We have all likely read Matthew 11:29 multiple times. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.”
This is a partial quote from Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
It is also a reference to Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
A yoke is an ancient image which we do not often see today. The most common form of a yoke was with cattle and horses. The yoke was a means of connecting two animals together to multiply the pulling power and carrying capacity.
Each animal wore a large collar which was used to connect a wagon or equipment. The yoke was then connected to each animal’s collar. The yoke served several purposes beyond just multiplying power. The yoke helped one animal if it stumbled or lost its footing. Alone, the animal may have suffered injury or fallen. The yoke also ensured that the weight of the burden was shared.
The image Jesus portrays is that, while we have burdens, His yoke is not demanding and is easy to tolerate. There is much more here than we will unpack today.
There is something in the words of Christ that I have not noticed previously. The yoke is a symbol of movement. There is no need for a yoke if the animals are staying put in the stable or corral. The yoke is only necessary when animals are pressed into service and moving forward. The yoke symbolizes transporting cargo, carting people around, digging up the ground for planting seed, or assisting in the harvest of grain and vegetables.
When Jesus refers to the yoke, it is a symbol of movement. Acts 24:14, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 3:14 Where is Christ going? In John 12:32, Jesus makes reference to the cross and says that after He is lifted up “He will draw all [people] to Himself.” In other words, we are being drawn (movement) into Christlikeness or into the perfection of Christ. Romans 16:26, Matthew 5:48, Philippians 1:6
The yoke is a symbol not just of movement but also of work. In Galatians 5, we read of both the fruit of unrighteousness and the fruit of the Spirit. There is nothing in between. We are either working the deeds of the flesh unto unrighteousness or the deeds of the Spirit unto perfection. When we work the deeds of the Spirit, leading to perfection, we are assisted by the Holy Spirit. We have His strength and His grace to complete the task. “For of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16
As it is not something we do on our own, we have supernatural help from God to carry this burden and complete the task.
There is no perfection without work, practice, and completing tasks. In our forward movement, we will have trials and tribulations. We are attached to a yoke, on the other end of which is the same Christ who said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness,” and Paul replied, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
The difficulties of Paul were engineered to shape him into perfection, or perfect love for God. Paul expresses contentment with his burden because he had God’s grace to bear the load. Thus, he pressed forward with Christ sharing the load through the yoke. We would often prefer to avoid difficulty or to pause forward movement until the difficulty is resolved. However, that is not the image portrayed by the yoke. Christ calls us to press forward into the difficulty, where we will find His grace and His strength.
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