"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."
Matthew 11:29
Part 2
Yesterday:
“Take my yoke upon you.”
A yoke implies that we have something to learn from Him and do for Him. We live by His expectations.
“And learn of me.”
We learn from Jesus, and we serve Him.
Today:
“For I am meek and lowly in heart.”
Jesus has the heart of a gentle and lowly servant. Anyone who watched Him and His ministry could see that. He is the perfect “burden-bearer.”
Have you ever sat in a class where the teacher came off as arrogant? It is challenging to learn life’s lessons correctly under a proud teacher. On the other hand, Jesus is the example of humility. If we are to learn to be humble, we need to learn it from Jesus. Jesus is both “gentle” and “lowly” in heart, the perfect Instructor. How did the Pharisees teach? By being “harsh, overbearing, and oppressive.”[1] Jesus is reasonable, and so are His laws and lessons. Such a Tutor is easy to obey.
“Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
“And ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
When we learn from Him, our souls find rest! No more wandering in the darkness of sin. No more trying to find salvation in our own way. We stop seeking to earn our own way to heaven, and we rest in Him, His way, and His work for us. He is our Redeemer, Shepherd, and Master. We live for Him.
More about Jesus[2] let me learn,
More of his holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
Quote: “Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all”[3] (William Temple).
[1] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] “More About Jesus,” second verse and refrain. Lyrics, E. E. Hewitt (1887). Tune: “More about Jesus would I know” (Sweney). Copyright Status: Public Domain.
[3] William Temple, “Christ in His Church.” Downloaded: Friday, June 19, 2020. From: https://bible.org/node/10533.