Here then is what appears to be real conflict within the classic religious heritage, steeped as it is in biblical faith. On the one hand there is the call for comfort, while, on the other, there is the call for disturbance. How can the two be combined, without contradiction, in a valid system of life and faith? On the surface this looks impossible, since the two moods appear to we wholly incompatible. It is in the solution of this problem that much of the true glory of the gospel appears, for Christ is able to take us to a deeper level in which both of the valid, yet radically opposed, demands are met simultaneously. The method which Christ uses to accomplish this end involves the marvelous figure of the yoke.
The great yoke passage, which is found at the end of the eleventh chapter of Matthew, begins with the recognition of the validity of the demand for comfort. We see how tender Christ was with all the broken and needy when He began the pronouncement by saying, “Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” This appears to be the theme of comfort, pure and simple, so that we naturally expect Christ to go on and say that the heavy-laden must lay down their burdens, but this is precisely what He does not say. In a really shocking paradox Christ offers rest to the burdened by asking them to share His burden. His solution of the problem of those who are tired with toil is to offer them the world’s greatest symbol of toil; namely, the yoke. The yoke means, in some places, that by which a man can, through a device on his shoulders, carry more than he could otherwise carry. In other places it means the harness which animals, either oxen or asses, wore, by which they are able to pull a plow. In any case, the striking facet is that Christ’s offer of peace was through the acceptance of new responsibilities and that His offer of rest was through the voluntary sharing of new toil. He did not say that He Himself would remove burdens. What He did say was that, because His yoke was perfectly fitted, His own burden seemed light…
Because we are accustomed to the phrase “Take my yoke upon you,” having heard it in Handel’s Messiah if nowhere else. The great words are no longer shocking to us, but they must have been terribly shocking to those who first heard them. Even our acceptance of the words does not mean accepting the idea. Perhaps this is why the symbol of the yoke has been so much less common in Christian history than have the other symbols suggested by Christ’s own words…
The neglect of the yoke is understandable when we realize the degree to which it is an affront to our ordinary wishes, Christ does not give us the answer which we naturally desire to have. We want to escape responsibility, but Christ will not let us do so. In both the yoke and the cross He took ideas which must have been revolting to many of His hearers, and transformed them by adding new meaning. In using the word, Christ undoubtedly had something of the rabbinical tradition in mind, according to which a student symbolically accepted the teacher’s yoke; however, the major Old Testament connotation of yoke was evil, referring to bondage. In any case, Christ picked up the figure and gave it a new and liberating significance.
The heart of the transvaluation comes in the note of joy. Real freedom, Christ says, is not the absence of limitations on our actions, but the joyous acceptance of limitations inherent in the new loyalty. As a result there comes a liberation greater than any merely empty or irresponsible freedom can ever bring. The yoke, instead of being a galling instrument, is consequently a harness which is easy to wear. We do not seek peace directly, but it comes ultimately as a by-product of the act of giving ourselves unreservedly to Christ’s cause.
We are made to be spent. This is inherent in the very nature of the human situation. The revolting symbol of the yoke, feared and rejected by many Christians even to this day, comes to stand for the chief meaning of the Christian life. What is a Christian? A Christian is one who seeks, in spite of his failures, to wear Christ’s yoke with Him.
Jesus, show us the futility of trying to live apart from Your yoke.
When we seek freedom apart from Your yoke, we only find bondage.
When we seek to labor apart from Your yoke, we only find heaviness.
When we seek rest apart from Your yoke, we only find distress.
When we seek peace apart from Your yoke, we only find agitation.
When we seek joy apart from Your yoke, we only find misery.
Jesus, help us come to You and take Your yoke upon us and learn from You,
for it is only then we will find real freedom.
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 11:28-30
Elton Trueblood