The Easy Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus spoke these words to the Jewish people, who were students of the Law of Moses. Laden down with the burden of keeping the Law in its perfection, the people had grown weary and tired. The Law of God is holy and just and good (Romans 7:12), but man is none of those things, thus he becomes heavy-laden when he tries to live beneath its demands.

When you live beneath the demands of the law, sin will dominate you (Romans 6:14). Weariness ensues when you are always trying to live up to a standard that cannot be achieved through human effort. The Law was never given to be lived perfectly, for that is an impossible task. Instead, the Law was given to show man his sin, so that he would know his need for grace (Romans 5:20).

Some have tried to explain Law as being anything that you do to achieve righteousness, and while that definition is true; it is the weakest example of the Law. Paul described the Law as the 10 Commandments (2 Corinthians 3:7) and the ordinances written by hand (Colossians 2:14). Concentrating on everything that is Law is a form of telling you what to avoid and what to do. Within itself, that is a form of the Law! Let us concentrate on the grace and favor of God in order to be free from the dominion of sin. If we focus our attention on Jesus and His grace then we are finished with trying to figure out what is Law.

The Jews that Jesus spoke to are a type of the believer and the sinner who think that their works give them some standing with God. Believers are saved by grace, but many go on working the Law in order to achieve standing or goodness with God, though these things are unnecessary. Sinners do good works for the same reasons, hoping to earn heaven with their actions. Jesus came to set all of us free from our lifestyle of good works. The believer can rest from their deeds seeing as they are the righteousness of God in Christ; and sinners can be saved by accepting Jesus, whether they understand the Law or not.

When you lay down the yoke of the Law, Jesus gives you the yoke of His grace. While religion takes the yoke of sin and replaces it with the yoke of the Law (which unwittingly brings power back to the sin); Jesus takes off the yoke of the Law and replaces it with grace. We are not above grace, but under it, with Jesus protecting us from the cares of this life (Romans 6:14).

Christianity is a day-to-day learning experience of who Jesus is. Notice that Jesus tells us to “learn of me”, not “learn how to live”. When we learn of Jesus we are learning how to let Him live through us. Unfortunately, many of us are concentrating on how to live right, while Jesus in His mercy and grace wants to live His life through us. Learn of Him and His finished work; the price that He paid for your health, wholeness and salvation, and you will know how to live. True relationship will bring His righteousness out in your lifestyle, and you will never even think about it.

When your Christianity begins to feel hard and heavy, reevaluate your relationship with the Lord. Jesus said that the yoke of grace is “easy” and His burden is “light”. If you are told that Christianity is hard, that message is being presented to you by those who are still viewing their works as the basis for their blessings. You are free in Jesus and His lifestyle is easy and His burden is light. In Jesus, “find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

That I May Know Him

Philippians 3:10

If there is any one that ever lived that could claim to know the character of the risen Christ, surely it was the Apostle Paul. Yet, when writing to the church at Philippi, he says, “That I may know him”, as if there is more for him to know. How telling is this? If Paul had more to learn of the glorious Savior, surely we have a world of knowledge awaiting us!

The context of Paul’s request is a recap of his life prior to meeting Jesus. He counts all previous knowledge and law keeping as “loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7), and “dung” (Verse 8), willing to exchange them “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. The thirst for knowledge is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings as he challenges believers to come to a fuller understanding of whom that they are in Christ. Notice his insistence:

“And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” (Romans 15:14)

“That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 1:5)

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

These are just a few examples of Paul appealing to the knowledge of the believer. His belief was that there was no greater knowledge to be found than that which brings Christ into fuller light in your heart and mind. There was and still is, always something more to learn about our Savior.

The fullness of knowledge is linked to the fullness of spirit. Paul goes on to say, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12). The daily increase in his knowledge of who Jesus was led him to an apprehension of what it meant to be complete in Christ. The more that he learned of Christ, the more that he felt complete or “perfect”.

Jesus told us to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). Daily resting in Christ, whose yoke is “easy” and whose “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30), causes us to “learn” who He is. The more we rest in His finished work, the more that our awareness of His love and compassion is for us.

As you go about your day, take every available moment to dwell on the Father’s love for you. As you allow grace to wash over your soul, you place yourself beneath the yoke of Christ which is easy and light. Every moment that you rest under that yoke, you come into a fuller knowledge of who Christ is, which leads you one step further to living a perfect lifestyle. I do not insinuate that you will never fail again, but the goal in Christianity is to let Christ live His life through us, and that will be a life free from the stain and the failure of sin.

