we are bidden 
by our Lord to live accordingly. As Christians, we need to let 
our conduct be worthy of the gospel, and that's what he specifies 
here in verses 29 and 30. So we're going to look at the 
blessed yoke of discipleship under three considerations this 
morning. First, the command to submit, 
verse 29a. Second, the demand to learn, 
verse 29b. And then thirdly, the description 
of discipleship in verse 30. Let's look first at this command 
to submit. Christ says, verse 29, take my 
yoke upon you. This brings out an implication. Our coming to Christ, our belief 
in the gospel, does not mean a yoke-less existence, but rather 
it means the exchange of one yoke for another. In the context, 
the yoke of Pharisaic legalism, the yoke of a labor that seeks 
to attempt to gain favor with God, and the yoke of sin and 
bondage and misery and hardship that it brings upon the people 
outside of Christ. Jesus says, when you come to 
me, there is a yoke. And we need to understand that 
coming to Christ does not mean libertinism. It does not mean 
anarchy. It does not mean antinomianism. I imagine not everybody knows 
those terms. Libertinism and antinomianism 
mean essentially the same thing. It is that idea that there's 
no law for the Christian. There's no rules for the Christian. 
We've been freed by the grace of God. We're not under law, 
we're under grace. Therefore, we can do whatever 
it is that we please. That's not taught here in Matthew 
11, 29 to 30. Jesus teaches that when we come 
to Him, there's a yoke. It's a blessed yoke. It's a wonderful 
yoke. It is a light and an easy yoke, 
but it is a yoke nonetheless. You don't leave the bondage of 
sin and just have absolute freedom. You become slaves of Christ. You take His yoke upon you. Calvin 
explains it this way. He says that Jesus does not absolve 
men from their sins in such a manner that restored to the favor of 
God, they may sin with greater freedom. That's not the reason 
we're forgiven. It's so that we may go out and 
sin more. Doesn't Paul counter this in 
Romans chapter 6? If you followed his discussion, 
if you understand that God meets our sin with His grace, certainly 
the libertine and certainly the antinomian would suppose, well 
then, why don't we just continue in sin that God's grace may abound? In fact, the antinomian or the 
libertine or the sinner likes that arrangement quite well. 
God loves to pour out grace, and I love to sin. It's a beautiful 
thing. Paul says, what shall we say 
then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? He says, God forbid. May it never 
be. Do you not know that you who 
died with Christ have risen in Him? You are alive, newness of 
Christ. Therefore, later on, he says, 
do not let sin reign in your members. He says, do not present 
your members as instruments of unrighteousness. You are slaves 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin goes on to say, He says, 
but rather, or but that, raised by His grace, they may also take 
His yoke upon them. And that being free in spirit, 
they may restrain the licentiousness of their flesh. And hence we 
obtain a definition of that rest of which He had spoken. It is 
not at all intended to exempt the disciples of Christ from 
the warfare of the flesh, that they may enjoy themselves at 
their ease, but to train them under the burden of discipline 
and keep them under the yoke. In other words, when we come 
to Jesus, according to verse 28, we are freed from the penalty 
of sin. When we take Jesus' yoke upon 
us, we are freed from the power of sin. The grace that justifies 
is the grace that sanctifies. So what begins in eternity past, 
in God's predestination, and in God's election, which is wrought 
through the mediatorial office of the Son, is applied by the 
Spirit in terms of justification and sanctification. We take the 
yoke upon us, by God's grace, and we follow the Savior. Now, 
the idea of yoke here came to be a metaphor for obedience, 
subordination, and servitude. The Lord Jesus uses it here for 
discipleship. Now, there's two types of yokes. 
I'm sure there's more, but there's two that I want to suggest. There's 
the yokes that animals use. The yoke that you put on a pair 
of oxen. I guess they'd be oxen, right? 
A little messed up with my My plural forms here, we'll say 
oxes. If that bothers you, tough. You 
take that yoke to bind the two together. And while that might 
be somewhat appealing in this statement here, I don't think 
that's what Jesus means. I mean, we've got Jesus and me 
and we're yoked together and we're going to do it together. 
Now, there is a sense and there is a degree where that is reality. We are in blessed union with 
the Savior. The Spirit dwells in our hearts 
by faith. We have Him as a yoke fellow 
to be sure. But a people yoke, a person yoke, 
a human yoke was a means whereby the accomplishment of the task 
would be rendered easier. Certainly it's a yoke and it's 
difficult to pull the load or to carry whatever it is, but 
that yoke laid upon the shoulders was something that made it more 
efficient, and made it more doable, and made it more helpful. The 
purpose of the human yoke is to make it easier to carry or 
pull a load. And I think just a surface observation 
should indicate here something. Let's think of that text in Proverbs. 
