His Yoke is Easy, His Burden Light.  Marietjie Chase

If you are tired and weary, if life has smacked you around more than usual... when your back is in the corner and you are facing a giant... when you are trying hard to walk up straight and find yourself mostly wobbling... there is hope for you. We all go through life's ups and downs. We all face things that we really could have done without. We all carry burdens, loads and heaviness.

There is an answer for all this and it is often quoted: Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

This rest is not given indiscriminately like snow and rain. This rest, this comfort is available to all, but only applies to those who comes to Jesus. We have to come to Him and not to all kinds of other places. We will find rest with Him. He has rest for us. This is a great comfort and true, but not the truth. The coming is not all there is to it. We need to read the rest of the story that makes this "truth".


verse 29 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.

Jesus does not say leave your heavy load here. He does not offer to take your burden. He does the illogical thing. He does the Kingdom of God/Heaven thing. He says: "Take my yoke upon you" In the taking of His yoke, our weary load looses its weight and we find rest for our souls.

What is a yoke? It is a thing that you place on the draft animal's neck in order to make him obey the driver. A yoke takes the freedom of the animal and limit it to the will of the driver. It focuses the animals on the purpose in the heart of the driver. A yoke is not a piece of jewelry, it is not for show. It is for the sole purpose of getting the job done.

What is Jesus' yoke? He says to the disciples in John 5:19 "I only do what I see the Father do" and in John 8:28 and 12 :49 He says: " I only say what the Father says." [paraphrased. Also see Matt 26:39, John 6:38 and 14:10, Hebrews 10:7] This is His yoke, His burden. This is what He offers us. Take this yoke, take this limitation. Take this discipline. You will have to learn from Jesus, gentleness and humility for this yoke to fit.

God never gives us something to do without also giving us the "how-to". The "how-to" may not be a quick fix, it may not be what we want to hear but if we follow Him, we can obey ourselves out of the mess. The "how-to" is where most of us bulk and that is why Jesus said that we need to learn humility and gentleness, meekness.

This yoke of Jesus is the heart posture to have a relationship of obedience with God, through Jesus Christ by the ability/power of the Holy Spirit. It is giving up our right to our own will, opinion and agenda. It is even giving up our right to be vindicated and justified. This yoke is the yoke that led to a bloody cross. This yoke is the yoke that have one simple goal: the will of the Father.

What did Jesus say about this, simple yoke: verse 30"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."