By no means am I a world religions or worldview expert, but even in my limited view, I see this common thread of burden. Take Islam for example. To achieve paradise, one’s good deeds must outweigh their bad deeds. This is not a view unique to Islam. Many, whether religious or not, believe this is the way to reach heaven, or even if there is no afterlife, believe that its nevertheless a good goal to have. I agree that it’s a noble goal. But what a burden. We have all done, and continue to do, things we know are wrong. With each passing blunder, the pressure to do good builds, and even as we do good, the memory of past mistakes is not erased. Consider Buddhism next. While there are certainly aspects of trying to lead a good life that come into play, the ultimate goal is nirvana – a state of being where troubles and desires are gone and perfect happiness is reached. Again, the burden is on us to achieve this state. Karma in Hinduism does not take us away from this burden paradigm either as the pressure is to do good. Finally, suppose you believe this life is all we have. In this case, the goal may be to achieve happiness through accumulating material possessions or through having a good career or perhaps something else. In such a worldview, the burden is on us to make this happen.
In a world of burden, Jesus shines uniquely. In Matthew 11:28-30, he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus takes away our burden and gives us rest. The beauty too is that he didn’t just take away our burden, he took it upon himself. At the cross, our burden was placed on him. Not in an abstract sense, but actually. Real burden led him to utter in Matthew 26:38, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” as the cross was quickly approaching. Jesus knows our struggles, he knows our pain, he knows our sins, he knows our burdens, and yet he came to us, and beared it all for us. The implications of this are enormous.
One such implication is this: we can cry out to Jesus even when all seems lost and even at the last second. Nowhere is this more evident in the Bible than when the criminal on the cross next to him said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42) and Jesus replied with, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Presumably, this man had done a lot wrong in his life as he was a criminal being executed on a cross for his transgressions, and in an earlier verse he even called his being crucified as just. His life was coming to an end. Under any of the religions or worldviews mentioned above, this would have been the end of the road, the loss of hope. But Jesus was next to him. The only one who could take his burden. The only one that could offer hope – unique hope – in that moment. He cried out and was saved. Not from death in that moment, but from spiritual death, from being separated from Jesus. The key to Luke 23:43 listed above is just that. Not that he would be in paradise but that he would be with Jesus.
This marvelous beauty of being able to call out to Jesus even when all seems lost is still being borne out today. I recently heard a story of a man in prison in Louisiana. He is there on a life sentence with no hope of getting out. From a human perspective, all is lost for him. How could he even try to do more good deeds to cover up his bad deeds? The amazing thing though is that, while in prison, Jesus redeemed him, and so, even though the rest of his earthly life will be spent in prison, he is truly free and knows he will spend eternity with Jesus. What’s more, he has now become a pastor and will be changing prisons to go on “mission trips” to tell others in prison about this amazing Jesus that can be called out to even when hope seems lost.
While this ability to call out at the last second is profound, I gather that most feel that they are not in such a position. Most can see the good they ought to do and sometimes do it. But there is this gap. The gap between how we know we should be and how we actually are and in this gap is sin. Sin puts us in a much more tenuous position than most realize. It’s serious. It’s not getting our hand caught in the cookie jar. It’s a disease we cannot rid ourselves of. It’s a disease that will lead to our demise. If it wasn’t a terminal illness, then at least some could achieve perfection on their own. I have yet to see anyone do this though.
Switching, but not fundamentally changing, the illustration, we are the ones hanging on the cross next to Jesus justly condemned. We cannot take ourselves off this cross. What will this cross mean to us though? Will it be an object of wrath or of hope? Condemnation or discipline? Death or life? If we don’t call out to Jesus, the former will surely be the case. But what if we do call out? When we do, a transaction takes place: the death we deserve is placed on Jesus. That’s the amazing thing. Although Jesus should rightfully be on a throne, he is instead on a cross next to us. He didn’t die for us metaphorically, he died for us actually. More than that, he rose again. For those in Jesus, the cross means hope.
One thing that should not be lost though is that Jesus did not take the man next to him off the cross he was on. Those who follow Jesus always have their crosses intact. However, instead of being a cross that kills us, it’s a cross that kills the sinful nature in us. It’s a cross used for discipline, not destruction. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Although our crosses remain with us, they are no longer a burden. They are a blessing. They are for our ultimate good. Jesus can use them to gently purify us. His “burden is light”. What’s more, when our trust is in him, the ultimate burden is no longer on us. He took that on his cross. So, while our cross is discipline, his is hope for us. And, in the end, we will have “rest for our souls” because of it.
