Skip to main content
The Garden

A while back, I read a work by Max Lucado called "Come Home, God Is Calling". In Chapter 3 of the piece (starting on page 9) is a reflection of Christ's arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before the crucifixion (John 18:1-9)

As I read it, I placed myself in the story. I was there, with the disciples. I witnessed the soldiers - speira - no fewer than 200 men, all of them armed, all of them surrounding us.

"Who are you looking for?" Jesus asked.
They answered, "Jesus from Nazareth."
"I am he," Jesus said.

When Jesus said, "I am he," they moved back and fell to the ground. All of them.

I moved back and fell to the ground (in this scene as it played in my mind). When Jesus speaks, Satan falls. Why then, if I were with the disicples and with Jesus, did I fall back? Why didn't I remain standing?

Because I am a sinner. Yes, I've been saved through faith in Jesus, saved by grace. But I am also human, tainted by sin. That sinful nature in me, that weakness that Satan knows so well, is why I fell back when Jesus spoke.

Jesus spoke again. "If you are looking for me, let the others go."

The soldiers let us go. They let me go. Rather than stay with Jesus, stay with my Savior, I ran. Fast and hard. I was awed by this display of divine power, yet at the same time, I was afraid.

When Jesus speaks, Satan falls.

"If you are looking for me, let the others go."

Satan thought he ahd captured and defeated his enemy. Through what Jesus did on the cross, he defeaten Satan (not that Satan had a chance in the first place).

When Satan knocks on the door, ask, "Jesus, can you get that for me?" After all, it is Jesus that Satan is looking for. It is Jesus that Satan still , to this very day, is trying to stop. Satan torments you and me because he knows that it's in our hearts that Jesus dwells.

And when Jesus speaks, Satan falls. Every time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stories ... We all have one ...

Isaiah 20:2-   At that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. In this passage God sends Isaiah to give a warning to Israel.   In addition to using words, God instructs Isaiah to do something more.   God instructs him to walk naked and barefoot for three years!    Certainly, Isaiah felt uncomfortable about what he was being called to do, but remained obedient.   The message, Isaiah was delivering far outweighed the embarrassment of being uncovered. Sometimes when we feel the prompting of God’s Spirit to share how Jesus has changed our lives we may feel uncomfortable with what God is asking us to do.   We may feel embarrassed or ashamed to “expose” our past to others for fear that we may be ridiculed or rejected if people knew what we would rather keep hidden.   We all hav...
3 comments
Read more

Great!

Psalm 145:3  Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. All throughout history there have been men and woman who were considered great for one reason or another.   Thomas Edison was a great inventor; Madame Curie, a great scientist; Michael Jordan, a great basketball player.   Those who grew up in the 30’s and 40’s are said to be of the Greatest Generation.   And I can’t forget - Al and Martha Thuente are great parents (I ought to know – they’re mine)!   Usually what makes a person great is his or her accomplishments or reputation of doing good things.   But a person’s deeds and goodness have a limit.   No matter how great someone is, he can   only know so much, can do so much, can give so much, because his wisdom, ability and resources are finite.   Greatness can only be so great.   When we think of God, his greatness is limitless.   Even the greatest of men could not have created...
2 comments
Read more

Cardboard Prison

When I was very young I would often sit in a corner and think.  It wasn’t because I was in trouble – I was just a very introspective kind of person, even as a child.  And often my dad would ask, “What are you doing, Mary?”  “Oh, just thinking.”  “What are you thinking about?”  “Ooh, nothing…”   “Well, how do you know when you’re finished?”  and I’d usually let out a little giggle, and be off to do something else. It is often said that the times that people are most reflective about their lives    is during times of stillness, when in the quiet all they have is their thoughts.   Imagine with me if you will, that we are peering into thoughts of someone who is in that place of reflection.   Now before we go there, let me say that this person whose thoughts we are about to delve into IS NOT ME.   It is a fictional person we’ll call Alex.   Alex can be representative of anybody.   So without further ado, let’s see w...
1 comment
Read more