SUCCESSFUL CHRISTIAN LIVING
His Yoke Fits Well Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." [NIV]
28 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." [NLT]
What a wonderful scripture! These words are not a command, but an invitation; they are the words of our caring Saviour. He had previously been denouncing the Pharisees for placing unbearable loads on the shoulders of the people, but here He is asking His followers to willingly take His Yoke, which He said would ‘fit perfectly’, but to do this they had first to come to Him! Here is the secret of ‘Successful Christian Living’. Success does not come from the amount of work we do, but from our drawing near to the Lord, getting linked up with Him, and getting to know Him better! From our close relationship with the Lord, there comes a true sense of purpose and direction.
I want to look at three key-words in this scripture, they are ‘come, ‘take’, and ‘find’. Keys unlock doors, and an understanding of how these words relating to this scripture can unlock truth for us that will help us know compelling ‘Successful Christian Living’.
First of all we see
1. A PURPOSEFUL DIRECTION,
THE WEARY ARE OFFERED HIS REST
COME
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (“I will refresh you”).
This is an encouraging promise in the midst of a tiring, demanding world. The word ‘weary’, in the Greek language has the thought of ‘to feel fatigue’. Have you ever felt like that? If so the answer is to respond to the invitation of the Lord to ‘Come’. He has promised to refresh us if we will simply come to Him. One thought contained in the Greek word for ‘rest’ is ‘to repose’. Can you just picture the scene? Instead of fretting and being agitated, here we are in the company of the King of kings, reclining in an attitude of total relaxation!
The more I look into this, the more I find that this is what the Lord is wanting for us. Hear the words of a commentator named Gibson,
Come unto me It is no longer "Enter ye in at the strait gate;" it is not even, "I have come to call sinners to repentance;" it is the cry of a loving, yearning heart, "Come unto Me." [Gibson]
I sense a link with the Shepherd of Psalm 23,
Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet water.
You can almost feel the quite rest and the refreshing as you read those words!
We need to link this with the words of the Lord through Jeremiah, and we will see that there is a choice to be made.
Jeremiah 6:16. Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
I found this marvellous comment as I was preparing this ministry,
Rest from labour develops into rest in labour, or it is not the full rest which Christ gives. Rest for the conscience is attained when we have known that the work of Christ is what God accepts, and has accepted, as justifying us before Him. Therefore He gives rest. [Eclectic Notes]
That is just the first part of our text. We are asked to come and willingly take the yoke that He offers. Instead of bearing our burden alone, we can now share it with the Lord Jesus who will be yoked with us! What an incredible thought is this. The Creator willingly being linked in yoke with His creation! As we take up the yoke, the burden becomes bearable, and in sharing the closeness of being yoked together, we are able to learn at first hand how to deal with the problems of life. The Lord will ensure that there will be no chaffing from the yoke; it will be a good fit – it is made to measure! The yoke is offered to us, but we need to accept the offer and take it! We will find that this leads to
2. A POWERFUL EXCHANGE,
OUR BURDENS FOR HIS YOKE
TAKE
29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." [NIV]
We are asked to take the yoke offered by the Lord Jesus, and as we wear it so we share it! The Lord is with us in carrying our load! When we grasp this truth, we wonder why we did not take the yoke earlier in our Christian experience. The Greek word used here has the idea of ‘a coupling’. It also has the thought of balance, as in scales. Can you see that when we take the yoke and wear it, we are being coupled to Christ in our daily walk, and it is only then that we achieve a true balance in our lives!
When a farmer had a young ox to train for pulling a plough, he would use a yoke to couple a mature ox with the young one, and the trainee ox would learn from the experience of the mature ox. What a picture! When we are coupled in the yoke with Christ, it is then that we really begin to learn. The Greek word used here means ‘to learn – to understand’.
The Apostle John brings us a strong challenge in I John 2:6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
The best way to learn how to walk as Jesus did, is to be yoked to Him and learn from Him, then we will be able to follow Paul’s instructions in Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
The yoke of Christ is useful, good, and kindly. {Robertson’s Word Pictures}
One purpose in taking the yoke was to learn [learn from me]. The life of the Lord Jesus was such a wonderful teaching aid, and Peter challenges us in I Peter 2:21-23 to recognise and follow the example of Christ.
I Peter 2:21-23. 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 23 He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
The Lord Jesus did not simply tell the disciples what to do; He actually showed them by living out the standard.
John 13:14-15. If your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. 15 I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. [CEV]
As we begin to live out the life of Christ, we are becoming a reflection of Him – the secret of this is that Christ lives within us.
Colossians 1:27. God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
The people amongst whom we live should see the gentleness of Christ demonstrated in our lives. As we do this then we also will find something – ‘rest for your souls’.
We will be demonstrating, not our own personality, but the life of the Lord Jesus. There will be
3. A PROPER REFLECTION,
GENTLENESS OF HIS CHARACTER
FIND
29 I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
It is possible; in view of the way the Lord addressed the Pharisees in the previous verses, and condemned them for imposing such heavy loads on the people, that He is pointing out the great contrast with His offer to those who would follow Him. He was not placing unnecessary loads on their shoulders, but was inviting them to share their load with Him, and bear it together in the same yoke. Can you let your imagination free for a moment? Imagine yourself actually sharing a very comfortable yoke with the Lord, who takes all the strain out of life, and there He is alongside you, talking with you! The result of that would be more than an easing of the physical load; it would also bring rest to your soul! See what I discovered in the Eclectic Notes in my Online Bible,
Rest from labour develops into rest in labour, or it is not the full rest which Christ gives. Rest for the conscience is attained when we have known that the work of Christ is what God accepts, and has accepted, as justifying us before Him. Therefore He gives rest. [Eclectic Notes].
The demonstration of this is seen in Mark 6:31-32;
Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. [a place where they could be alone. CEV]
Can you not feel the compassionate heart of the Lord in these words? Compassion was something that Jesus felt for all the people, as we see in Matthew 9:36;
When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. [HCSB]
I find it interesting to read what the Lord said to the nation of Israel, through Jeremiah;
Jeremiah 6:16. The LORD says, "Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
It is clear when we take an all-round view, that the Lord has always been concerned about His people. In Jeremiah He makes it clear that there was a clear-cut direction to be taken, and it was ‘the old, godly way’. If the people followed that road they would ‘find rest for your souls’.
There is a saying that
‘A burden shared, is a burden halved’.
When we are yoked with the Lord, we will find that He is according to His Word,
“My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Here is the path to ‘Successful Christian Living’.
Get Yoked to the Lord Jesus; He is the one who will, share our burden – direct our path - teach us the things we need to live a godly way. Let me invite you to Come to Him, Take His yoke, and Find rest for our souls.
