In verse 28 the Lord sounded out a call: “Come to Me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Lord seemed to be saying, “All you who labor and are burdened, come to Me and rest. All you religious people and all you worldly people who are laboring and are burdened, come to Me and I will give you rest.” What a gracious word! The labor mentioned in verse 28 refers not only to the labor of striving to keep the commandments of the law and religious regulations, but also to the labor of struggling to be successful in any work. Whoever labors thus is always heavily burdened. After the Lord had praised the Father, acknowledging the Father’s way and declaring the divine economy, He called this kind of people to come to Him for rest. Rest refers not only to being set free from labor and burden under the law and religion or under any work and responsibility, but also to perfect peace and full satisfaction.
In verses 29 and 30 we have the way to rest: “Take My yoke on you and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is pleasant and My burden is light.” The Lord’s yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligations of the law or religion, nor to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (26:39, 42). Hence, He asks us to learn from Him. God’s will is our yoke. Thus, we are not free to do as we please; rather, we are yoked. Young people, do not think that you are so free or liberated. In the Lord’s recovery we all have been yoked. How good it is to be yoked! The Lord’s yoke is pleasant and His burden is light. The Lord’s yoke is the Father’s will, and His burden is the work to carry out the Father’s will. Such a yoke is pleasant, not bitter, and such a burden is light, not heavy. The Greek word rendered “pleasant” signifies fit for use; hence, good, kindly, mild, gentle, easy, pleasant, in contrast to what is hard, harsh, sharp, and bitter.
In verse 29 the Lord tells us to learn from Him. He is meek and lowly in heart. To be meek means not to resist any opposition, and to be lowly means not to esteem oneself highly. In all the opposition the Lord was meek, and in all the rejection He was lowly in heart. He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself nor expecting to gain something for Himself. Hence, regardless of the situation, He had rest in His heart. He was fully satisfied with His Father’s will.
The Lord said that if we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we shall find rest to our souls. The rest we find by taking the Lord’s yoke and learning from Him is for our souls. It is an inward rest; it is not anything merely outward in nature.
If we are opposed as we minister, and we resist, we shall not have peace. But if instead of resisting we submit to the will of the Father, testifying that the opposition is of the Father, we shall have rest in our souls. John the Baptist did not regard his imprisonment as of the Father; therefore, he was not at rest. If he had realized that his imprisonment was due to the Father’s will, he would have been at rest, even in prison. Christ, the heavenly King, always submitted to the Father’s will, taking God’s will as His portion and not resisting anything. Hence, He was always at rest. We must learn of Him and also take this view. If we do, we shall have rest in our souls.