Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I guess here it may seem like Jesus is talking about our physical exertion when laboring and if you feel solace (as I do) in thinking about it this way, nothing is wrong. I will however add that in this verse Jesus was referring to the burden of following the laws of the Old Testament and the additional laws that the “spiritual leaders” would impose on the people of that time, making it hard for them to live. These laws were the means through which they were to receive salvation.
No matter how we follow rules and laws, that cannot save us, as a matter of fact laws in themselves can cause us to fail. A person can decide to keep the law but the heart is lacking.
When Jesus came to earth he came to give us an easier way (his yoke is easy and his burden light) to receive this salvation through the shedding of his blood. He took on the sins and all of the burdens that we were being weighed down with and gave us an easier way – an easier yoke (freedom from the laws of the Old Testament).
This yoke tells us we need to look at our inner self and to pattern our lives like Jesus’ life was here on earth. This yoke is just encouraging us to look within and change our inner selves (the law does not require that of us) to reflect God’s desire for all of us to have a clean heart. As Jesus said “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”.
The Holy Spirit is also integral in making Jesus’ yoke seem lighter. The Holy Spirit does all the work for us if we think about it. If we learn how to yield and learn how to truly surrender ourselves to the works of the Holy Spirit, then we will see that our burdens will become lighter. We will see and accept things differently. We will not be quick to make decisions out of fear but instead we will understand to wait for the leading of the Holy Spirit.
There are so many advantages to taking on Jesus’ yoke that he gives freely, let us connect with him today.
Affirm: I pray today that I will not focus on the Laws given in the Old Testament but instead I will take on the yoke of Jesus which is far superior and supersedes all Laws. I will welcome the Holy Spirit in my life who will make taking on Jesus’ yoke even easier for me, all burdens are removed from me or seem lighter. It is well and I am well.
