Examples Of Jesus In Control Before Crucifixion
Jesus in Control before Crucifixion
On the evening of his arrest, Jesus created the tradition of the Communion from the bread and wine of the Passover meal, talked of the kingdom to come with his disciples, begged the disciples of his inner circle to pray, and then prayed himself in deep agony as his trusted disciples slept. Then a crowd of officials, Temple police, and Roman soldiers descended upon the garden, led by Judas Iscariot, who had been with Jesus for three years as a disciple. Jesus challenged the crowd, and Judas greeted him with an embrace to identify him. Jesus was led away, his enemies in apparent control. He would be set before a series of tribunals, judged worthy of execution, and executed as a criminal. Nevertheless, Jesus shows that this impression is mistaken. In obedience, He submitted to His Father to death, but during the unfolding of events, He shows control over them.
Three examples show this. First, when the crowd of soldiers and officials descend upon Him, he challenges them, and when he does, they fall back in fear. Second, when Judas embraces him with a betrayer’s kiss, he responds with a sad warning to Judas over the seriousness of his offense before God, not with anger over the personal betrayal. Third, when Peter strikes with his sword at the neck of High Priest’s …show more content…
servant, missing his target, but succeeding in cutting off the man’s ear, but Christ reproves the violence and heals the man’s injury, showing himself above the darkness of the heart of those who had come to arrest him.
The first example, a telling one, concerns the challenge Jesus makes to this armed crowd sent to arrest him. He simply asks whom they seek. They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” His response was not simply a personal identification. That is how the English translations of the biblical text make it appear. That is not what he said. His reply was, “I am.” That phrase, going back to the words spoken to Moses from the burning bush, had been associated the claim of deity in the Jewish mind. Though personally unarmed, he spoke those words in a powerful enough way to affect even the pagan Roman soldiers in the arresting crowd, for all of them fell back from him and to the ground.
How could an unarmed man's verbal response to a military contingent, armed with spears, swords, and torches, cause such a response? This is textual evidence of Christ’s authority, even as he submitted to arrest by those evil men who would deliver him to death. That authority frightened those sent to take him, even the Roman pagans who cared nothing for the Torah or the Abraham covenant. What this indicates is that the arresting force sent to take Jesus would never complete their mission by strength of arms but only by their intended victim’s permission. Christ is in authority here, not the plotting of sinful men.
The second example has to do with Christ’s response to Judas.
Judas had been one of the Twelve throughout all of Christ’s ministries. He had seen the crowds fed miraculously, witnessed Lazarus rise from the dead, and probably talked personally to the blind and paralyzed who had been made whole. He had ample evidence to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Why he chose to betray Jesus, other than Satan had entered into his heart, is a matter of speculation. One theory suggests that he meant to force Jesus’ hand, thinking that putting him in jeopardy would induce Jesus to respond as a military leader, the Prince who would throw off Roman rule and restore
Israel.
Yet he still took the money. Christ responds to this intimate betrayal is interesting. He looks at Judas and asks, “Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” This is a warning. The Son of Man is the Messiah. To betray the Messiah equals betraying God. Christ’s response reminds Judas of what he has seen and heard. It reminds him that his treachery places him against God and that he stands to lose his very soul. This is not the response of one who sees himself in overwhelming jeopardy, events spinning out of control. Again, Christ shows himself willing to endure betrayal, and yet in authority to warn the betrayer of his sin before God, not cowered by the ordeal that the betrayal would bring. The third example has to do with Christ’s authority over violence. Peter, who would deny his Lord three times before morning, responds initially with violence against the military crowd sent to arrest Jesus. He pulls a short sword and strikes at the Head Priest’s servant. This was probably a strike at the neck, but he missed, cutting off the man’s ear instead.
Christ rebukes Peter’s violence, telling him to put his sword away. He healed the wound, perhaps picking up the severed ear from the ground and reattaching it miraculously. The initial injury would have been serious and bloody. The blood splattered over the servant's clothing would have remained, but his ear would have been made whole. The military contingent would have viewed the blood and heard the servant’s scream. Then they would have seen Christ touch the man’s ear and that ear become whole. Jesus last act before being arrested and bound was a supernatural healing of the result of an act of violence. Again, he shows his authority.
As he submits to the violence that would be done to him, he shows his authority over such violence by healing one of its perpetrators. Again, Jesus shows control over events that to human eyes are tragic and chaotic. Consequently, the Gospel account of Christ’s arrest actually shows his control over the events leading Him to the cross. He submits to God’s will, but is never overwhelmed by the events to which he commits himself. The curious way the arresting contingent responds when he identifies himself, his warning to Judas in response to intimate treachery, and his healing touch in the face of violence—all of these show Christ’s authority over the events that culminated in his sacrifice for mankind’s sin. Consequently, he was not forced by events to crucifixion; he willingly submitted to it. He was not a victim. Instead, he embraced God’s will and purchased salvation for all humanity, despite the intentions of men and Satan.
