His Burden is Light

In the message “Preparing God’s People to Serve” we saw how Jesus set the example for ministry by equipping others to serve in His Kingdom. We also saw that each of us have been called to minister as we love Him and build up the body of Christ. Our specific roles in ministry may differ, but we have all been called and asked be a part of His plan. We are given the charge to tell others of the way to the Father through faith in Jesus. Paul calls this the ministry of reconciliation; “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

But ministry (in any form) can be difficult. There is more work to be done in the field than we can possibly accomplish - our “job” is never complete. This has the potential for great stress (and what we call “burnout”) if we don’t maintain a sense of our true purpose and a sense of Who is really in charge.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

A yoke is a dual harness used to attach to oxen and plow the fields. Jesus said to take up His yoke and join Him in working the field. He’s already pulling the load and wants us to attach ourselves to the other harness. As we do, we will discover a well-defined row in bad need of plowing - we will also find a load which is easy to bear.

But plowing can become tedious so we often try to increase the pace. We look for ways to accomplish more and begin to see the many weeds scattered in other rows and other fields. In an attempt to pull as many weeds as possible we begin to wander from our row and our load becomes increasingly heavy. We soon find we have unhitched from His yoke and are trying to pull the plow with our own strength.

More is not always better and faster is not always the desired result. It’s interesting that Jesus said our main task as we take up His yoke is to “learn from Him.” It’s as if walking by His side is really enough. The field will still get plowed, but in the process we will be blessed with a closer and deeper relationship with Him.

If our burden has become heavy - if we’re feeling weary and ready to quit - let’s determine if we are properly “hitched” to His yoke and aligned to His row. A heavy burden requires some adjustments - maybe an adjustment in attitude, maybe an adjustment in priority. Let’s ask our Heavenly Father for guidance and where to find rest for our soul. Let’s take up His yoke and remember: His burden is light!

Thank you I never saw the interpretation of yoke the way you put it here - I always thought it had to do with his commands becaue of the passage in 1 Kings 12:4-14. It never occoured to me to look at it as us joining with Jesus in the work; as I would think that he was the man controlling the plough & we are yoked together with other believers (compare 2 Cor 6:14). In any case I appreciated the way you put it as it has opened my eyes to more of God's grace.