I always think about it, not always, but I think about it 
a lot in connection with young people, young people and children. If you'd listen to your parents, 
and if you'd listen to your pastors, and if you'd listen to your elders, 
and you'd listen to people, you'd probably spare yourself a lot 
of heartache. Now, I got to give that statement. Are you going 
to go out and listen? Probably not. I'm not justifying that, not 
saying that's okay. Fifth Commandment says, honor 
your father and mother, obey your parents and the Lord. Do 
you know what Solomon says in the Proverbs? He says, the way 
of the unfaithful is hard. Take for a moment the idea of 
that human yoke, where Jesus says, take my yoke upon you. I think that it's safe to say 
that life in God's world goes better God's way than in our 
own wisdom and in our own strength and in our own ingenuity. You 
see, when we reject God, we reject lawful authority vis-à-vis parents, 
we reject the preaching of God's Word, we reject the good counsel 
that we receive, then certainly what Solomon pronounces in the 
Proverbs will be true of us. The way of the unfaithful is 
hard. Jesus says there is rest when 
you come to Him. There is rest when you remain 
with Him, when you walk with Him, when you submit to Him, 
when you wear that yoke, when you exercise yourself toward 
godliness. The way of the unfaithful is 
hard. We already see it specified in 
the persons that He addresses. In verse 28, come to me, all 
you who labor and are heavy laden. Do you see a man struggling in 
labor and say, are you happy? Oh yeah, this is great. Do you 
see a man heavy laden with a great weight upon his back and you 
say, how are you doing? I'm doing fantastic. No, it's 
a hard way to live. It's a difficult way to live. 
When you consistently and continuously reject God's law, when you continuously 
and consistently reject God's will and God's way. Do you think 
that comfort, ease, pleasure and happiness are the final result? I mean, it might be there for 
a time. Remember that in Hebrews 11, 
in describing that godly Moses, it says that he chose rather 
to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy, 
and this is what the scripture says, the passing pleasures of 
sin. It doesn't lie to us. There is 
a pleasure there. You don't go out and do the various 
things you do that are in rebellion against God because you hate 
it. You don't go out and fornicate because you can't stand it. You 
don't click on that porno site because you despise it. There is a certain pleasure that 
it holds out to you. But what it goes on to say is 
the passing pleasures of sin. You see, after you accomplish 
that particular task or that particular activity, you feel 
like garbage. Guilt. Shame. Despise yourself. Why? Because you know, deep down 
in your heart of hearts, you live in a world governed by a 
moral ruler. And he has said, don't do that. 
Don't. Don't degrade yourself. Don't 
misuse those things. Don't abuse yourself. Jesus says, 
take my yoke upon you. Chamberlain defines it this way. 
This is a command to submit to God's rule as Jesus proclaims 
it and to God's law as Jesus expounds it. Take my yoke upon 
you is what Christ says. That's the command to submit. 
Notice secondly, though, there is a demand to learn. This is one of those Passages, 
it's like a nice fastball. Not a fastball, they're difficult 
to hit. A change-up where the ball comes right over the plate 
and you're just ready to nail it. In Reformed churches, we 
really like passages that encourage people to study theology. Makes 
us happy. Look at what Jesus says. take 
my yoke upon you and learn from me." Read your Bible, listen 
to Christ, seek God's will and word, be students of Holy Scripture. The one who comes to Christ must 
study under Christ and he must study Christ. The disciple is 
not simply someone who says, you know, I stopped dancing, 
I stopped looking at porn, I stopped smoking crack, and I stopped 
beating my wife. You know, atheists give those 
things up from time to time as well. It doesn't make them any 
more fit for heaven. What distinguishes the Christian 
from the non-Christian is the Christ in whom we believe. That's the point. I don't doubt 
for a moment. There are atheists out there 
that outperform us in good works. in good deeds, in big checks 
to benevolent causes. That does not avail you with 
God. That does not gain acceptance 
with heaven. It is solely and alone through 
the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus. We can't do enough good works. 
We can't achieve enough. We can't cancel out our sin. 
We can't put together a righteousness that avails with God. We need 
Christ, who always obeyed, who always did that which pleased 
the Father, who died as a sacrifice, who died as a substitute, and 
who rose again on the third day. The Scripture says, come to me 
and I will give you rest. Spurgeon says we are to learn 
of Christ and also to learn Christ. He is both teacher and lesson. That's important. And this is 
not optional. It's not like, well, you know, 
I've taken the yoke of discipleship, but that study, you know, that's 
for those theologians. That's for those weird guys that 
get up early every other Saturday morning and meet in the fellowship 
hall. You know, I just don't do that. I'm not saying that's 
the only way to study theology, by the way. But you know, you'll 
meet that. We looked at that in 1 Timothy 
chapter 2. You'll meet people who say, well, I'm a prayer warrior. 
