Finding Rest in Jesus. Zechariah 9:9e “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
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The Messiah would be humble … and that He was. He was meek towards men and lowly towards God, just as we all should be. In this passage Jesus extended an invitation and not just a command to take the yoke of grace.
By the time He reached the north shore of the Sea of Galilee where three of the apostles were from, the harvest season had just ended a few weeks prior, and crowds were waiting to hear what He had to say. Bethsaida and Capernaum, where He spoke were agricultural and fishing communities, and people were probably still sporting blisters on their hands from the harvest they had just brought in. The Israelites knew only too well what hard work meant, thus we have Jesus’ timely invitation for them. It was just like our Lord to go to those who were overlooked, and overworked. There are two parts of obedience in His statement here.
Part 1 – finding rest for your soul can be hard work for those who’ve worked all their lives for salvation. Even now in the 21st century it’s something we must be mindful of in our walk with Him.
Part 2 – ignoring His invitation is tantamount to rejecting Him, and this is what Mormons have done. By replacing Jesus’ standards with that of their own we can see how exhausting it is with no assurance of eternal life.
Furthermore, they don’t believe in this Jesus, rather, they believed in Joseph Smith’s version of Jesus.
Jesus’ most welcome invitation provides sanctification in vs. 29 so be sure to note that as well as vs. 28 with His reference to justification when He said ‘I will give you rest’. He justified, v 28, and in Him we are found worthy, v 29.
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Journal of Discourses 2:210 “I discover that some of the Eastern papers represent me as a great blasphemer, because I said, in my lecture on Marriage, at our last Conference, that Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary, Martha, and others were his wives, and that he begat children. All that I have to say in reply to that charge is this—they worship a Savior that is too pure and holy to fulfil the commands of his Father. I worship one that is just pure and holy enough “to fulfil all righteousness;”” – Orson Hyde, Salt Lake City, March 18, 1855
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