Hello! Help us understand the words of Christ “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Where should we go? So we came to church, confessed, received communion, tried to live according to God’s commandments, but there was still no peace. We worry about our loved ones, about children, about work, about health... Is it possible to find peace in this life? And where should we go anyway?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

In the quoted words from the Holy Gospel working people and burdened all those who are exhausted under the weight of sins, exhausted by passions, burdened with fruitless labors for the sake of the imaginary blessings of the vain world are named. Such a person is spiritually blind and does not know the saving truth. “Just as one can never see the sea without waves, so one can never see such a soul without care, without sorrow, without fear, without embarrassment; the first are followed by others, they in turn are replaced by third ones, and before the last ones have time to subside, new ones rise up" ( John Chrysostom, saint. Interpretation of Saint Matthew the Evangelist. Conversation 38. 4). Coming to Jesus Christ means not only believing Him as a personal Savior, but trusting Him in everything and living according to those commandments, the fulfillment of which leads to eternal blissful life. The Lord promises to give peace to all those who come to Him, that is, He will give everyone peace of mind and joyful hope for His all-powerful help. “Take My yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). The Lord here speaks of the yoke of the gospel law. Compared to the painful yoke of sin and passions, it is good and light, since the Lord not only gives sweet hope for eternal bliss, but He Himself helps us to bear this yoke, giving us the grace of the Holy Spirit and all-powerful help.

While a person is in the world, he is inevitably accompanied by worries, worries and trials. But the sorrows of life of a Christian believer not only do not lead to painful despondency, a joyless state and despair, like those leading a vain and sinful life, but help to grow spiritually and improve. “The first of the blessings is to always acquire God and, through approaching and ascending to Him, to become His acquisition” (St. Gregory the Theologian).

The Holy Church reads the Gospel of Matthew. Chapter 11, art. 27 - 30.

27. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it.

28. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;

29. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls;

30. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

(Matthew 11:27-30)

Wanting to reveal the mystery of His sonship as far as the apostles could comprehend it, our Lord Jesus Christ tells the disciples about the special nature of the relationship between Him and God: All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom does the Son want to reveal(Matt. 11:27).

Saint Cyril of Alexandria writes: “Because He said everything is given to Me, so that it would not seem that He was of a different origin and less than the Father, He added this to show that His nature is mysterious and incomprehensible, like that of the Father. For only the divine nature of the Trinity knows itself. Only the Father knows His own Son, the fruit of His nature, only the divine Generation knows Him from Whom It was born, only the Holy Spirit knows the depths of God, that is, the thoughts of the Father and the Son.”

It should be noted that the Savior did not have the goal of revealing the full understanding of the nature of the Triune God: this will happen later, after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. And at that moment the Lord did not so much tell people about God as show Him, because He Himself was the God-man.

These words of the Lord contain the meaning that no one is able to comprehend the greatness and goodness of the Son in the same way as the greatness and goodness of the Father. And since the Son, that is, Jesus Christ, wanted to reveal the Father in His person to everyone without exception, he called everyone to Himself: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.(Matt. 11:28).

The Lord addresses all those who are exhausted by the search for truth. Under those who labor, as St. Cyril of Alexandria and blessed Theophylact, meaning Jews. The fact is that for an Orthodox Jew, religion was a burden with an innumerable number of rules. The man was captivated by regulations that regulated every action in his life. Of course, as a result of vain and fruitless labor in an attempt to be virtuous and fulfill the smallest requirements of the law, the Jews became exhausted. Under burdened This also refers to the pagans who were tormented by the severity of their sins. But both of them were under the yoke of sinful passions arising from pride and self-love, and therefore the Lord wants to give them peace and rest from passions.

Saint John Chrysostom notes that with these words the Savior wants to say: “Do not come one or the other, but come all who are in worries, sorrows and sins; come not so that I may torture you, but so that I may forgive your sins; come not because I need glory from you, but because I need your salvation.”

He delivers the souls of those who submit and come to the Savior from heavy, burdensome and unclean thoughts, giving them joy and cheerfulness, as well as the ability to serve God pleasingly.

Christ calls: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls(Matt. 11:29). The Jews used the word "yoke" to mean "to be under the influence or in obedience." They talked about the yoke of the law, about the yoke of God.

Christ calls His Gospel commandments a yoke, because they, like a yoke, are imposed on those who approach them and bind them both to each other and to Christ. And although these commandments seem difficult to fulfill, they actually turn out to be easy due to the fact that they bestow peace of mind on all those who humbly fulfill them.

The yoke of Christ is also humility and meekness. Therefore, he who humbles himself before every person lives calmly and without confusion, while the proud one is constantly in anxiety, not wanting to give in to anyone.

