11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest."
- Matthew 11:28, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
In the name of Christ Jesus, our best and truest friend:
From the time he was a young boy, Albrecht Durer wanted to be an artist. At school, he met a friend who shared his passion for painting, and the two of them eventually became roommates. Since both boys came from very poor families, it was a constant struggle for them to make ends meet and go to school at the same time. So they made a pact.
Albrecht’s friend went to work so that Albrecht could immerse himself in his painting. And as soon as Albrecht’s work began to sell, he promised that he would support his friend so that he could resume his studies.
The day came when Albrecht sold one of his woodcarvings. That meant his friend could finally quit his job and get back to what he truly loved. But there was a problem. Months of hard labor had so stiffened and weakened his fingers that he was no longer able to paint with the same precision and skill. When Albrecht learned of his friend’s fate, he was filled with great sorrow.
Some time later Albrecht heard the voice of his friend as he entered the house. At first he was confused because he knew that his friend was in the house alone. But Durer began to understand as he looked through the doorway and saw his friend’s rough and calloused hands folded in prayer.
Durer knew that he couldn’t turn back the clock. And he knew that he couldn’t put the skill back into his friend’s hands. But there was one thing he could do to show his gratitude. He could use his skill to paint a tribute to his friend, a tribute that remains Durer’s most widely recognized work of art, a painting that is perhaps more famous that Durer himself, a picture reproduced on your bulletin cover this morning, a masterpiece simply known today as "Praying Hands."
Have you ever had a friend like Albrecht Durer had, a friend willing to make great sacrifices for you, a friend who deserves nothing but your utmost thanks and praise? Allow me to introduce you to someone who fits that description perfectly.
You have a Friend who gave up much more than a career for you. You have a Friend who gave up his life for you. You have a Friend who is able to restore the youth that this world’s troubles and cares strip away from our bodies and our souls. You have a Friend who is able to do all of these things and more. Meet...
If you were going to describe the perfect friend, what would that person be like? What kinds of qualities would you want that person to have? A warm personality, a good sense of humor, the ability to listen?
One very important ingredient in a friendship is approachability. Jesus is approachable. He always was and always is accessible to us. In fact, Jesus doesn’t even wait for us to approach him. He extends this invitation to us: "Come to me."
Sometimes a parent might use these words, but in a very different way. For example, when a two-year old learns how to open the refrigerator door by herself and begins to do some rearranging of the glass jars to get at the pickles in the back, her dad might raise his voice and say, "Claire, come to me."
But when Jesus says "Come," there is not even a hint of harshness in his voice. His intent is not to scold us, but to reassure us: "I am not going anywhere. I am here for you. And I want to help you."
Invitations are great to give and to receive, but they would be useless if they were mailed out with no addresses on the envelopes. The postal workers would have no idea where to deliver them, and eventually they would be lost. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about this problem when it comes to Jesus’ invitation because it is clearly marked. It is addressed to "all who are weary and burdened."
"Weary" and "burdened" sound like synonyms, like different terms used to describe essentially the same thing. Both words can apply to the same people, but they have different shades of meaning. "Weary" is an active verb. It can also be translated as "work" or "labor" or "toil." It is active and ongoing. "Weary" describes a person works and works and works, but can never see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Some of you can probably relate to this if you tried to clean up the leaves this past week. You can spend hours in the yard mowing and raking and bagging hauling. But thanks to the recent winds and your neighbor’s trees, only a few hours later your lawn can look worse than before you started.
Jesus also invites the "burdened," to come to him, and this word is more passive. There are many things in life that can be considered burdensome, but Jesus’ invitation is especially for those who are burdened by sin and guilt.
Maybe you are feeling the weight of a sin in your distant past. Maybe it is something that has knocked you down so many times that you are beginning to wonder if you will be able to get up next time. Or maybe you are just weighed down by the wickedness and cruelty of our world, sin that has been brought sharply into focus during the past month and a half.
