“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV).

Do you get excited when you learn something new about a verse that you’ve read many times before? Do you get even more excited when the Holy Spirit seems to connect the dots between that new thing and your everyday life? A couple of years ago I learned something new (to me) about these verses, and the Holy Spirit is still connecting the dots. I know He wants to do the same for all of us.

Listening To Rabbi Jesus

Jesus was one of many rabbis that taught in synagogues and trained up disciples to carry on His teachings. In fact, many of the things Jesus says seem a bit confusing at first read, until you realize He’s using an expression that was commonly used among rabbis and known by the people at the time. When we put on the “rabbi filter” and read these verses from Matthew, this is what we discover.

First century Israel was an agricultural society. They used oxen and donkeys to plow fields and power simple machines. If one ox is good, two is better. You would put a yoke around the neck of the oxen, which then bound them to one another and to the plow, or wagon or whatever they were pulling. The two functioned as one. Whichever ox was stronger, or more stubborn, or had more experience, was the one that set the pace for both of them. Where one led, the other had to go because of the yoke.

If you needed to train a new ox, one that had matured enough to do a day’s work, you would put it in a yoke with an older, more experienced ox. This ox knew how fast to go and how much energy to use so as not to get burned out too early in the day. One ox trained the other.

This was one of the pictures that rabbis, including Jesus, used to communicate the process of learning to be a disciple of a rabbi.

Teamed Up With Jesus

In my own imagination I’ve always pictured the believer as an ox all by itself and Jesus as a farmer sitting on an empty wagon, steering and driving the ox. Am I the only one? I don’t think that’s what it’s supposed to be.

Instead, what I think Jesus is trying to communicate, what His original hearers would have understood, is this: Jesus is the more experienced ox, which in itself is a Biblical pattern for a servant, with whom I am to be yoked. As I am yoked to Him I can learn His pace, His rhythms, His strength and His direction.

This gives me goose bumps! Go back and reread the verses at the beginning of this article with that picture in mind.

The yoke was a picture of the manner in which rabbis trained their disciples. They could be rough, harsh and manipulative. Jesus said that His yoke was easy, which means gracious, kind and gentle.

The burden was the rules and regulations rabbis would put on their disciples. Think of the things Jesus often dealt with in regard to the legalism of the pharisees. Jesus said that His burden was light, meaning just that, not heavy. It wasn’t a drag.

Putting It All Together

Oftentimes Bible teachers today put this verse out as a call to people who are burned out by life. Life can be very hard to be sure. Sickness, finances, politics, addiction, family turmoil, depression, the list goes on. However, in context, these verses are not primarily aimed at people who are having a hard time in life.

In context, these verses are primarily aimed at people who want to follow God, but they have a harsh yoke and a heavy burden put on them by those who are leading them. Jesus is talking to people trapped in any religious system where there are rules to follow and standards to meet & exceed in order to be saved. Laws, not love. Rules, not relationship.

The reason we cannot apply these verses to simply being burned out by life is because taking Jesus’ yoke upon ourselves, which is an act of choice and obedience, doesn’t automatically make life easy. The things we deal with in life don’t just go away and suddenly life becomes light.

What does happen as we take on Jesus’ yoke, is that the way in which we deal with life changes.

If you are someone who is burned out by life, Jesus’ words do apply to you. What you may not realize is that you are following someone. It might be yourself, it might be the culture, but you are yoked to someone; and it is harsh and heavy. Stop following that and start following Jesus.

The purpose of being yoked with Jesus is to let Him lead while we learn. We learn how to navigate these things the way Jesus did, the way Jesus does.

. We learn to go at His pace and not be in a rush nor be too slow.
. We learn His rhythms, which means we learn when to work and when to rest.
. We learn to rely on His strength as well as using the strength and skills with which He has equipped us by His Spirit.
. We learn to follow where He leads and not go our own way.

How Do We Do This?

First, you have to be someone who wants to go deeper with the Lord, just like those Jesus was talking to in Matthew. You get out of a relationship what you put into it, which includes your expectations. If you don’t expect Jesus to do anything, or if you don’t expect to get anything out of this, then He won’t, and you won’t.

Second, obey Jesus’ command to “come.” Find ways to actively and intentionally be near to Him. How do we do this? It depends on how you’re wired. Try some combination of the following and find what works for you. If/when it stops working, because we all change over time, try a different method.

Prayer: Speaking with God. You talk, He listens. He talks, you listen. You can pray in your head silently, out loud, or even written. Find ways to pray throughout the day because Jesus is moving through the day.
Bible Reading: Churches often provide a reading schedule you can use. Free and paid Bible apps provide a variety of reading plans. They are usually based on a topic, or reading a part of the Bible over a period of time. There are audio Bibles you can listen to on breaks at work.
Bible Study: This is different than Bible reading. To be a Christian is to be a student of ancient history. Pick a book of the Bible, a character or a topic and try to become an expert on it. You may or may not become an actual expert on it, but it gives you a level of depth and commitment to aim for. There are podcasts from Bible teachers, Bible schools and universities with materials on ancient history and languages, all available for free in many cases.
Devotionals: Devotionals often provide most of the above elements in “bite sized” pieces for you to read and pray through every day. Some pastors provide a daily devotional email you can subscribe to. You can find devotionals in book form, included in Bible apps and as standalone apps.

Third, put it into practice. Follow Him. Don’t run ahead and try to impress Him. Don’t hang back thinking He is going to do everything for you either. It’s a partnership. Watch what He does and do it. Listen to what He says, believe it and share it.

