TWO SOURCES OF STRENGTH FOR JESUS
Matthew 26:52-56 NKJV
52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
55 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. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
It is very important that we understand that Jesus did not walk in His all-knowing, all-powerful presence when He was on the earth. I am not taking anything away from Jesus. He was sinless and spotless and totally right before God and man. But He laid aside His heavenly powers and came as a man empowered by the Spirit of God (Philippians 2:5-11). Acts 10:38 says that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. If Jesus had come to earth as God, not a man, there would have been no reason to anoint Him. But by coming as a man, who was still God, He was able to pay the price for our sins. And He is able to sympathize with our weakness because He was tempted as we are, but with no sin (Hebrews 4:15).
So when we see Jesus talking about the Scriptures, we see a source of His strength. Jesus depended on the Scriptures and referred to them frequently. In this chapter, Jesus mentions the scriptures three times. He spoke of the disciples abandoning Him according to the Scriptures. He spoke about His destiny as being fulfilled according to the Scriptures. He knew what was going to take place in His life because of the Scriptures. And Jesus lived to see scriptures fulfilled. Jesus knew not to resist the mob that came to arrest Him because it was in accordance with the Scriptures. And Jesus did not pray that God would deliver Him from the mob so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.
The Scriptures were a source of strength, and so was His relationship with His Heavenly Father. Jesus knew that He could pray, and His father would send more than twelve legions of angels to deliver Him. Twelve legions of angels would be in the neighborhood of 60,000 angels, give or take. Jesus knew what was available to Him. Six angels could have easily handled that mob with clubs and swords. Historic accounts of angelic intervention made it clear that angels fought on a totally different level. And Jesus knew that. He knew His father would help Him. The fact that He had this amount of deliverance available to Him makes His going to the cross even more significant. He only went to the cross because He chose to, not because the mob and the Romans forced Him. He totally laid down His life, that we might live.
APPLICATION
We can not only be inspired by the courage and confidence of Jesus, we can implement His sources of strength into our lives. We can also depend on the Scriptures to point the way to our future. We know the Scriptures say in the last days, times of stress will come. So we don’t get thrown off by world events. Because the Scriptures also say we do not have to let our hearts be troubled or afraid. And the Scriptures say He will never leave us or abandon us. The scriptures become a source of strength in our lives.
And we also can have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can trust that He is for us and will help us. We can be committed to fulfilling His will for our lives and live in confidence with Him. The apostle John made a very bold statement in his letter. First John 3:21-22 NKJV “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Jesus kept God’s commandments and always did those things that were pleasing in God’s sight, and that is our goal as well.
Jesus, our example, had scriptures and a relationship with God. As we follow Him, we can also lean on these two important sources of strength.
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your commitment and courage. Thank You that You made it possible for me to have a relationship with You and the Father God. Thank You for the Scriptures that will never pass away. Thank You for these two sources of strength in my life.