Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Yokes on You

Matthew 11:28-30

This is another one of those instances where a little context helps. When Jesus talks about a yoke, the image of the yoke that connects two farm animals comes to mind. It's a good analogy of how Jesus comes along side of us and we work with Him. But it has a bigger meaning that you miss if you leave it there. Apparently, the "yoke" of a Rabbi was his set of teachings that his disciples would follow. The invitation here is for those who are burdened under the teachings of the current rabbis (the experts of the law) to switch to the "yoke" of Jesus. His yoke is not burdensome like the ones people are currently under.
For me, this is a different picture. This is more in line with being a disciple of Jesus. It's not about Jesus coming alongside us so much, as it is us following Him. There's nothing wrong with seeing it one way or the other, I just think the second way is what Jesus was really getting at.
It's interesting how the same statement can be taken in such different ways depending on the context with which we understand it.

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