Take your Bibles with me again and turn to Luke 22. Luke 22, we've been going through this book now for a couple years and we're almost at the end of it. We are at the part right before Jesus goes to the cross. In the next chapter, Jesus will be tried and crucified. And the chapter after that is the last one where Jesus rises from the dead. But here we're looking at the last moments of Jesus' freedom, his last moments on earth as a free man outside of the custody of those who would kill him.
We don't have a long text this morning. We're going to read verses 47 to 54.
47 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
50 And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.
Luke 22:47-54
The part that sticks out to me in this text is verse 53, where Jesus says to those arresting Him, this is your hour and the power of darkness.
I've told you many times about the time in high school when I got stuck in a cave, literally lost in a cave for hours and had to be rescued. I spent that time sitting on the edge of a cliff in a giant underground room that was completely and totally dark.
The two people who were with me and I had a few flashlights, obviously, but we had no idea how long we would be there. And so we sat in total darkness as much as we could.
I don't know if you've ever experienced complete darkness. The complete absence of light. It's so dark that it's oppressive. That's what it was like, sitting in that cave.
Jesus called this the power of darkness, the hour of darkness.
This was the devil's hour. This was hell's hour. This was the time when Satan's plan to get rid of Jesus was coming to full fruition. These high priests and the small army they brought with them, Judas coming with them to betray Jesus for a small amount of money, pure evil in their hearts.
Think of the darkness of Judas's betrayal. He comes to Jesus and gives Him the customary greeting of a beloved teacher. He lays his hands on Jesus' shoulder and kisses Him. And in that action he shows all of these people which one was Jesus, which one needed to be arrested.
How could you watch somebody do the miracles that Jesus did? Touch lepers and heal their leprosy. Touch the eyes of the blind and make them see again. How could you watch somebody like Jesus live so unselfishly, and yet betray Him?
Think of the darkness of the high priests. They're coming at Jesus in the middle of the night because they're afraid of the crowds. They know what they're doing is wrong, and so they're trying to hide it. They're so terrified of Jesus they bring a small army with them. Other passages tell us they even enlist Romans to do their dirty work. They hate Jesus and His threat to them so much that they're treating Him like a fugitive, like a common criminal.
This is the hour of the power of darkness, and yet even in this time of darkness, we see the light. Even in this time where things are as black as can be, Jesus shines. And I want to show you four ways that He shines this morning.
Let's pray, and I'll show you those four things.
The first way Jesus shone a light in the middle of the hour of darkness was
1. His plan and prediction of the whole thing.
The secular view of Jesus is that He got caught in the gears of politics, that He was some good guy who just stepped on the wrong toes and, surprised by the whole thing, ended up on a cross. That is not at all the Jesus the Bible shows us here.
Jesus had predicted many times that He was going to be arrested and killed. For instance, all the way back in chapter 9 Jesus said:
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
Luke 9:22
Right before they made this last journey to Jerusalem, Jesus had said:
31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Luke 18:31-33
Prior to their coming to the garden, in the upper room, Jesus said
21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
Luke 22:21-22
Immediately prior to this arrest, He tells the disciples to pray because they're about to go through their greatest temptation.
Then Jesus prays, asking God to let this cup pass from Him, submitting Himself to the Father's will. When He's finished, He says to the disciples again that they need to pray because they're about to go through their greatest temptation. And just as He's saying it, right on time, come the high priests, their small army of followers, and Judas.
This did not catch Jesus by surprise. This hour of darkness was an hour that had been circled on His calendar since before the creation of the world.
When Judas kissed Jesus, Jesus knew exactly what was happening. He didn't say, what's this? What's this about? He said, you're betraying Me with a kiss.
This entire thing was part of God's plan, and that shows the power of the light. Listen to this: if the greatest act of darkness man can come up with is a key part of God's master plan to save the world — who is really in charge?
A second way that Jesus shone a light in the hour of darkness was with
2. His willingness to obey God and go to the cross.
Notice in this story that Jesus did not resist the mob. The disciples try to — Peter, and we know it's Peter because John names him. Peter whips out his sword and goes after people. He cuts off some guy's ear that another passage tells us is named Malchus.
Think about that for a second. How do you cut off someone's ear? You cut off their ear because you're going for their head. To cut off someone's ear you have to be either really good or really bad with the sword.
And notice Peter didn't go after a soldier. He went after a servant of one of the high priests.
And Jesus speaks up and says, "Suffer ye thus far." Do you know what that means? Let me translate that into modern English. It means, "Enough! Stop! That's not what we're doing here!"
Jesus did not resist these men at all. Now I want you to understand something. Jesus had at His disposal thousands of angels. Whole companies of angels that could have wiped these people out. In another passage, it tells us that when these people came to arrest Jesus, He said, "I am," and they all fell over. Jesus had the power to make sure that none of this happened, and yet He willingly went with them.
And He willingly went to the cross. Listen to what Jesus said in John 10:
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
John 10:17-18
Jesus was not an overwhelemed person here - He was willingly laying Himself down for us. In last week's message he prayed "Not my will, but thine be done" and here he wasn't praying - he was actively laying down himself for us.
