Mark 14:47-50
“Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.”
Mark 14:47-50 NIV
This is a picture of Jesus totally alone, betrayed, abandoned, and surely we would all like to think that if we were in the story, it would be different from us.
But I think our hearts tell a different story. We have all done these same things in our relationship with God. Run from Him, denied Him, rebelled against Him, turned away from Him.
And yet the beauty of Jesus that I just want to remind you of in this moment and let this reality lead us to prayer, is that Jesus will never betray you. And Jesus will never betray me.
He will never betray those who trust in Him. The Lord will never abandon you or me. He will never falsely accuse you or me. Jesus will never mock us. And as we trust in Him, He will never deny us.
Jesus will always be faithful to those who trust in Him. Perfectly,completely faithful. Is this not a rock for you and I stand on and live in today?
That the one who made it all, the creator of the cosmos, will never betray, abandon, mock, or turn away from us.
We can’t blame the guy who drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest. The two dominant reactions to threat, after all, are fight or flight, and since this guy has a sword, he chooses to fight.
It’s a natural response, maybe even a reasonable one. Given the penalty for blasphemy and insurrection the accusations most likely to be directed to Jesus and followers. He probably figured fighting right now was his best course of action.
Yeah, it’s a natural response, even a reasonable one. But it doesn’t work. And I don’t mean simply that he’s outnumbered. Rather, it doesn’t work because, finally, violence cannot end violence.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t times and places for self-defense, or even violence employed to protect the vulnerable. The pacifist stand is admirable, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.
No. What I mean is that even if there are some situations in which violence is justified, it still never ends violence. It may be employed at times toward a good end, but it still only adds to the cumulative violence of the world.
Violence may end the rule of a tyrant. It may stay the brutality of the oppressor for a time, but that cessation will not last. Because you can be sure that violence no matter to what end it is employed will sooner or later breed more of the same.
Which is why Jesus stops him. Why Jesus allows Himself to be taken by His captors. Why Jesus calls into question the use of violence on either side.
Because Jesus has not come simply to protect some people, or to achieve a greater good. Jesus has come to put an end to violence, to make a different way forward possible through his life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus sees the gears of violence grind inexorably forward and He throws Himself into them. He will be with us. He will be with us to the end. Save us to the full.
Jesus. We praise you. You are totally unlike us in the sense that you are completely, perfectly faithful. Infinitely faithful. There is no end to your faithfulness, no end to your love, no end to your mercy. No end to your goodness toward us.
We praise you and we say that you are our rock. You are our strong foundation!!!
Father thank You for this day and Your amazing grace. Lord let Your abundant blessings fall upon my friend and family today. Lord ruler of heaven and earth, teach us to know Your ways and walk in Your will. Lord may we live with passion, but may that passion always be expressed in the direction of Your will. Lord may we live with courage, but may that courage be demonstrated in righteous actions. Lord use my friend to be a bold witness of Your amazing grace to all today. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !
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