Fallen man’s soul, gone astray from God, is intensely tired because of sin. Though man doesn’t always know what he is seeking, the great thing he seeks is rest. As Henry David Thoreau noted, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This soul-tiredness is a weariness down to the deepest level of your being—a feeling of being consistently out of place, tense, confused, fearful, and without clarity or purpose.
To the sinful, stiff-necked nation of Israel, God’s promise was clear, yet they rejected it:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (Jeremiah 6:16).
Thousands of years later, not through a prophet, but through the Son of God Himself in human form, the invitation was reissued: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Sadly, they said, “We will not come.” Their indifference and criticism intensified into hatred, blasphemy, and ultimately, rejection and crucifixion.
The Problem of Halfway Christianity
Today, the Lord extends this same invitation to us, Gentiles: “Come unto Me, I will give you rest.” What is the response of general Christianity? Many subtly say, “We will not come fully. We will go to men, we will go to the church, we will go to meetings, but we will not come fully to you.”
The danger today is perverted, halfway Christianity. Many try to bargain with Christ, taking what they like from Him (forgiveness) and ignoring what they don’t (lordship). Such a partial coming never gives true rest to the soul.
These verses (28-30) give the true, comprehensive gospel call, and the infallible Christ declares that if we obey this call fully, we will get rest for our souls. If you do not have that rest, it means you have not fully come as Christ calls in this invitation.
The Three Indispensable Aspects of the Gospel Call
The full gospel call contains three indispensable, absolutely necessary aspects for salvation and rest: Come, Take, and Learn.
- Come to Me (→ Rest as Priest)
- Take My Yoke Upon You (→ Rest as King)
- Learn From Me (→ Rest as Prophet)
The order is beautiful and logical: you can only take the yoke after you come, and you can only learn after you take the yoke.
The Full Christ
The one speaking is the infinite God-Man (v. 27), the only appointed Mediator, and the Exclusive Revealer of God. He guarantees rest by all the power of the Sovereign Mediator. He performs this mediatorial work in His three offices: Prophet, Priest, and King.
Today’s Christianity often makes the mistake of only wanting a partial Christ:
- They want Christ as their Priest (forgiveness of sins) but not as their King (submission to His rule) or Prophet (submission to His teaching).
- You will never find rest for your soul unless you take the Full Christ. Just as the Passover lamb had to be eaten whole, you must completely obey this command if you need rest for your souls.
1. Come to Me (Rest as Priest)
We previously established that “Come” is a synonym for Faith and Repentance (John 6:35).
- Repentance leaves the place where you now stand (your own efforts, rituals, sins).
- Faith comes into reliance upon Jesus.
This call is to all who are laboring and heavy laden under the active and passive effects of sin: guilt, bondage, emptiness, and the self-righteous toil of man-made religion. Christ calls them only to Himself because He alone is suited to meet these needs.
The Rest is Granted as Priest: The burden of guilt can only be removed by coming to Christ as our Sacrifice and High Priest. He is the Lamb of God who bore the agony of the cross and drank the wrath of God on our behalf. When the guilty conscience looks at the scourged and crucified Savior and hears His triumphant cry, “It is finished,” the mountains of guilt melt away, and peace is found in His wounds and sufferings.
2. Take My Yoke Upon You (Rest as King)
Now we move to the second indispensable aspect of the call:
“Take My yoke upon you…” (v. 29)
If a man has truly come to Christ in faith (v. 28), it will inevitably lead to the next two steps. Faith that does not lead to taking the yoke and learning from Him is a dead faith.
The Nature of the Yoke The yoke is an instrument that binds two draft animals together so they might plow the same line and move in the same direction. It signifies absolute identification with the Master and His purpose.
- Implies Submission to His Person (King): To take Christ’s yoke is to come under His Lordship and Rule. It is an act of unreserved commitment to Him.
- Identity of Will: “My yoke” means replacing your own self-will with His will. It is utter submission to His will and His purpose for your life.
