Don't let your heart be troubled when Jesus doesn't make sense to you.
John 13:36-38 Simon Peter asked, "Lord, where are You going?" And Jesus replied, "You can't go with Me now, but you will follow Me later." 37 "But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I'm ready to die for You." 38 Jesus answered, "Die for Me? I tell you the truth, Peter--before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.
Life is so difficult and seems out of control, things do not add up and we cannot make sense of what is going on, we have all been through those times when you just want to scream at God and ask him if he really knows what he is doing. That is the situation these eleven men find themselves in.
Not too long ago Jesus caused quite a stir when he raised Lazarus from the dead, they must have thought that the coming Kingdom was about to be established, instead Jesus leaves the crowds and takes them to a village in the desert, these guys were never able to figure out what was going to happen next.
Why are we out here?
This couldn't have made any sense to the twelve disciples. They didn't realize that even as the religious leaders were purifying the people in preparation for Passover they were simultaneously plotting Jesus death. (John 11:54-57)As Passover drew near Jesus went back towards Jerusalem and stopped in Bethany where he had dinner with his friends. While they were at the dinner Mary came into the room with expensive perfume that she used to anoint Jesus.
Why is Jesus talking about his burial?
They could have had a church fund-raiser and used the money to help the poor. They all blindly went along with Judas and agreed that this was a big waste of money. (John 12:1-8)Now this is more like it they must have thought as they walked on toward Jerusalem and saw the crowds running out to meet them as they sang their praises for the arrival of the Messiah. But instead of capitalizing on the momentum and taking charge he is deeply troubled and starts to pray. (John 12:29)
Why is Jesus talking about defeating Satan?
This crowd just wants somebody to make today a better day and improve the outlook for their future. Get rid of the burden that the Romans had them living under. Obviously Jesus was opposed to the plan that the crowd was pushing for and his kingdom was a disappointment to them.Why is everything not as we thought?
There was so much chaos and unanswered questions on that day. Isn't he the Messiah? We just gave him a Messiah's welcome when he came into the city. Isn't the Messiah going to live forever? (John 12:34-36)We thought that Jesus was our leader and now he is acting like our servant and washing our feet! What do you mean that you are going somewhere and I have to stay here? We thought that our small group was solid but now we have learned that one of us has been living a lie and Jesus tells us that the rest of us will all desert him.
Why would Jesus treat us this way?
In the middle of all of the turmoil that the disciples are going through, none of them had much thought for the emotions that Jesus was feeling. He was with his small group yet he was all alone. None of them showed any interest in Jesus' suffering and offer up any comfort."Now My soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to Your name."We gave up three years of our life for him and now he is leaving? They had to wonder how safe they were because Jesus enemies also hated them. Would they be the next to die?
Despite the feelings that Jesus had, his deep sorrow and grief, nobody else notices! Yet he is so in touch with their feelings and he is so concerned with their ability to cope with the circumstances even though he knows that they will desert him later that same night.
| Don't Be Troubled |
|---|
| John 14:1-3 "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. 2 There is more than enough room in My Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am. |
They still had every reason to believe in God and in his son Jesus. They had every reason to believe that they have a home in heaven that is being made ready for them and when it is ready he will come back for us. You only prepare a place for someone if you are confident of their arrival, we don't have to worry about getting their on our own, Jesus himself will come to get us and escort us into the Father's house.
Victory In Jesus: Romans 8:35-37, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Hebrews 13:6, 1 John 5:4-5
Don't let your heart be troubled when Jesus doesn't make sense to you. Faith in God and in Jesus is the cure for a troubled heart, believers should be the most peaceful people but in reality we are not much different from the rest of the world, usually this is due to a lack of faith. If you're discontent, worried, anxious, or otherwise in need of comfort, the reason can be that you don't trust Jesus as much as you should.
We do what the disciples did, we have all of the same confusion and questions, we focus on our problems and trust in their power to wipe us out more than we trust in God. We know that our ultimate future is very bright. When we arrive at our father's house he will take care of all the hurts and the needs of his children, there won't be any unmet needs and no wanting for anything.
Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up.
Just like Jesus looked beyond the present sufferings to his future glory, we should keep our eyes on the higher purposes of God and realize that these troubles that we have in this present world are very temporary. (Romans 8:18).
Thank you Lord for caring for me, help me to realize the impact of that, since I know you care for me I know that I can trust you for every situation that I don't understand. Help me to grow in faith so that I won't let my heart be troubled when you don't make sense to me.
