Extreme Living

"And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear."
~ Matthew 26:51

"Then all of the disciple left Him and fled."
~ Matthew 26:56


Just four verses of Scripture separate two extremes. Just a few moments really.
One minute the disciples were ready to fight for Jesus. The next, they ran away. One minute swords were drawn in a show of courage and strength. The next, they were slinking away into the darkness, just hoping they wouldn't be pursued. From ready to fight, maybe even to die, to running for your life scared.
Amazing, isn't it?

I got a little bit aggravated with Jesus' followers as I read these verses the other day. What kind of men must these disciples have been? What kind of men can go from one extreme to the other in just a minute or two? Then it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. They were like me. Or I'm just like them. So are you.
We (or should I say "I") live from one extreme to the other most days. From fired-up to cold as stone seems to be our modus operandi. I can't explain it, and I wish it wasn't that way.

Jesus wasn't surprised by what happened. He knew His disciples.
Did He want them to fight that night in the garden? No. He told them to knock it off. Put the sword away. But He didn't necessarily want them to run away in fear and abandon Him either.
Maybe He just wanted them to stand there and do nothing. Maybe He wanted them to just trust Him; to trust that this was God's plan and it was okay.

Maybe rather than running to either extreme, He wants the same from us.