Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
You might be working long and hard, maybe even in more than one job, and studying on top of this. Maybe you are the sole supporter of your family and squeezing yourself into a shoebox called your apartment…
Jesus says to you, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.
Jesus says in verses 29 and 30 to become “yoked” with Him and that His yoke is “easy and light”.
A “yoke” is a harness the farmer binds the oxen together with as they toil to break up the hard ground in preparation for planting seed. It is a deliberate choice of words by Jesus because He knows what life can be like. The build-up of responsibilities and burdens increases with age and these pressures become like a heavy yoke strapped tightly across your shoulders.
But Jesus, carrying His own cross, strapped to His shoulders, would become a picture of the release He would bring to those who would “come to Him” in faith. Jesus took upon Himself the sufferings of this world so that we, His loved-ones would be set free.
Jesus Himself said the “yoke” He places upon you is light and easy. It is God’s “Rest”. It’s an inner rest for your soul bringing freedom from worry, fear, and condemnation.
If you feel a heavy burden upon your soul that’s not a burden of the Lord, it is a burden of this world. God will not weigh you down with pressure, stress, and anxiety. Rather He is the One that supplies His peace, comfort, and joy into your soul as you trust in Him by seeing His grace.
To be “yoked” up with Jesus means you have received Him as Lord and Saviour. You are devoted to Him and His ways. His way is the way of worship, thanksgiving, and praise; it's the way of grace rather than rules and works; it’s seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. It is selflessness over self-interest.
Understand “His yoke” is a yoke of grace – it’s not trying to do things in your own strength, it is not trying to earn your own salvation through goods works, it is not trying to become righteous through living according to a moral code of rules and regulations.
It is a life that knows Jesus has done all this for you – Amen!