Chapter
Verse

Matthew 11:30

ESV For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
NIV For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'
NASB For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.'
CSB For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
NLT For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'
KJV For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

What does Matthew 11:30 mean?

Jesus has made an invitation to those who will hear Him. He has said that He has the power to reveal the Father to whomever He chooses. Then He offered to all who are weighed down and weary the opportunity to be yoked to Him. They will find rest for their souls since His burden is light and His yoke is easy to carry. What Jesus asks of those who would do this is simply that they would make the commitment to Him (Matthew 11:28–29).

When Jesus said, earlier, that the path to life was narrow and difficult (Matthew 7:14), He was speaking of how the unbelieving world sees the Christian life. To them, it means giving up earthly pleasures and taking on things like persecution (John 16:33). In terms of salvation, however, what Christ offers is much "easier" than the impossible task of earning one's own salvation (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16).

Based on the following verses in chapter 12, Jesus seems to be contrasting the requirements He will place on the Jewish people with the burdensome requirements placed on them by the Jewish religious leaders, especially the Pharisees (Matthew 23:4). The Pharisees will once again challenge Jesus for not obeying the extra requirements they have added to the law of Moses. Jesus will show them what they have missed.
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What is the Gospel?
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