Jesus was meek and lowly in heart

JESUS WAS MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.
GreatTexts of the Bible
RestUnder the Yoke
1. Christ saw the people as poor, toiling, jaded animals labouring in the yoke,
carrying an almostintolerable load, and in sheer compassionandlove He
cried to them, and said, “Come unto me, … and I will give you rest.” And this
“rest” He proposedto give, not by relieving them of every yoke and burden,
but by an exchange of yokes and burdens. He proposed to take awaythe
heavy yoke they were then bearing, and to give them His yoke instead. “The
yoke you are bearing,” He said to them, in effect, “is too galling; the burden
you are carrying is too heavy; they are more than flesh and blood can bear.
Take off your yoke, lay aside your burden, and take Mine instead, for My
yoke is easyand My burden is light.”
2. So Christ also lays a yoke upon us. But what sort of yoke? Justin Martyr,
who lived in the first half of the secondcentury of the Christian era, tells us
that when Jesus was a carpenterat NazarethHe used to make “ploughs and

yokes for oxen.” It has been suggestedthat this ancientChurch Father
derived that curious piece of information from the now lost “Gospelaccording
to the Hebrews.” If we may acceptit as correct,—andit comes from very old
times,—Jesuswas a yoke-makerby trade. Then He knew what make of yoke
would be hard to wearand what easy. The easyyoke would be one that would
not gallthe back of the poor ox on which it was fitted, one, perhaps, that was
deliberately easedso as not to press on a tender place. This is what a
considerate artisanwould be careful to see to; and we may be sure that in His
artisan life Jesus would be thoughtful for the welfare of the dumb animals
with which He had to do. He is considerate as a Masterof human souls. There
are some whose slightestcommands sting like insults, and others so gracious,
genial, and considerate that their very orders are acceptedby the servants as
favours. It is a delight to serve such masters. Their yoke is easy. Now Jesus
Christ is the most considerate ofmasters. As Milton said, reflecting on the
unwelcome limitations imposed upon his service by his blindness, “DothGod
exactday labour, light denied?”
In using the metaphor of a yoke, Christ was probably employing an
expressionwhich was already proverbial. In the Psalms of Solomon, which are
a little earlier than the time of Christ, we have: “We are beneath Thy yoke for
evermore, and beneath the rod of Thy chastening” (Psalms ofSolomon 7:8);
and “He shall possess the peoples of the heathen to serve Him beneath His
yoke” (Psalms ofSolomon 17:32). “The yoke” was a common Jewish
metaphor for discipline or obligation, especiallyin reference to the service of
the Law. Thus, in the Apocalypse of Baruch: “Forlo! I see many of Thy
people who have withdrawn from Thy covenant, and castfrom them the yoke
of Thy Law” (xli. 3). Comp. Lamentations 3:27; Sir 51:26;Acts 15:10;
Galatians 5:1; Pirqe Aboth, iii. 8. In the Didache (vi. 2) we have “the whole
yoke of the Lord,” which probably means the Law in addition to the Gospel.1
[Note:A. Plummer.]
Taking the text in its own simplicity we find three things in it—

The Yoke—“Take my yoke upon you.”
The Lesson—“Learnofme.”
The Rest—“Ye shallfind rest unto your souls.”
I
The Yoke
“Take my yoke upon you.”
1. When Jesus spoke these words He referred to the yoke He Himself wore as
Man. That was the yoke of a perfect surrender to the will of God, and absolute
submission to His throne. To all who came to Him He said, “Take my yoke;
the yoke I wearis the yoke I impose upon you. As I am submissive to
government, so also must you be, if you are to exercise authority.” Said the
Roman centurion, “I also am a man under authority, having under myself
soldiers.” The condition for the exercise ofauthority is ever that of submission
to authority.
At the very beginning of His careerChrist had to make His choice between
self and God. The significance ofthe temptation in the wilderness is surely
this, that Christ then deliberately chose to walk in God’s way, and with His
eyes wide open submitted Himself to the yoke of God’s holy will. That is,
indeed, the key of our Lord’s life. Deus vult was His watchword. He pleased

not Himself. It was His meat to do the Father’s will, and to accomplishHis
work. He shrank from nothing which the will of God brought to Him. When it
brought Him to Gethsemane and the cross, He said, “The cup which the
Father hath given me to drink, shall I not drink it?” And that is the yoke He is
commending here to the people, the yoke He had all His life borne Himself.
2. It is not easyat first to lay aside every other yoke and acceptthe yoke of
Christ. The yoke is easywhen you have put your neck beneath it; but to bring
yourself to that point may involve a wrestle with selfthat almost tears the
heart asunder. The burden is light when you have forcedyour reluctant
shoulders to bear it; but to do that may be the most difficult thing in all the
world. There are some things that are easyenough to do, once you have made
up your mind to do them; it is making up the mind that is the straining,
torturing thing. And easyas may be the burden that Christ imposes, calmly as
the soul’s experience may go on when once the soul has settleddown to the
Christian conditions, there remains for all of us the battle with stubbornness
and pride, the coercionof the stiff and resisting will, before we pass into the
Christian peace. It is a difficult thing to take up the easyyoke. It is a heavy
task to make ourselves carry the light burden. And we need not, therefore,
distrust the genuineness of our Christward desires becausewe are conscious
of so much difficulty in driving our rebellious natures to the point of Christly
submissiveness.
“How hard it is to be a Christian,” cried Browning in the opening words of his
“EasterDay.” To-daysome people are trying to make it more easy. So they
are discreetlysilent about the yoke, and the cross, and the denying of self,
concerning all of which Jesus spoke so plainly—while they make the most of
the joy, and peace, andcomfort of the Gospel. The experiment does not
appear to be very successful. Chivalrous souls would be more drawn by the
spirit of adventure in response to a trumpet-call to battle than to listen to
these soothing songs of ease. Butif it did succeed, whatwould be the value of a
Christianity so one-sided, so enervating, so self-indulgent? In fact, I do not see

how you cancall it Christianity at all. The ship is stranded at the bar of the
harbour. What is to be done to float her? You can throw the cargo overboard;
but then the very purpose of her voyage will be destroyed. It will be better to
wait till the flood-tide, and then the ship will rise in the deep water and sail
out to sea, cargo andall. It is vain to float our Gospelship by throwing cargo
overboard. The only wise course is to take Christ’s full message.To have the
yoke and the cross as well as the pardon and the peace.1[Note:W. F.
Adeney.]
Is there no difference when you are on your bicycle betweenbicycling with the
wind, when you scarcelyfeelthe wind and go smoothly and firmly down the
road, and bicycling againstthe wind? There is all the difference. In one there
is peace and rest, and swiftness and progress. In the other it is beating up,
beating up this way and that. You could hardly have a simpler and yet a truer
illustration of the difference betweenbeing borne by the Spirit along the
course of the will of God and trying to beat againstthe will of God and against
the actionof the Spirit. It is to fling ourselves into the tide of the Spirit—Jesus
was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness—to yield ourselves to the action of
the Spirit, and to pass down the will of God before the wind. That is peace;
that is rest. And there is no other in the world.2 [Note: BishopA. F. W.
Ingram.]
3. Ease comesby practice. When we have fully surrendered ourselves to
Christ, the yoke becomes easyand the burden light. To yield to Christ, to obey
His conditions, brings us into harmony with the eternal order of things, and
makes us realize this; we know, when once we have yielded and obeyed, that
we are in the spiritual position—if one may employ the phrase—where we
have all along, although perhaps without understanding it, wanted to be; and
they who hear Christ’s calland answerto it are sure, so soonas their
responsive movement towards the calling Christ is made, that the soul’s
questions are settled once for all, the soul’s requirements met and its
instinctive, deep-seatedcapacitiesfilled. It is difficult to force ourselves to the

yoke;but once it is takenup, the yoke fits, sits lightly, does not fret or gall.
Christ is found to do no violence to the soul. Really to acceptChrist’s
conditions is to find ourselves where we want to be, set going on the true and
satisfying line of life. We give ourselves to Christ—and in that surrender we,
so to say, receive ourselves back again, made greatand free. Christ’s whole
method and spirit of life, once we comprehend and acceptit, comes to us as
the one right and natural thing.
We know what a galling bondage an uncongenialservice may be; we know, on
the other hand, what a genuine, an unalloyed delight that work is which is
absolutely congenial. We make most of our children learn some musical
instrument or other. But to many a boy the hours he spends at the piano are
sheerdrudgery. His practice-houris Egyptian task-work to him. He has no
taste or aptitude for music. But watchthe man with music in his soulat the
piano! Watcha Paderewskiplay! His hands ripple over the keys in a kind of
ecstasy. Playing is not task-work to him, it is a rapturous delight. It is
congenialwork. When sons are growing up and the time draws near when
they must face life for themselves, their parents’ great anxiety is to discover
what their specialaptitudes are, for in the long-run no man can be really
happy or useful in his work unless he has some taste and fitness for it. A boy
with mechanicalaptitudes is unhappy if put to a literary or intellectual
calling. A boy with intellectual tastes is wastedif put to mechanical
employment. If a man is to be happy and useful he must find a congenial
sphere in life. And the law holds good in higher concerns than the choice of a
trade or calling. It is valid also in the moral and spiritual realm. If a man is to
be at restand peace, his soulmust be in congenialservice. And that is why
Christ’s yoke is easy—the service ofGod is congenialservice.1[Note:J. D.
Jones.]
At the time of the greatCivil War in America, the call went round the land for
men to take up the cause of their country’s freedom. The men responded, and
it was noticed that men whose lives had been made a very burden to them by

all sorts of trifles, men who were always suffering friction and irritation
because little things went wrong, men who, perhaps, could not stand any little
trial or trouble without becoming almost unendurable to live with—these
were the people who, not groaning and making a misery of it, but with a
certain exultation of the heart, took upon them the greatyoke of their
country’s emancipation, and straightway all the little burdens were forgotten,
they became absolutelytrivial and insignificant, and the burden that they
bore was light.1 [Note:C. SilvesterHorne.]
Matthew Henry characteristicallysays that Christ’s yoke is “lined with love”;
and St. Bernard cried in his distant day, “O blessedburden that makes all
burdens light! O blessedyoke that bears the bearerup!”
II
The Lesson
“Learn of me.”
1. We understand now why Jesus adds, “Learn of me.” To take His yoke is to
be trained in His school. It was a common thing for Jewishteachers to issue
such invitations, just as to-day men issue prospectuses.Here, for instance, is a
passagefrom the book of Sirach, written severalcenturies before the birth of
Jesus:“Draw near unto me ye unlearned, and lodge in the house of
instruction. Say wherefore are ye lacking in these things and your souls are
very thirsty? I opened my mouth and spake. Gether for yourselves without
money. Put your neck under the yoke, and let your souls receive instruction.
She is hard to find. Beholdwith your eyes how that I laboured but a little, and
found myself much rest.” The disciple must sit at his Master’s feet, and

