In the time of Jesus, a yoke was a wooden beam, placed on oxen so that they could pull the cart or plow together. An uneven yoke means trouble (see 2 Corinthians 6:14–15). A yoke could be harsh, for example, the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
Jesus speaks here in our verse of a yoke in a positive sense. In his time, a yoke was a metaphor for the education you followed. Taking on a yoke meant that you went to class and became a student. The yoke of the scribes and Pharisees was a teaching from the law of Moses but without grace (see Matthew 23:1–4). “If Jesus is not offering the yoke of the law, neither is He offering freedom from all constraints. The yoke
is Jesus’ yoke, not the yoke of the law; discipleship must be to him.”1
29 Prenez mon joug sur vous et recevez mes instructions, car je suis doux et humble de cœur; et vous trouverez le repos pour vos âmes.