Easy & Light

  

I was thinking about this passage today during my time alone with God.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

A yoke is still a yoke. A yoke is used for something. It has purpose. It's for accomplishing an end. Jesus never said it would for real be easy. It is necessary. It's work. Doing stuff takes stuff. The yoke was made for doing stuff. 

We read Matt 11:30 and think that means it should be a walk in the park but then we forget that all of his disciples were martyred. Even John had multiple attempts made on his life. The kind of easy Jesus was speaking of was altogether different than the connotation of the word we drag up in our comfortable 21st century minds.

Paul talked about being a slave to Christ. It's hard sometimes. And ministry life can be really hard at times—but it beats the hell (literally) out of the alternative.

To live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) 

Paul said that too. 

A burden is still a burden. There's a big difference in the burden that Jesus brings and the one sin brings. Jesus brings a burden of peace, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love, understanding, consideration, and justice—all wrapped in grace. Sin brings a burden of brokenness, wretchedness, insecurity, deception, blindness, stubbornness, and fear—all wrapped in death.

The burden Jesus brings is a burden. But it's light.

It is easy to carry in respect to the death that is the alternative. The yoke is light but it is a yoke. It is quite simply a great relief to your soul in regards to the death that is available should you choose to shackle yourself to a yoke of your own making.

Jesus is better. Believe it. 

May 22 - Denounced

Read: Matthew 11:20-24

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. (Matthew 11:20 ESV)

We choose whether or not to believe in the supernatural. It is a choice all of us must wrestle with. For some this is an easy and nearly effortless struggle as they willingly, readily, and eagerly accept the notion of things happening beyond the realm of natural explanation. Others reject offhand the notion that anything can take place that is not potentially explainable by science.

Where do you fall on that scale? Maybe you find yourself believing in the supernatural. Maybe you have seen things that are unexplainable. This important statement that Jesus made boils down to one question; what do you do with the revelation of Jesus' supernatural power?

Some who experience the supernatural still refuse to acknowledge the source of that power. They explain it away, chock it up coincidence, and try to forget about it. Jesus would have none of that. He let it be known that his supernatural acts were attempts to draw attention to the Father. Everything the Son did was to exalt the Father.

Jesus used powerful language when describing the fate awaiting those who experienced his supernatural power and did not repent. He warned them of the trouble that awaited their stubborn refusal to return to a right standing with God. It's a side of Jesus we rarely see in the Gospels.

What would it take for Jesus to denounce you or I? Surely we must be wary of falling into the same trap of refusing repentance. It's not about merely being sorry for our actions. It is about our willful acknowledgement of God's plan and power.

May 14 - Rest in Jesus

Read: Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

Rural farm life is a very laborious lifestyle. There are tons of things that must consistently and regularly be done to keep the various animals and plants. It is taxing over time. It is hard but honest work.

Jesus was familiar with hard work. He grew up in the home of a carpenter. In all likelihood he was trained as a carpenter. What kind of labor was he talking about resting from?

Jesus was speaking to a people group who were being taxed, both literally and figuratively, at every angle. The Romans taxed them, their own king taxed them, and even the religious system, the Temple priests, taxed them. He was speaking to a group of people who were intimately familiar with the notion of working in vain.

The Jews strained under the yoke of an oppressively cruel occupying military force. They struggled beneath the inexhaustible appetite of a wicked royal dynasty. The one place that should have been their champion, the one place that should have offered answers, and a respite for their souls, was the Temple; but it was perhaps the heaviest yoke of all. The Temple had become such a horribly corrupt system of extortion and entrapment that the devout were enslaved to empty promises that brandished a ludicrous price tag. All of that sounds eerily familiar.

Jesus offered an alternative. He announced that he was the way to God. He demonstrated power and authority in keeping with that claim. And then he offered it free of charge. He offered rest. He offered change.

That sounds pretty good to me. I could use a rest like that. What about you?

April 1 - Miracles

Read: Isaiah 35:5-6 & Matthew 11:2-6 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; (Isaiah 35:5, 6 ESV)

Around 700 B.C. the Old Testament prophet Isaiah lived and ministered among the Jews. His written work which bears his name is sometimes called the "Fifth Gospel" because of how frequently he prophesied about Jesus. Isaiah prophesied plainly that the Messiah would be a miracle worker.

