Jesus Tells Peter to Put Away His SwordBible World
26:54Matthew 26:54
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
On the night He was betrayed in Gethsemane, Jesus willingly let Himself be bound and led away because the Scriptures required that His suffering happen in exactly this way. He had power to stop it, for He struck the armed band to the ground with His word and could have called for more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but He refused that deliverance because it would have left prophecy unfulfilled. He therefore rebuked Peter, ordered the sword put away, healed the wounded servant, and drank the cup His Father had given Him rather than leave His appointed path. His disciples did not understand His refusal to deliver Himself, and when He submitted they fled in fear and sank into despair. His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion were a foretold trial of faith, not a failure of His purpose, and the same pattern is repeated when His followers face religious and civil powers.
Arrest in Gethsemane
The words belong to the night of the Passover, when Jesus went in company with His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. That garden was dark and wooded with dense trees and foliage, a spot He had often visited for meditation and prayer. Above it the broad full Passover moon shone from a cloudless sky, while the city of pilgrims' tents was hushed into silence.
It was the night of His last agony, entered after He had earnestly instructed His disciples and then became strangely silent with a heart full of sorrow as never before. Throughout His life on earth He had walked in the light of God's presence, but now He seemed shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence. Now He was numbered with transgressors and must bear the guilt of fallen humanity, with the iniquity of all laid upon Him who knew no sin. Sin appeared dreadful to Him, and the weight of guilt was so great that He was tempted to fear it would shut Him out forever from His Father's love, for He felt how terrible is the wrath of God against transgression. After the Passover supper with His disciples, without food or drink, He agonized in conflict with satanic agencies striving to separate Him from God, and the struggle brought great drops of blood from His skin to the ground, yet He would not yield.
Though He had been daily with the people teaching openly in the temple and was not taken there, He allowed Himself to be taken at night as against a thief. At midnight in Gethsemane He was betrayed by Judas, one of His professed disciples, and seized by a Judas-led band of men and soldiers with swords and staves and spears, including chief priests and captains of the temple. That betrayal was the work of Satan, who put it into the heart of Judas and entered into him. He was betrayed with expressions of love, with a kiss. In that hour of trial He did not resist with violence.
After the arrest He was seized at midnight and dragged before religious and civil authorities, and through the night endured insult upon insult and mockery upon mockery. He was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin but brought before Pilate for legal condemnation because execution required Pilate's confirmation. He was taken to Annas, then to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, then sent to Herod who found nothing to condemn yet allowed mockery and insult, then sent again to Pilate. There He was mocked, scourged and twice tortured by the scourge, condemned and led to crucifixion. Yet He did not fail, but kept dignity through the disgraceful trial and spoke no word beyond what was essential and tended to glorify God.
Willing Submission to Scripture
The verse means Jesus willingly let Himself be bound and taken and made to suffer because the Scriptures required that it happen in this way. His quiet submission to the mob was itself part of that fulfillment, and His disciples should understand His arrest and what followed as part of what had been foretold and not as a failure of His purpose. Though He had taught openly daily in the temple and was not taken there, He allowed Himself to be taken at night as against a thief with swords and staves by the chief priests and captains of the temple, declaring that this course fulfilled Scripture. He had power to prevent it, for He had just shown power to prostrate the armed band and could have kept them helpless until He escaped, and even while firmly held by Roman soldiers He freed His hands to heal instantly the high priest's servant's ear that Peter had cut off with the sword. He rebuked Peter and ordered the sword put away, warning that those who take the sword perish with the sword, and in that hour of trial He did not resist with violence.
The saying was spoken to Peter at the moment the band led by Judas seized Him. Though angels were ready to defend Him, He refused to pray to His Father for immediate rescue by more than twelve legions of angels, because using that deliverance would have prevented the Scriptures that foretold it must happen thus from being fulfilled, so He allowed His captors to lead Him away. Doing so would have prevented their fulfillment, and He chose not to summon them or to heal the wounded servant as a means of prevention but to accept capture and suffering as necessary. In refusing escape He accepted the suffering appointed by His Father as the cup given Him to drink rather than leaving His appointed path. He willingly allowed Himself to be arrested and would not call on the angels to escape, accepting the suffering His Father had given Him. The necessity was such that Judas reasoned that if Jesus was to be crucified the event would happen regardless of his betrayal, and if Jesus was not to die Jesus could deliver Himself. Judas had expected divine power to release and protect Jesus, but Jesus' quiet submission made Judas fear that he had truly betrayed Him to His death.
Testing of Disciples and Believers
He made no effort to deliver Himself because the Scriptures had to be fulfilled in this way, and His quiet submission to the mob without violent resistance was itself part of that fulfillment. He could have asked His Father for angelic rescue and escaped, with angels ready to defend Him, yet He chose not to call for that help but allowed His captors to lead Him away. The disciples did not understand why He would not resist and deliver Himself. When He submitted to His enemies they proved fearful and fled in fear, forsaking Him and sinking into despair.
His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion formed a trial of faith surrounding His death. Those events of arrest and what followed had to happen so the Scriptures would be fulfilled, and are to be understood as part of what had been foretold and not as a failure of His purpose. He knew beforehand the ordeal His disciples would face in Gethsemane, at His condemnation and at the crucifixion, and He prepared them for it beforehand. Remembering earlier defections and the crowd's rejection of Him would help them withstand that ordeal and keep their faith from depending on the fickle favor of others. Earlier trials prepared them for that testing by exposing selfish motives and strengthening the faith of His true followers.
His being handed over to Caiaphas and Pilate presents the pattern for what follows. When evangelical Christians face persecution, their crisis repeats that suffering. Their trial at the hands of religious and civil authorities is a repetition of Christ's suffering at the hands of religious and civil authorities.
