“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30

In the days of Yeshua, rabbis were well respected.In many ways, rabbis were the central cohesive figure in day-to-day villagelife. They were funny, insightful, commanding, and entertaining. Jewish parentswanted their sons to be rabbis.

Each rabbi had his own method of adhering to theTorah. Some taught that you had to memorize the Torah. Others would adddiscussing the Torah, or praying a certain way. Each rabbi’s “course load” wasa burden, hence the term, “yoke”.

Every so often a rabbi would come through town andchoose the best young boys to be his Talmidim. (students) They usually chose12, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There was a ceremony wherethe rabbi would pour honey on a writing slate, then hold it over the boy’smouth. This would have been a treat for any boy and a proud day for theparents.

For those boys who were passed-up, the rabbi wouldtell their parents the boys should find a trade. If they married a nice Jewishgirl, maybe their son could be a rabbi, but as for them…no cigar.

This was the setting when Yeshua traveled to Capernaum, and called 4young fishermen to be His disciples. See also, Luke 5:1-11. Four rejects justgot the call of their lives! Is it any wonder they left everything to followHim? He was Messiah, yet His yoke could basically be summed-up as: Love G_d,and love people.

Are you tired? Do you need rest? Have so-called“church leaders” loaded you down with impossible burdens? Come to Yeshua. Learnfrom Him who is gentle and humble in heart, and find rest for yourself.

Blessings.

~Steve Wiggins,Assistant Rabbi
ShuvahYisrael
DailyDevotional, Tuesday, April 30, 2013