Yoked to the Master

                                                                                                                 

     

Aloha Dearest Family,

               “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 1:28-30)

                This scripture passage has been a source of comfort and encouragement to countless believers for more than 2,000 years. And they are no less a source of strength to us today since the day they were first spoken by Jesus himself. We will examine this passage in today’s sharing.     

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 We might ask ourselves, why were these people who he was addressing, laboring and heavy laden? First, we must remember that at this time in history, Israel was under Roman rule, and the empire invaded every aspect of their lives. They were not free to conduct day to day business except by permission from Rome. Even their Sabbaths and required feasts could be stopped or even cancelled at the whim of the emperor. Secondly, and more insidious, the people of Israel were oppressed by their own religious leaders. During this time several groups held rule over the faith practices of the people. Among these were the Pharisees and Sadducees. These two groups burdened the people with man-made laws, many of their laws were against God’s law. Scholars believed that they had added over 600 new laws that were virtually impossible to follow, leaving the people in a continual feeling of sin because they could never meet these standards. Jesus summed up the damage they were doing.

            “Woe unto you, lawyers (teachers of the law)! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” (Luke 11:52)

These leaders were more concerned with political power and control than helping people. They were supposed to be the shepherds of the people, but instead they were fleecing the flock.

Most people wanted to live a life that was pleasing to God, but they were constantly burdened by the doctrines and commandments of men. Jesus’ words must have been like a breath of fresh air to the listeners. Jesus promised rest from the labor of walking by the rules and regulations that could never bring them closer to God. Jesus says I will give you rest from your labor.

            The start of the next verse may seem to us like a contradiction to what Jesus had just said.

            “Take my yoke upon you…,” First he said, I will give you rest, now he is saying take my yoke upon you.  Seems like labor to me. What am I missing?

            The people of the ancient East knew what a yoke was. A yoke was a sturdy wooden harness that would be used to attach two animals together (preferably oxen for plowing). Farmers knew that they had to choose these two oxen very carefully before yoking these animals together. He couldn’t choose animals that would oppose one another. The farmer would choose an experienced, well-seasoned ox and yoke him with an inexperienced one. In this way the inexperienced ox would learn from the experienced one. In this verse we are like the inexperienced ox and Jesus would be the well-seasoned ox. If we are not sure what to do, we rely upon him to show us the way. He will teach us how to be successful. But first we must be unburdened by the cares of this world, then we can partake in the work of the kingdom.

             “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (verse 29) By following his example, we learn how to be meek and lowly in heart (humble). When we do this, we will find rest to our souls.

             “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Verse 30)

 Jesus said that his yoke was easy and his burden light. This is an astounding statement to make, considering that his primary mission in life was to die for the sins of the world. How could he say that my burden is light? He could say this because he was yoked to his Father. Jesus was not alone in his mission. The Father was with him at all times. It was his Father that he leaned upon and learned from. They were partners in the work; an unbeatable team. God is love. All that He ever designed or brought to pass was because He so loved us. His Son did and accomplished no less and for the same reasons – Love.

            We should never feel alone in our walk of faith. And we never have to feel that we are left on our own to figure out how to fulfill our function in the church. For we are yoked to the master, and he shows us and teaches us what needs to be done.

                                                             Love Always, Ray