Jesus Is Arrested

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:1-75, Daniel 7:13-14, 1 Corinthians 2:7-8

Some things never get old. My second-grade students love the Get-Out-of-Jail-Free cards they find while playing Monopoly every bit as much as my generation did when we were first introduced to the game. Without it, jail is an unnecessary evil that torments them. It requires them to wait and risk the possibility of losing the entire game. Their agony is especially arduous once they learn there is a card that could help them avoid it all.

I can’t help but think of Jesus when I see that Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card. The Son of Man is the only one who has ever had access to it when we consider our eternal destiny, and He could have pulled it out any time. When Peter struck the Roman soldier’s ear to cut it off, Jesus instructed Peter to put his sword away (Matthew 26:51–52). Furthermore, Jesus told the disciples and all those who had gathered that He could have called on His Father at any point and been provided with twelve legions (72,000) of angels. Jesus had a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card but resisted the urge to use it for our advantage.

Pointing out that He had sat in the temple day after day without being seized, Jesus surrendered His power and His privilege so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled (vv.55–56). 

Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man—a title from Daniel 7:13–14. There, Daniel prophesied that the Ancient of Days had given the Son of Man everlasting dominion that would be impossible to destroy. However, none of the Pharisees, scribes, or rulers understood what it truly meant (1 Corinthians 2:8). They expected their Savior to wield His power by exercising force and exacting revenge on their enemies. They did not expect Him to forfeit His power so that He could restore all people to relationship with the Father. Knowing He had a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card, our great God chose to ignore the opportunity to utilize it, and it was good. 

As people, we have a limited capacity to understand what God calls good and what He chooses to use for His glory and ours. At the time, God’s people thought the best thing He could do for them was rescue them from Roman rule and the persecution that accompanied it. They rejected Christ’s claims when He appeared before the Sanhedrin. Crying, “Blasphemy!” they could not understand how Jesus’s claims could be good. Thankfully, God never confuses those things that will bring greater glory for what we call good. 

Good in God’s kingdom often means surrendering our power, our privilege, and even our prayers to access the presence of God, just like the Son of Man modeled before us.

May we all follow the way the Son of Man, our Savior, submitted to for us.

Written by Liv Dooley