Matthew 11: 28-29

Matt Summerfield

One of my favourite passages in scripture is these words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 11: 28-29, where He extends to us a great invitation.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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."

It's great to know that Jesus invites us to rest in Him but all this talk of 'yokes' can be quite confusing. What is Jesus talking about? Well, I can assure you that it has nothing to do with eggs but a lot to do with farming.

When Jesus is speaking about a yoke he is referring to a piece of wood which was used to tie two oxen together so that they would walk in step with each other whilst ploughing a field. It was often used to train a young ox by 'yoking' them with an older, more experienced ox. The experienced ox would demonstrate how it is done. Jesus is painting a picture here of how He invites us to be bound together to Him, not struggling to go our own way but allowing Him to direct and guide us through life.

Yet there is more to this picture than meets the eye. Rob Bell, in his book 'Velvet Elvis', provides some further insight into these words which help us understand more about what Jesus was trying to communicate. There were many Rabbi's around in Jesus time, and each of these had their own interpretation as to how God-fearing Jews should live out God's Old Testament law. Their interpretation and application of the law was called the Rabbi's yoke and people would follow a certain Rabbi because they believed that his interpretation was most accurate. The problem was that the Rabbis' yokes were impossible for people to achieve and live under. They were intrinsically legalistic and based on the philosophy that you could really only know God if you kept to His law.

When Jesus arrives, he smashes through their legalistic enterprise. Jesus tells people "I have a new yoke - I understand the true and only way to know God - I understand the true and only way to experience life. God created you, God knows you, God loves you, God offers forgiveness for your past, life for your present and hope for your future. This is my yoke. It is the only yoke that will ever feel comfortable - that will ever bring fulfilment - that will ever bring contentment. Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest."

So when Jesus invites us to take His yoke upon us, He is inviting us to live the life that we were born to live. It's there that we find rest, contentment and fulfilment.

The question is though. What will we do with such an invitation?