Bible Studies

The Yoke's on You

by Terry Barlow
02/03/14
For Sale
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Jesus said for us who are over-burdened (heavy-laden) to come to Him. This remains our main calling as believers, to come to Him, cultivating the fellowship of that relationship. "Keep company with me" one translation says, or "Keep me company" says Jesus, not because he is lonely but because he knows we were created for that and only find fulfillment that way. That idea also includes allowing him to keep US company. He promises us rest if we do so. To get the full idea of this rest we can consider these synonyms which help to define rest for us. Rest is relief, rest is relative ease, rest is refreshment, rest is recreation, and rest is blessed quiet. He then commands us to take his yoke upon us. In those days oxen were paired in such a way that there was always a stronger "veteran" ox coupled with a younger weaker novice. The strong one would bear the brunt of the load and do the hardest work. Jesus is implying that He is that veteran strong one who will do the hard part. He certainly did at the cross, defeating sin and death, and taking our punishment. He is not saying we will do nothing, only that it will be easy and light alongside His work, perfectly suited to us. Remember how he sent his disciples out by twos. Ideally one would be more mature and could mentor the less mature one and teach by example. (The three greatest concentrations of miracles in Bible history took place in mentoring relationships between first, Moses and Joshua, second, Elijah and Elisha, and, third, between Jesus and his apostles. In each of these cases a mantle was being passed on to the next "wave" of God's activity.) Thus Jesus says, "learn from me." That's what a disciple is literally, a learner. Then Jesus says that he is gentle and lowly in heart, also translated meek and humble in heart. This seems to be the only place in the New Testament where Jesus calls attention to one of his own virtues, as Moses must have done when he said in the Pentatuch that he was the meekest man on the face of the earth. Remember that Moses is the one who wrote the Pentatuch or first five books of the Bible. so it was unusual or him to call attention to himself that way as it was for Jesus here in Matthew's gospel. Another place too in Matthew's gospel in chapter 27 verse 32 we read of Simon of Cyrene who helped carry Jesus's cross. At that point Jesus was so weak physically that Simon had to carry the brunt of the load if not all of it. The roles were reversed in this case, for Simon had the role of the strong ox. But still it is a good picture of how Jesus comes to our aid today when we are overwhelmed and exhausted and hurting as he was then. This example helps to show us that the yoke we are to take is like a cross. We come under the shadow and provision of the cross like the ancient Israelites came under the lintel of the doorway that was painted like the doorposts with the sacrificial blood. That blood protected them from the vengeance of the angel of death, but it had to be applied; it would've done the Isaelites no good had it remained in the basin.  In the same way it does us no good to merely give mental assent to the fact that Jesus shed his blood for us without APPLYING that blood to our lives by faith.  Jesus, who during his earthly life was similarly yoked in fellowship to his Heacenly Father,  is also promising that the yoke we are to wear with him will not be ill-fitting but is actually designed to suit us. He also commands his disciples in other parts of the gospels to take up their crosses, which are actually different and custom-made for each one of us. A great teacher once said that the first thing a new believer ought to do when he responds to an invitation is to come to the front of the sanctuary and kneel under a yoke like the kind Jesus was speaking of in this passage. It would give them a better idea of what was really happening. Of course, Jesus would be joining them under that yoke. In fact Jesus and Joseph probably made those kind of yokes for a living. There's a tradition that says that over their workshop were the words: "This yoke is fitted (or suited) for you." (The yoke's on you!) There is no way to prove that,  but it could be true. About a hundred years after Christ a historian wrote that a plough had been found that Jesus made and must have marked with his or Joseph's name. We know from Jesus's character that whatever he would have made as a carpenter would have been made to last! Jesus mentions rest again in the next verse so it must be very important. There he says we will find rest for our souls as we receive his yoke. As we rest, wonders will occur as Jesus is free to operate! Staying with that comparison of our yokes to our crosses, we often try to determine what our crosses actually are, these crosses that we are to take up on a daily basis. This can be a futile exercise, trying to figure out what our crosses are, because there is meant to be a certain mystery about it, just as there is with the cross of our Savior Jesus Christ, only that mystery is on a much larger scale. Finally Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden light. As we examine that word "easy" we find that it means: wholesome, useful, good, comfortable, gracious, pleasant, and not harsh, not hard, not sharp, not pressing (not jarring, I would add) or ill-fitting. These synonyms are surprisingly like those for the word "prosper" in psa 122 verse 6, where David asks that those who love Jerusalem be prospered. Prosperity in that context carries the meaning of "at ease, care-free, relaxed, content and secure." This is one of the rarest combination of qualities ever found in a person in our hectic high-speed society today. When I hear this last qualification "not ill-fitting" I think of David in 1 Samuel 17 trying to wear Saul's armor to go out and battle Goliath. First he had to convince Saul that he was equal to such a great task. His resume' included having defeated a bear and a lion while defending his sheep. God had brought him gradually to this level where by His grace he could challenge a giant. Once Saul was convinced he assumed that his own armor would be best for the duel: his armor, his helmet, his sword, his coat of mail, but David trying them on for size, couldn't "walk" in them because he hadn't tested them through his own experience. That which had been tested was his staff, his shepherd's bag, his pouch, and his sling for which he fetched the 5 smooth stones from the brook. It was these he used to defeat Goliath, and David hadn't even joined the army yet! Imagine what he might go on to do in the name of his LORD of Hosts as an actual soldier and officer in the army! And imagine what we too will do or, rather, He will do through us as we allow Jesus to fit us to our proper yokes and crosses, and clothe us with the armor that we can walk in and run in and effectively use in battle. As a Phillipino pastor said after the recent typhoon, "This world is not our home, this world is our battleground. So we can say, Lord, take us to the battle!"

   Finally Paul exclaimed in Romans 7, "O, wretched man that I am" before describing the breakthrough in the following chapter.   Part of the meaning for "wretched" is to be miserably overworked and pulled in opposite directions.  That brings to clarity the beauty of the yoke that Jesus is offering us, one in which we are not overworked, one in which there is even timely leisure provided, as we pull together in the same direction.  Hallelujah!!