Tuesday, June 10, 2014 I wrote and used this in our Action Lesson, Lesson 6, on Wednesday evening in our Celebrate Recovery Large Group Meeting. Luke at Luke 24:13-53. This teaching says that one who occupies himself or herself in Torah will not become entangled with the government. Ten days before, Yeshua had ascended into heaven vowing to return. Moreover, if Israel had heeded our Master’s call to repentance, they could have entered the Messianic Era and thrown off the yoke of foreign nations. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. If you applied to a certain rabbi, you were telling him and the world that you believed his set of interpretations were the closest to what God intended through the Scriptures. Explore the weekly Torah portions, commentaries, and listen to Scripture readings, and get the free Torah reading schedule. We had to go back to Jesus and His first disciples to arrive at a consensus from which our discussion could proceed. The second yoke is a commitment to being obedient to his will. One rabbi even said his yoke was easy. The Jewish ears that first heard Jesus' description of his yoke would have had another association in mind as well, from the prophet Isaiah: The yoke of their burden...the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of … Ask the FFOZ Teaching Team here and we will try to answer your question. You are witnesses of these things’” – Luke 24:44-48. Jesus taught His first disciples His interpretation of Scripture. They should be mailed to: Disciple Daily A disciple would come under the yoke of a rabbi and learn from them how to obey it by learning how to think and act, and to essentially be made into a copy or image of their rabbi. The first task ensured the new student could in fact wear the rabbi’s yoke. 4. Forgot Password. Now, the easy yoke— the light burden… eggs over-easy ;) is Trusting… Christ and His Righteousness and in His Faith… dying to self… that one time… and being raised to new life in Him. John Ortberg Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikvah, Israel, 20156, Rabbi Benjamin Atias gives a lecture to the congregation. How to use yoke in a sentence. In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, we are introduced to the phrase “traditions of men.” Disciples did not teach their own personal interpretation of Scripture. Supporting Messianic Jewish communities that are faithful in practice to Torah, Messiah, and the Jewish people. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. The Rabbi's rules were called his yoke. This was true for the disciples of Hillel, Shammai, Gamaliel, and all the other rabbis of the 1st Century. They multiplied his teaching in disciples of their own. Ever. They memorized his words. Was there a national expectation of the coming Messiah among the Jews of Jesus’ time? For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” – Matthew 11:27-29. The Remnant of Israel interpreted the Scriptures the way God intended, on a consistently literal basis. Is it clear to all that your discipler is Jesus? What is the ministry strategy you have adopted? Learn more and join with us today. A yoke could vary from being extremely loose and easy to being rigid and legalistic. To accomplish this, we make use of best-in-class security tools and practices to maintain a high level of security at Stripe.” –stripe.com. FFOZ Friends supports of our mission and vision. This week I had an interesting conversation with a long-time friend about the process of making disciples. May we merit to bear the yoke of his kingdom quickly and in our lifetimes. They memorized his words. What did he find? Jesus’ yoke was not conveniently recorded for us in one chapter in the gospels. This is a teaching we have also heard. (Image: Editorial use for illustrative purposes, © Bigstock), A Sabbath Rest Remains—A Universal Shabbat, Sukkot, Gentiles, and the Messianic Kingdo…, Shabbat: Practical Advice for Messianic Gentiles. The Yoke of Jesus When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29), He meant that we are to submit ourselves to Him every day in every way. Compare Yeshua’s words to this passage from the Mishnah: Rabbi Nechunia son of Hakanah said, “Anyone who accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah removes from himself the yoke of government duties and the yoke of the way of the world; but one who casts off the yoke of Torah accepts upon himself the yoke of government and the yoke of the way of the world.” Pirkei Avot 3:5. In Corinth, disciples submitting to the yoke of Messiah Jesus were few and far between. Where did Messiah’s teaching come from? We have never seen a Jewish source that teaches that a rabbi’s teaching was known as his yoke. Rabbi Sapperstein, fresh out of rabbinical school, had to officiate his first funeral … We see these types of dialogues throughout the Gospels. These set of rules and lists were called the rabbi’s yoke. Required fields are marked *. These Rabbis spent most of their time in the synagogues, reading and teaching the written Law of God and taught only accepted interpretations (passed to them by their Rabbi). Chuck Swindoll Jesus says, “Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. In any case, it is more likely that Yeshua is referring (in Matthew 11:30) to the yoke of Torah and obedience to God being lighter than the yoke of the government, which at the time was the oppression of the Romans. Now these rules were considered a rabbis 'yoke'. The dominant examples that we have from Scripture are those of rabbis – often the Pharisees and Sadducees – who called the public to yokes that were essentially drastically expanded legal codes designed to … Now doesn’t that just make sense when Yeshua would say, “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. “Stripe has been audited by a PCI-certified auditor and is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1. Biblical definitions of “disciple” and “discipleship” needed to be established. A student who entered into training under a rabbi was said to have taken up that rabbi’s yoke. In Jesus day there were four things any disciple did when following a particular rabbi. Simply select “Credit Card” and enter your card information. A yoke was made of wood, hand carved to … By this they mean, basically, that the convert may not deny the rabbis’ authority to establish a particular law. Torah Club has transformed into study groups all over the world. They taught their rabbi’s interpretation. 