- The Problem with Halfway Christians: Many want Christ as their Priest to save them from hell, but they do not want Him as their King to rule their lives. They want deliverance from the penalty of sin but not deliverance from the dominion of sin.
The Rest is Maintained as King: Rest means freedom from the tyranny of sin. The only way you can be free from the oppressive bondage of sin is to become a bondslave of Christ—to take His yoke.
- You are not being called to a lack of work, but a change of master.
- Freedom for a man created in God’s image is to do what he was made to do: live for the glory of God. Until the glory of God is precious and following His will is pleasure, you are not what you were made to be, and you will find no rest.
- The King takes away the crushing weight of the bondage of sin and replaces it with His control, which keeps you composed and peaceful through His Spirit.
We cannot bargain with Christ. The terms are fixed, the condition is settled: Complete Submission (taking the yoke) or No Rest.
3. And Learn From Me (Rest as Prophet)
The third indispensable aspect:
“…and learn from Me…” (v. 29)
- Implies Submission to His Truth (Prophet): This is absolute submission to Christ’s teaching. You must become His disciple, aligning your mind and life with His divine revelation.
- The Rest is Perfected as Prophet: The only cure for the emptiness and confusion of a meaningless life is to learn from Christ. He is the Light of the World, and He alone clears all the swirling masses of ideas, bringing clarity and the ultimate answers to man’s deepest questions (Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?).
The Gentle Character and The Light Burden
Jesus offers a final, compelling argument to remove any excuse:
- His Character: “…for I am gentle and lowly in heart…” (v. 29)
- Your new Master is not a tyrant like sin or the Law. He is gentle (not harsh or demanding impossible things) and lowly in heart (humble, not seeking His own glory but your good). You can trust Him.
- His Yoke: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (v. 30).
- The Law’s yoke and the yoke of religious ritual are hard and heavy; the yoke of sin is a crushing weight. Christ’s yoke is easy (pleasant, agreeable) and His burden is light (not oppressive or heavy). The spiritual energy Christ requires is what He Himself supplies. It is the difference between working for life and working from life.
The full gospel call is: Come (Faith/Repentance) to the Priest (for pardon and rest from guilt). Take (Submission) the King’s yoke (for freedom and rest from bondage). Learn (Discipleship) from the Prophet (for clarity and rest from confusion).
I plead with you: Come now! By an act of instantaneous faith, venture upon Him! Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him. Say to Him, “Here, Lord, I come. I long for release from the terrible weight of sin. I trust You and will take Your yoke.” Rest shall at once follow the exercise of your full faith.
We now focus on the second indispensable aspect of Christ’s call: “Take My yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29).
This is the call to absolute submission to Christ’s Lordship.
The Yoke as a Figure of Subjection
The yoke, made of wood and placed over the necks of oxen, was an instrument that:
- Curbed the animal’s will and brought it under the master’s control.
- Bound two oxen together to plow the same line and move in the same direction, preventing independent action.
- In Jesus’ day, it was used as a figure of speech for submitting to a teaching or a master’s authority. The apostles warned against placing the “yoke of the Law of Moses” (Acts 15:10) on Gentile believers, and Paul urged the Galatians not to return to the “yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).
The Contrast: Wild Ox vs. Yoked Servant
The force of this figure is seen by contrasting the natural state of man with the state of one under Christ’s yoke:
- The Natural Man: Like “a wild ass’s colt” (Job 11:12), completely unmanageable, self-willed, stubborn, and driven by lusts. He runs loose and wild, stamping here and there, wasting time, strength, and life uselessly. His life is purposeless and yields no fruit.
- The Yoked Man: His strength and energies are directed by the Master (Christ) and employed in useful service. His life becomes productive and finds its intended purpose.
To have meaning and usefulness in life, and to obtain rest for the soul, one needs the yoke of Christ. The natural man (the “aimlessly roaming” one) only becomes “alright” when he submits to the yoke of Christ.
Taking Christ’s Yoke: Unconditional Submission
The command “Take My yoke upon you” presupposes the throwing off of the former yokes:
- The yoke of sin and Satan.
