I remember as a child singing, "Jesus, meek and gentle; Son of God Most High." If you are as old as I am you may be hearing those melodious notes going up and down while singing, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh." The vision of Jesus that came from this song to my childlike mind was a soft, passive man who never upset anyone; kind of a first century Captain Kangaroo. (There I go showing my age again; Google him if you don't know who he is.)Reading the Gospels I found Jesus to be a passionate, emotional man who could become angry to the point of kicking things around. (Read John 2 for a classic example of this.) His emotions, however, were never out of control or IN control of his life. Rather, his anger was always directed at those who deserved it. Theologians might call it, "righteous indignation."
When Jesus described himself as "gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29) it was not because he was unable or unwilling to "let people have it." Rather, it is a description of Jesus' "default" mode. Jesus is a gentle man, but he not a man to be taken for granted. It angers him to see people abused and taken advantage of. This is one reason he offered his yoke to us. Serving God need not be the harsh, dreary, dreadful experience that Pharisees make it into. When the yoke fits well it makes service to God a joyful partnership with the Son of God.
Hear again Jesus' invitation, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
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