Luke 22:47-53 Jesus is betrayed by
Judas and arrested. Parallel passages. Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-50, John
18:1-11. The unanimity of the accounts suggests that it was etched into the
minds of those who were present. Judas brought a mob along with the chief
priests, the officers, and the elders. A big posse to arrest one man. Judas
identified Jesus with a kiss. We might think that by this time everyone would
have known Jesus by sight, but in the dark it might not have been that obvious.
In any event, the obvious perfidy of betraying someone by kissing them is
inescapable.
Then
Peter struck the servant of the high priest in the ear (according to John's
account - Luke doesn't name names) to which Jesus responded to him to stop, and
healed the servant. Jesus knew all along that His kingdom would not, and could
not, be built by force. Still a mystery why He told His disciples earlier to
bring swords. At least He went on record, for all future generations, that He
is not to be defended with the sword. And then He turned to the priests and
asked them why they came with swords and clubs to arrest Him in the darkness,
when He had been openly teaching in the Temple daily. The answer would seem to
be obvious - that they wanted to avoid public disorder and possible reaction to
arresting Him in public.
But Jesus says that the power of
darkness is theirs. In other words, there is a supernatural power of darkness
or evil behind the priests that empowered them to arrest Him. He will later
tell the authorities that they would have no power over Him except that it was
given from above. (John 19:11). John also recorded that Jesus asked them who
they were seeking and they said, 'Jesus the Nazarene' to which He replied 'I am
He'. At this all of those who had come to arrest Him fell backward on the
ground. This was God saying His own name, 'I AM'. Even though the Godhead was
veiled in the flesh, His power was still present. Jesus would submit to arrest
and ultimately execution, but that was in accordance with the eternal plan of
redemption. He gave up His life, it was not taken from Him
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