You know, my thing is prayer. I don't really study. I don't 
really, you know, spend time poring over theology. I'm more 
of a prayer warrior. What are the reasons Paul gives 
for prayer in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 to 7? They are theological 
in nature and Christological in nature. In other words, you 
need to know theology and Christology, the doctrine of Christ, to be 
a prayer warrior. Have you met those people? Practical 
godliness is all I'm really pursuing in the Christian life. I just 
want to be as holy as I can possibly be. That's awesome. It's great. Fantastic. Goody for you. I don't have time for all that 
study. We've actually posited in our day a dichotomy between 
the heady, scholarly, cerebral approach to Christianity and 
the practical. Do you realize that in the scripture 
it is that cerebral, heady, theological approach that fuels the practical? 
Do you realize that you will not grow in the grace and in 
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ without study? Again, I'm not saying how you 
need to study. Don't email me today and say, 
what time do you guys meet every other Saturday? I've got to check 
off this requirement on my Be Holy list. I've got to enroll in Bible school. 
No, just pick up your Bible. You ever notice that if you have 
a bit of a problem in your prayer life? This is the way Christians 
function. I need to read a book on prayer. I need to listen to 
sermons on prayer. Just pray. How's that? We got to figure out how to win 
the lost. We got to figure out how to disciple 
people. Go talk to them. We make it more 
difficult than it has to be. You don't have to be a PhD. You 
don't have to be an MDiv. You don't have to be a bachelor's. 
You don't have to be an associate's. You don't have to be a kindergarten 
graduate to do what Jesus says. Learn from me. That means put 
your face in the Bible. That means take it off the shelf, 
blow off the dust, flip it open and read it. Consider the implications of 
Jesus' high priestly prayer. Consider John 17, 17. The Lord 
Christ at prayer says to His Father, sanctify them by Your 
truth. Your Word is truth. Do you know what that means? 
That means that if you don't know the truth, you're not sanctified. If you're not studying the truth, 
you will not be sanctified. I don't care how many muffins 
you hand out. I don't care how many bowls of 
soup you ladle forth. If you are not in the Scriptures, 
if you are not immersing yourself, dare I say it, baptizing yourself 
in the Word of God, You will not be sanctified. Sanctify them 
by your truth. Your word is truth. Do you understand 
how far we have gone astray? We define holiness as what a 
person does or doesn't do. Christ says, sanctify them by 
that word that every one of them has available to them. That guy 
is really holy because he does this, that, and the other. This 
guy is really holy because he does this, that, and the other. 
This girl is really holy because she does this, that, and the 
other. Jesus says holiness comes from this book. Sanctify them 
by your truth, your word is truth. Consider the implications of 
Romans chapter 12 verse 2. After expounding the Gospel in 
all of its lovely detail in chapters 1 to 11, Paul then gets practical. You see, there's a place for 
practical theology. It comes on the heels of having 
studied doctrine. And after understanding the implications 
of Romans chapter 1 to 11, he comes with a therefore in chapter 
12 verse 1. Therefore, I beseech you, by 
the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice 
unto God. It's what you're supposed to 
do. And then he fleshes that out or teases that out in chapters 
12 and 13. It looks like this. It looks 
like being kindly affectionate to one another. It looks like 
being hospitable to one another. It looks like crucifying pride 
and being humble. It looks like submission to governing 
authorities. It looks like all these things. 
But it's interesting that in chapter 12, verse 2, he tells 
us specifically, do not be conformed to this world. What's he mean? Don't dance anymore. Don't go 
to that place anymore. Don't do those things anymore. 
Those might be implicates. Do not be conformed to this world. We take that and we change our 
patterns. Again, if the patterns are changed 
because of proper biblical instruction, praise God. But the emphasis 
in the Apostle is do not be conformed to this world, but rather be 
transformed by what? By the renewing, not of your 
organs, not of your sleep habits, not of your dietary restrictions, 
but of your mind. You see, the Bible, God, who 
knows us and fashioned us, understands this all too well. That it's 
when we seize upon truth in the mind and in the heart that we 
put it into practice. It's, again, not rocket science. 
It's really not that difficult to try and figure out. So Jesus 
tells us to take His yoke upon you. He tells us to learn from 
Me. And then notice what He does 
in this statement. I think it's a bit of an invitation, 
a bit of a description, a bit of a provocation, if you will, 
to turn men from their labor and their heavy laden nets to 
Him. He says, take my yoke upon you 
and learn from me for I am gentle or I am meek and lowly in heart. You say, why does he do that? 
Because he has just set forth what life apart from him looks 
like. When you're outside of Christ, 
you labor. When you are outside of Christ, 
you are heavy-laden. So when he bids us, take my yoke 
upon you and learn from me, and then he describes himself as 
being meek and lowly in heart, it is so that we'll go, praise 
God! There is one to whom I can flee 
that doesn't bring the wages of death, that doesn't bring 
the wages of bondage, that doesn't bring the wages of damnation. 