patiently learn of Him, drinking in His teaching, absorbing His spirit,
gradually growing into the knowledge andcharacterthat He desires to
impart. This is required of the disciple of Christ who would learn His secretof
rest.
When He says, “Come unto me, and learn of me,” we are not to think merely
that we have to learn something; but we have to know that if we learn it in any
other way than from Jesus, it is a lost learning.2 [Note:Erskine of Linlathen.]
It must have been at one of the early meetings [with University students at
Edinburgh], when he had for text the grand Gospelinvitation in the end of the
eleventh of Matthew, that Mr. Drummond used an illustration which caught
their attention and guided some to the discipleship of Christ. “You ask what it
is, this coming to Christ. Well, what does Jesus Himself tell you here? He says,
‘Learn of me.’ Now, you are all learners. You have come to Edinburgh, some
of you from the ends of the earth, to learn. And how did you put yourself in
the wayof learning what is here taught? You went to the University office and
wrote your name in a book. You matriculated; and becoming a University
student, you went to getfrom eachindividual professorwhathe had to teach.
So, with definite purpose to learn of Christ, must you come to Him and
surrender yourself to His teaching and guidance.” Sometimes thereafter,
when a happy workerhad to tell of a new addition to the number of Christ’s
disciples, he would pleasantlysay that So-and-so had “matriculated.” 1 [Note:
G. A. Smith, The Life of Henry Drummond, 300.]
2. Jesus gives us a perfect pattern of submission. “I am meek and lowly in
heart.” Here alone in the New Testamentis mention made of the heart of
Jesus. He whose yoke we take, whose service we enter, whose lessonwe learn,
is lowly in heart; His love stoops from heaven to earth; His care is for all who
are wearywith earth’s vain service, allwho are down-trodden in the hurry
and rush of life. In Him they shall find what their souls need; not freedom

from sickness, sorrow,ordeath, not deliverance from political or social
injustice. No;He Himself suffered patiently; He endured these hardships and
the agonyof loneliness, desertion, and misunderstanding. He gives rest and
refreshment to the soul. When meekness enters into the heart and is
enthroned therein as a queen, a revolution takes place in that heart. At the
gentle swaying of her wand many a Dagoncrumbles to the ground. Pride
must go, false ambition must go, resentment must go, jealousymust go;all
these false gods must go, and take their baggagewith them. And when all
those have left, the roots of restlessness andworry will be plucked from that
heart.
In the meekness andlowliness of Jesus lies greatpart of His mastery over
men; in meekness and lowliness like those of Jesus lies our rest.… The
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is like the dust from flowers in bloom. It
insinuates and instils. The meek man is not without opinions, or a strangerto
enterprise. He does not live in an untroubled sphere, but he has no desire to
see his opinion imposed on any. Children find out the meek;for meekness is
the childhood of the soul. Haughty men are never young, the meek never grow
old. Mostof us have known some. The young are warmed by them, the
middle-aged soothed, the old supported. Meek hearts live for ever: they are
the stock ofan immortal tree. They inherit lives that live after them, they are
spiritual children. David says, “Godis meek”:Christ says, “I am meek.” The
Holy Spirit’s emblem is a dove. The dove comes when you do not stir it. Ask
gently in silent prayer. He came thus to Christ, and will to you when kneeling
and broken down. Thou, who art Thyself meek and lowly, take pity and create
in us Thy meekness.1[Note:R. W. Barbour, Thoughts, 105, 112.]
3. We must learn humility, because without it there can be no true obedience
or service. Humility is the keynote of the Divine music which Jesus came to
make in our world. It is because we have lost it that all has become discord. It
is the keystone ofthe arch of the Christian virtues. It is because that is
wanting that the whole structure of the Christian characterso often crumbles

into ruin. We are loth to give meekness that prominent position among the
Christian virtues which Christ assignedto it. We often go so far as to put
pride in its place, though pride is probably the most hateful of all vices in the
sight of God. Without meekness itis impossible to perform any goodand
acceptable service to our fellow-men, for pride vitiates and stultifies all we do;
and it is impossible to love and serve God, for pride banishes us from Him,
since it is written: “As for the proud man, he beholdeth him afar off.” True
humility, therefore, must be ours if we would obtain restunto our souls.
The man that carries his head high knocks it againsta greatmany lintels
which he who stoops escapes. The lightning strikes the oak, not the grass. If
you wish to be restless and irritated and irritable all your days, and to provide
yourself with something that will always keepyou uncomfortable, assert
yourself, and be on the look-outfor slights, and think yourself better than
people estimate you, and be the opposite of meek and humble, and you will
find trouble enough.2 [Note:A. Maclaren, A Rosaryof Christian Graces,
154.]
III
The Rest
“Ye shall find restunto your souls.”
1. When we respond to Christ’s invitation and come to Him, we enter into the
rest of faith. The very act of trust brings tranquillity, even when the person or
thing trusted in is human or creatural, and therefore uncertain. For, to roll
the responsibility from myself, as it were, upon another, brings repose, and
they who lean upon Christ’s strong arm do not need to fear, though their own

arm be very weak. The restof faith, when we cease fromhaving to take care
of ourselves, whenwe can castall the gnawing cares and anxieties that
perturb us upon Him, when we cansay, “Thoudost undertake for me, and I
leave myself in Thy hands,” is tranquillity deeper and more real than any
other that the heart of man can conceive. “Thouwilt keephim in perfect
peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.” Castyourself
upon Christ, and live in that atmosphere of calm confidence;and though the
surface may be tossedby many a storm, the depths will be motionless and
quiet, and there will be “peace,subsisting at the heart of endless agitation.”
Two painters eachpainted a picture to illustrate his conceptionof rest. The
first chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains. The
secondthrew on his canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile birch-tree
bending over the foam; at the fork of a branch, almost wetwith the cataract’s
spray, a robin sat on its nest. The first was only Stagnation;the last was Rest.
For in Restthere are always two elements—tranquillity and energy; silence
and turbulence; creationand destruction; fearlessnessand fearfulness. This it
was in Christ.1 [Note:Henry Drummond.]
2. This was Christ’s own rest. In reading the story of Christ’s life you are
struck by that wonderful self-possession, that quiet dignity of soul which
never forsook Him. There is never anything approaching to the agitation
which betokens smallerminds. There is that large equanimity which never
forsakesHim even in the hour of profoundest distress. Look at Him during
the quiet years in the home. Though consciousofthe high calling which
awaitedHim He never showedany impatience during those thirty years.
Though He knew He should be about His Father’s business, He first found it
in the little home in which He lived. WatchHim, too, when He moves out into
the busy activities of His ministering life; you still find the same quiet self-
possessionandrestfulness of soul. He stands absolutely unmoved amongst
those temptations and seductions which were set before Him. So, when the
crowdthronged round Him while on His way to the healing of Jairus’s

daughter, you see His quietness, self-possession, andrestfulness of spirit. Even
when you come to the final scenes ofthe agony, there is the same equanimity,
for it is equanimity which can detachself from the urgency and the duties of
the moment. When you turn to the pages of the evangelists, whatis uppermost
in the mind surely is this, the thought of the quietness, the dignity, the
unrivalled tranquillity, the self-possession, the restfulness of soul which never
deserts their Lord and Master. Throughoutall, He possessedthat restfulness
of soul of which He speaks here. And this is the secretwhichthe world has so
often longed for. All men are disposedto say at a later stage of their life, “Give
us what you will, I do not ask now for joy or happiness; give me the capacity
for sweetcontentment, give me quietude of soul, give me the powerto be at
rest.”
We canno more leave the path of duty without dangerof ruin than a planet
could without danger break awayfrom the path of its orbit. The moral law is
as binding and beneficent in its action, if duly obeyed, as the physical law. The
yoke is a badge, not of servitude, but of liberty; duty and law are not stern
and forbidding, but gentle and friendly; they are but two names for the
fostering care of God over all His works. Wordsworth, who with clearer
insight than all others caught a glimpse of the face of God beneath the veil of
Nature, thus addresses Duty:
Stern Lawgiver! Yet thou dostwear
The Godhead’s most benignant grace;
Nor know we anything so fair
As is the smile upon thy face:

Flowers laughbefore thee on their beds
And fragrance in thy footing treads;
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong;
And the most ancientheavens, through thee, are fresh and strong.
To humbler functions, awful Power
I call thee: I myself commend
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh, let my weaknesshave an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reasongive;

And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live.1 [Note:A. M. Mackay.]
3. This strange gift of rest is at once immediate and progressive. “Iwill give
you rest,” that is, “on your coming to Me”;and “ye shall find rest,” that is,
“on your continuance with Me.” The experiment of faith is to issue in an
experience of rest which pervades every part of life until the whole is under its
dominion, and until the peace of God reigns unhindered in the throne-room of
the heart. As the tide setting in from the deep rises steadilyuntil every dry
inlet and creek along the coast-line is filled with the ocean’s fulness, so is the
experience of Christ’s rest to increase and enlarge in the lives of His people.
No man has learned all there is of a language orits literature when he has but
masteredthe alphabet. And no man finds all that the rest of Christ is who is
content with a mere casualacquaintance with the Son of God. For the
relationship which is adjusted on our first coming to Him must be
strengthenedon our side by a constantincrease ofthe area of surrender,
answering to increasing light. And it is in this ever-enlarging obedience that
rest is increasinglyfound.
When our surrender is made, the pain of our sacrifice is greatin proportion to
our former selfishness. It is also harder to bear, or more protractedwhen
there is any looking back. When we have once renounced our self-will and
deliberately chosenthe Will of God, if we look back we not only expose
ourselves to grievous risk, but also we make everything so much harder to
accomplish. If we would be brave in the surrender of the will, we must set our
faces in the way of the higher life, contemplate the beauty of the graces
proposedto us, and deny the former gratifications and appeals of self-love.
We shall indeed prove that the surrender of our will and the acceptance of
God’s Will is no pleasing actionof the soul; but rather that, againand again,
as grace increasesso love will be tested. And yet, so perfect is the response of
Divine love, that habitual surrender of the will to God leads to greatpeace in
the factthat we have no will but His. Thus St. Catherine of Siena was enabled
to make so complete a surrender of her own will that our Lord gave her His

