Ralph Porter

© 2004

    Last week we began a new sermon series, focusing on discipleship. We are raising the question: what does it mean to become a faithful follower of Christ? Much confusion has been introduced because people don't understand what it means to be a disciple of our Lord, and the difference between trusting Him and following Him. As we study what God's Word says about being a faithful follower of Christ, we hope to clarify these issues, as well as challenge each of us to consider whether we really want to become a faithful follower of the Savior.

    The gospel of Matthew includes a number of incidents from Jesus' life that help us to consider what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Matthew wrote his gospel to answer the question of his Jewish readers concerning what happened to God's plan for His people? He demonstrates that Messiah came, just as God had promised He would. He clearly demonstrated who He is. However, in spite of all the evidence, Israel rejected Him. Therefore, God has rejected them and started a new program of forming a church from out of all the peoples of the world.

    In Matthew 11-13:52, the writer presents evidence that our Lord knew in advance that He was going to be rejected. Chapter 11 illustrates the two alternatives that people could choose between. John the Baptist struggled because of Jesus. Though Jesus didn't fulfill all his expectations, he was willing to accept the evidence and trust Him (11:1-15). In contrast to John, Israel's leaders rejected both Jesus and John, because neither would conform to their plans (11:16-24).

    The presentation of the two alternatives concludes with an invitation to come to Jesus and find rest in Him. It's an invitation to become a faithful follower of Jesus (11:25-30). Jesus is inviting people who were crushed beneath the weight of the law, trying to follow as disciples of Moses, under the tutelage of the same Pharisees who just rejected Him. We will never find relief from the load of the law by following in their footsteps. Neither Moses nor the Pharisees can give rest from the load that Judaism has placed on them. We only find peace by acknowledging Him, and submitting to His authority.

        At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have 

    hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, 

    for this was your good pleasure. "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one 

    knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to 

    whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

    Jesus' invitation to follow Him reveals two great paradoxes that present seemingly illogical contradictions! The first paradox is that God reveals profound truth to simple people. God reveals the truth to the least likely people. He hides it from "sophisticated" people-those who seem to be wise, smart or discerning (25a). People that everybody looks up to just don't seem to get it! Why do they reject Him? Because they're blind! People who think they're smart, and who think they can see, are really blind to the truth!

    In contrast to such "wise," "intelligent" people, God reveals spiritual truth to "unsophisticated" people-to those who are looked down on as "immature," or unwise (25b-26). God reveals Himself to people that the Son chooses (27).

    Even within this invitation to follow Him, Jesus observes that none will accept His invitation, except those God calls. Those who understand the truth and follow Him aren't the smart, sophisticated, prestigious leaders the world respects, but simple people God has chosen to make wise. It always seems God could do so much better! Why doesn't He pick smarter people?!!

        "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. "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. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

    The second paradox our Lord introduces is specifically related to becoming a faithful follower of Christ. Whoever is exhausted and loaded down is urged to come to Christ to find rest (28). It's only when we submit to His yoke that we find real rest.

    Jesus calls all who would be His disciples to "Come to Him!" The prerequisite for coming to Him is that we must be exhausted and loaded down. His invitation is to come to Him. The result of coming is that He will give you rest. Everyone who is worn out and loaded down is invited to come follow Him and find rest in Him. Do you know anyone like that?

    There are basically two parts to Jesus' call. The first part is to submit to His yoke (29a). The logical assumption most people would make when they hear His invitation is that submitting to a yoke puts us under a burden. It was certainly true that submitting to the Pharisees' yoke placed people under a heavy burden; no one could carry it! They devised a load of 365 prohibitions and 250 commands. Many people tried to submit to the yoke of the Pharisees, and considered themselves disciples of the Pharisees. They carried a heavy load!

    The Pharisees' load is described in Matthew 23:4:

        "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to 

    move them!"

    At the Jerusalem council, in Acts 15:10, Peter asked:

        "Why should we put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we 

    were able to bear?"