3. Your email address will not be published. Contact John Wesley Eulogy. Learn more and get started! Support us in restoring the Jewishness of Jesus! Nothing has changed. A prophetic resurgence of truth is breaking out. The Rabbi’s yoke is the set of interpretations of the law that a rabbi has and passes to his students. Disciple Daily offers a unique learning experience based on the storyline of the Bible. © 2021 First Fruits of Zion, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Copyright The Yoke of our Rabbi. Their hope was that their disciples would be true to their yoke, their interpretation, and carry it on as Rabbis themselves after the Rabbi died. In rabbinic theology the yoke is a metaphor of great importance. The next day, they met Philip who found Nethanael. A "yoke" is a rabbinic term that referred to the way that they taught to obey the Torah. Please help us put this idea to rest. That He isn't about endless lists of rules and regulations (Matthew 11). You see, when Jesus is speaking, He's not just picking words The answer is they should first “receive the yoke of the kingdom of heaven” and only after that, “receive the yoke of the commandments.” 2 Here, the first yoke is a profession of belief in God and commitment to him as one’s own God. A Rabbi’s yoke was a representation of the obligations required by his students! They imitated his ministry model. John Calvin What then were the “traditions” Messiah’s disciples taught after Pentecost (Acts 2)? When you followed a rabbi, you followed him because you believed in his rules and his interpretations of God's Word. When you followed a certain rabbi, you were following him because you believed that his interpretations were closest to what God intended in the scriptures. And when you followed that rabbi, you were taking his yoke upon you. This is known as a rabbi’s ‘YOKE’ and how lenient or strict he is called his ‘BURDEN’. Your email address will not be published. When Yeshua stepped into the Jordan River, asking John the Baptist to baptize Him, John knew who Jesus was. Let’s stop and think about the implications of what Paul found in Corinth against the backdrop of our own time. That is the narrow gate that is so difficult that so many cannot find it, and they instead embrace a system of works to ease their troubled minds. Paul was zealous because his teacher taught him to be. Taking the yoke of the rabbi reflected a disciple’s willing submission and adherence to his chosen rabbi’s interpretation and application of the Old Testament Scriptures. This list of regulations ruling one's behavior is what Jesus referred to when He said, "My yoke … When you followed a certain rabbi, you were following him because… A rabbi's set of rules and lists, which was really that rabbi's interpretation of how to live the Torah, was called that rabbi's yoke . Rob Bell This past fall we experienced a thirty percent growth in the formation of new Torah Clubs, and that trend continues. Most banks will allow you to set up this kind of monthly payment. Find or start a Club today! 2. The teaching-yoke of the religion scholars and priests was an endless list of laws, rules, traditions, and expectations that no one could measure up to — it was nobody’s best life! 4. 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. Wouldn’t you have loved to have been with Andrew and the other disciple (John) when Jesus stopped with them for the night after Yochanan identified Yeshua as the One they were waiting for? Password Credit Cards – Stripe is our gateway, which uses AES-256 encryption. As it is, we still wait for Messiah to return to bring such days upon us. He even announced it and invited others to follow because His yoke was easy! For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30. Until the day of His re-appearing, Jesus’ disciples are tasked with teaching His interpretation and application of Scripture around the world, beginning in Jerusalem, followed by Judea and Samaria. This festival was celebrated fifty days after Jesus was placed in a grave that could not hold Him. It was also true of the disciples that followed Yeshua of Nazareth. A rabbi’s yoke was so central to the message and identity of a rabbi, that he was basically expected to state it and defend it very soon after entering a town or village he hadn’t taught in before. You can check with your bank to see if they provide this kind of service. If you choose Paypal, you will be redirected to PayPal’s website. This set of interpretations was called the Rabbi’s Yoke! They did not have His permission to spin their own interpretations of Scripture anymore than the disciples of Hillel, Shemai, or Gamaliel did. Now, I told you all that just to tell you this one important thing, Rabbi’s like Yeshua, who taught with authority and taught new interpretations of scripture and passed legal judgments, like Yeshua, would John Hagee Signup now to receive discipleship training articles, videos, and notices about Disciple Daily events and trips… here, near, and far away. Paypal – You do not need a PayPal account to make donations through this gateway. The difference in interpretation from one Rabbi to another was called his “yoke”. In Jesus’ day, Jesus’ world, every Rabbi (and Pharisee) had one. Are you easily identifiable as a disciple of Messiah Jesus? 