Judas came with the soldiers to betray Him. Jesus was so much like the disciples that no one would recognise Him. He was a normal human being in appearance. Learn from Him. As Paul puts it, I became all things to all men. 1Cor 9:19-22
The He said to Judas, "Friend". Mat 26:50
Can you call someone who is betraying you to death friend? There was no bitterness or hatred in Jesus against Judas. We can also follow Him here, loving our enemies and wishing them good and not evil. God is able to help us. We don't have to be slaves to bitterness and anger against those who do evil to us. We can love them and look at them with compassion as we look to those who are very sick in hospitals. They are sick in their souls with sin and thats why they are planning evil on us. We shouldn't allow to be contacted with their sickness through bitterness and unforgiveness but we should have compassion on them as we would to sick loved. Even they, they are potential brothers and sisters in Christ. Love them and pray for them that God will bring them to repentance.
The disciples asked whether they should defend Jesus and before He answered, Peter had already cut the ear of one soldier. Jesus healed that ear.
If Jesus didn't heal the ear, Peter also would have been arrested and crucified but Jesus knew he did that out of fear and immaturity. He didn't understand the purpose of the sword was to defend himself not to fight back.
There are many problems we get ourselves into when we are fearful and immature but when we are sincere, God will deliver us. Praise the Lord.
He asked why they came to Him as if He was a thief. He used to daily preach in the temple but now that was their hour and the hour of darkness. Jesus couldn't be arrested before that time because He was wholeheartedly doing doing God's will. If we are wholehearted like Jesus in doing Gods will, the devil will not be able to hinder us and whatever God allows Him to do us, he will regret it because it will only accomplish Gods purposes. 1Cor 2:8, None of the rulers of this age understood this, for *if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.*
If the devil knew that the crucifixion of Jesus would bring salvation to the whole world, He wouldn't have incited religious leaders to crucify Jesus. He would have left Him alone. Thank God that the devil doesn't know everything. He doesn't know what God plans to accomplish in the lives of His children even through their failures or whatever the devil tries to do against them.
Peter followed at a distance and as we know he denied Jesus three times. Before this backsliding he was self-confident. The self-confident backslides. Can you remember the many instances in your life where you were very confident that what you did in God's service would turn out good only for it to fail? In Gods service, don't be confident in self, the only deserving place for our self-life is in the cross. It has to be crucified. Our confidence must be in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. See Phil 3:3, Gal 2:20.
After the cock crew, Jesus looked at Peter, not in anger, but in compassion and Peter went and wept bitterly. He had failed His master.
Do you weep bittery and mourn when you fall in sin? Do you have a cry in your heart that you have love what crucified your Lord, that is sin or do you just continue as if God approves of your living in sin? If God would not approve of sin when found in Jesus, what makes you think that He'll approve of it when found in you? Are you better than Jesus? Then why not weep over your sins and seek God for power to overcome them?
The people beat Jesus and mocked Him and blasphemed. Jesus acknowledged He was Christ and that was the evidence they needed to have Him killed.
If someone wants to do evil, He will find even the smallest excuse for doing it. Why should we not on the other hand find the smallest excuse to do good to others?
You are blessed to be a blessing
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@Blessed Mshindi Mambo
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