It was understating the picture that Jesus was using that partially inspired me to embark on a project called The Rhythm Journal. I needed something to help me recognize Jesus’ yoke in my life, so I made this for myself. If you are looking for something to help you be consistent in your daily habits, or perhaps learn them for the first time, it might be helpful to you as well.

The point is, if you are tired and feel overloaded in how you are trying to follow after God, or tired of doing things your own way, then stop. Team up with Jesus. Get in His yoke with Him, learn how He does it, and your soul will be refreshed. Develop a habit of prayer that works for you. Find a way to keep God’s word in your mind and heart all day everyday. Become an expert at something in the Bible and share it with others. As you do this you will be regularly equipped to follow Him and His example.

Where do you need to start?

Have you ever tried to explain something very carefully, only to have people take away every conclusion except the one you were trying to make? Anyone who has ever worked with kids will say yes and amen. Every few years someone seems to come along and say that they know when Jesus will return, even though Jesus Himself said more than once in the same setting that, “of that day and hour no one knows…” (Matthew 24:36, NKJV). If people keep coming up with Biblical proof for dates of Jesus’ return, yet Jesus said that only His Father knows when that will happen, we have to ask the question, “Exactly what hour do we knoweth not?” (King James).

The Bible Says That Jesus Will Return

I don’t think that I need to go to great lengths to back up the idea that the Bible says Jesus will return. Some lengths but not great ones.

• Matthew 24 and 25 are an overview from Jesus Himself.
• Luke 21:27, “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Jesus speaking)
• John 14:3, “And if I [Jesus] go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
• Acts 1:11, “…This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Angels at Jesus’ ascension)
• Acts 7, Stephen’s survey of the Old Testament and the pattern of God’s representative being rejected first then accepted later, just like Jesus.
• Revelation 19:11-21, Jesus returning on a white horse with armies.
Now, here is the kicker. The reason that we have to ask the question is this: The above commonly quoted passages are not all talking about the same single event. To misquote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, “You keep on using that verse. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Of Raptures And Returns

Again, going to some lengths but not great lengths, here is how I see it. The rapture is not the same thing as the Second Coming. The reason it is confusing is because they both involve Jesus coming back, but in different ways and for different reasons.

The Rapture is a Reunion

So much to say, so little space. Please study this out for yourself. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
I believe this is what Jesus is talking about in John 14:3. I believe this is what the angels are referring to in Acts 1:11. I believe it is what Paul is also talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 when the dead are resurrected, but the living are “changed.” The living skip death and go right to resurrection bodies.
When will the rapture happen? We don’t know. It could happen at any time. There is no sign or event that has to happen before the rapture happens. That isn’t the case for the Second Coming. But the rapture isn’t the event referred to when it comes to knowing the day and hour.
The only thing that we know in terms of timing for the rapture is that it happens before the events that lead up to the Second Coming. Call it pre-trib, or pre-70th week of Daniel (see studies on Daniel 9:24-27), or pre-Revelation 6-19, this timeline makes the most sense to me when all the relevant scriptures are taken into account. The rapture is a reunion.

The Return is a Reign

Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man, “…Coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” (Matthew 24:30), and “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matthew 25:31). From Luke 21:27, quoted above, and this Second Coming to rule and reign, no one knows the day or the hour when this is going to happen. And yet, this is the event that people claim to know when it will happen.

By my count in these two chapters of Matthew alone, Jesus says no less than four times that no one knows when this will happen (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44 and Matthew 25:13). He helps to make this clear with a number of parables. One thing that is clear is that the Second Coming, the return of Jesus, is to reign.

Then Why Did Jesus Make Such a Big Deal?

If no one can know when Jesus will return with power and great glory, then why did Jesus go so over the top with all of the signs we are to look for regarding His return? Why did He warn us not to be deceived, tell us what the deceptions look like, and even point out the specific prophecy of the “abomination of desolation” (read Daniel 9-12) as a major landmark before His return?
Because Jesus knows that we are prone to spend too much time trying to figure out when He will do what we want Him to do, that we won’t spend enough time doing the things He has called us to do.

Representatives and Representations

What has Jesus called us to do? I think Acts 1:4-8 illustrates our situation best.
Jesus is trying to tell His disciples that the Holy Spirit is going to come and equip them for ministry as promised. But all that they are interested in is when Jesus will restore the kingdom to Israel, also as promised. Sound familiar? Jesus has to redirect their focus, and ours, back to what we are supposed to be about.

“It is not for you to know times or seasons for which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8, NKJV).
We tend to make this a one-or-the-other situation. Either we should forget about being out there in that dirty, old world of sinners and watch for the signs of the times, or we should forget about all that end times bologna and get busy feeding, clothing and sheltering people.
The Biblical reality, the Jesus reality, is that it is both. We are to watch for the signs so that we have a general idea of the little time we have left to be witnesses, to be representatives and representations of Jesus, to a lost and hurting world of sinners in need of the Savior.

What Day and Hour Should We Be Concerned With?

According to Jesus, knowing the day or the hour isn’t important. It isn’t even the point. The point, according to Jesus in Matthew 24-25, is this:
• Be ready, unlike those in the days Noah.
• Be faithful, unlike the self-serving servant.
• Be wise, unlike the unprepared wedding party.
• Be responsible, unlike the fearful and lazy servant.
In other words, be a student of God’s word while being a servant of God’s people with the power of God’s Spirit. The better we do that, the more people will be prepared for that future unknown day and hour. For now, the day that we should be concerned with is today. The hour is now. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Who will you represent Jesus to today?