Boris Ilyich Gladkov explains that with these words the Savior seems to be saying: “ Take My yoke upon you, fulfill all My commandments and do not think that they are difficult or inconvenient to fulfill; take your example from Me; be as meek and humble as I am, and then you will understand that My yoke in itself constitutes good both for those who bear it, and for everyone with whom they come into contact, and, if this yoke is good, then and burden carrying it should be easily(Matthew 11:29-30).”

Thus, the yoke of Christ contains love and this is the essence of Christ’s commandments. And indeed, the burden is laid upon us by the Lord with love, so that we bear it in love, which lightens the heaviest burden. If we remember the love of God, if we remember that our burden is to love God and love people, then it becomes joy and good. After all, a burden that is given in love and carried with love will always be light.

We, dear brothers and sisters, should remember that the God-man Jesus Christ came into this world to save each of us, so that we could feel the indescribable love of God the Father for His creation, which He transfers and entrusts to His beloved Son. The Savior Himself calls on each of us to take upon ourselves His yoke, that is, to live by Him and serve Him, having acquired a humble and meek heart in fulfilling the commandments of Christ. Help us in this, Lord!

Hieromonk Pimen (Shevchenko)

Interpretation of Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

First we recall the common theological concept that all commandments Old Testament canceled by New. After reading the previous chapters, dear reader, I hope you have already realized that not all the commandments set out in the Old Testament Scripture are now invalid. The only ones that have lost relevance are those that Jesus fulfilled with His atoning ministry (see Matt. 5:17,18) and that were intended for isolated theocratic state Israel. Christ by His mission in no way fulfilled the Sabbath law. God's Instruction remember the day on which He rested after the creation of the Earth, and dedicate For him, this day (see Ex. 20:8-11) does not interfere with the mission of Jesus. After the coming of Christ, God did not cease to be the Creator. Let's remember why Christ came to earth: to reconcile humanity with the Creator, to reveal the true character of the Creator, to free people from sin, to enable believers to acquire eternal life through His substitutionary sacrifice... Where is the fulfilled image or shadow here (see 1 Cor. 10 :11, Hebrews 8:5) Saturday? As you can see, there is no connection with the semantic content of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue in the ministry of Jesus.

Moreover, the Sabbath was in no way tied to the state of Israel and the Jews, since it was established by God immediately after the creation of the Earth. In the Holy Scriptures there is a prediction about its observance in the future, which we reflected on in previous chapters.

Now I will try to prove to you, dear reader, by analyzing the Bible the inconsistency everyone arguments with which Sunday supporters try to discredit the need to keep the Sabbath commandment.

Some theologians try to see the New Testament fulfillment of the Sabbath commandment in the famous phrase of Christ:

"Come to Me, all of you toilers and those who are burdened, and I I'll calm you down you"(Matt. 11:28).

Like, Saturday peace Christians found in Jesus. However, if we analyze this verse without taking it out of context, it will become obvious that Christ was not talking here about replacing physical rest from work on the Sabbath with constant peace in the Lord. With this phrase, Jesus calls on people, exhausted by their sins and the vanity of life, to turn their gaze to Him. A person, having come to know God, begins to look differently at many everyday problems that previously occupied his heart and caused worries and worries. Having learned through acquaintance with Jesus the loving character of the Creator, a person begins to trust the Creator and His wise law. Gradually, a true Christian’s life priorities change. Therefore, further, explaining the text we are studying, Christ says this:

« Take My yoke upon you And learn from me for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; For My yoke is easy and My burden is light"(Matt. 11:29,30).

That is, we see that, according to these biblical texts, peace will be found in Jesus only those, Who will learn from Christ, will take His yoke upon himself, that is, in everything he will follow the wise, simple teaching of the Lord, aimed exclusively at good the person himself.

The Apostle John also spoke about this:

“This is love for God, that we keep His commandments; And His commandments are not difficult» (1 John 5:3).

And no connection with Saturday.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

