The Ultimate Sacrifice
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”1
I was reading in the book of Isaiah the other day and read some verses that seemed very familiar yet completely different. Isaiah 43:22-24 caught my attention, as it says: “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel! You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings. You have not honored me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened and wearied you with requests for grain offerings and frankincense. You have not brought me fragrant calamus or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices. Instead, you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your faults.” Verse 24 says that they had burdened God with their sins and wearied him with their faults; those words are used again in Matthew 11:28, but now telling those who are weary and who carry heavy burdens to come to Him. So what changed that allowed us to go from negatively burdening God to being told to go to Him and give Him our burdens?
In the time of Isaiah, the Israelites continuously disobeyed God and offered empty sacrifices with the wrong motives, burdening God. They did not have direct access to Him without making a sacrifice first; sacrifices were required for them to seek forgiveness and approach the presence of God. However, in the New Testament, Jesus came into the picture as the human form of God and sacrificed himself for the sins of the world; that is what changed. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that wiped all of our sins away and allows us to have a close, personal relationship with the Lord. Now, because of what He did for us, we can come boldly to His throne (Hebrews 4:16) and give Him our burdens, and in return, we will receive rest, mercy, and grace.
Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for Jesus, who came to Earth and became perfect the sacrifice that allowed me to come before you freely and confidently. Thank you for being my place of rest when I am burdened by the cares of this world. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
1. Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
Today’s Encounter was written by: Gianna B.
All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.