Upside Down

For much of my Christian life, my perception of the disciples at the garden was none too flattering: here was a group of men who pledged allegiance to the death just a few hours ago and then, when the proverbial chips were down, caved. Bunch of wimps!

But hold up. Tax Collector? Maybe a wimp. But fishermen? Burley guys, strong from pulling in heavy, soaked nets over the side of the boat over and over again. “Sons of Thunder.” Another was a Zealot – bent on insurrection when his passion for revolution was redirected by the Messiah. What if, when they all pledged their lives (Matt 26:35), they had every intention of making good on it when the lines were drawn (Matt 26:47)? After all, Peter drew first blood (Matt 26:51, Jn 18:10) – although I suppose it could be argued that poor Malchus was what one might call a “soft target.”

The tension was red-lined. This was the moment! If Jesus had said “defend me!” I think they would’ve put up a noble fight—at least until bound and dragged off if not killed outright. But what did he say?

Matthew 26:52-53 “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”

Wait: “Jesus, you just spent the last how-many hours praying? And you didn’t ask for angels? Now might be a good time…”

In one moment, Jesus’ determination to let the betrayal unfold rocked the disciples to the core. Their so-called “world view” had just been blown up. It wasn’t cowardice that caused them to flee – it was confusion.

Peter had about a mile’s walk following the Gethsemane crew to Caiaphas’ home. A lot can go through your mind in a 20 minute walk. We don’t know his thoughts along the way, but we know the outcome, and on one level, perhaps, Peter felt he was telling the truth when pressed by the servant girl he blurted: “I don’t know the man!” (Matt 26;71-72). Maybe this was justified in his head as “I spent three years with him, I thought I knew him! But…”

How has your view of the Christian life been, let’s say, “redirected?” Have you developed a vision of how everything is supposed to play out? What happens when that gets turned upside down? Lost job, illness, hardships, heartaches? Our dedication to Jesus should be based on his Lordship, not his willingness to see things play out according to our script.

Fortunately, it didn’t take Peter and the boys (down by one) long to get back on track, and a few short weeks later they are facing another crowd in Acts 2, boldly proclaiming the glorious outcome of the encounter in Gethsemane: Jesus handed himself over on our account, so that he would taste the sting of sin and death for us all.

Let’s be determined to allow Jesus to write the script from now on. His story is way better than what we could ever imagine.