De iugīs ('on yokes') [or also "more on fruit"]
To preface: I wrote this entry in my own journal a few days ago, but I decided to post it here in case someone would like to read it. I thought it might be a good read for some, or that I could maybe get some more input on it. It's actually kind of a part of a 'series' I have been writing on fruit, which would be hard to find in my journal because I didn't put them in memories, although if you want to search for me on Facebook and read all of these in my notes you can (info in my userinfo). Now then:
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.--Matthew 11:29
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:31-32
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?--James 2:19-20
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.--Luke 9:23
Come, follow me...--Matthew 4:19 [partial]
All too often I have heard, 'It doesn't matter what I do. I'm saved,' or ,'I'm forgiven, so what does it matter?' Or even, 'I'm not saved through works, so it doesn't matter what I do or don't do.' This is dangerous thinking.
To be sure, nothing we can do will make us righteous in the eyes of God. Christ flat out says this to us after Jesus tells the rich young man he must sell his stuff and follow the commandments to be saved. The disciples are astonished at the dialogue and ask 'who then can be saved?' Jesus says that you can't with man (works), but 'with God all things are possible.' (Matthew chapter 19). We are saved by grace through faith, and only God can work that out.
But this isn't really about faith vs. works. It's about yokes and why the aforementioned anecdotal statements are dangerous.
What is a yoke? Well, if you really want to know, just ask the Israelites pre-Christ. In fact, just ask practicing Jews today. Either that, or ask a farmer. A yoke is something that is put on an animal in order to attach things to it, like a plow or something. But what is this to the animal? It is a burden.
I don't think it's unfair to say that the Law the Israelites were under was hard. How could it not be? How can you live up to perfection as a flawed human? But what many Christians (or possibly even secular people who are interested) today perceive the Law is that it was some weird rules that God put on the Jews for whatever reason. But the Law had a purpose. It kept the Israelites distinct and separate from the many groups of people around them. It set them apart in such a way that they could eventually see the culmination in God's perfect plan: the Christ, the Messiah to the Jews and Gentiles. It put them on a path toward the most life altering event in history.
And there we see the other purpose of a yoke. A yoke isn't just something that weighs animals down. A yoke also keeps them on a path. It keeps them from going astray for the purpose their master has in mind. In the case of the Israelites, it kept them on the path which would bring glory to the entire world.
You may be thinking why all this talk about the Law is about. "We're Christians!" But clearly Christ knows that the yoke isn't done away with. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, as referenced above is a pretty important statement. Sure it seems like a great thing to read. It makes you feel good inside. And it should! But there is still a point to be made: 'Take my yoke'. There is still a yoke. And then go further: Jesus says to learn from Him. In John 8 He's clear that learning from Him is not only important, but essential to the life as a disciple. In fact, if the translation I used can be reliable, He even adds a 'really' or 'truly' in the statement. 'You are truly my disciples.' Jesus knows that there will be people who profess Him with their lips, but that can just be for their own reasons. If they don't hold to his teachings...maybe they're not actually His disciples?
What are Jesus' teachings? There are many, but they always get pointed back to the Greatest Commandments: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The other is Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is the yoke of Christ.
It sure seems easy. It sure seems like there should be no hubbub over this, no reason to have to write this, and so on. But this is a HUGE yoke. This is the yoke that we have been given to keep us on God's final path, the path to glory for Him and unto the end of the age.
Again, it should still seem easy. But what does this entail? Well, for one, holding to Christ's teachings. For example, bearing this yoke makes the world hate us, because we hold to Christ's teachings. The world hates us for being one with Christ! Not only that, we must choose to deny our lusts, our greed, our prejudices, our wants, in order to fulfill the first commandment. This is taking up our cross. It involves loving even our neighbor. This doesn't mean just our next door neighbor or the holding the door for the guy behind you at a restaurant. It means loving your enemy. This doesn't just mean the guy who called you a name or the girl who snubbed you, or even the guy who hit your car and ran. In the post-9/11 era it's easy to know exactly what you personally would like to do if you were face to face with bin Laden or another terrorist or whomever is our enemy. On a personal level, it doesn't matter what they did. If they are hurt, you must help them, for example. Don't you see how tough this is, and how people will hate you for it? How often every day do we show disdain for the non-Christians, and in fact, our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Just then the two simple yet 'Greatest' commandments seem very hard. Possibly intentionally harder than the Law the Israelites were under.
Jesus knows we can't do this constantly and consistently. Of course he forgives. That's part of why we get rest for our souls. Another is that the reward for taking the yoke upon ourselves is the reward at the Last Day. But He commands us to take the yoke upon us. It is definitely not optional. We must take the yoke upon ourselves to find the rest for our souls.
Even the demons believe in Jesus, as mentioned in the Epistle of James. And we know Satan knows Scripture, because he even tries to use it against Jesus during the temptation! So you can be sure his cronies know Scripture too. But the simple matter is that they won't put the yoke on themselves.
But what does this yoke end up doing to us? It makes us do what our master wants us to do. It keeps us in line so we can do the work He wants. Whether the work is following the two Great Commandments or the teachings that Jesus gives us in the gospels (which all point to the two Commandments), we still do it under the yoke of Christ, which allows the Holy Spirit to work in us. The works are a byproduct of being under this yoke that constantly drives us and guides us, and have little to do with us. We put on the yoke and become the vessels for the Holy Spirit to perform God's will, which show as...fruit of the Spirit.
