(260) Sept 5/2016 – Ironies in the Garden

Monday Meditation
September 05, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins

Ironies in the Garden

“Judas then having received a band of men and officers
from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns, and torches, and weapons.” John 18:3

The Gospel accounts of the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ are an exhaustless resource from which we can mine precious nuggets of gold. Each Gospel writer presents Christ in a unique manner, displaying a fresh facet of His person and work for us to appreciate. Accounts vary but never contradict; they complement and do not clash.

But not only can we enjoy Him as we read each Gospel account, but as we compare the Gospels, we gain fresh insights into His Person and work, and delightful sources for meditation and worship. Each of the writers provides aspects of His life and death which are windows in His work and into the Father’s heart.

Consider just this verse from John 18. What is so significant about John mentioning that they came with lanterns, torches, and weapons? Matthew and Mark mention the swords and staves (Matt 26:47; Mark 14:43); Luke just speaks of a multitude coming with Judas (Luke 22:47), but does not mention the weaponry. It is only John who writes and tells us that they came with lanterns and torches, as well as weapons.

Come back in your thinking to chapter 1 of this Gospel. It is only John who introduces the Lord Jesus as the Light (v 9) and as the Lamb (v 29). This is setting the stage for the great irony of the scene in the garden. Men came to search for the One Who is Light and thought that they would need lanterns and torches, natural sources of light. They came with weapons to subdue the Lamb Who was marked by meekness.

The Light of the World would not hide in darkness. It was totally inconsistent with His person. The Lamb would not rebel against the will of His Father; it was His total purpose in coming. Yet men thought they would need their lights to flush Him out of hiding. They thought they would need their weapons to subdue Him and capture Him. What a shock to them to see Him coming forth to meet them (v 4)!

The first man in a garden hid from God, trying to avoid the consequences of his sin (Gen 3:8). But this Man is an entirely different Man. This Man in the garden went forth. Rather than pointing to another as Adam did with Eve, He said, “Let these go their way” (John 18:8).

The Lamb did not resist the capture by men. In contrast, He went forth to meet them. John adds, as He is always careful to assure us of the deity of the Son, that Jesus went forth knowing everything that would happen (v 4). It was not blind devotion or the courage borne of ignorance of the outcome. It was intelligent devotion to His Father.

Consider

1. Can you find other ways in which the Lord Jesus is presented in John 1 and contrast them with the cross?

2. Can you find the three occasions in John 4, 5, and 6 where the Lord Jesus speaks of His relationship to the Father’s will?

3. Virtually every chapter of John makes mention of the Lord Jesus “knowing.” Trace out the omniscient Christ in the Gospel.

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