Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.” Jesus is teaching us how to handle the burdens of life.
In the letter to the Galatians in Chapter 6, Paul the apostle teaches us that there are:
- 2 Kinds of burdens
- Heavy Burden: Baros in the Greek is a huge, strong and oppressive weight (picture a huge pack)
- Every man’s burden: Phortion Greek is simply something to bear (like a backpack)
The context of this statement by Jesus was to the people of Israel. In this passage the Lord was addressing the people of Israel who were burdened and weighed down with the externalism and the legal do’s and don’ts of the Pharisees, and with the consequences—the guilt, frustration, and dissatisfaction that always goes along with legalism. Then, in Matthew 23:4, the Lord warned the people of the oppressive and legalistic ways of the Pharisees. He said, “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders.” He was speaking about the way they had hidden the true meaning of the Old Testament Law with all the religious rules and regulations that these religious externalists had instituted as the way to God, to true spirituality, and as a way to receive God’s blessing in life. They had codified the Mosaic Law into 365 prohibitions and 250 commandments.
Burdens come in all sizes and shapes: Family, money, bills, health, relationships and we are instructed by Jesus to…
COME UNTO ME: This drives home one of the great concepts of Christianity that must be taught and grasped. Christianity is a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This is not a call to a program, nor a system of religion, to a church, and certainly not to some human leader. Christianity is an intimate, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
MY YOKE: “My yoke” is of course the key phrase. The Lord did not say, “come to me and I will remove all yokes.” So what does this mean? How is this not just another yoke and not a contradiction? The picture here is of a young ox (us), which will be supported and joined now to the experienced, older, bigger and stronger ox (Christ) who will carry the load. I worked moving furniture for United Van Lines and was amazed at how my experienced boss would carry the load in such a way that made my carrying a lot easier. He was stronger than I and much more experienced. Christ is saying the same here.
LEARN: “And learn.” This verb describes a process of discipleship, of the journey in growth and Christ like change. “Learn” in the original language is manthano, and this where the word “disciple” comes from. It means “to learn by inquiry, but also by use and practice, to acquire the habit of, be accustomed to.” It means less through instruction than through experience or practice.” The key idea is to acquire a custom or habit through practice. Do you get it? The Lord is talking about more than the simple acquisition of information. He has in mind a change of life, a transformed life-style through intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to develop a history of sharing our burdens with him. We can learn that with Christ in our live we are doing it together and no longer by yourself! He carries most of the weight!