Gospel Light Society Podcasts

Gospel Light Society Podcasts

By Daniel Whyte IIIReligion & Spirituality
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Gospel Light Society Podcasts episodes

  • Finding Rest and Peace in a Restless World with the Coronavirus Plague, Part 12
    TEXT: Matthew 11:25-30
    Third, Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light. When Jesus issued His call to find rest in Him, he was speaking to a people that was crushed under the weight of trying to live up to the many religious commandments and traditions of Judaism. Jesus condemned the Jewish leaders for this in Matthew 23:4, where he said, “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Jesus is the exact antithesis of what he condemned in that verse. He does not make us bear a heavy burden, but a light one. Not only does he help us with our burdens, but he made the burden of sin no longer have power over us. David Guzik said, “Jesus described His gift to His followers as rest for your soul. This unmatchable gift – both powerful and profound – should be considered the birthright of those who come to Jesus and are His followers. They should believe that something is wrong if they don’t experience rest for your souls. You will find rest for your souls is an echo of the Hebrew text of Jeremiah 6:16, where it is the offer of God to those who follow his way; Jesus now issues the invitation in his own name! Jesus summarized this wonderful call with this assurance. The yoke is easy and the burden is light because He bears it with us. Borne alone, it might be unbearable; but with Jesus it can be easy and light. When training a new animal (such as an ox) to plow, ancient farmers often yoked it to an older, stronger, more experienced animal who bore the burden and guided the young animal through the learning process. The word easy is in Greek chrestos, which can mean well-fitting. In Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood. The yoke was carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yoke was tailor-made to fit the ox. This isn’t a call to a lazy or indulgent life. There is still a yoke to bear and burden to carry. Yet with and in Jesus, they are easy and light. Jesus’ yoke is easy, not because it makes lighter demands, but because it represents entering into a disciple-relationship. If your yoke is hard and your burden is heavy, then we can say that it isn’t His yoke or burden, and you aren’t letting Him bear it with you. Jesus said it plainly: My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The law is a heavy burden and a standard that we cannot live up to because of humanity’s fallen sin nature. We feel the judgment of breaking God’s law and yet we cannot stop breaking it of our own power. This is why Jesus comes to us and tells us instead of trying to live up to the law on our own merits, to follow Jesus because the law is fulfilled in Him. That’s what Christianity is about. It isn’t about following the law but following Jesus, because He is the only one who can forgive us when we sin and help us to follow God’s law. Why don’t you accept Jesus Christ’s invitation to lay aside your heavy yoke and burden and find rest for your soul in Him?
    1 hr 18 min

About Gospel Light Society Podcasts

From the publisher's feed

Gospel Light Society is a global ministry that seeks to present the Gospel to all people, in every language, around the world, over the internet. People all over the world need to hear about the love, peace, and joy that only comes through Jesus Christ. For many people, they are not free to practice their Christian beliefs in their country. For others, they do not feel comfortable in a public place of worship. Because of this, millions of people search for God on the internet. In many languages, GLS seeks to share the Gospel of Christ to those who contact us and then help them to grow in the saving knowledge of Jesus by connecting them with a church or a home Bible study group.