DON’T YOU KNOW THERE’S A WAR ON?
Who’s in control?
You know how it is when you are driving down the highway and your spouse sees danger where you supposedly do not…that scene plays out frequently in our van.
Sharon and I have had to get used to each other’s driving over the course of our marriage. Sharon has an imaginary brake pedal on her side of the van that she slams on when she sees trouble up ahead. She grabs the door handle tightly and holds her breath. Or she will alert me to a braking car up ahead, deer in the ditch, or another car about to turn on to the highway. It drives me nuts sometimes; other times I know it’s just Sharon’s way. I also know that her eyesight and depth perception are getting worse and that car is not as close as she thinks.
My response is often curt: “I’ve got it under control. Stop worrying. I’m driving, not you.” Yes, I’ve got it under control. Or do I? There are all kinds of variables that are not under my control. I don’t know what that car is going to do. I don’t know if that deer will decide to jump. I have no idea if there is black ice on the road and I won’t be able to brake. How much control do I really have?
If I am not in control then it is comforting to most of us to know that someone is in control. We take comfort in knowing that God is in control. But what does that mean?
In John’s record of Jesus’ arrest we are given a picture of his Lordship or his control of the situation. But there are questions that arise as to the extent of this control. Does Jesus’ control mean that he influences the outcome? Does he orchestrate every movement for his own purposes? Can Jesus make things happen? What does “control” mean?
When we say “God is in control” we suggest something that may not accurately describe the situation we are in. We may not even be theologically correct in how we use that statement. You see, if we perceive and give Jesus too much control in the Garden, then we are forced to say that Jesus committed divine suicide. If Jesus orchestrated every little detail so that the Jews, Judas and the Romans were simply playing their parts in God’s drama so that Jesus would die, it is suicide. On the other hand, if we give Jesus too little control in the story of his arrest, we would be saying that Jesus was a victim of circumstance, a good man who got into bad trouble.
The question I am raising is, when we experience evil and really bad things happen to us, how much can we say that God is in control? The problem of evil in the world is a tough one to answer if we categorically proclaim that God is in control. Our conclusion boils down to an uncomfortable position where God is responsible for evil. We all still draw so heavily on Augustine’s response to the problem of evil, attributing pain and suffering to the mysterious “good” purposes of God. We say, “I don’t know why this happened to me but God must have a plan.” And I say “why?” Why does evil have to be the plan of God?
The implications of such a belief are horrendous. You have heard of Ted Turner, the founder of CNN and other networks. He is a well known critic of Christianity. What is not well-known is how Ted Turner became an outspoken critic of Christianity. Apparently, as a teenager, Turner wanted to become a missionary but lost his faith when his younger sister contracted a disease and died. Turner said, “I was taught that God was love and God was powerful and I couldn’t understand how someone so innocent should be made or allowed to suffer so.”
In the spring of 1991, a loving mother wept over the FLAG DRAPED coffin of her son killed in the Gulf War. She said, "I’m doing my best to SURRENDER my son’s DEATH as the WILL of God."
She was having trouble ACCEPTING that it was God’s WILL that her son die in that WAR, and was feeling GUILTY because of her DOUBT. Was it really God’s WILL that her son LOSE his LIFE fighting an ENEMY he had never seen prior to going to IRAQ? Maybe it wasn’t God’s WILL at all, but the WILL of Saddam Hussein.
Our difficulty is resolving the problem of evil in our world. Here’s the math: If God is all powerful then he is all-controlling; and if he is all-controlling that forces the problem of evil to be seen as a problem of God’s sovereignty. Gregory Boyd said, “If it is accepted that God is all-loving and all-powerful, and if maximum power is defined as maximum control, then by definition there seems to be no place for evil. If goodness controls all things, all things must be good.” And that is a ridiculous assumption.
