Ekklesia: Shared Yoke
by Dr. Patti Amsden
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Jesus called his followers to put on His yoke, which was an offer to join Him in His labors. Matthew 11:28-30 reads, “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The reading of this passage must be set into the context in which the invitation was extended. Jesus had just admonished the people of Israel because they did not believe in Him, His words, or His works. He told them that they were like children who heard the sound of music but did not dance or who heard the mourners weeping but did not join in the mourning. In other words, the listeners did not give the ordinary or appropriate response. Rather, they refused to react commensurately to that which they had heard. He continued His rebuke by comparing the Israeli cities of Chorazin, Behsaida, and Capernanum to godless nations in Israel’s history – including Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom – and stated that those pagan nations would not be judged as harshly as Israel in the day of judgment. Into the context of impending chastisement, which could be described as a yoke of oppression, Jesus extended the invitation to take on His yoke.
Perhaps His listeners understood the meaning of a yoke of judgment upon the necks of Israel. If they had been familiar with the writings of their prophets and if they had a heart to receive the warning of the Lord, the words about a yoke should have resonated within their beings. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah warned their people that an oppressing nation was going to conquer their lands and take captive the inhabitants. The metaphor for the approaching doom was that of putting a heavy yoke upon the necks of God’s people and can be clearly seen in Jeremiah, chapters 27 and 28. The prophet was instructed by the Lord to make wooden yokes. He was to put one on himself and send the others to five neighboring kings: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. (Please note that Tyre and Sidon were also referenced in above passage where Jesus was speaking about the yoke of approaching defeat and suppression.) Jeremiah also sent a yoke to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. All the kings were admonished to submit to the yoke that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would put upon them. Through subjugation to the great empire of Babylon, they and their citizens would live. If they waged war and refused to surrender, they would be destroyed. Jeremiah also instructed the kings to not listen to any false counselor who might advise or prophesy to them to refuse the impending yoke.
Indeed, Babylon did invade the nations. Zedekiah ignored the admonition of Jeremiah, listened to false prophets, and brought much devastation to his people and Jerusalem. The yoke of the Babylonian king was placed upon the necks of the people of God. The yoke was heavy; they yoke was burdensome; the yoke brought them into subjugation. The Babylonian captivity resulted because the nation of Israel refused to hear the voice of her prophets, repent, and return to God. During the days of Christ’s ministry upon the earth, the nation was again offered an opportunity to hear the voice a prophet, although this prophet, Jesus, was greater than any prophet of old. The people both heard the words and saw the works of the promised Messiah, but they would neither hear nor see (Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10).
The metaphor of the yoke carries a greater message than just that of servitude to an enemy. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah also used the representation of the yoke to convey a promise. The time of God-ordered chastisement would come to an end and the people of God were promised to be set free from Babylon and allowed to return to their homeland where they could rebuild their temple, resettle their lands, and repair their cities. Isaiah 10:27 reads, “And in that day the weight which he (Nebuchadnezzar) put on your back will be taken away, and his yoke broken from off your neck” (BBE). Jeremiah 30: 8-9 states, “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his (Nebuchadnezzar’s) yoke from off thy neck and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will arise up unto them” (KJV).
Whereas the threat of oppression was framed in the language of wearing a yoke, the promise of deliverance was posed in the verbiage of the removal of a yoke. One often quoted passage from Isaiah about the removal of a yoke is placed into the context of the coming Messiah. “The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light. The light will shine on those who live in the land of death's shadow. You will expand the nation and increase its happiness. It will be happy in your presence like those who celebrate the harvest or rejoice when dividing loot. You will break the yoke that burdens them, the bar that is across their shoulders, and the stick used by their oppressor, as (you did in the battle against) Midian. Every warrior's boot marching to the sound of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel in the fire. A Child will be born for us. A Son will be given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and peace will have unlimited growth. He will establish David's throne and kingdom. He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The Lord of Armies is determined to do this!” (Isaiah 9:2-7 – GW)
Isaiah, who had prophesied that Israel would come out from under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, was looking throughout the corridors of time and speaking to an era when the Child would be born. This Wonderful Counselor Son, who is revealed in scripture to be Jesus, would break the yoke of the enemy and bring about a kingdom that would have no end. When Jesus was speaking to the Jewish leaders and citizens of Israel, he had two yokes in mind. He knew that an oppressor’s yoke was impending if they failed to repent and hear him. He also knew that He was the Child who was born to offer His yoke. And – His yoke was identified to be easy and His burden light.
He, indeed, did offer a yoke. He did not come to cast off the oppressor’s yoke and then allow the people to live unbridled or unharnessed. He came to extend an invitation to His people to willingly work with him. Like Adam and his original commission in Genesis, mankind was created to work for God and with God. Man was offered a yoke from the beginning. Casting aside the invitation to team up with God in earth management, Adam was forced to wear the yoke of the enemy. The result of co-laboring with the serpent brought servitude, subjugation and oppression. Jesus came to break that yoke and offer kingdom co-labors to His people.