1. governments, kingdom of heaven, Messianic Era, Torah study, yoke. We have to piece it together from His story because the gospels are the story of a living, breathing, dynamic, vibrant person who taught His yoke by telling as well as by showing and doing as He went from place to place among the people. “Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Paul was not crucified for you, was he, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? What the world needs now is Church-wide unity! His disciples took His yoke upon themselves and learned to pass it on to others. Rabbi's with s'mikhah would have a new interpretation or yoke. . In any case, it is more likely that Yeshua is referring (in Matthew 11:30) to the yoke of Torah and obedience to God being lighter than the yoke of the government, which at the time was the oppression of the Romans. © - Disciple Daily Web Development and Hosting by. Did Yeshua’s resume meet the expectation of those who were searching for Him, waiting for Him? Now, different rabbis had different sets of rules which basically outlined what was permitted and what wasn't. P.O. In Jesus’ day, a rabbi’s teaching was called a yoke. FFOZ Friends are at the forefront of our work, advancing and sustaining the mission to restore truth through Messianic Jewish teaching for Christians and Jews. Automated Checks – Some people prefer to send automated checks instead of using a credit card. If this is your preference have the checks made out to Disciple Daily. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. San Antonio, TX 78270. Help This was called taking the “yoke of Torah” or the “yoke of the kingdom of heaven”. Donate, Messianic Jewish Resources, Study Programs, and Learning. Rabbis taught their yoke to their disciples. That’s why we need your help. For a more extensive answer to this question, please see Torah Club: Chronicles of the Messiah chapter 42, "Seven Woes," 1354-1359. They adopted his interpretation of Scripture. Instead they were jockeying for personal position, not identifying with Jesus alone, but with other prestigious teachers. Jesus one day cries out, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Phillip proclaimed “We have found Him of whom Moses and also the Prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” – John 1:45. Yoke of the Rabbi 1. Arnold Fruchtenbaum This was done very respectfully, but they did this testing in order to sharpen their own yoke and expose what they thought were fallacies of the other rabbi’s position. But Jesus came and said His yoke was easy. After Jesus rose from the dead, during the forty days preceding Shavuot, Yeshua explained that His presence and ministry among them was the literal fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies from Genesis to Malachi. This leads us to important questions. The rabbi would be expected to give a detailed answer incorporating his interpretation of the Text. Privacy I have read Chronicles of Messiah and do not see you refer to this idea at all, leading me to believe it has no validity in the Jewish world. Discipleship courses that respectfully explore the Jewish foundation of Christianity, and your Israel connection. Of course, you can see where I’m going here: Jesus, the Rabbi, brought a new yoke to the people. . We now have more than 700 clubs representing thousands of students. John Piper “Each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Charles Ryrie It is the symbol of service and servitude, and in accordance with the principle that the Jew should be free from servitude to man in order to devote himself to the service of God, the "yoke of the kingdom of man" is contrasted with "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven." For a little exercise compare Isaiah 50:4 with John 14:7-10. During Jesus’ time rabbis had different sets of rules which were lists of what they forbade and what they permitted and these sets of rules were called the rabbi’s yoke and Jesus was a rabbi. Rabbi’s invited people to learn to keep the scriptures (Old Testament). Remember Me If the rabbi deemed you competent he would say, “Take my yoke upon you.” Leaving everything, the student would follow, giving up their life, learning to be an exact imitation of their rabbi. You can see where this is going. Yoke definition is - a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (such as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together. Different rabbis had different sets of rules, which were really different lists of what they forbade and what they permitted. You first must have faith, and then obey. To call anyone to “follow me” was the greatest privilege for a Jewish man, who obeyed without question. But Jesus offered to free the people, including the religious leaders, from this deadly yoke of legalism. When you studied under a Rabbi, you took his yoke upon you. Thus, the commitment to practice is referred to as kabbalat ol ha’mitzvot the “acceptance of the yoke of the commandments,” rather than by the more tepid phrase “observance of the mitzvot [commandments].” It is a recognition that, although the laws may sometimes be restrictive, … Whose interpretation of Scripture do you quote? As a result, people would choose or align themselves with a rabbi whose set of interpretations they would