Hands of misguided zeal.

 

Sermon for 3^rd midweek Lent, March 3, 2021

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

John 18:4-11  ⁴Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who are you looking for?”  ⁵“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.  “I am he,” Jesus told them.  Judas, the betrayer, was standing with them.  ⁶When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they backed away and fell to the ground.  ⁷Then Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”  “Jesus the Nazarene,” they said.  ⁸“I told you that I am he,” Jesus replied.  “So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”  ⁹This was to fulfill the statement he had spoken: “I did not lose any of those you have given me.”  ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear.  The servant’s name was Malchus.  ¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath.  Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?” (EHV)

Hands of misguided zeal.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Zeal!  We think of it as a good thing, and in the right hands at the right place and time, it certainly is.  We want our employees to have zeal for doing a good job.  Politicians and coaches make a living promoting zeal in their supporters and team members.  Without that strong enthusiasm among those who are aiming for a goal, there is little likelihood of success.

Yet, what happens when zeal goes too far, or becomes misguided?  What happens when zeal goes beyond healthy enthusiasm?  I think we all realize that bad things can happen.  Overly zealous people caused a dangerous riot in our nation’s capital just about two months ago.  Last summer, zealous anger led to rioting and looting in the streets of many of our cities.  Overly zealous believers of a variety of religions, and/or political causes, have caused the deaths of millions of people just in the last century or so, not to mention the many killed in the more distant past.

Not surprisingly, when we speak of zeal for the Lord, Peter’s name is usually the first one mentioned.  Peter was one of the first men Jesus called as a disciple, and Peter was often bold and impetuous, a man of action, always ready to defend Jesus, but not always understanding the kind of trouble his misguided zeal could cause.  So tonight, we consider Hands of misguided zeal.

As this event takes place, Judas had just led a mass of soldiers, servants, and guards to Gethsemane to arrest Jesus.  Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who are you looking for?”  “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.  “I am he,” Jesus told them.  The first thing we notice is that Jesus knew well in advance exactly how this night would play out.  The leaders of Israel sought to do away with Jesus in secret without raising the suspicions of the common folk who might support Jesus.  Judas was hoping to gain his small reward without anyone perceiving his terrible guilt.  But Jesus knew!  Jesus knew it all, and every detail happened only through Jesus’ willingness to endure it.  Furthermore, Jesus controlled everything.

Jesus asked the mob who they were looking for, and when they answered, “Jesus the Nazarene,” He replied in a very powerful way.  In English we read, “I am he,” but the Greek is two little words, Ἐγώ εἰμι—“I am.”  Those are the same two words that had incited Jesus’ enemies to try to kill Him on several occasions because they understood He was claiming to be God.  Naturally, if that were not the reality, they would have had a case against Jesus.  But those two words that night came with power.  This is the same Lord who met Moses at the burning bush.  The same Lord who led the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  The Lord who has power over life and death.

John reports, When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they backed away and fell to the ground.  Many have speculated on what could cause those tough soldiers to fall to the ground at those two words, but imagine meeting your Creator face to face even if you don’t realize it.  Did all their sins flash before their eyes?  Did the obscene nature of their rebellion against God enter their minds?  Who can know?  Regardless, Jesus was in charge of this arrest.  He had it all under control.

Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”  “Jesus the Nazarene,” they said.  “I told you that I am he,” Jesus replied.  “So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”  This was to fulfill the statement he had spoken: “I did not lose any of those you have given me.”  Just as He had spoken to His heavenly Father moments before Judas led that gang into the Garden, Jesus made sure to protect those He had called to serve.  Most assuredly, in any other arrest carried out under the pretense of stopping a rebellion, not only the leader but all those who supported and followed him would have been rounded up for trial or worse.  But this night, not one hair would be disturbed among those who followed Jesus.  No one would lay a hand on any of Jesus’ disciples because His hands protected them as they do us.

That is when Peter’s misguided zeal came into play.  Not long before, Peter had made such a wonderful confession about who Jesus is, but the disciple followed that by rebuking Jesus for saying He was going up to Jerusalem to suffer and die.  Peter was misguided that time too, just as he was when Jesus confronted the mob sent to arrest Him.  Peter grabbed his sword, unsheathed it, and swung wildly.  To say Peter was not a trained swordsman is putting it mildly.  He did manage to cut off a servant’s right ear.  However, if Jesus had not been in control, this would have ended in a massacre.  In any other similar situation, those elite Roman soldiers would have dispatched with those eleven disciples in seconds.  Worse yet, if Peter had succeeded in stopping Jesus’ mission, there would salvation for no one.