The alternative is that God is not in control of absolutely everything. Our world is filled with 6 billion people all with free will to decide and choose various paths. That is why there is war, diplomatic crises, greed, poverty, abuse, etc. This is the affect of free will. God has limited himself from controlling all things so that you would have a choice. It is that choice that brought sin and death into the world. It is that choice of every man and woman that brings chaos and conflict. And there is a spiritual force of evil under Satan that stands opposed to God. There is a war going on, here and in the spiritual realm, where every word and decision you make affects the outcome of our daily battles.
So was Jesus in control in the Garden the night he was arrested? Yes and no.
We should remember that Jesus often foretold of his death, and specifically that he would die by crucifixion (3:14; 8:28; 12:34), and even that one of his own would betray him. The Jewish leaders were set on putting Jesus to death as well, but not at Passover, and not by crucifixion. There method of execution was stoning; Romans crucified.
Still it was the person of Jesus, what he taught and implied, that aggravated and angered the Sanhedrin. It was their will, their choice to kill him. However, it was not their desire to arrest Jesus in public or during the feast lest the crowds would riot. They did not want to make fools out of themselves. This was not their plan.
Jesus shows a measure of control here, forcing them to act contrary to their plan. Jesus arranged the place where he and the disciples would eat the Passover. Then Jesus took Judas by surprise. Jesus revealed that he knew one of the 12 would betray him (Jesus – all knowing). When pressed, he revealed that it was Judas.
Now just imagine the panic that Judas must have experienced. Judas was looking for a way to betray Jesus secretly, and not during the feast. He wanted to catch Jesus and the other disciples off guard. But when Jesus identified Judas as the betrayer, all plans were messed up and the window of opportunity suddenly became very tiny. If Jesus knew and assuming the disciples knew, surprise was gone.
Judas had only a few hours now, as opposed to finding the right opportunity. Jesus had forced his hand. It is highly probable that the Jewish leaders were not happy with the timing, but since it was their only chance, they quickly arranged for some armed men and some Roman soldiers to assist them. Involving Rome was not part of the original plan, but it was part of Christ’s plan.
Was Jesus in control? I believe he knew what to do to create a situation that would garner the right responses. But everyone was still acting according to their free will. I say that to emphasize that while Jesus came to die for our sins, it was humankind’s will to kill him.
Is God in control of what happens in our lives today? When we look at the arrest in the Garden we see three truths that are a more helpful way to view life in the war zone. These show that he is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful.
1. Jesus knows what’s going to happen
After the meal and the prayer we read of in John 17, Jesus led his disciples out of the city, across the Kidron valley and up to an olive grove, the Garden.
John writes very carefully that Judas knew this place because Jesus came here all the time. We could say that Jesus picked this spot so that Judas and the mob could find him. John also informs us that Jesus knew all that was going to happen to him (v. 4). Jesus was not surprised or caught off guard – he knew what was coming.
It was Jesus’ plan to surrender himself to the will of the Father and consequently to the murderous plot of man. Jesus taught, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep…The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:14-15, 17-18).
This is why Jesus can walk right into the trap that Judas and the religious leaders set for him. It fulfilled what he had come to accomplish. This foreknowledge gives Jesus the advantage in the situation if not the control. Then he can give himself over to the will of men who want to kill him – he knows he can give his life, and take his life back.
Jesus knows what will happen in our lives also. Does he control what happens to us? That would suggest, like Augustine taught, that everything that happens to us is from God, even the bad stuff. So no, but in his all-knowing way, he knows how to help us and how it will turn out, while in some mysterious way allowing us to choose.
2. Jesus bears the burden of the attack.
Knowing what was going to happen, Jesus was prepared for it – something the arresting officers were not prepared for. Think of it, Judas comes with several hundred armed soldiers and religious mafia – what are you going to do? Run! But Jesus didn’t run. He came out to meet them. “Who is it you want? Jesus asks. He is not a nervous criminal. You remember how O. J. Simpson ran when he killed his wife. There was a huge freeway chase, threats to kill himself, the works of a desperate man. Here in the Garden is a mob which should inspire terror, but Jesus comes out boldly which throws the mob into confusion.