follow. It meant you were willing to take up his yoke and bear his burden. It was also meant as a designation of servitude and carrying the burden of a task or mission. Manual Checks – If you would like to send us a manually produced check, please use the same address list above. How many of us are still operating out of ingrained lessons and prejudices? For our discussion to be productive, it was necessary that we attempt to get on the same page in this matter. A rabbi's set of rules and lists, which was really that rabbi's interpretation of how to live the Torah, was called that rabbi's yoke. 3. Martin Luther Jesus never said or did anything that He did not get directly from His Father. The Apostle John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John’s traditions, and those of all of Jesus’ other disciples were the interpretations of the Old Testament received directly from their Rabbi. Become a Friend and join the mission. Each rabbi had his own opinion and their teaching was referred to as a "yoke." Based on a person's behavior and mannerisms, others could tell which rabbi he followed. For the grand finale of this edition, here is the big SO WHAT? Akiva ben Yosef (Hebrew: עֲקִיבָא בֶּן יוֹסֵף ʿĂqīḇāʾ ben Yōsēf; c. 15 – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא ), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a tanna, of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second century.Rabbi Akiva was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha. Take a few minutes now and watch the first installment of our series on the Life of Messiah. By simply watching and listening to a prospective rabbi in the time of Jesus, one could know almost immediately who his discipler was. Essentially, a yoke was a harness used by oxen and other animals to ease the work of hauling a load. Acts 22:3b Rabbi Chanina the son of Chachinaey taught “One who is awake at night of travels alone on the road, and turns his heart to idleness, indeed he endangers his life” The Yoke of Torah - Ethics of Our Fathers: Avot 3:4 - Audio Classes - Audio I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name” – 1 Corinthians 1:12-15. Torah teachers would teach the accepted interpretations or yoke of their community. At a time when our common witness in the world could be the most effective, believers are more likely to quote any number of supposed spiritual authorities rather than the words of our Rabbi Jesus. Username THE RABBI’S YOKE IN A NUTSHELL. the Rabbi's interpretation of the rules required to obey the law. Box 700109 A rabbi's set of rules and lists, which was really that rabbi's interpretation of how to live the Torah, was called that rabbi's yoke." This brief video explains the background to the 1st Century world of the Jewish people living in Israel, the place where heaven met earth in the person of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, I sensed that we had different understandings of who is a disciple of Jesus and what do His disciples do? A community of Messianic youth strengthening the bonds of faith through events and learning opportunities. The chief rabbi's main message was that becoming a Jew entailed embracing an Orthodox way of life, known in Jewish legalese as "accepting upon oneself the yoke of the commandments." He had been looking for Him, as had others among the Remnant of Israel. We have never seen a Jewish source that teaches that a rabbi’s teaching was known as his yoke. Joel Osteen So we know that Rabbi Jesus has a yoke, but we haven’t yet gotten to the point of defining what exactly that yoke is. 2. A rabbi with authority had the right to develop His own interpretation of the Torah, called his “yoke”, and to call disciples from the Beth Talmid to become His followers, who were then obliged to imitate him and live and teach his yoke. Francis Chan By Shawn Briggs. Believers in Jesus who should have been united, who identified by Messiah’s teaching by wearing His yoke. Jesus. This is a teaching we have also heard. They adopted his interpretation of Scripture. Within a couple of decades, Paul arrived in Corinth. This was called taking "the yoke of Torah" or "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven". Because of their approach to the Bible, the followers of John the Baptist promised him to follow the one John would identify as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” They knew He would come, because of their own rock-solid belief in the Messianic Hope spoken of in the Old Testament. Earl Radmacher, John Nelson Darby Augustine This started the adventure of the extraordinary life of being a rabbi. These teachings were called the “yoke of Torah” or the Rabbi’s Yoke. They imitated his ministry model. So when Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, asks us to take up his yoke, he's inviting us into a way of life based on his teaching. The Church was birthed on the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). The Sermon on the Mount: Why was there such a big crowd? Two thousand years removed from Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, His Bride (the Church) is more fractured and splintered than ever. Servicing these clubs stretches our small staff to the limit. Best. Rabbis invited people to learn to keep the Torah. I have read in many Christian articles that the "yoke of the rabbi" refers to his specific teachings, yet only one gave a source, and when I checked that source, it wasn't really a source at all. We help people gain confidence in their own ability to disciple others, enabling them to live together purposefully as followers of Jesus. Is this an idea in Judaism? They multiplied his teaching in disciples of their own.