WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE JESUS' YOKE
28 COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOUR 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.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)
There is labour and toiling in the world. The people who are labouring and are heavily ladened should come to Christ Jesus to receive rest (Matthew 11:28).
The statement made by Christ Jesus in the next verse, Matthew 11:28, is paradoxical—seemingly contradictory to common sense. How would you say someone should come and receive a rest, and the rest you are offering the person is a yoke. Jesus said whoever takes His yoke and learn of Him will find rest for their souls. The question that may come to mind is, How would a yoke give rest to someone?
He said further that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29,30). How would a yoke be easy and a burden be light at the same time?
Coming to Christ Jesus or accepting Him as your personal Lord and Saviour is a yoke and a burden. When you accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, It means you have given the rein or control of your life to Him. When someone is said to be your Lord, It means the person is your owner. Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour means accepting Him as your Owner. The absolute control of your life is thus given to Him, is no longer in your hand!
It is a yoke in the sense that you are no longer in the control of your life, you are not in the driver's seat of your life; He, Jesus Christ, is the One controlling and directing your life. In other words, the life you are now living is not yours, you are living to please Him and not the self: "I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST; IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME; AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME" (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).
READ: Romans 14:7,8; 1 Peter 4:2
It is unfortunate that a lot of people who accepted Christ Jesus as their Saviour and Lord did not understand this. If they did, they would know the gravity of being born-again and the responsibility It brought on them. A believer in Christ Jesus is no longer living for the self the moment he or she pledges allegiance to Christ Jesus: "AND HE DIED FOR ALL, THAT THOSE WHO LIVE SHOULD LIVE NO LONGER FOR THEMSELVES, BUT FOR HIM WHO DIED FOR THEM AND ROSE AGAIN" (2 Corinthians 5:15 NKJV).
So, being of Christ Jesus is a yoke. You are expected to do nothing again without His knowledge and consent. This is where being a genuine disciple of Christ Jesus is a bit difficult. Many would not accept or subscribe to this kind of teaching because they are raised through pseudo gospel teachings, or they are used to mechanical or phony gospel teachings; where they are taught fables (2 Timothy 4:3,4). But the believers who live where their faith is being persecuted, where being a born-again believer or being a disciple of Christ or a Christian is a matter of death and life, would not say that.
It is a yoke, but the yoke would be made easy (Matthew 11:30). It is also a burden, but the burden would be made light (Matthew 11:30). It is a yoke because you have no decision of your own again. A burden because, the responsibility is a must responsibility that had to be carried out. You do not have the choice to say No, that you would not want to do it: "FOR IF I PREACH THE GOSPEL, I HAVE NOTHING TO BOAST OF, FOR NECESSITY IS LAID UPON ME; YES, WOE IS ME IF I DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL" (1 Corinthians 9:16 NKJV).
It is a yoke in the sense that it is a necessity. It is not what you are expected to say No to, that is, you cannot or should not turn It down, when you are assigned to do whatever in the Kingdom. In other words, whatever you are assigned to do, after being born-again, becomes a responsibility and an obligation at the same time. It is not a thing which you have the choice to accept or reject. It is a must accept responsibility!
Now, some people, even believers, would see this type of teaching as an extreme, because they are not there yet. A mature believer who is there, who has gotten to that level of maturity, would concur or agree that there is nothing extreme about It. Apostle Paul was there, that was why he was saying necessity is laid on him, because It is a must do (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Remember, the yoke is made easy by Christ Jesus, but It is still a yoke. The burden is made light, but It is still a burden. It is a yoke that was made easy and a burden that was made light. You would not even know that you are under any yoke, neither would you know you are carrying any burden, because It is not your own burden to begin with. Whatever is done in God's kingdom on earth is a burden but you are not the owner of the burden, you are just being used as a front or a stooge—a disciple or a missionary.
So, to find a rest in this world of darkness, Jesus' admonition is: "TAKE MY [Jesus'] YOKE UPON YOU AND LEARN FROM ME, FOR I AM GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS" (Matthew 11:23 NKJV).
Rest is found by taking or bearing Jesus' yoke and learning of Him.
Many in the world are looking for rest where It could not be found. Some have even gone to the devil in order to get or have rest, but they have gotten more than what they bargained for. Rest is only found in God, through Jesus Christ:
9 THERE REMAINS THEREFORE A REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. 10 FOR HE WHO HAS ENTERED HIS REST HAS HIMSELF ALSO CEASED FROM HIS WORKS AS GOD DID FROM HIS. 11 LET US THEREFORE BE DILIGENT TO ENTER THAT REST, LEST ANYONE FALL ACCORDING TO THE SAME EXAMPLE OF DISOBEDIENCE" (Hebrews 4:9-11 NKJV).
Peace!
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