The Yoke of Christ
What is the yoke of Christ?
Well notice how the Bible uses the term:
·
Acts 15:10 (ESV) 10 Now, therefore, why
are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples
that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
·
2 Corinthians 6:14
(ESV) 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has
righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
·
Galatians 5:1
(ESV) 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not
submit again to a yoke of slavery.
·
1 Timothy 6:1
(ESV) 1 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters
as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be
reviled.
To be yoked is to be joined together in union with a person
or a thing. The Pharisees had burdened
the backs of the people with laws upon laws.
Christ’s laws or yoke was different.
“Jesus’ yoke of
discipleship, on the other hand, brings rest
through simple commitment to him (cf. 1 John 5:3[1]).”[2]
Why? Because He is gentle, humble and has come to serve, rather than be
served (Mark 10:45). He serves His
disciple as His disciple serves Him. In
contrast with the Pharisees, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s
shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”
(Matthew 23:4, ESV)
To find rest for your souls is a direct quote from Jeremiah:
“Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and
ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest
for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV)
Secondly,
His burden is light. “What makes
Jesus’ yoke easy and His burden light is that in Jesus’ own active obedience
(i.e., His perfect fulfillment of the Law of God), He carried the burden that
we were meant to carry. His perfect obedience is applied (imputed) to us through
faith, just as His righteousness was exchanged for our sin at the cross (2
Corinthians 5:21) . . . Furthermore, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who
works in our lives to mold us into the image of Christ, thereby making the yoke
of Jesus easy and His burden light.”[3]
“Well, this is the sum and substance of the gospel call
and offer: we are here told, in a few words, what the Lord Jesus requires of
us, and it agrees with what God said of him once and again. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
hear ye him.”[4]
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