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"When Darkness Reigns"
Luke 22:47-53
Introduction
Our country has seen so many dark days. I think of the Civil War in which
half a million Americans lost their life. I think of the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor. I think of the assassination of President
Kennedy. I think of the resignation of President Nixon or the impeachment
vote for President Clinton. I
think of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001….or the pending war with Iraq and other terrorist nations or groups. We look at all of these events and we
think of the words of Jesus in our text: "when darkness
reigns."
I. Darkness
"But this is your hour
– when darkness reigns." There was a time in the ministry of
Christ when evil was restrained. It was held back from doing its
most violent deeds. But now the power of evil has been released.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." What is
Jesus talking about? What does He have in mind?
We think of the Garden of
Gethsemane. Remember His prayer of anguish: "Father
... take this cup from me ..." (Lk 22:42)? Remember the earnestness of His prayer: His
sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground (Lk 22:44)? Remember how there is not for Him any prayer
support, how the disciples kept falling asleep as He prayed (Lk 22:45)?
We think of Peter. He was scared, scared for his life, so he denied even
knowing the Lord, let alone being one of His disciples (Lk 22:54-62). And
Peter did this after saying he will never deny or forsake the Lord (Lk 22:33)
We think of the Sanhedrin. It was an illegal meeting of the assembly,
there were trumped-up charges, witnesses lied, the death penalty did not
fit the crime He was found guilty of, and after the trial He was beaten
and spit upon.
We think of the crucifixion. The pain. The agony. The thirst. The three
hours of darkness at midday. Being forsaken by God. The taunting of the crowds and the
soldiers and even the thief on the cross.
We think of death. What can be blacker, darker, than the death of Him Who
is light?
We think of burial. Imagine that: the Lord of glory put in a grave.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." We see
darkness already in the story in front of us.
The events in front of us happen during darkness, when it is late at
night.
We see darkness in the betrayal by Judas – a trusted friend
and companion. Think of David's lament when a friend of his switches
sides and supported the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam 15):
(Ps 41:9) Even my close
friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel
against me.
Or, think of Job's
words of complaint:
(Job 19:19) All my intimate friends detest me; those I
love have turned against me.
Try to imagine a
trusted friend and companion, someone you have shared good times and bad
times with, someone you have come to depend upon and lean on. Imagine
your feelings, your anger, your bitterness, the darkness, when this
friend betrays your trust (Luke 22:1-6; cf vs 23).
We see darkness in the method of Judas' betrayal. The Bible tells
us that Judas approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus asked him,
"Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (vs 48).
In the Ancient World a kiss is used in much the same way as we use a
handshake – it is a form of greeting. Think of how Esau embraced
and kissed Jacob (Gen 33:4). Think of how Joseph greeted his brothers
once he made himself known to them (Gen 45:14-15). And, it is still used
as a form of greeting today. For instance, most of us kiss family and
friends whom we have not seen for a long time.
Do you remember the story of Amasa? Amasa was asked to lead the armies of
Judah and Israel in place of Joab. Joab removed his rival with a
kiss. As he reached forward to kiss Amasa, Joab plunged a dagger into him
(2 Sam 20). In the same way, Judas also misused a kiss. Mark's Gospel tells
us that Judas used a kiss as a means of identifying Jesus in the dark so
that the authorities would not arrest the wrong man. A sign of greeting
was turned into a method of betrayal.
Take note, too, that Jesus identifies Himself as the "Son of
Man". In the Old Testament, the phrase "Son of Man"
usually is a synonym for "man" or "mankind". However,
this phrase has a totally different meaning in the books of Ezekiel and
Daniel. For instance, in one of his night visions, the prophet Daniel saw
"one like a son of man" come on the clouds of heaven to appear
before the throne of God. He was given dominion over all peoples and an
everlasting kingdom (Dan 7:13-14). It is this meaning that Jesus has in mind when He calls
Himself the Son of Man. By this title He claims to be God in the flesh,
part of the Godhead, full of grace and glory, and having power and
authority and kingdom. Think of the darkness it takes for Judas to betray
the Son of Man.
We see darkness too in the violence, in the sword play,
that took place. When the disciples saw what was happening they assumed
that Jesus wanted them to fight. He had, after all, told them to carry
swords (Lk 22:36) and they
had brought two along with them (vs 28). So Peter swung his sword and
struck a glancing blow against the head of the high priest's servant,
slicing off his right ear. Jesus, of course, was not teaching violence.
Rather, He was telling His disciples to be ready for hardship and
self-sacrifice and to do battle against the forces of evil. The hour is dark
when men use violence and rely on the sword.
The Jews had strict rules about who could serve in the Temple and as a priest. By cutting off the ear of the
servant Peter disfigured him and rendered him unfit for priestly service.
