Christ invites all who labor and are heavy laden to give them rest. His invitation is gracious and unselfish. William Reid continues to talk about Christ’s invitation:

Third, the invitation is sincere. The third thing I would wish you to notice in this invitation is its sincerity. There is very much insincerity among men. Many give invitations they never mean to be taken—they would even feel annoyed if they were embraced. But this can never be the case with Christ Jesus, for He is called “Faithful and True.” He asserted His own truthfulness when on earth, and even called Himself “the truth.” He is “the true one,” and in inviting sinners He is sincere. When He says “Come,” He means just what He says. When He came to His own and was rejected, He showed His sincerity in seeking their salvation; for He did not give them up at once, but continued with them teaching, and preaching, and working miracles of love. And His agonies in the garden and on the cross powerfully showed the sincerity of His heart. He is not, then, indifferent whether you come to Him or not; but He is sincere in inviting you to come. He says, “Come,” from the very depths of His loving heart. His is not mere professed desire for your welfare, it is real; and you will be your own enemy if you embrace not His sincere invitation “with a true heart” (Revelation 19:11; John 14:6; Jeremiah 10:10; Hebrews 10:22). 

Fourth, the invitation is suitable. The fourth thing I would have you notice about this invitation is, that it is suitable. It is accompanied with the promise of that which you most urgently require: “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” If you are fainting and burdened, what do you need so much as rest? “And I will give you rest,” is the promise. Rest is just what is needed by the toil-worn, weary man; and nothing else can prove a substitute for it. So spiritual rest is what the laboring, heavy-laden sinner needs; and nothing else can compensate for the want of it. When the storm of conviction is beating upon him, and the waves of guilt are like to overwhelm him, there is nothing coveted so earnestly as rest. The gift of Jesus - rest for the troubled soul - is the most precious boon presented to the children of men. And it is well always to bear in mind that it is a gift: “I will give you rest” (Hebrews 4:1-11). The literal meaning is, “I will cause you to rest.”

This shows you not only that in some way or other you may have rest by Jesus, but it shows how completely you must be indebted to Himself for it. He must be the cause, and source, and giver of your rest, if you ever have that inestimable blessing. Christ stands before you and invites, not as an abstract truth, but as a living person. Christ was going about on our earth when He first uttered this language, and although we do not now see His form and hear His voice, we are to believe, for it is really true, that He lives and speaks to us by His Word as a living One. Salvation cannot be disjoined from the personal Savior. You must come to Him, if you would have Him to give you rest; and if you do indeed come to Him, you will find that He is faithful who has promised.

The rest is threefold

The rest you need is threefold: rest from your un-quietness with regard to your guilt, rest from the enslaving tyranny of your corruption; and rest from the weariness caused by battling with sin and evil. The penalty, power, and presence of sin are the chief sources of disquietude—and from them all Jesus delivers us.

1. Penalty for sin

If you come to the Lord Jesus, He will cause you to cease from your trouble regarding the punishment of your sins, by showing you how His once dying becomes an atonement for sin. If He plant your foot upon the rock of His finished work, then your soul will feel secure. If He clothe you in His own righteousness, you will be able to lay down your weary head upon His blessed bosom and enjoy refreshing rest, for you will feel that the Lord sustains you. Christ is our peace. He is the peacemaker with God; and therefore He is able to give peace to man. He has made peace by the blood of His cross, and now He comes and preaches peace; and whosoever comes to Him comes to peace. The unquietness of the soul is dissipated by the sprinkling of that blood which cleanses us from all sin. “When He gives quietness, who then can” (hold us guilty, and thus) “make trouble”? “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Job 34:29; Romans 5:1). 

2. Powerof sin

He will also give you rest from the slavery of sin. You have been the willing slave of sin. You loved it and ran greedily in its service before you became alarmed about your soul. Sin was wont to go with the bent of your carnal nature. You could no more cease from sin than a stone let out of the hand could, while unobstructed, cease descending towards the earth. If unconverted, you are upon the inclined plane which lets sinners down from earth to the bottomless pit, and you must inevitably slide down and perish unless rescued from your dangerous position. You may desire to deliver yourself, but all your unaided efforts will prove fruitless. You may even pray against your besetting sins, but, apart from divine interference, they will remain besetting sins still. You may resolve and endeavor a hundred times to cease from sin, but you will find that Satan cannot cast out Satan. Christ alone can do it. He says, “Without Me ye can do nothing;” but He also says, “Come unto me, and I will give you rest” (John 15:5; Matthew 11:28). 

Dear fellow sinner, do you desire your corruptions to be weakened, and the body of sin so destroyed that henceforth you will not serve sin? Then come to Christ for a new heart, for, by bestowing it, He will give you deliverance from this dreadful bondage. Sin shall not have dominion over you if you are in Christ Jesus. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” When the Lord Jesus subdues sin by His almighty Spirit, then will “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,” keep your heart and mind. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” will set you “free from the law of sin and death” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:2).

3. Presence of sin

He will also give you rest from all your weary struggles with sin and evil. It is not an easy thing to be a Christian. There must be a constant warfare waged with sin. The experience of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:22-25 is that of all believers: “I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” And under the feeling of this struggle - the flesh lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh - he is found crying out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” He knows that there is One able to save, and therefore, he adds, “I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” There is a time coming when we shall enjoy unbroken rest. No sin shall ever vex us, and no evil shall ever distress us. With Jesus, in His kingdom, we shall enjoy the rest that remains to the people of God.

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