John 18:4-11 Sermon. Lent 2021. “I thought it was the right thing to do in the moment, but now I know better.” How many times could we say that to a past version of ourselves? Can you imagine Peter later in his life thinking about cutting off a man’s ear; shaking his head and saying, “I was so convinced. So zealous. And so wrong.” You at least have to give him credit for carrying through on a dangerous plan of action - swing a sword against a group of soldiers with better weapons, better armor, better training. That took courage. But no matter how courageous; you also have to ask, why would Peter have wanted to fight with a sword in that situation? In seeing his misguided zeal, we can better understand our own. But even more importantly, we can see how Jesus handled not only the challenge of the murderous mob; but also the misguided zeal of one of his closest followers. Jesus knows just what to do for us when we take our zealous activity in a misguided direction as well. First, consider the situation. Jesus had already begun to feel overwhelmed with great sorrow to the point of death in the garden of Gethsemane. He’d been reminded that the path to the cross he’d walk alone. He couldn’t even count on his three closest companions to stay awake and pray with him. Then a mob of temple police and Roman soldiers came under the authority of the Jewish leaders. Judas led them directly to Jesus. They were well armed and prepared to take Jesus away to be killed. Jesus knew all that was going to happen. None of this caught him by surprise. He had the ability to defend himself. He demonstrated his power in the face of this dangerous mob when he said, “Who are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he.” Jesus said. At his simple words which revealed his true identity as the great I Am, the armed, strong soldiers and police fell to the ground in his presence. You could imagine Peter and the others thinking, “Yes, this is what we’ve been waiting for Jesus using his power to force his enemies into submission.” But then Jesus let them get up. He didn’t call a legion of angels, didn’t slip away from danger like he had on other occasions. He let the armed, dangerous mob get up and only said, “Let these other ones go. I am the one you want.” When the armed mob stepped closer to Jesus, Peter responded with a sword. Peter was reacting; but he also had prepared for this moment, at least enough to have a sword available. When the moment of confrontation came, Peter was not undone by fear or cowardice. He took action. He faced a fearful situation and went toward the danger, not away. He swung the sword at his enemy, and did some damage. Maybe not the most skillful strike, an ear isn’t usually the target. But it seems he was aiming for the head, attempting a kill stroke. He was willing and able to do violence to the enemy. Some leaders of religious movements would have responded favorably to this kind of bravery. Some followers of leaders have found themselves rewarded for this kind of loyalty. But not Peter, not with Jesus.
What caused Peter to swing the sword and cut off an ear? Peter was on some level defending a Jesus of his own desires. A Jesus who would not go to a cross and die, who would not rise from the dead. Why not? Perhaps Peter didn’t realize that something so terrible and dramatic was needed. Were Peter’s sins really as bad as all that? Did he really need Jesus to suffer so much for him? Didn’t he just need a Jesus who would keep teaching, and healing, and miracle working? Wouldn’t Peter and the rest figure out how to get it right if Jesus just stuck around a little longer? If they could just get rid of those terrible religious leaders in Jerusalem. If they could just establish their group as a religious authority, a political power, a teaching and healing center. With that kind of mindset, a sword has a certain attraction. It becomes a tool to achieve your noble goals, an unfortunate means to a justified end. Just think of how many throughout history have looked to a sword as a tool to reach their goal; and how much blood has been shed as a result. But it’s not just swords of steel. There are lessons for all of us in this story. At times we face situations in which Jesus’ name is being threatened. We know his word has the power to obliterate any argument against him. Our zeal can become misguided in how we lash out at others. At times we zealously post something online, designed to cut apart arguments and people who make them, designed to cut off ears rather than heal them. Or we make confrontational arguments with people who hit a hot button issue. We, like Peter, fall into misguided zeal, all in the illusion of defending Jesus. I want you to think of an abrasive situation you’ve faced recently. In the past year or so, it’s often been political differences, opinions on how to handle a pandemic, different perspectives on racism in our nation. Or on a more day to day level, it can be something as simple as, who is going to pick up the books that have been left out on the living room floor and put them away? Who is going to wait their turn to speak instead of interrupting others? Who is going to put the sword down first and say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong?” Will you reach for the sword at such moments? Jesus doesn’t need our swords any more than he did Peter’s. Instead he wants you to see how he responded to the murderous mob; and to Peter’s misguided zeal. Jesus not only carried the weight of soul-suffocating sorrow, but he also had to manage Peter potentially messing things up. Yet without changing his plan or strategy for that terrible day, Jesus simply stepped in and made it clear - a sword was not needed. Fighting with force was not the way he’d handle this danger, this confrontation, this fight. He healed the man’s ear, and told Peter to put the sword back in its sheath. Instead of a sword to swing, Jesus had a cup to drink. “The cup the Father has given to me, shall I not drink it?” Now, what is this cup? Some of the Old Testament prophets had mentioned a cup of God’s wrath that he would force people to drink because of the ways they had offended him by their idolatry and rebellion against him. Jeremiah 25 is one place that describes this cup: God said to Jeremiah, “ ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath, and make all the nations, to whom I
