His yoke is easy, His burthen is light

I enjoyed an evening of charming and delightful sweet sound, knowing that I will never escape the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah!

So I went to see a performance by the infamous Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Messiah by George Frideric Handel in 1741.

According to Wiki knowledge, messiah means "the anointed one". In Christianity, the Messiah is Jesus. There are three parts to this oratorio (oratorio = orchestra + vocal soloists + chorus)

1. The Birth
2. The Passion (Needed some break after some intense emotion, hence the intermission)
3. The Aftermath

The whole experience was new to me because I never had people singing Bible to me. The music was lovely and the soprano singer had some very impressive singing skills. How can she be heard by everyone in the concert hall when 30-something musicians are tirelessly grinding their violins behind her back?

I am an illiterate when it comes to verses in the Bible. Ergo, my joyful moment was turned up-side-down when they came to this line "His yoke is easy, His burthen is light." I jolted in my seat and went, 'Huh?' I had a mixed feeling knowing that the yoke of Jesus is EASY. Meanwhile, two million images flew by in my head , some of them involved sunny-side up and over-easy.

It turned out that it was bad translation from Greek, according to The Voice of Prophecy.

It’s interesting to note, as we dig into the old Greek meanings, that the word chr_stos, translated in the Bible as “easy,” actually has a more subtle nuance. For example: “fit for use.” In fact, we’re interested to note that in the Living Bible, which is an excellent PARAPHRASE, verse 30 is rendered this way:

“Wear My yoke — FOR IT FITS PERFECTLY — and let Me teach you.”

In other Bible passages, chr_stos is translated as “good,” “kindly,” or “pleasant.” Not EASY in the sense of something not being difficult. So friend, is it more the case that the yoke of God is GOOD for us to wear, like spinach is good for the diet, instead of EASY?