On the evening of his arrest, Jesus created the tradition of the Communion from the bread and wine of the Passover meal, talked of the kingdom to come with his disciples, begged the disciples of his inner circle to pray, and then prayed himself in deep agony as his trusted disciples slept. Then a crowd of officials, Temple police, and Roman soldiers descended upon the garden, led by Judas Iscariot, who had been with Jesus for three years as a disciple. Jesus challenged the crowd, and Judas greeted him with an embrace to identify him. Jesus was led away, his enemies in apparent control. He would be set before a series of tribunals, judged worthy of execution, and executed as a criminal. Nevertheless, Jesus shows that this impression is mistaken. In obedience, He submitted to His Father to death, but during the unfolding of events, He shows control over them.
Three examples show this. First, when the crowd of soldiers and officials descend upon Him, he challenges them, and when he does, they fall back in fear. Second, when Judas embraces him with a betrayer’s kiss, he responds with a sad warning to Judas over the seriousness of his offense before God, not with anger over the personal betrayal. Third, when Peter strikes with his sword at the neck of High Priest’s …show more content…
servant, missing his target, but succeeding in cutting off the man’s ear, but Christ reproves the violence and heals the man’s injury, showing himself above the darkness of the heart of those who had come to arrest him.
The first example, a telling one, concerns the challenge Jesus makes to this armed crowd sent to arrest him. He simply asks whom they seek. They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” His response was not simply a personal identification. That is how the English translations of the biblical text make it appear. That is not what he said. His reply was, “I am.” That phrase, going back to the words spoken to Moses from the burning bush, had been associated the claim of deity in the Jewish mind. Though personally unarmed, he spoke those words in a powerful enough way to affect even the pagan Roman soldiers in the arresting crowd, for all of them fell back from him and to the ground.
How could an unarmed man's verbal response to a military contingent, armed with spears, swords, and torches, cause such a response? This is textual evidence of Christ’s authority, even as he submitted to arrest by those evil men who would deliver him to death. That authority frightened those sent to take him, even the Roman pagans who cared nothing for the Torah or the Abraham covenant. What this indicates is that the arresting force sent to take Jesus would never complete their mission by strength of arms but only by their intended victim’s permission. Christ is in authority here, not the plotting of sinful men.
The second example has to do with Christ’s response to Judas.
Judas had been one of the Twelve throughout all of Christ’s ministries. He had seen the crowds fed miraculously, witnessed Lazarus rise from the dead, and probably talked personally to the blind and paralyzed who had been made whole. He had ample evidence to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Why he chose to betray Jesus, other than Satan had entered into his heart, is a matter of speculation. One theory suggests that he meant to force Jesus’ hand, thinking that putting him in jeopardy would induce Jesus to respond as a military leader, the Prince who would throw off Roman rule and restore
Israel.
Yet he still took the money. Christ responds to this intimate betrayal is interesting. He looks at Judas and asks, “Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” This is a warning. The Son of Man is the Messiah. To betray the Messiah equals betraying God. Christ’s response reminds Judas of what he has seen and heard. It reminds him that his treachery places him against God and that he stands to lose his very soul. This is not the response of one who sees himself in overwhelming jeopardy, events spinning out of control. Again, Christ shows himself willing to endure betrayal, and yet in authority to warn the betrayer of his sin before God, not cowered by the ordeal that the betrayal would bring. The third example has to do with Christ’s authority over violence. Peter, who would deny his Lord three times before morning, responds initially with violence against the military crowd sent to arrest Jesus. He pulls a short sword and strikes at the Head Priest’s servant. This was probably a strike at the neck, but he missed, cutting off the man’s ear instead.
Christ rebukes Peter’s violence, telling him to put his sword away. He healed the wound, perhaps picking up the severed ear from the ground and reattaching it miraculously. The initial injury would have been serious and bloody. The blood splattered over the servant's clothing would have remained, but his ear would have been made whole. The military contingent would have viewed the blood and heard the servant’s scream. Then they would have seen Christ touch the man’s ear and that ear become whole. Jesus last act before being arrested and bound was a supernatural healing of the result of an act of violence. Again, he shows his authority.
As he submits to the violence that would be done to him, he shows his authority over such violence by healing one of its perpetrators. Again, Jesus shows control over events that to human eyes are tragic and chaotic. Consequently, the Gospel account of Christ’s arrest actually shows his control over the events leading Him to the cross. He submits to God’s will, but is never overwhelmed by the events to which he commits himself. The curious way the arresting contingent responds when he identifies himself, his warning to Judas in response to intimate treachery, and his healing touch in the face of violence—all of these show Christ’s authority over the events that culminated in his sacrifice for mankind’s sin. Consequently, he was not forced by events to crucifixion; he willingly submitted to it. He was not a victim. Instead, he embraced God’s will and purchased salvation for all humanity, despite the intentions of men and Satan.