March 19: Come unto Me
♫ Music:
Day 15 - Wednesday, March 19
Title: Come unto Me
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Poetry & Poet:
“On Freedom”
by Khalil Gibran
And an orator said, Speak to us of Free-
dom.
And he answered:
At the city gate and by your fireside I
have seen you prostrate yourself and worship
your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before
a tyrant and praise him though he slays
them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in
the shadow of the citadel I have seen the
freest among you wear their freedom as a
yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you
can only be free when even the desire of
seeking freedom becomes a harness to you,
and when you cease to speak of freedom
as a goal and a fulfillment.
You shall be free indeed when your days
are not without a care nor your nights with-
out a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your
life and yet you rise above them naked and
unbound.
And how shall you rise beyond your
days and nights unless you break the chains
which you at the dawn of your under-
standing have fastened around your noon
hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is
the strongest of these chains, though its
links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.
And what is it but fragments of your own
self you would discard that you may become
free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish,
that law was written with your own hand
upon your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law
books nor by washing the foreheads of your
judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a despot you would dethrone,
see first that his throne erected within you is
destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and
the proud, but for a tyranny in their own
freedom and a shame in their own pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that
care has been chosen by you rather than
imposed upon you.
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the
seat of that fear is in your heart and not in
the hand of the feared.
Verily all things move within your being
in constant half embrace, the desired and
the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished,
the pursued and that which you would
escape.
These things move within you as lights
and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is no
more, the light that lingers becomes a
shadow to another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its
fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater
Freedom.
THE YOKE OF JESUS
When Jesus says, “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest,” it’s easy to see how being freed from a heavy burden would bring rest. After Bunyan’s pilgrim saw the burden of his sin tumble downhill into a tomb, he was “glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, ‘He hath given me rest by His sorrow; and life by His death.’” What Jesus says next is harder to understand (and Bunyan doesn’t try to portray it): rest comes from bearing his burden and taking up his yoke.
The book of Jeremiah shows how those who refuse God’s yoke cannot enter his rest. When Jesus said, “take my yoke upon you...and you will find rest for your souls,” he was echoing the words of Jeremiah: “'Thus says the Lord: Look…where the good way is and walk in it…and find rest for your souls.' But they said: 'We will not walk in it.'” (Jer. 6:16). The people in Jeremiah’s day did not find “rest for their souls” because they refused to seek out the way of the Lord, which Jeremiah pictured as a yoke: “They do not know the way of the Lord…they all alike had broken the yoke” (Jer. 5:4-3).
What it looks like to break God’s yoke rather than bear it is vividly portrayed in Jeremiah’s encounter with the false prophet Hananiah. God had instructed Jeremiah to make a wooden yoke, put it on his neck, and say to the leaders of Judah, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him…and you will live” (Jer. 27:12). Hananiah came and publicly broke Jeremiah’s yoke and prophesied that the exile would only last two years. This flatly contradicted Jeremiah’s main message that God was bringing his people into exile for seventy years because of their sin. So, God sent Jeremiah to tell Hananiah that although he had broken the wooden yoke, God would make a yoke of iron; the exile would be long and Hananiah would die.
The contrast between the wooden yoke and the iron yoke helps explain what Jesus means by calling his yoke “easy.” It’s easier than the alternative. However, it’s still a yoke. Taking it up involves accepting God’s judgment on our sin and following his way rather than our own.
As in Jeremiah’s time, many in the time of Jesus refused to take up his yoke. One of these was the man crucified with Jesus who said “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” Like others he expected that the Messiah would save the Jewish people from the Romans. Jesus, however, like Jeremiah before him, prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem as God’s judgment on his people’s sin. One could enter the kingdom he promised only by acknowledging sin and accepting the consequences. The other man crucified with Christ said, “We are indeed justly under the sentence of condemnation, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds.” Although he expected to die for his sins, he believed that the sinless Messiah would defeat death and set up his eternal kingdom.
Those who come to Jesus for rest must take up his yoke. Those who follow him must take up his cross. The cross means death, but those who submit to it will wake in paradise.
Prayer:
O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, I come to thee.
Amen
Dr. Joe Henderson
Associate Professor of the Old Testament
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
Christian Loses His Burden
William Strang
1895
Etching on paper
12.6 x 17.3 cm
Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts
De Young/Legion of Honor
San Francisco, California
Public Domain
The Lord doesn't want us to carry our burdens alone but rather asks us to surrender our worries, anxieties, and heavy burdens to Him by laying them down at the foot of the cross. Psalm 68:19 (NIV) says, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." When we symbolically place our burdens and worries at the foot of the cross, we trust that He will take them on and give us rest and inner peace.
