Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matt. 11:28-30.
During My Many Years as a lawyer, I used the legal term burden of proof without thinking of burden as a heavy weight. In the law, the term means the obligation of, for instance, a party of a lawsuit to prove his or her claims. One evening, this legal usage gave new meaning to Jesus' words, quoted above, as I was hearing them read in a church service. It suddenly struck me that it might be said that he was encouraging his followers to take on the burden of proof that the message of the nearness, here and now, of the kingdom of God and of the validity of His law was not too good to be true, but was demonstrable fact. This truth could and should be used by his followers in the service of God and for the benefit of all mankind. Whether that was his exact meaning or not, the fact remains that, according to Matthew, "Jesus went about all Galilee, . . . preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." Matt. 4:23. And he sent his twelve disciples out, commanding them: "Preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." Matt. 10:7, 8.
