For My yoke is easy and My burden is light

 

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

- Matthew 11:25-30 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His teaching regarding John the Baptist (who is now in prison) and Himself:  "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 

At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study Bible cites blessed Theophylact, who notes that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward God's creatures, but rather because of their own unworthiness.  That is, it is they who choose to trust in their own fallen wisdom and judgment rather than in God.  Moreover, such revelation who would scorn it out of love for them:  for to reject it would result in an even greater condemnation.  See yesterday's reading (above) and Jesus' condemnation of those places in which mighty works were done, but no repentance ("change of mind")  resulted.  Earlier in this discourse, Jesus referred to Himself as Son of Man (see yesterday's reading, above:  "The Son of Man came eating and drinking . . .").  Here Jesus adds a profound and explicit statement of authority in His identity as Son; the repentance which is lacking is the one which fails to grasp the gospel of the kingdom of heaven which He has been sent to preach.  The mysteries of God to which He refers are His alone to reveal and to withhold.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study Bible comments that Christ's yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.   A yoke could be seen as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-11, Sirach 40:1).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely greater than any effort human beings put forth.  Gentle means literally meek (as in Matthew 5:5 in the Sermon on the Mount:  "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth").  To be meek is not to be weak, but rather God-controlled; that is, to have mastery over one's own passions, especially anger.  That is, strength directed and under control.

 

 Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."   These are indeed comforting words; they are words heard throughout the centuries by those needing refuge, help, strength, and guidance.  If we think about them, and what it means to be "gentle [meek] and lowly in heart," then we understand that these are the words of One who is like a good father, a good brother, a good leader and protector.  If we haven't had such a figure in our lives, He can be that figure.  If we need those same skills in our lives (regardless of our gender), to be a good parent, a strong sibling, a good leader in family or community, He is our role model.  These are the words of one who knows how to use His absolute authority, which He has just declared by saying, "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  We have at once a supreme claim to authority, even to the judgment implied here.  But in the very next verses we have an image of what kind of authority figure this Son of the Father is, and how He uses His authority.  For those countless followers of Christ who have been comforted by these words, the image is one of the ideal figure of the family or community, one capable of great love, great strength, and great guidance and wisdom.  Most of all, the compassion of Christ still shows through in this declaration of authority, and the open hand that is outstretched through the words.  Those who labor and are heavy laden are those already under a different yoke of authority, that of the "prince" or "ruler of this world."  The very word for "evil" or "evil one" in Greek (as in "deliver us from evil/the evil one" in the Lord's Prayer; see Matthew 6:13) has at once these meanings of burdensome toil, oppression, and pain.  Jesus is the alternative.  He is not a competitor except in our own hearts.  But when we have had enough of the ways of the world, so to speak, His is the ultimate authority to which we turn and find rest and learning.  For those of us who experience this easy and light burden, this meekness and gentleness, there is no doubt about His words, and no substitution.  For in contrast to the world which demands a kind of onerous slavery and can practice a merciless judgment, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. 

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest

Christ the True Vine, 2004, icon commissioned by Orthodox Recovering Addicts, Moscow (link)

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His defense of John the Baptist:   "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by all her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study bible cites Theophylact's commentary, that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward human beings, but rather because of their own unworthiness in trusting their fallen wisdom and judgment, rather than God.  Moreover, it is out of love that God withholds this revelation from those who would scorn it, so that they do not receive a greater condemnation.   To understand such mysteries, we have to know that they are not obscure intellectual concepts, but rather the presence of the Kingdom of God, which my study bible says cannot be defined.  One must accept this Kingdom in the heart in order to grasp the mystery.  This mystery of the Kingdom is revealed through the Son.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible comments that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  Generally speaking, yoke can be understood as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-11, Sirach 40:1).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, as the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, it says, there is a reward to this which is infinitely greater than any effort which human beings put forth.  Gentle here in the Greek is somewhat akin to "meek," but it denotes a strength under control, or having the capacity for power but using it without undue harshness.  Lowly in heart denotes humility that comes from putting God first before self.

