Good morning Pastor John,
I am up reading John 18 this morning, and it hurts my heart.
Judas went to a place where Jesus had gathered many times before with His disciples. I wonder what intimate conversations had taken place in that garden. I wonder if the place held something special for Jesus. It was where He chose to go and speak to his Father in his final hours.
And Judas came with weapons. I don’t think I’ve ever paused long enough to absorb the gravity of that – he brought weapons!
It hurts my heart.
John 18:
1. After Jesus said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered.
2. Now, Judas, the one who betrayed him, also knew the place because Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples.
3. So, having received a cohort, as well as officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, Judas came there with lanterns, and torches, and weapons.
Then, Jesus told them who he was, and God let them feel His power –so much so that it knocked them to the ground. Yet still, they kept coming.
5.They answered him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” (And Judas, the one who betrayed him, was also standing among them.)
6.Then, when he told them, “I am he”, they went backward and fell to the ground.
Others have also felt the power of God, and still hurt Jesus. I pray I never do.
Beth