Lakewood Blog

NT Connect: Matthew 11:25-28

Weekly Reading: Isaiah 51-55

Come to Jesus

“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” –Isaiah 55:3

These words from the prophet Isaiah echoed through the centuries, until they found their fullness on the lips of Jesus Christ when he said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The servant from Isaiah (see 52:13) called to those without a home, without food or water, and whose labor was in vain: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isaiah 55:1) This call was as outrageous as the exhortation in Isaiah 54:1, “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Bursting into celebratory song when one’s heart is weighed heavily with lament is, by all common sense, absurd. Yet this is precisely the call from God. Even more, this is the wisdom of God. How can this be?

First, because the Lord’s true servant that Isaiah anticipated is the God-man Jesus Christ: “He was despised and rejected by men. . . he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3–5). God calls the oppressed and afflicted to celebrate in him because he himself came as such, yet rose from the dead victorious. His victory came through suffering, and his perfect peace comes only to those who trust in him. Jesus’ call in Matthew 11 is not to the spiritually elite, but to those who are downcast, burdened, and hopeless—for those who know they cannot save themselves. He is gentle and lowly in heart, and in him alone you will find rest for your soul. Do not come to Christ to show him your riches, come to Christ so that you may truly live

Second, this is a call to delight in Christ. Nothing else can offer the life that God alone offers. He is the creator and sustainer of all life. So, come to Christ and find your joy in him. “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Isaiah 55:2). The joy of the Holy Spirit is unmatched and unsearchable. No delight on earth compares to that of a heart flooded daily with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

All of the words of the law and prophets point us to Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the most high God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Look to Christ in order to live and to delight in the goodness of our great God.

Tyler Smiley