Finding rest for our souls sounds like such a wonderful
thing! Yet few of us ever find it
because we don’t understand the purpose of the yoke Jesus refers to. We read the verses and our minds stop
comprehending the words at the thoughts of “rest
for your souls”, and overlook what Jesus tells us to learn from Him.
In Matthew 11 Jesus has just pronounced “woes” to those
cities in which He had ministered and showed greater and wondrous works, yet
they did not believe. He told them that
it would be more tolerable for sin-ridden Sodom in the Day of Judgment than
Capernaum. He said that if the works He
had done in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would not only have repented – but done so with great grief for
their sins, in sackcloth and ashes. He
even says that Capernaum would be brought down to hades, because if the same
things that he had shown in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, Sodom would have
remained a city and never been destroyed.
The sum of the woes He pronounces was this: To those who have seen His
works and denied Him, there is a greater judgment. Through their unbelief and desire to continue
living in sin, they denied Jesus the right to lead them.
In business, family, finances, education, or
any pursuit it is important that if you have a leader, the leaders knows how to
lead you. They must know the best way to
accomplish your goal, and the proper steps to get you there. And when you find a leader that can truly
lead you to your goals you do what they say – without question and doubt.
Jesus continues in Matthew 11:28-30 speaking
of His leadership. He 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.” He is speaking to those that labor for what He offers – the release
of the guilt of sin, and the power of sin in their lives. This is what He had offered to Capernaum, Bethsaida,
and Chorazin.
Jesus asked them to “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart”. To learn from Jesus gentleness, which in some translations is
called meekness, and lowliness of heart is to learn to be submissive and allow
yourself to be led. In John 5:19 Jesus
tells of His own submission to God, saying “the
Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He
does, the Son also does in like manner.”
He allowed God to lead Him, and was submissive to Him even to the cross,
praying in the garden before His betrayal, “nevertheless
not My will, but Yours, be done”(Luke 22:42).
A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is bound
around the necks of cattle with a wooden “U” shaped bow that keeps them
connected to the crosspiece. In the
center of the yoke is a swivel with a guide that can be attached to a wagon or
plow, whereby the cattle can be guided to work for the leader.
Salvation removes the guilt of sin, through
justification. But release from the
power of sin over you will only occur when you allow Jesus to lead you. We all have those sins we continually come
back to and cannot seem to shake free.
For some of us, they are our “pet sins” and we just love them too much
to give it up. For others, it’s a matter
of weakness, a lack of self-control that causes us to continually fight those sins. But until we come under the yoke of Jesus
Christ, and allow Him to begin the sanctification process, we are in a
struggle, a constant battle of flesh against Spirit. There is no rest for our souls. What Jesus is offering is rest, an end to the
struggle, peace and completeness.
He offers completeness to His plan for your
life. Do you want success in this
life? There is only one way to measure
success and that is in its eternal weight.
Earn millions here on earth?
Wonderful! But you won’t take a
dime to Heaven. Gain fame and respect
here on earth? Lovely! What fame and respect do you have in Heaven? If you’re going to live their eternally, and
I pray that you are, then you should be looking for success in eternal weight,
the things in which God finds valuable.
Allowing Him to lead you will ensure that you operate through God’s plan
for your life. In that plan, and only in
that plan, is true success found.
Read that last part of the passage
again. Jesus says “For My yoke is easy and
My burden is light.” There is
a misconception that working for Christ is a struggle. But in all truth, it is far easier to walk
through life in the way Jesus leads than to try to create your own path. He is a strong leader, with your best interest
in mind. He is being led by God, who has
seen the beginning, and the end, and knows what lies ahead. Not even the best financial advisor in the
world can offer you that kind of guarantee of success!
Take His yoke upon you. Come under His leadership in full submission,
praying for strength from Him and leadership.
Then you will find sweet rest and peace for your soul.
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