[Note: This sermon expounds Matthew 11:30 and 12:1–8, continuing from the previous study of Matthew 11:28–29. Delivered 27 November 1977, Montreal.]
Continuing from Matthew 11:28–29, where the Lord Jesus spoke of giving rest to those who are heavy-laden, we come now to verse 30: "My yoke is easy, my burden is light." The Lord Jesus is completely honest with us — he never makes false pretences, never offers what is not true. He does not say, come to me and you will have no burden at all. What he says is that he is going to take away one burden and give us another. He takes away the yoke of sin and gives us his own yoke instead. But the yoke he gives is entirely different in character: the word "easy" in the original means pleasant, comfortable — it is a good yoke to bear.
The word yoke in Scripture carries a range of meanings. It can mean oppression, or being under authority. But it is also the word used for the joining of two together — just as an ox-yoke joins two animals side by side. For this reason, yoke came to be used in Scripture as a picture of marriage. Second Corinthians 6:14 uses this exact word when it says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" — which the RSV translates "mis-mated," losing the original. The authorised version preserves it literally: do not be yoked. To be yoked with Christ is to be united with him, in the same way a husband and wife are united to each other.
Now consider: why would anyone freely walk up to the altar and put the yoke of marriage around their neck? Since childhood, the cry has been for freedom — freedom from parental authority, freedom to do as you please. And yet hardly has a young person obtained that freedom before he is rushing to surrender it again, to be tied to another person. The reason is obvious: it is not that people like yokes. It is that they love the person to whom they are being yoked. Because that person is so wonderful, even to be tied to them is a joy. The yoke becomes easy because of love for the one you are bound to.
So also with Christ. If only our eyes could be opened to see how wonderful he is, we would have very little hesitation in committing ourselves to his yoke. In the world, we understand this perfectly: you do not have that person until you are yoked to them. In the same way, you do not truly have Christ until you are yoked to him. It is through this union that Jesus becomes mine, because I have become his. To take on his yoke is simply to put your life completely under his authority — to say, Lord Jesus, as of this moment I commit myself totally under your authority. That is the scriptural step of faith. That is what the Bible means by believing in him.
People often say, I committed my life to Christ and nothing happened. But what would they expect to happen? When two people get engaged, what happens? One person says, will you? The other says, yes. And the transaction is done. The two have now committed themselves one to the other — and that is the most wonderful thing that could have happened, even if the ceiling did not fall down and the lightning did not flash. Baptism is the equivalent of the wedding ceremony — the public, formal expression of a commitment that was already made in the heart. The substance comes first; the ceremony follows.
The human yoke of marriage can become heavy because of the imperfections of human beings. A love that becomes possessive and demanding puts great strain on the yoke; instead of sharing the load, one partner can double it. But when we take the yoke with the Lord Jesus, we find that he is taking the main burden — he is strong, we are weak — and the fraction left on our shoulders is very small by comparison. Moreover, this yoke is our security. As Paul writes to Timothy: though we are unfaithful, he abides faithful; he cannot deny himself. He will never be unfaithful to the principle of his own commitment. That is the most wonderful thing — ordinary human beings, united to the Most High God, inseparably and forever.
# Being Yoked to Christ — Matthew 11:30–12:1–8 (Part B) — The Sabbath, True Rest, and the Christian Life as Service
[Note: This is Part B of the sermon on Matthew 11:30–12:1–8, continuing directly from Part A. Delivered 27 November 1977, Montreal.]
The experience of falling in love gives us one more picture of what the Lord is teaching in Matthew 11:28–29. Before two people have committed themselves to each other, there is restlessness, uncertainty, anxiety — every time you see someone else talking to your boyfriend or girlfriend, the heart leaps with fear of loss. But once you know each other's commitment, in that commitment there is rest. That is exactly the rest the Lord Jesus promises: the rest that comes when the uncertainty is resolved and you know you belong to him and he to you.
Matthew 12 verse 1 moves to the Sabbath — and this is not incidental. The word Sabbath means rest, and the connection to the rest of chapter 11 is deliberate. At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath day, and his disciples were hungry, and they plucked the ears of grain and rubbed them in their hands and ate. Deuteronomy 23:25 permits exactly this: a traveller who is hungry may stand in another's field and eat the grain there and then, though not carry it away. This is provided for by the law as a measure of mercy. The Pharisees, however, see it only as a violation of Sabbath law. And this reveals that they have completely misunderstood the Sabbath.
The Sabbath, in the deepest sense, means to come to an end of something — specifically, to come to an end of the toil of the old life. Just as the word Sabbath literally means to cease, to stop, so entering into the spiritual Sabbath means finishing with the old life of sin. This is why, to become a true Christian, you must make a break with the old way of life once and for all. It is exactly like marriage: when you marry, you come into a completely new lifestyle. Those who take their old lifestyle into marriage, insisting on doing things their own way — why should I do it your way? — bring friction and tension with them. You must not only change externally; there must be an internal change of attitude. The Pharisees fail at exactly this point: their religion is entirely external, a matter of not doing this and not doing that, and therefore they cannot enter into the rest of love. If you have never known the joy of salvation, it is like two people who got married but never fell in love — what is the point?
The Lord Jesus then silences the Pharisees with two examples. David, when hungry, ate the showbread that was lawful only for priests — and was never condemned for it. The reason: he was the anointed of God, he was serving God. And the priests themselves work twice as hard on the Sabbath, since the Sabbath sacrifices are doubled. They are guiltless not because Sabbath rules are suspended, but because they are serving God on the Sabbath. The principle is this: when you serve God, you have truly entered into the Sabbath. You cannot enjoy the joy of salvation, the rest that Christ offers, until you understand what it means to live for God and to serve him.
Consider the yoke again: what is a yoke for? Not for decoration — it is placed on animals so that they can do something, plow a field, accomplish a purpose. We are saved in order to serve. He who does not serve has not taken up the yoke. To take on the yoke of Christ, to take up his cross, means to live for him day by day. Now here is the question that a marriage also poses: are you coming into this relationship only to get something, or also to give? The most wonderful marriages are those in which each person comes asking, what can I do to help this person become what God calls them to be? Christians who come to Christ only to get — salvation, answered prayer, peace, joy — have brought their old selfish attitude into the Christian life unchanged. But the Christian who says, Lord, you have done so much for me, what can I do for you? — that Christian will know the joy of the Sabbath rest. That is what the Christian life is about.