A Garden Conflict.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus – Oh the wonder of it all, that God loves me.

“It may be a wonder to you that I love you and every precious soul I have created. But the whole purpose of My creation exercise has been to make a platform where I can demonstrate My wonder and My glory and have a creature to respond to Me in love and awe. Those who I have created in My image to be able to relate to Me and worship Me, giving Me the Glory I deserve. Your great reward is still coming when you will pass into My presence and remain there in worship for all eternity. So do not lose your sense of wonder because that is what I want from you.”

Our reading today launches into the final action leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. We are just reading John 18:1-11 today.

Standing back and looking at the whole scene in the garden there is a certain symbolism which we should not miss. The whole of the story of God’s creation started in a garden called Eden. Everything was perfect. God with His beloved creatures Adam and Eve, relating freely to each other. They were completely free with one condition; they had to recognise God for who He is and follow Him willingly. Enter a serpent who offers a different perspective and they fall completely for it, as it seems to offer them autonomy from God. We all know the consequences which resulted in the chaos we still experience today. However from the beginning God has had a plan and that plan was coming to fruition in a garden in Palestine thousands of years later.

Here God Himself, in human flesh faces the serpent in the form of a detachment of soldiers led by a great traitor, Judas. Initially it appears as if Satan is once again going to win the battle for the world and the souls of men everywhere. But such is the enigma of Christianity, the apparent loss of this skirmish is the beginning of the greatest victory of all time.

In this paragraph we see the clear indication that God is in charge. Firstly in the soldiers initial reaction to Jesus’s identification of who He is, “I Am” in vs 5. Then the remark in vs 9 “This happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled.” Finally His statement in vs 11, “Shall I not drink this cup which the Father has given Me?”

Reflecting on the passage I find it interesting that the soldiers were prepared to go on with the arrest, even after their initial reaction to Jesus’s identification of who He is. It shows the perverse nature of humanity. I think that sometimes when we are about to do something contrary to God’s will we may also stand up and continue despite the sense of God’s presence. Fortunately we have a forgiving Father who patiently draws us back to Himself, even though we may have to live with the consequences of our actions.

To me the main message of this opening section of action is that even when we are in the garden of conflict and suffering we are living with a Saviour who has experienced the greatest suffering possible yet won the victory for us. That even when all appears to be lost there is an underlying golden thread of ultimate victory which will be our reward.

The other encouragement we can get from this passage is that when we experience one of the greatest trials as humans, when someone who we love and trust betrays us, Jesus has been there and understands and can minister to us. Judas had walked with Jesus for three years, been intimately close to Him and shared in everything all the other disciples shared, yet for a few pieces of silver was prepared to betray Jesus, knowing that it would lead to His death.

This story is so familiar, maybe before you finish, close your eyes and imagine the scene. The dark, then a group of men running with torches clamouring for blood like a pack of hounds. Imagine the emotions of the disciples and of course Jesus who is the target. Smell the night air, the oil from the lights, the heavy scent of the garden and the smell of fear. He did this all for us and this was just the beginning of this long and fearful night.

God bless till next week.