The Power of Perspective

He has also planted eternity—a sense of divine purpose—in the human heart: a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God.

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

John 13-14

Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Power of Perspective

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:1

Jesus knew He had only a few hours left with His disciples. Fully aware of the suffering that lay ahead—yet committed to His purpose and assured of the glory awaiting Him—He chose to love, to serve, to comfort, to teach, to forgive, and ultimately, to submit to the will of the Father.

Knowing the days ahead would be painful and deeply unsettling for those He had chosen, Jesus, in His final private teaching before the cross, sought to comfort and encourage them, preparing their hearts for His impending crucifixion and departure.

He assured them of their identity, reminded them of their purpose, and pointed them toward their eternal home. He lifted their eyes from the temporal and set their hearts on the eternal. He redirected their gaze from what is seen to what is unseen, offering a new and lasting perspective—one of hope and purpose beyond the sorrow.

Jesus Serves His Disciples

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. John 13:3-4

The disciples had made preparations for the Passover meal, and the supper was already underway. Although Jesus had foretold His death, the disciples—like many Jewish people of their time—were still waiting for an earthly king, a Messiah who would overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel.

Not long before, they had argued among themselves about who would be the greatest, believing Jesus's ministry was moving toward the establishment of His kingdom. James and John's mother had knelt before Jesus, asking if her two sons could have the highest positions—one at His right, the other at His left. The rest of the disciples were indignant.

No wonder none of them offered to perform the humble task of washing feet—an act usually reserved for the lowliest of servants.

Yet Jesus—the eternally divine, who from the beginning was with God and was God—knowing that the Father had placed all things into His hands, and that He would soon return to glory, humbled Himself, took the role of a servant, and washed the dusty feet of His disciples—even of the one who would later betray Him.

Jesus did not assert His greatness, nor did He demand service. Instead, He 'loved His own who were in the world; He loved them to the end' and gave Himself as an example of humility and service—a lesson in how to love one another as He had loved them.

But as the darkness drew near, Jesus grew more and more troubled in spirit. He spoke of betrayal and of His imminent departure to a place where they could not follow.

The disciples were troubled and at a loss.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. John 14:1

The Upper Room Discourse is among Jesus' most comforting teachings. Just as He once calmed the stormy sea, Jesus now sought to calm the disciples' troubled hearts. He could see their turmoil. He knew the sorrow they would endure and spoke to them in the most tender and assuring words:

Let not your heart be tossed and agitated like water driven by winds. Trust God, and trust Me. - Liddell, Scott, and Thayer

Every Jew believed in God, yet too often that belief held little sway over the realities of daily life. Affirming His divinity once again, Jesus called their hearts to follow their beliefs. He asked them to place their confidence in the Father—and in Himself.

The trust which Christ requires is the bond that unites souls with Him; an absolute utter confidence in Him as all-sufficient for everything that one can require. - MacLaren's Expositions

Such trust settles the heart.

Sustains the mind in the deep places of fear.

And turns inward turmoil into peace.

The peace the world offers is the peace that comes from the avoidance of trouble.

The peace the Son of God offers is peace beyond understanding—in the midst of trouble.

Purpose Beyond Sorrow

My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

Raising their eyes from momentary trouble, Jesus shifted their perspective from the temporal to the eternal. His kingdom was not earthly, but spiritual. There was purpose in His death and imminent departure. He would prepare a place for them and would return to take them to an eternal house—a dwelling place of everlasting communion with the Father and Christ Himself.

Although the disciples believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, they were now challenged to believe He was one with God—and the only way to God. He was in the Father, and the Father in Him. A union that, one day, even they would share.

While Thomas and Judas still dared to ask questions, it's no wonder most of the disciples remained silent. What Jesus said, they could not yet grasp.

But Jesus would not leave them alone. He would send another Helper—Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, and Strengthener—to be with them forever and to teach them all things.

While they had been with Jesus, they had witnessed His miraculous works. But now Jesus told them, they would do even greater works. Anything they asked in His name, He would do—so that the Father may be glorified in Him.

How confusing it must have all sounded to the disciples...

Hearts Set on Eternity

The disciples' troubles may feel far removed from our own, yet our struggles can be just as present and pressing. Still, we have a much deeper understanding of Jesus' teaching—and we too have a choice.

Do we view life from a temporal or eternal perspective?

Are our hearts set on eternity?

Perspective won't change our reality—but it will change how we live through it.

We are constantly under pressure to cave in to viewing things as everyone around us does. The world is so ambient, so present and so constant, inviting us to see things from this present darkness rather than from God's perspective. But God has set eternity in every person's heart.

The choice must be made again and again: temporal or eternal? We must choose each day whether we will live as if this world is all there is or as if our earthly existence is a brief pilgrimage during which we learn and grow and are prepared for eternity. - Kenneth Boa, Rewriting Your Broken Story