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The Mission: Discipleship—To Be One and to Make One

The Article: Call to Discipleship: An Invitation to Rest (Matt. 11:28-30)


The article is a step-by-step look at Matthew 11:28-30, emphasizing each major clause and its meaning. The article breaks the passage down into four memorable sections: “The Invitation,” “The Insurance and Pledge,” “The Injunction,” and “The Incentives.” Each section develops the theme of “gracious invitation.” The first section emphasizes the personal relationship aspect of Christianity. That is, Christianity it is not a dead religion, or a set of “do’s and don’ts.” It is first and foremost a personal relationship with Christ: “Come to me,” Jesus said. The second section emphasizes the rest Jesus promises. The third section stresses the importance of ongoing discipleship in the process of taking up the yoke of Christ and learning from him. The fourth section explains what it means to take up the yoke of Christ by submitting to his gentle Lordship in our lives and experiencing the rest he offers. The Christian life is not a struggle to rid ourselves of all yokes, but rather to be harnessed with the right one!

Questions and Answers

    1. Briefly describe how Matthew 11:28-30 relate to 11:20-27.

    2. In light of 11:27, what is the call “Come to me” (11:28) a call to?

    3. What are some of the unnecessary burdens you think these people carried? What are some of yours? What would it look like to give them to Jesus?

    4. What is the imagery being used in 11:29? How does it relate to us today? In other words, how can we become yoked with Jesus?

    5. How does Jesus describe himself in 11:29? How does that relate to the “soul-rest” he promised?

Scripture Memory Passages: Matthew 11:28-30

Related Topics: Discipleship