Jordan - Matthew 23

In the secular world, there are many people who think that being a good leader means getting the people below you to work their hardest.  In reality, a good leader is one who creates an environment where work becomes easier and more efficient.  The latter style is more difficult because it means that the higher up you go, the more work you need to do to ease the pain of the little people. 

Jesus, describes the Pharisees as the group of leaders who burden the lives of those who listen to them.  The Pharisees likely think that if they get the most from people, those people will earn the right of the Pharisee to enter heaven.  Jesus is more of the "lead by example" type.  He tells the disciples to listen to those hypocrits, because what they are sayin actually makes a little sense.  It is what they are doing that causes doubt.  By saying this, Jesus probably validates what everyone below the Pharisees were thinking, thereby making their lives (or their understanding of life) easier.

Later on, Jesus, removes the biggest burden from all of us in dying on the cross and being raised from the dead.