An easy yoke...

“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden 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 shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

            It is commonly taught that Jesus was talking in this passage about a yoke that harnessed two animals together when pulling a plow.  This yoke was a large piece of wood, fashioned by a carpenter to allow two animals of equal size and strength to pull together, enabling greater strength than either could summon alone.  The more skilled the carpenter, the better the yoke would fit and the easier the pull would be on the animals.  Animals of different size or strength were never to be yoked together as this would cause the weaker animal damage.

            While all of this is true, there was another kind of yoke in use in Bible times.  Often a piece of wood was fitted over the shoulders of a servant so that loads could be hung from it.  A slave or porter was often asked to carry loads that were humanly impossible to carry.  When given a yoke, the loads became much more easily transported.  A yoke was a tool of mercy.

            Jesus removed the burden of sin.  St. Augustine said that when the burden of sin was removed, all other burdens become bearable.  Jesus never tells us that He will take our burdens away, only that He will never give us more than we can bear.  He does promise that, as the Master carpenter, His yoke will be easy and our burden light.  We must choose to wear His yoke.  We must make the choice to be a servant, to do the things the Master wants in the way the Master wants them done.  When we put on His yoke, fashioned by His expert hands especially to fit us, we find that the work is light.  When we struggle under a burden that seems too much to carry, we can come to Him.  He has promised to give us rest.

            Today when you struggle, weary and heavy hearted, instead of looking at the burden, look at the yoke.  The yoke Jesus made is light, but often we struggle under a yoke of our own, amateur making.  We’re just servants, not carpenters.  Put down your burden.  Take off your yoke and come to Jesus for rest.  Learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble hearted.  Let Him give you a yoke of His choosing.