“They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:4).
Religion can be an unbearable burden. When we read the Gospels one thing we note is the sad state of religion in Jesus’ day. Jesus came to lift burdens from people and bring them peace. The faith of the Old Testament that led God’s people to victory and divine provision had become “heavy, cumbersome loads” that weighed people down.
The words, “heavy” and “cumbersome,” were used in that culture to describe freight or cargo. Those heavy loads were the multitude of man-made rules and regulations that had been added to God’s law. God had said, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” The religious leaders had added over fifteen hundred specific rules to that.
For example, if someone spit on a rock and it rolled in the dirt they had violated the Sabbath because the furrow was interpreted as plowing. If it didn’t roll in the dirt you had not violated the Sabbath. What God had intended as a day of rest had become an issue about the direction of one’s spit. That kind of silliness had become burdensome and oppressive.
In contrast Jesus had said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). There is a burden in serving Jesus but it is light and He helps us carry it. Faith in Jesus is meant to lift us up, not drag us down. It is designed to bring us joy, not misery. Jesus frees us from the bondage of religion which is a dead weight dragging us down. He brings life and that more abundantly.
Faith in Jesus embraces a relationship with Him, and that is a far cry from the heavy load of religion. He changes our nature and our obedience isn’t forced bondage; it is a natural response to the life He gives us.
