hotcoffee
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Matthew 26:Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
My Sunday School boys really liked this story.
Here's what the commentary says about it.
Matthew doesn't tell us, but we know from John 18:10 that this unnamed swordsman was Peter.
"But how came Peter to have a sword? Judea was at this time so infested with robbers and cut-throats that it was not deemed safe for any person to go unarmed. He probably carried one for his mere personal safety."
With his sword, Peter accomplished very little. He only cut off one ear, and really just made a mess that Jesus had to clean up by healing the severed ear (Luke 22:51). When Peter moved in the power of the world, he only cut off ears.
Don't worry, Jesus healed the ear. Look at Luke 22:51. That's the part that the children were excited about. What a mess that would have been if Jesus hadn't healed that ear.
Luke 22:51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him
In verse 53 Jesus says He could have 12 Legions of Angels come rescue Him if He needed them. I can almost see Jesus giggling at how silly this whole thing was. Imagine Peter swinging that big ol' heavy sword willy-nilly trying to save King Jesus.
"A legion is judged to be six thousand foot and seven hundred horse. And this great army of angels is by prayer despatched from heaven in an instant." The number is impressive, especially considering that one angel killed up to 185,000 soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35).
But Jesus knew what was going to happen.
With all power at His disposal, Jesus was in total command. He was not the victim of circumstance, but He managed circumstances for the fulfillment of prophecy.
On a side note.... I want to thank all of you prayer warriors. A few short months ago, the doctors said I didn't have long to live because my cancer had moved. Well, after lots and lots of prayers.... my doctors say the cancer is gone. On top of that I decided it is time for me to go back to work, I read one classified, sent out one resume, went on one interview and now I have a new job. I start Monday. How cool is that? Thank you for your prayers and please say a prayer of Thanksgiving in celebration of these answered prayers.