For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Mat 11:30.
Jesus Teaches Us His Yoke is Easy, His Burden, Light
We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed in complete union with Him.
“Take my yoke upon you,” (Mat 11:28)
Jesus says…. Wearing the yoke unites finite people in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places us where we learn how to bear Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ without wearing His yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him.
If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps.
People frame around their own necks yokes that seem light and pleasant to wear, but they prove galling to the extreme. Christ sees this, and He says:
Take My yoke upon you. The yoke you would place upon your own neck, thinking it a precise fit, will not fit at all. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me the lessons essential for you to learn; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. (Mat 11:30)
The Lord never makes a false estimate concerning His heritage. He measures the people with whom He is working. When they submit to His yoke, when they give up the struggle that has been unprofitable for themselves and for the cause of God, they will find peace and rest. When they become sensible of their own weakness, their own deficiencies, they will delight to do God’s will. They will submit to the yoke of Christ.
Then God can work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure, which is often entirely contrary to the plans of the human mind. When the heavenly anointing comes to us, we shall learn the lesson of meekness and lowliness, which always brings rest to the soul.
Although you will have trials, yet these trials, well borne, only make the way more precious.
In what sense was Jesus’ yoke “easy?”
The yoke emphasizes the challenges, work, and difficulties of partnering with Christ in life. Responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus’ yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative.
Jesus doesn’t usually offer a life of luxurious ease—the yoke is still an oxen’s tool for working hard. But it’s a shared yoke, with much of the weight falling on bigger shoulders than yours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. (Psalms 46:1, Heb 13:5)
Suddenly you are participating in life’s responsibilities with a great Partner—and now that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.
In accepting Christ’s yoke of restraint and obedience, you will find that it is of the greatest help to you. Wearing this yoke keeps you near the side of Christ, and He bears the heaviest part of the load. {5BC 1090.4}
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
This paradox is matchless! Even among the paradoxically couched maxims in which our Lord delights! That rest which the soul experiences when once safe under Christ’s wing makes all yokes easy, all burdens light.