Christ's Yoke of Rest and Righteousness ......enrolment is still open to the weary and the worst

For millennia, humanity has been trying to educate itself out of its problems. From the elite academies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle -where having a bearded, influential father practically guaranteed you a seat - to today's endless stream of TikTok tutorials, we've always clung to the hope that the next nugget of knowledge will finally fix us.

Over time, the church played a pivotal role in developing education, particularly in the Western world, where learning was closely tied to theology and Scripture. Yet access was historically limited—often to the elite, only to men, and rarely to the poor or marginalised.

Despite our knowledge, we still struggle with simple questions like "How do I change?" "Why do I always keep repeating the same mistakes?" and "Why does a dropped piece of toast always fall butter side down?"

Then Jesus steps into history and offers something nobody else ever did: a school not for the wise or put-together, but for the worn out and messed up….for you and me. 

"Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

In most educational settings, the sharpest minds and strongest resumes get in. But Jesus opens His school to the spiritually bankrupt. The burdened. The exhausted. The sinners who've tried and failed too many times. It's as if the admissions committee reviewed your application and said, "Ah, a total mess. Perfect. You're in."

But don't be mistaken - this isn't a self-help course about "finding your truth" or "unlocking your potential." This is the school of grace, where the key requirement is acknowledging your needs.

Now, let's be honest. Not everyone's a fan of school….. that's the way it was when I attended. Some pupils loved learning. Others… let's just say they seemed to specialise in "Behind the Bike Shed Studies."  That's true today, and it was true in Jesus' time, too.

Jesus gave out an open invitation, but not everyone wanted to enrol. If this was an Ofsted inspection, some folks were scribbling bad reviews before even attending a single class.

Take John the Baptist -faithful prophet and wilderness dweller known for his camel-hair wardrobe and bold preaching. Yet, he had questions even when Jesus didn't immediately bring judgment on the wicked. John sent a message from his prison cell that sounded a bit like a divine inquiry: "Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Then you had the Pharisees - they didn't just dislike Jesus' methods. They thought He was sabotaging their strict Sabbath curriculum. Their response? "Let's kill Him." Extreme, yes…but don't forget, God had a plan.

And then came the real spiritual truants – here we find Jesus lamenting over unrepentant cities: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Here, Jesus did miracles galore: healing, resurrection, demon removals, and works….but they did not believe… Jesus' response? A divine "Woe to you." He even said Sodom would've repented faster. You know you're in trouble when Sodom is the better student!     

What Jesus was meaning when he made this statement was “believe in me, believe who I claim to be and therefore what I am able to do for you, that I can give you forgiveness, salvation, eternal life….rest for your souls”

But what does Jesus mean, “Come to Me”? Well, that’s faith, that is faith.

“Come to Me, because you believe that I can give you the water of life and the bread of life and life itself.

Come to Me, because you believe that I can give you what you lack—the truth and righteousness and forgiveness.

Come to Me, because you now know that we’re not saved by works, but by grace.

Come to Me, because there’s no one else to come to.                                 

There’s no salvation in anyone else.”

A person comes to Christ Jesus having been touched by grace, having been changed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent, the cause of regeneration inasmuch as He convicts people of their sinful condition, of the judgement to come, and of their need for Christ.

In the new birth, the Spirit implants in the souls of God’s people new wills, new affections, and new desires. By union with Christ, believers experience the application of what Christ accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection and they eagerly turn from sin and come to Christ, declaring Christ as saviour and Lord and come in total commitment….they are as 2 Corinthians 5 says “A new creation.” The old has gone and the new has come.

This is truly a miracle, when the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth, the God who created everything from nothing, who threw the stars into the skies, when He who sustains everything through the power of His Word, when He through the Holy Spirit changes a sinner, a sinner who is dead in their sins, it says in Ephesians 2:1, when He changes that sinner into a new creation, into a saint, that is a miracle…that is the greatest miracle.  

Cue Charles Spurgeon and his surprisingly memorable pig story. Picture this:

You release a pig in a room. One side has gourmet food, and the other side has a bucket full of rotting garbage. The pig runs straight to the slop. Why? Because he is a pig. He has the nature of a pig. He will do what a pig naturally does. The slop he eats will not upset his stomach because he is used to it.

Now imagine the pig is instantly transformed into a man. He looks down at the slop, horrified. He gags, stumbles back, and vomits the slop up, deeply ashamed of what has satisfied him previously. Why? Because he's not a pig anymore. He's changed.

That's regeneration. That's being born again. When we come to Jesus, we don't just join a church like we would join a new club – we become new people. With new hearts, new minds, new affections, new appetites. Previously, we were, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3 dead in our trespasses and being by our nature children of wrath.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

Now we are new creations, but this isn't moral reform by self-discipline, regeneration doesn't merely teach us new things; it gives us a new nature. Just as the man who was changed from a pig vomited up the slop he ate, we no longer love sin as we once did….it makes us feel sick, sick not just in our stomach but also in our hearts.

