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What does it mean when Jesus says, My yoke is easy, and my burden is light?
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The saying, My yoke is easy, and my burden is light, is part of a larger passage in which Jesus tells
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all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest.
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He isn't speaking here of physical burdens, rather it was the heavy burden of the system of works
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that the Pharisees laid on the backs of the people that Jesus was offering to relieve.
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Later on in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will rebuke the Pharisees for laying heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people.
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The yoke of the Pharisees is the burdensome yoke of self -righteousness and legalistic law -keeping.
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It has been said by biblical scholars that the Pharisees had added over 600 regulations regarding
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what qualified as working on the Sabbath.
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Recall the story of the lawyer who asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment of the law.
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You can almost read between the lines of this man's question, what law of all the laws that we have do I
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Jesus was saying that any kind of law -keeping is burdensome and amounts to a heavy yoke of oppression because
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no amount of law -keeping can bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God's holiness.
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God says through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah that all of our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
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In Paul reiterated to the Romans, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.
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The good news is that Jesus promises to all who come to Him that He will give them rest from the heavy
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burden of trying to earn their way into heaven and rest from the oppressive yoke of self -righteousness and legalism.
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Jesus encourages those who are heavy -laden to take His yoke upon them and in doing so, they will find
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The yoke of Jesus is light and easy to carry because it is the yoke of repentance and faith followed by
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a singular commitment to follow Him.
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As the Apostle John says,.
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For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.
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And His commandments are not burdensome.
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This is what Jesus says in Matthew 11 .30.
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His yoke is easy and His burden light.
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Now we might think that there is really no difference between the commandments of Jesus and the Jewish laws.
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Isn't the same God responsible for both?
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Technically speaking, yes.
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If anything, one might argue that the commands of Jesus are even more burdensome because His reformulation
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of the Mosaic Law in the Sermon of the Mount actually goes above and beyond a mere outward conformity
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to the law and deals instead with the inner person.
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What makes Jesus' yoke easy and His burden light is that in Jesus' own active obedience, for
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example, His perfect fulfillment of the law of God, He carried the burden that we were meant to carry.
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His perfect obedience is applied, imputed, to us through faith, just as His righteousness
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was exchanged for our sin at the cross.
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Our obedience to Jesus then becomes our spiritual worship.
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Furthermore, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who works in our lives to mold us into the image of Christ,
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thereby making the yoke of Jesus easy and His burden light.
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The life lived by faith is a much lighter yoke, and a much easier burden to carry than the heavy
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and burdensome yoke of the self -righteousness under which some continually strive to make themselves
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acceptable to God through works.
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The Bible has answers, and we'll help you find them.