“Lying back on Jesus’ chest was one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
John 13:23 (NASB)
John, the apostle, in the writing of his gospel and epistles, never identifies himself by name. Instead, he refers to himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Some Bible scholars thought he did it out of modesty, but most agree that John wanted to be remembered by his affectionate posture with Jesus, which was more important to him, than his own name.
John was known for his posture of laying His head on Jesus’ chest. He wanted his readers to find their own intimate posture with Jesus as well. We all have a posture of our soul with Jesus, which is how we picture ourselves being loved by Him. The posture of our soul is a reflection of our spiritual self esteem. We cannot physically lean on Jesus today, but we can do it through visualization, prayer and meditation.
As we close our eyes and imagine ourselves in the presence of Jesus, we take note of our posture. Some may see themselves laying their head on His chest, as John did. Others may see themselves kneeling before Him or lying face down on the ground in awe before Him. Whether we picture ourself standing, sitting or kneeling, our posture with Jesus reflects our sense of safety, security and intimacy with Him. He loves us and considered us worthy to die for, and He deserves our response to His love.
Isaiah wrote,
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4)
Jesus not only died for our sins, but for all of our griefs and sorrows, which He also bore on the cross.
He invites us today to cast all of our cares upon Him and to become like children, uninhibited and trusting. His yoke is easy, and He receives us with open arms, because He is the gentle Lamb of God. Whatever posture our soul has found, Jesus wants us to surrender all of our worries to Him.
While we visualize ourselves reclining with Him, we lean in a little closer. Our mind is still distracted by the many worries of the day, but as we rest our head on His chest, our anxiety is transferred from our head to His heart. In this posture we are able to hear His heart beat, and in listening to Jesus’ heart, we find ourselves caring about the things that He cares about. He then lifts our burdens and gives us His peace.
Jesus’ shoulders are broad enough and His heart is big enough for everyone to lean on Him at once. In this posture, we know that we too, are the disciple that Jesus loves. We are His beloved ones, and if we could look into His eyes, we would see how much He has loved us all of our lives. While we rest in this posture, He turns to us and says,
“My peace I give to you, and I am with you always.”
Lord, thank you for bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows. As we rest our head upon your heart, we are comforted with the peace of knowing we will always be your beloved disciples too. Amen
