The Yoke

“Are you burdened?  Overwhelmed?  Weighed down?   Come to Me.  Let me put this 15 pound contraption on you!”

As I read Matthew 11:28-30 yesterday, this is the way it hit me!   It had to sound like that to the early listeners, too.  

A yoke was a carved wooden piece that harnessed two oxen together so they’d work together side-by-side.  Jesus was telling the people—US!—to come and yoke up with him.  It’s a choice.  

You have to:

Submit

Commit

Admit

Submit to Jesus.  

You have to humble yourself and confess you need him and are willing to walk his way and at his pace.  You have to give up your frenzy.  You have to let go of your will.  

Commit to a yoke.  A yoke comes across your shoulders and fastens around your neck.  It’s a commitment—because once it’s on, your locked in.  You’ve weighed the options and know if you keep going your way, you’ll be exhausted and wasted.  But…if you commit to being yoked with Jesus, he’ll carry the heavier weight and he’ll teach you his way.   His way is slower, unhurried, focused, humble, gentle, restful.  Don’t you want that?   You have to commit.  

You have to admit you can’t do it alone and you have a need to walk with the Savior.  While this sounds easy, it’s the hardest part.  Our flesh wants to scream, “I CAN DO IT MYSELF!!!!”  We want to prove—willfully—that we’ve got this.  We think our way is best.  But when we can finally admit that our way is getting us nowhere and that we’re exhausted with the process…there’s hope.  

When you yoke yourself with Jesus, it’s perfectly carved and fitted so that Jesus carries the heavier burden.  It’s not that he wants to strap pounds of weight on you…he just wants you to stay CONNECTED to him so you don’t run off and exhaust yourself.  He wants you to slow down and learn how to do this the right way.  He wants you to rest.  He wants you to focus. He wants you listening to him and learning from him.  

Will you commit to being locked in with him?  Yes, it will slow you down.  But if you’ll let it, it will teach you everything you need to know about life.  It will bring REST. 

“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.”

Matthew 11:28-30