The Yoke of Christ

The Yoke of Christ......Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph.

When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen.

That's the yoke Jesus invites us to take.

Do not be misled by the word "easy," for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were "well-fitting."

The yoke Jesus invites us to take, the yoke that brings rest to weary souls, is one that is made exactly to our lives and hearts.
The yoke he invites us to wear fits us well, does not rub us nor cause us to develop sore spirits and is designed for two. His yokes were always designed for two. And our yoke-partner is none other than Christ himself.

Running throughout all scripture from the beginning to the end is the theme that ours is a burden bearing Christ. He is not just a Lord whom we burden, and we do, but a Lord who actually solicits our burdens.

Others tell it this way….

Younger, smaller animals were placed next to an experienced animal - often times the younger was so small that the yoke did not even touch the animal the older one did all the work....

as the newer animal grew into the yoke he began to share the load of the more experienced animal - when the first animal was no longer able to continue working the second animal was ready to start the process all over again...

And so, the yoke joins two oxen together to work as a team.

When Jesus invites us to take his yoke and to learn from him, he is inviting us to join him in harness -- to allow him to take the lead -- to let him help us through difficult places -- to let him show us how it is done.

Take MY Yoke Upon You! He says….

There’s an old story about a little boy who was out helping dad with the yard work. Dad asked him to pick up the rocks in a certain area of the yard. Dad looked over and saw him struggling to pull up a huge rock buried in the dirt. The little boy struggled and struggled while Dad watched. Finally, the boy gave up and said, "I can't do it." Dad asked, "Did you use all of your strength?" The little boy looked hurt and said, "Yes, sir. I used every ounce of strength I have." The father smiled and said, "No you didn't. You didn't ask me to help." The father walked over and then the two of them pulled that big rock out of the dirt.

The term "yoke of the law" was familiar to the hearers. The yoke or burden of the Pharisees was more than the people could bear (Matthew 23:4).
Jesus' invitation was not to unbridled freedom, but rather to experience rest by accepting the yoke of Christ.
The stole that many of the elders wear is the sign of the yoke or the burden of ministry around our shoulders.

And so, this Invitation is for you this day... Let the weary and the burdened come to Jesus for rest.

Jesus implied that all humankind are in some way burdened.

There is the burden of our anxieties and of our fears.

There is the burden of our temptations and our responsibilities.

I think of the burden of our loneliness, maybe after bereavement, and the burden people have when they sense that life has no meaning, and above all, there is the burden of our failures and of our guilt.

What a burden they can be!

But Jesus promises to ease our yoke, to lift our burden, to give us rest, and to set us free.

He is the world's supreme burden bearer.

His burden is light. He indeed, helps us carry our load, walking with us, sharing our pain, our joy, our life experience.

& He invites us to “take that yoke”. Bear One another’s burdens & so fulfill the Law of Christ.

This day, receive the mantle, the yoke, the stole of service. It is made just for you.

And even as you are fed, you are called to feed.

Take MY Yoke Upon You! He says, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. Amen.