The Yoke of Jesus

In the time of Jesus, a Rabbi’s yoke was his teaching that one would follow if that person was a disciple of the Rabbi. In other words, it was the Rabbi’s teaching that “bound” a person to him as a disciple. In Jesus’s day, there were many Rabbis with competing schools of thought all with long lists of rules for life that must be faithfully followed. So, Jesus is talking about his teachings and what he requires and is contrasting that to the teachings of the other Rabbis. Jesus described some of these teachers in the following manner. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” Matthew 23:1-4 Heavy burdens! We’ve all had to at some time follow a set of rules. Did you find it easy or hard? That usually depends on what the rules are and how many. Have you memorized all the rules and regulations imposed by our national government? How about just the city rules? Jesus talks about leaders that impose rules that are hard to follow but they consider themselves above the laws they impose. It’s easy to understand the injustice here. In Matthew 11:30 it appears that Jesus is telling the people that he is bringing something that will replace all the rules and regulations that they had to live by. His burden is light. His yoke is easy to follow. We know that over the years there had been additions or interpretations to the law given by Moses adopted, to their credit, to guard against breaking the laws of God. These are the traditions that comprise the Talmud. The problem was that these interpretations had taken on the weight of law and had caused the people to stray from learning the original intent for having the laws in the first place. Through Jesus’ dealings with the Pharisees and teachers of his day, we can know Jesus’ feelings about the many rules and regulations the Rabbis had imposed upon the people. Here is one such encounter. At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:1-8 What an odd answer to their question. Learn what it means to desire mercy and not sacrifice. It was certainly true that God commanded that the Sabbath be a day of rest, but the teachers of the law wanted to make sure the law was not broken so they imposed rules upon the rule to specifically define what work was. Jesus shows that God’s primary concern is not with strict law keeping. What does, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” mean? Does it possibly mean that God is more concerned with a person’s heart than carefully following a set of rules? Matthew 12:7 is actually the second time Jesus uses the phrase, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” when dealing with the Pharisees. Here is the first. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:10-13 Here the teachers of the law were upset because Jesus associated with sinners which was against their interpretation of the Mosaic law. Once again Jesus teaches that pleasing God is not about keeping law but, in this case, reaching out to those that need to come to know God. The focus God has for a person’s heart over law keeping is the basis for this work. We will also see that it is the foundation for the totality of teaching from scripture, both old and new. If you will stick with me till the end, we will explore the scriptures to see what God is genuinely interested in and when we discover that, we will discover the “yoke” for our lives. We already know that this yoke is easy or at least easier than that of the Rabbis of Jesus’s day. We know that Jesus will help us carry the burden. We also can assume that Jesus’ yoke is that which defines our relationship with God and enables us to be children of God. After all, that is why Jesus came into the world.