The Sword Fight in the Garden
Dec 18th, 2007 by John
I’ll offer a brief idea worth pondering from reading Burridge’s Imitating Jesus. It is from his section on Luke-Acts.
All four Gospels report the incident in the Garden when the Temple police come to arrest Jesus and Peter draws a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Yet only Luke reports that Jesus healed the man. Jesus rebukes the violence of his disciple and says in effect “Enough of this!”
Burridge quoting Swartley writes, “His [Jesus'] healing the high priest’s slave’s ear demonstrates his mission and manner of ministry. Put sharply, Jesus came to heal precisely what the sword devastates” (270).
JESUS CAME TO HEAL PRECISELY WHAT THE SWORD DEVASTATES.
(a more lengthy summary of Burridge’s section of Luke-Acts coming soon)
Popularity: 2% [?]
I love how Luke, the physician of the bunch, regularly records the physical aspect of miracles and healings. I am sure he had thoughts at times of learning from Jesus so he could heal like him. I bet he did not know what he was destined for in the beginning and that he would do miracles… and so much more in Jesus name.
Carl,
I appreciate your thoughts here and the wonder that Jesus must have been to Luke. Thanks.
“JESUS CAME TO HEAL PRECISELY WHAT THE SWORD DEVASTATES.” Could it be that the mission of the church is to be facilitators of this process of healing what the sword devastates.
In South Africa church life for the majority of Afrikaans speaking churches and Christians was marginilised to surviving the time after the sword was taken from our hands. Only now are we starting to realise our responsibility of healing the nation. But unfortunately their is still a remnant of the generation of sword bearers that fear the healing. Fear that the healing of the nation will rob them of something – nobody knows exactly what.
Attie,
The “generation of sword-bearers that fear the healing” carry within them a distorted view of power. As N.T. Wright summarizes: We will be devoted either to the love of power or to the power of love. The cross of Jesus shows us the way of the power of love. We must drop the swords.
Again, Attie, I am so grateful for your blog friendship and look forward to your “visits” and comments. God bless you today!