1. What stood out to me from this chapter?
Perhaps it was because I read this right after seeing a Living Last Supper drama. Perhaps it was because I am reading this on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week. Perhaps it was because I am not as familiar with the gospel of Luke as much as the other gospels. Or perhaps because of this journey I'm on to dig daily into God's word, I am noticing more details as I read the familiar stories. Whatever the reason or combination of factors, reading this chapter tonight felt more personal and emotional. I noticed that Jesus was agonizing in telling his disciples about the Passover feast and his suffering. I noticed the earnestness in Jesus' prayer in the garden. I noticed the exclamation marks when Jesus was telling the disciples to put away their swords. Finally I noticed the sentence that defined the next couple of days for Jesus in verse 53. "This is your hour - when darkness reigns." It was a literal darkness, since they came to arrest him at night when nobody would notice them, but it was also a spiritually dark time when the Son of God would be humiliated and killed.
2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?
In Ephesians 5:8-12, Paul encourages Christians to live as children of light, since we are now light in the Lord. He goes on to warn Christians not to have anything to do with the "fruitless deeds of darkness." It just seems to be that the physical darkness and spiritual darkness may not be all that disconnected. It seems that much of what is spiritually dark is done when it is physically dark because, as Paul also mentions in this passage, "It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret." If you want something to be secret, you do it in the dark. That was really an interesting connection.
3. What does this mean for my life?
As a personal application of this, another passage came into my head from Romans 6:11-13. Here's what it says.
"11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."
I need to be on guard that I don't give in to the temptation to obey these desires of darkness, but rather dedicate my body and life to do what is right in God's sight.
4. What questions do I have about this passage?
I don't understand what Jesus was trying to say about selling your cloak and buying a sword. I don't think the disciples did either, because they apparently scrounged up two swords, but Jesus said, "That's enough!" Later he rebuked the disciples for using their swords. I bet they were confused then too.
Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!
In Christ,
Dan
image from http://www.emfi.org/library/Biographies/Judas/images/m-capture.JPG
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