I've spent a lot of time hearing about and thinking about miracles in my life. I grew up within a Christian movement that openly accepts not only the possibility, but the likely probability, of miracles. I believe that I have even experienced a couple of miracles during my life.

I don't think that average common Jew was very familiar with the likelihood of the miraculous before Jesus came on the scene. They had all of the stories of Moses and the Judges to cling to, but religious oppressiveness had most likely pushed their expectation for any direct interventional supernatural activity initiated by God out of their minds. Some groups of Jews actually vehemently denied the possibility of the supernatural.

Jesus changed everything.

He was more than an illusionist. He was more than a sorcerer. He was even more than a miracle worker. He was God, come to be with man so that he might save man. While he was here he performed a lot of miracles. He did them everywhere he went. He did them for followers, strangers, neighbors, allies, and sometimes even enemies.

Do you believe in the possibiltiy of miracles? What is a miracle you would like to see? What is a miracle you might be in need of?

March 26 - Offended

Read: Matthew 11:2-6

And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. (Matthew 11:6 ESV)

Jesus' cousin John the Baptizer had already seen proof of Jesus' identity as the foretold Messiah. John himself was a prophesied child. He was the one sent as a voice that would prepare the people for the coming of The Lord. Still, when John found himself imprisoned he reached out to Jesus for one more confirmation. Jesus did not disappoint.

John's followers went to Jesus per the Baptizer's request and returned to share news of the incredible things Jesus was doing. Miracles were happening. The kind of which had never been seen before among the Jews. This was Jesus' testimony about himself as to the power and confirmation of his true identity as Messiah. As John's disciples parted Jesus offered one last comment, "blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

Jesus' words may sound strange at first but they would have been incredibly encouraging to John. John was arrested because his preaching offended a powerful man. Jesus in essence was issuing John a confirming statement. This same message holds true for us today.

We live in an age when many people find the message of the unmitigated Gospel offensive. They don't know how to handle the truth of the idea that mankind is responsible for their sinfulness, that all have sinned, and that Jesus is the only answer to the sin problem. So people often try to change the message to be less offensive by leaving out or altering the portions which would appear offensive.

Jesus' words are a clear warning. The Gospel will offend. Those with too much pride will reject its truth for their own comfort. They will harden their hearts. Those who embrace the offensiveness of Jesus will instead be changed by it. They will find freedom in the fact that although we are all sinful, and we are all responsible for our sin, Jesus offers us a way out. Truly blessed indeed are those who are not offended by Jesus.

March 18 - Rest

Read: Matthew 11:25-27

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

We live in a face paced world. It is an age of instant gratification, rapid information, and rampant busyness. We pack our schedules full to bursting, and often with necessary things, but when do we rest?

Jesus spoke to the crowds about rest. He offered them rest from the insane nonsense that had been heaped upon them by the religious elite. He offered them change.

We need that same kind of change today. Sometimes it's from our own stupidity. Sometimes we are looking for a rest from the craziness that comes into our lifes from others. Jesus is a place we can go to and find rest. Whether it is an actual change in our schedule, or it is a total change of lifestyle—Christ is compelling us to see that our way leads to burdens and the broken backs of heavy living. He, in turn, offers rest. In the midst of this remarkably busy season of ministry a little rest sounds pretty good right about now.

February 28 - Jesus’ Tours

Read: Matthew 11

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. (Matthew 11:1 ESV)

Jesus went on several large tours of the region around Galilee. He preached and taught about the kingdom of God everywhere he went. Traveling, preaching, and teaching were the practical means by which he communicated the purpose of God.

Jesus recruited men from all over Galilee. Men of all different backgrounds, probably from cities and villages of all different backgrounds, and then he travelled to their various cities preaching the kingdom of God. In some way I believe he was strategically modeling for them how to reach their own people.

Several instant images that come to mind when I think of the word tour. There is the kind of tour you need a guide for. It means stepping into unfamiliar territory and having someone explain your surroundings. For some of the disciples that's exactly what Jesus did.

There is also the kind of tour where you travel a previously determined route. Musicians, authors, and many other creative outlets use is kind of tour in order to help maximize the amount of people connecting with their work. I believe that's why Jesus went on his various preaching tours. He was going to strategic places of maximum impact. He was influencing in a way that would forever change the course of history, and it did.