There is one out there described as meek and lowly in heart, one 
that I can flee to, I can take my burden to, and one who promises 
rest to me. Jesus is speaking to sinners 
He just condemned in verses 20-24, or that type of sinners. And he is telling them there 
are two ways. There is the way of the unfaithful, 
and it's hard, and it's marked with labor, and it's marked with 
a heavy ladenness. But there is that way by God's 
grace of life. And it's marked with one who 
is meek. It's marked with one who is lowly in heart. Blessed 
Christ that he affords us these things. The Messiah was described 
in just this very way. Look over in chapter 12 for just 
a moment in verses 18 and following. This is a quotation from the 
prophet Isaiah. Behold my servant whom I have 
chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will 
put my spirit upon him and he will declare justice to the Gentiles. 
He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice 
in the streets. Notice this, a bruised reed he 
will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench. That's the 
meekness and the lowliness of Christ. You ever talk to people 
that are in sin, that are burdened by their sin, there's a struggle 
going on? You tell them this Christ to 
whom you come, this savior that bids you, it's described here 
by the prophet and reiterated by the apostle, a bruised reed, 
he won't break. He's not going to smash you and 
crush you and destroy you. When you come to Christ, he gives 
you rest. He doesn't snap you. Think prodigal 
son. Think about that pig-smelling 
young man. Think about him. Smell him if 
you can. Look at him there, craving food 
that pigs are eating. That's bad because pigs eat nasty 
stuff. It's doubly bad for the men that 
Jesus told this story to because pigs were unclean. And it's as 
bad as you get. Not just eating sloth, but eating 
the sloth of an unclean animal that you are prohibited to eat. What happens to that young man? He comes to the father. I don't believe he's converted 
there, actually. I don't believe the light flipped. 
I believe there's a mercenary spirit in this young man. I believe 
he's still trying to play the system. If I go to my father's 
house and I cast myself on his mercy, then maybe he'll make 
me like... He's not talking about salvation. He's not talking about 
having been converted. When you see that boy looking 
at this slop and desiring it for his own belly, all he wants 
is out of the pig trough. All he wants is out of this pig 
smell and this situation that he's found himself in. So he 
concocts this idea, he goes back to the father. Do the emphasis 
lie in that third story that Jesus tells? It's not in the 
wisdom or the ingenuity or in the fact that this boy came to 
himself. It's in the father who's sitting 
on his porch, looked through the telescope of love and saw 
that young wretch outside the city gates, probably picked up 
his robe and ran to meet him. He didn't break that bruised 
reed. He didn't say, there's nothing 
here for you, get out. He didn't quench this smoking 
flax. You see, when Jesus describes 
himself as meek and lowly in heart, it is as an encouragement 
to you who have been laboring and who are heavy laden in sin 
to come. He's not like the Pharisees. 
He's certainly not like sin, but rather His character, His 
makeup, His identity, His very person is all about receiving 
sinners unto Himself. It truly is glorious. And then 
notice over in chapter 21 of Matthew's Gospel, another Old 
Testament quotation taken from the prophet Zechariah. Verse 
4, chapter 21, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by the prophet, saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, 
your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt 
the full of a donkey. So you see this morning, let's 
just get real practical, if you're not a Christian, one of two options 
that set themselves before you today. It is hard, heavy, burdensome, 
miserable sin, or it's the meek and lowly Christ who offers you 
life eternal. It's a no-brainer, isn't it? 
It's like, you know, why? God, through the prophet Ezekiel, 
says, why will you die? Why? What is it about hard, heavy, 
oppressive misery that is attractive to you? What is it about sin 
and depravity that looks good to you? What is it about that 
sort of a life that you would take that with hell and all of 
the ramifications associated with it over the Savior Christ 
who is meek, who is lowly in heart, and who receives sinners 
unto themselves? You see, Jesus is calling upon 
men to consider these things. Jesus is calling upon you through 
this text. to consider these things. You 
know, Chamberlain makes this observation. He says that Jesus 
is preaching this sermon in the midst of rebels. There are babes, 
they have accepted, but the emphasis is on the rising opposition. 
Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, cities that witnessed the mighty 
works of Jesus Christ and did not repent. He says if they fail 
to respond to this overture of grace, what hope is there for 
them? And that little office over there 
extended that metaphor one step further. If you do not respond 
to this overture of grace, what hope is there for you? You see, 
Christ isn't playing games here. It's the way of death, damnation, 
and hell. Or it's the way of life, blessing, 
and peace. That's it. Do you ever meet those people 
that are sort of like they want to be in the third camp? I'm 
not a believer. I'm not a really bad unbeliever. 