Will. She had made her communion with such devotion that she was led to
pray “that He would take awayfrom her all comforts and delights of the
world that she might take pleasure in none other thing, but only in Him.” If
we are moved by a like holy desire, we should persevere in the constant
surrender of the will; nor let us be discouragedthough we have to renew our
efforts at ever-increasing cost. New andhigher ways of self-surrender will
appear, new opportunities of sacrifice will be presented, greaterand more
interior sufferings will test us, whether our love is equal to really greatthings;
whether we will aspire to the heroism of the Saints in the effort after
perfection. “Be ye perfect” is the Divine preceptwhich echoes in the soul
inflamed by love.1 [Note:JesseBrett, Humility, 14.]
4. When we give ourselves up to the Father as the Son gave Himself, we shall
find not only that our yoke is easyand our burden light, but that they
communicate ease andlightness; not only will they not make us weary, but
they will give us rest from all other weariness. Letus not waste a moment in
asking how this can be; the only way to know that is to take the yoke upon us.
That rest is a secretfor every heart to know, for never a tongue to tell. Only
by having it can we know it. If it seem impossible to take the yoke upon us, let
us attempt the impossible, let us lay hold of the yoke, and bow our heads, and
try to getour necks under it. If we give our Father the opportunity, He will
help and not fail us. He is helping us every moment, when leastwe think we
need His help: when most we think we do, then may we most boldly, as most
earnestlywe must, cry for it. What or how much His creatures cando or bear
God alone understands; but when it seems mostimpossible to do or bear, we
must be most confident that He will neither demand too much nor fail with
the vital Creator-help. That help will be there when wanted—that is, the
moment it can be help. To be able beforehand to imagine ourselves doing or
bearing we have neither claim nor need.
They tell me that on a farm the yoke means service. Cattle are yokedto serve,
and to serve better, and to serve more easily. This is a surrender for service,

not for idleness. In military usage surrender often means being kept in
enforcedidleness and under close guard. But this is not like that. It is all upon
a much higher plane. Jesus has every man’s life planned. It always awes me to
recallthat simple tremendous fact. With loving, strong thoughtfulness He has
thought into eachof our lives, and planned it out, in whole, and in detail. He
comes to a man and says, “I know you. I have been thinking about you.” Then
very softly—“I—love—you. I need you, for a plan of Mine. PleaseletMe have
the controlof your life and all your power, for My plan.” It is a surrender for
service. It is yokedservice. There are two bows or loops to a yoke. A yoke in
actionhas both sides occupied, and as surely as I bow down my head and slip
into the bow on one side—I know there is Somebodyelse on the other side. It
is yoked living now, yoked fellowship, yokedservice. It is not working for God
now. It is working with Him. Jesus never sends anybody ahead alone. He
treads down the pathway through every thicket, pushes aside the thorn
bushes, and clears the way, and then says with that taking way of His, “Come
along with Me. Let us go together, you and I. Yoke up with Me. Let us pull
together.” And if we will pull steadily along, content to be by His side, and to
be hearing His quiet voice, and always to keepHis pace, step by step with
Him, without regardto seeing results, all will be well, and by and by the best
results and the largestwill be found to have come.1 [Note:S. D. Gordon,
Quiet Talks on Service, 79.]
RestUnder the Yoke
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
A Yoke For Two
Matthew 11:29

R. Tuck
Take my yoke upon you. Christ's yoke, of which he speaks here, is the yoke of
Sonship, his relation to God, and the responsibilities, duties, and burdens
which it involved. And his point is that he did not want to bear that yoke
alone. It was a yoke meant for two. It could only be borne aright when
disciples and he bore the yoke together. Illustration may be takenfrom the
yoke fitted to the shoulders of the two oxen that drew the Easternplough.
That yoke was only easyfor eachox as they both cheerfully bore it together.
So with the yoke of Sonship. It did not lie easyon Christ's shoulder unless his
disciples bore it with him. It never could lie easyon their shoulder unless he
bore it with them. It is true that restcomes for man in the spirit of sonship;
but it is also true that it does not come to man in a lonely sonship - only in a
sonship fully shared with Christ.
I. A YOKE FOR ONE. "Takemy yoke." There must be a sense in which our
Lord's yoke was his own, and could be sharedby nobody. And there is a sense
in which eachindividual man must "bear his own burden." But Christ and we
have more that is common to humanity, than that is unique to ourselves. We
can and do "bearone another's burdens." There is a tendency to exaggerate
the uniqueness of our Lord's experience. It is healthier and wiserto dwell
fully on the commonness of his experience and ours. The piece of the yoke on
Christ was exactlyhis piece, and had its peculiar pressure; but it was only
part of a yoke, which really lay on two shoulders.
II. A YOKE FOR TWO. "Take my yoke upon you," and let us share it
together;then it will grow light and easyfor us both. Can we bear Christ's
yoke with him? Yes, if we understand aright what that yoke was.
1. it was honouring God in a gracious human life. We can share in that.
2. It was revealing God as the loving Father, in a beautiful human Sonship.
We canshare in that.
3. It was doing the Father's work, and seeking and saving the wandering and
lost sons and daughters. We can share in that. And the strange thing is that
lifting up and sharing Christ's yoke is the way to rest, the only way. Restfor

any man canonly come out of finding the Fatherin heaven. No one can find
the Fatheruntil he gets the Spirit of the Son into his heart. Jesus seems to say,
"My rest is in being a Son; my yoke is the yoke of Sonship. Bearmy yoke, and
you too shall find rest unto your souls." - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.
Matthew 11:29
The schoolof Christ
H. W. Beecher.
I. There must be docility, obedience, willingness to learn of that Teacher.
II. The schoolis in the recessesofthe soul — it is everywhere.
III. Branches of instruction.
1. Humility.

2. Patience.
3. Fortitude.
4. Love.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Christen effective Teacher
American Homiletic Review.
I. Christ's FITNESSto be man's Teacher.
1. He understands man's nature.
2. He understands all those things which man has need to know.
3. He understands perfectly the art of imparting knowledge.
II. The METHODS by which He teaches man.
1. By His words, works, character, as made knownin the Bible.
2. By the truths He now imparts to the human heart through the Holy Spirit.
III. The EFFECT ofChrist's teachings — "Rest."
1. This instruction leads to the pardon of sin.
2. To the assurance thatwe are reconciledto God.
3. To the removal of all fear of evil.Observe —
1. The evidence that we are learning of Christ is that we are becoming like
Him.
2. All should submit to be taught by Christ.
(American Homiletic Review.)

Unspoken teaching
Bishop Huntingdon.
We are taught, and we teach, by something about us that never goes into
language atall.
(Bishop Huntingdon.)
The advantages ofhumility
J. Rogers,D. D.
I. WHENCE WE ARE DIRECTED TO LEARN IT. We are to learn it from
Christ, because it is a grace so peculiarly Christian, that no other institution
will furnish us with it. All ancient schemes ofmorality are chargeable with
this defect. They are advanced rather as arguments for men of learning to
dispute than as directions of life to be reduced to practice;humility left out of
them. And though some have declaimedwith greatzeal on the contempt of
glory, yet we find these men to have declined the applause with greatervanity
than others pursued it. The Jews were renderedproud by their privileges.
Christianity first taught the true doctrine of humility; Christ its pattern. His
circumstances, disciples, are allof lowly character.
II. Recommendfrom the encouragementhere given, THAT IT WILL BRING
REST TO OUR SOULS. Tranquillity of mind is the spring of our present
felicity; without it all acquisitions are insipid. When we remember the
miseries which arise from resentmentof realor fanciedinjuries, humility
recommends itself to us as a support and protection. The humble will keep,
without inconsistency, within the bounds of justice and sobriety, neither
impatient in prospectnor fretted in the event. Before honour is humility.
Humility softens the terrors of death. If we are His disciples, let the humility
of the Mastercorrectthe pride of His servants. How much our ownhappiness
depends on this disposition.
(J. Rogers, D. D.)

Our Saviour's humility
F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D.
I. Humility towards God the Father was exhibited in severalways. In not
exceeding the bounds of His commission;in obedience and forbearance;He
did not employ His illuminating Spirit in the task of refuting error. Humble in
the manifestationof His power. How has His humility been imitated by us?
True we have no supernatural gifts to exert with humility; but those we have
do we so use?
II. Humility is exhibited in His intercourse with mankind. Look at the choice
He made of disciples. He told the centurion he would go to his house. Let us
not suppose that His humility was allied to weaknessortimidity. It was a
humility manfully arrayed againstvice and pride. It did not stoopnor waver.
It did not flatter. It was associatedwith courage. We needthis humility, just
estimate of self; only to respectwhat is true and good, not mere outward
show.
(F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D.)
The meek and lowly
C. H. Spurgeon., The Pulpit.
One: —
I. THE FIRST QUALITY WHICH JESUS CLAIMS.
1. Meek as opposedto ferocity of spirit manifested by the zealots and bigots.
2. There is a sternness which cannot be condemned.
3. It is meek in heart.
II. LOWLINESS OF HEART.
1. He is willing to receive the poorestsinner.

2. This lowliness leads Him to receive the most ignorant.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
I. It is something for the Christian to ENJOY — "Rest."
1. Restfrom legalservitude.
2. From wrathful apprehensions.
3. From carnalpursuits.
4. From earthly anxiety.
5. From terrific forebodings.
II. Something to BEAR — "Yoke."
1. Subjectionto the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).
2. Resignationto the will of Christ.Why calleda yoke?
1. Becauseit opposes ourcorrupt nature.
2. Becauseit opposes the maxims of the world.
3. Becauseit is repugnant to the schemes of men.
III. Something which the Christian is to be TAUGHT — "Learn of Me."
1. Meekness.
2. Humility.Christ teaches:
1. By His Spirit.
2. By His Word.
3. By His example.
(The Pulpit.)
The three exchanges

H. Bonar.
I. The exchange of YOKES.
II. The exchange ofBURDENS.
III. The exchange ofTEACHING.
(H. Bonar.)
The yoke of Christ
John Newton.
Our Lord speaks ofHis service as a yoke or burden, because it is so esteemed
by all who know Him not.
I. What is meant by the yoke of Christ? It includes —
(1)the yoke of His profession;
(2)The yoke of His precepts;
(3)The yoke of His dispensations.
II. The appointed means by which sinners are enabled to bear this threefold
yoke — "Learn of Me."
1. Are you terrified with the difficulties attending your profession? Learnof
Jesus (Hebrews 12:3).
2. Do you find it hard to walk stedfastly in His precepts? Learn of Jesus
(Romans 15:3).
3. Are you tempted to repine at the dispensations ofDivine Providence? Take
Jesus for your pattern (John 18:11).
III. The happy effect of bearing this yoke. Rest, to the soul. This affords the
best and most unshakenevidence that He has begun a goodwork of grace in
our hearts.

