Sinful Man Was Arresting God

Tuesday, March 18, 2014           Sinful Man Was Arresting God

John  18: 1-14

There is a beautiful symmetry in the way the Biblical writers tell the story of God. There was the first exodus of God’s people, from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses. The Gospels tell of Jesus, God’s Messiah leading the second exodus, from slavery to sin and death. In the book of Genesis, we read of the Garden of Eden inhabited by Adam. In today’s passage from the Gospel of John, the setting is a second garden, Gethsemane. In the first Garden, God, in the cool of the evening, came looking for Adam. In the second Garden, in the cool of the evening, sinful man comes looking for Jesus, God’s second Adam. (The Apostle Paul writes much about the ‘first’ and ‘last’ Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) Yet another Garden will be the setting for Jesus’ resurrection.

“Who are you looking for?” (Jesus) asked.  “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I Am he,” Jesus said” (John 18:4-5). The disciples, and perhaps even Judas who was with the soldiers, in the Garden that evening heard much more than a simple reply, “I am he.” They hear; “I AM.”

“I AM The Bread Of Life.”

“I AM The Light Of The World.”

“I AM The Gate.”

“I AM The Good Shepherd.”

“I AM The Resurrection And The Life.”

“I AM The Way, The Truth And The Life.”

‘I AM The Vine.”

With the memory of these seven ‘I Am” statements echoing through the Garden, the absurdness of the moment was overwhelming: sinful man was arresting God. The arresting force drew back and fell down. Did they understand the absurdity of the moment? Perhaps it was the humility of Jesus and his lack of resistance that shocked them. I don’t know why the arresting force drew back and fell to the ground, but as I meditate on that scene, falling on my knees seems an appropriate response for me.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.