Tag Archives: Matthew 11

Take My Yoke Upon You

A yoke of Oxen
Photo by Yann from Wikimedia Commons

“Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my load is light.”  ~ Mt 11:29

The theme of last week’s Oregon conference was slavery — our enslavement to the flesh and the world; our Lord’s becoming a slave to die for our sins so we may be reconciled to God; and our slavery to Him once we believe in Him and receive Eternal Life.  He’s bought us by paying a very dear price. He owns us; He is our new master (and a far better one that our former master, the flesh)

In the course of the teachings Pastor Farley brought up the yoke and this verse and pointed out that a yoke involves two oxen. When we take our Lord’s yoke upon ourselves, we are then yoked to Him.

I’d never thought of this verse in that way. I always thought of Him giving me a yoke and me pulling alone, while He held the plow or sat on the wagon with the reins.

But a yoke has two slots and is for two pullers.

So when we’re yoked to Him, we get to walk alongside Him, protected, guided, comforted, and most important, He does all the work, because He is strong and we are weak. That’s why it says his yoke is easy and his load light.

If only we would just believe that and live in it.