I'm just kind of, you know, playing my options here. I just want 
to see how it all pans out. Jesus is going to say in Matthew 12, 
he was not with me is against me. You might be a nice sinner, 
but you're still a sinner. You might be a polished sinner, 
but you're still a sinner. You might be a respectable sinner, 
but you're still a sinner. You might even be a kind sinner, 
but you're still a sinner. He who is not with me is against 
me. Some of you come to this church 
every Lord's Day. Some of you hear this gospel 
message every Lord's Day. I trust that some of you hear 
it every day in your homes because you've got fathers and you've 
got mothers who not only pray for you, but they point you to 
the Savior. Or you have a husband or a wife that gently, graciously 
tries to encourage you in these things. Listen to the God of 
heaven and earth through the prophet Ezekiel. Why will you 
die? Is sin that wonderful? Is sin 
that enjoyable? Is rebellion that glorious and 
blessed in your life? I don't think it's difficult 
either. You can't say, well, I just don't understand. What 
is it that you don't understand? God is a holy God. You're a sinful 
man, or a woman, or a boy, or a girl, and Jesus came to live, 
die, and rise again, so that everyone who looks to Him in 
faith will have everlasting life. There are things in the Bible 
that are difficult to understand. I grant that. Eschatology, the 
study of the last things. You ask ten people in here, you'll 
probably get ten answers. But the way of acceptance with 
God is crystal clear in the Bible. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who seeks after 
God. There is no fear of God in our 
hearts. We all, like sheep, have gone 
astray. The way of help, the way of hope, 
the way of salvation, the way of acceptance with God is through 
the bloody cross. It is through Jesus Christ. It 
is His life, His death, His resurrection. That's everything. Don't continue 
to resist. Jesus is speaking truth. Notice his promise at the end 
of verse 29. And you will find rest for your 
souls. you will find rest for your souls. Verse 28, come to me all you 
who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Again, 
we looked at that in more of the framework of justification. We believe the gospel, we're 
justified freely by His grace, we're pardoned from our sin, 
we receive the imputed righteousness of Christ through faith alone. 
Here in the life of sanctification, we take His yoke upon us, we 
learn from Him, we understand His nature and His character 
and His disposition to be one of meekness and lowliness, and 
you find rest for your souls. Isn't that a boon in the Christian 
life? Isn't that a blessing for you? Isn't that something that 
makes you happy? Isn't it a pleasing thing for 
you to be able to turn to number 80 in your hymn book and sing 
it to God? Don't you have rest in the Christian 
life? Yes, there's trials. Yes, there's afflictions. Yes, 
there's difficulties. Yes, there's hardships and aches 
and pains. But in the final analysis, don't 
you have rest in Jesus? Blessed rest in Christ. Don't 
you always pillow your head at night with the reality that if 
I die before I wake, I'm going to be in the presence of my Savior? Can't you say what the Apostle 
Paul foretold me to live as Christ and to die as gain? For to me to live is Christ. When I'm in this prison cell, 
Paul is saying, I'm in union and communion with my blessed 
Lord Jesus. But if I die, it's gain. Do you 
ever wonder what you do with a guy like Paul? If we let him live, he has Christ. 
If we feed him to the lions, he gets more Christ. We can't 
stop this guy. That's right. Can't stop a Christian. Feed him to the lions. rip the 
skin off their bodies, put the torch to their flesh. What happens? They've got rest. Their souls 
are parked where they ought to be under the rule and reign and 
blessed reality of our Lord Jesus Christ. This probably harkens 
back to a time in Israel's history. In Jeremiah the prophet, thus 
says the Lord, Stand in the way and see, and ask for the old 
paths where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will 
find rest for your souls. It's interesting that Jesus offers 
this very thing. D.A. Carson makes the observation, 
if this is intended to be not just an allusion, he's not just 
rehearsing something that was written before, but a fulfillment 
passage. An allusion is when a New Testament 
author uses the language, the terminology, the wording, the 
themes, the concepts, the doctrines of an Old Testament passage. 
And he weaves it into his New Testament narrative. to show 
the continuity between the two and the promise of God being 
fulfilled in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. A fulfillment 
is when something is specifically written and finds its termination 
or fulfillment in Jesus Christ himself. So listen again. If 
this is intended to be not just an illusion, but a fulfillment 
passage, then Jesus is saying that the ancient paths in the 
good way likened in taking on his yoke, or likened rather, 
into taking on his yoke because he is the one to whom the Old 
Testament Scriptures point. We've already seen that's the 
case in chapter 11. Verse 13, when he says, for all 
the prophets in the law prophesied until John. Why? Because Jesus 
is here and those things are fulfilled. And that's thirdly 
and finally at the description of discipleship. Verse 30, he 
says, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. As I mentioned 
before, there is a yoke. There is a yoke. It's not antinomianism 
against the law. It's not anarchy, no law whatsoever. There is a yoke, but it's a good 
yoke. Look what he says, my yoke is 
easy. I was just thinking this morning 
in our time in the confession, Pastor Cam read Galatians 5 and 
verse 1. You remember what was going on 
in Galatia. They were adopting some of that Pharisaic mindset. 
