A Woman's Walk with God by Elizabeth George

Author:Elizabeth George
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736950923
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

9

Looking at Jesus’ Actions

Jesus, our wonderful Master and Teacher, perfectly lived out the gracious actions of godliness we’ve been looking at. We saw one example at the end of chapter 5 when we witnessed Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you remember? It was time for Him to die for mankind’s sin. In His humanness, Jesus needed to go before His all-wise Father and come to terms with this awful assignment. And so, resisting all human and fleshly urges to rebel, panic, turn, or fall apart, Jesus instead fell upon His Father’s breast in prayer. Then, after a time of earnest and intense prayer, Jesus came to terms with the upcoming events, “hushed His Spirit,”1 and rose up from the ground filled with God’s love, joy, and peace. Fortified after His time of prayer and having “thoroughly equipped Himself,”2 Jesus gathered His sleeping disciples and boldly walked through the garden gate…

…to face people. Jesus knew that people were waiting on the other side of the gate. My friend, interpersonal problems will always be a part of the challenge of living out the Christian life, but we can learn so very much from our Lord who, even at this point, magnificently displayed God’s gracious response to people. Exactly who was waiting for Jesus outside the garden?

The Traitor

As He resolutely strode toward the garden entrance, Jesus said, “Behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” (Matthew 26:46). The Savior most definitely knew what was about to happen—and He also knew who was instrumental in the process: It was Judas. How Christ’s heart must have ached as He looked into the face and eyes of Judas—one of the Twelve chosen to be the focus of His ministry of teaching, leadership, provision, and miracles; one who had been prayed for by the Savior and fed by His miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes; one whose dirty feet had been washed by the Savior’s holy hands; one who had heard the words of life and truths of God from the mouth of God Himself. Few people have tasted the privileges Judas had enjoyed on a daily basis in the presence of our loving Jesus!

Yet there Judas stood, filled with the darkness of hell itself and the evil of Satan, a traitor and a betrayer. What grief and disappointment must have filled our Lord! What heartache and sorrow must have sickened Him! A friend, a disciple, an intimate companion—now a traitor!

The Mob

And Judas was not alone. He was “accompanied by a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people” (Matthew 26:47). Included in this group of as many as a thousand3 were the officers of the temple (Luke 22:52), a company of Roman soldiers, the chief priests and elders.4

Yes, Jesus had to deal with people. For the next 18 hours, He would face a host of hostile people—people who would abuse Him physically and verbally, people who would hurl not only insults at Him but also fists, whips, staves, hammers, and spears.

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