Jesus Set Aside The Troubles Of His Soul

What Did Jesus Do?

“And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?
John 12.27

I think most of us are familiar with the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do.” There lots of examples. A parent sitting and puffing away next to an ashtray she has filled with cigarette butts tells her children they shouldn't smoke. A Scout leader instructs young boys in the safe use of an ax, and then proceeds to ignore all the rules when chopping wood in his backyard, and ends up making a visit to the emergency room. A driving instructor spends all day drumming it into students' heads that they must always obey all traffic signs, and then gets ticketed while driving home at a good 10-15 miles over the speed limit every day. I don't mean to make light of this phrase at all, though. I daresay there's not one of us who has not at one time or another failed to do all that we not only say, but believe, we should do. Take anxiety. It's easy to tell someone not to be anxious or nervous, but how easy is it for us to master our own anxiety and nerves? When our souls are troubled it can be hard for us to do anything but fret, worry, and all but come to pieces.

You remember, I'm sure, when, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples not to be anxious about their lives (see Matthew 6.25-34). The Lord also counseled his followers to not let their hearts be troubled or afraid (see John 14.1-31). Did Jesus, the fully divine Son of God, freely offer such advice to us from the safety of never having to confront his own anxious moments, or feel the thumping of his own troubled or frightened heart? By no means! For, being fully human, Jesus' soul knew troubles, as he himself confessed in John 12.27 (see also the accounts in Matthew 26.36-46 and Mark 14.32-42).

Not without reason did Jesus grow anxious. He was back in Jerusalem, and he knew that this time he had an appointment with the Cross. The question is, when it came to his own anxious heart and troubled soul, did Jesus say one thing to his disciples, and do something else himself? Again, by no means! In Gethsemane we see the Lord turning to his Father in prayer in order to get beyond the sorrow in his soul. Here, in John 12 Jesus sets aside the troubles of his soul for the one thing that was most important to him—the Father's glory (John 12.28).

I believe I am on fairly solid ground in saying that our anxieties, and the troubles of our soul, are, nearly 100% of the time, tied to concern for ourselves or for someone we love and care about. Make no mistake, the fully human Jesus had regard for his own life, just as we do, or he himself never would have been anxious or troubled. And the way Christ got beyond such self-regard, or similar concerns for his beloved disciples, was to turn to the Father, and surrender all, even the anxieties of his heart and the troubles of his soul, in order that the Father would be glorified. Ultimately, of course, Jesus was prepared to lay down his very life for the glory of the Father, and he did so knowing that the Father had given him power and authority to take up his life again.

If we, in our anxious and troubled moments, can look beyond concerns for ourselves and for our family and friends, to see the Father and recall that as he calls us to believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord we too receive power to lay down our life and in Christ take it up again. And, if by faith and the aid of the Holy Spirit, we can also look for the ever present opportunities to glorify the Father, we too can possess the faith and the strength to not be anxious about our lives. Hanging on to our anxieties and the troubles of our souls is a hanging on to this life, which Jesus has called us to lose for his sake (and, not coincidentally, for the Father's glory). Letting go of anxious worry and a fretful spirit frees us to receive the victorious life and the surpassing peace of Christ.

Are you anxious today? Is your soul troubled? Does your heart bear a burden of worry? Then come alongside the Savior, and turn your eyes, with his, to the Father, and give him all the glory you can! You may be surprised at how quickly your anxieties melt away, and you find rest for your soul.


S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4