Gethsemane- Part 2

So Judas, having obtained the Roman cohort and some officers from the high priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen to Him, went to them and asked, “Whom do you want?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, was also standing with them. When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again He asked them, “Whom do you want?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you want Me, let these men go on their way.” This was to fulfill and verify the words He had spoken, “Of those whom You have given Me, I have not lost even one.”  Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword [back] in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” John 18:3-11 (Amplified Bible, AMP)

Once Jesus had finished praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas arrived with a military cohort, which, according to Rick Renner’s book Paid in Full, was anywhere between 300 and 600 highly trained soldiers. Plus there were also officers from the temple police and members of the Pharisees. Consider how feared Jesus was by the chief priests and Pharisees that they thought they needed that many armed Roman soldiers to arrest one man! Their torches- hundreds of them- lit up the garden like it was daylight. In their minds, there was no way they were going to let Him escape.

Yet, they had no idea the power they were really coming against. When Jesus asked them who they were looking for, they said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered them, saying, “I AM.” His response physically knocked them down. Why? Most Bible translations say that Jesus answered them saying “I am He.” but the original Greek text actually says that His response was simply, “I AM.” Think back to the book of Exodus, when Moses asked God who he should say sent Him to free the children of Israel, and God said to tell them that I AM sent him. God’s name is I AM. Jesus was not just saying that He was Jesus of Nazareth, but that He was (and is) God- the great I AM Himself. The power that went forth at that proclamation was more than the soldiers could physically resist. These highly-trained and very physically fit men were forced to the ground.

Because of the love and obedience of Jesus, He surrendered Himself to their custody rather than use that power to avoid arrest. Peter actually tried to fight, but his ability with the sword did not seem to be very good, and he only succeeded in cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Instead of harnessing the power of God to fight against the soldiers, Jesus’ power was used to heal the ear of that servant. Even in the face of certain death, Jesus was exhibiting the love of the Father.