Now, we know that there are some amongst us that believe that coming to Jesus is ‘our part’ of the transaction called salvation, and the taking the yoke is their part in the same transaction. Maybe Jesus does His part, say 10% and then the sinner continues to do his part, the remaining 90%. Well, that is NOT what this verse is teaching at all. Jesus Christ does His part which is 100% of the price of our salvation, and then He allows us to serve Him in this life—but the yoke-taking is our insurance against drifting back into this present evil world from which we have been redeemed. If we are bound together with Christ so that we are forced to walk with Him, side-by-side, through life’s challenges we will have less of struggle discerning what would Jesus do in any given situation. Read on, reader—it will become apparent.
In chapter 11 we notice in verse 20 our Lord is frustrated with the national reception of His message.
“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not” (Matthew 11:20).
And then we notice in verses 25 through 27 . . .
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:25-27).
So, it is revealed individually by faith. You notice that because He uses the word ‘babes’ in there. Our Lord gives the last three verses of the chapter to individuals, that have a receptive heart.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour 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 ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
These that have this heart condition, Jesus will reveal His will to. You got to have a receptive heart, you gotta want. It has to be outside of you. It’s not about what you can figure out that you can do—you need God, you need to want to need God.
And don’t get me wrong. Doctrinally, He is still offering the nation of Israel a chance to repent and accept Him as their Messiah-King, but the further we go in the Gospels—that is Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—and as you are going toward the Crucifixion, the more we see this pattern develop and the more we see that the Gentiles believe Him more and He begins to move towards them. We are required to place our entire being into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of the lost condition—the contrast—to a person under the yoke. We are talking about that yoke, remember the Lord said to take His yoke upon you?
“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3:27).
This is why it is important for your kids to grow up with the Bible, not with concepts and ideas about God—but with the holy Word of God—Scriptures. When you give them a Bible story, you make sure that the Scriptures are emphasized—usually emphasized first—then you give them the concepts or whatever you are going to do to illustrate the Bible, but they need to know that it is the Word of God that is important. Because everybody has opinions. Right? But you get that little child knowing the Scripture, remember Timothy knowing the Scriptures from his youth? When they finally arrive to being a teenager and they get to those areas where they think they are already 35, at least they’ll be loaded with a bunch of Scriptures. So, when they keep messing up, a Scripture will come to mind. If they are saved, the Holy Spirit will bring that Scripture to mind, and they’ll say, yea! No Scripture—nothing in your mind.
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalms 119:9).
How are you going to cleanse yourself? “with the washing of the water of the Word.” “Sanctify them by thy truth, thy Word is truth.”
So, you see by them removing words from the Bible—making all these funny Bibles out there—they are robbing people of the power. And that is where we are today.
Here it is talking about the youth. So, it gives the picture of a young man being taught discipline so that when he grows up he would not become a slave to things that would ruin him.
When God chastened Ephraim, we learn that they couldn’t stay in the yoke . . .
“ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God” (Jeremiah 31:18).
Boy, Jeremiah had a problem preaching, didn’t he? He actually didn’t see any fruit while he was living. He was a condemnation kind of preacher—he told them what would happen to them if they didn’t quite messing around—and they kept messing around and exactly what he said would happen did happen. Why? Because God gave him the message. God gives you the message and you got problems.
What happened to Ephraim? Well, he got outside of the yoke. He didn’t want to do what God wanted him to do. He didn’t want to work with God. Ephraim got outside, and God chastened him. Very sorely, to the point where they used that term because it was common. It spoke of two animals under a yoke together, and you are not supposed to mix animals. Somebody say, ‘well I know . . .” Well, where there is an exception proves the rule. You know, two oxen working together works good. You are not going to mix animals that are not going to be contrary one to another—it just doesn’t work that well—something like a Christian and a lost person trying to hang around together. You almost think you got it down to where you can do both—be in God’s family and still mess around with the world—and then something happens, and you find out that you were not in His yoke. Similar things you can spiritualize so.
And the nature of man is compared to a wild asses colt. Yes, it’s Bible terminology I just used. Yes, it is.
