
(Luke 22:47-53) Control in the Midst of Chaos
In this sermon, we explored the chaotic scene in the Garden of Gethsemane as described in Luke 22:47-53. We began by discussing H.G. Wells' skeptical view of God, who he believed was powerless in the face of chaos. Contrasting this, we examined how Jesus, in the midst of betrayal and impending arrest, remained composed and in control. Despite the pandemonium, Jesus demonstrated His divine authority and compassion, even healing the ear of Malchus, one of His enemies. The sermon emphasized that global darkness and personal difficulties are on a divine timer, and that Jesus is in complete control, even in the most chaotic circumstances.
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Transcript
H.G. Wells was a best-selling author in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many of his works, including The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds, have become movies.
By the end of his life, he was an agnostic, if not an atheist. He famously wrote that religion, or faith, collapses in the face of calamity.
He was convinced that faith collapses in the face of calamity.
He once described his view of God this way: “The world is like a great stage production, directed and managed by God. As the curtain rises, the set is perfect, a treat for every eye. The characters are resplendent. Everything goes well until the leading man steps on the hem of the leading lady’s gown, causing her to trip over a chair, which knocks over a lamp, which pushes a table into the wall, knocking over the scenery, which brings everything down on the heads of the actors. Meanwhile, God is running around, shouting orders, pulling strings, trying to restore order from chaos. But alas, poor God, he is unable to do so.”
Wells goes on to write that if God exists, He is rather small and limited in His ability to handle the chaos of the world. (Source: Adapted from R. Kent Hughes, Luke Volume 2 (Crossway, 1998), p. 334)
Today, I want us to enter one of the most chaotic scenes in the New Testament – where a prayer meeting will become total pandemonium.
We’re in Luke’s gospel, chapter 22. The Lord has only moments ago surrendered to the will of His Father. He can already hear the footsteps of the mob who heading up the mount of Olives toward the Garden of Gethsemane.
Let’s pick up our study in verse 47:
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, (of cowards – that’s my translation) and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. Luke 22:47
So, the moment has arrived which Jesus had long predicted. One of the twelve will betray Him.
The Lord is about to face the most difficult moments any human being could ever experience.
He was about to drink the cup, ordained by the counsel of Almighty God before the foundations of the world were ever put in place.
But as we suggested Last Lord’s Day, just as sports teams celebrate their victory with a cup – the World Cup, The America’s Cup, The Davis Cup, the Stanley Cup.
For you parents of young children – losing those cups is not nearly as significant as losing your child’s sippee cup – that will stop the earth’s rotation.
These victory cups signal the defeat of every opponent. Likewise, Jesus is calling these events – including pandemonium in the Garden, a part of the cup He must endure, and ultimately defeat.
Now Luke records that a crowd arrives. Mark’s gospel says this crowd comes from the chief priests, scribes, and elders, but Luke lets us in on the fact that this crowd includes some of them – look down at verse 52:
Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come out against him… Luke 22:52
In other words, they’re all in on it – they are determined to arrest the Lord around midnight and get rid of Him as quickly as they can.
They are prepared for everything except what is about to happen.
But here’s what they evidently expected. One of two responses, if not both of them. First:
- They expected a measure of deceitfulness.
Jesus is gonna refuse to acknowledge His identity. His disciples might say they’re up there having a camp out with friends. “We don’t know Jesus at all – you oughtta go over the hilltop – we think those guys are over there.”
And for that reason, Luke writes here in the middle part of verse 47:
Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47b-48
The plan was for Judas to undeniably identify Jesus with a kiss. They were expecting deception. Either Jesus would admit who He was, or – perhaps – they thought, one of the other disciples would say, “Take me, I’m Jesus” in order to protect their leader.
So Judas will identify Jesus with a kiss. And a kiss was common in this culture.
This could be a kiss on the cheek – or a kiss on both cheeks – like they do today in South America, as I traveled, in several countries there.
During the first century this had developed into the religious practice of blowing kisses toward someone’s favorite temple or statue of a favorite god or goddess. (Source: Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Volume VI (Eerdmans, 1968), p. 758)
They wanted a favor from that god, so they blew them a kiss.
To this day, we still use the expression of “kissing up to someone” – as a way of describing someone who’s trying to get on somebody’s good side.
And among believers, a kiss is still a traditional greeting among men in certain parts of the world.
The church in Russia takes seriously the admonition to greet one another with a holy kiss when the church gathers (Romans 16:16).
One of our missionaries to Russia invited me to travel with him into some of the less developed areas of Russia where the church was thriving. But he told me that if I came, I needed to be prepared for this tradition where they greet one another with a kiss on the lips. “I said, “Wait, you mean the men and the women?” He said, “No, only the men.” He said, “The men greet one another with a smack on the lips.” He said, “It’s customary, it’s quick – they all have thick beards – you won’t feel a thing.” I never did go to Russia. It wasn’t because of that.
