Finding Rest For Your Soul: Accepting the Gift of Grace

I started a new job earlier this year, which involves me getting up pretty early. On workdays, this is usually manageable, but yesterday, when my alarm rang at 4:45 am, I struggled. Even sitting at the table with my coffee and my Bible open, I found myself just staring at the table, unable to focus. All I wanted was to lie down on the couch and sleep for twenty more minutes. But work was calling, so I had to get up and move on. I struggled through my shift and finally came home, where I could grab a short nap before picking up my son from preschool.

Why am I sharing this? Because we all get tired, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We all have days when it feels like we are swimming against the current and all we want to do is sleep. And this is not a modern problem. Even the ancient Israelites knew this feeling.

The ancient jews were no strangers to physical labour: farming, harvesting, fishing, shepherding, and countless other demanding tasks. On top of their physical exhaustion, the Jewish community was also experiencing deep spiritual fatigue. For the past few centuries, the Sadducees had been rising in prominence and power in ancient Israel. This sect emphasised strict adherence to the written Law (the Torah) and expected all Jews to follow it rigorously. As a result, the religious environment became spiritually burdensome. People lived in constant anxiety over which laws they might have broken, shifting their focus from the heart to merely outward actions.

Jesus’ Invitation: Rest for the Weary

So when Jesus said during His early ministry,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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 11:28–30).

His words were incredibly liberating and hopeful for a weary people. This wasn’t just an invitation to physical rest, but a call to spiritual relief—freedom from the crushing weight of legalism.

From Legalism to Grace

It is easy to become caught up in the "rules" of Christianity. Coming from a more conservative church in my childhood, I know this feeling very well. The guilt and shame of failing to live up to expectations. The rejection felt or perceived when making decisions that others disagreed with. The anger and disappointment I felt when I “let God down” by not spending enough time with Him. Many Jews in Jesus’ day felt the same way. And many of us still do.

Maybe you are still struggling with these feelings: guilt, shame, anger and disappointment. But Jesus came to give us relief from these burdens. The Law revealed God’s standard for holiness—and how we could never meet it on our own. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and offer us freedom. His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins. ("would you be free from your burden of sin? There's wonderful power in the blood") His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins.

Why the Law Was Given (And Why Jesus Fulfilled It)

The Law showed us God’s standards, revealing both His holiness and our sinfulness. But it couldn’t save us. That’s why Jesus came—not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The Law focused on actions; Jesus focused on the heart. He warned against hypocrisy—those who seemed righteous on the outside but were corrupt inside (Matthew 23:27–28).

When we try to earn salvation through “good works,” we reject Christ’s gift. It’s like trying to pay a debt that’s already been cleared. Christ’s death satisfied the Law’s demands and made a way for us to be saved by grace.

A New Covenant of Grace

Our world holds Christians to high (and often impossible) standards. When we fall short, we hear the judgment: “And she calls herself a Christian!” But God knew we couldn’t keep the Law. That’s why He sent Jesus to fulfil it and establish a new covenant—a covenant of grace (Luke 22:19–20). The Law was never designed to save us but to expose our desperate need for a saviour.

Salvation cannot come through our own power, it comes only through Jesus (John 14:6). On our own, we’re burdened by legalism and doomed to fail. But through Christ’s sacrifice, we’re offered the “yoke” of grace.

Laying Down the Burden of Legalism

Grace was a radical concept for the Israelites at the time. For the past few centuries, a small but influential group—the Pharisees—had been rising to power. The Pharisees prided themselves on living holy and righteous lives. They loved receiving praise from the people for their apparent devotion, but many were hypocrites. Outwardly, they appeared devout—they paid their tithes, followed Jewish customs, prayed regularly, and did everything they were supposed to do. But their hearts remained corrupt.

In Matthew 23, Jesus exposes the flaws in their system. Their focus was purely external, placing an unbearable weight on the people to conform to cultural and religious expectations. The standard they set—the weight of the Law—was impossible for anyone to live up to. Over two thousand years later, it feels like little has changed. Many Christians today still struggle with legalism versus grace, weighed down by impossible standards instead of living in the freedom of the Covenant of Grace.