The Easy Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus spoke these words to the Jewish people, who were students of the Law of Moses. Laden down with the burden of keeping the Law in its perfection, the people had grown weary and tired. The Law of God is holy and just and good (Romans 7:12), but man is none of those things, thus he becomes heavy-laden when he tries to live beneath its demands.

When you live beneath the demands of the law, sin will dominate you (Romans 6:14). Weariness ensues when you are always trying to live up to a standard that cannot be achieved through human effort. The Law was never given to be lived perfectly, for that is an impossible task. Instead, the Law was given to show man his sin, so that he would know his need for grace (Romans 5:20).

Some have tried to explain Law as being anything that you do to achieve righteousness, and while that definition is true; it is the weakest example of the Law. Paul described the Law as the 10 Commandments (2 Corinthians 3:7) and the ordinances written by hand (Colossians 2:14). Concentrating on everything that is Law is a form of telling you what to avoid and what to do. Within itself, that is a form of the Law! Let us concentrate on the grace and favor of God in order to be free from the dominion of sin. If we focus our attention on Jesus and His grace then we are finished with trying to figure out what is Law.

The Jews that Jesus spoke to are a type of the believer and the sinner who think that their works give them some standing with God. Believers are saved by grace, but many go on working the Law in order to achieve standing or goodness with God, though these things are unnecessary. Sinners do good works for the same reasons, hoping to earn heaven with their actions. Jesus came to set all of us free from our lifestyle of good works. The believer can rest from their deeds seeing as they are the righteousness of God in Christ; and sinners can be saved by accepting Jesus, whether they understand the Law or not.

When you lay down the yoke of the Law, Jesus gives you the yoke of His grace. While religion takes the yoke of sin and replaces it with the yoke of the Law (which unwittingly brings power back to the sin); Jesus takes off the yoke of the Law and replaces it with grace. We are not above grace, but under it, with Jesus protecting us from the cares of this life (Romans 6:14).

Christianity is a day-to-day learning experience of who Jesus is. Notice that Jesus tells us to “learn of me”, not “learn how to live”. When we learn of Jesus we are learning how to let Him live through us. Unfortunately, many of us are concentrating on how to live right, while Jesus in His mercy and grace wants to live His life through us. Learn of Him and His finished work; the price that He paid for your health, wholeness and salvation, and you will know how to live. True relationship will bring His righteousness out in your lifestyle, and you will never even think about it.

When your Christianity begins to feel hard and heavy, reevaluate your relationship with the Lord. Jesus said that the yoke of grace is “easy” and His burden is “light”. If you are told that Christianity is hard, that message is being presented to you by those who are still viewing their works as the basis for their blessings. You are free in Jesus and His lifestyle is easy and His burden is light. In Jesus, “find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

That I May Know Him

Philippians 3:10

If there is any one that ever lived that could claim to know the character of the risen Christ, surely it was the Apostle Paul. Yet, when writing to the church at Philippi, he says, “That I may know him”, as if there is more for him to know. How telling is this? If Paul had more to learn of the glorious Savior, surely we have a world of knowledge awaiting us!

The context of Paul’s request is a recap of his life prior to meeting Jesus. He counts all previous knowledge and law keeping as “loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7), and “dung” (Verse 8), willing to exchange them “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. The thirst for knowledge is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings as he challenges believers to come to a fuller understanding of whom that they are in Christ. Notice his insistence:

“And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” (Romans 15:14)

“That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 1:5)

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

These are just a few examples of Paul appealing to the knowledge of the believer. His belief was that there was no greater knowledge to be found than that which brings Christ into fuller light in your heart and mind. There was and still is, always something more to learn about our Savior.

The fullness of knowledge is linked to the fullness of spirit. Paul goes on to say, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12). The daily increase in his knowledge of who Jesus was led him to an apprehension of what it meant to be complete in Christ. The more that he learned of Christ, the more that he felt complete or “perfect”.

Jesus told us to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). Daily resting in Christ, whose yoke is “easy” and whose “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30), causes us to “learn” who He is. The more we rest in His finished work, the more that our awareness of His love and compassion is for us.

As you go about your day, take every available moment to dwell on the Father’s love for you. As you allow grace to wash over your soul, you place yourself beneath the yoke of Christ which is easy and light. Every moment that you rest under that yoke, you come into a fuller knowledge of who Christ is, which leads you one step further to living a perfect lifestyle. I do not insinuate that you will never fail again, but the goal in Christianity is to let Christ live His life through us, and that will be a life free from the stain and the failure of sin.