By David ReayWednesday 17 Jul 2013LifeWords DevotionalsCultureReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Luke 22:47-51
47 But even as Jesus said this,a crowd approached,led by Judas,one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. 48 But Jesus said,”Judas,would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When the other disciples saw what was about to happen,they exclaimed,”Lord,should we fight? We brought the swords!” 50 And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave,slashing off his right ear.
51 But Jesus said,”No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. (NLT)
Jesus healed lots of people. Often he used these healings to teach observers that in him the rule of God was being established. They were demonstrations of God’s power designed to point people to him being the vehicle of that power. They were meant to point to something more than just the wellbeing of one individual.
However,we must not forget that they were also expressions of sheer compassion. Jesus didn’t simply use sick people as a teaching aid. Here,the gloom-ridden depths of Gethsemane,Jesus performs a healing that we can easily overlook. Amidst the drama of his betrayal and arrest and prayerful agony,we can dismiss this healing of a man’s ear as an incidental.
But it points to the compassion of Jesus. Even as he was being betrayed to a cruel and unjust death he showed kindness to one of the arresting party. Quite unlike his hot-headed disciples who chose the way of brute force.
In normal times,it is a challenge for us to show compassion to others such is our self-centredness. But it is much harder to show kindness when we ourselves are suffering or in pain. When all we want to do is curl up and lick our own wounds,we need the help of God and the example of Jesus to reach out and help heal the wounds of others.
Blessings
David Reay