By: Dale Weckbacher
John 14:1-3
"Let not your
heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also.
NKJV
Election years can be troubling. This seems to be especially true this
election year in the United States as the hope and change promised during the
2008 election cycle has turned into change full of hopelessness. Record numbers of able-bodied individuals are
no longer counted as part of the workforce.
(1) This failure to count everyone out of work is
leading to reductions in the U3 unemployment rate (2)
, but for those suffering from chronic unemployment, the dropping unemployment
rate is just meaningless numbers.
Centuries old societal norms like marriage and gender
identity are turning upside down in favor of a perverted view permitting same
sex marriage (3)
and allowing gender identity to change from biological anatomical differences
to allowing an individual to choose what identity they believe is right for
them. (4) Those daring to stand against these changes
in societal norms find themselves labeled as racist, sexist or simply
ignored. (5) Ironically, this is occurring in a society
dominated by secular post-modernist thinking that supposedly allows each
individual to determine his or her own definition of truth. I guess any belief that truth involves
holding to scriptural and long held societal values is not allowed. In these troubling times, it is easy to just
throw up our hands in hopelessness.
However, before simply giving up, I want to invite everyone reading this
to pause and take a moment to meditate on the words of Jesus in John 14:1-3.
The context of John 14:1-3 is Jesus speaking to his
disciples the evening before his crucifixion.
Jesus knew his followers would be troubled in heart at seeing the one
they believed was their Messiah suffer a cruel death. He knew they would once again experience joy
at the discovery He had risen from the dead, only to have their hopes dashed
once again when he left. Jesus knew His
followers were about to experience a roller coaster ride in their hearts.
As a means of providing comfort, Jesus tells them not to let
their hearts be troubled because they believed in God and Him. I know that when I am distressed, having
someone tell me not to be troubled can sound like empty words. In addition, to tell me just to have more
belief in God and Jesus can seem like I am being judged for my unbelief or lack
of faith. However, with the words coming
from Jesus the Son of God, they are something in which we can place our
faith. In addition, the Jewish disciples
would have had a different view of these words and actually would have found
great comfort in them. To understand
this, we must look at the words from the context of a Jewish person.
The church, which is not a building but the people choosing
to believe in Christ, is often referred to as the bride of Christ in scripture
(John 3:29, Revelation 18:23). A look at
the traditions of Jewish marriages provides an interesting perspective into the
meaning of Jesus’ words in John 14:1-3.
Jewish marriages in the time of Christ were
prearranged. Initially the father of the
groom would send his son to his bride. This
began the betrothal process, which was binding and could only be undone through
divorce. The groom would come to the
bride with a Ketubah or marriage contract (or covenant). Included in this covenant was the “Bride
Price.” (6)
To determine if the proposal was accepted, the groom would
pour a cup of wine for his beloved and wait to see if she would drink it. This cup represents a blood covenant and if
she drank the cup, the proposal was accepted and the couple was betrothed. (6)
The groom would then leave his beloved with these words,
“Let not your heart be troubled, I am going to prepare a place for you and I
will return for you when it is ready.” When
hearing the words of Jesus in John 14:1-3, the Jewish disciples would have
interpreted it to mean Jesus offering a proposal of betrothal to them to be
their Messiah. The very next day when
Jesus would pour out his blood on the cross, they would have viewed it as the
offering of a blood covenant. Upon
accepting this blood covenant they also would have understood Jesus must go
away to prepare a place for them and that He would return to take them to
heaven to live with him for eternity.
Just like the disciples, Jesus shed blood on the cross
represents an offer of proposal to become spiritually betrothed to Him as
savior and Messiah. Along with this
betrothal comes a promise that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven and
when that place is ready, Jesus will come back for His bride, the church, to
live with Him for eternity.
Unfortunately, when we find ourselves in the middle of
struggles, or elections, we can lose our focus on heaven and the fact that
Jesus is coming back for his church.
Instead, our hearts can become troubled as we try to make this corrupt
world heaven on earth.
I therefore want to encourage everyone reading this to not
become overwhelmed in this election year but to instead find peace by focusing
on the Prince of Peace, remembering that He is preparing a wonderful place for
us in heaven and that he will return for his bride, the church when it is
ready. In the meanwhile, we must prepare
to meet our groom by praying, studying the Bible, associating with other people
of faith, and sharing our source of peace with others. We also must be good examples by voting for
the best, although not perfect, candidate in each election.
1. www.epi.org. Missing Workers: The Missing
Part of the Unemployment Story. www.epi.org. [Online] February 5, 2016.
[Cited: February 28, 2016.] www.epi.org/publication/missing-workers/.
2. Oak, Robert.
Unemployment Rate Drops Due to Almost Half a Million More Not in Labor Force. www.economicpopulist.org.
[Online] The Economic Populist, January 9, 2015. [Cited: February 28,
2016.] www.economicpopulist.org/content/unemployment-rate-drops-due-almost-half-million-more-not-labor-force-5654.
3. Lutzer, Dr. Edwin
W. The Great Divide: Same-Sex Marriage and the Evangelical Christian. www.moodymedia.org.
[Online] Moody Church Media, 2015. [Cited: February 28, 2016.] www.moodymedia.org/articles/great-divide-same-sex-marriage-and-evangelical-chr/.
4. Becker, Amy
Julia. Four Questions I Have About Transgender Identity. www.christianitytoday.com.
[Online] Christianity Today, July 14, 2014. [Cited: February 28, 2016.]
www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2014/july/four-questions-i-have-about-transgender-identity.html#bmb=1.
5. Cooper, Brittney.
Evangelical Church's Ugly Truth: "Duck Dynasty" and Christian
Racists. www.salon.com. [Online] Salon, December 24, 2013. [Cited: February
28, 2016.]
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/24/evangelical_churchs_ugly_truth_duck_dynasty_and_christian_racists/.
6. Wildolive.
Jewish Weddings. www.wildolive.co.uk. [Online] Wildolive. [Cited:
February 28, 2016.]
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