Take His Yoke Upon You

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.’

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’” (Matthew 11:20-30 ESV)

Have you ever been taught these last three verses, beginning with “Come to me all you who labor..” in this context? I don’t know that I ever have. I may have, and perhaps I just don’t remember. But reading these last three verses in this context, and in the context of the verses prior to these, too, gives a definite different meaning to them than what I have typically heard taught previously. Do you see it? 

Is our God a God of love, mercy, and grace? Absolutely! But he is also a God of righteousness, justice, and judgment. We cannot have one without the other. Yes, Jesus Christ died on that cross to forgive us our sins, but he died also to deliver us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we would now surrender our lives to him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. For Jesus died, not just to save us, but to transform us. 

By God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk (in conduct) in newness of life in him, no longer to lives as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, then we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. But if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life with God (Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

So, why were these specific cities (the people in them) under the judgment of God? For one, because they did not repent of their sins, which means to put them to death, to turn away from them to now follow Jesus in obedience to his commands. They did not respond to the message of the gospel of Christ with God-persuaded faith in the Lord, for they did not die to sin, and they did not turn from their sin to now walk in obedience to the Lord, but they continued in their sins in direct defiance of God and of his commands.

Did they not hear the truth of the gospel taught by Jesus? Yes, apparently they did, but they did not couple what they heard with faith. For they were wise and understanding in their own eyes, in their own way of thinking and believing, which did not include Jesus Christ and his gospel message. Even though Jesus Christ did all sorts of mighty works before their eyes, they refused him entry into their hearts and lives, and they decided to go it alone without him, which sadly is where many people are today, too.

But thank the Lord, there is a remnant, a small number (by comparison to the majority) who have heard the word of the Lord taught (in context), and who have died with Christ to sin and are now walking (in conduct) in obedience to his commands in holy living. We may not be perfect in every way, for all who believe in Jesus are in the process of being sanctified, but we should not be those who make sin our practice, and for whom obedience to God is not our practice, or we don’t really know God (1 John 1-3).

Now, in this context, I see those who labor and are heavy laden as those who are still going it alone, still striving in their own flesh, who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, and who have not yet come under his command and authority. They may or may not be “good deed doers,” but they are still being guided by the flesh and not by the Spirit. And the “rest” that Jesus provides is rest from our flesh and from a “My do it” approach to life, and it is surrender of our lives to him and to his Lordship over our lives.

So, when we take his yoke upon us, we take up our cross and we follow Jesus with our lives. We take upon us his teachings and his rule of life in order that we might learn from him and then apply what we have learned to our everyday lives, in his strength and by his mercy. We put our full trust him to be Lord over our lives, we leave our lives of sin behind us, and we now follow him in obedience to his commands, by his grace. We submit to his will and purpose for our lives and we follow him wherever he leads us.

And when he says that his yoke is easy, and that his burden is light, he is not saying that we won’t face hardships or that we won’t be persecuted for righteousness’ sake, or that we won’t have people hate us and say evil against us. We will if we are following in Jesus’ footsteps. But it is easy and light because we give the weight of it all over to our Lord, and we surrender it all to him, and we then move forward in his strength and wisdom and power, and not in our flesh which will certainly fail us.

And when we give our burdens over to the Lord, and we trust him with our circumstances, and we follow him wherever he leads us in doing and in saying whatever it is he wants us to do and to say, within his divine and perfect will for our lives, then we are at peace even in the midst of the storms, which we will face if we are true followers of Christ. For as his followers we are also to be spreading the message of the gospel of our salvation (Luke 9:23-26). And we will be opposed. But don’t you fear!

Should I Not Preach Jesus 

An Original Work / July 4, 2013

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.

I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.

I make myself a slave to ev’ryone

To win their hearts to Christ.

All this I do for my Lord Jesus,

And for the sake of His Name;

Do it for the sake of His gospel,

So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;

Written down for us as examples

To keep us from setting our hearts 

On evil as did those of old.

Do not worship other gods of man;

Do not give your hearts to them;

Not partake in immorality.

Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are

Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.

God has given his word to warn us, 

So through faith we will not fall.

No temptation has o’ertaken you

Except what is commonplace.

God is faithful to not let you be

Tempted past what you can bear.

He gives the way of escape. 

https://vimeo.com/116057811