Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled

 

 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

 

- Matthew 26:47-56 

 

Yesterday we read that, after the Passover Supper, Jesus came with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

  And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.  My study Bible comments here that Jesus rebukes Peter (who is identified in John 18:10) for using the sword.  Peter still does not understand that Christ goes to His death willingly, so that salvation for humankind might be fulfilled.  A legion is 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions is equal to 72,000 angels.  That Christ's death was foretold in the Scriptures would strengthen the disciples at their time of greatest test.  

We note that the Gospel tells us that when Jesus was arrested, then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.  He will not fight in a traditional sense with material power and weapons, but He accepts what happens as a fulfillment of the Scriptures, and knows that the occasion of His Passion will also be the occasion for bringing Resurrection to the world.  This great paradox of acceptance of what is unjust -- because there is a greater justice being served by God's activity -- becomes something we must wrestle with.  How do we know God wants us to walk through something difficult and unfair?  How do we know, when we are going through a type of injustice, whether or not fighting in a conventional sense -- or even a judicial one -- is appropriate to us?  We know, moreover, that these events do not happen "because the Scriptures say so," but in fact the truth is the reverse:  the Scriptures say so because God foresees such events.  There is a well-known expression that says that one must pick one's battles.  But how do we know what battles God wants us to fight and in what way?  Certainly Christ's way of "fighting" in this particular battle will be with His words and His testimony, and all that He has preached and taught has already come before and will serve as refutation to the false charges made against Him.  But He will also go through His Crucifixion and suffering, even though Jesus could "pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels."   His reliance is not on the sword, but on God.  There have been times in my life where in prayer and according to my faith I have felt that God did not want me to try to correct every injustice, even every lie someone might want to tell about me.  This is so even for things I cared deeply about, even when I was going to lose people I cared deeply about.  But there are spiritual reasons behind such movements of faith, just as God has a salvation plan for the world in which Jesus' Crucifixion, even as an enemy of the Roman state and the Jewish nation, will play a key and inescapable role.  It will become the occasion for the greatest revelation of one of the miracles of God, the great sign that Jesus is the Christ.  This is the sign Jesus has repeatedly prophesied Himself when signs were demanded of Him, which He called "the sign of the prophet Jonah" (Matthew 12:39 16:4).  We live in a climate that is intensely focused on righting all wrongs, and it's quite possible that the story of Jesus and His Crucifixion has been entirely instrumental in our hyper-awareness of injustice, and even the demands of conscience that ask to correct such wrongs.  But in our personal lives, we live in a world where injustices happen, where evil is not conquered once and for all, where -- thanks to media of all types -- lies, half-truths, and deliberately misleading stories continue unabated and in ever-expanding ways.   Had Christ lived today, we can only imagine what means would be available for slandering His life and cause, deliberately misleading people as to His motivations.  But in our own personal experience of the world, especially in carrying our own crosses and following Him, we need to see our lives in the same way that Christ now faces His life.  That is to declare for ourselves that we must rely upon God and our faith to lead us through such times of trial and difficulties, even when we're lied about, even when an injustice is happening, for it is God who may bring us through them and use them as instruments of God's spiritual power and truth in the world.  We don't know all the ways and means and outcomes that may be effected even through our suffering when we do so with Christ at our side, and through strengthening our faith in all the ways that we can.  Sometimes we will be called upon to fight with words, as Christ so eloquently does, by clinging firmly to the truth and refusing to go along with lies.  Sometimes we will go into an arena with powerful testimony, and prepared as we might be.  But sometimes, when it is futile to speak even for the sake of the accusers, we might be prayerfully silent, as we will see Jesus do as well when He knows they are beyond repentance.  But nothing is lost or wasted in the economy of God and of our faith.  Jesus has told the parable of judgment, of the Sheep and the Goats in this reading, and, like the prophets and martyrs Christ has repeatedly mentioned, we don't know when our own suffering in our faith will be used as an occasion for God's purposes, for judgment, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the world (John 16:8-11).  We don't know how even our own suffering might be used by God when our faith tells us to accept.  We know that we will face difficulties in life; although we all could envision a life where every injustice is corrected, where we may right every wrong and challenge every slight, perfect justice does not exist in this world.   It is still beset with the effects of sin and evil, where every temptation to manipulate and abuse power remains with us, and may even be magnified through new methods of manipulation and coercion.  But our lives are meant for more than the simply worldly, and when we lose the rock of faith we lose this perspective.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus called upon the disciples to "watch and pray."  In the world of temptations which proliferate on social media, to participate in bullying or "canceling" others, to believe false stories or half-truths promulgated to encourage us to join a kind of mob, let us always watch and pray.  Let us be awake to the realities that are around us, trusting in prayerful faith to walk us through, to practice our own just behavior and righteousness toward others.  Let us remember that humility is a key to our faith.  Jesus teaches us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16), so that we may pick our battles wisely, to stand in the deep truths of faith that matter, and remain a part of the foundation Christ has brought to us.  For this is the higher ground, the place we need to be, the place in which Christ stands and to which He calls us at all times -- even when our friends may flee.

