Matt 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” [HCSB]
There are many in the world who do not see Jesus as divine, as Savior or Redeemer. They will not acknowledge that He always was, is, and forever will be God’s Eternal Son. They will, however, acknowledge that He was a great teacher.
Down through the church age, the church has battled that perception of Him as ONLY a great teacher. We have emphasized (rightly so) His deity and eternal nature since our salvation hinges on that. But by doing that, we may have lost sight of the fact that He really was a great teacher.
He, in fact, commands us to LEARN from Him. What are we to learn from Him? I think He tells us immediately what it is we are to learn … His character.
He calls to the weary and burdened to come. He promises that in Him they will find rest for their souls. He reminds them of His nature, gentle and humble in heart, or as some translations say, meek and lowly. He tells us that He has a work for us, that we will be yoked with Him, but in contrast to the weariness and burdens we try to carry on our own – His will be easy and light.
Jesus has much to teach us about who He is and just how He relates to others. I know we are to study our doctrine, to know the concepts and principles of our faith. But’s let’s never forget to learn from Jesus.
We can know our doctrine and still not know our Savior. Both are needed.
