For
it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you
than these necessary things – Acts 15:28
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Today’s reading in Acts 15 is
about the Jerusalem Council. This was one of the earliest Christian councils
around 48-50 AD. The council of Apostles and Elders decided not to lay any further
burdens on the new Gentile Christians.
The topic of burdens is
something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. What type of burdens do we
lay on ourselves and also on other people in our lives. Do we need to let go of
these burdens? If so, how do we get rid of these burdens. According to the
Cambridge dictionary a burden is a duty or responsibility that is hard to
bear.
In the Christian classic book The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, carries a heavy burden on his back. It makes his journey slow. He suffers under the weight of it. When Christian comes to the cross, his burden falls from his back and tumbles down the hill.
In Matthew we read: “My yoke is
easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). The yoke
of our Lord Jesus is light and easy to carry because it is the yoke of
repentance and faith followed by a commitment to follow Him and His commandments.
As the apostle John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Our Lord
Jesus carried the burden that we were meant to carry. His perfect obedience and
sacrifice for all our sin once at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Acts 15 made me aware once again that our Lord Jesus Christ came not to lay burdens on us, but to take it away. His yoke is light. The Law of Moses was a heavy burden to carry, but Christ came to fulfil the law and to free us from heavy burdens. In Romans 10:4 we read: “For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Reflection on Acts 15: 13-29
by Hanne
(Listen to podcast here)
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