43 At that moment Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, along with a large crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent to arrest Jesus by order of the ruling priests, the religious scholars, and the Jewish leaders. 44 Now, Judas, the traitor, had arranged to give them a signal that would identify Jesus, for he had told them, “Jesus is the man I will kiss. So grab him and take him safely away.” 45 Judas quickly stepped up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, my Teacher!” and he kissed him affectionately on both cheeks.
46 Then the armed men seized Jesus to arrest him. 47 One of the disciples pulled out a sword and swung it at the servant of Caiaphas, the high priest, slashing off his ear.
48 Jesus said to the mob, “Why would you arrest me with swords and clubs as though I were an outlaw? 49 Day after day I sat with you in the temple courts, teaching the people, yet you didn’t arrest me then. But all of this fulfills the prophecies of the Scriptures.” 50 At that point all of his disciples ran away and abandoned him.
51 There was a young man there following Jesus, wearing only a linen sheet wrapped around him. 52 They tried to arrest him also, but he slipped from their grasp and ran off naked, leaving his linen cloth in their hands.
Tori's Comments:
I think when the disciple used his sword, and I know other passages describe the encounter in more detail, it was suddenly realized that Jesus's kingdom would not be what they expected. That rather than freedom from the Romans in battle victory, their Messiah and Savior would be hung on a cross. Although this probably didn't fully sink in until his death, or even his resurrection, the vision of God's promised Kingdom they each created looked a lot different from the one Jesus proclaimed. And sometimes, so does mine. My Kingdom looks like me at the forefront, crowds cheering my name... but God offers me citizenship into a Kingdom where I lay down my life and take up His. Where I don't have to fight for freedom and acceptance. Where the greatest serve the least.
Terrie's Comments:
I wonder if Judas really realized the depth of what the plans were for Jesus after he handed him over? Did he know that their plan included the death of Jesus?
We have a praise music list that we add to on a regular basis. You can find the link to it in the right hand column of this blog or by scrolling to the bottom of this page.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep all comments respectful. We want to remember that each of us is at a different place in our walk with God. This is a place for us to share openly about what has been revealed to us as we open up Gods word and to learn from others. Please take every opportunity possible to build each other up in love :-)