Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you.

5. (a) To whom was the invitation of Jesus extended in his day? (b) Was the Mosaic law in itself a burden?

⁵ The invitation is extended to all those who are toiling and loaded down. In Jesus’ day the reference was made specifically to those who were under obligation to the Mosaic law. At Acts 15:10 the Christian apostle Peter, speaking to the older men of Jerusalem, said: “Why are you making a test of God by imposing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we were capable of bearing?” Peter was referring to the Mosaic law as a yoke that obligated them to an unbearable burden. Not because the law in itself was burdensome; it was not. The law was “holy and righteous and good.” (Rom. 7:12) But imperfect man found it burdensome because he could not meet its perfect standard. Christ freed all those yoked in this manner from this obligation.​—Gal. 3:13.

6-8. To whom else was Jesus’ invitation extended?

⁶ The grand invitation to “come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down,” was also extended to those burdened down by the vain traditional systems of the day. Speaking of the scribes and Pharisees who fostered these traditions, Jesus said: “They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger.” (Matt. 23:4; Mark 7:2-5) By being so particular about the minor details, the Pharisees completely overlooked the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus freed people from such enslaving tradition, which was vain worship.​—Matt. 15:1-9.

⁷ The invitation was also addressed to those who felt the crushing weight of Caesar’s domination and taxation; and to those who felt themselves “skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt. 9:36; 22:17-21) The application of Jesus’ solution would bring refreshment for these too.

⁸ Jesus also addressed himself to those who felt the weight of their sins through an afflicted conscience. The practice of sin leads to degradation and corruption of the lowest kind, and turns men into the greatest poverty. (Matt. 6:23) These could be freed of their burden by responding to Jesus’ invitation to “come to me.”