A Rabbi's Yoke

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

I wrote and used this in our Action Lesson, Lesson 6, on Wednesday evening in our Celebrate Recovery Large Group Meeting.

Jesus says, “Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens” (Matthew 11:28–30, TLB).

Just a quick word about yokes. Pretty much everyone knows what a yoke is. If not, it is the picture on the left. It goes around the neck of two oxen, pairing them together so that they can pull a load together, equally. When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I paraphrased a little here. How can that big log over our necks be light? How can the plow that we are pulling be an easy load?

Look at the picture. The cloth that the rabbi has over his head is also called a yoke. In the days of Jesus, the rabbi’s yoke was decorated in such a way as to signify a way of teaching. If you know anything about martial arts, each Sensei, or teacher, has his own dojo, or school of technique. The same with the rabbi’s. Their school of thought was identified thru their yoke, and the markings on it. So a student, or a rabbi who had studied under a certain “master”, would have the same markings.

When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”, in essence, what He is saying is to take my teachings upon you. I don’t have all the burdens of the law to weigh you down. Remember when He was asked by the Pharisee’s, which was the greatest commandment? He replied, “”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 NIV

Two commandments instead of 633 laws. And, those two concern one thing. Love. If we follow those two commandments, there would be no need for any of the others. Not the other 8, that Moses had on the stone tablets, or the other 631 that were added to fill in the loopholes that people tried to find.

And Jesus’ yoke? His burden? If we are under His teachings, then we also fall under His grace. That grace that forgives us, even before we were seeking Jesus. That grace that takes away all condemnation, guilt and sorrow for the things that we have done in the past. That grace that washes us clean, and white as snow. That same grace that continues to wash us as long as we continue to accept the power of Jesus Christ to change our lives, and submit to Him, and live our lives under His yoke. That is one burden that I will gladly bear.