(John Newton.)
The double yoke
R. Tuck.
If the yoke for oxen is meant, it was a yoke for two: it passedacrossthe
shoulders of two animals, and they bore the yoke together, and so the yoke
was easierand lighter for each. Jesus is bearing a yoke. His is a yoke for two.
He would have us take the vacantplace beside Him, and share with Him.
I. CHRIST'S YOKE.
1. His Father's will.
2. The work given Him to do.
3. All involved in His Sonship.
4. Seeking andsaving the lost.
5. Redemption of the world from sin.
6. Winning the world's heart for God.
II. CHRIST'S YOKE SHARED BY US. Illustrate how Paul shared it. We may
share in
(1)the active work;
(2)the spirit of the work;
(3)the joy and rewardof the work.Conclusion: — There is no forcedbearing
of yokes with Christ, we must choose to come under it with Christ,
(R. Tuck.)
Restin submission

R. Tuck.
The text suggests a figure. Two oxen are yoked togetherat the plough. But
they toil unwillingly. They fret and chafe themselves. Theystrive to force
themselves free of the galling yoke. They are weary, oppressedwith their
slavery. Would it not be rest for those oxen if they would cheerfully submit;
simply acceptthe toil before them; encourage their spirit quietly and bravely
to suffer, and bear, and do; fret no more at the yoke, but take it, bear it, and
in bearing it discoverhow light and easyand restful the very yoke can
become?
(R. Tuck.)
Humility
Sterne.
The greatbusiness of man is the regulation of his spirit. Restis only found in
ourselves in a meek and lowly disposition of heart.
I. Much of trouble comes from dispositions OPPOSITEto humility.
II. Humility is the best security againstheart-aches.
III. Christian humility is opposedto that spiritual pride which is the worst of
all prides.
(Sterne.)
Man's unrest
F. W. Robertson.
There are three causes in men producing unrest:
I. Suspicionof God.
II. Inward discord.

III. Dissatisfactionwith outward circumstances. Forall these meeknessis the
cure.
(F. W. Robertson.)
The yoke lined
T. Manton., C. H. Spurgeon.
The yoke of Christ will be more easythan we think of, especiallywhen it is
lined with grace.
(T. Manton.)We well remember an old man who carried pails with a yoke,
and as he was infirm, and tender about the shoulders, his yoke was padded,
and coveredwith white flannel where it touched him. But what a lining is
"love"!A cross ofiron, lined with love, would never gall the neck, much less
will Christ's woodencross. Lined with Christ's love to us! Coveredwith our
love to Him! Truly the yoke is easy, and the burden is light. Wheneverthe
shoulder becomes sore let us look to the lining. Keep the lining right, and the
yoke will be no more a burden to us than wings are to a bird, or her wedding-
ring is to a bride. O love divine, line my whole life, my cares, my griefs, my
pains; and what more can I ask?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Hard beginnings
T. Manton.
Some beginners are discouragedin their first attempts at a godly life, and so
give over through despondency, They should remember that the bullock is
most unruly at the first yoking, and that the fire at first kindling casts forth
most smoke.
(T. Manton.)

Imitating Christ the highest art
R. A. Bertram.
In the greatgalleries ofart that are the glory of London, Paris, Munich,
Dresden, and Rome you may see the artists of the future. Young men toil
there day after day, patiently copying the masterpieces ofthe painters who are
world-renowned, learning thus to become painters themselves. Every line,
every colour, every gradationof light and shade they put forth their utmost
skill to imitate. They are not content that their picture should be something
like the original; their ambition is to make their copy so exactthat none but
an experiencedeye shall be able to tell which is the original and which is the
copy. To-day, my friend, place yourself before the Lord Jesus;look on His
character, so majestic in its righteousness, so tenderand attractive in its love,
and resolve to become like Him. Let not your ambition be lowerthan that
with which the young artist sits down before some masterpiece ofRaphaelor
Rubens, nor the patience with which you strive to accomplishit less.
(R. A. Bertram.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Take my yoke upon you - Strange paradox! that a man alreadyweary and
overloadedmust take a new weightupon him, in order to be easedand find
rest! But this advice is similar to that saying, Psalm55:22. Castthy burden
upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee; i.e. trust thy soul and concerns to
him, and he will carry both thyself and thy load.
I am meek and lowly in heart - Wherever pride and angerdwell, there is
nothing but mental labor and agony; but, where the meekness andhumility of
Christ dwell, all is smooth, even, peaceable,and quiet; for the work of

righteousness is peace, andthe effectof righteousness, quietness and
assurance forever. Isaiah32:17.
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Take my yoke - This is a figure takenfrom the use of oxen, and hence
signifying to labor for one, or in the service of anyone. The “yoke” is used in
the Bible as an emblem:
(1)of bondage or slavery, Leviticus 26:13; Deuteronomy28:38.
(2)of afflictions or crosses,Lamentations 3:27.
(3)of the punishment of sin, Lamentations 1:14,
(4)of the commandments of God.
(5)of legalceremonies, Acts 15:10;Galatians 5:1.
It refers here to the religion of the Redeemer;and the idea is, that they should
embrace his systemof religion and obey him. All virtue and all religion imply
“restraint” - the restraint of our bad passions and inclinations - and
subjection to laws;and the Saviour here means to say that the restraints and
laws of his religion are mild, and gentle, and easy. Let anyone compare them
with the burdensome and expensive ceremonies ofthe Jews (see Acts 15:10),
or with the religious rites of the paganeverywhere, or with the requirements
of the Popishsystem, and he will see how true it is that Jesus‘yoke is easy.
And let his laws and requirements be compared with the laws which sin
imposes on its votaries - the laws of fashion, and honor, and sensuality - and
he will feel that religionis “freedom,” John8:36. “He is a freeman whom the
truth makes free, and all are slaves besides.”It is “easier” to be a Christian
than a sinner; and of all the yokes everimposed on people, that of the
Redeemeris the lightest.
For I am meek … - See the notes at Matthew 5:5. This was eminently Christ‘s
personalcharacter. But this is not its meaning here. He is giving a reasonwhy
they should embrace his religion. That was, that he was not harsh,

overbearing, and oppressive, like the Pharisees, but meek, mild, and gentle in
his government. His laws were reasonable andtender, and it would be easyto
obey him.
The Biblical Illustrator
Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.
The schoolof Christ
I. There must be docility, obedience, willingness to learn of that Teacher.
II. The schoolis in the recessesofthe soul-it is everywhere.
III. Branches of instruction.
1. Humility.
2. Patience.
3. Fortitude.
4. Love. (H. W. Beecher.)
Christen effective Teacher
I. Christ’s fitness to be man’s Teacher.
1. He understands man’s nature.

2. He understands all those things which man has need to know.
3. He understands perfectly the art of imparting knowledge.
II. The methods by which He teaches man.
1. By His words, works, character, as made knownin the Bible.
2. By the truths He now imparts to the human heart through the Holy Spirit.
III. The effectof Christ’s teachings-“Rest.”
1. This instruction leads to the pardon of sin.
2. To the assurance thatwe are reconciledto God.
3. To the removal of all fear of evil.
Observe-
1. The evidence that we are learning of Christ is that we are becoming like
Him.
2. All should submit to be taught by Christ. (American Homiletic Review.)
Unspoken teaching
We are taught, and we teach, by something about us that never goes into
language atall. (BishopHuntingdon.)
The advantages ofhumility
I. Whence we are directed to learn it. We are to learn it from Christ, because
it is a grace so peculiarly Christian, that no other institution will furnish us
with it. All ancient schemes ofmorality are chargeable with this defect. They
are advancedrather as arguments for men of learning to dispute than as
directions of life to be reduced to practice;humility left out of them. And

though some have declaimedwith great zealon the contempt of glory, yet we
find these men to have declined the applause with greatervanity than others
pursued it. The Jews were renderedproud by their privileges. Christianity
first taught the true doctrine of humility; Christ its pattern. His
circumstances, disciples, are allof lowly character.
II. Recommendfrom the encouragementhere given, that it will bring restto
our souls. Tranquillity of mind is the spring of our present felicity; without it
all acquisitions are insipid. When we remember the miseries which arise from
resentment of real or fancied injuries, humility recommends itself to us as a
support and protection. The humble will keep, without inconsistency, within
the bounds of justice and sobriety, neither impatient in prospectnor fretted in
the event. Before honour is humility. Humility softens the terrors of death. If
we are His disciples, let the humility of the Mastercorrectthe pride of His
servants. How much our own happiness depends on this disposition. (J.
Rogers, D. D.)
Our Saviour’s humility
I. Humility towards God the Father was exhibited in severalways. In not
exceeding the bounds of His commission;in obedience and forbearance; He
did not employ His illuminating Spirit in the task of refuting error. Humble in
the manifestationof His power. How has His humility been imitated by us?
True we have no supernatural gifts to exert with humility; but those we have
do we so use?
II. Humility is exhibited in His intercourse with mankind. Look at the choice
He made of disciples. He told the centurion he would go to his house. Let us
not suppose that His humility was allied to weaknessortimidity. It was a
humility manfully arrayed against vice and pride. It did not stoopnor waver.
It did not flatter. It was associatedwith courage. We needthis humility, just

estimate of self; only to respectwhat is true and good, not mere outward
show. (F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D.)
The meek and lowly
One:-
I. The first quality which jesus claims.
1. Meek as opposedto ferocity of spirit manifested by the zealots and bigots.
2. There is a sternness which cannot be condemned.
3. It is meek in heart.
II. Lowliness of heart.
1. He is willing to receive the poorestsinner.
2. This lowliness leads Him to receive the most ignorant. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
I. It is something for the Christian to enjoy-”Rest.”
1. Restfrom legalservitude.
2. From wrathful apprehensions.
3. From carnalpursuits.
4. From earthly anxiety.
5. From terrific forebodings.
II. Something to bear-“Yoke.”
1. Subjectionto the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

2. Resignationto the will of Christ.
Why calleda yoke?
1. Becauseit opposes ourcorrupt nature.
2. Becauseit opposes the maxims of the world.
3. Becauseit is repugnant to the schemes of men.
III. Something which the Christian is to be taught-“Learn of Me.”
1. Meekness.
2. Humility.
Christ teaches:
1. By His Spirit.
2. By His Word.
3. By His example. (The Pulpit.)
The three exchanges
I. The exchange of yokes.
II. The exchange ofburdens.
III. The exchange ofteaching. (H. Bonar.)
The yoke of Christ
Our Lord speaks ofHis service as a yoke or burden, because it is so esteemed
by all who know Him not.

I. What is meant by the yoke of Christ? It includes-
II. The appointed means by which sinners are enabled to bear this threefold
yoke-”Learnof Me.”
1. Are you terrified with the difficulties attending your profession? Learnof
Jesus (Hebrews 12:3).
2. Do you find it hard to walk stedfastly in His precepts? Learn of Jesus
(Romans 15:3).
3. Are you tempted to repine at the dispensations ofDivine Providence? Take
Jesus for your pattern (John 18:11).
III. The happy effect of bearing this yoke. Rest, to the soul. This affords the
best and most unshakenevidence that He has begun a goodwork of grace in
our hearts. (John Newton.)
The double yoke
If the yoke for oxen is meant, it was a yoke for two: it passedacrossthe
shoulders of two animals, and they bore the yoke together, and so the yoke
was easierand lighter for each. Jesus is bearing a yoke. His is a yoke for two.
He would have us take the vacantplace beside Him, and share with Him.
I. Christ’s yoke.
1. His Father’s will.
2. The work given Him to do.
3. All involved in His Sonship.
4. Seeking andsaving the lost.