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me

 

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:18–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, say there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.    And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provision; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study bible says that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  Who do you say that I am? is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  Whichever way that this question is answered will define the universe, my study bible tells us.  Christ (Messiah, in Hebrew) means "Anointed One."  The declaration of Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God reveals that Jesus isn't simply another anointed king or prophet.  He is, rather, the long-awaited Savior.  

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Here my study bible comments that Jesus desires to keep His identity as the Christ hidden, in order to avoid the popular political and theological misunderstandings of His time.  Only after His Passion and Resurrection can His identity as Messiah be understood.  He is also preparing the disciples for the crisis they will undergo, and through which they will be transformed in faith.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."  My study bible asks us to note two things.  First, that each person must take up his own cross.  The burden in this world is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear particular struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of others around oneself.  Second, the cross is to be taken up daily.  The commitment to Christ isn't simply a one-time event.  He asks of us the continual practice of faith and obedience -- even to the point of being shameful and persecuted by the world.  

"But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  My study bible says that this is a reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration (verses 28-36), as well as to those in each generation who experience the presence of God's kingdom.  

What is it to take up one's cross daily?  What is it to be transformed in that light of the Cross that asks us to give up who we are in order to become something or someone different?  How do we choose what to give up or sacrifice for the greater life in abundance that Christ promises to us?  Sometimes there are things which are quite dear to us which we need to let go of, to find the way that God is asking us to move forward.  It could be an issue about control, or seeking to prevent harm to someone or something dear, or any number of things we would call sacred to ourselves -- because we do hold them so dear.  But there are times when God will ask us to give control to God, to find where God is leading us.  It may be "control" itself we are asked to let go of, testing our faith, asking us to walk through a place unsure and unknown.  But like the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee, we are sometimes asked to walk the unknown in faith -- times when we must let go of something and walk through uncertainty.  Each time this happens it's another refinement or honing of our faith, and the important thing is that even though we walk through a field of unknowing, we are capable of doing so without fear and while waiting upon God for the new next step, the new thing that replaces what we've let go or given up.  This is the time for prayer, for being comfortable in "not knowing" and waiting upon God.  It's the cross, our cross, and we need to be free enough to take it up.

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

- Luke 9:18-27

Yesterday we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him. And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study bible notes here that as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.   We note that here Christ is alone praying when His disciples join Him.  It is another important juncture of His ministry -- the revelation that Jesus is the Christ in Peter's confession on behalf of all the disciples.  Again, according to my study bible, Who do you say that I am? is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  How each answers this question defines the universe, it says.  Christ (Messiah in Hebrew) means "Anointed One."  This declaration by Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God is a revelation that He is not simply another anointed king or prophet.  He is instead the long-awaited Savior of Israel.