Good to believe the gospel of Jesus, but we also must be circumcised 
in order to be saved. The apostle says, stand fast 
therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do 
not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. It's a yoke of bondage. Law-keeping in order to be saved 
is a yoke of bondage, not because the law is messed up, but because 
we're messed up. No disparagement against the 
law, it's against us. In the Jerusalem Council, in 
Acts 15, verse 10, Peter's testimony. Backing up a little bit in verse 
8, so God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them 
the spirit just as he did to us, and made no distinction between 
us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, 
why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples 
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? Again, 
the issue going on in the council is the place of circumcision. 
There were Judaizers that says, you need to become a Jew, then 
a Christian. You need to believe the gospel, 
yes, but you must be circumcised and subscribe to the Mosaic economy. It is a yoke of bondage when 
we try to enter into heaven in this sinful frame according to 
the law. Jesus says, my yoke is easy. Believe on Him and you will find 
rest. Believe on Him and you will find 
rest for your soul. But there is a yoke. His yoke 
is there. It may be easy, but it is a yoke 
nonetheless. Our confession speaks of the 
law as a primary means by which Jesus sanctifies His people. We consider John 17, 17, "...sanctify 
them by your truth, your word is truth, Certainly the law of 
God is helpful for the believer to shape them and mold them under 
the Spirit's power and conform them more and more to the image 
of the Lord Jesus. Our confession says the law of 
God in the hand of Christ is of great use to the believer 
in that as a rule of life informing them of the will of God in their 
duty It directs and binds them to walk accordingly. It restrains 
their corruptions. It shows them God's approbation 
of obedience and what blessings they may expect upon the performance 
thereof. In other words, to use the language 
that was quite common in the Puritan era, the law sends us 
to Christ. The law in its force and in its 
power to show us our sin sends us to the cross. Now I know it's 
the spirit, I'm using an analogy. The law shows us our desperate 
condition and it directs us to flee to the Lord Jesus. When 
we come to Christ, when we believe in Him, when in verse 28 we find 
that rest, then Jesus puts this yoke upon our necks. In other 
words, He directs us to the law as that rule of life. It is a 
yoke. You're not free to do whatever 
you want to do. Freedom, biblically speaking, 
is the ability to do what God commands you to do. This isn't 
anarchy. It isn't antinomianism. It isn't 
every man's an island unto himself. Just me and this and I'll be 
fine. No, God gives you this blessed 
means to head you in, help you and keep you. The language of 
Turretin, he says, before it, the law, was an instrument of 
the spirit of bondage to throw down and bruise man. But afterwards, 
it becomes the instrument of the spirit of adoption to promote 
sanctification. He says, thus, the law leads 
to Christ and Christ leads us back to the law. It leads to 
Christ as the redeemer and Christ leads to the law as the leader 
and director of life. If you get that, you're going 
to be a happy person. I just suggest for those of you 
who have never read our Confession of Faith, please, please, read 
Chapter 7, read Chapter 11, and read Chapter 19. If you have 
any questions, ask Pastor Camp. You see, the Reformed understood 
this dynamic we've lost. Somewhere, I think it's in Murray's 
Principles of Conduct, he says that men would think that law-keeping 
is somehow an antithesis to the spontaneity of the Christian 
man, is shocking to any student of the New Testament. How does 
Jesus define love for himself? If you keep my commandments. 
You see, when you come to the Savior, you're pardoned from 
your sin, you receive the righteousness of Christ, and you get this blessed 
yoke You get His law. You get the Spirit to enable 
compliance with that law. And then Jesus says, my burden 
is light. Again, I think He's speaking 
comparatively here. Is it a burden to be in Christ? 
Well, no. Is it bad to be in Jesus? No. But a comparison. Here's what 
you get with sin. Here's what you get with bondage. 
Here's what you get with misery. Here's what you get with darkness 
and depravity. Comparatively speaking, my burden 
is light. You ever meet those people who 
say, oh, the law of God, it's so horrific. It's so bad. I mean, imagine that, God commanding 
us to rest on Sunday. What a meanie. How mean, how 
vicious, how unkind. God commands us to rest. If we weren't more interested 
in our own pursuits and in our own leisure, we'd probably value 
the fourth commandment a whole lot more. Consider this. You've probably heard that at 
least in the history of Hebrew interpretation of the Old Testament, 
the rabbis speculated, not speculated, the rabbis culled through the 
Old Testament, they culled through the Pentateuch, and they found 
that there were 613 commands. There's the Decalogue, the Ten 
Commandments spoken by God at Sinai and reaffirmed on the plains 
of Moab. That ten words, you shall not, 
you shall not, you shall not. All those things spoken by God, 
the moral law of God, are written in Adam's heart at creation and 
codified at Sinai. As Lightfoot says, Adam had as 
much law in the garden just with fewer words and with less thunder. 