    Their law and traditions didn't give liberty; they brought bondage. In contrast to our natural logical assumption, and popular opinion, submitting to Jesus' yoke, brings us genuine rest. Our Lord promised that when we submit to His yoke, He will give us rest! When we take on His yoke, we discover that it actually lightens our load. When we take on His yoke, He becomes our "yoke mate."

    We haven't understood this lesson, because we've missed the most important part of the equation. Dwight Pentecost recalls an incident from his college days when he used to go out to teach in a rural Sunday School. One afternoon he was riding with a farmer to visit a home in the community. They saw an old farmer plowing with a team of oxen. One was a huge ox and the other a small bullock. The ox towered over the little bullock. He was surprised to see the farmer trying to plow with two unequal animals in the yoke.

    Pentecost commented on the inequality to the farmer he was riding with. He stopped the car and said, "I want you to notice something. See how those traces are hooked to the yoke? The large ox is pulling all the weight. That little bullock is being broken into the yoke but he is not actually pulling any weight."

    The whole idea of the yoke is that two are paired together! Literally the word describes anything that joins two bodies. In the normal yoke, the load is equally distributed between the two oxen that are yoked together.

    Jesus wants us to be yoked together with Him! When we are yoked with Christ, He bears the load but we share in the joy of pulling together with Him, without the burden of the load! We are united with Him. As we are joined together with Him, He lives His life out through us. He becomes our life and our strength. He provides the energy to carry the load He places on us.

    The tragedy is that some of us have never been broken in to the yoke! How do we take His yoke upon us? The key is in the next phrase. Like the young bullock, we are yoked with Him, and thereby learn -we are broken to the yoke! We learn from Him the joy of submitting to the yoke and being united with Him.

    The second part of Jesus' call to follow Him is an invitation to learn from Him (29b). To "learn from Him" is to be discipled by Him. "Let me teach you what you need to know." "Let me guide you and direct your activities." "Let me set the direction for your life."

    The Pharisees wanted to pile on additional heavy burdens. Jesus' yoke isn't like that! Jesus' yoke is consistent with Who He is (30). His load is easy because of the nature of the One we're uniting with. Jesus is gentle and humble. Jesus is the source of rest. Jesus' yoke is a gentle, merciful yoke. Jesus' load is light. It is easy to carry.

    Jesus is calling us to become His disciples, to submit to His yoke. Accepting His call to discipleship looks like we're submitting to a heavy load. In reality, accepting His call to discipleship is submitting to His load. However, accepting His call to discipleship makes our load lighter. Those who submit to His yoke discover that our load becomes easier to carry. He comes alongside and carries the load! Jesus wants us to be broken to His yoke and walk with Him!

    Now we have to make a choice. Will we submit to His authority? Will we submit our will to the authority of His Word? Will we become His disciples?

    It's possible to trust Christ and receive eternal life without becoming a follower of Christ. He wants us to become a disciple-to submit to His authority and acknowledge His right to rule over us. A disciple puts himself totally at Jesus' disposal and follows Him. An ox doesn't accidentally slip into a yoke. He must submit to it.

    We become Jesus' disciples when we decide that we will follow Him and submit to His rule over our life. Some of us have accepted His gift of eternal life but have no right to call ourselves His disciples. When He prepares to slip His yoke around our neck to join us to Himself, we refuse to be brought into submission to anyone, even Jesus Christ! Until we're yoked to Him, we will never be His disciple. Until we're yoked to Him, we'll never experience rest either!

    Jesus invites us:

         "Take my yoke upon you.

        Learn from coming alongside of me and pulling the load together with me!

        Let me teach you how to carry the load!

        Submit to my Word.

        Acknowledge my authority over your life.

            Only then will you enjoy true rest!"

    Are you restless? Worn out? Loaded down? Tired of trying to have it your way? Submit to His yoke-learn to walk yoked to Him. Find out what it's like to enjoy real rest!