The Christian Yoke as an Instrument of Joy

Come unto me, all ye that labour 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. Mat 11:28-30

The Power and the Glory

The above three verses are packed with truth, power, and grace. They specifically consist of three invitations, and end with a promise. Let us go through them one by one.

The First Invitation: Come

The invitation is from Christ. And it is to all, anybody, and everybody, who is heavily burdened. It might be a sickness, a long one, and wasting, or a lost job, a means of income, a broken relationship, or a stagnation, like a traveler standing by a roadside, waiting for a car which never arrives.

And the soul is laden. And the spirit is gone. And it is to such Christ is saying: Come. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17).  

The Second Invitation: Take My Yoke Upon You

The yoke is not a pleasant item. We associate it with hardship and oppression.

First Christ says “Come…you will find rest.” And then he says: “Take my yoke.”

We associate the yoke with oxen, those two beasts of burden, with a wooden enclosure around their necks. Behind them, they pull the weight of a plough, or a cart.  

There is great richness in Christ’s expressions. They force one to pause. Life can be a yoke? And immediately I know life is not easy. Then Christ identifies himself with a yoke. He means “Put on my life.” Is the Christian life easy? Is the way of the cross easy?

But he says his yoke is not hard. It is not oppression. And I don’t carry it alone, but he will walk side by side with me until the end.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Php 1:6 

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1Jn 5:2-4   

And that is the joyful part of it. Of me being counted worthy to be called his son. Of me having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of light.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Joh 1:12-13  

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. 1Ti 1:12  

I can identify several layers of yokes every believer is called to put on.

The Yoke of Love

Love. Sweet love.  

“For so God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son…”

For so God loved me that he died. And that is the yoke I am to put on. It is the call to die. To forget me, to renounce me, and to see only another… like the man or woman I hate; the man or woman who is impossible to love…

For so God loved me that he died.

And I am to love another like that.

The Yoke of Mercy

Ideally I should be free to direct my mercy where I want. But it’s no longer my life but his. For me to choose whom to forgive or to have mercy on, then that means I am still in my yoke of unforgiveness, yoke of hate, and yoke of selfishness.   

The Yoke of Patience and Perseverance

Patience wears you down. Even teachers and doctors run out of it. Patience is taxing, especially to one who is difficult to teach, or to one who believes he knows everything.

Yet Parents need it. Lovers need it. I need it. But in my own strength I can do nothing. I can only do it by putting on his yoke. He did it. That is why he says: Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.

Only in this way can I find rest to my soul. It’s his promise. Only in this way can I emerge into the glimmer of light from darkness. That’s why Christ says: Learn of me.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Mat 5:44-45 

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Luk 23:34  

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Php 2:6-8   

The Yoke of Comfort

We are not creatures of comfort, naturally, unless it is to our own comfort. Yet Christ is calling us to put self down and to put on his yoke.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 

And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 2Co 1:3-6  

The Yoke of Peace

To be indwelt with the peace from God, is to know the true tranquility, the joy of forgiveness, the peace of reconciliation. It’s the peace the prodigal found in being accepted back home.

To have the peace of God is to be at true liberty. It is to be free from worry. It is to depend only in him entirely.

As Christ did. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa 53:7).  

And now he says: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa 26:3  

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Joh 14:27  

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1  

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Php 4:6-7  

The Third Invitation: Learn of Me

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

If you have felt the tyranny of the world, the tyranny of self and the tyranny of the devil, then you know Christ is true.

King Solomon started well in God’s yoke. But along the way he put it down and took his own. And his last state was worse than his beginning: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecc 2:11).  

…and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Yes, it is true his yoke is easy indeed, and his burden is light indeed.

That’s how I have found my joy.