The disciple’s yoke
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” (Matthew 11:29).
A yoke is a name given to a frame which harnesses two animals to work together. This is not the only description of a yoke, but it is the one which the Lord Jesus had in mind when He said: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” He uses the yoke as a metaphor for His authority and our submission and obedience in discipleship. The way the Lord introduces “My yoke” is compelling. He doesn’t force His yoke upon us; he invites us to take it willingly and walk in fellowship with Him.
He willingly took a yoke Himself. As the perfect Man in this world, He submitted Himself to the will of God the Father, and in holy submission “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” This yoke could not be shared; He bore its full weight. His sufferings led to glory and ultimately to the day when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8 and 10-11).
We recognise His Lordship now. This is expressed in the yoke of discipleship and the learning from Christ which emerges from it. When a new ox is put to work to plough a field, it is placed beside an older and experienced animal within a yoke. In this way, the younger animal learns to follow and understand what to do and where to go. When we think of a disciple, we think of a follower. We tend to think of a leader in front and the follower behind. But this is not the only way to follow. If you met me in the small shopping centre near our house, and you asked me where I lived, I would say to you, “Follow me; I only live a few minutes away.” How would you follow me? Would you walk behind? No, you would walk beside me and together we would walk to my home. You wouldn’t know the way, but you would learn it by following side by side with the person who lives there. Through our verse this morning, we gain an understanding of discipleship that we so often overlook. We learn from being beside the Lord and we follow by being next to the One who will guide us all the way to His home.
The picture is a beautiful one, but how does it work? After Jacob wrestled with God, he limped for the rest of his life. Every step he took each day was a reminder of the day he met God. Discipleship is a step by step spiritual journey in which we are assured of the presence of the Lord by our side. There needs to be the time in our day when we come into His presence. There we listen to His word and respond in worship, thanksgiving, intercession and supplication. This communion with the Saviour leads us through the entirety of our lives in both the small and the most important decisions we make. The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), who demonstrates that we are the Lord’s disciples by the love we have for each other. The Lord Jesus describes His Father as the vinedresser who stoops to ensure the life we have in Christ is seen in us through the fruit of the Holy Spirit (John 15:1). God has provided for us in every way to be effective disciples. The challenge is to live “by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) and who is always by our side (Matthew 28:20).
