Roots

The bible would be much easier to understand if the church never tried to flee from their Jewish roots. There is so much in both the old and new testaments that has to do with Jewish culture. Nearly every piece of text in the Gospels made it in because it was so dimetric, so intense to the ways of the Jewish culture at that time. Now, thanks to people such as Rob Bell, Ray Vanderlaan, and many historical scholars, we have gained a large understanding of who Jesus was and what exactly he stood for.
Take the word Yoke for example. In the passage of inviting all the weary and burdened, Jesus tells the people to take his yoke. This did not mean that thing tied around an ox, as so many have mistaken, but instead, Jesus' teachings. A yoke, in that time, was the teaching of a rabbi. He was basically saying that Jesus invited the people into a less weary life with his teaching. I for one, agree, even though I face many challenges and hardships as a Christ follower, I can say that there are many things that do not weary or burden me. Sin, for one, going against God's will, is no longer a burden because I know I am forgiven. It is true that I still sin even though I don't want to, but I know that it is not unforgivable. Also, death does not burden me, because according to what the New Testament says, I will not truly die, but only go home. Jesus makes a lot more sense if we understand what the culture was like back then.