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When Jesus\u2019 followers saw what was going to happen, they said, \u201cLord, should we strike with our swords?\u201d And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, \u201cNo more of this!\u201d And he touched the man\u2019s ear and healed him. \xa0Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, \u201cAm I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?\xa0 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour\u2014when darkness reigns.\u201d (Luke 22:49-53)

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Yesterday we heard that the enemy came with a kiss.\xa0 Today we hear that a friend comes with a sword.\xa0 Jesus stops both of them: the betrayal and the violence.\xa0 His kingdom has room for neither.

Jesus\u2019 kingdom is a kingdom of light that operates in the open of the day.\xa0 Jesus intends for his work to be seen and heard plainly.\xa0 No sneaking around.\xa0 No tricks or traps. \xa0No underhanded deals.\xa0 No coercive uses of intimidation, bribes, or violence.\xa0 None of that.\xa0 Jesus is the light of the world that reveals the motives of every heart, the actions of every hand, and the loving grace of God that comes to confront, forgive, and heal them both.

But as Jesus himself proves on this night, it is not terribly advantageous to limit oneself to pure and innocent means.\xa0 In a forceful, violent world\u2014living as children of the light is a good way to wind up dead, defeated, left behind and relegated to irrelevance.\xa0 The deeds of darkness are far quicker, more efficient and effective at achieving desired outcomes.\xa0 A sword, an army, or a bribe of 30 pieces of silver gets things moving in a way that the slow kingdom wheels of justice, discipleship, and relationships just can\u2019t hack.\xa0

That said: to be effective, many of these deeds of darkness have to stay in the dark and remain a secret.\xa0 They can\u2019t be exposed by the light of day or they will be seen for what they are: lies, injustice, and violence used to help us pursue our own ways at any cost.\xa0 Their validity vanishes in an instant.\xa0

In this particular case: it was the insiders who did it.\xa0 The clergy: the pastors and elders of the church.\xa0 The people who should\u2019ve known better if anyone did.\xa0 But clergy and other leaders are no less prone to the sins of the darkness than anyone else.\xa0 We also seek out our own ends, and when the ways of Jesus\u2019 Kingdom of Light doesn\u2019t quite seem powerful enough to win the day, sometimes we wait for the sun to set and resort to lesser things.\xa0 So enters infighting, abuse, self-righteousness, slander, and church splits.\xa0

To all of these things, Jesus says: \u201cNo more of this!\u201d\xa0 Then Jesus picks our ears up off the ground, sticks them back on our heads, and attempts to get us all\u2014the Judases and sword-wielding disciples alike\u2014to hear his correcting, revealing word of truth.\xa0

Jesus\u2019 kingdom is not a rebellious kingdom that marches onward to conquer the world with swords.\xa0 Nor does his kingdom operate in the darkness of divisive and deplorable means.\xa0 No: it is a kingdom of light and of the way of peace; of truth, justice, and righteousness that judges the hearts of all people and that would reconcile all of them together under one King: Jesus Christ.\xa0

This means of course, that Jesus will not fight back.\xa0 He will submit to this hour of darkness and wind up dead.\xa0 Counterintuitively, this is the very way that his ways prevail.\xa0 Rather than join the darkness, Jesus, the light, shines in the darkness\u2014proving once and for all that the darkness cannot overcome him.\xa0

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