11:29, 30 Though the law had been given by God as a help to His people, the oral traditions of the scribes and Pharisees went far beyond the demands of God and became a heavy burden (12:2 note; 15:2). When the law was understood as a way of salvation, it became a “yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). By contrast, the yoke of Jesus, while demanding, is “easy” because it is from One who is “gentle and lowly in heart” and can provide true rest for the soul. See “The Humble Obedience of Christ” at John 5:19.