Friday, March 18, 2016
Luke 22:49-51 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "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 answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him.
JESUS DOESN'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION
It happens to all of us on occasion, and even if we dismiss and excuse it as part of being human, there is really no excuse. It is truly amazing what stupid things we can do and what hurtful things can come out of our mouths when we let our emotions get the best of us. It wasn't any different for Jesus' disciples. Even though they had been told beforehand exactly what would happen, they acted on their emotions of fear, anger and perhaps even love. Their unbridled emotions led to betrayal and attempted murder. It all began with a truly foolish question.
"Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"
They weren't asking, "Lord, should we get our weapons out to frighten them?" They were asking, "Lord, should we take the law into our own hands and strike out against the authority that has been established by GOD? Shall we strike with the sword, shall we try to kill these men and protect you with deadly force?" Peter didn't wait for an answer...
Now let's not imagine that we would not have done the same. Let's not assume that our emotions, even our love for Jesus, would not have moved us to act rashly alongside Peter.
There are times when we also stand shoulder to shoulder with Jesus' enemies. There have been times when we take things personally and strike out--thinking that we are the only ones who can do anything about it. Have you ever given up talking to someone about what Jesus has done because they always seem to have a counter argument and seem to know their Bibles better? Have you ever gotten frustrated and pulled out all the stops in an effort to win an argument about what the Bible says, taking it upon yourself to claim the Bible says something it doesn't?
Jesus doesn't need you to draw from your own power and intellect to defend Him. He has called you to speak His words, and leave the heavy lifting, the converting of human hearts, to GOD the Holy Spirit. When we get caught up in defending ourselves and thinking we are defending Jesus, like Peter we can do more harm than good.
It was for this, and every other sin, that Jesus went to the cross--that we might be cleansed of our thoughtless and emotionally charged sins.