What would Jesus’ yoke look like? How would taking on His yoke cause the believer to learn of Him? These concepts will be discussed in the next article.
The reading of this passage must be set into the context in which the invitation was extended. Jesus had just admonished the people of Israel because they did not believe in Him, His words, or His works. He told them that they were like children who heard the sound of music but did not dance or who heard the mourners weeping but did not join in the mourning. In other words, the listeners did not give the ordinary or appropriate response. Rather, they refused to react commensurately to that which they had heard. He continued His rebuke by comparing the Israeli cities of Chorazin, Behsaida, and Capernanum to godless nations in Israel’s history – including Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom – and stated that those pagan nations would not be judged as harshly as Israel in the day of judgment. Into the context of impending chastisement, which could be described as a yoke of oppression, Jesus extended the invitation to take on His yoke.
Perhaps His listeners understood the meaning of a yoke of judgment upon the necks of Israel. If they had been familiar with the writings of their prophets and if they had a heart to receive the warning of the Lord, the words about a yoke should have resonated within their beings. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah warned their people that an oppressing nation was going to conquer their lands and take captive the inhabitants. The metaphor for the approaching doom was that of putting a heavy yoke upon the necks of God’s people and can be clearly seen in Jeremiah, chapters 27 and 28. The prophet was instructed by the Lord to make wooden yokes. He was to put one on himself and send the others to five neighboring kings: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. (Please note that Tyre and Sidon were also referenced in above passage where Jesus was speaking about the yoke of approaching defeat and suppression.) Jeremiah also sent a yoke to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. All the kings were admonished to submit to the yoke that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would put upon them. Through subjugation to the great empire of Babylon, they and their citizens would live. If they waged war and refused to surrender, they would be destroyed. Jeremiah also instructed the kings to not listen to any false counselor who might advise or prophesy to them to refuse the impending yoke.
Indeed, Babylon did invade the nations. Zedekiah ignored the admonition of Jeremiah, listened to false prophets, and brought much devastation to his people and Jerusalem. The yoke of the Babylonian king was placed upon the necks of the people of God. The yoke was heavy; they yoke was burdensome; the yoke brought them into subjugation. The Babylonian captivity resulted because the nation of Israel refused to hear the voice of her prophets, repent, and return to God. During the days of Christ’s ministry upon the earth, the nation was again offered an opportunity to hear the voice a prophet, although this prophet, Jesus, was greater than any prophet of old. The people both heard the words and saw the works of the promised Messiah, but they would neither hear nor see (Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10).
The metaphor of the yoke carries a greater message than just that of servitude to an enemy. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah also used the representation of the yoke to convey a promise. The time of God-ordered chastisement would come to an end and the people of God were promised to be set free from Babylon and allowed to return to their homeland where they could rebuild their temple, resettle their lands, and repair their cities. Isaiah 10:27 reads, “And in that day the weight which he (Nebuchadnezzar) put on your back will be taken away, and his yoke broken from off your neck” (BBE). Jeremiah 30: 8-9 states, “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his (Nebuchadnezzar’s) yoke from off thy neck and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will arise up unto them” (KJV).
Whereas the threat of oppression was framed in the language of wearing a yoke, the promise of deliverance was posed in the verbiage of the removal of a yoke. One often quoted passage from Isaiah about the removal of a yoke is placed into the context of the coming Messiah. “The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light. The light will shine on those who live in the land of death's shadow. You will expand the nation and increase its happiness. It will be happy in your presence like those who celebrate the harvest or rejoice when dividing loot. You will break the yoke that burdens them, the bar that is across their shoulders, and the stick used by their oppressor, as (you did in the battle against) Midian. Every warrior's boot marching to the sound of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel in the fire. A Child will be born for us. A Son will be given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and peace will have unlimited growth. He will establish David's throne and kingdom. He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The Lord of Armies is determined to do this!” (Isaiah 9:2-7 – GW)
Isaiah, who had prophesied that Israel would come out from under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, was looking throughout the corridors of time and speaking to an era when the Child would be born. This Wonderful Counselor Son, who is revealed in scripture to be Jesus, would break the yoke of the enemy and bring about a kingdom that would have no end. When Jesus was speaking to the Jewish leaders and citizens of Israel, he had two yokes in mind. He knew that an oppressor’s yoke was impending if they failed to repent and hear him. He also knew that He was the Child who was born to offer His yoke. And – His yoke was identified to be easy and His burden light.
He, indeed, did offer a yoke. He did not come to cast off the oppressor’s yoke and then allow the people to live unbridled or unharnessed. He came to extend an invitation to His people to willingly work with him. Like Adam and his original commission in Genesis, mankind was created to work for God and with God. Man was offered a yoke from the beginning. Casting aside the invitation to team up with God in earth management, Adam was forced to wear the yoke of the enemy. The result of co-laboring with the serpent brought servitude, subjugation and oppression. Jesus came to break that yoke and offer kingdom co-labors to His people.
What would Jesus’ yoke look like? How would taking on His yoke cause the believer to learn of Him? These concepts will be discussed in the next article.
