<p>11:30- see Ex. 2:11.</p>
<p><em>For my yoke is easy</em>- A poor translation. The cross of Christ is anything but &quot;easy&quot;; the idea is more that it is helpful for service; the relationships He enables between believers is what makes it easier for us to carry the heavy loads of His service, i.e. the cross. Even if we still insist on the translation &ldquo;easy&rdquo;, we reflect that the way to the Kingdom is easy relative to the wonder of what is in store for the faithful (2 Cor. 4:17); and yet from our human perspective it is hard indeed, a life of self-crucifixion (Acts 14:22; Rev.7:14). &ldquo;Easy&rdquo; translates&nbsp;<em>chrestos</em>, which sounds very like the &lsquo;Christ&rsquo;. By this word play the point is being made that Christ&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;His yoke. One of the most essential things about Christ is that those in Him are bound together with each other. Any view of &lsquo;Christ&rsquo; which excludes those in Him is therefore fundamentally flawed. Paul therefore teaches avoidance of any who cause division contrary to the teaching of Christ which we have &ldquo;learned&rdquo;- using the same word used here about Christ&rsquo;s uniting yoke being &lsquo;learning&rsquo; of Him (Rom. 16:17). See on&nbsp;20:16.</p>
<p><em>And my burden is light-&nbsp;</em>Mic. 2:3&nbsp;reminded Israel that they will be under the yoke of judgment if they reject Yahweh&rsquo;s yoke. The Lord spoke of His servants having a light yoke. The Bible minded among His hearers would have thought back to the threatened punishment of an iron yoke for the disobedient (Dt. 28:48). 'It's a yoke either way', they would have concluded. But the Lord's yoke&nbsp;<em>even in this life</em>&nbsp;is light, and has promise of the life which is to come! The logic of taking it, with the restrictions it inevitably implies (for it is a yoke), is simply overpowering. Note that the Greek for &lsquo;light&rsquo; essentially means &lsquo;able to be carried&rsquo;- which connects with the idea of &lsquo;taking up&rsquo; the yoke and cross (see on 11:29). The point is- it is doable. The cross can be carried, the yoke can be worn- if we learn of Christ and thereby learn to take our place with others in carrying it.</p>