Luke 22:52-54 (NIV) Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour–when darkness reigns.”
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.
The brief skirmish at the campsite in the Garden of Gethsemane had ended abruptly with Jesus’ shout of, “No more of this!” In the silence that followed, Jesus calmly walked the short distance to Malchus and healed his ear that Simon Peter had maimed with his sword. Now, into the astonished silence that followed that miracle, Jesus spoke directly to those who had come to arrest Him.
Jesus accurately called out the leaders of the people, the chief priests and elders, as well as the members of the temple guard who had come to capture Him in the middle of the night, far out of the public eye. This was not the act of a good, upright and noble group of people. This sneaking about and plotting to take someone down was not an honorable way of doing things. Every day for the last five days Jesus had been teaching in the temple courts. Every day they had sent representatives to question Him, accuse Him, and try to trap Him in His words. But they had not lay a hand on Him to arrest Him where everyone could see.
Jesus accurately pointed out that those who connive in the dark are serving the dominion of darkness, the devil, the kingdom of this world rather than the kingdom of light. Those who are willing to lie to accomplish their work are serving the father of lies, not the one who is Truth. Those who act dishonestly under a mask of righteousness are hypocrites, who are acting in opposition to God Himself.
When Jesus had finished speaking and fell silent, those who had come to arrest Him regained their composure and surged forward to arrest Him, and He allowed them to do it. He allowed them to tie Him up (John 18:12), and to lead Him back into Jerusalem, to the house of the high priest where the members of the Sanhedrin were already gathered. This disicples, seeing that Jesus was not going to put up a fight, ran a short distance away into the dark recesses of the garden, from which they watched as Jesus was led off into the darkness. Only Peter and John (John 18:15-16) followed the group, staying far enough back that the light from the torches couldn’t reach them.
Father, it is clear that it is not only what we do, but how we do it that reveals our motives and our hearts. If these men had legitimate legal issues with Jesus, they should have had the courage of their convictions, and arrested Him in the temple. They had authority that would have quickly and effectively quashed any uprising or rebellion. But they knew that their charges would not hold up in any legitimate venue, which drove them to being shy instead of merely acting with appropriate authority. Help me, Lord, to keep an eye on my own motives when I see the need to act with authority, and if I feel like I need to use any kind of subterfuge to accomplish my ends, help me to realize that that is a danger signal, and hold off until I check out my own heart. Amen.