But Jesus was in control.  What really made Peter’s zeal misguided is that Jesus entered that garden knowing exactly what would happen and why.  Furthermore, Jesus did not need anyone’s help.  Jesus was in that place and position only because God the Father had assigned Jesus to carry the sins of the world to the cross.  Jesus was in that garden because He was fulfilling His Father’s will to save people like Peter and you and me.

The poor servant, Malchus, bore the brunt of Peter’s enthusiasm.  We can imagine his pain and shock.  However, Jesus immediately took the time to help even His enemy.  Luke tells us that Jesus responded, “Stop!  No more of this!”  Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him. (Luke 22:51)  Peter was so concerned about protecting his Lord, yet Jesus lovingly took a moment to do His last miracle before He went to the cross.  Again, Jesus was in complete control of everything.

There is often a temptation among Christians to assume we have to protect Jesus or defend His Word.  We see that type of response among some other religions, as well, where they will willingly shed blood to make converts or to defend their idol.  However, we have a Savior who doesn’t need our protection.  We have a Savior who entered our world on a mission of salvation.  “He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) 

Some Christians in our times like to think that our job as Christians is to change the world politically, materially, and ethically, and though we are to be shining lights and willing servants in the world, our primary zeal should be seen in trusting solely in Jesus and telling the world about what Christ has accomplished to save all people.

Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath.  Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?”  Here we get to the crux of the matter.  Peter and the other disciples were still dreaming about an earthly kingdom for Jesus to rule, but Jesus didn’t come to reign over a kingdom on earth.  Jesus came to rescue us from the troubles and trials of life in this broken world.  Jesus came to reconcile us with Almighty God, and only Jesus could do it. 

Previously that night, Jesus had prayed to His Father that if there were another way, let it be done, but Jesus knew there was no other way, so He willingly, gladly submitted to the humiliation of being arrested and falsely accused so that our innocent Savior could take all our sins and the sins of the world on Himself.  “No one comes to the Father, except through me,” (John 14:6) Jesus had told His disciples.  That night Jesus was completing the pathway.  Jesus would drink the cup of bitter suffering and death.  He would drink down the poisonous accusations, the bitter rebellions against the God of love, and all our toxic wickedness so that He could be sin for us.  By because He had become sin for us, God demanded Jesus’ life in our place.

The psalmist wrote, “You crown Him with glory and honor.  You make Him the ruler over the works of Your hands.  You put everything under His feet.” (Psalms 8:5-6)  This is the King who suffered and died for you.  God’s Son, Jesus truly died for your sins, but He also rose triumphant over sin, death, and the devil.  Accordingly, having conquered all things, Jesus now reigns over heaven and earth, and He is ruling all things so that those who believe in Him, who are called according to his purpose, will be saved.  We also have His promise that He is returning to judge the world.  Trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and life, He shows us that we don’t need to be afraid, because when He returns, Jesus will receive His people into glory, while the rebels and the wicked who reject Him will be cast out forever into the darkness.

There are Hands of misguided zeal among us too at times, I suppose.  It is easy for us to imagine that we have to do something to help Jesus save us, or that our weak efforts to obey the law may somehow make us more worthy of saving.  Many teach that we have to do our share.  But, Jesus has it all under His control.  Nothing we could do will ever add to what Jesus has done.  He lived the perfect life we could never match.  Jesus obeyed His Father in heaven in every thought, word, desire, and action, and though Jesus was completely holy, humble, and obedient in everything, He took our sins to the cross, bore our shame, our guilt, and our death, so that we might be counted holy in His Father’s eyes, so that we will be welcomed into the mansions of God’s glory through faith in Christ Jesus.  Furthermore, Jesus sends to Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament to give us faith in Him and to guide us in living God-pleasing lives here on earth.

Dear friends, let us close by remembering how Peter lived after Jesus rose from the grave.  No longer was Peter consumed with a desire to protect Jesus.  Instead, Peter, and all the apostles, became zealous to tell the world about all that Jesus has done, and still does, to give us forgiveness and everlasting life.  May we, likewise, always use our hands not to strike but to pray, our time not for anything but to serve, our lives not to strike out against the enemies of our Savior, but to show them His hands of love, especially how Jesus stretched them out on the cross of death so that we all might live.  Amen.

Glory be to Jesus Who in bitter pains poured for you the lifeblood from His sacred veins.  Amen.