Yokes and burdens

A nice word play surfaced while I was studying this morning. It comes from Matthew 11.28-30. The old version of it goes like this: "Come to me all who are weak and 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 you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and burden is light." The word play is in verse 30–for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. As is the case with any pun, there is a more literal understanding and a figurative understanding. An added stroke of genius in this teaching is the paradoxical phrasing. Since Jesus grew up in a rural area, he would know about yoking oxen to plow fields. So, he uses something right out of countryside to express a profound truth to his followers.

The literal goes like this. My yoke is easy (to wear) because when I put it on you, it fits you exactly. It's not too loose to cause rubbing and sores. It's not too tight to keep you from working or cause you physical harm. It's the perfect fit. If you follow my teachings, they will be the perfect fit for you. The second part is about loads. That is what oxen are teamed together for. They share the load so that it goes faster with less strain on the animal. Team with Jesus and the load becomes nothing at all, which is paradoxical since loads by definition are heavier than someone would want to deal with. So, the language carries a pun and a paradox. The translation to express this literal idea would read, "For my yoke fits you exactly and my load weighs nothing at all."

Figuratively speaking, you get a second meaning and a second contrast. A yoke suggests that you are being controlled by someone behind you and to a lesser extent by someone beside you, yoked with you. One use of the word translated as light is reputable or benevolent. So, Jesus would be meaning that his yoke or type of control would be to make us reputable or benevolent people. On the second part of the statement, burden is light, the burden is usually oppressive or hampering in some way so that we don't achieve happiness or satisfaction. But the word for light can also mean nimble in handling or insignificant. The translation to express this figurative idea would read, "For my control causes you to have a good reputation and my heavy load is something you can nimbly handle."

The pun and the paradox are very comforting to those of us who have experienced some of life's most difficult circumstances. It makes his invitation to come to him attractive, and the ensuing walk with him makes us reputable and refreshed people. May it always be.