It’s interesting that Luke glosses over the kiss of Judas, but Matthew and Mark use the compound verb which can mean to shower with kisses. (Source: R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Augsburg Publishing House), p. 1946, p. 1079)
This would have been a despicable display of false affection.
Imagine the unseen world here in the Garden of Gethsemane – you have the serpent embracing the Son. You have the Satanically empowered deceiver kissing the Deliverer.
And Jesus knew it!
And you might wonder why Jesus doesn’t perform a miracle and turn Judas into a little pile of dust.
How dare Judas kiss the Savior as if he cares about Him – when he’s already sold Jesus for the price of a disabled slave.
Betrayal is always a terrible thing; but when it comes with a kiss, in other words, when it comes from someone who should love you – someone who’s supposed to care about you – someone who says they’re looking out for what’s best for you – that kind of betrayal is especially crushing and depressing and discouraging.
Maybe you’ve experienced some form of betrayal – a coworker you thought had your back, actually wanted your job; a spouse who said they loved you but lived a lie behind your back.
Maybe you feel entitled to a little hatred, resentment, and thoughts of revenge.
Watch Jesus here – Matthew’s gospel account says that Jesus responds by saying, “Friend, do what you came for.” (Matthew 26:50)
Kent Hughes writes,
“Even though Judas was Satan’s agent, he was still a lost soul, and Jesus always cared about lost souls. This was an appeal – one last invitation – before it was forever too late for Judas.” (Source: Adapted from Hughes, p. 341)
Jesus didn’t just say, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” . . . He lived it! He practiced everything he ever preached!
So get this scene here – in the midst of this mob who’ve suddenly appeared; in this emotionally charged chaos, the Son of God isn’t panicking – He’s isn’t running around the stage of history trying to pull strings and keep everything from collapsing.
Look here at God the Son, in the midst of chaos, He is perfectly composed, and in total control.
Now this mob of people not only came to the Garden of Gethsemane, expecting a measure of deceitfulness, I believe secondly,
- They expected a measure of defiance
In Matthew’s account, he writes that Judas arrived:
And with him a great crowd with swords and clubs… Matthew 26:47
John’s account records:
So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. John 18:3
This band of soldiers was a cohort or battalion of 600 armed soldiers. Officers from the chief priestsrepresented the temple police force kept by the Sanhedrin to keep order as well as carry out the Supreme Court’s decisions.
And they all show up, John writes, hundreds of them – if not nearly 1,000 of them – with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Why send an army to arrest an unarmed carpenter?
Because they knew He was no ordinary carpenter. He might pull something supernatural out of his hat. Or maybe now that He’s cornered, He and his men might fight back.
They were ready for anything. But they were ready for nothing that was about to happen.
John’s gospel account fills in what happens immediately following Judas’ identifying kiss.
Instead of cowering, out of control of this chaos –
Again John records:
Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” … And when Jesus said to them, “I am he … they fell to the ground.” John 18:4-6
Imagine they all fell down.
In the original language, Jesus simply says, “Ego eimi” – I AM. This was the same expression God used as His name – when telling Moses at the burning bush who He was. Moses – go tell the people my name is – I AM. Yahweh, Jehovah, most often translated “Lord” in the Old Testament.
Get this: Jesus is announcing to them that the one who had spoken to Moses at the burning bush is now standing before them in the Garden of Gethsemane.
I AM. And with one declaration of His divine nature, they all fell down like bowling pins.
It’s as if Jesus pulled back the curtain on his deity for one brief second and they all did what everyone will do in the presence of God – fall prostrate before Him.
Make no mistake here – Jesus, the Son of God, is in command. They aren’t arresting Him – He’s arresting them. No one is taking His life away – He’s going give His life away.
In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam sinned against the will of God;
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the second Adam surrendered to the will of God.
In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam ran and hid his sinful humanity;
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the second Adam stepped forward and announced His deity.
This is not the decision of the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders, the nation Israel or the Emperors of Rome – this is the decision of Jehovah – the I AM.
Jesus is not a victim – He is a willing sacrifice – He’s ready to die for the sins of the world.
Now, Peter evidently didn’t get the memo.
Jesus is stepping forward to surrender, Peter is now declaring war.
Luke writes what happens next – verse 49:
And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them – evidently not waiting for an answer – struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. Luke 22:49-50
John is the only gospel writer to give us the details that that the servant’s name was Malchus – he knew him personally, because John 18:15 informs us that John knew the high priest and his household – probably because he was a relative of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who bore John the Baptist. (Source: Lenski, p. 1082)
Anyway, John mentions that it was Malchus and that it was his right ear that got completely cut off, and that Peter was the guy swinging the sword.
