March 8, 2023 – Lent Text: John 18:4-11
Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you ever watched some of your favorite actors in roles you didn’t expect? My all-time favorite comedy as many of you know is the Andy Griffith Show. Well, one day years ago I am watching my favorite all-time crime drama, Hawaii-Five-O, and Andy Griffith is on the wrong side of the law. He makes mistakes with his family that he would never do as Andy Taylor. Another episode of Hawaii-Five-O had Buddy Ebsen of Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones fame, play a professor involved in murder. It was hard to see these men out of their element.
The same thing occurs in our text. Peter, the disciple who made the great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” (Mt. 16:16), the one who jumped out of the boat to meet Jesus in the water, and the one who pledged loyalty to the Savior, is the same guy committing a crime tonight – assault with a deadly weapon. Now maybe you are not surprised. Peter is a little tempestuous.
Jesus enemies came to the garden because they hated him. They came with weapons to kill Jesus. Peter wielded his weapon for a different reason – he loved Jesus. Peter was full of righteous zeal – but it was misguided.
You and I love Jesus too. We get angry when His name is dragged through the mud, or His Word is ignored or ridiculed in our world. We want to do something about it. We want to defend Jesus. Good and godly impulses to be sure, but we don’t want to go too far. We don’t want to do something against God’s Word, we don’t want to become guilty of having . . .
“HANDS OF MISGUIDED ZEAL”
As we step into the garden, notice who is in charge. Not the men with clubs. It’s Jesus. He meets his would-be captors. “Whom do you seek?” This capture is only successful because Jesus’ time had come. Jesus declares, “Jesus of Nazareth…I am he.” Looks what happens before they take him away. They drew back and fell down like bowling pins. Jesus demonstrates His divine power. Jesus wasn’t finished. Though vastly outnumbered, He was giving the orders. “If you seek me, let these men go.”
Peter watched all this. Except he didn’t read the situation correctly. He reacts in haste and anger. “Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.”
How do you see Peter? Can’t believe he did it? Or do you understand emotions getting the best of a person? He convinced himself that this night he would give up his life for Jesus. When the Savior needed help, he would come to the rescue.
Nothing wrong with wanting to help a friend, right? Well, not so fast my misguided compadre. Jesus doesn’t need our help. Jesus is true God. He is omniscient (knows all), He is omnipotent (controls all). Peter should have known that. He hopped out of the boat and watched Jesus for three years. Jesus gave him many convincing proofs of who He was. Peter demonstrated a lack of trust in God.
Christians can have their moments. The Crusades. A Christian extremist bombing an abortion clinic. For the most part, modern Christianity is a peaceful religion. Don’t we all agree that any kind of violence directed at another is against the Lord’s fifth commandment?
Doubting God’s power, that is something I can relate to. Not trusting God is a sin my mind knows well. Thinking I can help God is a trap that Christians fall into far too often. “If we would only elect the right people or pass the right legislation, we could get back to the days of being a Christian nation.” “If our church would have more for families and talk less about sin, we would grow quicker like this or that church.” If we only did X, Y, Z then we could make things better.
If you want to identify the problem, look at the pronouns. If you are not good in
English grammar, then try this, look in the mirror. You don’t have to hold a sword in your hands to identify with Peter. Think of when your thinking has been misguided. Yes, we want God-fearing leaders and healthy churches. Yes, God wants Christians filled with godly zeal, but before we put our faith into practice, He wants us to put our trust in Him. He wants us to make God’s Word and God’s will our guide. And He wants us to understand how quickly things can go sideways when we don’t.
Jesus reprimanded Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me.” Why was Jesus upset? Because He knew what was at stake. Because He knew there was only one way for sins to be forgiven and only one path that leads to heaven. God the Father’s plan demanded that His Son be arrested this night and executed the next day. The perfect substitute died in our place. He took the cup of suffering to show His misguided disciple – and our misguided actions – how much He loves you and me.
John doesn’t tell us what happened to the soldier who had his ear cut off. But Luke does. Jesus reached out His hand, touched the servant’s ear and healed him. This was the Savior’s final miracle before His crucifixion. Why did He do it? Why heal? Why help the enemy? Because that is who Jesus is. Because that is what Jesus does. Jesus came into the world to seek and save. Jesus has the greatest love for lost souls. Jesus is full of compassion and mercy, and why a few hours after he healed Malchus, He reached out his hands one last time. He stretched out His hands on the cross to redeem us from misguided zeal.
Amen.