Momentum For Monday, April 4th 2022

“Put away your sword…” (Matthew 26:52a)

The famous betrayal from Judas created a mess. Officials came in to seize Jesus and one of the disciples comes to his defense, cutting off an ear of a high priest. Now, if that were me, I’d be saying thank you. But I guess Jesus wasn’t from the southside of heaven. Instead, he rebukes the disciple telling him to put away his sword.

The writer of Ecclesiastes assures us that there’s a time to kill and a time to heal. The arrest of Jesus was not a time to kill supposedly. Instead, how Jesus responds speaks with so much wisdom that it’s inspiring.

He never needed anyone to defend him. He stated that. One word and he could have brought in the army of heaven to take care of business. Meekness can be mistaken for weakness to an undiscerning eye.

I know that this part of the life of Jesus is in context of the Cross and his eternal impact of history, but this situation serves as a valuable lesson in everyday life also. There are times that we need to defend ourselves and there are times to hush and endure. I’m not saying this is easy, Lord knows there’s been times where I’ve blown it because I was at my wits end with some people or situations. But learning confidence in your identity in Christ will keep you from fighting to defend in the flesh. You can even let people misinterpret you without needing to correct them constantly.

The last few years seems like offense is at an all-time high. People are fighting online, on planes…pretty much everywhere. It’s ok to let people speak and not respond or have to speak your mind too. It’s also ok for people to assume something of you and not have to defend or take offense. Know who you are and more importantly, who’s you are and put away the sword.

“For we know him who said, “Justice belongs to me; I will repay them”; who also said, “The Lord himself will handle these cases.”

(Hebrews 10:30)