Ⅰ
"Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light"—Matt. 11:28-30:
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To toil here refers not only to the toil of striving to keep the commandments of the law and religious regulations but also to the toil of struggling to be successful in any work; whoever toils thus is always heavily burdened.
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After the Lord extolled the Father, acknowledging the Father's way and declaring the divine economy (vv. 25-27), He called this kind of people to come to Him for rest.
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Rest refers not only to being set free from the toil and burden under the law or religion or under any work or responsibility, but also to perfect peace and full satisfaction.
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To take the Lord's yoke is to take the will of the Father; it is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligation of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father.
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The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38); He submitted Himself fully to the Father's will (Matt. 26:39-46); hence, He asks us to learn from Him:
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The believers copy the Lord in their spirit by taking His yoke—God's will— and toiling for God's economy according to His model—11:29a; 1 Pet. 2:21.
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The Lord, who was submissive and obedient to the Father throughout His life, has given us His life of submission and obedience—Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 5:7-9.
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Christ was the first God-man, and we are the many God-men; we have to learn of Him in His absolute submission to God and His uttermost satisfaction with God.
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God is doing in us that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ that we may be able to do His will (13:20-21); God operates in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
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To be meek, or gentle, means not to resist opposition, and to be lowly means not to have self-esteem; throughout all the opposition the Lord was meek, and throughout all the rejection He was lowly in heart.
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He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself or expecting to gain something for Himself; hence, regardless of the situation He had rest in His heart; He was fully satisfied with the Father's will.
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The rest that we find by taking the Lord's yoke and learning from Him is for our souls; it is an inward rest; it is not anything merely outward in nature.
Ⅰ
We learn from the Lord according to His example, not by our natural life but by Him as our life in resurrection—Eph. 4:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:21.
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The Lord's yoke is the Father's will, and His burden is the work of carrying out the Father's will; such a yoke is easy, not bitter, and such a burden is light, not heavy.
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The Greek word for easy means "fit for use"; hence, good, kind, mild, gentle, easy, pleasant—in contrast to hard, harsh, sharp, bitter.
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If we take the Lord's yoke (the Father's will) upon us and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls; the yoke of God's economy is like this; everything in God's economy is not a heavy burden but an enjoyment.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 11:28-30 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.In Matthew 11:29 and 30 we have the way to rest….The Lord’s yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligations of the law or religion, nor to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (Matt. 26:39, 42). Hence, He asks us to learn from Him. God’s will is our yoke. Thus, we are not free to do as we please; rather, we are yoked. Young people, do not think that you are so free or liberated. In the Lord’s recovery we all have been yoked. How good it is to be yoked! The Lord’s yoke is pleasant and His burden is light. The Lord’s yoke is the Father’s will, and His burden is the work to carry out the Father’s will. Such a yoke is pleasant, not bitter, and such a burden is light, not heavy. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 390-391)
Today’s Reading
In Matthew 11:29 the Lord tells us to learn from Him. He is meek and lowly in heart… In all the opposition the Lord was meek, and in all the rejection He was lowly in heart. He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself nor expecting to gain something for Himself. Hence, regardless of the situation, He had rest in His heart. He was fully satisfied with His Father’s will.If we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we shall find rest for our souls. The rest we find by taking the Lord’s yoke and learning from Him is for our souls. It is an inward rest; it is not anything merely outward in nature.
If we are opposed as we minister, and we resist, we shall not have peace. But if instead of resisting we submit to the will of the Father, testifying that the opposition is of the Father, we shall have rest in our souls. John the Baptist did not regard his imprisonment as of the Father; therefore, he was not at rest. If he had realized that his imprisonment was due to the Father’s will, he would have been at rest, even in prison. Christ, the heavenly King, always submitted to the Father’s will, taking God’s will as His portion and not resisting anything. Hence, He was always at rest. We must learn of Him and also take this view. If we do, we shall have rest in our souls. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 391)
The Lord called all who toil and are burdened to come to Him, and He would give them rest (Matt. 11:28). The religious Jews were toiling and burdened by working under the law. On this earth who is not toiling or burdened? This world is a toiling world, full of burdens, so the Lord called us to come to Him for rest. Rest means perfect peace and full satisfaction.
The Lord charged the disciples to take His yoke upon them and learn from Him because He is meek and lowly in heart, and they would find rest for their souls (v. 29). To be meek means to not resist opposition, and to be lowly means to not have self-esteem. The rest from the Lord is for our souls; it is an inward rest, not something merely outward in nature. The harassment and the troubles are in our soul. Paul tells us to be anxious in nothing and to tell the Lord all our requests. Then the peace of God will guard our hearts and our thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7).
The Lord assured the disciples that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11:30). The Greek word for easy means “fit for use”; hence, good, kind, mild, gentle, easy, pleasant—in contrast to hard, harsh, sharp, bitter. The yoke of God’s economy is like this. Everything in God’s economy is not a heavy burden but an enjoyment. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” pp. 549-550)
Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 31; CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5