Parkdale Grace Fellowship Sunday AM, July 9, 2017 Luke 22:47-62 When Darkness Reigns In our last study of verses 39-46 we saw Jesus lead His disciples out to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives on the night before His crucifixion. He instructed His disciples to pray so that they wouldn t fall in the time of testing that was about to come upon them all. Then Jesus entered into a time of agonizing intense prayer while His disciples slept. There was a tremendous spiritual conflict taking place as Jesus was in prayer. While facing overwhelming spiritual opposition, yielded His life to the Father s will and agreed to take upon Himself all the sin and guilt of mankind and to drink the bitter cup of God s wrath which began to be unleashed upon Jesus as punishment for our sin. Luke 22:42-44, He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. In prayer Jesus obtained the strength needed and the assurance of victory was secured. And Jesus came out of that time of prayer with peace of mind, calmness of heart and the strength and authority to continue all the way to the cross with confidence. But the disciples who opted for sleep instead of prayer were utterly unprepared for what was about to hit them. Luke 22:45-46, When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. But for them time to pray had been lost, and they were devastated by a demonic onslaught unlike anything they had ever experienced before. Now let s not forget that much of what Jesus experienced at His first coming was a foretaste of what He said His followers would experience in the days leading up to His second coming. Just two or three hours earlier Jesus had made this statement to His disciples as they were walking out to the Mount of Olives: John 15:18-20, If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I
2 chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. Then He finished with this declaration, John 16:33, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Jesus said, in Me you may have peace. This is what Jesus experienced after He wrestled with God against the enemy in prayer peace. And this is what the disciples lacked. So as we see ourselves plunging into the perilous times of the last days, which the Bible warns are coming upon us, it is vital that we heed Jesus urgent appeal, to Rise and pray lest you enter into temptation. If you wait till the trouble has come you will be too late now is the time to pray. Luke 22:47-48, And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, [who was invisibly possessed by Satan himself] went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. [A kiss on the cheek was a common form of greeting between friends in that culture.] 48 But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? Luke says a multitude approached Jesus here in the night. That means there was a large crowd of probably hundreds. Mark says it was a great multitude, John tells us that it included many armed soldiers. It was a great multitude in both the physical realm and in the unseen spiritual realm, and they have united together to not only oppose but to destroy Christ. He had been so popular and now suddenly there is a multitude organized under demonic leadership to destroy Him. This is what the body of Christ is facing today. Christianity was recently so popular and now suddenly there is a multitude organized under world-wide demonic influence with the intent to snuff out the light though most are oblivious to what is going on. The demonic powers at work behind Islam, behind GLBTQ, behind globalism, behind Catholicism, behind the left wing socialist agenda, behind the new age movement, the green movement, behind the emergent church movement and the ecumenical peace plan The demonic powers behind all of these and a multitude of others are intent on getting rid of two groups of people who are special to God: the true church Biblical Christianity and the Jewish people.
3 And what is going to be the outcome? What happened in the past is a preview of what will happen in the very near future. And who do we see in the ranks of the enemy? Most of the religious leaders and a traitor, one who had been thought to be a genuinely close friend and disciple of Christ. According to Mark s gospel, Judas had arranged a signal to identify in the night which one the soldiers were supposed to arrest the one he greeted with a kiss. The Greek word for to kiss is the same word for to love with a brotherly love. The reality behind Judas actions is the exact opposite of what it appears to be. Judas outwardly puts on the pretense that he is expressing warm brotherly love toward Jesus, but in reality he is seeking to have Him destroyed. This is the trade mark deception and hypocrisy of Satan at work through people. Think of it, Satan possessing Judas prompts him to kiss the Lord. Like Judas, many of those doing the most harm today to the body of Christ are those within the trusted, respected inner circle of popular church leadership. And they act like they are lovers of Christ, but in reality they are ushering the enemy into the body of Christ for the destruction of the church while making a deceptive show of kissing the Lord. It looks like an act of loving devotion to the Lord but in reality it is a devilish kiss from hell. (Kent Hughes, p. 341) 2 Timothy 3:13, But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Jesus saw right through it and we too need the discernment that comes through cultivating a life of prayer. Oh church let us act quickly, Rise and pray, lest we enter into temptation. Luke 22:49-50, When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. John s gospel tells us that this was Peter who didn t wait for instructions but impulsively struck with the sword. John 18:10, Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant s name was Malchus. Peter was prepared to make good on his word that he was willing to lay down his life for Christ s sake if necessary.
4 Though he was bold, Peter was acting very foolishly. Peter apparently attempted to split the skull of this man, but being a fisherman, not a swordsman, he missed and only cut off the ear. The enemy would have loved nothing more than for one of Jesus followers to have murdered a man evidence that Jesus was influencing a rebellion and that He was a threat to the Roman peace. Or Peter s actions could have triggered a violent confrontation in the dark in which they could have justified killing Jesus and some of His followers in self-defense. Luke 22:51, But Jesus answered and said, Permit even this. And He touched his ear and healed him. The Lord spoke to everyone, the soldiers with drawn swords and to His panicked disciples. He spoke with the same God-given authority that had once calmed the stormy sea, and now it defused the tense and dangerous situation and protected Peter from getting them all into trouble. This clarity, confidence, power and authority in the time of crisis was the result of His time of prayer in advance. Who are going to be the strong and effective believers in the time of crisis? Those who today in the time of calm are cultivating a life of prayer. I encourage you young adults who are embarking upon a life of prayer to trust in the Lord for the grace to continue to pursue that path with tenacity. You are on the right path. Jesus submits to God s plan and will not allow any resistance to His arrest, knowing this is the will of the Father who is sovereignly in control (even though it appears that Satan is in control) but God is working out a good plan for the salvation of all who will receive and embrace Him as their Lord. Christ s mission at His first coming was not to judge the world but to die on the cross for our sin. One day, very soon according to prophecy, He will indeed come again and at that time He will judge the world with the sword of the Spirit of God. Revelation 19:11-16, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, [that s the sword of the Spirit, the powerful word of God] that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Jesus performs one last miracle by restoring the ear of His enemy which had been cut off.
