“HOW WOULD YOU BIND THE HANDS OF THE LORD?”
John 18:12 “Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,”
This creature called Man has incredible abilities and his knowledge is ever increasing. During his existence he has learned to do the most unbelievable things and it seems as if there is no end in sight. Great advances have been made in the areas of technology, medicine, science, intellect, and innovations.
Man has even learned to do the one thing that I didn’t think was possible. He has learned to bind the hands of God. Think about what an incredible feat that is! Who would have ever thought it possible? We are talking of the One who, by His hand, created the earth and all the beauty of nature. The One to whom nothing is impossible.
There are some things that are impossibilities to man. The sun, moon, and stars cannot be controlled by man. In his most creative moment man has never made anything like them. The hand of God flung them into the heavens and created their orbit. They perform at His bidding! How do you bind hands that have that kind of creative power?
Man has no control over the element of time. We do not create it nor can we stop it. It marches ever onward whether we want it to or not. Yet, Joshua prayed and the hand of the Lord stopped the sun in its tracks and time stood still. How do you bind the hands that are strong enough to stop time?
Man does not possess the ability to control the forces of nature. Jesus said, “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” We may shield ourselves from the wind but we do not cause it to rise and fall. When the howling rains and wind of a summer thunderstorm shake us, all we can do is wait for it to spend itself. We have no power or authority to dry the heavens or silence the wind. Psalms states that the “Lord command the stormy wind.” It was Jesus, not a disciple, who stepped to the bow of the ship on a stormy night, raised His hand and spoke the words, “Peace, be still” and instantly the wind and rain ceased. How in the world did it ever become possible to bind the hands of the One who can control the forces of nature?
Man is clothed with a human body that he has very little understanding of. Doctors have a certain ability to help the healing process. Through surgery, medication and rehabilitation they can speed the process along. The most cutting edge hospitals and research centers have yet to fully unlock the mysteries of the human body. They never have had the ability to form a man out of the dust of the ground. Yet, God, on the 6th day reached down with His hand and picked up a handful of dust. With His hands he formed and fashioned a man after His own image. Then, with those same hands, He lifted the face of man to His own and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Again, I ask, how can you bind the hands of one as unbelievably powerful as that?
There are even those situations in life where only a miracle will do. Blindness, leprosy, and even death. Try as man might, he does not have it in his hands to be able to correct these things. Years of research have been spent trying to find ways to help those in these situations and very little progress has been made. Yet, Jesus had the ability in a moments time to totally correct these kinds of problems. From the crowd He heard the cry, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” The blind man runs to Him and asks for His sight. Jesus raises a hand and touches them to the eyelids of the blind and instantly they begin to see. Ten men approach Jesus. He takes one look at their emaciated bodies and can tell that they have been ravaged by leprosy. Others would have turned them away and shunned them. Jesus simply stretches forth a hand and gives the command for them to be whole and the leprous body gives way to healthy pink skin. I wonder, how is it possible to bind those hands? It is beyond comprehension that someone would be able to bind those hands!
Probably the one who could best answer that question would be the soldier in the
garden who took rope in His hands and literally bound them. No, we cannot physically
bind them today the way the soldier did. And even if we could that would have little
effect on the Lord. But before the soldier ever bound His hands physically he bound them
first in his own mind. Just like we do so many times. Before the first knot was ever tied
He was already bound. Some conclusions had already been reached, and by reaching
them they began to bind Him. They had already decided He was not who His followers
said He was. They had predetermined that the stories of the miracles were just the smoke
and mirrors of some charlatan. To them He definitely was not God manifest in the flesh.
And more importantly, they had decided He would not be their Savior. And that
also is how you bind the Hands of the Lord.
When you refuse to see Him for who He is, you bind His hands. When you have come to the conclusion that He really is not Lord in your life, you bind His hands. When the issue is settled that you have no need of a Savior, you bind His hands. It’s just as if you are the soldier in the garden about to lead Him to His death. In your mind you have your preconceptions that will allow Him to be crucified and not live in your life. You have heard the stories and seen the proof, and yet you still would rather bind Him and lead Him away from your greatest need. They bound Him in the garden and He allowed them to lead Him away as a lamb to the slaughter. They bound Him to a post and began to whip Him with a cat-of-nine-tails until His back was lacerated beyond recognition. They took Him to a place called Calvary and bound Him to a cross. They then took His body and laid it in a tomb and bound it with a stone. But it was here that the binding process lost its effect. On the third day He broke the bonds of death, hell and the grave and His hands have been loose to work ever since in the lives of those who have not bound Him.
Have you bound the hands of the Lord? Have you already decided that He will not be your Savior? Are you once again leading Him from the garden to Calvary and on to the tomb? It’s time to loosen His hands and let Him leave the tomb and live in your life.
He is everything His Word ever said He was and more. Whatever you need Him to be, loose Him, and let Him be!
