Friday
While he was still speaking, a crowd came up and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour – when darkness reigns.”
(Luke 22:47-53, NIV)
Following the exhilarating experience of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a colt, with crowds of people hailing him as “the king who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38), his disciples must have been perplexed when Jesus subsequently withdrew from the limelight. Is he truly the Messiah? Is this the time when his Kingdom will be inaugurated? The people seem ready and Passover Week, with its commemoration of the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, reminds everyone of their present bondage to the occupying armies of Rome and the promise of a Davidic king who will bring freedom. The time seems right for a bold assertion of power and the disciples sense the growing momentum that is building around their leader.
But then Jesus makes some decisions which are not fitting a revolutionary leader. He hosts a “last supper” over a Passover meal where, in addition to washing the feet of his disciples like a common household servant (John 13:1-17), he speaks of his own suffering. Then, leaving the dinner table, Jesus leads his disciples across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. There, in a favorite gathering spot in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus goes off to pray while his followers fall asleep.
Today’s verses describe what happens next: the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and his arrest. All four Gospels report this incident, but John’s record adds some important details. John tells us that as the crowd of officials and soldiers approach, Jesus identifies himself as the one they are looking for. When he does this, they draw back and fall to the ground (John 18:6). Luke tells us that the disciples ask if they should defend themselves with their swords and one of the disciples is not willing to wait for an answer. Peter, identified only in the Gospel of John (18:10) as the one ready to fight, has to be angrily rebuked by Jesus who, even in this time of crisis, stops to heal the ear of the high priest’s servant.
The promised Messiah is a “Prince of Peace.” He is not a revolutionary political leader out to overthrow Rome and to instigate violent insurrection, a point he clearly establishes when he denies leading a rebellion (v. 52). Jesus chooses not to use weapons of war to bring in his Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom is a message of peace and its inauguration is not by force.
Prayer
Lord of history, we praise you for your sovereign control over the course of human events. Like the disciples, we too are perplexed at times by the way you have chosen to work out your will in history. Thank you for the gift of your Son who teaches us by his own actions that his kingship is one of a servant, a ruler who establishes his kingdom without the use of weapons. Amen.