Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
The Lord took me to the word yoke and this scripture in an interesting
way about a month ago. I can tell when God is trying to show me something or
speak to me because one thing He does is He will put the thought, scripture, or
word in my mind and heart. Then usually He will keep bringing it to me in
different ways, sermons, books, and in His word for a length of time. I don’t
have to do it He does it.
A yoke is a wooden piece that fastens or joins two animals or oxen
together at the head and neck. I went out for wrestling in 8th grade
through high school, I can tell you and you learn real quick where the head
goes the rest of the body goes. When you are fasten or yoked to Jesus you
become a team or one and join Him in the work He has for you. When you read the
word of God and walk with Jesus you learn that Jesus is all about His Father’s
will and business and you will be too. This is what Jesus told Joseph and Mary
when they were looking for Him and thought He was lost when He was 11. Luke 2:49 “And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must
be about My Father’s business?” At a conference recently an older man said in a
workshop that God has spoken to him throughout his life. But God has never
spoken to him about him or what he wanted. God always has spoken to him about
God’s word and His business and Kingdom. When you yoke to Jesus you surrender
your will and life to join and become one with Him. You are free from having to
carry any other yoke from man or system or belief. Acts 15:10 “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke
on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to
bear?”
This is how yoke is defined on blue letter bible. 1) a yoke a) a
yoke that is put on draught cattle
b) metaph., used of any burden or bondage 1) as that of slavery 2) of troublesome laws imposed on one,
esp. of the Mosaic law, hence the name is so transferred to the commands of
Christ as to contrast them with the commands of the Pharisees which were a
veritable 'yoke'; yet even Christ's commands must be submitted to, though
easier to be kept 2) a balance, pair of scales
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” Jesus is
the creator of everything seen and unseen. He has all power and authority in
heaven and on earth. When you accept Jesus you are a son of God and a joint
heir of the King. You are on an amazing journey for the real King. The kingdom
of God is put in your heart and you are put in the vineyard owned by the King
and connected to the true vine, Jesus to produce fruit that brings glory to
God.
In this
the blue letter shows a contrast from the commands and way of Jesus compared to
the Mosaic law and commands of the Pharisees. The word veritable means that it
is a real yoke that man tried to carry. When Jesus came He freed us from that
yoke and put the Kingdom of God in our hearts, sealed us with the Holy Spirit
and made a new covenant with all who believe and accept Him as their Lord and
savior. A person is able to obey God’s word and love others because of what
Jesus and the Holy Spirit does deep inside of a person.
The pair
of scales was interesting to me at first. I know that scales are for balancing
and weighing. We are all different and God speaks to us sometimes differently. This
is one thing that came to me thinking about this. When we are yoked to anything
in a way other then fully yoked to Jesus I think the other yoke can pull or
draw us from continuing to grow our roots deeper into Jesus. There is many
scripture that speaks of this Colossians 2:6-7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the
faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you, unless you abide in Me.”
In the beginning of chapter 11 Jesus is teaching to the crowds or multitudes
about the His Kingdom. He was speaking to common people not rulers or leaders
or people of higher stature. Jesus is teaching them about His kingdom and this
new way. This was different than any other system, government, religion, or way
of man at the time and is the same for today. Jesus came right in the middle of
all this with a new way. It was so different look at who God used to pave the
way for Jesus, John the Baptist. Jesus is telling the crowd who did you go to
see, Matthew 11:7-9 “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go
out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go
out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.” John the
Baptist was Jesus cousin a man filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mothers
womb. Raised in the wilderness away from any worldly or religious system. He
dressed different then others, camel hair and ate different locust and honey.
He preached about the coming of the Kingdom and Jesus to masses of people in
the wilderness by the Jordan river by trade routes where people would travel.
So I think this would be a bold loud clear statement that hey this is a new way
and deal. I don’t think John came to mess around or for his own agenda.
When you yoke to Jesus you surrender your will and life and accept His
plan and ways. This can be hard putting your complete trust and faith in Jesus.
Jesus came to do the complete will of God and Gods ways are way different then
our ways. Jesus said this of John the Baptist, Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women
there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in
the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Even John while he was in prison doubted
that Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus says in verse 11:6 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of
Me.” Jesus was and has always been a huge problem for some people and a
stumbling block for the Jews. But He is God, our master and savior and
salvation eternal life is found only in his name. Acts 4:11-12 “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the
chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must
be saved.”
You give your life to Jesus and stop building your own kingdom and help
play a part in building God’s Kingdom. You surrender give up your ideal and
agenda and learn and accept God’s way for your life. The word ideal means: Satisfying one’s conception of
what is perfect. Existing only in the imagination; desirable or perfect but not
likely to become a reality: in
an ideal world. a
person or thing regarded as perfect: you’re my ideal of how a man should be a standard of perfection; a
principle to be aimed at. We desire and want to become like Jesus, He is God and the perfect man or example for us. We have the
Holy Spirit inside us and the word of God to teach us how to become like Jesus.
When we are reborn spiritually we have God’s nature, character, the fruit of
the Spirit inside of us to help us become like Jesus. In verse 11:29 Jesus says
let me teach you, because I am humble or meek or gentle and I am lowly at heart
and I will give you rest for your souls. You don’t have to strive to be someone
He didn’t make you to take on a yoke or ideal someone has in their mind
of who you should be. We have to be careful we yoke to Jesus and not others
ideas. Jesus says I am lowly at heart, the blue letter defines lowly as: Not rising far from the ground, as a condition, lowly, of
low degree, brought low with grief, depressed lowly in spirit, humble. John the
Baptist said in John 3:30 “He must increase, but
I must decrease.”
The Pharisees
sure didn’t want to give up their higher position and ideal of what they
thought the kingdom and Jesus should be like. The pharisees didn't want to give up their ideal of what they thought success was in their mind and except Jesus so the real power of God could work in their life. We are not the Pharisees but we
can sure take on their nature and a yoke of other systems, beliefs or ideas of
man. Jesus warned the disciples many times beware of the yeast or leaven of
Herod, Sadducees, or Pharisees. We know that yeast makes things rise. Make sure
the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-31 which is compared to the Kingdom of God
but is a small herb a humble garden plant. Grow more disciples lowly and humble
like Jesus not an elevated hierarchy full of pride. Make sure the leaven or
yeast in verse 33 is from the kingdom of Jesus and not any other system or idea
from man. Sometimes I think we can get comfortable and forget that we are in a
real spiritual battle against evil rulers, principalities,
and hosts of darkness. They can operate and work within these other systems.
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