Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled

Scripture Text – John 14:1-3, 18-19, 25-27

The fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel falls into a portion of Scripture which has been called Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus and His disciples were facing the reality of Jesus’ death and the grief and pain of separation. For the disciples there also was the fear of living without the immediate presence of their Lord and the haunting unknown, simply not knowing what the future would hold, what death meant, and how to cope without the direct guidance of a person of strength among them.

When Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled,” He wasn’t suggesting that the disciples should pretend not to hurt in their loss and separation which was to come. Rather, His pastoral imperative urged them, in spite of the pain, not to be worried and upset as if all dimensions of their happiness and usefulness were coming to an end, as if through the dark clouds there could be no more light. There was reason for Jesus’ friends and followers, the children of God to hope because God in the great by and by pulls together all the loose strands of tragedy, misunderstanding, and rough edges.

As an antidote to despair Jesus bade them believe both in God and in himself. In an ongoing relationship with our gracious God and our Lord Jesus Christ there are, ultimately answers and, where no answers are possible, peace that surpasses understanding.