Peter probably told John later, “Thanks a lot.”
Now imagine, Peter has decided to take on 8-900 armed men. You gotta give him a medal for bravery. He just isn’t gonna live long enough to pin it on his shirt.
Now, fortunately, Peter’s aim wasn’t that good. Malchus can be glad Peter was a fisherman.
But still, you’ve got this young man no doubt screaming in pain, his severed ear lying on the ground, blood gushing from the side of his head, soldiers no doubt now have their swords out and ready.
Now you’ve got pandemonium. Total chaos. And it all happened so quickly!
God the Father must be running around the stage trying to get the scenery back into place after it all got knocked over.
Now what?!
Matthew’s gospel account records Jesus saying,
“Put your sword back into its place … do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Source: Matthew 26:52-53)
One legion was 6,000 soldiers. Jesus effectively says, that all He had to do was ask and each of the eleven disciples would be protected by 6,000 angels each, and then 6,000 for Himself. (Source: Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Courageous (Victor Books, 1989), p. 122)
Just one request and 72,000 angels will mop this thing up!
Luke records Jesus simply saying, here in verse 51:
“No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:51
This is the last recorded miracle before Jesus died on the cross. Don’t miss the fact that this miracle was performed on one of His enemies.
And don’t miss the miracle either.
All four gospels record that Peter’s sword literally cut off the servant’s ear; but only Luke records that Jesus healed him. Only Dr. Luke seems to care about the patient.
But follow this – Jesus touched his ear – you could render it, ‘the place of his ear’ and healed him.
In other words, Jesus doesn’t stoop down and pick up the severed ear and reattach it; He touches the side of Malchus’ head, and a new ear appears in its place – perfectly whole.
His other ear is still on the ground. But a new ear is where that one used to be. And the pain is gone, and the bleeding is stopped.
Listen, Jesus didn’t perform a medical reattachment, He performed a miraculous re-creation.
This wasn’t a random event. It was woven into the Lord’s plans from eternity past. You see, Jesus has just announced to them that He is the great I AM – Yahweh, Yehovah – Jehovah in the flesh – Lord God.
And they would have agreed that only God has the power to create out of nothing – so Jesus effectively says, “Let me show you that I have the power to create something out of nothing– Malchus, here’s you a brand newly created ear.
Many believe that John specifically mentioned the name of Malchus because, we learn from early church history, Malchus became a follower of Christ. (Source: Hughes, p. 343)
I can understand why.
Again, let’s model the heart of Jesus. He had a way of seeing an enemy and seeing a potential disciple.
Now, with that, He has a serious warning for the religious leaders – He’s giving them one last chance at sanity – and humility –
verse 52:
Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:52-53
You might notice the Lord’s use of this word, “hour”.
He says to them, “This is your hour – this is the hour that demonstrates the power of darkness.” In other words, this is the hour when hell will do its worst – when the power of darkness will seem to win the day.
But just like the cup related to difficulty but also victory, this hour of hell’s dark power will become the hour of heaven’s bright promise.
Let me offer one observation from this scene – as it comes to a close – here it is:
Global darkness and personal difficulties that surround you are on a divine timer.
In the light of eternity, it’s barely an hour. It might be dark, but it’s not forever. Satan seems to win, but it’s only a matter of time.
And Satan cannot have one second more than God allows him. He must hear the ticking of God’s divine timer. Compared to eternity, he’s just got an hour.
Time changes – suffering changes – and difficulty changes when we have the perspective of heaven.
The apostle Paul was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, abandoned, imprisoned, and destined to be beheaded, and yet he would write,
“For this light, momentary affliction (wait, what? – that’s right) –
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 2 Corinthians 4:17
Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 8:
For I reckon (I love that – that lets me know he was a southerner – For I reckon – I’ve done the math – I’ve computed the comparison) that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18
Just wait until that hour dawns.
The apostle Peter had this view of the divine timer as well – he writes:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. 1 Peter 1:6
For a little while – we know that Peter suffered for decades until he was executed by crucifixion.
Peter had learned to compare what was happening today with what will happen on that day.
Jesus is not overwhelmed here in the Garden – He’s in total control of:
- the actors
- the set
- the stage
- the drama
- and most importantly, the outcome.
So you can trust Him today – one hour at a time.
Let’s act and live in a way that proves H.G. Well, and all the other agnostics wrong: your faith does not need to collapse in the face of calamity.
And that’s because you know – as we’ve seen here in the Garden – that in the midst of calamity, Jesus Christ is in complete control.
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