Taking on His Yoke
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. (Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV)
These words of Christ speak to the heart of every person. We all labor and are heavy laden in some way or another.
Some labor under the legalism of their religion that demands duty and actions when there is no heart left to give. Religion, if it is to be worthwhile, must do more than demand adherence to rules and regulations, even meaningless rituals. It must change the human heart, give new life to the soul and spirit where death has reigned.
Some labor under the guilt of their moral failings, having no release from conscience that constantly convicts them. How may a man escape from himself? He cannot, for wherever he goes he takes his conscience with him.
Some labor under the burden of unlove, feeling alone and neglected and forgotten. Loneliness of soul is a terrible burden to carry through life. It makes each day a burden in and of itself — just to get out of bed and go about the responsibilities and activities of life.
And there are a thousand other types of burdens: debt, sickness, death, work-related problems, chemical addictions, poverty, stress, worry over loved ones, alcoholism, etc.
The image of a yoke in this scripture is that a human being may become like a beast of burden whose whole existence seems comparable to an ox pulling a heavy load up a long and steep hill, seemingly endless. God’s creature — mankind — that was created to rule in freedom over creation has become beast-like in the burdens of life. Yokes were compared in the Bible to: slavery (Lev. 26:13); sin (Lam. 1:14); afflictions (Lam. 3:27); and legalized religion (Gal. 5:1).
Christ promises to exchange His light and easy yoke for these and for anything that weighs us down. The basis on which He makes this promise is His own character. Christ was meek, gentle, and lowly in heart. He is compassionate and knows how struggles and our fears. Meekness is not the same as weakness, and it does not mean a complete absence of the awareness of one’s rights. both Christ and Paul objected to their unfair treatment (John 18:23 and Acts 16:37). Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ despised the shame of the cross, knowing that it was unjust and unholy.
Meekness is the nature of one, however, who holds no anger toward those who treat him unfairly, who leaves vengeance in the hands of God, who patiently endures injury and insult. Ultimately it is the nature of one who lives fully under the authority of God. Anger and vengeance, when placed in the hands of mankind, will normally do more harm than good, wounding the innocent. The one who is vengeful is normally angry toward total strangers — this trait that psychology calls “transference,” transferring anger against one person to anger against another one, or all people.
Christ had none of this in His soul. And because of who He was and is, we can trust Him. We take on His yoke through faith and surrender. We take off the yokes and burdens of the world and trust in Him.
He gives grace to the sinner. Grace is like a drink of cool water to our parched souls. We find in the gospel that we are unable to pay for our own sins through good works or through religious rituals. Any religion that preaches atonement through our own acts is empty and false. In Christ, however, we find that He paid the price entirely and all we need to do or can do is to receive His gift of forgiveness. In Christ we no longer run from our consciences, rather we may agree with everything they say to our hearts about our sins, but we look upon Christ who has paid the price adn the burden of sin is lifted.
He gives strength to the weary. To the lonely He is our friend. To the enslaved by sin He is our Liberator. To the confused and misdirected He becomes the One we follow. To the worn out and exhausted He becomes our strength. We find that He is fit for every challenge of life. Once inner peace is established by His Spirit, we are amazed at how much strength we have for the opportunities and challenges of life.
He gives eternal life to the believer. Life becomes an upward path — but not as a burden of beast dragging a heavy load. Rather the upward path is one of life and grace. We look forward to eternity, knowing that He has a purpose for us there also. In heaven eventually all of the things that wound and separate and harden our hearts against one another will be removed, and there we will be with Him and serve Him in glory. But we taste that glory today, and we experience in part what we will experience in whole for eternity.
Are you tired of your burdens? Give them to Christ. Let Him minister His grace, His strength, and His life to your heart.
