Jesus knows exactly what’s coming…his death. A group of soldiers and officials come
to arrest him and he calmly waits knowing what is about to happen. When they arrive Jesus asks them who
they are looking for and they respond, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When he tells them he is Jesus of
Nazareth, they fall to the ground.
They fall to the ground!
After they pick themselves up, they proceed in trying to
arrest Jesus. Peter grabs his
sword and strikes one of the men, cutting off his ear. Instead of this turning into a fight,
Jesus diffuses the situation not by reasoning with the mob or by apologizing
for Peter’s actions, but by restoring what’s been damaged and giving himself to
them. He touches the man’s ear,
heals it completely and then allows himself to be arrested.
When I read this story I get a little confused and wonder
how much else is going on outside the words that I read. I don’t understand how the events
transpired and the officials still went through with arresting Jesus. I mean, if you fall over when He speaks
to you and then heals a guys ear right in front of you, wouldn’t that make you
question if you really need to go through with arresting him?
I wonder how hard their hearts had to be to see and
experience the evidence they did and still not believe. If nothing else, I would expect
the man who had his ear healed to speak up and say something. But it’s as if nothing happened and
they continue along with what they came to do.
Do you ever hear a story like this and think…how did they
not get it? How are they so blind
and stupid as to not see what was right in front of them? I know I think that. But usually when I start thinking this
way, God reminds me that I’m just as dumb and blind. There are so many things in my life that God is doing right
in front of me that I….for some reason…choose not to see. He is at work all around us, and
whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, it doesn’t change the facts that
it’s true.
Maybe God chose to let them be blind so his son could
continue with his mission. Maybe
they were so wrapped up in themselves that they couldn’t see anything bigger
their assignment. Maybe….maybe…maybe. I’m not sure what the reasoning is, but
I know that without God’s help I am in a similar situation. I need God’s help in seeing him. I need him to open my eyes, ears, and
heart to acknowledge what he is doing and how I can get over myself and my own
agenda. I need to continually readjust
myself and my vision to follow his lead.