All who labor and are burdened can come to Him. Christ speaks these words to every person. Those who labor and are burdened are all people, although they may not realize it. Each of us carries a burden that only Christ can lift. The heaviest burden is the burden of sin. If we had to carry it alone, it would crush us. But our place was taken by the Sinless One. “The Lord has laid on Him the sins of us all” (Isa. 53:6). He bore the burden of our guilt. He will take the weight off our tired shoulders. He will give us peace. He will also bear the burden of worries and sorrows. He calls us to cast all our cares on Him because we are dear to Him. Our Elder Brother is at the eternal throne. He looks at every soul that turns to Him - to the Savior. He knows from His own experience human weaknesses and needs; He knows the power of temptation: after all, He, like us, was tempted in everything, but did not commit sin. He protects you, trembling child of God! Are you tempted? He will save you from temptation. You are weak? He will strengthen you. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten you. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord "counts the number of the stars," and He “he heals the brokenhearted and heals their sorrows” (Ps. 147:4, 3).“Come to Me,” He calls. Whatever your worries and burdens, tell the Lord about your troubles. It will strengthen your spirit. The path to liberation from difficulties and hardships will open for you. The more deeply you realize your weakness and helplessness, the sooner you will find support in Him. The heavier your burden, the more blessed will be your peace when you turn to Him who bears all burdens. The peace that Christ offers depends on clearly defined conditions. Anyone can do them. The Lord tells us how we can find His peace.
“Take My yoke upon you,” says Jesus. The yoke is an instrument of service. It is put on the animal so that it can work. Through this example, Christ seeks to reveal to us one truth: we are called to a ministry that will last until the end of our days. We must take His yoke upon us to become His fellow workers. The yoke that makes us servants of God is His law. The great law of love, revealed in Eden, proclaimed from Sinai and sealed in the hearts of the New Testament, surrenders us to the will of God. If we were left at the mercy of our inclinations and our will, we would fall into the camp of Satan and acquire his qualities. Therefore, God submits us to His will - holy, sublime and noble. He wants us to carry out our ministry patiently and wisely. Christ Himself, being in human flesh, took upon Himself this yoke of service. He said: “I desire to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is in My heart” (Ps. 39:9), “for I came down from heaven not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 6:38). Love for God, desire to glorify Him, and love for fallen humanity motivated Jesus to come to earth to suffer and die. This was the driving force of His life. He calls us to accept this principle. Many people, striving to achieve well-being in this world, groan under the burden of worries. They chose to serve the world, accepted all the difficulties associated with it, and submitted to its rules. Therefore, such a person is spoiled, and life is a burden for him. To satisfy their ambitions and worldly desires, people go against their conscience and suffer under the burden of guilt. Constant care depletes vitality. The Lord calls them to break these bonds of slavery and accept His yoke. He says, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” He advises that one should seek, first of all, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and promises that everything needed for earthly life will be provided. Vanity blinds, and a person does not think about the future. But Jesus sees all ends and beginnings. He knows how to find a way out of any difficult situation. Our Heavenly Father has prepared thousands of paths for us that we know nothing about. Those who make serving God and His glory their highest goal will see all difficulties disappear and their path straightened.
“Learn from Me,” Jesus calls, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” We must go through the school of Christ in order to learn meekness and humility from Him. Atonement is the process of preparation for life in heaven. This preparation means knowing Christ. It means liberation from thoughts, habits and customs acquired in the school of the prince of darkness. Man must be free from everything that is contrary to the will of God. In the heart of Christ, where there was perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. Praise never delighted Him, and reproach and disappointment never unsettled Him. While experiencing the most fierce opposition, being subjected to the most cruel treatment, He did not lose His presence of mind. But many who call themselves His followers are worried and anxious because they are afraid to trust God. They do not obey Him completely because they fear the consequences of such obedience. They will not find peace until they submit to the will of God. The cause of all anxiety is selfishness. When we are born again, we will think like Jesus, who humbled Himself to save us. Then we will not look for a more honorable place for ourselves. We will want to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. We will understand: the significance of our works does not lie in noise, not in ostentatious activity and zeal; the significance of our works does not depend on our strength at all. The value of our works is determined by the extent to which we have received the Holy Spirit. Trust in the Lord sanctifies the mind and helps to endure everything patiently. The yoke is put on animals to help them carry the load and lighten its weight. So it is with the yoke of Christ. When our will becomes one with God's will and we use His gifts to bless others, we find that the burden of our lives becomes light. He who walks in the paths of God's commandments walks with Christ, and in His love the heart finds peace. When Moses prayed: “Open to me Your way, so that I may know You”, - the Lord answered him: “I myself will go and bring you into rest” (Ex. 33:13, 14).

And when Jesus finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went from there to teach and preach in their cities.

John, having heard in prison about the works of Christ, sent two of his disciplessay to Him: Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect something else?

And Jesus answered them: Go tell John what you hear and see:the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor are preached to;and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.

When they had gone, Jesus began to speak to the people about John: What did you go out into the desert to see? Is it a cane shaken by the wind?What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in the palaces of kings.What did you go to see? prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.For he is the one about whom it is written: “Behold, I send My angel before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.”Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater man than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and those who use force take it by force,for all the prophets and the law prophesied before John.And if you want to accept, he is Elijah, who must come.He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

But to whom shall I compare this generation? He is like children who sit on the street and, turning to their comrades,They say: “We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang sad songs to you, and you did not weep.”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: “Here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners.” And wisdom is justified by her children.

Then He began to reproach the cities in which His powers were most manifested, because they did not repent:woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powers that were done in you had been done in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes,But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.And you, Capernaum, who have ascended to heaven, will be cast down to hell, for if the powers that were manifested in you had been manifested in Sodom, it would have remained to this day;But I tell you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.

At that time, continuing his speech, Jesus said: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid this from the wise and prudent and revealed it to babes;Hey, Father! for such was Thy good pleasure.All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it.

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 meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls;For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.