5. Redemption of the world from sin.
6. Winning the world’s heart for God.
II. Christ’s yoke shared by us. Illustrate how Paul shared it. We may share in
Conclusion:-There is no forcedbearing of yokes with Christ, we must choose
to come under it with Christ, (R. Tuck.)
Restin submission
The text suggests a figure. Two oxen are yoked togetherat the plough. But
they toil unwillingly. They fret and chafe themselves. Theystrive to force
themselves free of the galling yoke. They are weary, oppressedwith their
slavery. Would it not be rest for those oxen if they would cheerfully submit;
simply acceptthe toil before them; encourage their spirit quietly and bravely
to suffer, and bear, and do; fret no more at the yoke, but take it, bear it, and
in bearing it discoverhow light and easyand restful the very yoke can
become? (R. Tuck.)
Humility
The greatbusiness of man is the regulation of his spirit. Restis only found in
ourselves in a meek and lowly disposition of heart.
I. Much of trouble comes from dispositions opposite to humility.
II. Humility is the best security againstheart-aches.
III. Christian humility is opposedto that spiritual pride which is the worst of
all prides. (Sterne.)
Man’s unrest

There are three causes in men producing unrest:
I. Suspicionof God.
II. Inward discord.
III. Dissatisfactionwith outward circumstances. Forall these meeknessis the
cure. (F. W. Robertson.)
The yoke lined
The yoke of Christ will be more easythan we think of, especiallywhen it is
lined with grace. (T. Manton.)
We wellremember an old man who carried pails with a yoke, and as he was
infirm, and tender about the shoulders, his yoke was padded, and covered
with white flannel where it touched him. But what a lining is “love”!A cross
of iron, lined with love, would never gall the neck, much less will Christ’s
woodencross. Lined with Christ’s love to us! Coveredwith our love to Him!
Truly the yoke is easy, and the burden is light. Wheneverthe shoulder
becomes sore letus look to the lining. Keep the lining right, and the yoke will
be no more a burden to us than wings are to a bird, or her wedding-ring is to
a bride. O love divine, line my whole life, my cares, my griefs, my pains; and
what more can I ask? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Hard beginnings
Some beginners are discouragedin their first attempts at a godly life, and so
give over through despondency, They should remember that the bullock is
most unruly at the first yoking, and that the fire at first kindling casts forth
most smoke. (T. Manton.)
Imitating Christ the highest art

In the greatgalleries ofart that are the glory of London, Paris, Munich,
Dresden, and Rome you may see the artists of the future. Young men toil
there day after day, patiently copying the masterpieces ofthe painters who are
world-renowned, learning thus to become painters themselves. Every line,
every colour, every gradationof light and shade they put forth their utmost
skill to imitate. They are not content that their picture should be something
like the original; their ambition is to make their copy so exactthat none but
an experiencedeye shall be able to tell which is the original and which is the
copy. To-day, my friend, place yourself before the Lord Jesus;look on His
character, so majestic in its righteousness, so tenderand attractive in its love,
and resolve to become like Him. Let not your ambition be lowerthan that
with which the young artist sits down before some masterpiece ofRaphaelor
Rubens, nor the patience with which you strive to accomplishit less. (R. A.
Bertram.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Take my yoke upon you,.... The phrase is Rabbinical. The Jewishdoctors
often speakF1 of‫לוע‬‫תוכלמ‬ ‫,םימש‬ "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven", and of
persons taking it upon them; and which they exhort to, and express in much
such language as hereF2;‫אשידק‬ ‫וליבק‬ ‫וכיילע‬ ‫לוע‬ ‫,אתוכלמ‬ "take upon you the
yoke of the holy kingdom", every day. They distinguish this from the yoke of
the law, and sayF3.
"a man must first take upon him the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and after
that take upon him the "yoke" ofthe commandment.'
Their sense I take to be this, that a man must first make a professionof his
faith in the God of Israel, and then live conformably to his law: agreeablyto
this, Christ exhorts such persons who come to him for rest and happiness, to
profess their faith in him, to embrace the doctrines of the Gospel, to submit to
his ordinances, and to walk according to those laws, commands, and orders,
which he, as king of saints, has made, and requires obedience to: so those who
come to him for life, and believe in him, as the Saviour of their souls, though
they are not to trust in, and depend upon any duties performed by them; yet

they are not to sit still, or lay aside the performance of goodworks, or live a
licentious course of life, but are always to be doing the will and work of their
Lord. And this he calls "his yoke", in distinction from the yoke of the law of
Moses,and of the traditions of the elders.
And learn of me, for I am meek, and lowly in heart: respectseems to be had to
Zechariah 9:9 where such characters as these are givenof the Messiah. The
meekness,humility, and lowliness ofChrist appearin his assumption of
human nature; in his subjection to his Father;in the whole of his deportment
and conversationamong men; in his submission to the ordinance of baptism;
in the whole course of his obedience to God, and in his sufferings and death:
and he is to be imitated herein, by all his followers, who may learn many
excellentthings from his example, as well as from his doctrine; and
particularly, that whereas, thoughhe was so great a person, yet condescended
to perform every duty with readiness and cheerfulness, his disciples should
not think it below them to conform to every ordinance of his, to every branch
of his will; for he has set them an example, that they should tread in his steps,
and walk even as he has walked. There never was such an instance of
humility, and lowliness ofmind, as Christ; nor is there any example so worthy
of our imitation as his. The Jews have a sayingF4,
"for ever let a man ‫ןתוונע‬ ‫,לליהכ‬ "be meek as Hillell", and let him not be
wrathful as "Shammai":'
which two men were presidents of their universities about the times of Christ.
But our Lord says, "learn of me", not of "Hillell", or any of your doctors,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls;referring to Jeremiah6:16 and which
shows the rest he speaks ofin the preceding verse, to be not a corporal, but a
spiritual one; and which is to be enjoyed "in", though not "for" the
observance ofChrist's commands; whose "ways are ways of pleasantness,and
all" whose "paths are peace".
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Take my yoke upon you — the yoke of subjectionto Jesus.

and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find restunto
your souls — As Christ‘s willingness to empty Himself to the uttermost of His
Father‘s requirements was the spring of ineffable repose to His own Spirit, so
in the same track does He invite all to follow Him, with the assurance ofthe
same experience.
John Lightfoot's Commentary on the Gospels
29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
[My yoke.]So The yoke of the law: The yoke of the precept: The yoke of the
kingdom of heaven.
People's New Testament
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. He has first askedus to come, and
made a gracious promise. He next shows us how to come. We are to come by
taking {his} yoke upon us. Taking on the yoke is a symbol of submission. The
two steps by which we come, and secure the promise of "restunto our souls"
are then 1. Submission to Christ. 2. Becoming his disciples.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me ( ‫לבבובו‬ ‫זבי‬ ‫לבע‬ ‫ונ‬ ‫לן‬ ‫דןם‬ ‫ך‬ ‫בןם‬ ‫בובבו‬
‫בנולן‬ — arate ton zugon mou eph'humas kaimathete ap'emou). The rabbis
used yoke for schoolas many pupils find it now a yoke. The English word
“school”is Greek for leisure (‫חקןכף‬ — scholē). But Jesus offers refreshment
(‫בנבםב‬ ‫םיח‬ — anapausin) in his schooland promises to make the burden light,
for he is a meek and humble teacher. Humility was not a virtue among the
ancients. It was rankedwith servility. Jesus has made a virtue of this vice. He
has glorified this attitude so that Paulurges it (Philemon 2:3), “in lowliness of

mind eachcounting other better than himself.” In portions of Europe today
people place yokes onthe shoulders to make the burden easierto carry. Jesus
promises that we shall find the yoke kindly and the burden lightened by his
help. “Easy” is a poor translation of ‫קוףחבןע‬ — chrēstos Moffattputs it
“kindly.” That is the meaning in the Septuagintfor persons. We have no
adjective that quite carries the notion of kind and good. The yoke of Christ is
useful, good, and kindly. Cf. Song of Solomon1:10.
Vincent's Word Studies
Yoke ( ‫ץם‬‫ן‬‫ד‬ ‫ך‬ )
“These words, as recordedby St. Matthew, the Evangelistof the Jews, must
have sunk the deeperinto the hearts of Christ's Jewishhearers, that they
came in their own old, familiar form of speech, yet with such contrastof spirit.
One of the most common figurative expressions of the time was that of the
yoke for submissionto an occupationor obligation. Very instructive for the
understanding of the figure is this paraphrase of Deuteronomy 6:4-9;
Deuteronomy 11:13-21;Numbers 15:37-41. The sectionDeuteronomy6:4-9
was said to precede Deuteronomy11:13-21, so that we might take upon
ourselves the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and only after that the yoke of
the commandments. The Saviour's words must have had a specialsignificance
to those who remembered this lesson;and they would now understand how,
by coming to the Saviour, they would first take on them the yoke of the
kingdom of heaven, and then that of the commandments, finding this yoke
easyand the burden light” (Edersheim, “Life and Times of Jesus,” and
“JewishSocialLife”)Meek (‫ץע‬‫ב‬ ‫נוב‬ )
See on Matthew 5:5.
Lowly ( ‫ץע‬‫ן‬‫בבנוים‬ )
The word has a history. In the classicsit is used commonly in a bad and
degrading sense, ofmeanness ofcondition, lowness of rank, and cringing
abjectness andbaseness ofcharacter. Still, even in classicalGreek, this is not
its universal usage. It is occasionallyemployed in a way which foreshadows its
higher sense. Plato, forinstance, says, “To that law (of God) he would be

happy who holds fast, and follows it in all humility and order; but he who is
lifted up with pride, or money, or honor, or beauty, who has a soul hot with
folly, and youth, and insolence, and thinks that he has no need of a guide or
ruler, but is able himself to be the guide of others, he, I say,is left desertedof
God” (“Laws,” 716). And Aristotle says:“He who is worthy of small things,
and deems himself so, is wise” (“Nich. Ethics, ” iv., 3). At best, however, the
classicalconceptionis only modesty, absence ofassumption. It is an element of
wisdom and in no way opposedto self-righteousness (seeAristotle above). The
word for the Christian virtue of humility ( ‫ץםף‬ ‫בבנויםןצוןח‬ )was notused before
the Christian era, and is distinctly an outgrowth of the Gospel. This virtue is
basedupon a correctestimate ofour actual littleness, and is linked with a
sense ofsinfulness. True greatnessis holiness. We are little because sinful.
Compare Luke 18:14. It is askedhow, in this view of the case, the word canbe
applied to himself by the sinless Lord? “The answeris,” says Archbishop
Trench, “that for the sinner humility involves the confessionof sin, inasmuch
as it involves the confessionofhis true condition; while yet for the unfallen
creature the grace itselfas truly exists, involving for such the
acknowledgment, not of sinfulness, which would be untrue, but of
creatureliness, ofabsolute dependence, of having nothing, but receiving all
things of God. And thus the grace ofhumility belongs to the highest angel
before the throne, being as he is a creature, yea, even to the Lord of Glory
himself. In his human nature he must be the pattern of all humility, of all
creaturely dependence;and it is only as a man that Christ thus claims to be
lowly; his human life was a constantliving on the fulness of his Father's love;
he evermore, as man, took the place which beseemedthe creature in the
presence ofits Creator” (“Synonyms,” p. 145). The Christian virtue regards
man not only with reference to God, but to his fellow-man. In lowliness of
mind eachcounting other better than himself (Philemon 2:3, Rev.). But this is
contrary to the Greek conceptionofjustice or righteousness, whichwas
simply “his own to eachone.” It is noteworthy that neither the Septuagint, the
Apocrypha, nor the New Testamentrecognize the ignoble classicalsense ofthe
word.
Ye shall find ( ‫ץחובו‬‫ף‬‫וו‬ ‫ו‬ )

