Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
Scripture, God’s Word, the Bible, is living and active. You have probably heard that statement before. There is power in showing up consistently to read the Word of God. Keep it up! Keep showing up. Sometimes, our tendency is to breeze through passages or stories we have read often, or to haphazardly look at a passage we think we are familiar with. Then, there is the other side of the pendulum. There are passages that seem difficult, names and places that are long and intimidating, so we don’t really fully show up to read those passages either. Uh oh. So, if I am casually reading the familiar passages to check the box and quickly dismissing the challenging passages, when am I really showing up to scripture with the intent to be transformed?
I am guilty of this. And God used today’s reading, John 18, to remind me that His Word is living and active, and to approach it with reverence, awe, and a heart ready to be transformed. You see, the study of scripture is for transformation, not information.
There is a lot that is happening in John 18.
Jesus is betrayed and arrested.
Peter denies knowing Jesus.
Jesus stands trial before Pilate.
Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified.
But we are going to hang out in the first 11 verses. Let’s start in verses 3-7.
“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, 'Who is it you want?'
'Jesus of Nazareth', they replied. 'I am He,’ Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, 'Who is it that you want?'”
Here is what stood out to me that has had me reading those verses over and over again. The POWER of Jesus. The Bible tells us that Judas was guiding a “detachment of soldiers” (10-40 soldiers) with torches, lanterns, weapons, and bad intentions. Tough guys, right? What does Jesus do? He goes to them; He doesn’t “shrink back” (Hebrews 10:38-39). He knows they are looking for Him, and He goes to them and asks them who they are looking for. When they reply that they are looking for Him, Jesus hits them with 3 words: “I am He.”
“When Jesus said, 'I am he,' they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6)
POWER. Jesus is POWER.
“Again, he asked them, “Who is it that you want?” (John 18:7)
They are so shaken that Jesus reminds them why they are there by asking them again who they are looking for. In my mind, Jesus kind of shakes His head and smirks, a little embarrassed for these poor souls who have no idea what they are doing.
A friend of mine once told me that we laugh and cry at the truth. I guess that is why I found myself chuckling as I realized that even while Jesus was being arrested, He was still in control!
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.