Mt 11:28-30
[Jesus said,] 28“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART: Matthew uses meek and humble interchangeably. Jesus’ meekness and humility point to him as the “Servant of God” who accomplishes God’s purpose without using force and violence (Mt 12:18-21) and as the “Messiah-King” who enters the city of Jerusalem not as a conquering hero but as an ordinary man astride a beast of burden (Mt 28:1-8).
Here, the traits are manifested in Jesus’ solidarity with those burdened by life’s struggles and troubles. Where the scribes and the Pharisees burden the people with their onerous interpretations of the law, Jesus issues a heartwarming invitation. Observance of God’s will remains to be a “yoke,” but if the commandments and laws are seen in the spirit of Jesus and are carried as “his yoke,” they become light. Jesus himself willingly bears the burden by obeying the will of the Father. With his example and his gift of the Holy Spirit, people experience the liberating way of following God and his commandments.