John 13 states something remarkable, “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.” Jesus was facing betrayal by one sitting there with him, arrest, torture and death. Not sure about you but I would have been under immense stress knowing all that and with Judas sitting there maybe even shaking with anger. But Jesus did something totally different. He took on the role of the lowest rung servant and washed his disciples’ feet including Judas, the man which John records the devil had already prompted to betray Jesus, the one Jesus already knew would lead him to death.
Jesus coped with his stress by showing love to the very man who would betray him, to Peter who would later deny even knowing him, and to the rest of the men who would flee in terror and hide. He tries to comfort, instruct, promise equipment by the Holy Spirit and pray for them. He even prays for us. We see in the other Gospels that Jesus did struggle with foreknowledge of his death. He took those struggles straight to the Father and submitted to God’s will. A sure sign of the stress Jesus was in was sweating drops of blood. Yet he obeyed the Father because, like the Father, he loved us.
We need to follow Jesus’ example when we have to cope with life’s twists and turns. We need to show love, feel free to express our concerns with our loved ones and turn to God in prayer while submitting to His will. No matter what we have to cope with we can stand firm on God moving forward in confidence because He loves us.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. -John 16:33
