I Can’t Wear It for Nuthin’

How often do we hear a sermon that plays the yoke card?

You know, one that peddles the “easy yoke of Jesus” at no cost, quoting this familiar passage of the Christ’s famous appeal to the crowds in Israel:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”  [Matt. 11:28-30]

So what’s wrong with wearing an easy yoke, especially if Jesus offers it?

Nothing, of course. But how many of Christ’s disciples have ever bothered to try to understand the implications of putting on His yoke after considering the context of this passage above?

After reminding the crowds why they had ventured into the wilderness to see the prophet John [who preached repentance], He then denounced the cities which didn’t repent in spite of the miracles He’d performed there.  At that point, He thanked His Father for “hiding these things from the wise and intelligent” and “revealing them to infants.” [Matt. 11:25]

What things?

Those “things” must have been included in what He was about to say.  Because, only then did He offer a solution for the heavy burden of not repenting: 

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”  

[What does it mean to “repent?”  see: Climbing the Ladder of Repentance]

The idea of taking any kind of a burden upon myself always implies a cost—however light it might be.

But the yoke of Jesus Christ is indeed easy.  The costs of repentance are well below those of living a life consumed by the forces of evil in this world.  I can’t bear the burden of belonging to Jesus Christ unless I first understand what it means to do it and, then, what it takes to do it.  

And I’ll never know that unless I read the Bible for myself.   But I also need to be careful about any additional congregational burdens I might choose to put on my shoulders. 

[see: Living Outside the Walls.]

Temple yokes are nothing new.  While He never actually used such a phrase, Jesus always had plenty to say about them. [Matt. 23:16-23]   They were all too heavy. 

There’s only one worth putting on.