In today's reading, Jesus puts two things together that might not normally be seen to go together.  There is first of all knowledge and understanding of His disciples, who are simple people, and not the highly educated or those who form part of the formal religious establishment and its schools.  This is a gift of great wisdom and knowledge that has been given to His followers, whom He refers to as "babes," while the "wise and prudent" are those in exalted offices of authority and social status.  This power of knowledge and understanding is coupled with the authority of Christ the Son, to whom God has granted the authority to reveal God to those to whom He will.   So this wisdom and understanding, knowledge of great mysteries, has behind it the greatest power in the universe, that of God.   But Jesus qualifies the power of God, and His personal power, by teaching that He does not exercise it with harshness.  He rather encourages all those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him.  In chapter 23, when Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, He says that they "bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers" (23:4).  But about Himself He says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Rather than being a harsh and punitive taskmaster, He offers rest to the same people about whom it was said earlier that they were "weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (9:36).  In today's reading, Christ champions those who do have faith, after He has harshly criticized the cities in which He is rejected, despite having done "great works" there of healing.  Those who are the "wise and prudent" have rejected His ministry, in which the "babes" have received wisdom through faith.  He speaks of the hidden power of Creator behind these mysteries, and His own connection to the Father through which all things have been given to Him, including the power of revelation and of the Kingdom hidden to those who cannot receive it.  But the powerful statements in today's reading remain His characterization of that supreme power and authority, as offering a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light, and rest to the heavy laden and those who labor.  It should be remembered, in this context, that the definitions of the Greek word for "evil" or "evil one" (as in the prayer given by Christ, in which we pray to God to "deliver us from evil" or from "the evil one" -- see 6:13), include a sense of toil and tedious hardship.  In this sense, we must also see Christ's characterization of His power as that which is contrasted with what is evil and seeks to lay heavy (and unjust) burdens upon human beings, a harsh power which imposes toil and unnecessary agony.   Moreover, this yoke is rewarding, and the labor for the kingdom a way of sharing in His ministry.  His exercise of His power and authority invites trust, and there we really get to the root of the message.  It all comes down to this question of trust, and where we will place our trust.  We may compare the "wisdom of this age" with the "wisdom among those who are mature" (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).  But Christ's ultimate qualifier of what He offers, in which we may put our trust, is Himself.  That is, the One who is gentle and lowly of heart, in whom we find rest for our souls.  It is He in whom we choose to rest (John 15:9).

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking to the crowd regarding Himself and John the Baptist.  He said, "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  The "wise and prudent" would be those experts such as the Pharisees who can't "see" nor accept Jesus' message in the signs of His great works performed in their midst.  My study bible cites Theophylact as noting that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world not out of malice, but due to their own lack of receptivity:  there is a choice to be made between what one already "knows" and judges and the things God pulls us toward to reveal and to open up and expand our understanding.  Out of love, therefore, revelation may be withheld from those who would scorn it (7:6), so they don't refuse what would result in an even greater condemnation (see Luke 8:10).

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible tells us that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke can be seen as an image of hardship or burdens and responsibilities imposed, especially by a harsh ruler or king (see 1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-15).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in every person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely than any effort a human being puts forth.  Gentle here means literally "meek"  (see "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," Matthew 5:5, in the reading of the Beatitudes).

Christ promises rest in learning.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me" is a promise of growth into new things, gifts, mysteries.  We don't do this journey alone, and He shares His yoke with us.  A yoke gives us an image of two things put together:  two oxen pulling a plow under one yoke, for instance.  Christ promises that He is with us, and gives us rest in this place where we take on the yoke He offers.  All of it seems utterly paradoxical, especially given the typical traditional image of the yoke.  And yet, with Christ, this is the life He offers to us.  It is those who refuse it who lose out; they are the ones who are "wise and prudent" in Jesus' words, the worldly who seem to know the wisdom of the world, who go out of their way to scorn what He offers.  And yet He does choose "babes" to carry His message; the apostles do not come from the classes of those educated in Scripture.  What we come to understand is all about acceptance.  Do we accept His help, His guidance?  Are our minds open to what He offers?  Everything seems to come down to two things:  humility and the capacity to desire the kind of love He offers.  This is a love that invites us in to His world, His Kingdom.  It invites us in to learn from Him, to take on the yoke He offers.  It's not the yoke of a worldly king, but of one who is "gentle and lowly in heart."  It's not a yoke that invites our pity, but one that asks for our capacity for love and learning from Him.  It asks us for relationship and emptying, and it will take us to places we never imagined going, to challenges that stretch us out of our own "knowing."   It is in this learning and coming to know what He offers that our joy may be full.