Day 19 -- Bring it on

John 18:1-11 (New Living Translation)

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

1 After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

8 “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Mike's Thoughts:
When you first read this, it is as if Jesus is being taken away and arrested. But when you read it again, you will see that he is actually giving himself up. Most of the time the story is told as if God set something in motion for the greater good of humanity and now Jesus is dealing with the repercussions. I love how Jesus didn't go fighting, he went willingly, and knowingly. To me that is the greater sacrifice. Not only did God give his only son, but his only son gave his only life. His life wasn't taken from him, he gave it.

Prayer:
God, I can't believe that your son would love us so much that he would be so willing to die. I can't believe that you would set things in motion and he would accept them and even welcome them. THANKS. Thanks for loving us so much. Help us to appreciate the depth of Jesus' love for us and his obedience to you. Help me see where in my life I can display to others that love and that obedience to you. --amen