If any of these things apply to your situation in life, if you feel worn out because you are fighting a losing battle, if you are burdened by a load of guilt, Jesus is calling out to you. How do I know that? How can I be so sure? Because Jesus’ invitation includes one little yet very important word "all." Jesus’ invitation is not exclusive. It is for "all who are weary and burdened," including you.
Jesus demonstrates that he is our Friend because he is approachable. He is also a true friend because he is genuine.
The night before he died, Jesus told his disciples: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The disciples didn’t understand it at the time, but Jesus’ words were words of prophecy. Even though the disciples ran away in fear when Jesus was arrested, and even though one those disciples swore up and down that he didn’t even know Jesus, Jesus did not desert his friends. He remained faithful to them. And the very next day, he made good on his promise.
In English we have a phrase, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, it is also accurate to say that "a friend indeed is a friend who does not turn his back on a friend in need."
Sometimes our friends come through for us. Sometimes our friends disappoint us. But Jesus’ friendship has never been anything but genuine. Even when we act like the disciples, even in those moments of weakness when we give in to our doubts and fears, in spite of the fact that we are not worthy to be called Jesus’ friends, our Savior will never leave our side.
Jesus gave up his life for his disciples. Jesus shed his blood for us. And because he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, we can be assured that his gracious invitation still stands. It is within that invitation that our Savior gives us the greatest comfort.
The fact that Jesus wants to comfort us assumes that we need to be comforted. People don’t normally send a sympathy card to a friend unless that person has experienced some kind of loss. So what is our problem? What is the bad news we have received? Why are we in need of comforting?
Because God is holy, he demands the same of us. Jesus tells us in so many words: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). God also makes it clear that we cannot live up to his perfect standard. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we do to make the grade, we fail. God’s Word says: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Ro 3:23). All have sinned. All fall short. No one measures up.
So at the most basic level, the problem that every human being must confront is sin. Maybe we have never murdered anyone. Maybe we have never shoplifted. Maybe we are fine, upstanding citizens in the eyes of the people around us. But God is able to see what’s on the inside. He looks into our hearts. He sees our sinful lusts. He hears our hateful words.
And what are the consequences of our sinful thoughts and words and actions? God declares: "The wages of sin is death..." (Ro 6:23). Sin separates. Sin causes conflicts between people. But much worse than that, sin separates us from God. Sin leads to physical and eternal death. And there is absolutely nothing we can do to make things right. That is precisely why we are in need of comforting?
How does Jesus respond? Does he say: "You had your chance. You betrayed my friendship. Now get away from me." No, he says the exact opposite. He says: "Come to me. Everyone who is worn out by sin, everyone who is burdened with guilt, come to me. Come to me... and I will give you rest."
Seven hundred years before Jesus was even born, the prophet Isaiah foretold what the Savior would come to do: "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Is 53:4). Those prophetic words of Isaiah are very close to the Native American definition of a friend, "one-who-carries-my-sorrows-on-his-back."
Jesus is that kind of friend, the kind of person who shares our burdens. But Jesus is more than a sympathetic figure. And he does much more than give us an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. He took our sins and put them squarely on his back and carried them to the cross.
There he died for the sins of his friends. There he died for the sins of his enemies. There he died to pay for the sins of the whole world. And Jesus’ lifeless body was raised from the grave three days later to seal the deal, to demonstrate his power over death, and to guarantee that our bodies will be dead raised on the Last Day.
This is the comfort we need. This is the comfort God gives. We are at peace with God because Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. We are able to rest because our Savior has knocked down the wall of sin that separated us from God. We are comforted because through Jesus we have the gift of eternal life.
James Taylor is one of my favorite musical artists. As I was preparing this sermon, I couldn’t get one particular song of his out of my head. The title, "You’ve Got a Friend," might help explain why. James Taylor probably wasn’t thinking about Jesus when he wrote this song, but I was when I wrote this sermon.
No matter what happens in this life, you will always have at least one friend. Even if everyone else in the whole world abandons you, Jesus is your friend. Jesus is the friend who gives. He gives you the warmest invitation the greatest comfort. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Amen.