“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 his name. Instead of referring to himself as John, he calls himself “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 name.
John’s postural feature was laying His head on Jesus’ chest, and 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 reflects 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 ourself in the presence of Jesus, let’s take note of our posture. Some may see themselves as John, laying their head on His chest. Others may see themselves kneeling before Him. Whether we picture ourself standing, sitting or kneeling, our posture with Jesus reflects our relationship of safety, security and intimacy with Him. He loves us and considered us all worthy to suffer and die for, and He deserves our soul’s response be an affectionate one.
Jesus not only died for our sins, but also for our griefs and sorrows, which He took upon Himself at the cross. Isaiah wrote,
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4)
He who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, invites us now to cast all of our cares upon Him. It begins with our soul’s posture, as He asks that we come before Him as children, uninhibited and trusting. His yoke is easy, and He receives us with open arms, as the gentle Lamb of God. Whatever posture our soul has found, let’s pause a moment to hold nothing back, and surrender more of ourselves to Jesus.
As we visualize ourselves reclining with Him, we lean in a little closer. Our head, or our mind is full of worry and anxiety, but while we rest our head on His chest, our anxiety is transferred from our head to His heart. We are now able to listen to His heart beat, and in listening to Jesus’ heart, we find ourselves caring about the things that He cares about. He lifts all 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. As we find that more intimate posture, we realize, that we too, are the disciple that Jesus loves. We are His beloved ones, and if we could look into His eyes of love, we would realize that His eyes were looking at us, all of our lives. While we rest peacefully on His chest, He tells us,
“My peace I give to you, and I will be with you always.”
Lord, we lean on you today, asking you to help us practice this posture each day, and to seek your presence as we lay all of our anxiety upon your heart, and may your peace be with us all. Amen