Compare I will give you and ye shall find. The rest of Christ is twofold- given
and found. It is given in pardon and reconciliation. It is found under the yoke
and the burden; in the development of Christian experience, as more and
more the “strainpasses over” from self to Christ. “No other teacher, since the
world began, has ever associatedlearnwith rest. 'Learn of me,'says the
philosopher, 'and you shall find restlessness.''Learn of me,' says Christ, 'and
you shall find rest'” (Drummond, “NaturalLaw in the Spiritual World”)i1.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Take my yoke upon you — Believe in me: receive me as your prophet, priest,
and king.
For I am meek and lowly in heart — Meek towardall men, lowly toward God:
and ye shall find rest - Whoevertherefore does not find restof soul, is not
meek and lowly. The fault is not in the yoke of Christ: but in thee, who hast
not takenit upon thee. Noris it possible for any one to be discontented, but
through want of meekness orlowliness.
The Fourfold Gospel
Take my yoke upon you1, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
Take my yoke upon you. "Taking the yoke" is a symbolic expression. It
means, "Submit to me and become my disciple", for the yoke is symbolic of
the condition of servitude (Jeremiah27:11,12;Isaiah9:4; Acts 15:10
Galatians 5:1; 1 Timothy 6:1).

Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Take my yoke upon you; submit to my authority. He speaks notas their
Teachermerely, but as their Masterand Lord.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
29.Takemy yoke upon you. Many persons, we perceive, abuse the grace of
Christ by turning it into an indulgence of the flesh; and therefore Christ, after
promising joyful rest to wretchedly distressedconsciences,reminds them, at
the same time, that he is their Delivereron condition of their submitting to his
yoke. He does not, he tells us, absolve men from their sins in such a manner,
that, restoredto the favor of God, they may sin with greaterfreedom, but
that, raisedup by his grace, they may also take his yoke upon them, and that,
being free in spirit, they may restrain the licentiousness oftheir flesh. And
hence we obtain a definition of that rest of which he had spoken. It is not at all
intended to exempt the disciples of Christ from the warfare of the flesh, that
they may enjoy themselves at their ease, but to train them under the burden of
discipline, and keepthem under the yoke.
Learn of me It is a mistake, I think, to suppose that Christ here assures us of
his meekness, lesthis disciples, under the influence of that fear which is
usually experiencedin approaching persons of distinction, should remain at a
distance from him on accountof his Divine glory. It is rather his designto
form us to the imitation of himself, because the obstinacyof the flesh leads us
to shrink from his yoke as harsh and uneasy. Shortly afterwards, he adds,
(verse 30,) my yoke is easyBut how shall any man be brought willingly and
gently to bend his neck, unless, by putting on meekness, he be conformed to
Christ? That this is the meaning of the words is plain; for Christ, after
exhorting his disciples to bear his yoke, and desirous to prevent them from
being deterred by its difficulty, immediately adds, Learn of me; thus declaring
that, when his example shall have accustomedus to meekness andhumility,

we shall no longerfeel his yoke to be troublesome. To the same purpose he
adds, I will relieve you So long as the flesh kicks, we rebel;and those who
refuse the yoke of Christ, and endeavor to appease Godin any other manner,
distress and waste themselves in vain. In this manner, we see the Papists
wretchedly torturing themselves, and silently enduring the dreadful tyranny
under which they groan, that they may not bow to the yoke of Christ.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
LEARNING OF CHRIST
‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me.’
Matthew 11:29
Just before our Lord spoke these words, He had declaredHis joy and
thankfulness that intellectual eminence had nothing to do with the entrance
into His school;that the mysteries of His teaching were hidden from the wise
and prudent and revealedto babes. His Apostles maintain the same attitude.
It might have seemedas though the triumph of Christianity must necessarily
involve the depreciation of mental power. But in widestcontrastwith such a
thought has been the actual course ofthe Church’s history.
I. No specialprivileges for intellect.—At the entrance into the Kingdom of
God the human intellect is receivednow exactly as it was in the time of St.
Paul. In and by itself, apart from the considerationof its use, it constitutes no
claim to enter into the kingdom; it has no specialprivileges, no exceptions, no
promise of a goodplace there. The intellect must be brought into captivity to
the obedience ofChrist; it must take His yoke upon it. And then it shall learn
of Him.
II. Things to be learnt.—‘Take Myyoke upon you, and learn of Me.’
(a) Humility. The faith of Jesus Christ presses upon us the resolute cultivation
of humility.

(b) Seriousness. Christianitybears a greatpart in the growth of the intellect
by making it serious. To realise that our searchfor truth is conductedin the
sight of God should lift us at once above the temptation to be ostentatious, or
mercenary in the use and exercise ofintellect.
(c) Unselfishness. The intellectual life will surely gain in purity and strength if
the heart that animates it is unselfish. We are told that the besetting troubles
of education and of learning in our day are ‘hurry, worry, and money.’ If so,
what a careeris open for minds that are raised by the obedience ofChrist and
the example of His Cross high above this wastefulstrife of tongues.
III. The result—personalinfluence.—To be humble, to be serious, to be
unselfish, these are the chief obligations which Christianity imposes on the
intellect; these are the conditions of its entrance into the service of the
kingdom of Almighty God: and when the highestgifts of intellect are
consecratedby union with these graces,the result is a powerof personal
influence which it would be difficult to limit.
—BishopF. Paget.
Illustration
‘“The education which I advocate,” saidProfessorFaraday, “has forits first
and laststep—humility.” I well remember hearing Mr. Darwin sayabout a
writer who was much talked of, and who is apt to be at once very positive and
wide-reaching in assertion, “Ah! I never read a page of him without
thinking—there’s five or six years’ work for any one to see whether that’s
true.” Humility and patience;these are the unfailing and characteristic
elements in the temper of those who have really most advanced the empire of
human knowledge.’
John Trapp Complete Commentary

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Ver. 29. Take my yoke upon you] q.d. Though freed by me from the damning
and domineering power of sin, you must not think to live as you wish. In the
greatestfreedomis the leastlicence. {a} To argue from mercy to liberty is the
devil’s logic:from mercy to duty is the right reasoning, as Romans 12:1.
Christians must not be yokeless, aweless,masterless, Belialists,that wander at
will as wild asses, orcanes, ‫,יןבןנחוהב‬ but they must yield the obedience of
faith, and be adding to their faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, &c., linking
the graceshand in hand as in a dance (so the word signifies, ‫,)ובבחףדףוןקינו‬ 2
Peter1:5; 2 Peter1:11, so shall they have an entrance ministered unto them
further and further into Christ’s glorious kingdom.
And learn of me] The Arch-prophet, the Counsellor, that excellentspeaker, as
he is called in Daniel 8:13, that came out of the Father’s bosom, and hath his
Father’s will at his fingers’ends. Besides whathe taught us by himself and his
servants, he hath written for us those excellentthings of his law, those lively
oracles. He hath also left us, as here, his ownpractice for a pattern of the rule,
and for a complete copy (as St Petercalleth it, ‫,םןללבודןנ‬ 1 Peter2:21), to
write after. Pindarus saith of Hiero Syracusanus, that he had cropped off the
tops of all virtues; {b} Melancthon, of Frederick the electorof Saxony, that he
had pickedout the flowerof all noble abilities and endowments, {c} The same
author proposethGeorge, Prince ofAnhalt, for an example of unparalleled
piety, worthy of all men’s imitation. Machiavelsets forth CaesarBorgia (a far
worse man) as the only pattern for a prince to express. St Jerome, having read
the religious life and death of Hilarion, folding up the book said, Well,
Hilarion shall be the champion whom I will imitate, How much rather should
we say so of Christ: every one of whose actions, whethermoral or mediatory,
were for our imitation. In his moral actions we should learn of him by doing
as he did, 1 Peter2:23. In his mediatory, by translating that he did to our
spiritual life, as to die to sin, live to righteousness,&c.

For I am meek and lowly in heart] Lo, here is a piece of Christ’s yoke, which
he therefore so calleth, because as the yoke maketh the heifer hang down her
head and frame to hard labour, so doth humility (the mother of meekness)
work in our hearts, Hosea 10:11. {d} Ephraim was a heifer used to dance and
delight in soft straw, and could not abide to plough: but the Lord will make
him (and all his) both bear and draw, and that from their youth up,
Lamentations 3:1-66. And whereas meeknessand lowly mindedness go
coupled here together, we must know that they are virtutes collectaneae, as
Bernard calleth them, a pair of twin sisters, neverasunder. Remember, saith
Mr Tyndale to Mr Frith, that as lowliness of mind shall make you high with
God, even so meekness ofwords shall make you sink into the hearts of men.
And ye shall find rest unto your souls]These Christian virtues have virtutem
pacativam, they lodge a sweetcalm in the heart, freeing it from perturbations
and distempers. A humble man saith, Who am I but I may be despised,
abused, injured? And that which will break a passionate man’s heart, will not
break a meek man’s sleep. {e}
{a} In maxima libertate minima licentia. Salvian
{b} .‫נבחשם‬ ‫בנן‬ ‫בוובשם‬ ‫צבע‬ ‫זןו‬ ‫הוונשם‬
{c} Freder. selegitflorem ex omnibus virtatibus. Scultet. Annal.
{d} ‫עןםיונבב‬ quasi‫,עןםיוצבהו‬ ab‫,עןצבהו‬ terra. Humilitas, ab humo.

