Loose literally means not fastened, restrained, contained, fixed, or rigid. A secondary understanding is to release from obligation or to absolve.
In Bible times, a yoke was essentially a Rabbi‘s teaching of what was prohibited and what was allowed, according to his interpretation of Scripture. The process of determining what things were allowed was the act of “losing.” To “lose” something was to allow it, that is, to let it go. To “loose” implies freedom.
Since Jesus‘ yoke was light, there must have been many things that he had “loosed.”
Contrast to bind.
Key verse about Loose: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, NIV)
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
