The Gospel of Luke

This devotional is written by Charlotte Speller. Charlotte enjoys all things arts and crafts including (but not limited to); making clothes, Christmas gifts, painting, drawing and playing the piano. She is quite partial to white chocolate and will argue it is real chocolate to anyone who will listen. ( I am with her on this one)

Luke 22:47-53

Jesus Arrested

47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

49 When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

51 But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."

Reflection

Traditionally, in a scene like this, a kiss would usually be a warm greeting and still is today in some parts of the world. It's strange that a warm greeting was used as a gesture of betrayal. A kiss in this instance became a hollow gesture due to Judas' treachery. I wonder if some of our 'religious practices' have become empty gestures, especially when things don't go to plan.

It's also interesting to note that the religious leaders didn't arrest Jesus in the temple for fear of a riot. They came secretly at night, under the influence of Satan. Although it looked like Satan was getting the upper hand, everything was proceeding according to God's plan for the greater good of humanity.

We can betray Christ when our acts of service or giving are insincere or carried out merely for show, taking His good news for granted or even turning to other things instead of Him. Amongst the disciple's confusion, they looked to Jesus as to what to do. Jesus ends up healing the soldier's ear despite knowing he was there to harm Him. This highlights Jesus' incredible capacity to unconditionally love people even when they are doing Him wrong and also gives us an example of how to treat others despite their motives. Jesus was also not shy to confront the situation head on. He had received a very hostile reception unnecessarily and was about to start an agonising journey to the cross, for us, by choice. He knew His destiny and was fulfilling it. As Christians we know we are to follow His teachings even if they feel unfair or tough. Do we love our lifestyle too much to align it to the Prince of Peace or would we rather hide Jesus from our lives and carry on?

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