Matthew 26:55-56
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
There are two elements to this brief scene, the pivot point between Jesus’ prayers at Gethsemane and his capture by his opponents.
The first is Jesus’ steadfast faith. Having come through his time of trial and the dread agony of anticipation, he has now not only accepted his fate but embraced it. And so he addresses the crowds, challenging their seizure of him as if he were a bandit.
From the opening verses of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ passion, we gather that his opponents are afraid of Jesus’ popularity with the general populace and so dared not take him by force. For this reason, they have come at night, hoping to accomplish in darkness what they feared to do in broad daylight. What they don’t know, he implies, is that there are bigger forces at work. For what they think they are prevailing by strategy and stealth, he believes is nothing more than the promises of God being made good.
The contrast to Jesus’ faith, of course, is the faithlessness of his disciples, the second part of this scene, as they flee the moment their teacher has been seized. But even this serves to fulfill the Scriptures and Jesus’ word and prediction.
These two things – the faith of Jesus and faithlessness of his disciples and, indeed, of all humanity – are what structure not only this scene but also, when you think of it, the passion, the gospel and, indeed, all Scripture. For these two forces – God’s desire to love and bless and ours to control and flee – have contended with each other throughout human history. The bedrock good news of our faith is that, in the end, it is God’s good intention and will that prevail.
Prayer: Dear God, as we watch your Son journey to the cross, remind us again and again of your unfailing and victorious love for us and all people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post image: “The Taking of Christ,” Caravaggio (ca. 1602)
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