LENT 2016 – GOING TO JERUSALEM

Friday, March 18

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus: Matthew 26: 47 - 57

Bad things always seem to happen at night. There are monsters under the bed, boogeymen in the closet, and things that go bump in the night. Bad dreams and nightmares.  The phone rings with bad news. You wake up in a sweat with the flu. The baby is sick with a fever and an earache. You’ve heard an unusual noise downstairs or outside your bedroom window.

Or, in Jesus’ case, men arrive with swords and clubs.

Can’t a man pray in public and be left alone? It makes you wonder what they were so afraid of or what they thought was going to happen. Had Jesus done anything up to this point to lead anyone to think he was leading a violent, armed, militant rebellion? “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?”  

Well, one can never be too careful when dealing with Jesus!

Jesus indicates that scriptures are coming to life as the night unfolds. There would be no stopping God’s Word, even with the arrest of Jesus; words which say “that it must happen this way.”

So guys, put down your swords and clubs; quit hacking at each other; you’re just going to hurt yourselves in the dark. What’s going to be has to be.

The disciples scuttled and scampered out of there faster than you could say “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Like I said, bad things happen at night, and the disciples wanted no part of this midnight drama, no matter how scriptural it was. So, they skedaddled! They headed for the hills! They made themselves scarce. “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

One can feel awful lonely in the night’s utter darkness.

It makes me wonder how often have we left Jesus standing tall but on his own?  See you later, Jesus, but I just remembered that I have some urgent business – anywhere else but here! You don’t need me, Jesus; I’m sure you can handle this on your own. They seem to be only looking for you, Jesus; so I’ll step out of the way and just be on my way. I am of no help here, so I’m just going to run along with the others.  See ya, Jesus; wouldn’t wanna be you!

 “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going,” (John 12:35).

So, let me ask you; are those Nike or Adidas running shoes you have on?