{e} Socratescum in comoedia taxaretur ridebat: Polyagrus vero seipsum
strangulabat. Aelian. 5.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
Here note, That the phrase of take the yoke is judaical; the Jewishdoctors
spake frequently of the yoke of the law; the yoke of the commandments: and
the ceremonies imposedupon the Jews are calleda yoke, Acts 15:10.
Now as Moses hada yoke, so had Christ.
Accordingly, observe, 1. Christ's disciples must wearChrist's yoke. This yoke
is twofold; a yoke of instruction; and a yoke of affliction; Christ's law is a
yoke of instruction; it instructs; it restrains our natural inclinations, it curbs
our sensualappetites;it is a yoke to corrupt nature; this yoke Christ calls his
yoke, Take my yoke upon you: 1. Because he, as a Lord, lays it upon our
necks.
2. Becausehe, as a servant, bore it upon his own neck first, before he laid it
upon ours.
Observe, 2. That the way and manner how to bear Christ's yoke must be
learnt of Christ himself. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; that is,
learn of me, both what to bear, and how to bear.
Observe, 3. That Christ's humility and lowly-mindedness, is a great
encouragementto Christians to come unto him, and learn of him, both how to
obey his commands, and how to suffer his will and pleasure. Learn of me, for
I am meek.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary

quoted from Jeremiah6:16 Heb. Thus we have it
revealedhere, that the rest and joy of the Christian soul is, to become like
Olshausenmakes an excellentdistinction between‫םיונבב‬ὸ‫ע‬ ‫ב‬ῇ‫זבוה‬ ᾳ, an
attribute of divine Love in the Saviour, and ‫בבנוים‬ὸ‫ע‬ or‫נבשק‬ὸ‫ב‬ ‫ע‬ῷ ‫נםו‬ .hc ,‫לבבי‬
Matthew 5:3 : Proverbs 29:23, which can only be said of sinful man, knowing
his unworthiness and need of help.
14:1.)
Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
DISCOURSE:1350
CHRIST A MEEK AND LOWLY TEACHER
Matthew 11:29. Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.
EVERY office which Christ sustains in the economyof redemption, is replete
with encouragementto sinful man. His sufficiency as our greatHigh-Priest to
make atonement for us, and his poweras our King to subdue our enemies, are
subjects of frequent meditation, and sources ofunspeakable comfort, to the
true Christian. His prophetic office, especiallyas exercisedtowards ourselves,
is less consideredby Christians in general, though it is equally necessaryfor
us, and no less conducive to our eternal welfare. In a preceding verse our
Lord has told us, that none can know the Father, except they to whom the Son
should revealhim; and, in the words before us, he invites all to come and
learn of him the mysterious truths, which, though already recorded in the
written word, cannotbe apprehended aright, unless he unfold them to us, and
enable us to understand them.
In these words we may discern,
I. Our duty—
Christ having undertaken to teach us the way of safety, and the way of duty,
we should learn of him,

1. With the teachablenessofchildren—
[Children receive with the most implicit submissionwhatever their teachers
tell them. Thus should we learn of Christ: we should not bring our own
preconceivednotions to the Scriptures, or presume to try the mysteries of
revelation at the bar of our own corrupt reason;but we should believe
whateverGod has spoken, and receive it simply on the authority of the
speaker. Norshould the opinions of the wisestphilosopher be of any weight
with us, if they be clearly contrary to the voice of inspiration [Note: Isaiah
8:20.].]
2. With the diligence of students—
[They who have a thirst for knowledge, are almostconstantlyemployed in
deep thought, and laborious investigation. Nor do they accountany pains too
great, if only they cangain that eminence and distinction, which superior
attainments will ensure. Thus should we be occupiedin pursuit of divine
knowledge;reading the word, “searching into it as for hidden treasures,”
meditating upon it day and night, and praying over it for divine illumination.
While others are careful, and cumbered about many things, we should be
sitting at the feet of Jesus [Note:Luke 10:39-42.], andembracing all
opportunities of religious instruction, whether in public or in private.]
3. With the obedience of devoted followers—
[Earthly knowledge may be merely speculative:divine knowledge must be
practical;it is of no use at all, any further than it purifies the heart and
renews the life. Whatever we find to be the mind and will of God, that we
must do without hesitation, and without reserve. As the reasonings ofmen are
to be disregardedwhen opposedto the declarations ofGod, so are the maxims
of men to be setat nought, when by adopting them we should violate a divine
command. One single word, confirmed with Thus saith the Lord, should
operate more powerfully to the regulating of our faith and practice, than the
sentiments and customs of the whole world combined.]
The description which our Lord has given us of his own character, shews what
abundant provision is made for,

II. Our encouragement—
Our Lord’s words are not to be understood as an exhortation to learn
meekness andlowliness from his example, but as a reasonwhy we should
cheerfully submit ourselves to his teaching. In this view they are very
encouraging:they imply, that,
1. He will condescendto our ignorance—
[Those who are proficients in deep knowledge, cannotbearthe drudgery of
teaching children the first rudiments of language. But Jesus, who is able to
instruct the highest archangel, is yet willing to take, as it were, under his
tuition the most ignorant of mankind. As in the days of his flesh, “he spake the
word to men as they were able to bear it,” so now will he give us “line upon
line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little [Note: Isaiah
28:10.].” When his own disciples forbad people to bring their children to him,
under the idea that his time ought not to be occupiedwith persons so
incapable of benefiting by his instructions, he rebuked them, and desired that
all, of whatever age or description, might have the freestaccessto him [Note:
Mark 10:13-14.];being as willing to adapt himself to the capacityof a child as
to the more enlargedunderstandings of the Scribes and Pharisees.]
2. He will bear with our dulness—
[Human teachers are but too apt to feelirritation from the stupidity of their
disciples. But Jesus, who has infinitely more to bear with than we can have, is
ever patient, and ready to renew yet again and againthe lessons that he has
given us a thousand times. Scarcelyany personcan be conceivedmore dull of
understanding than his own disciples, who, after he had been teaching them
for nearly four years, were yet ignorant of the necessityof his death, of the
ends of his resurrection, and of the spiritual nature of his kingdom. He was
constrainedsometimes to complain of them in this very view; “Are ye also yet
without understanding [Note:Matthew 15:16.]?” Neverthelesshe continued to
teachthem, till he had initiated them fully into all the mysteries of his
kingdom. And thus will he do to the most ignorant of men; he will “opentheir
understandings [Note: Luke 24:25.],” and “guide them into all truth [Note:
John 16:13.].”]

3. He will encourage ourfeeblestefforts—
[It not unfrequently happens, that they who are slow of understanding, are
altogetherdriven to despondency through the impatience of their teachers.
But Jesus is all meekness and lowliness:and, howeverweak our efforts be,
provided only they be sincere and humble, he will bless them with a measure
of success, andwith manifest tokens of his approbation. We may appeal to the
experience of all, in confirmation of this truth: who ever soughtinstruction
from him in a way of reading and prayer, without finding his mind gradually
opening to an apprehensionof the truth? Has not Jesus shewn, if we may so
speak, a partiality for the poor and weak, revealing to them what he has
hidden from the wise and prudent [Note:Matthew 11:25.];confounding
thereby the wisdom of the wise [Note:1 Corinthians 1:27.], and securing to
himself the glory of his own work? Yes; in reference to the illumination of the
mind, as well as to any thing else, we may say, “He will not break the bruised
reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but will bring forth judgment unto victory
[Note:Matthew 12:20 and Zechariah4:10.].”]
But, in addition to the encouragementwhich his condescensionaffords us, we
have a further inducement to learn of him, from the considerationof,
III. Our reward—
An attention to the instructions of earthly monitors is productive of no little
benefit. But if we diligently learn of Christ, our advantages will be greater
than we can well conceive:we shall find benefit to our souls;we shall obtain
“rest,”
1. From the uncertainty of conjecture—
[Mankind in generalare in a state of doubt respecting the most important of
all concerns:though they may assentto the principal truths of Christianity,
they feel no assurance respecting them. But those who have learned of Christ,
soonattain a full persuasionof the things they have been taught. The
Scripture speaks ofa threefold assurance;an assuranceofunderstanding
[Note:Colossians 2:2.], an assurance offaith [Note: Hebrews 10:22.], and an
assurance ofhope [Note:Hebrews 6:11.]: of all these, the men of this world

have no idea: they are ready to speak ofsuch things as marks of daring
presumption. But the disciple of Christ has an inward witness of the truths he
has learned[Note: Hebrews 11:13. 1 John 5:10; 1 John 3:19.]; and knows
perfectly that they are not a cunningly-devised fable [Note: 2 Peter1:16.]. He
can venture his soul upon them with as much confidence, as he canrecline his
wearybody upon his bed. He knows in whom he has believed; and that the
soul which is committed to Jesus, is safe for ever [Note:2 Timothy 1:12.].]
2. From the accusations ofconscience—
[In spite of men’s endeavours to silence the convictions of their conscience,
they never can obtain peace but in God’s appointed way. But the person that
has learnedof Christ to rely simply on his blood and righteousness,enjoys a
“peace thatpassethall understanding.” He knows that “the blood of Jesus will
cleanse him from all sin,” and that “there is no condemnation to the soul that
believes in him” — — —]
3. From the turbulence of passion—
[Whatever difference there may be in the natural tempers of men, all have
some predominant passionthat leads them captive. But the disciple of Christ
has a new and more powerful principle infused into his soul [Note:Galatians
5:16-17.];by means of which he is enabled to bring into subjection his corrupt
appetites, and to mortify those evil dispositions which are such a fruitful
source of misery to the unregenerate. This forms the greatline of distinction
betweenthe Lord’s people and others;for, whereas others are led captive by
some sin, believers “have not so learned Christ, if they have indeed heard him
and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus [Note:Ephesians 4:19-21.]:”
on the contrary, “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts [Note: Galatians 5:24.].”]
4. From the fearof death—
[Men may brave death on a field of battle; but all, exceptthe true Christian,
shrink from it in its more silent and gradual approaches. But Christ
purchased for his followers a deliverance from this bondage [Note:Hebrews
2:14-15.]. With respectto them, death has lost its sting: yea, it is counted

amongsttheir richest treasures [Note:1 Corinthians 3:22.]: and they are
enabled to look forward to it with pleasure, as the period when all their
conflicts will cease, andtheir joys be consummatedfor ever [Note:Philippians
1:23.] — — —
“Suchis the heritage of the servants of the Lord;” and such is the rest that
Christ will impart to all who learn of him.]
Address—
[Are there any amongstus that are prosecuting human learning with avidity?
O remember, that the knowledge ofChrist infinitely transcends all other
knowledge [Note:Philippians 3:8.], and will bring with it a more certain, and
far nobler, recompence. Be persuadedthen to devote to it some portion of
every day, and the whole of your sabbaths, that you may not only be wise, but
“wise unto salvation [Note:2 Timothy 3:15.].”
Are there any that are dejectedon accountof their own incapacityto learn?
Considerthe abilities of your Teacher;and say, whether he be not able to
instruct you, as wellas others? He can make “the blind to see out of obscurity,
and out of darkness [Note:Isaiah 29:18.]:” yea, he will the more readily exert
himself on your behalf, because the excellencyof the power displayed in your
proficiency will the more evidently appearto be of him [Note:2 Corinthians
4:7.]. Take comfortthen, and expectthe certainaccomplishment of that
promise, “Thenshall ye know, if ye follow on to know the Lord [Note:Hosea
6:3.].”]
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Matthew 11:29. ἄ‫,ובבו‬ take ye) To take the yoke of Christ upon us, is to give
oneselfup wholly to His discipline.— ὅ‫,יב‬ ‫.ז‬ ‫.ב‬ ‫,.כ‬ because, etc.)Hence it
appears why we should willingly learn from Jesus. Our meekness and
lowliness are consequentupon our so doing.— ‫נ‬
am meek and lowly, etc.) Although His language is fearful in Matthew 11:20;
Matthew 11:24. Meeknessproduces easinessofyoke;lowliness of heart,
lightness of burden. The Phariseeswere austere and proud. Condescension

