Day 8 :: On Guard
Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one. For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in me: And he was counted among the lawless. Yes, what is written about me is coming to its fulfillment.”
Luke 22:36-37
We must have all sat aghast as we’ve seen on our screens the Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine. As I write this the Russian jackboots march closer and closer to the Ukrainian capital, perhaps by the time you read this Kiev may have fallen.
In today’s passage, Jesus warns that the reception that the disciples had previously received when our Lord had sent them out will no longer be quite so warm. Like the people of the Kiev, they must prepare themselves for the coming aggression. There is much we can learn from this in our own situation as our culture pushes Christianity further to the margins but, as with the disciples, we need not fear, God is in control and none of this has caught him by surprise.
Jesus alerted his disciples that change was coming. Up till then, there was, for the most part, a public fascination about Christ. He was mobbed by large crowds who followed him around. When the disciples were sent out, they were received well, they did not need, money or provisions to care for themselves. God provided for them in other ways. As the hour approaches in which Christ will fulfil his whole purpose in coming to earth, the disciples will no longer find themselves in such relative ease. They will now need to take money, provisions, even a sword. They need to prepare themselves for the hostile world that would soon cry out for their Master to hang on a cross.
The disciples up to this point had been more concerned about which of them was the greatest. Not one of them were ready for the venom coming their way. Peter certainly thought he was when we see him in the garden of Gethsemane firing out his sword in defence of his Lord, only hours later to deny him with as much passion. But the reality is none of them could face this opposition except by God’s power. When we meet them in Acts, we see very different people who do face down opposition, not by their power but by the power of God.
We are quite like the disciples at the point in the passage. We have had a long period of relative ease. We have the good fortune to live in a country with a rich Christian heritage. Rabbie Burns, in one of his poems, describes a family’s Saturday night devotionals around the Bible as the source from which “old Scotia’s grandeur springs.” His cultural successors, the poets and comedians of today, would be much less flattering about parents teaching their children the Bible.
But we need not fear, God is in control.
Jesus told his disciples that what was about to happen to him would take place so the Scriptures would be fulfilled.
As God promised, he sent Jesus, his own precious Son, who came to earth as a man to die.
Jesus came, kept that promise and took the punishment that we deserved. He cites Isaiah 53, that wonderfully deep prophecy about our suffering Saviour.
“He was counted among the lawless.”
(v37 // Isaiah 53:12)
He died in the place of us, horrid, disgusting sinners. Sinners who had disobeyed God at every turn. We deserved an eternity cast out of God’s presence, but God kept his promise to provide salvation.
Having died, He rose again three days later and now the risen Saviour extends forgiveness and eternal life to all who repent and trust in Him. What a wonderful Saviour!
In John 16:33, Jesus tells His disciples, “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have over come the world.” Christ is greater and better and more powerful that anything the world can throw at us so be courageous and live for him.
Passages to read: Luke 22:35-38
A thought to remember: Though we will suffer, Jesus is in control.
A question to ask: Where do you turn when trouble comes?
A song to sing: It Is Well