On the night He was betrayed in Gethsemane, Jesus willingly let Himself be bound and led away because the Scriptures required that His suffering happen in exactly this way. He had power to stop it, for He struck the armed band to the ground with His word and could have called for more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but He refused that deliverance because it would have left prophecy unfulfilled. He therefore rebuked Peter, ordered the sword put away, healed the wounded servant, and drank the cup His Father had given Him rather than leave His appointed path. His disciples did not understand His refusal to deliver Himself, and when He submitted they fled in fear and sank into despair. His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion were a foretold trial of faith, not a failure of His purpose, and the same pattern is repeated when His followers face religious and civil powers.
Arrest in Gethsemane
The words belong to the night of the Passover, when Jesus went in company with His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. That garden was dark and wooded with dense trees and foliage, a spot He had often visited for meditation and prayer. Above it the broad full Passover moon shone from a cloudless sky, while the city of pilgrims' tents was hushed into silence.
It was the night of His last agony, entered after He had earnestly instructed His disciples and then became strangely silent with a heart full of sorrow as never before. Throughout His life on earth He had walked in the light of God's presence, but now He seemed shut out from the light of God's sustaining presence. Now He was numbered with transgressors and must bear the guilt of fallen humanity, with the iniquity of all laid upon Him who knew no sin. Sin appeared dreadful to Him, and the weight of guilt was so great that He was tempted to fear it would shut Him out forever from His Father's love, for He felt how terrible is the wrath of God against transgression. After the Passover supper with His disciples, without food or drink, He agonized in conflict with satanic agencies striving to separate Him from God, and the struggle brought great drops of blood from His skin to the ground, yet He would not yield.
Though He had been daily with the people teaching openly in the temple and was not taken there, He allowed Himself to be taken at night as against a thief. At midnight in Gethsemane He was betrayed by Judas, one of His professed disciples, and seized by a Judas-led band of men and soldiers with swords and staves and spears, including chief priests and captains of the temple. That betrayal was the work of Satan, who put it into the heart of Judas and entered into him. He was betrayed with expressions of love, with a kiss. In that hour of trial He did not resist with violence.
After the arrest He was seized at midnight and dragged before religious and civil authorities, and through the night endured insult upon insult and mockery upon mockery. He was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin but brought before Pilate for legal condemnation because execution required Pilate's confirmation. He was taken to Annas, then to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, then sent to Herod who found nothing to condemn yet allowed mockery and insult, then sent again to Pilate. There He was mocked, scourged and twice tortured by the scourge, condemned and led to crucifixion. Yet He did not fail, but kept dignity through the disgraceful trial and spoke no word beyond what was essential and tended to glorify God.
Willing Submission to Scripture
The verse means Jesus willingly let Himself be bound and taken and made to suffer because the Scriptures required that it happen in this way. His quiet submission to the mob was itself part of that fulfillment, and His disciples should understand His arrest and what followed as part of what had been foretold and not as a failure of His purpose. Though He had taught openly daily in the temple and was not taken there, He allowed Himself to be taken at night as against a thief with swords and staves by the chief priests and captains of the temple, declaring that this course fulfilled Scripture. He had power to prevent it, for He had just shown power to prostrate the armed band and could have kept them helpless until He escaped, and even while firmly held by Roman soldiers He freed His hands to heal instantly the high priest's servant's ear that Peter had cut off with the sword. He rebuked Peter and ordered the sword put away, warning that those who take the sword perish with the sword, and in that hour of trial He did not resist with violence.
The saying was spoken to Peter at the moment the band led by Judas seized Him. Though angels were ready to defend Him, He refused to pray to His Father for immediate rescue by more than twelve legions of angels, because using that deliverance would have prevented the Scriptures that foretold it must happen thus from being fulfilled, so He allowed His captors to lead Him away. Doing so would have prevented their fulfillment, and He chose not to summon them or to heal the wounded servant as a means of prevention but to accept capture and suffering as necessary. In refusing escape He accepted the suffering appointed by His Father as the cup given Him to drink rather than leaving His appointed path. He willingly allowed Himself to be arrested and would not call on the angels to escape, accepting the suffering His Father had given Him. The necessity was such that Judas reasoned that if Jesus was to be crucified the event would happen regardless of his betrayal, and if Jesus was not to die Jesus could deliver Himself. Judas had expected divine power to release and protect Jesus, but Jesus' quiet submission made Judas fear that he had truly betrayed Him to His death.
Testing of Disciples and Believers
He made no effort to deliver Himself because the Scriptures had to be fulfilled in this way, and His quiet submission to the mob without violent resistance was itself part of that fulfillment. He could have asked His Father for angelic rescue and escaped, with angels ready to defend Him, yet He chose not to call for that help but allowed His captors to lead Him away. The disciples did not understand why He would not resist and deliver Himself. When He submitted to His enemies they proved fearful and fled in fear, forsaking Him and sinking into despair.
His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion formed a trial of faith surrounding His death. Those events of arrest and what followed had to happen so the Scriptures would be fulfilled, and are to be understood as part of what had been foretold and not as a failure of His purpose. He knew beforehand the ordeal His disciples would face in Gethsemane, at His condemnation and at the crucifixion, and He prepared them for it beforehand. Remembering earlier defections and the crowd's rejection of Him would help them withstand that ordeal and keep their faith from depending on the fickle favor of others. Earlier trials prepared them for that testing by exposing selfish motives and strengthening the faith of His true followers.
His being handed over to Caiaphas and Pilate presents the pattern for what follows. When evangelical Christians face persecution, their crisis repeats that suffering. Their trial at the hands of religious and civil authorities is a repetition of Christ's suffering at the hands of religious and civil authorities.