So church, in the hour of darkness Jesus shone a light by predicting the whole thing. It wasn't a surprise. And willingly obeying God, submitting Himself to these people, even when He had the power to resist and destroy.
There's a third way Jesus showed the power of light and the hour of darkness, and that is...
3. His compassion on His enemies
I think Jesus shows compassion two different ways to his enemies in this story. The first way is in the question he asked Judas in verse 48 when he said, Betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss? I think Jesus, and I'm not alone here, I think Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to repent, to change his mind.
Even in the end, even when Jesus is being personally betrayed, he's caring for the soul of the person that betrayed Him.
The second way that Jesus shows his compassion on his enemies in this story is what he does with Malchus. Malchus, the book of John, tells us is the name of the guy that got his ear cut off, just a lowly servant of the high priest. And Peter lobs the guy's ear off, probably tried to lob his little head off and mist. And Jesus quietly picks up this ear and miraculously heals Malchus' ear.
You know, The Book of Luke is the only book that tells us this. And I think it's because Luke was a doctor. And he was fascinated by this kind of thing.
But think about this, what was Malchus there to do? He was there to arrest Jesus to crucify Jesus, Jesus who had done no wrong, Jesus who deserved none of the treatment that he was getting And yet Jesus' last miracle, before his crucifixion was to heal this man's ear.
Think about this, Malchus was there to do much worse than remove Jesus' ear. And yet Jesus tenderly healed him.
You know, Jesus had told this to his followers:
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:27
But He didn't just say it - He did it. Even in the hour of darkness - He was concerned for others.
And ultimately, He did this by dying for His enemies.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Jesus didn't die for a bunch of his friends. Jesus died for His enemies - for people who had resisted Him and rejected Him. He took their sin on himself.
So Jesus showed the light in the darkness by planning and predicting the whole thing, by willingly obeying and submitting himself to it, by showing compassion on his enemies. So one more thing. I think he shows the light with, and that is
4. His protection of His followers
The disciples were ready to go to blows. They had two swords and they were going to use them. And Jesus stopped them.
Two swords against a mob isn't brave. Two swords is a massacre waiting to happen.
In John 18:8 (another passage telling this same story) Jesus said:
8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
John 18:8
So don't miss this, in the hour of darkness - in the time of His own arrest - Jesus is concerned for His disciples. He is keeping them from messing up what He is trying to do, He is covering for their mistakes, and He is telling the mob "take me, and leave these alone."
Do you know what Jesus did there? He took their place. The darkness was allowed to take Him. It was not allowed to take them.
John even says it in John 18:9
9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
John 18:9
That's the whole Bible in a garden. If you want Me, take Me. Let these go.
And look at verse 54. They take Him. Peter follows afar off. Protection tonight is not that Peter never fails. He's already backing up. Protection is that they walk out of that garden alive because He walked in. If Peter keeps swinging, the twelve go down with Him, or they get arrested before anybody is left to tell you He rose from the dead. "Suffer ye thus far" is a wall around His own.
So don't miss this. In the hour of darkness Jesus is not careless with His people. He puts Himself between the mob and them. He covers their mess. One of them didn't even wait for the answer before he swung. And Jesus still says, take Me.
That is not a promise that He will keep you from every hard thing. It is a promise that when the dark hour comes, He stands in front.
So church, Jesus showed the light in the darkness by planning and predicting the whole thing, by willingly obeying and going to the cross, by showing compassion on His enemies, and by protecting His followers.
Conclusion
Church, do you see how Jesus wins? It is not how the world wins.
The world wins with a mob. With swords and staves. With a secret meeting at night. With a kiss that is really a knife. That is the power of darkness: take what you want, hide what you're doing, and swing first.
Peter thought that was how you show up for Jesus. Two swords. Cut a man. Win the garden. And Jesus said, Enough. Stop. That's not what we're doing here.
Later He said it as plain as it can be said:
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
John 18:36
His plan for winning is not the sword. His plan for winning is the cross. He planned this hour. He walked into it on purpose. He spoke a betrayer's name in mercy. He healed an enemy. He put Himself in front of His people. That is how the Light fights the dark.
And church, that is how you show the light. Not by taking up the sword. Not by matching darkness with darkness. Not by winning the argument, winning the slight, winning the room. You show the light by being like Jesus — telling the truth, obeying the Father, showing compassion when it costs you, and trusting Him to keep you when the hour is black.
I told you about that cave. We sat in a room so dark it felt like it had weight. We had a little light, and we saved it, because we didn't know how long the dark would last. But here is what I learned in that hole in the ground, and here is what this text is shouting: darkness is loud, and darkness is heavy, and darkness can have a long hour — and it still cannot put out the light. You turn on even a small light and the dark has to back up. It does not get a vote.
Hell had its hour in a garden. They took Him. They thought they had won. And three days later the Light walked out of a grave.
Darkness got the hour. Light got the last word. Don't fight like the world. Follow the One who won without a sword. Come to the Light.
