Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. Matthew 11:28, 29 KJV
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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. Matthew 11:28-29 NASB
There is only once in the Gospel records where the Lord Jesus speaks of His heart. It is in the verses cited above. He is “meek and lowly in heart,” a confession which would be judged as boasting by any other man. And yet the context shows how justified He is in making this claim.
Matthew 11 details the occurrence of a number of incidents which tested His meekness and lowliness of heart. John, imprisoned for his faithfulness, falters in his pathway. Unable to explain a Messiah who did not “loose the captives,” he sent his disciples to Christ to ask if He is the “one that should come” or if they should “look for another.” Following upon that, the Lord Jesus remarks about the men of His day who criticized John for his abstinence and in turn, criticized Him for His liberty. They were not moved by the stern preaching of John or the gracious words of Christ.
Then there were the cities where His mighty works were done (vv 20-24). They had been willfully blind to the display of divine power; His credentials had been denied. On the surface, it appeared that His ministry had been fruitless. The men of His day and even the privileged cities had failed to respond to His ministry. How did the Lord respond to this?
Look now at verses 25, 26: “I thank Thee O Father … Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them
unto babes. Even so Father for so it seemed good in Thy sight.” In this amazing declaration, the Lord Jesus thanked His Father for the results of His service. He was thankful that God had so ordained it. Here is meekness expressed in its fullness. Here is a Man absolutely content with whatever the will of God for Him might be. He bows to being misunderstood, rejected, and vilified by men. He is at home with whatever the Father wills!
His meekness and lowliness of heart are displayed in His submission to all the circumstances of His life and service. It is in light of this that He is able to invite others to take this yoke, this lowliness of heart, and to find rest for our souls. It is the rest of total contentment with the Father’s will.
His heart was never lifted up with a sense of entitlement; it was never lifted up with pride or a sense of self-importance. What amazing grace and beauty!
Here is the Man Who has not only clean hands, but a pure heart (Ps 24:4). Here is the Man able to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to reign. That same lowliness of heart marked Him from His days in Nazareth to Gethsemane and at Calvary, as He bowed to the will of God and found joy in accomplishing His Father’s will and work.
Consider:
In contrast, look at the revelation of even good king Hezekiah’s heart in 2 Chronicles 32:31; and of the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2.