These are among the greatest words ever spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. They take us to the heart of our salvation. Perhaps this simple illustration will help you to see why.

One of the joys of watching football on television is that you see more than you would see if you were at the game... and it’s often warmer.

When your team scores a goal, the replays show you what was happening from various points of view, so that you get a fuller picture of all that was going on. You see the play. Then you see it from the reverse angle. Then you see it from the camera on the goal line.

You are looking at the same event, but the different camera angles give you a fuller picture. Placed together, they show you things that were happening in the play that you would have missed if you only saw one angle.

This verse gives us three camera angles on the one event of our salvation. One camera is trained on the activity of God the Father: “All that the Father gives me...” A second camera is turned toward the sinner coming to Christ: “Whoever comes to me...” And a third camera is focused on Christ receiving the sinner: “I will never cast out...”

The Father gives, the sinner comes, and the Son receives. These are the three great movements of our salvation. Viewing these pictures side-by-side will help you to see more clearly what God has done for you in Jesus Christ.

Which of the three camera angles are you most familiar with?

When Jesus says that you will find rest for your soul, He doesn’t mean sleep. He’s saying, “I will put an end to your inner turmoil. Bring your hurts and fears, your regrets and disappointments, your anxieties and your inadequacies to Me. Bring the pressures and troubles of your life to Me. I will give you peace that passes understanding. My peace I give you.”

This rest is Christ’s gift. It is not a process. It is not like a prescription or a formula that could be obtained from different sources. It is the gift of the living Christ to you.

J. C. Ryle in his book Old Paths says, “Rest such as this is the privilege of all believers in Christ. Some know more of it and some less; some feel it only at distant intervals, and some feel it almost always; few enjoy the sense of it without many a battle with unbelief, and many a conflict with fear. But all who truly come to Christ know something of this rest.”

Let the weight of your burdens draw you to the Saviour today. As your load becomes heavier, you have more reason to come to Him. The wearier you become, the more you need to yoke yourself to Christ. This is a marvellous way to view the pressures of your life. Use them as a reason to draw near to Christ today.

Will you take the Saviour at His word today? Will you come to Him and receive what He offers?

Jesus is saying the same thing in two different ways. We know that because He makes the same promise: “I will give you rest…You will find rest for your souls.”

What do we have to do to find this rest? The condition is stated in two different ways. “Come to me,” and “Take my yoke upon you.” These are two ways of saying the same thing—come to Christ and commit to Him. Coming to Christ involves taking His yoke upon you.

The yoke was a wooden beam that tied two animals together so that they walked and worked in tandem. Be very careful who you get yoked to. In business, in friendship, and supremely in marriage, ask, “What am I tying myself to?”

Jesus says, “Bind yourself to Me. Walk with Me.” Coming to Christ means taking His yoke upon you. This sounds like it is going to be tough. Maybe you are thinking, I am struggling enough as it is, and now you are telling me that Jesus wants to put some yoke around my neck?

Do you think your life would be easier without Christ? Do you feel that if you cut loose from Christ, then your restless heart would finally be free? Are you afraid that if you follow Him, He will lay some great load on you? As long as you think this you will never come to Him.

Listen to what Jesus says: “I am gentle and lowly in heart… My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (11:29–30). It’s the way of the sinner that is hard. To be yoked to Christ means that the Son of God pulls your load with you.

What could be better than to be yoked to Jesus Christ and have Him pull your load with you?