I was just listening to a sermon by Bruxy Cavey and he made reference to that verse in Matthew where Jesus says 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light'. He urges us to take it upon ourselves. What is this yoke? Bruxy suggests that Jesus is talking about taking on a new way of life that is different from the old covenant which was burdensome. Jesus' way of life is easier because it is not based on a list of rules but on a change of heart. It's not that Jesus was giving us a time to sleep or rest physically, but he was showing us that the way forward under him would be easy because the work we would be doing would be restful. As we partner with him and become more like him, we find that his work is easy and wonderful.
This way of looking at this passage really opened my eyes because previously I had a more works oriented view. How could Jesus' yoke be easy when it still required work? But we need a change of heart. That's what Christianity is all about - transformation.
