"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2. Then, only three verses later: "For every man shall bear his own burden." Galatians 6:5. Read quickly in English, Paul seems to contradict himself in the space of a breath. Am I to carry your burden, or are you to carry your own? Many readers have stumbled over the two lines and quietly decided that one of them must cancel the other. The Greek dissolves the tension, because Paul does not use the same word twice. In verse 2 the word is *baros* (here in the plural, *ta bare*) — weight, heaviness, a load that presses down. It is the word the labourers in the vineyard use for "the burden and heat of the day" (Matthew 20:12), and the word Paul chooses for the "eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). It names something too heavy for one back. In verse 5 the word changes to *phortion*, from *phero*, "to carry." In ordinary Greek a *phortion* was a load sized to be borne: a traveller's pack, a porter's bundle, a ship's freight. It is the portion assigned to you — your own work, your own answerability before God, which Paul has just described in verse 4: "let every man prove his own work." So there is no contradiction at all. Each believer carries his own pack; but when a crushing weight falls on a brother or sister, the whole body bends down to lift it together. Now listen to Jesus. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). The word for "burden" there is *phortion* — the same pack-word as Galatians 6:5. And in Matthew 23:4 He describes the religious teachers who "bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders." The Greek is *phortia barea* — packs made into crushing weights. That is precisely what the law becomes in the hands of those who will not lift a finger. Christ does the reverse. He does not abolish your load; He gives you a *phortion*, a pack fitted to your frame, and He walks under the yoke beside you. And the crushing *baros* that no one could carry — the weight of sin and judgement — He carried alone to the cross. That is why bearing another's *baros* is called fulfilling "the law of Christ": it is simply doing for one another, in small measure, what He did for us in full. This frees the heart in two directions at once. If you are the one who is always carrying everyone, hear Galatians 6:5: you are not asked to shoulder every person's pack as though you were their saviour; each one answers for his own. And if you are the one being crushed right now, hear Galatians 6:2: this is not a pack you were meant to carry alone. Letting someone help you is not weakness; it is how the body of Christ obeys His law. The calm of a settled soul is not found in carrying nothing, but in knowing which load is yours, which weight is to be shared, and Who has already borne the one that would have crushed you. Reflect: What are you carrying today — your own light pack, or a crushing weight you have been too proud or too ashamed to let anyone help you lift? And whose weight might God be asking you to bend down and share this week?
Published on October 11, 2026
Last updated: October 11, 2026
The Two Burdens of Galatians 6
Galatians 6:2 and 6:5 seem to contradict each other in English, but Paul uses two different Greek words — baros, a crushing weight we are told to share, and phortion, a person's own carryable load — the very word Jesus used when He said, 'my burden is light.'
Frequently asked questions
Do Galatians 6:2 and Galatians 6:5 contradict each other?
No. Paul uses two different Greek words. In 6:2 "burdens" is baros, a crushing weight too heavy for one person, which believers are to share. In 6:5 "burden" is phortion, a carryable load or pack — each person's own work and accountability before God, which no one else can carry for them.
What is the connection between Galatians 6:5 and "my burden is light" in Matthew 11:30?
Both use the same Greek word, phortion, a load sized to be carried. Jesus does not remove every responsibility from His disciples; He gives them a light pack under His yoke, while He Himself bore the crushing weight of sin that no one else could carry.
How can I apply the two burdens of Galatians 6 in daily life?
Carry your own phortion faithfully — your own work, choices, and accountability — without trying to carry everyone else's as if you were their saviour. But when a crushing baros falls on someone, help lift it, and when one falls on you, let others help. That mutual bearing is what Paul calls fulfilling the law of Christ.