Scripture

‘Why didn’t you arrest me in the temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me.”

Observation

Judas arrives in the garden of Gethsemane with a crowd of armed men. Judas had arranged to identify Jesus by greeting Him with a kiss. Judas goes to Jesus as arranged and the others grab Jesus to arrest Him.

Jesus asks him, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come to arrest me like this?” Nevertheless, these things are necessary to fulfill the scripture”

Then all the disciples run away in panic. One of them, believed to be Mark, loses his robe in the chaos and runs away naked.

Application

Jesus challenges His captors by saying they could have arrested Him at any time, but they chose to come under cover of darkness, and in doing so, they fulfilled the scriptural prophecies.

Jesus was not just an innocent man who fell foul of the religious authorities. No, He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the presence of God in human form.

Jesus came into the world to die for sinful people. He paid the price so that we don’t have to.

The whole process of the arrest, the show trials, the suffering and crucifixion was all planned by God from the beginning. He is the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world.

Because God paid such a big price for the salvation of all people, then we can understand that He loves each one of us, with a love that is too big to really comprehend. All we can do is say, “Thank you, Lord.”

Listen

Lord, what do you want to say about to me about this passage?

Keith, this scripture is a reminder that even when I appear to be weak, I am still stronger than all of the plans of men. They could have come in the daytime, but they were scared of people. So like the sons of darkness that they are, they came at night.

Even outnumbered, I was stronger than all of them, because I am the Creator God. I chose to go to the cross willingly, not by being forced. It was always my plan.

I laid down my life. It was not taken from me. I laid it down so that all people from all nations and all times can understand that this is my love for them.