They say they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says, “I am he.” Jesus demonstrates his authority to the mob, that same authority he possesses to give his life and take it up again. Jesus clearly did not have to surrender but he willingly did. When he said, “I am he,” the mob was thrown back, they were stunned at his poise and authority.
There was purpose in this. By throwing the authorities off balance, Jesus was now able to make a request that they might not otherwise have granted – the release of his disciples. If you think about it, Jesus was a revolutionary in their minds – trouble, a terrorist of sorts – wouldn’t you arrest his associates as well? But Jesus rattled them so that they didn’t attempt to arrest anyone else.
Jesus said to them, “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: ‘I have not lost one of those you gave me’ (Jn 6:39). He took the focus of the attack and put it squarely on himself.
In the same way Jesus bore the brunt of the attack that day, sparing his disciples from arrest, he bears the brunt of Satan’s attacks for us too. Satan attacks us with temptation and sin and guilt. But Jesus stands in for us and says, “Let them go, take me instead.” He takes the sins and the troubles and puts them on the cross. If you were to bear the attack alone you would be overwhelmed by the weight of it. Instead, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned…” (Jn 3:17). That is the ultimate goal of Satan: to have us condemned. Jesus takes that condemnation and dies with it so that we are free from all condemnation. When you are tempted there is a way out, Paul says, because Jesus bears the brunt of it.
Is temptation from Jesus? No that it is inconsistent if we say Jesus is love. Is Jesus therefore in control of the bad stuff? No, but his power in love protects us from the eternal condemnation of sin when we are attacked and we falter.
3. Jesus can “heal” our mistakes.
Because God allows us our free will and choice it must make things interesting for God. There are certain variables that can occur within his plans.
Case in point is Peter’s decision to try and lop off the head of the nearest assailant. He misses, being a fisherman and not a ‘Zorro’, and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. With the Roman soldiers nearby, this was like striking a match in a room filled with gasoline fumes. Peter could have touched off a small war by drawing his sword.
Before anything can happen, Jesus picks up the ear and heals it back on to the servant’s head. Jesus is trying to make sure that the disciples go free. Peter is not helping and the authorities could have protested the release since one of Jesus’ men drew a sword. Can you imagine the Roman commander responding? He goes over to the servant, looks at the ear and says, “I don’t see any missing ear, no blood, not even a scar. Let these other men go, we have Jesus. He’s the one we came for.”
Jesus has the situation well under control, but he is not all-controlling. If he were, Peter would not have exercised his free will. Since we have the free will to do some pretty stupid things and reap their consequences, anything can happen. What Jesus is able to do within the sphere of our free will is to bring about good from the garbage we make of it. That’s powerful.
Paul said, as you know, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). That does not mean that everything that happens was meant for good, or that God planned it so we could learn something. It does mean that God can make roses grow out of thorns or what have you. Jesus can “heal” the mistakes of our free will and bring out some good that will help the situation.
Was Jesus in control in the Garden? Well, he knew what to do with the knowledge and foreknowledge God gave him. That takes wisdom. He knew that the power of his love compelled him to protect his followers. That takes courage. He knew what to do when Peter’s free will interfered with the plan. That takes power.
Is God in control of everything? Many take comfort in the knowledge that God does have control. But God refuses to break the laws of nature and free will so that he limits himself from interfering in our choices. Thus we must choose wisely and responsibly.
Let us not forget that there is a war going on. The NT writers all give us a sense there is a spiritual war being fought all around us. The war was won when Jesus died on the cross and rose again, but the war rages on. Two sides are pitted against each other – good and evil. God does not control both sides. But he does have the victory: “…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Co. 15:57).
In Jesus we have a friend who is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful…and that should be enough to fight the battle. Christ is enough.
AMEN
