Who is in Control?
Opening Prayer
I salute You, Prince of Peace. In the face of violence, You had an inner calm in doing Your Father’s will.
Read JOHN 18:1–18
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
Peter’s First Denial
15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the… chief priests… and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Luke 9:22).
John’s story of the trial of Jesus is replete with irony, not only in the detail but also in the overarching narrative. As Jesus is arrested and arraigned before the Jewish and Roman authorities, flogged, mocked and crucified, we have on the face of it the story of an innocent victim brutally treated by his own people and the Romans in whose empire the backwater of Judea lay. An ugly and tragic story, but not unusual—except that this story is unique. Jesus was not a typical innocent victim but the Son of God. Although the Jews and the Romans thought that they were in control, in fact Jesus was in control—of himself and of circumstances—the whole time.
Judas meets Jesus in the garden with an enormous band of soldiers, the “cohort” (3, NASB)—though it has been argued that John means a detachment of the cohort. They expected their victim to resist arrest or, worse, to elude them, as he had done on a previous occasion (cf. Luke 4:30). Instead, Jesus steps forward and identifies himself: “I am he” (5,8). There is something supernatural about these words, startling the soldiers out of their minds.
The other disciple named in this part of the story is Peter, who follows Jesus into the court of the high priest and, when questioned by the servant girl, replies under pressure, “I am not” (17). Before we are too hard on Peter for denying his Lord, let’s remember that he represents every one of us. Jesus had spent his life in fellowship with the Father and knew what he had come to accomplish (Luke 9:31). He had spent long nights alone in prayer (Luke 6:12) and he had “set his face” towards Jerusalem (Luke 9:51, KJV). Peter, in contrast, had been unable to stay awake and pray with him in Gethsemane (Mark 14:37).
Apply
In what different ways does Jesus shows strength of character in this story?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, at times I feel I have been born a devout coward. I need a fresh infusion of courage to stand firm and to be a strong witness for You.
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