Easy Yolk
Painted in Izmir, Turkey, 2012
My wife and I were in Kenya, East Africa, when we made the final decision to attend the Birthing Houses of Prayer conference in Izmir, Turkey. Having believed the invitation we received was from the Lord, I then spent time to ask His intentions for our attending. From the first inquiry, I felt strongly that I was to paint while there; and the encouraging message I believe He strongly wished to display through my brushes was an illustration of Matthew 11: 28-30:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light.”
With those foundational words in mind, I set out to do my homework prior to arriving in Turkey, meditating on the verses and pondering how best to render their core meaning. I searched out photos of what the actual farming implement, a yolk, looks like, and I isolated different aspects that I felt needed to be a part of the painting in order for it to release visually the life that was captured in
the verses.
The following are the symbolic elements that were an intentional part of the design. In my experience, I have been delightfully surprised to find that there is often more in a painting than I was expecting or intending to be there. May the Spirit of God add to and anoint this explanation.
I started with a backdrop of sky, full of heavy storm clouds off to the right and spreading to a clear sky on the left. This is a representation of the reality that working in the yolk with Yeshua will include both sunshine and rain; however, the darkest clouds are behind His shoulders and the clearest sky is nearest our side of the yolk; this is to indicate His share of carrying the heavier difficulties we face together.
Below the sky are the distant, purple mountains, as a symbol of the solid, majestic embrace of the promises of God.
At the base of the mountains is a wide field representing the process of sowing and reaping. From the left, it starts out across the canvas as a wilderness-- untamed, unproductive, unplowed and unattended. However, as the field spreads from left to right, you can see furrows and then a few tender green shoots, then a green crop, and finally on the far right is a full field ready for harvest. The ready harvest on the right reminds us that the time is coming soon when "the harvesters will overtake the planters." (Amos 9:3)
Central to the painting is the person of Yeshua, identifiable by the nail scars in His wrists. I have dressed Him in a Rugby Jersey, to indicate that He is not a weak, detached manager who writes up a game plan and shouts out from the sidelines insensitive instructions for us to follow through. He is, instead, a strong and able man, one who intimately understands and knows by experience the pains and joys of the game, the blood, sweat, and tears of victory and the agony of defeat. He himself has not only marked out the course for us-- He has also run this race we are in (Hebrews 12:1-3). And as a team Captain, He invites us to continue in the contest with Him. I find a deep sense of camaraderie in this reality.
He says to us: “Learn of me; for I am gentle and humble of heart.” I have painted His uniform of two colors: dusty brown, symbolic of the humbleness of heart, and light blue, symbolic of His being gentle. The blue I have illustrated as stripes, a reminder that our healing comes from the stripes His gentle person, silent as a lamb before his slaughterers, received on our behalf.
Such an athletic jersey would typically have a patch worn over the heart to indicate the players’ team identity. For this jersey I designed a patch with a symbol of a crown above the number 33. This is symbolic of the foundational royal authority Jesus manifested during the 33rd year of his life on earth when He triumphed over death and the grave. Echoing this triumph and pointing to His being the Lion of Judah, a roaring lion stands on the left side of the jersey, right over Yeshua's heart.
I have tried to position our team Captain in a very inviting stance, his bright eyes and infectious smile breaking off the weight of heaviness that wraps the shoulders of the weary and burdened who come to Him. With His strong shoulders, He already bears the bulk of the weight of the yolk. And the one who puts his or her head into proper position alongside Yeshua finds himself or herself suddenly inside a ready, protective embrace where even the side of the yolk we step into is already supported by His mighty right arm.
As further indications that this yolk is in fact easy and this burden is light, I placed two singing sparrows perched on the yolk harness. One of the sparrows looks straight ahead, mouth open, praise blaring in confident, declarative fashion. The other turns her eyes to Yeshua, tenderly singing praises back to His heart. Both are reflecting different aspects of worship that the House of Prayer incorporates. Up above them, a single butterfly has landed—the symbol of transformation and regeneration, and of the healing attached to it--again points to the concept of this yolk being light.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light.”
With those foundational words in mind, I set out to do my homework prior to arriving in Turkey, meditating on the verses and pondering how best to render their core meaning. I searched out photos of what the actual farming implement, a yolk, looks like, and I isolated different aspects that I felt needed to be a part of the painting in order for it to release visually the life that was captured in
the verses.
The following are the symbolic elements that were an intentional part of the design. In my experience, I have been delightfully surprised to find that there is often more in a painting than I was expecting or intending to be there. May the Spirit of God add to and anoint this explanation.
I started with a backdrop of sky, full of heavy storm clouds off to the right and spreading to a clear sky on the left. This is a representation of the reality that working in the yolk with Yeshua will include both sunshine and rain; however, the darkest clouds are behind His shoulders and the clearest sky is nearest our side of the yolk; this is to indicate His share of carrying the heavier difficulties we face together.
Below the sky are the distant, purple mountains, as a symbol of the solid, majestic embrace of the promises of God.
At the base of the mountains is a wide field representing the process of sowing and reaping. From the left, it starts out across the canvas as a wilderness-- untamed, unproductive, unplowed and unattended. However, as the field spreads from left to right, you can see furrows and then a few tender green shoots, then a green crop, and finally on the far right is a full field ready for harvest. The ready harvest on the right reminds us that the time is coming soon when "the harvesters will overtake the planters." (Amos 9:3)
Central to the painting is the person of Yeshua, identifiable by the nail scars in His wrists. I have dressed Him in a Rugby Jersey, to indicate that He is not a weak, detached manager who writes up a game plan and shouts out from the sidelines insensitive instructions for us to follow through. He is, instead, a strong and able man, one who intimately understands and knows by experience the pains and joys of the game, the blood, sweat, and tears of victory and the agony of defeat. He himself has not only marked out the course for us-- He has also run this race we are in (Hebrews 12:1-3). And as a team Captain, He invites us to continue in the contest with Him. I find a deep sense of camaraderie in this reality.
He says to us: “Learn of me; for I am gentle and humble of heart.” I have painted His uniform of two colors: dusty brown, symbolic of the humbleness of heart, and light blue, symbolic of His being gentle. The blue I have illustrated as stripes, a reminder that our healing comes from the stripes His gentle person, silent as a lamb before his slaughterers, received on our behalf.
Such an athletic jersey would typically have a patch worn over the heart to indicate the players’ team identity. For this jersey I designed a patch with a symbol of a crown above the number 33. This is symbolic of the foundational royal authority Jesus manifested during the 33rd year of his life on earth when He triumphed over death and the grave. Echoing this triumph and pointing to His being the Lion of Judah, a roaring lion stands on the left side of the jersey, right over Yeshua's heart.
I have tried to position our team Captain in a very inviting stance, his bright eyes and infectious smile breaking off the weight of heaviness that wraps the shoulders of the weary and burdened who come to Him. With His strong shoulders, He already bears the bulk of the weight of the yolk. And the one who puts his or her head into proper position alongside Yeshua finds himself or herself suddenly inside a ready, protective embrace where even the side of the yolk we step into is already supported by His mighty right arm.
As further indications that this yolk is in fact easy and this burden is light, I placed two singing sparrows perched on the yolk harness. One of the sparrows looks straight ahead, mouth open, praise blaring in confident, declarative fashion. The other turns her eyes to Yeshua, tenderly singing praises back to His heart. Both are reflecting different aspects of worship that the House of Prayer incorporates. Up above them, a single butterfly has landed—the symbol of transformation and regeneration, and of the healing attached to it--again points to the concept of this yolk being light.