- The yoke of self-will and self-pleasing.
This former life made man “stiff-necked,” refusing to be directed by the “ox goad” of God’s prompting. Christ declares that the yoke of self-will will destroy you and make your life useless; therefore, take My yoke.
The yoke of Christ signifies:
- Complete Dependence
- Unconditional Obedience
- Unreserved Submission (சமர்ப்பிப்பு) unto Him.
The true sinner, having come to Christ for rest, realizes, “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).
The Command to Surrender: The phrase is a command by which Christ implies: “Enough of living as you like and finding no rest. Surrender (சரணடைய) yourself to My Lordship, submit to My rule, let My will become yours. May I rule your heart as King.”
Christ demands absolute submission and obedience in all things, not just outwardly, but inwardly: “the bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
This is another way of giving the call to discipleship: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. . . Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me” (Matthew 16:24; 11:29).
This call requires complete surrender to the Lordship of Christ. He must be not only our Priest but also our King. The “easy believism” that omits this demand is a false gospel.
A Voluntary, Conscious Act
It is crucial to note that this yoke is not laid upon us by another; it is one which we are to place upon ourselves. Christ will never force this yoke on you.
The man who knows the depth of his labor and burden under sin will voluntarily take this yoke. It is a definite act of the mind—an act of conscious surrender to His authority: “Henceforth to be ruled only by Him.”
When Saul of Tarsus, convicted of his rebellion (“kicking against the pricks”) and conquered by the Savior’s compassion, asked, “Lord, what wouldest Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6), he took this yoke upon himself. His life’s path became: no more doing what I like, but “Lord, what is Your will?”
To take the yoke signifies:
- The setting aside of your own will.
- Completely submitting to His sovereignty.
- Acknowledging His Lordship in a practical way.
Christ demands something more than lip service: “Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
We are invited not only to come to Christ as Priest for rest from guilt, but also as King to be ruled by Him. Millions who call themselves Christians refuse to bend their necks for this yoke, living as “stiff-necked” individuals who want the comforts of the gospel but never submit to the conditions and demands of Christ.
Why the Yoke is “Easy” and the Burden is “Light”
It may seem a paradox to tell the burdened to take a yoke. The simple answer is in verse 30: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
- “My Yoke is Easy”: The word easy ($\chi \rho \eta \sigma \tau o ́ \varsigma$, chrēstos) means “well-fitted” or “agreeable” (ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளக்கூடியதாக) to us.
- Unlike a poorly made yoke that chafes and burdens, Christ’s yoke is made by the perfect Carpenter (Jesus Himself).
- It is perfectly agreeable to your nature, which was created in the image of God and made to be under this yoke. It is pleasant, peaceful, and the only path to perfect rest and joy. He will not place a yoke of service upon us that is not agreeable to the way He has made us.
- “My Burden is Light”: It is not something that will crush us or destroy us.
- He, unlike the Pharisees, does not desire to oppress us or pile on burdens we cannot bear. He is gentle and tender because He is meek and lowly.
- He Himself gives us the strength to bear it.
Instead of bondage, the yoke of Christ introduces the wearer into real liberty—the only genuine liberty there is. The only way to be freed from the bondage of sin is by becoming the bondservant of Christ.
The Yoke as Practical Union
Taking the yoke is the way to experience close communion and practical union with Christ, from which His joy, peace, and love flow.
- The yoke binds the two oxen together, making them walk at the same speed and on the same wavelength.
- This speaks of an intimate union: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
By taking His yoke, we enter into a practical union with Him so that we may enjoy holy fellowship. Just as Enoch “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), we are yoked with the eternal Son of God, who slows His pace to walk with us.
The rest of a quiet conscience, the rest of conscious friendship with God, the rest of fears dispelled, and the rest of forgiveness received—all this rest follows the act of coming in faith and taking His yoke.
Have you taken the yoke of Christ? Have you completely surrendered, unconditionally, to the Lordship of Christ? If you need rest, you must come and take the yoke, for Christ will not force it on you. Take Him up on His invitation and find rest for your soul.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 