Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ~ Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
Every rabbi had his yoke—a set of teachings taken from Scripture that would help his disciples live out God’s truths in the world.
A yoke is also a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over two animals and then attached to a plow or cart. It enables them to pull the load. Each animal has an equal burden and therefore less than if they were pulling it on their own.
However, in Jesus’s yoke, He takes on the greater burden. We just follow while seeking to emulate Him. The gist of Jesus’s yoke is to love God with your heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s easy because it’s simple to understand but it’s not always easy to live out in the world. This is because the commitment of being yoked to Jesus requires that we give up our own opinions in order to spend our lives in a greater way. We deny ourselves and help others any chance we get. Sharing His love in practical ways gives us credibility to also share the Gospel with them.
This yoke is a lifelong learning process, but the more you grow in it, the more joy and peace you feel. You learn to let the Lord help you in every endeavor and His strength becomes your joy.
His yoke is easy to understand, but it can feel hard because it attacks our pride and our need to take care of ourselves first.