Take My Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”

Good evening and welcome to the Panhandle. Tonight we see Christ Jesus talking about taking up His yoke. Just what is a yoke? A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull. Or a frame fitting over the neck and shoulders of a person, used for carrying pails or baskets. Why wood Christ Jesus use this piece of equipment here in this general command? Well come on in and hang out for awhile as we open God's Word and take a closer look.

There is a legend that Christ Jesus, in the carpenter shop in Galilee, made the best yokes in all of Galilee. The yoke was tailor-made to fit each ox. Above the door may have been a sign which read, “My yokes fit well.” And now, according to this legend, Jesus could have been illustrating from the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth to say, “My yoke fits well.” In this passage Jesus is saying, “Yoke yourself with me, for my task for you is shared and made easy and the burden is light.” Handel incorporated this in the immortalized Messiah in a great chorus of praise, “His yoke is easy, His burden is light.” This is the joyous word of salvation in contrast to a legalism that obscured the mercy of God.¹

Christ Jesus, the Son of the Highest, the reveler of God then and now; He commands all of us to draw near to Himself without fear, and rest in that nearness.

The “me” is grammatically unemphatic but in the wake of v. 27 extremely important. Christ Jesus invites the “weary” (those who have become weary through heavy struggling or toil) and the “burdened” (the passive side of weariness, overloaded like beasts of burden) to come to Him; and He (not the Father) will give them rest. There is an echo of Jeremiah 31:25, where Yahweh refreshes His people through the new covenant²

There is a marked contrast between Christ Jesus’ yoke and that of those who's view reject laws or legalism and those who defend strict legalism. Actually Christ Jesus' statement is far more radical than either party. These verses don't really address salvation by law vs. salvation by grace. No, the contrast here is between the burden of submission to the Old Testament in terms of Pharisaic regulation and the relief of coming to Christ Jesus, God/man as the authority and Reveler to whom the Old Testament, truly points to.

Christ Jesus’ rest is a yoke that unites us with Himself. He offers rest, because He is not only the bearer of our burdens to God, He is God. Such rest is found in the singleness of a relationship with Christ Jesus, the rest of knowing His provision as a completed salvation. Discipleship is thereby kept from being a legalistic striving and is instead a joyous fellowship.³

Christ Jesus’ singular position as God/man, the Son of God; qualifies Him to give “rest” to the spiritually “weary and heavy-laden.” The offer comes not from a relaxation of God’s moral requirements, but from Christ Jesus’ partnership with us under the same “yoke.”⁴ In coming to Him there is a peace which passeth all understanding; in believing in Him, joy; in following Him through evil and good report, a comfort which the world giveth not; in bearing trials and in persecution, the hope of glory; and in keeping His commandments, great reward.⁵

Thanks for hang out with me. I pray that you would turn your burdens over to Christ Jesus and take up His yoke.

Your brother in Christ

Biblesurfer

1 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 278). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

3 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

4 Fee, G. D., & Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (Eds.). (2011). The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (p. 532). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

5 Barnes, A. (1884–1885). Notes on the New Testament: Matthew & Mark. (R. Frew, Ed.) (p. 124). London: Blackie & Son.