A Jesus Perspective
Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.
Read:
Matthew 26v36-54:
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Going Deeper:
The majority of us, if not all of us, currently find ourselves in a situation we would rather not be in, and circumstances we definitely would not have chosen for ourselves. There are a million different things we might have been afraid of happening in our lives but in all probability most of us would never have imagined that we would find ourselves in a global pandemic.
In the midst of this season the way we view the world has shifted dramatically. Through our new Coronavirus lens, we now see things entirely differently, things like hugs and high fives, face masks and hand sanitizer, blowing out candles on a birthday cake, and what community and connection looks like, to name a few.
Our current reality is so different from what we have previously known. Our present circumstances have shifted our perspective and with it how we live our lives.
But what about our perception of God, has our view of God changed?
Times of difficulty, uncertainty and pain seem to pull us in one of two directions.
Either they draw us away from God into a place where we find it hard to trust him and his love for us. Where we doubt that he is good and that he is with us, present in our situations. We can feel abandoned and alone, forsaken in our hour of need.
Fear becomes the perspective through which we view things, shaping how we live our lives.
Conversely, we see that they can also draw us even closer to God as we come to realize our deep need for and dependence on him. Causing us to cling to our faith in God and to hold onto the hope that we have in him. Trusting that he is working all things for our good and that ultimately, we will be more than conquerors through him who loves us.
Trust becomes the perspective through which we view things, shaping how we live our lives.
In Matthew 26, we see two people, with two different perspectives that lead to two very different responses.
Just before Jesus is arrested, we see him take his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with him. He vulnerably shares his pain and anguish with them, requesting that they too pray and seek God in this moment. And yet they, not fully realizing what’s about to take place next, fall asleep.
Jesus, however, knows what’s coming: his imminent arrest, trial, torture and murder. His response in this moment is to seek God in prayer. We see the ultimate act of surrendering to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, where after praying earnestly for an option other than death on the cross, Jesus yields to God’s will in a posture of trust; submitting to the cross knowing that God who loves him would be faithful.
Jesus responds to this moment in faith because of his perspective, because of his perception of God. He knows who God is and he knows he can be trusted.
Peter’s response however is quite the opposite, and one that I can certainly resonate with.
Peter in this moment feels threatened. He doesn’t understand what’s happening. He can’t see that God is at work in the chaos, that he is present in the commotion. Through the lens of fear, Peter responds by cutting off the soldier’s ear in attempt to gain control in an overwhelming situation. That’s the thing about fear: it always leads to a controlling disposition.
In all fairness to Peter, there are not many people who like the feeling of being out of control, myself included. We like to feel in control of our lives and that we have a handle on things. We desire to control our lives through various mechanisms (money, power, etc.) out of a deep need and desire to fend off any possibility of suffering, pain and uncertainty. Our need to control our lives is born out of our fears.
But if there is one thing that the Coronavirus has taught us, it’s that “not only are we not in control of our lives, but that we never were” (Tim Keller). Control is an illusion and putting our trust in our own ability to control our lives, and to make a plan, is pointless.
Jesus trusted God. Instead of seeking control, he seeks God and surrenders fully to his Father’s will. He knew his Father was at work despite the circumstance he found himself in. He saw the presence and hand of God, where Peter and his disciples could not. Jesus’ perspective was one of trust because he knew who God was and that he was with him.
What is your perspective at this time? What lens are you currently viewing God through?
It’s easy to believe we have a disposition towards trusting God when things are going well. It’s in the tough moments, when we are at the end of ourselves, battling with fear and anxiety, surrounded by situations we don’t want to face and can’t control, that we see the true inclination of our hearts.
Perhaps this pandemic offers us an opportunity to reflect on our perspectives, and if need be, to ask the Holy Spirit to refine them.
Jesus’ perspective came from knowing God in a deep and personal way, from encountering him and his love, from being in his presence.
It’s in the presence of God that the Holy Spirit empowers us by changing our perspective, as we grow in our relationship with him, knowing him more intimately and encountering his love for us.
As we turn to God seeking him, he is the one who gives us eyes to see and ears to hear, who changes our persepctive. In his presence we soon realize that he is right beside us, at work in our lives making something beautiful of the mess surrounding us, just like he did with Jesus and the cross.
That despite the hurdles we face, and the anxiety that they bring, when we come into his presence, he silences our fears with his love, compelling us to trust him as we reflect on his goodness, enabling us to have hearts that are surrendered to him as we recall his constant faithfulness towards us.
Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.
Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?
Apply:
What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?