How do you respond when a fellow believer sins or backslides? How have you been treated when you’ve fallen short of expectations? The tension between grace and judgment is something every Christian faces.

By nature, we are sinful human beings. We all sin—far more often than most of us are willing to admit. Yet when we’re caught in sin, we’re often met with judgment, anger, and even spiritual exile. When I was in my early twenties, I was engaged to a non-believer. When my (then) pastor found out, he removed me from every form of service in the church. Though he said I was still welcome to attend, I felt spiritually exiled. Had he responded with mercy and grace, the spiritual outcome might have been so different. Sadly, this experience is common for many Christians struggling with legalism and judgment.

This is the burden Christ came to lift—the crushing weight of legalism. But we must be willing to lay it down and embrace the grace of salvation.

Legalism often creeps back into our lives even after we’ve embraced the Covenant of Grace. We feel guilt when we mess up or shame when we fall short of what we know we should do. This cycle leads to spiritual exhaustion.

But Christ died once and for all on the cross. Your debt has been paid! Why do we keep trying to pay back instalments on a debt that’s already been settled? We can’t repay it—and that’s exactly why God sent Jesus. Because we couldn’t pay our debt, Jesus did. This is the heart of biblical grace and salvation. But when we slip back into legalism, it’s as if we’re trying to pay for what’s already been paid. We must choose to lay down that burden and live in the freedom Jesus offers.

Learn from Jesus’ Example

Jesus modeled a life fully surrendered to God, even to the point of death on the cross. Jesus was obedient to God even when it caused issues with the contemporary culture. He challenged the Pharisees, spent time with outcasts, and taught us to love with compassion and forgive those that do not deserve it (because He knows we don't deserve it either, and that's whats so amazing about grace). He wasn’t the king the Jews expected—but He was the King God sent. He wasn't a king who drew attention to himself, but constantly pointed the people towards God.

God sent a lowly and gentle king, a king who loved compassionately and spent time with the people society rejected. He stood up for what was right and preached forgiveness and grace. But he didn't only do this to benefit the people that were directly involved (those that benefited from the healings and forgiveness), He did all these things so that we might have a model of a righteous life. Some of the lessons Jesus spoke may seem obvious, but many require much more thought and reflection. Immediately after this passage (Matt 12:1-8), Jesus and his disciples were caught breaking the Sabbath laws (harvesting grain on the holy day), something that upset many Jewish elders, but Jesus was focused on more important matters.

The Yoke of Grace: A New Kind of Burden

Jesus’ “burden” isn’t crushing—it’s grace-filled. Think of a traditional yoke used in farming: Jesus contemporaries would have been very familiar with the Yoke and the purpose it served in teaching an animal how to fulfil its role in the harvesting and threshing of crops. The yoke was placed across a pair of oxen, one experienced and one young and foolish, and the more mature creature would teach the younger one how to keep pace, and the two of them would work together with the more mature one bearing much more of the weight.

This symbolises perfectly what Christ does with us; he bore the weight of our burdens, and he teaches us how to live a life of wisdom and maturity. He carries our heaviest burdens, but we must learn to submit to him and allow him to carry the weight. Otherwise, we are like the foolish ox who is resisting the leadership he has been placed under. Jesus loves us and wants us to live holy, righteous lives, but we often find ourselves resisting this guidance. As a result, we end up bearing much more weight than Christ intended for us to. We carry worries and anxieties, fears and doubts, anger and sadness and many other things; things Christ wants us to allow him to carry (Phil 4:6-7, 1 Pet 5:7). We need to learn to trust his leadership and guidance, allowing him to carry this weight that would otherwise crush us. There are two burdens being offered here: one that will crush us and one that will free us. Which one will you accept?

Conclusion: Living in the Freedom of Grace

Matthew 11:28–30 isn’t just about physical rest. It’s an invitation to a new way of living—free from the weight of legalism and full of grace. To experience this, we must surrender our efforts to “save ourselves” and accept Jesus’ finished work.

Let’s choose today to live under grace, where true rest is found.