Sunday, July 5, 2026
Sixth Sunday of Pentecost
Text: Matthew 11:25-30
Sermon Audio
As we gather… Jesus speaks to people weighed down by life’s burdens—financial worries, troubling news, broken relationships, uncertainty about the future, and the guilt of sin. While the world tells us to work harder, become stronger, and solve our own problems, Jesus reveals a different way. The Father makes Himself known not to the self-sufficient, but to those who recognize their need and come to Him as little children. Through His Word and Sacraments, Christ reveals the Father’s love and care. Jesus invite all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest. He carried our greatest burdens by living a perfect life in our place, bearing our sins on the cross, and rising from the dead. Though Christians still face struggles and responsibilities, Christ bears the heaviest weight. Like a father carrying most of a load, Jesus shoulders our burdens and walks beside us, giving peace, forgiveness, and the sure hope of eternal life.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We live in a world where there’s a lot to stress us out. The latest surprise bill can stress our checking account. We celebrated the 250th anniversary of our nation’s freedom, but news headlines can make us worry about the direction our country is headed. Broken relationships add sorrow and frustration when people don’t act the way they should.
Don’t mention the fact that our pastor is leaving in less than ten days. Who will pick up the slack around the church? What will happen if I or a loved one dies? Who will be there to visit me when I’m in the hospital? For many of you here, this is a heavy burden as well.
What’s more, our sins weigh us down as well. The vices that claim to give us release only trap us in a cycle of addiction. Our lies and foul mouths hurt others and cause us shame when our mouths work faster than our minds and we find ourselves in trouble. The devil uses our sins against God to make us wonder whether we truly are a Christian or just are pretending to be one.
All of us here come weighed down by stresses, worries, and our sin. But there’s good news. REST EASY, CHILD, THE SON HAS BORNE YOUR BURDEN.
First, I. The Father reveals Himself to His children through His Son. We read, “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;” In our world, we are taught when the going gets tough, the tough get going. The answer is trying harder, gritting our teeth, and putting one foot in front of the other.
Money’s got you down? Work harder and get paid more. News headlines troubling you? Just donate more to the political party of your choice so they can fix the problems. Bad relationships? Just forget the haters. Sad your pastor is leaving? Get over it! Are your sins troubling you? It’s your attitude that’s the problem, not the things that the church calls a sin. In the world around us, the solution is not to rely on someone else, it is to toughen up.
But that’s not the message that Jesus tells us in our Gospel text today. Our God is not the God of those who are the self-made man or the strong independent woman. Our God is the God of the little children. Our Heavenly Father hides Himself from those who consider themselves wise and understanding in their own eyes and reveals Himself to those who know they need a savior and those who know they cannot carry the weight of their burdens.
The Lord is inviting us to remember who we are which is His children. We are completely dependent on the Lord for all things. We are to trust in Him in all ways.
Jesus continues: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” This truth is revealed to us by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We don’t know the Father apart from the Son. It was the Son who said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus invites the little children to come to Him, and He invites us to look to Him for all things.
We find Jesus in the Word preached. Sit down at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him as He speaks to us through the Bible. We find Jesus in the sacraments. Return to your baptism by turning from sin and receiving Christ’s forgiveness. We find Jesus in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper wherein we receive His true body and blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Second, II. The Son gives His children rest. As God’s children, we see that Jesus gives us rest. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is a rest granted because Jesus did the heavy lifting. He took on our human flesh and lived a perfect life for us. Stressed about money? Jesus and His disciples likely lived hand to mouth even needing to pick grain from a field on the Sabbath day. Worried about politics on this 4th of July weekend? Jesus grew up in a country occupied by foreign pagans and there was tremendous pressure upon Him to start a revolution to free the Jews. Worried about relationships? Many people rejected Jesus, but even then, He was never alone.
Are your sins causing you torment? Jesus bore their weight for you. He was tempted yet overcame temptation for you. He took your sins all the way to the cross to forgive them, and He rose again to prove that death has no power over me or you.
Worried about your pastor leaving? The disciples must have been worried about their shepherd leaving when Jesus ascended into Heaven. However, the next thing the disciples did was to choose another disciple to succeed Judas in the office of Apostle. Jesus is no longer present with His disciples in the same way He was when He walked this earth, but nonetheless, He is present in the Word and Sacrament among His children and He keeps on sending ministers to shepherd His people.
In all these things, dear child of God, rest easy. The answer isn’t try harder or simply call black white and white black. The answer is to trust that God in Christ Jesus has got it under control. He has taken away your sins and He has promised you Heaven. Heaven is yours. Do you really need to worry about money about politics, or about your relationships? No! Do you need to worry about your sins? Certainly turn from them and repent of them, but don’t let past sins keep you up at night making you wonder whether you are a child of God.
Finally, III. The Son bears our burden. Jesus said, “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.”” That certainly seems like an oxymoron. How can it be a burden if it is light?
I remember a pastor who told a story of when he was a farm boy. When he was young, he and his dad had to carry roughhewn wood from one pile to another. He and his dad would carry a piece of wood together from one end of the farm one piece at a time. Was it heavy? Yes! Did you get splinters? You bet! Was it painful? Of course it was.
The pastor remarked that when he got yet another splinter from the latest board, he was ready to start complaining to his dad and really lay into him when he saw his dad’s hands. His dad’s hands were twice as splintered as his and there was four times the amount of sweat that caked his dad’s body.
Of course, his dad was bearing the brunt of the weight of the lumber. He was bearing the pain of the splinters. The son was really just there to guide the back of the log so it didn’t drag on the ground or hit doorframes as they went around corners. The son didn’t complain so much at that point.
Is this not an illustration of Matthew 11? We can complain about the burdens and pain we bear until we look at the mark of the nails and put our hand into Christ’s side. On the cross He was bearing the worst of God’s wrath. In this life, He was bearing the weight of our sins. This is what it means for Christ’s yoke to be light. He’s putting the weight of the world on his back, and we’re just along for the ride.
Nonetheless, there is work for us to do. We go out as Christ’s representatives into the world. When the farm boy returned to school in the fall, he could have complained about how evil his dad was for making him carry such a heavy load. Instead, think of the opportunity the son had to speak well of his father. “Yeah, we did some farm chores, but my dad did the heavy lifting, and I was happy to be able to spend time with my dad around the farm, with my help, we had more time to play catch in the backyard.”
These pains and burdens are opportunities for you to shine the love of Christ to others. Yes, there are a variety of emotions with my time at Faith coming to a close, but with this upcoming vacancy comes the opportunity to serve in ways that you didn’t think possible before. With my departing, there can be the new challenge of knowing that we can’t just rely on the pastor to be our walking advertisement, maybe we ourselves can tell others about Jesus!
Of course, in many ways these are all things you are already doing. I want to thank you for the time together here partnering in ministry. The work of the church has certainly made my burden light. But as we minister to those around us, we know that we never go alone. Thank you for partnering with me, but more than that, thank you for serving Christ who makes our burdens light, and gives us true rest. The rest of a clean conscience with the hope of eternal life. Amen!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.