February 21, 2024 – Lent Text: Luke 22:47-53
Dear Friends in Christ,
Family was gathering at the Lutheran Church for the funeral of a young man who was shot and spent months on life support. Before the funeral could begin the mother was yelling at family for taking her son off of life support. She ran to the front of the church, fell on the casket and started hitting the funeral directors who were trying to restrain her. She ran outside to the hearse still screaming. It was then that an attendee who didn’t even know the mom walked up and gave her a hug. She whispered, “It was an honor to know your son. He was a good kid.” The mom’s demeanor completely changed. She became quiet. Another woman approached and did the same. There was grace. There was Christian love and restraint. This little show of support said more than all the screaming before it.
Tonight the “God on Trial” takes place on the Mount of Olives. We will see both sides of the issue. One who couldn’t control himself and One who had to.
“RESTRAINT”
The crowd comes in the cover of darkness. Why the mob? Why the soldiers? What has this man Jesus done? Killed? Robbed? Blasphemed? This night needs no charge. This was mob justice and it was unfair.
The disciple Peter thought so. He is not named here but is in another part of the Bible. Even the servant who has his ear cut off is named elsewhere – Malchus. Right after the question is asked, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” Peter acts. Raises his sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus. There is no restraint. Just reaction. He doesn’t think. He does.
What is restraint? The ability to hold back. Self-control. What do we first think if we are criticized or people aren’t listening to us or they say or write something that bothers us? Restraint is not usually the first thought. We think, “Why did they hurt me? What did I do to deserve this?” We have got dignity. We have got a sense of justice. We feel like we are on trial. We get defensive.
So, the pressure builds along with the heart rate and blood pressure. We are not going to take this. We have to do something, right? We don’t swing a sword, but we take a swipe at them with an angry text or e-mail. We find our support system and bad mouth them. We give a glare. We fight back. We can’t be expected to show restraint, can we?
Jesus says, “No more of this.” Then He heals. He wasn’t thinking about himself. Who should have been mad here? Jesus, right? He is the one being betrayed and accused. But he heals this man who has a name – Malchus – Roman soldier and he is not a friend of Jesus. Jesus is not thinking about Himself. He was thinking of you. The path to your salvation began with his surrender to this unholy mob.
Restraint is a theme in Jesus’ passion. He showed restraint tonight. He will show restraint before Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, and their factions. As he was taunted and struck and ridiculed – Jesus never lashed out or lost his temper or called down curses from heaven.
We need this Jesus as our Savior. We need his quiet and purposeful obedience to his Father’s will. We need his perfection, his holiness, and his righteousness to be able to stand before our Father, and that’s exactly what Jesus came to give us by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. We need his help too.
We live in a world where the quick comeback and zinger response are rewarded. News channels give inflammatory reports to keep their loyal audience. Social media algorithms target our sense of indignation to get us to engage. This all rubs off on us. The other person is faceless as long as we are heard. What if we did something different like the ladies at the funeral?
Imagine the impact you can have if you show some restraint. You know Jesus. You know the one who showed love and restraint all the way to his sacrificial death on the cross for sinners like us. We can use words that help and heal instead of inflame and destroy. We can respond graciously and not impulsively when we are provoked by those around us.
This behavior, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance can be a strength and not a weakness. Jesus’ restraint tonight can be our restraint. What do you think Malchus thought of Jesus from that moment on?
Instead of fighting back, you can swing the sword of the Spirit – the Gospel of Jesus. And maybe as others see this opposite of the world behavior and the message behind it, they will come to know Jesus’ love.
Amen.