The Greatest Strength

Scripture: Luke 22:47-53

47 But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” 50 And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? 53 Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:47-53 NLT)

Tremendous strength was on display when the armed mob of men led by the priests, the elders, and the captains of the Temple guard came to arrest Jesus that night in the garden. But the greatest strength was not the mob of men armed with swords and clubs. The greatest strength was not Judas’ kiss of betrayal, which released the mob to grab Jesus and arrest him. The greatest strength was not Peter’s sword, slashing wildly at the mob and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s slave.

The greatest strength displayed that night was Jesus making the decision he had made first in an agony of prayer and surrender, and now made in real time. The greatest strength was not even the unimaginable power of thousands of angels who could have instantly ripped open the space-time continuum and protected Jesus and his followers from the swords and clubs of the mob. The greatest strength was Jesus not asking his Father to stop what had begun with Judas’ kiss and would continue for the next fifteen hours or so until Jesus hung dead on the cross!

Sometimes the greatest strength is to be still. Sometimes the greatest strength is to yield, not to resist. Sometimes the greatest strength is to simply trust in God.

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for your love, stronger than man’s hate and fear. Thank you that your love for us sent Jesus to redeem us from ourselves. Jesus, thank you for exercising the greatest strength by not bailing out on us when we did our worst to you. The strength of love is the greatest strength! Please help us to have the strength of love! Amen!