Opposing God

John 18:10-11

Picture the scene in the garden of Gethsemane. There is an angry armed mob led by the traitor Judas, all of them having come in the moonlit night, equipped with torches for searching in the shadows of the garden, to arrest one man, Jesus. After giving them a miraculous display of the power of God, He admitted for the second time to being the person for whom they were looking and agreed to go with them, if they would let His disciples go free.

Let's look at Luke's account to see what happened next. "When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear." (Luke 22:49-50) The disciples had asked Jesus whether they should take up their swords and fight, but before He could answer, Peter angrily jerked his sword from the sheath and swung it at the head of the high priest's servant, Malthus, who by the grace of God only lost his right ear. "And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him." (Luke 22:51)

We might think that Peter is quite an heroic figure. He stepped up in the face of an angry mob, outnumbered by hundreds of men, drew his sword and defended his Master. He risked his own life to save that of Christ. Yet, Jesus severely rebuked Him. John Calvin, commenting on verse 10, said, "But let us learn that, in the person of Peter, Christ condemns every thing that men dare to attempt out of their own fancy."

We know Peter as an impetuous man whose tongue often jumped while his brain still slept. Jesus often rebuked him, because he spoke before he thought. In this case, he presumed to know the will of God and did not wait for Jesus' answer. Instead, he did what was right in his own eyes, but the will of God was exactly opposed to him. It was God's will that Jesus should die.

Perhaps we could at least admire Peter's zeal, but then a zealous act is not necessarily a righteous act. It is obvious that the scribes, the Pharisees, and the chief priests were extremely zealous in their evil plot to destroy Jesus. Should we admire them? Wasn't Peter's action just as wrong as theirs was?

Aside from the fact that Peter did not wait for Jesus to answer and that he acted in opposition to God's will for the situation, consider that we are not to resist the authority of those to whom God has entrusted it and consider that we are not to resist evil with evil. What kind of reputation would the church have, if our solution to life's problems were based on impetuosity and violence? "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." (Matthew 26:52)

"Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" The cup was often a symbol for "that which is portioned out, and of which one is to partake; most frequently used of what is sorrowful, as God's judgments, His wrath, afflictions, etc... In a similar sense, used by Christ concerning the sufferings endured by Him..." (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) The Father had given Jesus a difficult cup to drink, but that did not lessen the importance of it or the good that it would do for the world. Nor did it offer any excuse for Him to refuse it. Jesus' question uses a strong double negative in the original language and demands an affirmative answer. Peter had also attempted to stop Jesus from doing God's will.

How often do you speak or act without consulting God? And how often do you consult God and act before He clearly answers you? And how often do you know deep down in your heart what God's answer is, but you deny it and do what you think is best? These are serious matters, which drastically affect our relationship with God, and yet we are all guilty whether we want to admit it or not.

Before The Throne:

What are your plans for today? Have you prayed about them? Pray now and do not act until you have a clear answer. Then pray about tomorrow and the more distant future. Ask God to point you in the right direction. Don't expect to see exactly what He wants from you ten years ahead of time, but follow the direction in which he points. Learn to trust in His guidance. Pray for the patience to wait on Him.

For Further Study:

(v.10) Mt 26:51-54; Mr 14:30,47; Lu 22:33,49-51;

(v.11) * Put. 2Co 6:7; 10:4; Eph 6:11-17; * the cup. Ps 75:8; Eze 23:31; Mt 20:22; 26:39,42; Mr 10:38,39; 14:35,36; Lu 22:42; Heb 12:2; * my. Joh 11:41,42; 12:27,28; 15:10; 17:24; 20:17; Lu 12:30; Ro 8:15-18; Heb 12:5-10;

For Further Study is an edited excerpt from The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.