Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Not ready for battle...

 While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.(Luke 22:47-51 ESV)
Twice Jesus had told His disciples to get ready for battle with prayer.  Now the challenge had come. But rather than remember these two calls, they remembered they had two swords.  In a sense we could say they "prayed" when they asked about the swords, but prayer is always a two-way conversation, and they didn't wait for an answer. They acted in haste (and recklessly at that).  When Jesus did answer, it was very clear: "NO! Not this way!"  He knows that in order to gain a hearing, He and His followers will have to be innocent.  What needs to stand out is that He is the great Healer.  The only evidence that needs to be available is that He does Good, speaks great, and truly is God.

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