In a recent podcast, John Ortberg cites an observation made by Dane Ortlund. In the four gospels, there is only one place where Jesus describes his own heart. It’s in Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus issues his beautiful invitation to apprenticeship with him:

“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.”

Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon us — to join him in his work. He invites us to learn from him — to adopt his unhurried and relaxed lifestyle and practices. And at its core, Jesus invites us to have our hearts shaped into his gentle and humble heart. 

What is a gentle and humble heart? And why is it so important?

In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

To have a humble heart is to learn from Jesus how to routinely and easily value others and their interests far above ourselves and our own aspirations. In everything — at work, at home, at church, on the road, in the store, in the doctor’s office, wherever we are — others are more important than ourselves.

Paul continues in verses 5-8 with Jesus’ example of a humble heart:

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!”

This is Jesus’ humble heart in action. Because God valued others above himself (let that one sink in for a moment), he emptied himself and became nothing. And his humility went further. He humbled himself and became obedient to death!

Paul says Jesus “Who, being in very nature God… made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” Here’s the secret: The nature of God IS the nature of a servant. It’s our human tendency to view the nature of God and the nature of a servant as opposites. But they are the same thing. It is God’s very nature to value others above himself. God is humble. God is a servant.

Let’s return to Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11. In his agricultural context, the yoke was used to join two animals to perform one job. A younger, undisciplined animal was usually yoked to an older, trained animal. Over time, the younger animal would learn how to pace alongside the older animal so they both easily shared the load.

The essence of Jesus’ yoke — his work in his Father’s kingdom here and now — is the humble heart as we saw in Philippians 2. His yoke is only easy and light if we learn from him his humble heart. Dallas Willard states the secret to Jesus’ easy yoke “involves living as he lived in the entirety of his life — adopting his overall lifestyle.” To learn a humble heart that will let us co-labor under his yoke, we must adopt his unhurried and relaxed lifestyle and practices so they transform our thoughts, feelings, body, will, soul and relationships.

Apprenticed to Jesus, we experience his humble heart firsthand. He values us over himself. He makes himself constantly available for our good. We find rest for our souls! While we experience fantastic benefits becoming like him, personal benefits are not the priority. 

I’m becoming like Jesus for God’s glory and the sake of others. 

I’m learning to value God above myself. I’m learning to value others above myself. A humble heart. God’s heart.