John 18:10-11 • Sheath the Sword and Drink the Cup

The John Project

I’m not now nor have I ever been an athlete, but I powerwalk from my home to the beach and back daily for exercise. My route takes about an hour and includes climbing several large hills. And every day, the final ascent requires me to decide all over again to push through my fatigue and embrace the challenge for the health benefit that results. People are inclined to avoid discomfort by nature. Our bodies come equipped with an elaborate sensory response system designed to help us avoid or escape it. So, unless we’re forced to, yielding to an uncomfortable situation always requires a choice. And although I’m not in any way insinuating that a comparison can be made between the bit of resolve I exercise in overcoming reluctance to climb a hill during my workout and the Lord’s determination to climb Golgotha to face the sufferings of the cross, I believe John 18:10-11 provides us the opportunity to consider the pain he CHOSE to endure for our redemption. Attempting to provide Jesus a chance to escape arrest, Peter grabbed one of the two swords in the disciples’ possession (Luke 22:38) and attacked Malchus, the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. But the Lord immediately stepped into the fray, healed the man’s wound (Luke 22:51), and commanded Peter to sheath his weapon. Then, he revealed in public the choice he’d made in private just moments before. Knowing full well what it would mean, he’d experienced intense agony as he wrestled with his Father regarding the 𝘤𝘶𝘱 that would be set before him. But in the end, his prayer was, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42-44). So, he was saying more than words could ever capture when in response to Peter’s violent rescue efforts he asked the rhetorical question, “Shall I not drink the 𝘤𝘶𝘱 which my Father has given me?” And in that statement posing as a question, Jesus was teaching us one of the most valuable spiritual lessons of all. He was showing us by example the importance of not reacting to the difficult circumstances God allows – for purposes far greater than our limited perspective can comprehend in the moment – by grabbing the first sword we can find and trying to hack our way out. But that’s typically what we do isn’t it? My initial response to life’s difficulties is almost always to look for the nearest exit. But it turns out that those challenges are often the very things the Lord is using to escort me along the path to the fulfillment of my deepest desire, which is to know Christ and be conformed to his image. And more than that, they’re what enable me to reflect that image into this world with fewer smudges. That’s why James 1:2-4 tells us, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials...that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Learning to resist the instinct to avoid pain at all costs and choosing instead to seek the guidance of the Spirit before reacting to it is a critical discipline of our faith. Developing the habit of first engaging in Gethsemane prayer before attempting to squirm out of tight spaces can help us better follow in our Savior’s footsteps. It’s why he said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).