Matthew 11:29-30

Matthew 11:29-30

[29] Take  yoke  upon  and  learn  of  for  I am  and  lowly  in heart:  and  ye shall find  rest  souls.  [30] For  yoke  is easy,  and  burden  light. 

What does Matthew 11:29-30 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The yoke that farmers put on their oxen is a metaphor for the discipline of discipleship. This is not the yoke of the Mosaic Law but the yoke of discipleship to Jesus. Learning from Him involves assimilating what He reveals, not just imitating Him or learning from His experience.
Jesus is not only the authoritative revealer. He is also the humble Servant of the Lord. He deals gently with the weak (cf. Matthew 18:1-10; Matthew 19:13-15). Jesus quoted Jeremiah 6:16, a passage that pointed to Him. The yoke of discipleship may involve persecution, but it is easy (good and comfortable). His burden is light compared to the loads Israel"s religious leaders imposed on their disciples.
". . . this voluntary making of the yoke as heavy as possible, the taking on themselves as many obligations as possible, was the ideal of Rabbinic piety." [1]
". . . what makes the difference is what sort of master one is serving." [2]
Israel"s unbelief is a strong theme in this chapter. We can see it in John"s question ( Matthew 11:1-15), in Jesus" generation ( Matthew 11:16-19), in the cities of Galilee ( Matthew 11:20-24), and in the proud wise ( Matthew 11:25-30). [3]