Most people would not prefer to be fastened into a yoke. Yokes are rigid. They are entrapping. They are hard, and they are inhibiting. Yet, you wouldn’t want to plow a field without one –if you lived in the first century that is.

Think of it perhaps this way. You’re going on a hike through the wilderness. In order to survive well, you carry a fairly heavy, bulky backpack on your back. It may feel uncomfortable, hot, and annoying, but without it, you’re left to fend for yourself in the mountains and the woods–not a good idea.

The yoke in Jesus’ time (typically installed with oxen, not people) drove farming equipment, such as a plow, necessary to prepare, sow, and harvest the fields for food. Although oxen were strong and hardy, the yoke gave them direction and allowed the farmer to harnes…