send you, drink it. They will drink, stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.’ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he had sent me drink from it - to destroy them and to make them an object of horror and derision, and to make them a curse.” The cup Jesus chose instead of a sword was the cup of wrath. The cup that should be forced on not just the really terrible people of this world; all people should have to drink this awful cup. You have contributed to this cup as well. You and I have offended God, treated him like an enemy, done what is vile in his eyes, acted in ways that are poisonous to other people. We should have this cup waiting for us. We should have to stagger and go mad; be destroyed and cursed. Jesus could have responded to the confrontation in the garden by saying, “give me a sword, not that cup.” But instead he preferred to drink the cup of wrath rhimself. He knew the Father had determined not to force the offensive sinners of the world to drink the cup of wrath, but instead his perfect obedient son. “The Father has given me this cup, I will not use a sword to avoid it.” Why would Jesus prefer this cup instead of a sword? The only reason is to bring you close to himself again. Jesus knew that if any of us were forced to drink the cup of God’s wrath; we would not be able to handle it. The first sip would send us spiraling into an existence of weeping and gnashing teeth and darkness - all apart from God, eternally cursed. We could not handle the full poisonous consequences of our sins without it eternally ruining us. So he drank it instead. Jesus was the only man who could drink this cup not because he had produced any ingredients of divine wrath; he never rebelled against his Father. He drank it as a volunteer; not obligated, but a willing substitute. Jesus was the only one who could drink this cup, terrible as it was for him, and yet not be eternally undone by it’s poison. Even as Jesus drank and staggered and suffered the curse of sin; he did not curse his Father. He did not rage against the wrath he endured, but trusted that this was right, this was what his Father wanted. Jesus, as man and God in one person, was the only one who could actually drain the contents of this terrible cup, and die as a result, but then rise to life again 3 days later. Because Jesus has risen from the dead, the cup of wrath is now a thing of the past. No one needs to drink that terrible poison anymore. He now lives to give you an overflowing cup of blessing instead. When the mob came, Jesus followed his plan, one that was zealous and true. He wanted to let the others go free so he could drink the cup for them. He wanted to fulfill his own words that “None of the ones given to me were lost.” He knew that to keep those words he would need to suffer. When the confrontation came near, Jesus didn’t flinch in moving toward the cup of wrath and not away. At the moment of confrontation, zeal for violence wasn’t needed. Sacrificial willingness to die was. Jesus was able and willing to do it alone. To go first and only after that to ask his disciples to follow him. Later on in Peter’s life, we don’t hear of him swinging swords. Instead we hear about Peter facing challenge and danger with a message of a once dead but now living Jesus. We see Peter willing to put up
with imprisonment and beating himself without grabbing for a sword, but instead rejoicing to be counted worthy of suffering for the name of Jesus. It was as if Peter knew Jesus had drank the big cup of suffering, now he was asked to drink little cups of suffering as a way of serving others. Peter later on recognized that the world doesn’t need 12 administrators, but 12 servants; not 12 military leaders and fighters; but 12 proclaimers of Jesus’ death and resurrection; not 12 violent, zealous defenders of Jesus, but 12 gentle yet firm proclaimers of the one who laid down his sword in order to drank the cup of wrath for sinners. We, like Peter, need forgiveness for the times we don’t respond well to confrontations and challenges; the times that we hurt and damage others in our misguided zeal. It’s amazing that Jesus didn’t berate or banish Peter. He didn’t say, “That’s the last foolish thing you’ll do as a part of my group. Go away.” Instead Jesus calmly put the ear back on, corrected Peter, and went to the cross. Not only that, but later, Jesus allowed Peter to serve a vital role in the spreading of Jesus’ word around the world. So also with you, for the times that you have swung a verbal sword at someone and hurt them and driven them further from God instead of closer; or even if you have done physical violence to another person; Jesus is able to heal the hurt you’ve caused. He’s able to correct you and teach you. He was still willing to drink the bitter cup for you. And he still wants to use you to proclaim his death and resurrection to others with sacrificial service and love. At times Jesus and his word will be attacked in this world. What is needed is not the misguided zeal of sword swinging. Instead Jesus wants you to see him drink the cup or wrath all the way down, and to talk about that. He wants you to put your sword back in its sheath and follow him. Once Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek.” I heard a Greek scholar describe the word meek as: “someone who knows how to use a sword but who keeps it sheathed.” It is good to know your bible, know the true Jesus; but you don’t need to jump at any opportunity to cut people’s ears off. Know how to use logical arguments or emotional appeals to the truth of who Jesus is; but generally, keep those swords sheathed. Instead of winning arguments with verbal swords, let Jesus win souls with his cup. That’s what actually ends confrontational, hostile fights. This Lent season we admit, we have often been misguided in our zeal. We need someone not to just teach us a little more, or give us a sharper sword, or put us in a position of power. We need forgiveness. We need someone to drink the cup of wrath for us, someone to die for us, someone to rise for us. In Jesus, that’s what we have. Though the sword of divine power was always available to him, he kept it sheathed. He is the cup drinker, the sword sheather, the Savior we need. He can train our hands for humble service and loving care. Amen.