“For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt” (Job 11:12).
So, not only a wild ass, but a younger one. That’s even worse. Wow! I mean, if daddy and mommy are wild, what do you think the kids are going to be like? But Job compares the natural man like that. That’s what he says. ‘Vanity, vanity, all is vanity, saith the preacher.’ He might be wise, but he is still wild. What does that mean? Completely self-willed, determined to have his own way no matter what it costs. They don’t care about their wives, or their husbands, nor the future of their children. Wow! Sounds like today, sure does, don’t it?
Man lost his anchor when Adam sinned. His heart has no mooring. He is at the mercy of winds and waves; his heart has been set on self-destruction—and the amazing thing is—he does not recognize it. None of them recognize it. If you stop the average person who has been partying or whatever he thinks he is doing with his life, and you say, “You know you act like you are going to live forever.” They have to stop and think about that, because that is exactly what they are doing, isn’t it? They are out there living stupid—like fools. They don’t care about the future—they don’t care about anything—it’s heaven now because there is no heaven later. And yet they have the sense inside of them that they are going to live for all eternity. They are never going to die, they are going to party on forever 24X7 because they are never gonna die. That’s the way they feel inside. I’m here to tell you that you are going to die, but the inside is not, that is why you have the sense that you are going to live forever.
The question is where are you going to spend forever after you die?
People don’t stop to think. They are like wild asses! They are out there just living like hell, and wicked. And this country is promoting it—it’s supposed to be okay. It’s dangerous times we are living in. You gotta figure out what yoke you are in.
The yoke of Christ is definitely opposite of all of this—it’s complete dependence, unqualified—unqualified obedience and unreserved submission to Jesus. He says, “Come unto me . . .” Now that is our Lord’s compassionate cry to those who will hear Him. “Come unto me . . .” is a plea with a requirement. What is the requirement? He says, “take my yoke upon you.” That’s what it means. You got to surrender your ambitions, your emotions, your will to the Lord—to His rule—and let His will be yours.
A. What part of Jesus Christ and His ministry do you reject? Do you reject the part where He helps others? He speaks out for truth. Do you reject the part where He is being rejected for making a stand? What part of Christ do you reject?
B. What part of Jesus Christ is flawed? Have you examined Him? We’d be curious to find out what you think about Him. What part don’t you like about Him? What part is flawed in Jesus Christ?
C. What part do you refuse to trust Jesus Christ with? Do you trust Him with your health? You don’t pray before you even go to a doctor? You don’t pray about what’s going on in your body? You don’t think that He is concerned about that?
I don’t know what a person can do, except tell you over and over again—YOU NEED GOD! You need God for salvation, first of all. If you are saved, you need God to live it. We preach and we teach that we should give our body and soul and mind to Him. Is that possible? The Bible says it is . . .
“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27).
Does it practically work for all of us? It will if you initiate it. Do all of us do it? No. Or if we do it is hit or miss.
Some of you still aren’t getting the money part. So you will continue—continue—to reap that part. If you keep giving your bodies to things you shouldn’t—you’ll reap there also. He is not a bad God, He is a good God—ALL THE TIME!
If you refuse to listen, and you refuse to obey Him by faith—you are going to learn some things the hard way. You may die before you learn it all. But when you get up there you will find out, that those riches that you are putting up in glory up there, they are conducive—they are connected—with your belief down here. Your walk of faith down here. I mean, good night, what if the Lord were to tell you that for ‘reasonable service’ you have to give 90%. Probably none of us would be serving God. We’d be in the poor house or out on the street.
Yoke! You ain’t under the yoke, if you’re doing your own thing. Who does that hurt? You, your family, the church family, it hurts missionaries, hurts everything that has to do with you, because you think that you are so significant. You’re not reading your Bible. You’re not listening to the preaching. You got your mind fixed. Amen.
Lost person, do you need rest? Do you hear Jesus’ offer to you? Why would you wait to receive it? Why reject your only hope? Men, ladies, boys and girls to whom this rest you have already received? Have you neglected the Scriptures and found yourself with unrest?