The arrest of Jesus does not surprise Him. He saw it coming. He doesn’t hide. He rises from prayer in Gethsemane and goes out to meet the mob unarmed!
Yet, the manner in which He was arrested must have been a source of great disappointment. After all, He had simply been a Teacher - one who also cared for the needs of the poor and the sick.
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.
This Teacher didn’t lead an uprising! Seek an insurgency against the powers that be! His voice was never heard in the streets fomenting rebellion!
Even now, he says to His misguided student - Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword!
If He wanted to impose His will, there were better options available to Him - Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Instead, this Teacher seeks a revolution in every heart. A free and willing embrace of the loving principles He espoused and lived!
But there’s a question. How workable are His teachings? In real life? When life itself depends on them?
That’s why He is resolved now to face everything before Him, armed only with His teaching.
And He will do this virtually alone - Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
This may not be all bad. If the Teacher stands alone armed only with His teaching, if the principles He taught are sufficient to sustain Him through His trials, if they really work for Him, then His students will clearly see and understand the power in them.
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