“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)
I often think of this verse when I am weary or burdened about some trial through which I am going. In this world, it seems all too frequent of an occasion. I guess the old maxim, “Misery loves company” is a good fit. Indeed, Jesus offers us the chance to share our burdens. It doesn’t necessarily lighten our load, but it can change the way we see it and feel about it.
But there is more here than meets the eye about what Jesus is saying. His appeal is not just about sharing our burdens. It’s about partnering with us to change the way we see the trials that life brings our way!
One of the reasons we often miss Jesus’ point is he is comparing our burdens metaphorically to the use of a yoke. This is something most modern-day Christians do not fully understand. The audience to which Jesus was speaking understood exactly what he was saying. It contains an important spiritual truth about living life with the Savior.
Interestingly, what Jesus is saying ties into a long known fact about how much more a team of oxen could plow through a field when a yoke was used to bind them together. The Old Testament even makes reference to it. For example, 1 Samuel 14:14 refers to amount of land a yoke of oxen might plow in a day’s time. In fact, an acre of land was known in Jesus’ day as a yoke of land.
Because we do not fully understand the analogy Jesus is using to those who were in earshot of his voice, we therefore do not fully understand the real power behind his message. His message is not about lightening the load. It’s about partnering with Christ through the burdens. If we realize that we have someone we can lean on in times of need, we can get more done with our lives in spite of the trials we face. It’s why unbelievers often marvel at how Christians seem to persevere through difficult circumstances – often with a smile on their face.
Warren Berkley of The Expository Files makes an important point for me: “Consider taking this yoke. This is not about getting rid of one load in exchange for another load; that isn’t the idea. And I don’t believe we should view this as being harnessed to one side of a yoke, with Christ on the other side where I pull my half, and He pulls the other half. No – that’s not it. I believe all we need to see in the yoke is submission and guidance; as we submit to Christ, we are guided in exactly the path and the work that is right before God! When you decide to get serious about Jesus Christ — when you believe in him, and then do what he says… obeying the gospel and living as His disciple – You are coming to him… You are taking his yoke… you are learning and you are finding rest for your soul.”
When Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light,” he didn’t mean that no effort is required on our parts. Even when we submit to his Lordship, we must work through everyday pain and suffering. That is part of becoming more Christlike, too.
If we are wearing the “Yoke of Christ” and truly seeking to follow his ways, we all know that we can find joy and peace in the worst of circumstances. That’s what John meant when he said, “His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
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