The Ten Commandments is then applied to the body politic in 
Old Covenant Israel. They start putting it into practice. The sixth word, you shall not 
murder. Well, that means that if you 
have a house and you have a flat roof, you should put a little 
wall around that roof so somebody doesn't fall off and die. There 
are concrete applications of the 10 general principles spoken 
by God at Sinai. So when all is said and done 
and you call through that Old Testament, you'll look at those 
Pentateuch, you'll find 613 commands. Specifically, you will find 248 
that are commands you must do, and you will find 365 that are 
prohibitions you must not do. For a grand total, everybody 
with me, 613. Now, when you mention that to 
people today, they say, oh, that's a lot of laws. Do you know I 
tried to find out how many laws govern us here in Canada at the 
federal level, at the provincial level, and at the local level? 
Can't find a number. They're enacting laws each and 
every day. You see, the humanist problem isn't with the law, it's 
with God's law. Do you realize there is a law 
in Vancouver that you cannot spit on the sidewalk? You can 
be fined up to $2,000 if you are caught spitting on the sidewalk. If that offends your delicate 
sensitivities, expectorating. I don't know if that's the verbal 
form. Expectorant means to spit. Oops, I just spit. Don't find 
me. It's not the sidewalk, I can 
rest assured in that. The point is, if you want to 
build something at your house, you've got to get a license. 
We've got to have laws. It's always intrigued me that 
humanistic man, and unfortunately, Christians that think like humanists, 
would rather be governed by a paternalistic and maternalistic state from 
cradle to grave than by the beauty of God's holy law. Chesterton made this observation. I'm not condoning his religious 
take. I don't know enough about his 
heart or soul. But on this matter, he was absolutely, 
positively, 100% correct. If men will not be governed by 
the Ten Commandments, they will be governed by the Ten Thousand 
Commandments. Jesus says that my yoke is light, 
or easy, and my burden is light. His apostle John tells us in 
his first epistle, his commandments are not burdensome. If you wear the yoke of Christ, 
if you've learned from the Savior, you don't buck against his law. 
You don't say, oh how I hate thy law, it is my consternation 
day and night. You say, God help me, God fill 
me with the Spirit, let me wear that yoke, let me learn from 
Him, let me follow Him. You want to sing 505 all the 
way my Savior leads. I want to follow, I want to pursue, 
I want to find that rest for my soul. Because we know as believers, 
when we are doing things in our own wisdom, when we are rejecting 
the will and the law of God, when we are seeking to be wise 
in our own eyes, that's not happiness. True blessedness comes from wearing 
that yoke, learning from Jesus, and understanding the blessed 
truth that it's easy and that it's light. That's the exposition. By way of conclusion, let me 
just highlight the reality of the inevitability of sanctification. In other words, when you come 
to Christ, verse 28, you take his yoke upon you and learn. 
It's not optional. There's no, yeah, I want to be 
saved, but I want to live the way I want. Then you don't want 
to be saved. There's an inevitability about 
this. Justification and sanctification 
are distinct. We need to keep them in their 
categories, but they are absolutely consistently tied together. If you have not come to Christ, 
believe on Him. If you have believed on Him and 
you ain't happily wearing that yoke and happily learning from 
Him, repent. You see, sanctification shows 
or evidences the fruit that one has in fact come to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Gordon Clark puts it in a very 
helpful way in his commentary on Titus. Now, he's speaking 
of good works here specifically, which I would say good works 
is synonymously used with sanctification. He says, what passes so apparently 
as good works are not good unless preceded by justification. You 
see, these things go hand in hand. Just because you stop beating 
your husband or your wife doesn't mean you've been justified. He says, what passes so apparently 
as good works are not good unless preceded by justification. Then 
he says, and if a claimed justification does not inevitably produce good 
works, it simply was not justification. If you don't wear the yoke, you 
don't learn from Christ and you've not come to Him. If you are not 
growing in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
it's because probably you're not born again. You must come, 
you must believe, and you must wear the yoke, and you must learn 
from Him, and you must pursue those things which are pleasing 
in His sight. Secondly, We see in this passage 
the graciousness of the Master. We won't spend a lot of time 
redeveloping this. It came out in exposition. Sin 
is hard, sin is heavy, sin is bad. I mean, just think about 
it if you had a little kid, and for whatever reason you had a 
cup of bleach sitting on the table. You said, don't drink 
the bleach. You really don't want to drink that bleach. It's 
really bad for you. Whatever you do, don't drink the bleach. 