About the Artist:
William Strang (1859–1921) was a Scottish painter and printmaker, notable for illustrating the works of such authors as Bunyan, Coleridge, and Kipling. During his lifetime, Strang built up an international reputation as a highly skilled and imaginative printmaker, portraitist, and painter. He was very prolific, and his diverse subjects ranged from the fantastic to the very real, including uncompromising depictions of contemporary life and the effects of poverty and social injustice, landscapes, subjects from the Bible, allegories, and narrative illustrations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strang
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/william-strang
About the Music: “Just as I Am” from the album When the Stars Burn Down
Lyrics:
Just as I am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me.
And that Thou bidest me come to Thee.
Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not,
To rid my soul of one dark blot.
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot.
Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come.
I come broken to be mended.
I come wounded to be healed.
I come desperate to be rescued.
I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned.
By the blood of Christ the Lamb.
I am welcomed with open arms.
Praise God, just as I am.
Just as I am, I would be lost.
But mercy and grace,
My freedom bought.
And now to glory in your cross.
Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come.
I come broken to be mended.
I come wounded to be healed.
I come desperate to be rescued.
I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned.
By the blood of Christ the Lamb.
And I am welcomed with open arms.
Praise God, just as I am.
I come broken to be mended.
I come wounded to be healed.
I come desperate to be rescued.
I come empty to be filled.
I come guilty to be pardoned.
By the blood of Christ the lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am.
Praise God, just as I am.
Just as I am.
About the Composers:
Charlotte Elliott, David Moffitt, Sue C. Smith, Travis Cottrell, and William Batchelder Bradbury
Charlotte Elliott (1789–1871) was a British hymn writer, who as an invalid endured physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. One night, plagued by distressing thoughts of her condition, a spiritual conflict developed, and she ended up questioning the value of her entire life. The next day, troubles of the previous night came back upon her with such force that she deliberately set down in writing, for her own comfort, “the formula of her faith.” Within a matter of years, Elliott had “Just As I Am” published in The Invalid’s Hymnbook, and from there it spread and gained in popularity. Today, many associate “Just As I Am” with the life and ministry of evangelist Billy Graham, who for years had it sung during altar calls at his crusades; it is also the title of his autobiography.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Elliott
David Moffitt is a worship leader and Dove award–winning songwriter whose songs have been recorded by artists such as Natalie Grant, Travis Cottrell, Audio Adrenaline, and many others. He is also the writer/creator of nineteen worship musicals for music publisher Brentwood Benson. David and his family live in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Sue C. Smith is an American songwriter. She has written twenty-two #1 songs, including, "We Are the Church," "Heaven Is Happening," "Not For Long," and "Looks Like Jesus." A Daywind Music Publishing staff writer, she is deeply involved in writing music for the church and for church choirs, having written over one hundred musicals which are presented annually in churches around the world. Her most recent musicals for Daywind Worship are Peace on Earth for Christmas 2024 and The Christmas Llama Drama. Smith is a five-time Dove award–winning songwriter who has worked with the Oak Ridge Boys, Sandi Patty, Travis Cottrell, Mark Harris, Larnelle Harris, Steve Green, and many others.
http://www.suecsmithsongwriter.com/about.html
William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868) was a musician who composed the tune to "Jesus Loves Me" and many other popular hymns. In 1854, he started the Bradbury Piano Company with his brother in New York City. Bradbury is best known as a composer and publisher of a series of musical collections for choirs and schools. He was the author and compiler of fifty-nine books. In 1862, Bradbury found the poem "Jesus Loves Me.” Bradbury wrote the music and added the chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, / Yes, Jesus loves me..." He composed many tunes, including those for "He Leadeth Me,” "Just As I Am,” and "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,” all of which can still be found in hymnbooks today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Batchelder_Bradbury
About the Composer/Performer:
Travis Cottrell is an American contemporary Christian music artist, singer-songwriter, author, and worship leader. Travis has known the joy of serving the Lord and leading people in worship since he graduated from Belmont University in 1992. For the last eighteen years, Travis has served as worship leader at Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live conferences. In addition to his writing, arranging, leading, and singing, Travis has managed to carve out time to record several solo projects, including the Dove award–winning Jesus Saves Live and When the Stars Burn Down. Embracing the rich traditional hymns of his childhood, along with modern music of today, Travis uses a blended style of worship to help lead people from all generations and backgrounds into worship. Travis serves as worship pastor at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Cottrell
https://traviscottrell.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) was a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and visual artist. He is best known as the author of The Prophet, first published in the United States in 1923, which has since become one of the best-selling books of all time. Gibran explored literary forms as diverse as poetry, parables, fragments of conversation, short stories, fables, political essays, letters, and aphorisms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Joe Henderson
Associate Professor of the Old Testament
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Joe Henderson is a scholar of English literature and the Old Testament, uniting his love of reading well with his love of reading the Bible. His doctoral research on the poetry of the book of Jeremiah is the fruit of his interest in both the history of biblical interpretation and of literary criticism. His other interests include Robert Louis Stevenson's novels, Paul's theology, Milton's prose, theologian Brevard Childs' hermeneutics, Flannery O'Connor's stories, and Charles Wesley's hymns.