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Immediately Jesus prophesies to His disciples what is to come; that He will suffer many things and be rejected.  Even His death and Resurrection are immediately told to them.   My study bible tells us that He wishes to keep His identity as the Christ hidden from the crowds in order to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It is only after His Passion and Resurrection that His identity as Messiah can be correctly understood.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."  Immediately here Jesus admonishes His followers that they, too, must be like Him.  My study bible asks us to note two things here.  First, Each person must take up his own cross.  Every person's worldly burden is different for each, and each has been given particular struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  Second, one's cross is to be taken up daily.  The commitment to following Christ isn't a one-time kind of slogan or event.  Instead, it is the continual practice of faith and obedience, day by day and moment by moment -- and even to times of shame and persecution by the world.

"But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  My study bible tells us that this is a reference to the disciples who will witness the Transfiguration (tomorrow's Gospel reading), as well as to those in each generation who experience the presence of the kingdom of God.

What does it mean to take up one's own cross?  If we look at Jesus' words, they are really much stronger than simply advising us that we must each take up our own cross.  He says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  Let us look at this conditional statement that He gives.  If anyone wishes to come after Him, they must first deny themselves, and take up their cross daily, and follow Him.  He is suggesting that without these two factors of self-denial and a daily taking up of one's personal cross, one cannot then follow Him.  This is the logical or rational impact of Christ's statement, as He frames discipleship here.   In a modern Western context, we can hardly imagine such a "sales pitch" for joining a group or movement.  Self-denial?  Taking up one's own personal cross daily?   That doesn't sound like much fun.  But to be a follower of Christ, He's telling us, this is the requirement.  It's what we must be prepared to do in order to truly follow Him.  We might not find this sounds very appealing, but it is a recipe for healing what ails us.  It is a way to truly find ourselves.  It is a way to bring meaning into our lives.  To deny oneself is really to acknowledge that there are deeper truths and meanings than what it is we learn from "the world."  In other words, Christ takes us to places where we have to find the bedrock of who we are, in the heart.  We are offered all kinds of appealing things in a worldly sense, to gain one thing and another materially.  Now that we move toward a nominal holiday season, we have our senses appealed to in varied ways for gratification and potential fulfillment of raised expectations.  But Christ asks us to put aside what seems immediately or impulsively "good" and focus on what He offers first.  To take up one's own cross daily may have to do with particular burdens we face in life.  The hardship of illness, or perhaps a childhood affliction, the effects of harsh circumstances or trauma come to mind.  In reaction to any one difficult experience, we may find ourselves with all kinds of impulses to find any kind of gratification as a response.   This sort of "loop" is what Christ pulls us out of.  Old hurts, injustices, bad experiences, things difficult to bear, even the false hope of unrealized expectation -- in Christ's light, these all become part of the cross we take up daily when we put them in His hands and seek His solutions for our lives, His way to bear them.  To deny ourselves, in His terms, is to look beyond ourselves and to find His way to handle our problems, rather than our own immediate and limited impulses.  Christ shows us a way that is meant not only to take us beyond what we know, and below the surface of our immediate experiences, but also to heal ourselves -- and in so doing, the world around us.  This is why my study bible comments that each one of us has been given particular struggles for our own salvation and the salvation of those around ourselves.  A harsh childhood may leave us, for example, with rage or anger issues.  It is a simple thing to transfer that anger to our own children, someone who is vulnerable around us, and can't really fight back.  They offer a convenient source for venting frustration.  But to deny oneself would be to question that rage, to give it up to Christ, rather than simply indulging in its impulse within us.  To take up our cross would mean recognizing the wound from childhood we bear, and asking instead for the light of Christ for not only our own healing, but for better ways to cope with the affliction we've suffered.  If we look at His words through this lens, we can understand His teaching that these two things form our preparation for following Him, for being His disciple.  He offers us a better way, a way to heal ourselves and those around ourselves, and this is our salvation.  Can we do the work?  Can we find it?  He may not offer us "feel-good" temporary solutions, or self-indulgent fantasies.  But instead, if we so desire, we are offered truth, reality, the be-all and end-all of life's meaning -- and the capacity to make significant choices that change our own experience of reality as well as those of others around us.  Which one do you think you'd find more truly satisfying for yourself?  Which one offers you to become the bearer of true wisdom?