TOPIC:‌“The Supreme Summons of the Sovereign Savior”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Matthew 11:28-30

 

‌‌“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

‌‌(Matthew 11:28)

 

‌Have you ever pondered the various invitations of the compassionate Christ throughout His ministry. That's an interesting study! Jesus invites us to come into His Kingdom in Matthew 25:34. Jesus invites us to come aside in Mark 6:3. Jesus invites us to come and take up the cross in Mark 10:21. Jesus invites us to come and see in John 1:39. Jesus invites us to come and drink in John 7:37. Jesus invites us to come and dine in John 21:12. And now before us in the words of the text we have the crowning call and the matchless invitation of them all. Jesus invites us to come to Himself. Give ear again to these words of Jesus: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

‌Here Jesus invites us to come and receive a peace and rest that will last forever. Is it any wonder that Dr. Charles R. Erdman in his exposition of these verses writes: “This is an incomparable invitation; and does it not embody a matchless claim? Who among all the characters that have stepped upon the state of human history could venture to say for a single moment what Jesus here says?” He continues: “On the lips of any other speaker would it not sound hollow, futile, absurd?…He who spoke these words must have been the Son of God. He must have been the divine King.” And so He was! The King who had come to reign within the hearts of men thus giving them inner peace and forgiveness of all sin.

 

‌This is indeed the most beautiful summons ever spoken from the lips of our Lord. For inclusive in this invitation of Jesus among other things is rest for the tired, peace for the troubled, hope for the defeated, and forgiveness for the guilty - rest, peace, hope, forgiveness. That's what modern man desperately needs. And such is all available to those who are willing to permit Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Master of their lives.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, first of all, that in this supreme summons of Jesus, there is something UNIVERSAL. Listen to His words in verse 28: “Come unto Me all ye.” The New Living Translation puts it: “Come to Me, all of you.”

 

‌The call of Christ is to all men everywhere regardless of distance, distinction, and without discrimination. It is world-wide and knows no racial or social boundary. It embraces the prisoner in the prison as well as . . .