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 11:28-29
Yokes such as the one pictured linked two animals for the task ahead. Jesus' usage of it here in Matthew 11 is in reference to the demands of the Law of God, the Ten Commandments. To be under the demands of God's Law for sinful humans from conception is a heavy burden, an impossible burden for us to accomplish. When we labor under its unending demands of holiness it gives us no rest for our conscience, our soul.
But yoked to Jesus, He carries not only the heavy load of fulfilling the Law's demands perfectly for us, He in fact suffered the punishment for our not keeping the Law. This is what the Bible calls the Gospel. This yoke then removes the Law as the central place in our souls and lives and places it, yokes it, to Jesus and His Gospel, where it is truly easy and light and restful.
As Martin Luther wrote about this: "The yoke that Christ lays upon us is sweet, and His burden is light. When sin has been forgiven and the conscience has been liberated from the burden and the sting of sin, then a Christian can bear everything easily. Because everything within is sweet and pleasant, he willingly does and suffers everything." Luther's Works, American Edition 26:133.
Oh, how blessed to be yoked to Jesus and His Gospel, for then and only then do we have rest for our burdened souls. Free and yoked to Jesus to serve in His vineyard, the Holy Christian Church.
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