How do you make an egg laugh?
You tell him a yoke?
You can boo me off the stage now. I realize that’s not that good of a joke. But it kind of works because, for many of us, the word “yoke” is that thing inside of an egg. But that’s not what a yoke is at all. That’s a yolk.
But I’ll confess, given my rural Midwestern upbringing, the first time I read Galatians 5:1, I was a little confused. The context makes it clear that Paul isn’t talking about eggs — but what is he talking about? What is a yoke, and what is the yoke of bondage?
What Is the Context of Galatians 5:1?
Galatians is all about combatting a group of false teachers who have infiltrated the churches in Galatia. They are not necessarily denying that Jesus matters, but they are denying that Jesus alone can save. In their minds, one must still adhere to the rules around the Law.
This includes things like circumcision. They celebrate that non-Jews are wanting to enter into the kingdom through Jesus — but now that they are “in,” they need to be “true” followers of God and become circumcised and observe the Law.
Paul’s entire argument is about showing that turning to the law for salvation is an empty endeavor. If Christ has fulfilled the Law, then it is as foolish as dancing with a shadow when you could be dancing with the real substance.
Galatians 5 is the summary of Paul’s argument — you’ve been set free. Why would you want to become a slave again?
In Galatians 4, Paul uses the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar as an analogy of his principle. In the Old Testament, God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that through them, they would have a child. It was a promise.
It did not require their efforts to make it happen (other than that which childbirth naturally requires). But when the promise seemed to delay, the couple decided to take matters into their own hands.
They pretended like Sarah didn’t matter in the equation, and it would be through Abraham’s seed anyways that the promise would come. So, they came up with the plan to use Hagar, their servant, to bear the child through whom the nations would be blessed.
But this is not how God works. This decision brought devastation. It would not be through Hagar that the promise would come. It was through Sarah, just as God promised.
But what Paul does here might have been shocking to his original audience; he compares the Law to Hagar (the slave woman) and says, “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”
What Paul is saying here is that there is no unity between children of human effort and children of promise. You cannot have both. This is precisely what the Judaizers were attempting to do. They were attempting to combine human effort with God’s promise. And this cannot be done.
This helps us to see, then, what the yoke of bondage is referring to.
What Is the Yoke of Bondage?
First, it would be helpful to define a yoke. Literally, a “yoke” is a bar of wood that combines two animals to one another in order to have them work together to pull a plow or wagon.
But a yoke is often used metaphorically and in combination with “slavery” to signify being in bondage to something.
To properly understand the metaphor, picture shackles or chains that would tie you to something else. To be under a yoke of bondage is to be enslaved to something.
In Sirach 51:26, we read, “Place your neck under her yoke and let your soul receive instruction. It is found close at hand.” Sirach is part of Jewish literature.
It reflects the view that a person wanting to follow God should place the yoke of wisdom upon themselves. Here a yoke is seen as positive — though, in other scriptures, it is a reference to being under the yoke of a foreign nation.
What, then, is this yoke of bondage to which Paul is referring? It is, quite shockingly, the Law. Paul is saying that Christ has set them free from the Law as their master, but they are once again placing themselves under its rule and reign.
And Paul’s argument throughout Galatians is that accepting the Law as your master will only lead to death. Schreiner summarizes well, “Christ frees and liberates believers, but the law enslaves and holds captive all those who are under its dominion” (Commentary on Galatians).
One of the charges often leveled against Paul’s epistle is that this freedom will lead to lawlessness. Humans, it is argued, are a bit like oxen. If you want them to obey and get work done for the kingdom of God, they need to be tethered to the Law.
But elsewhere, Paul would argue that, in fact, the opposite is quite true. Not only will “Christ be of no advantage to you” (5:2) if you accept this yoke but also if you “walk by the Spirit you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (5:16).
How Do We Apply This Today?
Paul’s argument here is not something like “holiness doesn’t matter.” It’s more so that real holiness comes from fidelity to Christ, surrendering to the law of Christ, rather than to the yoke of the law.
Centering your life on observing the Law is a yoke of bondage because the Spirit is not given to us through obedience but by faith in Christ. And it is the Spirit who enacts our own obedience to God.
We apply this, then, by listening to the imperative in this text. We refuse to place the burden of the law upon ourselves. This means that we do not judge our standing with God based on our own personal performance.
And we refuse to do this with others as well. Yes, we do bear fruit. And yes, there is fruit that is consistent with repentance. But we must never believe the solution to our greatest problems is obedience to the law. It is always obedience to Christ.
Jesus also talks about a yoke. But he says this:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
The yoke of Christ is one that gives life. When we yoke to Him, we are tethering ourselves to the infinitely happy God. We are tying ourselves to the source of life itself.
This is why Paul says what he does about the fruit of the Spirit. This is what the yoke of Christ will produce. The yoke of the law will only produce bondage and death.
We apply this verse today by running to Christ and trusting fully in Him. We refuse any other yoke.
For further reading:
What Does it Mean That if ‘The Son Sets You Free, You Will Be Free Indeed’?
What Does it Mean to Be a Slave to Sin?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/vchal
Mike Leake is husband to Nikki and father to Isaiah and Hannah. He is also the lead pastor at Calvary of Neosho, MO. Mike is the author of Torn to Heal and Jesus Is All You Need. His writing home is http://mikeleake.net and you can connect with him on Twitter @mikeleake. Mike has a new writing project at Proverbs4Today.
