Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Feb 13 2020 - Luke 22:35-53 – Weak disciples

At the Last Supper, Jesus had washed his disciples' feet; he had been among them as one who served. Now they are arguing about which of them is the greatest. Have they learned nothing from Jesus? Have they learned nothing of the nature of his kingdom and how different it is from the kingdoms of this world?

Despite their failure to act as disciples, Jesus promises that they will have a part in the kingdom which has been given him by the Father. One day they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, but for the present they need to learn what it means to follow Christ in his humiliation.

In the same vein, Jesus exposes Peter's brash self-confidence. It is evident that he does not know his own character. He is weak and will deny Jesus, but Jesus has prayed for him. He will keep him from Satan's clutches and will enable him to be a strength to his brothers.

Jesus and his disciples go on to Gethsemane. There Jesus asks his disciples to support him by praying with him. Again they show their weakness by falling asleep. The conduct of the disciples vividly reminds us of our own frailty.

All three Synoptic Gospels record the agonised prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane shortly before his betrayal and arrest. They all record the desire of Jesus to avoid the torment that lay ahead of him but also his submission to the Father's will. But Luke adds a couple of significant details; he speaks of Jesus sweating blood as he prayed, such was his agony of spirit. Luke also records that, "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him" (Luke 22:43).

There are mysteries here that we cannot fully fathom. There is a sense in which we see here the weakness of Christ. He needed to be strengthened by the ministry of an angel in his hour of need. The angel strengthened him by assuring him that his Father had not abandoned him; he would be with him even when it seemed that he had turned his back on him.

Strengthened by the ministry of an angel, Jesus went to the cross for our salvation – refusing to call on twelve legions of angels to rescue him. At the cross we see both the 'weakness' of God and the power of God that is stronger than any human strength. God's power is made perfect in weakness.

Raised from the dead, Jesus is now the one who ever lives to help and strengthen us in time of need:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16).

In our weakness we may turn to Christ our Saviour. He has tasted human weakness but he possesses all the power in the universe. He strengthens us in our weakness. And in ways I don't profess to understand, he also sends his angels to minister to us in our weakness (Hebrews 1:14).

Thank you Jesus that you are never asleep when we need your help. Thank you that you know all about our weakness and yet have promised that we will inherit your kingdom. Help us to trust in you, depend upon you and to know your risen power made perfect in our weakness. Help us also to strengthen one another that together we may live the cruciform life of your kingdom and so confound the kingdom of this world.

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Feb 13 2019 - Exodus 4:1-23 – Moses returns to Egypt

Moses' mind is racing ahead. He can see all the difficulties in the task before him. Firstly, the Israelites may simply not believe that God had appeared to him and commissioned him to rescue them from Egypt.

No difficulty is too great for God. Moses is given three signs to demonstrate not only that God has sent him, but that God is with him in all that he has sent him to do. In the first, Moses is told to throw his staff on the ground and it becomes a snake. Moses runs from it in terror, but the Lord tells his to grasp it by the tail. It immediately turns back into his staff. Perhaps the Lord is teaching him not to run from what frightens him but to take hold of it in God's name. We need to learn the same lesson.

Secondly, Moses' hand is made white and leprous and then restored again. Lastly, he is told that he will have power to turn water from the Nile into blood. The last of these signs anticipates the plagues God will send upon the Egyptians; it is therefore a sign that God has come to make life difficult for the Egyptians until they let the Israelites go. By these signs the Israelites will believe that God has sent Moses.

Now Moses comes up with another problem. He who was raised in the court of Pharaoh, raised to be a prince in Egypt, now claims that he is not the right person to go and talk to Pharaoh. For a man who claims to be slow in speech and ill-equipped to talk to Pharaoh he seems very free in speaking up before almighty God.

God is wonderfully patient in his response to Moses; "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say" (4:11-12). God is the one who created Moses and raised him up for the very purpose of being his spokesman before Pharaoh. Moreover, he will be with Moses and will give him the words to say when he needs to say them.

Moses has run out of objections. He has no more excuses to bring before God so he simply blurts out, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it" (4:13).

God is angry with Moses. Yet even in his anger he is full of grace. He has already put it in the heart of Moses' brother Aaron to slip out of Egypt to look for Moses. He will return to Egypt with Moses and will act as the front-man for what God is about to do through Moses.

How like Moses we often are. We know that God plans to build his kingdom in this world and to use us in his work, but we have eyes only for the difficulties. When all other excuses run out we fall back on the plea, "Let someone else do it." We need to recapture the vision that God can do great things through broken people; to be like Isaiah who saw the holiness of the Lord and his own unworthiness but who responded to God's call with the words, "Here am I! Send me" (Isaiah 6:8).

Creator God, you know all about me. You formed me when I was in my mother's womb. You are the one who has shaped my character and abilities. Thank you that you have also prepared work for me to do for the building of your kingdom. Show me your glory and your power. Help me to follow faithfully in the footsteps of your Son, whose meat and drink it was to do your will, knowing that he is always with me, to the very end of the age.

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Peter Misselbrook