Jon Caudill

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30 You may have heard these words before in various ways. It is my favorite verse because it tells us so much about who Jesus is. To fully understand the context, we have to understand what a yoke is. Yokes are used to this day in farming and ranching to help plow fields and for transportation. The picture below might look familiar – it is a two-sided harness designed for oxen (or similar animals) to work in unison and to share the load. Oftentimes handlers will pair an experienced ox with a young steer so the young will learn and become obedient to the commands and directions given by the one in charge. We can look at this many different ways. The two main images I take away are that Jesus is the owner and handler of the yoke and...