John Gills, English Baptist [1748] | Matthew 11:29-30
Take MY yoke upon you,….
[The phrase is Rabbinical]
The Jewish doctors often speak [a] of:
“the yoke of the Kingdom of heaven”, & of persons
taking it upon them; and which they exhort to, and
express in much such language as here [b];
“take upon you the yoke of the Holy Kingdom”
[every single day]
They distinguish this from the yoke of the law, & say:
“a man must first take upon him the yoke of the
Kingdom of Heaven, & after that take upon him
the “yoke” of the commandment.''
Their sense I take to be this, that a man must first
make a profession of his faith in the GOD of Israel,
& then live conformably to HIS law:
Agreeably to this, CHRIST exhorts such persons who
come to HIM for rest & happiness—to profess their
faith in HIM, to embrace the doctrines of the Gospel,
to submit to HIS ordinances, & to walk according to
those laws, commands, & orders, which HE, as KING
of saints, has made, & requires obedience to:
So those who come to HIM for life, & believe in HIM,
as the SAVIOUR of their souls, though they are not to
trust in, & depend on any duties performed by them;
yet we're not to sit still, or lay aside the performance
of good works, or live a licentious course of life, but
are always to be doing the will & work of their LORD.
And this HE calls “HIS yoke”, in distinction from the
yoke of the law of Moses, & of traditions of elders.
And learn of ME, for I am meek, & lowly in heart:
respect seems to be had to Zechariah 9:9— where
such characters as these are given of the MESSIAH.
The meekness, humility, & lowliness of CHRIST
appear in his assumption of human nature — in
HIS subjection to HIS FATHER — in the whole of
HIS deportment and conversation among men;
in HIS submission to the ordinance of baptism;
in the whole course of HIS obedience to GOD,
& in HIS sufferings & death:
And HE is to be imitated herein, by all HIS followers,
may learn many excellent things from HIS example,
as well as from HIS doctrine; & particularly, whereas,
though HE was so great a person, yet condescended
to perform every duty with readiness & cheerfulness
HIS Disciples should not think it below them
to conform to every ordinance of HIS, to every
branch of HIS will;
for HE has set them an example, they should
tread in HIS steps, & walk even as HE walked.
There never was such an instance of humility, and
lowliness of mind, as CHRIST; nor any example so
worthy of our imitation as HIS.
The Jews have a saying [d],
• “for ever let a man ,
• “be meek as Hillell”, & let him not be wrathful as
• “Shammai“:''
which two men were presidents of their universities
about the times of CHRIST. But our LORD says, “learn
of ME“, not of “Hillell”, or any of your doctors, & you
all shall find rest unto your souls;
referring to Jeremiah 6:16 and which shows the rest
HE speaks of in preceding verse, to be not a corporal,
but a spiritual one; & which is to be enjoyed “in”, tho
not “for” the observance of CHRIST's commands;
whose “ways are ways of pleasantness, & all” whose
“paths are peace.”
[a] T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 4. 1. Bab. Beracot, fol. 61. 2.
Zohar in Lev. fol. 46. 4. Caphtor, fol. 44. 2. Tzeror
Hammor, fol. 2. 2. [b] Zohar in Num. fol. 51. 2.
Caphtor, fol. 48. 2.[[c] Misn. Beracot, c. 2. sect. 2.
Charles Ellicott [1749–1905] | Matthew 11:29-30
[29] Take MY yoke upon you—As the teaching of the
Pharisees was a yoke too grievous to be borne,
so the yoke of CHRIST is HIS teaching, HIS rule
of life, & so is explained by the “learn of ME” that
follows. [Comp. Ecclesiasticus 51:26]
I am meek & lowly in heart—The stress lies upon the
last words. Others might be lowly with the lowliness
which is ambition’s ladder, but pride & self-assertion
were reigning in their hearts.
The CHRIST, in HIS infinite sympathy with men of all
classes and conditions, could boldly incur the risk of
seeming to boast of HIS humility, in order HE might
win men to come & prove by experience that HE
was able & willing to give them rest, to hear the tale
of their sorrows, & to turn from none with scorn.
Ye shall find rest unto your souls—Here, as often
elsewhere in our LORD’s teaching, we have a direct
quotation from Jeremiah [Jeremiah 6:16].
• Jeremiah 6:16 [Berean] ¹⁶ This is what the LORD
says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for
the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then
walk in it & find rest for your souls. But they said,
‘We will not walk in it!’
Joseph Benson [1749–1821] | Matthew 11:29-30
Take MY yoke upon you — Believe in & obey ME:
Hearken to ME as a teacher, rely on ME as a SAVIOUR,
& be subject to ME as a governor. And learn of ME—
Μαθετε απ’ εμου, be MY Disciples;
be taught by ME, namely, all things pertaining to your
acceptance with GOD, your duty, and your happiness:
for I am meek & lowly in heart—Meek toward all men,
lowly toward GOD.
As an instructor, I will show MYSLEF to
be most mild, gentle, & forbearing;
kind & condescending toward all MY Disciples, directing
them with tenderness, patience, & lenity, in the way to
pardon, life, & salvation, not imposing on them any un-
necessary burdens:
And, as an example, recommending by MY practice
both meekness & humility; meekness by bearing all
kinds of injuries, & humility by condescending to do
meanest good offices to the meanest of mankind.
Learn, then, of ME to be meek & humble, both in
disposition and behaviour; and you all shall find
rest to your souls—That composure, tranquillity,
& satisfaction which nothing but humility & meek
-ness, with an entire subjection to ME, can give.
The original words may be properly rendered, Ye
shall find refreshment to your souls, such as you
would in vain seek elsewhere;
refreshment, arising from clear manifestations of
divine favour, consoling influences of HIS SPIRIT,
lively hopes of HIS glory, & sensible communion
with HIM.
For MY yoke is easy — Gr. χρηστος, gracious, sweet,
benign, agreeable;
MY burden light: Or, pleasant, ελαφρον also signifies.
Such it is to those in whose hearts the love of GOD
prevails over the love of the world & sin. To them,
the commandments of GOD are not grievous, but
delightful.
They love HIS law, & pleasure is in it all the day long.
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