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Imagine the scene… Jesus Christ at night in the garden of Gethsemane juxtapositioned between two groups of highly agitated men armed with swords. On one side his own followers who have already stated that they are willing to die for him or follow him to prison.
On the other side are the soldiers of the Jewish authority also equipped with swords and clubs ready to take Jesus by force if necessary.
Judas, apparently in an attempt to appear innocent, identifies Jesus with a pre-arranged signal… a kiss. Jesus foils Judas’ attempt at secret betrayal by revealing Judas’ true intent to everyone observing. Then he asks the armed soldiers who they are looking for and upon receiving their answer unashamedly and without fear identifies himself as “Jesus of Nazareth”… So much for the need for betrayal.
The soldiers seize Jesus. Peter and the disciples are ready to fight asking, “Shall we attack with our swords?” Two armed highly agitated groups of men ready to start fighting each other… A fire ready to erupt just waiting for a spark. And then Peter not waiting for Jesus’ answer draws his sword and strikes and draws first blood. Aha… the spark.
Quickly Jesus turns to his disciples to diffuse the situation and tells them “no more of this”. He heals the man who was struck and then turns his attention to his captors and chides them for their methods of arresting him secretly and their threat of force with “swords and clubs”. Jesus, the master of every situation, calms both groups down.
Jesus goes with his captors peacefully and his disciples scatter upon the four winds.
Moments before this scene Jesus had been praying privately in great sorrow and anguish that God would spare him the torture that he had to go through. God sent an Angel to strengthen Jesus and even though Jesus’ disciples offered him a way out by fighting for him Jesus knew the course he had to follow.
I admire the disciples for being willing to “fight to the death” for Jesus. What they didn’t know was that they would “serve to the death” for Jesus the Christ. I also admire Jesus for paying the full price in giving up his life. Can we give anything less in return?
Ephesians 5:15-21
The letter to the Ephesians contains Paul’s instructions to the Christians who lived in the city of Ephesus as to how to live their lives as Christians. Christians are supposed to live humble lives that serve others and not proud lives that serves self.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”
Christians must live their lives carefully and wisely consider the results of their actions.
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery”
Debauchery means… extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures. Drunkenness is self- serving. It feeds our desire to have a good time and make idiots of ourselves. Drunkenness leads to sexual exploitation of ourselves and others. It is a destructive behavior.
“Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Instead of being filled with alcohol we should be filled with the Spirit of God which leads to non-destructive behaviors… behaviors that build others. Being filled with the Spirit of God leads us to sing about God, to remember him and build a spirit of thankfulness.
Be careful how you live, don’t place yourself in an atmosphere of drunkenness. Surround yourself with spiritual people so you can be spiritual.
Prior to his crucifixion Jesus had a long conversation with his disciples. He was preparing them for when he would be gone and for what their duties would be after he was gone.
In, John 15:1-8, he told them that he had some expectations of them… they would need to be productive. He explained this by comparing them to grape vines. In the vineyard the master gardener evaluated the productivity of different branches of the grape plant. If a branch was not productive it would be removed. If a branch was producing a lot of grapes it could be pruned so that it would produce even more grapes. God is the gardener. Jesus is the plant. We are the branches.
One can be a grape branch that is producing a lot of leaves, is robust and is pleasing to the eye. One can also be a grape branch that may not have many leaves but is loaded up with grapes.
God is not interested in people who just look like good Christians. Our works of service to others is the most beautiful thing to him. Let’s make some grapes.