You just set it there and hope you don't drink the bleach. Don't 
drink the bleach! Don't think for a moment, I don't 
care if you're 5 or you're 15 or you're 25 or you're 55, that 
somehow sin is okay. It's not! It really isn't. It's not liberating. It's not 
freeing. It's not what Hollywood makes 
it out to be. It isn't cool. It isn't hip. It's bad. A hundred percent, 
all the time, every single jot and diddle. Ask any adult here, 
ask anybody here that's walked in the way for any time and say, 
do you want to go back to your life of sin and misery? Most 
people, no, no Christian says, yeah, I want to go back to my 
life of sin and misery. They don't do that. Remember Christian 
in Pilgrim's Progress? If you caught him on the road 
and you said, you want to go back to the city of destruction? No! 
Why would I go back to the city of destruction? The graciousness 
of the master is seen in the fact that he deals with souls 
this way. He doesn't crush, he doesn't 
quench, he doesn't destroy those who come to him. He receives 
them, he's meek and lowly towards them, and he brings rest to their 
souls. In terms of discipleship, it's 
interesting. We come to this passage, Jesus 
says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. You can already 
hear it. What does discipleship look like? You ever wonder? What does discipleship look like? 
Really, do you ever wonder that? If you do, give me a little nod. 
About to yell at you, but go ahead and give me a little nod. 
Remember chapters eight and nine in Matthew's gospel? I realize 
we probably don't remember verse 27 from last week. We, I'm not 
saying you guys, my memory is failing too. Remember chapters 
eight and nine, there's three series of miracles, three miracles 
apiece. And along the way there's lessons 
on discipleship in chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew's Gospel. It might 
be a good activity for you today, in the afternoon, instead of, 
you know, looking at whatever, doing whatever, come to verse 
29 and say, what does it mean to take my yoke upon you and 
learn from me? Let me just refresh your mind. The disciple counts 
the cost and resolves to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Chapter 8 and verse 20. The disciple 
does not put Jesus second, Matthew chapter 8 and verse 22. The disciple 
still experiences trials even though he is with Jesus. Remember 
the boat? When they cross the sea? You see, some believers 
think that if I'm with Christ, there'll be no trials, no difficulties, 
no problems. Well, they suffered a storm on 
the Sea of Galilee even though Jesus was in the boat. The disciple 
follows immediately. Matthew 9, we find him at the 
tax collector's office. Jesus says, follow me. What does 
Matthew do? Well, you know, I've got to think 
about this, I've got to count my money, I've got to make sure 
my counts are sorted. He follows him. Some of y'all 
need to learn from Matthew this morning. Follow Christ. Quit 
playing games. Don't try in your mind to rationalize 
and justify sin. Well, I'll just keep sinning 
for a few more years, and after I get all the coolness out of 
me, then I'll become something old and boring like my parents. Follow Christ. The disciple follows 
joyfully. What happens after Matthew follows? 
He throws a party. He invites sinners. He says, 
I want you to hear a man. I want you to see a man. He saved 
my soul. And the disciple of Christ rejoices 
because the bridegroom is with him. The bridegroom is with him. Matthew 9.15. Discipleship looks something 
like that. I referred to Jeremiah earlier, 
and this is the note we'll end on this morning. It was Jeremiah 
6.16 that is probably being fulfilled when our Lord Jesus says, I will 
give you rest for your souls. The situation in Jeremiah's day 
was one of judgment. The situation in Jeremiah's day 
was one of impending doom. The situation facing Jeremiah 
and the nation of Israel was the Babylonian exile. In the midst of this, verse 16, 
thus says the Lord, stand in the ways and see and ask for 
the old paths where the good way is and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your 
souls. It's a promise from Yahweh to the people of his time, or 
of Jeremiah's time. But they said, we will not walk 
in it. Also I set watchmen over you, 
saying, listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, we 
will not listen. Therefore, hear you nations, 
and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth. Behold, I will certainly bring 
calamity on this people, the fruit of their thoughts, because 
they have not heeded my words, nor my law, but rejected me. For what purpose to me comes 
frankincense from Sheba and sweet cane from a far country? Your 
burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifice is sweet to 
me. Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I will lay stumbling 
blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together 
shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall 
perish. I don't think that situation 
is too unlike the situation Jesus spoke to in Matthew chapter 11. 
I also don't think either of those situations are much more 
different than the situation that we find ourselves in. A 
preacher stands up, a parent stands up, somebody says, and 
then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, we will 
not walk in it. Also, I sent watchmen over you 
to listen to the sound of the trumpet, but they said, we will 
not listen. I've got to tell you, I praise 
God for Matthew 11, 25 and 26. I praise God for the fact that 
it is His power It is His sovereignty, it is His will that will make 
sinners in this room willing in the day of His power. You 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will find rest for your 
souls. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the 
ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for His yoke. Thank 
You for the study of Christ and of His Word. Thank you for the 
law and for the spirit and all those things that you give to 
your people. We thank you as well for this gracious declaration 
of verse 28. And our heart's desire is that 
wherever this gospel is preached today, that sinners would come 
to the Lord Jesus, that sinners would believe on him and would 
receive the forgiveness of sins. Go with us now, we pray, and 
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.