When our Father makes it clear that he is not going to deliver us right away, how do we stand our ground and uphold his name during such a time of suffering? In the above text we can see that when the hour of suffering arrives, Jesus demonstrates strength, while Peter gets sucked into the evil behavior of the ‘authority of darkness’ swirling around them. Jesus' strength in the face of the evil comes directly from his relationship with his Father. And he shows this strength, first of all, by embracing his hour of suffering when it arrives. He had initially viewed ‘the cup’ with fear and distress and had prayed to be delivered from it (Med.#39) since suffering caused by evil is never good in itself. However, when the hour actually arrives, he speaks of ‘the cup’ as something ‘given’ to him by his Father. So he chooses to ‘lay down’ his life (Med.#23) to fulfill his Father's purposes.

Secondly, Jesus does not embrace the arrival of his suffering passively. He takes the initiative to meet head-on the evil that is threatening him. He not only moves towards those who have come to arrest him, he also asks the first question. Then, when these Judeans address him as a low-status ‘Nazarene’, he shocks many of them; with his answer, and they pull back and fall to the ground. Why? Maybe the way he said ‘I am he' (Gr. ego eimi) sounded to them like part of  the name’ of God that he had revealed to Moses[ii]—the God who was also Father to Israel (Med.#C). The late John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement, once told how he always paused to remind himself of who he was in Christ before entering a hospital—a place where the power of Death was always present. If he was going to be able to take initiative in faith on behalf of those in need of healing, he needed to prepare himself in his Father's name—in the name of Jesus as Son of God. We do not need to be passive in the face of evil—whether persecution, serious illness, or death.

Thirdly, Jesus shows his strength by continuing to think of the needs of others. He lovingly challenges Judas' planned evil behavior. When Judas proceeds with his plan, Jesus grieves over the loss of ‘his fellow-kinsman’. He doesn't revile him but continues to reflect his Father's character. Next, he corrects an over helpful friend. Jesus had urged Peter and his other disciples to ‘pray not to be put to the test’ (Med.#39). While some disciples do show themselves hesitant to fight back when the evil hour arrives, Peter draws his sword and uses it. In rebuking Peter's evil action, Jesus contrasts: faith in a weapon—which leads to death—with faith in the Father. Jesus is confident that his Father is still with him, and is still listening to him, and has sufficient power to defend him. The armed ‘legions’ of angels who stand ready for his Father's order greatly outnumber the crowd and the temple guards surrounding them.[iii] Yet having received his Father's strength and embraced his purposes, Jesus keeps his nerve. Demonstrating his Father’s compassion (Med.#12), he then heals the man Peter had wounded. How about us? When our friends fail us during evil days, do we still reflect our Father's character in our responses to them?

Finally, Jesus confronts those before him who represent the social leadership of his own nation. Till now they have chosen for darkness, plotting in secret rather than confronting Jesus openly. Yet if they go through with the arrest, their actions in this nighttime hour will reflect their choice to cooperate with ‘the authority of darkness’. Though Jesus had taught his disciples not to resist an evil person, he did not mean that we should never confront such people with their evil behavior. When he himself is struck in the face, he does not turn his face so he can be hit on the other cheek. Rather he challenges the one who struck him (Jn.18:22-23). In the words of Paul, Jesus does not allow evil to intimidate or overcome him. Instead he overcomes evil with ‘good’ (Rom.12:21)—calmly challenging the evil choices of his adversaries.

This is also our Father's will for us—that we walk in Jesus' footsteps and not be overcome by sin or evil during times of suffering (1 Pet.2:20b-23). We too can overcome evil by standing in our Father's name, and by reflecting his righteous character in the midst of our suffering.

Father, may your name be held holy; may your kingdom come and your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. (Mat.6:9-10,13)

Father, strengthen us by your Spirit, so that we may be compassionate as you are compassionate. (Eph.3:14,16; Lk.6:36)

[i] The whole Scripture Passage is taken from: J.K. Mellis, The Good News of the Messiah by the Four Witnesses, pp. 251, 253-254.

[ii] The first part of the divine name God revealed to Moses (‘I AM WHO I AM’ [Heb. aeie ashr aeie]), is ego eimi in the Greek Septuagint (Ex.3:14) and YHWH in Hebrew [ieue] when 'I AM' is used by itself (e.g. Ex.3:15). Or, John may be using a parallel shorter version of it in Dt.32:39 JB, ‘I (am) He’ [Heb. ani eua], and ‘I am (He)’ [Gr. ego eimi]. Moses also connects the divine name (YHWH) to the One who is not only ‘your Creator’ but also ‘your Father’ (Dt.32:3,6, Med.#A).

[iii] A legion in the Roman army comprised 6000 men. Thus 12 legions of angels would have numbered 72,000!