Perspective has become a fascination for me. After 30 years of training for ministry, volunteering in ministry and serving as a vocational missionary and Pastor, the concept of perspective is mind-blowing and ever evolving.
Long ago, I heard the Indian proverb about 5 blind men taking hold of an Elephant and each having a different idea of what an elephant was based on the part of the elephant they were touching. Google it, it’s a good one.
Naturally, each man had a different perspective. For the sake of this piece, I want us to put on the sandals of the disciples who followed Jesus. There were 12 of them, 12 personalities, as many opinions (or more), varied backgrounds and professions, not to mention, family imprinting. If we could map the thought bubbles on a given scene from the Bible, we wouldn’t be able to see the image!
The Disciples lived a myriad of experiences while walking from town to town with Jesus. Three years of witnessing miracles, personal encounters, lives changed, not to mention, communities. With all that information, I wonder how they each perceived and processed what they saw, heard, smelled and encountered.
Particularly, I am drawn to consider the raucous, tremulous, emboldened, shocking, fearful, victorious Holy Week. Let’s blaze through it.
Sunday, Jesus enters to a jubilant crowd welcoming Him and cheering what they expected Him to do.. “Rout the Romans!”
Monday, Jesus curses a fig tree that didn’t give Him breakfast and goes whipping through the temple, turning tables and cleaning out His Father’s house!
Tuesday, He and the disciples dodge an ambush and he predicts the destruction of the Temple and outlines the signs of the end times.
Wednesday, Jesus rests in Bethany and Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
Thursday, Jesus celebrates Passover with the disciples (The last supper), then goes to pray. His friends fall asleep while they were supposed to be praying with Him, and He is betrayed by Judas, arrested and falsely accused.
Friday, Jesus is trialed, crucified and then put in a tomb. The disciples go hide.
Saturday, Jesus is in the tomb, His body is treated for burial and the disciples come out of hiding and mourn.
Sunday, Jesus comes back from the dead.
Tired yet?
We could spend COUNTLESS hours in speculation on what the disciples were collectively feeling during each encounter. Then, countless weeks dissecting the perceptions of each individual who witnessed the various events. It makes my brain spin. And, it is FASCINATING. Let’s focus on one day.
What were the disciples feeling on the Saturday after Jesus died?
Jump in their sandals: The man you have followed for 3 years, who healed people, forgave sins, foretold things that ended up happening, cursed trees and they died, walked on water, raised people from the dead and inspired you to believe that He was the ONE your people had been waiting for……is…..DEAD.
You watched it happen, slow, nasty, bloody, inhumane, unjust, embarrassing, death on a cross. You watched it and the shame of being wrong crept into your heart. You believed He was who He said He was, but now you sit with the sting of watching yet another “Prophet” proved wrong. How many more will you be allowed to witness? There had been MANY prophets before, but you were convinced, Jesus was different! HOW could you have been so wrong??
Pick a disciple and think a little deeper. You can make up numerous thoughts, but I start with these:
Matthew, the one man who believed in you, who forgave your cheating ways and let you join his friend group is dead. Now you suspect that you are surrounded by people who still give you the side eye. They are skeptical because tax collectors, even former ones, cannot be trusted, and Jesus isn’t here to back you up. Where is Simon the zealot? Look over your shoulder to check.
Nathanael (Bartholomew), Jesus knew your heart was pure and saw you under the tree where you were sitting before He called you to follow him, but does anyone else see you?
James son of Alphaeus, no one even knows who you are.
Peter, You denied Jesus three times last night and you are feeling pretty guilty!
Andrew, you were the first one Jesus called and you suspected that Peter would ruin your reputation by doing something ridiculous! Brothers, am I right?
Judas Iscariot, Well, you killed yourself, that’s pretty intense! Didn’t you see how gracious Jesus was to everyone? Surely this could have ended differently.
John, you were His best friend, and He was yours. There’s no way you will ever recover from this!
Simon, you feel guilty that you didn’t just end all the Romans when you were a zealot…but you know Jesus was different in a good way.
Thaddeus, you wish you were bigger, or wiser; maybe you would have spoken up more while He was alive.
Philip, you were skeptical and had so many more questions that you wish you could ask more candidly now.
Thomas, you were willing to die with Jesus, but you didn’t REALLY think it would happen!
James, If only you had stayed awake and prayed!
Let your imagination run wild. They were panicked and probably overthinking all of the things they had observed. Most certainly, they were grieving. Anyone who has grieved knows that everyone grieves differently. That’s because everyone sees differently.
Meanwhile, Jesus had descended into Hell to get the keys of death. He was on a mission to take back the authority that Adam and Eve gave to the Enemy. He was kicking butt and taking names, but the disciples had no clue. Their earthly perceptions gave them no hope beyond mourning.
For Christians during Holy Week, we remember the events that led to the death of Jesus and Ultimately the miracle of resurrection on Easter. What is your perception of the Death of Jesus? Have you ever put yourself at the foot of the Cross and imagined the way the people who loved Him felt? What about the resurrection? What would your perception have been?
Thomas doubted it could have happened. Mary saw the empty tomb. Peter and John had to verify her story with their own eyes. We all approach things from a different angle, experience and imprinting. Yet, truth is truth. A friend once told me that there are three sides to every story; “Yours, mine and the truth.”
Our culture seems to struggle with allowing others to have their own view without feeling offended. Speaking about our beliefs can sometimes even lead to prosecution, not just persecution. Fear can take hold and cause us to double down, or shy away from productive conversations. I suspect the disciples faced similar struggles as they watched this gentle rebel encountering injustice and correcting it in the most loving way for each situation. Sometimes Jesus flipped tables, sometimes He spoke life. Sometimes He raised the dead, sometimes He kept walking. Jesus did what His Father told Him to do. He didn’t heal everyone, but He healed every ONE that God told Him to heal. What if we sought God’s leading in all the ways we perceive our circumstances? What if we allowed ourselves to listen to God and to others?
Jesus: THE way, THE truth and THE life. No one can come to the Father except through Him. Whether you perceive Him as a God with a lightning bolt ready to zap you, or a loving Father who is ready for a bear hug. Whether your perception of a Father is so tainted, you would rather not have one, or You long for the comfort of someone who cares. What Jesus saw on the cross was the Joy that He would have in giving you a second chance to know God, to be reconnected with your creator and receive a new identity. You will always have opportunities and challenges to work through your perceptions. Part of the beauty of knowing God is to learn more about how HE sees things. Getting to know His perceptions helps our own to move more closely to truth.
As you walk through this Holy week and celebrate Easter, I pray you will see how He sees you. I hope you will perceive how He sees your situation, and find hope in the truth that nothing is too hard for Him, not even rising from the dead.
He is FOR you. I hope you see Him for the truth that He represents.