It's easy to say you're one with Christ and yet not be burdened and choose to not burden yourself. But the thing is, we don't get awesome privileges on earth: we get the hardest work ever. It's also easy to say you're doing a whole bunch of work, but if it's under your own created yoke and not under the yoke of Christ it is pointless toil without any grace and rest for your soul.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.--Matthew 11:29
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:31-32
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?--James 2:19-20
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.--Luke 9:23
Come, follow me...--Matthew 4:19 [partial]
All too often I have heard, 'It doesn't matter what I do. I'm saved,' or ,'I'm forgiven, so what does it matter?' Or even, 'I'm not saved through works, so it doesn't matter what I do or don't do.' This is dangerous thinking.
To be sure, nothing we can do will make us righteous in the eyes of God. Christ flat out says this to us after Jesus tells the rich young man he must sell his stuff and follow the commandments to be saved. The disciples are astonished at the dialogue and ask 'who then can be saved?' Jesus says that you can't with man (works), but 'with God all things are possible.' (Matthew chapter 19). We are saved by grace through faith, and only God can work that out.
But this isn't really about faith vs. works. It's about yokes and why the aforementioned anecdotal statements are dangerous.
What is a yoke? Well, if you really want to know, just ask the Israelites pre-Christ. In fact, just ask practicing Jews today. Either that, or ask a farmer. A yoke is something that is put on an animal in order to attach things to it, like a plow or something. But what is this to the animal? It is a burden.
I don't think it's unfair to say that the Law the Israelites were under was hard. How could it not be? How can you live up to perfection as a flawed human? But what many Christians (or possibly even secular people who are interested) today perceive the Law is that it was some weird rules that God put on the Jews for whatever reason. But the Law had a purpose. It kept the Israelites distinct and separate from the many groups of people around them. It set them apart in such a way that they could eventually see the culmination in God's perfect plan: the Christ, the Messiah to the Jews and Gentiles. It put them on a path toward the most life altering event in history.
And there we see the other purpose of a yoke. A yoke isn't just something that weighs animals down. A yoke also keeps them on a path. It keeps them from going astray for the purpose their master has in mind. In the case of the Israelites, it kept them on the path which would bring glory to the entire world.
You may be thinking why all this talk about the Law is about. "We're Christians!" But clearly Christ knows that the yoke isn't done away with. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, as referenced above is a pretty important statement. Sure it seems like a great thing to read. It makes you feel good inside. And it should! But there is still a point to be made: 'Take my yoke'. There is still a yoke. And then go further: Jesus says to learn from Him. In John 8 He's clear that learning from Him is not only important, but essential to the life as a disciple. In fact, if the translation I used can be reliable, He even adds a 'really' or 'truly' in the statement. 'You are truly my disciples.' Jesus knows that there will be people who profess Him with their lips, but that can just be for their own reasons. If they don't hold to his teachings...maybe they're not actually His disciples?
What are Jesus' teachings? There are many, but they always get pointed back to the Greatest Commandments: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The other is Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is the yoke of Christ.
It sure seems easy. It sure seems like there should be no hubbub over this, no reason to have to write this, and so on. But this is a HUGE yoke. This is the yoke that we have been given to keep us on God's final path, the path to glory for Him and unto the end of the age.
Again, it should still seem easy. But what does this entail? Well, for one, holding to Christ's teachings. For example, bearing this yoke makes the world hate us, because we hold to Christ's teachings. The world hates us for being one with Christ! Not only that, we must choose to deny our lusts, our greed, our prejudices, our wants, in order to fulfill the first commandment. This is taking up our cross. It involves loving even our neighbor. This doesn't mean just our next door neighbor or the holding the door for the guy behind you at a restaurant. It means loving your enemy. This doesn't just mean the guy who called you a name or the girl who snubbed you, or even the guy who hit your car and ran. In the post-9/11 era it's easy to know exactly what you personally would like to do if you were face to face with bin Laden or another terrorist or whomever is our enemy. On a personal level, it doesn't matter what they did. If they are hurt, you must help them, for example. Don't you see how tough this is, and how people will hate you for it? How often every day do we show disdain for the non-Christians, and in fact, our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Just then the two simple yet 'Greatest' commandments seem very hard. Possibly intentionally harder than the Law the Israelites were under.
Jesus knows we can't do this constantly and consistently. Of course he forgives. That's part of why we get rest for our souls. Another is that the reward for taking the yoke upon ourselves is the reward at the Last Day. But He commands us to take the yoke upon us. It is definitely not optional. We must take the yoke upon ourselves to find the rest for our souls.
Even the demons believe in Jesus, as mentioned in the Epistle of James. And we know Satan knows Scripture, because he even tries to use it against Jesus during the temptation! So you can be sure his cronies know Scripture too. But the simple matter is that they won't put the yoke on themselves.
But what does this yoke end up doing to us? It makes us do what our master wants us to do. It keeps us in line so we can do the work He wants. Whether the work is following the two Great Commandments or the teachings that Jesus gives us in the gospels (which all point to the two Commandments), we still do it under the yoke of Christ, which allows the Holy Spirit to work in us. The works are a byproduct of being under this yoke that constantly drives us and guides us, and have little to do with us. We put on the yoke and become the vessels for the Holy Spirit to perform God's will, which show as...fruit of the Spirit.
It's easy to say you're one with Christ and yet not be burdened and choose to not burden yourself. But the thing is, we don't get awesome privileges on earth: we get the hardest work ever. It's also easy to say you're doing a whole bunch of work, but if it's under your own created yoke and not under the yoke of Christ it is pointless toil without any grace and rest for your soul.