Coming Against Jesus as Against a Thief - Luke 22:52

Luke the beloved physician wrote how, “Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer you thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.”, and in chapter twenty-two and verse fifty-two of his book Luke shared how Jesus asked the religious leaders, “are you come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?” where we read:

Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Are you come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?

The verse reads, “Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, ...” Luke began with the words, “and Jesus said unto the chief priests” or “at that time the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnated uttered, declared, proclaimed and questioned the high and principal priests”, “and captains of the temple” which means “pertaining to the commanders and guards in the sacred worship place in Jerusalem”, “and the elders” or “and the members of the great council or Sanhedrin”, “which were come to him” which means “who arose and approached Jesus”. Luke shared how Jesus began to respond to the “religious leaders”, their “guards” and “members of the Sanhedrin” who were among the crowd that approached Jesus to arrest Him.

The verse goes on to say, “... Are you come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?” Luke continued with the words, “are you come out” which means “are you, religious leaders and guards, assembled to proceed”, “as against a thief” which means “like ones would be in opposition to a robber, plunderer, freebooter and brigand”, “with swords” or “alongside large knives or curved and straight swords used for a cutting stroke or for thrusting” “and staves” which means “and sticks, clubs or other wooden articles”. Luke shared how Jesus questioned whether the religious leaders and their guards were actually “approaching” Him in the manner they would a “robber” with their “swords and clubs” in hand.

When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn about the crowd who came against Jesus and the manner in which they came. The “religious leaders” followed Judas to where Jesus was so they could arrest Him, and they were armed with “swords and clubs” as though Jesus was a “plundering robber”. Can we even imagine the audacity of this crowd as they were attempting to “arrest” the Son of the living God? Should Jesus have resisted they could in no way accost Him, and He challenged their method of capturing Him. Jesus allowed these things so mankind might be “saved” from the penalty of sin, death, and He desires everyone to believe and trust in Him so they may be forgiven. Those who are wise will carefully consider how “futile” the efforts of the “religious leaders” was should Jesus have resisted, and yet, He willingly submitted to them because of His great love for people and their future.

Next time Luke shares how Jesus says to the religious leaders, “when I was daily with you in the temple, you stretched forth no hands against me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".