The Spirit takes your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh that can finally learn to love what God loves.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Though temptation still comes, our hearts have been turned towards God. We now desire to learn from Christ because we have been made alive in Him. Now, by grace, you start to want to do what pleases Him and even when we fail…and we know that some days we do, we know where to run: back to the Teacher who never gives up on His students.

Now, what about that "yoke." That sounds…agricultural. And a bit heavy. But Jesus is drawing a contrast. The Pharisees offered a yoke of legalistic burden: Perform, obey, impress. But here Jesus is saying, "Let me be your teacher - learn from me." In some translations, it says learn of me, as though Jesus is not only the teacher, but He is also the subject matter….he is the course content, the curriculum if you like. 

Let's not forget that Jesus was raised by His earthly father, Joseph, a humble carpenter. So, when Jesus talks about a "yoke," He isn't speaking in metaphors pulled out of thin air. He knew yokes - real ones. He likely shaped them with His own hands. He knew how to make them smooth, well-fitted, and comfortable. There's even an old tradition that says their workshop had a sign above the door that read: "Our Yokes Fit Well." …. it wouldn't be surprising. Jesus didn't just make yokes - He made them to ease burdens, not add to them.

Yokes were designed for two oxen - not just to share the load but to make it easier to carry. Often, a young, inexperienced ox would be paired with a seasoned, strong one. The older ox knew the path, the pace, and the rhythm of the work. The younger one might pull in the wrong direction, try to rush ahead, or wander off - sound familiar? - but the steady strength of the older ox would gently guide it back in line.

And here's the beauty of it: the older ox bore the brunt of the weight. The younger one had to walk alongside, learn, and trust. The more it surrendered to the lead of the experienced ox, the smoother the work became.

So, when Jesus says, "Take My yoke upon you… My yoke is easy and My burden is light," He's inviting us into something far more profound than obligation. He's offering to walk with us, bear the weight we can't carry, and gently guide us as we learn His way. And yes - His yoke really does fit well.

This is our journey as Christians in Christ's School, we are united with Christ….not in a physical yoke but in a spiritual one and our rest comes from our submission to Christ, to His commandments and His directions.

Thankfully 1 John 5:3 confirms that this is a light burden –

"Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome."

Not only that, but Philippians 2:13 tells us that it is God who gives us the desire and the strength to do what is pleasing to him.

In effect, He is energising our desires and our actions. 

…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Remember then it is the Holy Spirit who directs our steps, how He does this is through biblical truth, by the direction of Scripture itself and by internal power….. because let’s be honest, having the power of the Spirit without the clarity of Scripture is like having a fully fuelled car in a foreign land with no GPS, no map, and no clue. You’ve got all the horsepower but no co-ordinates. The Spirit not only empowers our walk but aligns our will with God’s Word - so we don’t just move, we move in the right direction.

Consider 2 Timothy 3:16-17

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."     

This is God working in us to bring about our obedience. It is the Holy Spirit in us that provides the power for us to walk obediently according to Jesus' commands. Timothy tells us that this will make us complete people, equipped for every good work.

This is why the Bible talks about not being unequally yoked—because when a Christian and a non-Christian team up, it's like hitching a cart to two animals headed in opposite directions. One's aiming for God's will, the other's chasing whatever looks good at the moment. Instead of moving forward, they'll end up stuck, frustrated, or in circles. It's like trying to steer a canoe when your partner's rowing the other way - you're just going to splash around a lot but go nowhere fast. So, before you team up, make sure you're both headed the same way - otherwise, it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.

One of the things humanity lost in the Fall was rest. Poor Adam—on the day he was created, the man took two naps! The first time he woke up, he met the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen (also the only woman, but still, it was a great start). The second time he woke up was Day Seven, the grand opening of God's Rest Day. Life was good.

But then - well, they blew it. Sin entered the scene, and man’s rest logged off. Adam was told he'd be sweating for a living, and the honeymoon phase would quickly fade…..and soon required matrimonial counselling.             

From that moment on, humanity has been yearning for rest - not just a nap, but deep, soul-level peace.

And now, here comes Jesus, holding out the very thing we lost.                          

He says the rest we've longed for - the calm in our chaos, the peace we can't manufacture - is found in Him. Not in performance, productivity, or even perfect Sunday attendance. Just Him. Come to Me, He says, and I'll give you rest.

So today, let's come again to Jesus. Maybe you've enrolled in His school, but you've been skipping class - or sitting in the back row doodling in your notebook, waiting for break time, or yearning for a quick look around the back of the bike shed. Maybe you've been around so long you think there's nothing left to learn. Or maybe you're realising for the first time that He's gentle and humble and inviting you to come - not to religion, not to rules, but to Himself.

So come on. Let's trust Him. Let's stop trying to carry what we weren't built to carry. Stop pretending you're fine when you're not. Stop trying to fix yourselves. Let's find our rest in the One who offers it freely - Jesus is gentle. He's lowly. He has never turned away a sinner who truly came to Him. He never will.