Not only that, but an attack on the servant was considered an attack on
the master. Remember the time when Hanun, King of the Ammonites, seized
David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments
in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away (2 Sam 10)? By
attacking and insulting David's men he was attacking and insulting David
himself. By attacking the servant of the high priest, Peter was attacking
the high priest himself – the highest official representative of
God in the land. Darkness reigns when this sort of thing happens.
Finally, we see darkness when we look at the makeup of the
crowd who came to arrest Jesus. The crowd included chief priests,
elders, and officers of the temple guard. These were not minor officials.
The conspiracy reached all the way to the top – just like Watergate
included not just the men who broke into the National Headquarters of the
Democratic Party, but also included the President's top advisors and even
President Nixon himself!
Instead of doing their work in the light of day, they chose to arrest
Jesus in the middle of the night. They used the same methods as the
Gestapo and the KGB many years later – the knock at midnight, the cover of darkness, to do stuff that could
not stand the light of day.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." We all
have to admit that without Christ this statement applies to each
and every one of us. It applies to our land. It applies to the whole wide
world. It applies to the universe. You know what the Apostle John says:
(Jn 3:19-20) This is
the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. (20) Everyone who does
evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his
deeds will be exposed.
Darkness reigns. Not just out there. Not just in the world. Not
just in prisons. Not just in dark caves of Afghanistan. Not just in terrorist training camps. Not just
in the remains of the World Trade Center. Not just in casinos or strip joints or
internet pornography sites. Our natural state, our sinful state, is that
darkness reigns in you and me too.
II. Light
A "But this is your hour – when darkness reigns."
The phrase "your hour" implies that darkness holds sway only
for a while. Its time is short. Don't forget, evening and night
always gives way to morning and morning light. This means that darkness
does not and cannot have the final word.
When we look carefully we see glimmerings of light shining in the
darkness of the garden.
As we look at our passage of Scripture we notice the three-fold
rebuke of Jesus. Jesus rebukes Judas for betraying the Son of Man
with a kiss. He rebukes the disciples for relying on the sword. He
rebukes the crowd of leaders for their cowardice.
Does Jesus simply tell them off for the sake of telling them off? When we
tell or told our children how to avoid evil and what we expected of them
sometimes our children thought we were just trying to “control
them” … or, they think parents want to make their life
miserable. That's why parents tell off their kids and ground them and
have all those rules. Parents, for the most part, not always, but
usually, act the way they do because of love and concern. In the same
way, the Son of Man rebukes and reproves and admonishes out of love. He
wants to give new opportunities to repent and confess. He wants people
everywhere to recognize their sin and their shame and their fallenness.
He wants those in the garden to recognize the darkness within so that
they will come to the light.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." Darkness
does not have the last word when we look at the servant of the high
priest. Jesus heals the servant. Jesus restores him. Jesus makes him
whole again so that he is fit for priestly service. Jesus also takes away
the insult to the high priest. He brings peace where there was sword and
conflict. By healing the man Jesus shows that He does not rely on the
sword, and that His Kingdom is not based on force. Rather, it is based on
love and sacrifice and servanthood.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." The
message of the Bible is that Jesus delivers us from the power of
darkness. I love the way the Apostle Paul puts this:
(Col 1:13-14) ... he has rescued us from the
dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
(14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
By being under the
power of darkness – for a while – Jesus has transferred us
from the dominion of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. He heals us and makes us whole in the same way
as He healed and made whole the servant of the high priest.
III. God's Plan
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns." Darkness
rules for an hour. But only for an hour. Darkness holds sway only
for a while. Its time is short.
Why? What limits the darkness and the powers of darkness?
It is God Who allows the forces of darkness to attack. It is God Who, in
accordance with His eternal plan, has given them the present hour. It is
all according to the plan. It is all under God's providence. The God Who
determines the boundaries of the sea (Job 38:8-11), Who gives orders to
the morning and shows the dawn its place (Job 38:12-13), Who determines
the abode of light and the residence of darkness (Job 38:19) – it
is this God Who gives the darkness its hour. But only an hour.
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns."
There was a time in the ministry of Christ that evil was restrained. It
was held back from doing its violent deeds. In the garden and at the
cross the power of evil was released – but only for an hour. How
comforting to know that Satan and evil and darkness are again held back.
How comforting to know that the almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing God
is in control no matter what happens. How comforting to know that God
says to Satan and the forces of evil, "This far you may come and no
farther" (Job 38:11). Imagine how much worse life would be if He did
not do this.
Conclusion
"But this is your hour – when darkness reigns."
Thank God, I say. Thank God that Jesus put Himself under darkness. Thank God
that was part of God's plan. For the result is that you and I who believe
are now children of light.
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Baptist Sermon page.
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