The Passion through God’s eyes
by Jacob Traeger
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So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons (John 18:3).
Read John 18:1–19:42
If you have not yet read or heard the Passion narrative today, read through these two chapters in John slowly.
Pause regularly. Close your eyes and imagine the scene. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell?
Can you see and hear the contingent of soldiers and temple guards disturbing the peace of the garden where Jesus and his disciples are? Blazing lanterns, casting shadows from the trees and making the darkness outside of their light even darker.
What changes in the scene as Jesus is bound and taken into the high priest’s house for interrogation? Are voices raised or dangerously quiet?
Where do you place yourself in these scenes? Perhaps you’re watching from the shadows as all this unfolds. Perhaps you’re with Peter in the courtyard, nervous sweat dripping from you as you deny knowing Jesus in the hope that it will keep you safe. You might be one of the interrogators or even Pilate, wanting to hear from Jesus what truth really is.
I wonder what all of this looked, felt, sounded and smelled like from Jesus’ perspective. As I write these words, I realise this is a perspective from which I’ve never viewed the story. I have always seen Jesus’ Passion from the outside looking in.
But if it is true that our lives are joined with Christ’s; if, in our baptism, we have died with him that we might be raised with him, perhaps we might also see the Passion through his eyes. With his anguish. And his pain.
This is what it means that God has fully committed himself to humanity. In Christ, God has seen the world through our eyes. The best moments of human experience, like the joyous wedding at Cana, and the worst. And this means we can also see the world through God’s eyes.
Not, as we might imagine, through the lens of glory and power, the ‘God’s-eye view’ of a computer game or a coach’s box far above the ground. Instead, Jesus’ eyes are blinded by the lanterns that destroy night vision in the garden. God’s eyes close after he speaks, ‘It is finished.’
How do you see the story differently from this perspective?
Lord Jesus, take me more deeply into your Passion and death, so that I may more fully experience your resurrection life. Give me the comfort of knowing that you are with me in the most difficult moments of life. Encourage me to know that it is finished, and not even death – yours or mine – has the power to separate me from your life. Amen.
Jacob lives with his wife, Kate, in Canberra, where he serves as a pastor in the Molonglo Valley Gospel Community church plant. He loves that Canberra is a place full of interesting people, where Christians can serve, bless and pray for those making big decisions for Australia. In his downtime, you’ll find him hiking, cycling, playing board games or making homebrew with friends.
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