Tuesday 12 Sep 2017

September 12: Matthew 26:51-56

Key Verse: Matthew 26:56
But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Devotion:
What are you made of? I don't mean physically, but spiritually. We all like to think when push comes to shove that we would take a step forward and defend a person in need, but when it comes to the crunch we fail oh so many times. The disciples were the closest people to Jesus, and yet they too effectively left Him for dead at this time – they ran for their lives.

Simon Peter thought he was doing the right thing in the beginning by stepping forward with his sword and cutting off the ear of Malchus (either a bad head shot or a very good ear one). But Jesus rebuked him for doing this and told him he had to let God have His way. After that, all the disciples left Jesus to be lead away to Caiaphas the high priest.

At this stage we may start to think this was one big conspiracy against Christ. But that is another reaction we often have when things do not go the way we expect them to. We look for excuses to cover things up which we cannot explain. Sometimes we don't want to look too deep in case we find something we don't like; any excuse is a much easier way out.

But what we have to remember here is that God does not need us! Yes, He loves us and He wants us to be with Him. But He does not need us – in fact He probably needs us like He needs a hole in the head! We are the sinners, we are the ones bringing the corruption into our lives. Why would He need that? The answer is simple. He loves us so much that He is willing to forgive us of everything we do wrong. He wants us to come to Him. Jesus allowed Himself to be caught and taken away so He could show us His love for us all – even when we turn our backs on Him, He still wants us to come back!

Points to Ponder:
So how strong do you think you are?

How weak does God think you are?