5 Jesus was demonstrating that He was willing to extend forgiveness and healing to anyone, even His enemies, if they would receive Him. According to the early church this healed servant, whom John identifies as Malchus, did in fact become one of the first Christians as a result of this encounter with Jesus. (Hughes p. 343) Luke 22:52-53, Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. These people have heard Jesus teaching, many of them have seen Jesus miracles, they have just witnessed Jesus keep His men from fighting back or resisting this mob, and now they witnessed Jesus compassionately perform the miracle of instantly restoring an enemy s ear that had been cut off. How is it possible that they could continue to arrest Him and then later sentence Him to death? But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. The very language used here in verse 53 describing the hour when darkness reigns is used in other places to describe the rule and dominion of the demonic realm. Ephesians 6:12, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Jesus is saying that the religious leaders and the demonic powers of darkness have been given freedom by sovereign God to carry out their evil desires the sin of the world has been placed onto Christ, and now the Father is going to withdraw a measure of His protecting presence and will let the enemies of God carry out their evil works against the Son of God as punishment for our sin. Luke 22:54, Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest s house. But Peter followed at a distance. The focus of the story now shifts to Peter. The other disciples have all scattered and run away except Peter and one other disciple, believed to be John (John 18:15), who followed at a safe distance. No doubt they are very distraught; they have no peace or confidence that God is in control at all. They had slept when they should have been praying. Praise God, Jesus has been praying for Peter. But because of his lack of dependence upon the Lord he is going to have to go through a very painful experience.
6 It will in the end be good for him, but it is going to hurt. Luke 22:55, Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. While Jesus is being interrogated inside Peter joins the soldiers and servants around a warm fire in the courtyard. It is late in the night, nearly morning, and it is cold. Here we see Peter who vowed to stand with the Lord to the death now distancing himself from the Lord and trying to blend in with the enemy. But the unseen demonic enemy has its eyes on Peter and is seeking to give him a thrashing and to sift him like wheat. And the demonic enemies of Christ are able to easily manipulate and to work through their human captives. And so they bring Peter to the attention of one of the servants in the group. Peter is about to discover that it is far easier to be bold and strong against a physical foe with a sword than against demonic powers working through a servant girl. Luke 22:56-57, And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, This man was also with Him. 57 But he denied Him, saying, Woman, I do not know Him. Strong demonic powers were at work on Peter s mind filling him with fear, and in a panic he lied and denied even knowing Jesus. He gave the impression that he was one of them one of the enemy, hoping to deflect attention away from himself. But unknown to him, he was not dealing with mere flesh and blood. Oh how Peter should have listened to the Lord and prayed rather than sleeping. Through this lie Satan had wrapped his first coil around Peter and he began to squeeze him. (Hughes, p. 350) The conversation around the fire probably wandered from one meaningless subject to another and there was apparently quite a variety of people, men and women sitting and standing around the fire passing the time. Luke 22:58, And after a little while another saw him and said, You also are of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not! Demonic powers once again draw one of their captive s attention to Peter and prompt the man to identify Peter as one of Jesus disciples You are one of those Christians. Once again with fear gripping his heart Peter denies being a follower of Christ.
7 And Satan wraps another coil around Peter and squeezes tighter. Luke 22:59-60a, Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean. 60 But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are saying! Luke is kind to Peter, but Mark s gospel is influenced by Peter s own recollection of the event in which he gets very detailed and honest about what he said. Then he began to curse and swear, I do not know this Man of whom you speak! (Mark 14:71) Peter completely lost it as, like a cornered wild animal, he shouted vile words of vehement denial that he had any knowledge whatsoever of Jesus. The enemy orchestrated the timing of the confrontation to maximize the pain to both Peter and to Jesus. Peter was oblivious to the fact that precisely as he was being confronted this third time other captives of Satan were leading Christ out into the courtyard where He would witness the heartbreaking scene as His most loyal disciple, behind Jesus back vehemently denied even knowing his best friend. Luke 22:60b-62, Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly. Yes, Satan was orchestrating events to serve his own purposes, but the crowing rooster at this precise moment was evidence that though the enemy was doing his utmost to destroy, God was ultimately in control to accomplish His purposes. Satan meant it for evil, but God meant it for Peter s good. We can only imagine the hellish anguish of soul that Peter must have gone through during the following hours and days! Something died inside Peter that night something that needed to die the self-confident, boastful, arrogant carnal Peter was dealt a very necessary death blow. It would prove to be the end of Peter thinking that he could follow Jesus in his own strength without total dependence upon the Lord in prayer. After this experience we never again see that self-confident, independent Peter.
8 It would be no longer Peter, but Christ living through Peter who would be in control. Let us cry out to the Lord for the grace to heed His warning, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Ask Peter if these are words to be taken seriously or not. Copyright 2017 by Parkdale Grace Fellowship Permission: You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.