I AM Jesus the Nazarene
When you just want to swing a sword, there be Jesus.
John 18:1-14 | Psalm 73
We just came through what is perhaps the longest continuous section in all the gospels. John 13-17 can be seen as a single unit, a farewell meal and discourse with Jesus and his disciples. As you saw (read), it is full of foundational understandings of Jesus Christ, who he is, and what he does.
Today we begin the path to the cross in John.
Jesus gives yet one more I AM statement, though in a bit of a different format here. The statement is simple and dual: he acknowledges that he is, indeed, Jesus the Nazarene. But by saying it with “I AM,” he is indeed declaring Godship. No wonder the people there fell to the ground.
All four of the gospels tell us that someone’s ear was cut off by a disciple. But only John tells us that it was Malchus’ ear and Simon Peter’s sword. It’s an interesting inclusion for John because this gospel is not as big on narrative details unless they mean something. What might it mean for John to name Simon Peter and Malchus where the other gospels are silent?
John 18:1-14
After he said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples and crossed over to the other side of the Kidron Valley. He and his disciples entered a garden there. Judas, his betrayer, also knew the place because Jesus often gathered there with his disciples. Judas brought a company of soldiers and some guards from the chief priests and Pharisees. They came there carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus knew everything that was to happen to him, so he went out and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
He said to them, “I Am.” (Judas, his betrayer, was standing with them.) When he said, “I Am,” they shrank back and fell to the ground. He asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
Jesus answered, “I told you, ‘I Am.’ If you are looking for me, then let these people go.” This was so that the word he had spoken might be fulfilled: “I didn’t lose anyone of those whom you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?” Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the guards from the Jewish leaders took Jesus into custody. They bound him and led him first to Annas. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. (Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it was better for one person to die for the people.)
Psalm 73
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are have a pure heart.
But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped
because I envied the arrogant;
I observed how the wicked are well off:
They suffer no pain;
their bodies are fit and strong.
They are never in trouble;
they aren’t weighed down like other people.
That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
why violence covers them like clothes.
Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
their hearts overflow with delusions.
They scoff and talk so cruel;
from their privileged positions
they plan oppression.
Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
Their tongues roam the earth!
That’s why people keep going back to them,
keep approving what they say.
And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!
Does the Most High know anything at all!”
Look at these wicked ones,
always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;
I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
I’m weighed down all day long.
I’m punished every morning.
If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
I would have been unfaithful to your children.
But when I tried to understand these things,
it just seemed like hard work
until I entered God’s sanctuary
and understood what would happen to the wicked.
You will definitely put them on a slippery path;
you will make them fall into ruin!
How quickly they are devastated,
utterly destroyed by terrors!
As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,
when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.
When my heart was bitter,
when I was all cut up inside,
I was stupid and ignorant.
I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
But I was still always with you!
You held my strong hand!
You have guided me with your advice;
later you will receive me with glory.
Do I have anyone else in heaven?
There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.
My body and my heart fail,
but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.
Look! Those far from you die;
you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
But me? It’s good for me to be near God.
I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God,
so I can talk all about your works!
Prayer
God,
I admit there are times when I feel like the writer of Psalm 73. Or, I feel like swinging Peter’s sword at the world in absolute frustration, confusion, anger, and bewilderment, fully knowing that I will lose the battle. But at least I went down swinging.
Who are these people to deny your love and compassion? What is the world we live in that is so hungry for death and bloodshed and revenge? It’s hard not to join in, God. I’m just being honest.
But then you gently show me Jesus again, the re-sheather of my sword, the cool and collected one standing in the midst of rabble-rousing. So help me, God. Help me be like Jesus.
By your spirit & in his name,
Amen.