"Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:38-30

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The essence of Matthew 11:28 is Jesus asking a deeply personal question - to his original hearers, to Matthew’s readers, and us today: Are you tired? He is not speaking only to physical exhaustion, but to a soul-weariness that comes from striving, performing, and living under systems that were never meant to give life.

Jesus names our weariness not to shame us, but to invite us into rest.

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Are You Tired?

This Is God’s Gracious Will

In Matthew 11:25–26, Jesus thanks the Father for revealing truth to infants rather than the wise and self-sufficient, showing that God’s kingdom is entered through humility, not control. Tiredness can be a gift, exposing where we have relied on ourselves and inviting us back into dependence on God.

What feels like weakness may actually be mercy.

Are You Tired?

Jesus Is the Only Way to Know God

In Matthew 11:27, Jesus declares that no one knows the Father except through the Son, dismantling the need for religious mediators, systems, or performance. Jesus does not offer a method to reach God; He offers Himself, reminding us that faithfulness to religion is not the same as faithfulness to God.

True access to God is found only in relationship with Jesus.

Are You Tired?

Come to Jesus

In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus gives a simple and urgent invitation to come, not after fixing ourselves, but exactly as we are. His call is immediate and compassionate, offering rest not through striving but through surrender.

Jesus is not asking us to become better before we come; He is inviting us to come and be made new.

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How to Find Rest for Your Souls

Come — Don’t Delay
Rest begins the moment we respond to Jesus’ invitation with urgency and trust, choosing not to postpone what our souls need now.

Lay Down the Old Way
We find rest when we release the ways of living marked by control, performance, shame, and religious striving that have only produced weariness.

Take Up His Way
Jesus invites us to exchange our heavy yokes for His gentle and life-giving way, where He carries the weight we were never meant to bear.

Follow and Learn
As we walk closely with Jesus and learn from His gentle and humble heart, our souls are reshaped and true rest takes root.

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Discussion Questions

1. When Jesus asks, “Are you tired?”, what kind of weariness do you most recognize in your own life right now—physical, emotional, spiritual, or something else?
2. In what ways can religion, performance, or self-effort quietly replace relationship with Jesus in our lives?
3. What “old way” or yoke might Jesus be inviting you to lay down so that you can experience rest for your soul?
4. What would it look like for you, practically and personally, to respond to Jesus’ invitation to come to Him this week?

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