(Demissio)is a much to be admired virtue of God, which is describedas fully
as possible, although it is not named in Scripture, by one word; whose
likeness, humility, is found in the saints;whose opposite, pride, in Satanand
the wicked. Forit is condescension, thatthat highest Majestyshould have
deigned at all to make creatures, and especiallymen, howevercontemptible,
howevermean, and to look on them without disdain, and to unite them to
Itself. And the Son of God in a most conspicuous manner manifestedHis
humility in our flesh.—See Psalms 34:7;Psalms 113:6;Luke 1:48; Luke 1:52-
53; Luke 12:37;Luke 22:27; John 12:26;John 13:14;Philippians 2:8;
Hebrews 11:16.—
quality of the heart, which meek does;therefore in heart refers rather to lowly
—
.XXL eht suhT .82:11 wehttaM ni ,I dna ,ὼ‫ד‬ἀ‫ז‬ nisa decudortni si ὶ‫זב‬ (dna ,ὶ‫זב‬
ὑ‫ל‬ῶ‫ם‬ and ye shall find
purification(547) for your souls. Restflows from the heart of Christ into our
souls;see Matthew 11:29.—
unknown to you, but soughtfor and desired.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Matthew 11:30".
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
None need to be miserable. By submission to Jesus Christ, trust in him, and
obedience to his commands, all may be happy in life, in death, and for ever.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
instruction. Stier quotes from the Mishna, ‘Take upon you the yoke of the
holy kingdom.’ Men of Belial = ‘Men without the yoke,’‘the uninstructed.’

ὅ‫ו‬ ‫נובאע‬ ‫בי‬ἰ‫זב‬ ‫לי‬ὶ ‫בבנוים‬ὸ‫ב‬ ‫ע‬ῇ ‫זבוה‬ ᾳ. The characterofJesus describedby
Himself: cp. 2 Corinthians 10:1, ‫נבובזבכ‬ῶ ὑ‫ל‬ᾶ‫הי‬ ‫ע‬ὰ ‫ב‬ῆ‫נו‬ ‫ע‬ᾳ
.ῦ‫׳ויחבן‬ ῦ‫בן‬ It is this characterthat brings rest to the soul, and therefore gives
us a reasonwhy men should become His disciples.
ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the goodway, and
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not
walk therein.’
.liot ylidob lanretxe morf feiler toN [‫ע‬ῖ‫קב‬ ‫ר‬ ‫ע‬ῖ‫בב‬
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
29. Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly — My gentle spirit and soul-
subduing doctrines canalone give that temper by which the soul of the man,
and the soul of the living world, may come to their true rest. Unto your souls
— Unless there be peace within there can never be peace without. Theorists
and socialistswill in vain attempt by external organizations to give peace.
They are mistakenly endeavouring to work from the without to the within.
Men’s hearts need to be regeneratedin order that a perfect organizationof
societymay exist, or be maintained. Human institutions are what human
hearts make them. The organization of societyis generallyas goodas the
moral and mental state of the mass will permit. When men’s hearts become
right, the true freedom may be attainable.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest to your souls.”
The yoke of Jesus is not basedon submitting to His instruction but on
learning from Jesus Himself what it meant to be meek and lowly in heart, and
walking in submission to Him. It is the yoke of the Kingly Rule of God. In
generala yoke is a woodeninstrument that joins two animals so that it makes

it easierfor them, acting together, to pull a heavy load. The idea may well be
that Jesus was, as it were, in the yoke, and that those who came to Him joined
Him in the yoke and as it were walkedwith Him as He walkedin meekness
and lowliness (compare Galatians 2:20). Thus did they learn from Him
(compare Isaiah 30:21 where we have the words of the yoke-master). How else
could it be made easy? This ties in with the attitude which was required of His
disciples in the beatitudes as a result of God’s blessing of them (Matthew 5:3-
9).
‘Meek and lowly in heart.’ The idea behind meekness is not that of being
afraid to stand up and be counted, but of not being continually concerned
with one’s own interests. The meek personnever gets het up about selfish
concerns, forin caseslike this his concernis only to please Godand look after
God’s interests. That is why Moses was able to be describedas ‘meek’
(Numbers 12:3). Lowliness of heart goes with meekness. Compare ‘poorin
spirit’. There is no thought of exalting self. Note how this connects with the
activity of the Servantin Matthew 12:19-20, and with the continual emphasis
on the fact that true greatness is found in being lowly (Matthew 20:25-28).
‘And you will find rest to your souls.’Compare Jeremiah6:16 where the rest
is found by walking in the old paths, ‘the goodway’. So the goodway was to
be found by walking as He walked. Note that in Jeremiah the failure to listen
to what God was saying resulted in the exile. Here the One Who representing
Israelhas come out of exile (Matthew 2:15) offers the opportunity to them to
‘return from (spiritual) exile’ and find rest. But this is the restof quietness
and confidence. ‘In returning and rest you will be saved, in quietness and in
confidence will be your strength’ (Isaiah 30:15)
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Matthew 11:29. Take my yoke upon you. The Jews calledthe law a ‘yoke.’
Our Lord here refers to His rule, doctrine, and leadership.

And learn of me. Either, take pattern from me, or as the context suggests,
become my disciples.
For I am meek and lowly in heart, not in appearance merely, as the scribes.
Humility is the first requisite in learning of God. The ‘meek and lowly’ One
can teachus this first lesson. The lowliness seems the greaterfrom the
language ofMatthew 11:27.
And ye shall find rest unto your souls. Rest of soul is the true aim; we must
seek it, and seek it from Christ ‘Man is made for Christ, and his heart is
without rest, until it rests in Him.’
The Expositor's Greek Testament
o a
master. The Rabbis spoke ofthe “yoke of the law”. Jesus uses their phrases
while drawing men awayfrom their influence.—
learn from my example (Buttmann, Gram., p. 324:on, that is, from the case
of), but, more comprehensively, getyour learning from me; take me as your
Masterin religion. The thing to be learned is not merely a moral lesson,
humility, but the whole truth about God and righteousness. But the mood of
Masterand scholarmust correspond, He meek as they have become by
etc. What connectionis there betweenthis spirit and knowledge ofGod? This:
a proud man cannot know God. God knoweththe proud afar off (Psalms
138:6), and they know God afar off. God giveth the grace ofintimate
knowledge ofHimself to the lowly.—
finding the true God, or through satisfactionofdesire, of the hunger of the
soul.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Take up my yoke, &c. Fearnot the yoke of Christ, for it is a yoke of the
greatestsweetness.Be not disheartenedwhen he mentions a burden, because

it is a burden exceeding light. If then our Saviour says, that the way of virtue
is exceeding narrow, and replete with difficulties and dangers, we must call to
mind that it is so to the slothful only. Perform therefore with alacrity what is
required, and then will all things be easy; the burden will be light, and the
yoke sweet. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxix.)
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Take my yoke upon you [the yoke of subjectionto Jesus]and learn of me; for
I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. As
Christ's willingness to empty Himself to the uttermost of His Father's
requirements was the spring of ineffable repose to His own spirit, so in the
same track does He invite all to follow Him, with the assurance ofthe same
experience.
The Bible Study New Testament
Take my yoke. Symbolic of placing yourself in his hands and control. We seize
his promise by obediently become his disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(29) Take my yoke upon you.—As the teaching of the Pharisees wasa yoke too
grievous to be borne, so the yoke of Christ is His teaching, His rule of life, and
so is explained by the “learnof Me” that follows. (Comp. Sirach 51:26.)
I am meek and lowly in heart.—The stress lies upon the last words. Others
might be lowly with the lowliness which is ambition’s ladder, but pride and
self-assertionwere reigning in their hearts. The Christ, in His infinite
sympathy with men of all classesandconditions, could boldly incur the risk of
seeming to boastof His humility, in order that He might win men to come and

prove by experience that He was able and willing to give them rest, to hear the
tale of their sorrows, andto turn from none with scorn.
Ye shall find rest unto your souls.—Here, as oftenelsewhere in our Lord’s
teaching, we have a direct quotation from Jeremiah(Jeremiah 6:16).
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
my
7:24; 17:5; John 13:17; 14:21-24;15:10-14;1 Corinthians 9:21; 2 Corinthians
10:5; 1 Thessalonians4:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:8;Hebrews 5:9
and learn
27; 28:20;Luke 6:46-48;8:35; 10:39-42;John 13:15;Acts 3:22,23; 7:37;
Ephesians 4:20,21;Philippians 2:5; 1 John 2:6
for
12:19,20;21:5; Numbers 12:3; Psalms 131:1; Isaiah42:1-4; Zechariah9:9;
Luke 9:51-56;2 Corinthians 10:1; Philippians 2:7,8; 1 Peter2:21-23
and ye
28; Jeremiah6:16; Hebrews 4:3-11
E.M. Zerr's Commentary on SelectedBooksofthe New Testament
Yoke is from ZUGOS, which has been rendered in the Authorized Version by
yoke5 times and pair of balances1. The word is used as an illustration of the
obligation that one must acceptas a co-workerwithJesus in the service of
righteousness. Learnof me is consistentwith the whole situation, for if a man

expects to serve his yokefellow he should desire to know something about him.
That learning will revealthat the ownerof the yoke is meek and lowly which
means he is humble and interestedin the welfare of the unfortunate ones of
earth. The restis to be for the soul, not that a disciple of Jesus will be an idler
in the vineyard. But while his body may be bent down with the toils of the
service and from its persecutions imposedby the enemy, the inner man will be
at peace and rest in the Lord. (See 2 Corinthians 4:16.)
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Matthew 11:29 "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.
(NASB: Lockman)
Greek:arate (2PAAM) ton zugon mou eph humas kaimathete (2PPAAM) ap'
hemou, hoti praus eimi (1SPAI) kai tapeinos te kardia, kai heuresete (2PFAI)
anapausin tais psuchais humon;
Amplified: Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek)
and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and
refreshment and recreationand blessedquiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16]
(Amplified Bible - Lockman)
Barclay:Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls;” (Westminster Press)
ESV: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
NLT: Take my yoke upon you. Let me teachyou, because I am humble and
gentle at heart, and you will find restfor your souls. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in
heart and you will find rest for your souls. (Phillips: Touchstone)

Jesus was meek and lowly in heart

Jesus was meek and lowly in heart

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