Luke 22:47-53 (ESV)
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
Devotional Meditation on St. Luke's Passion Narrative
Yesterday, in my meditation, I focused on Jesus’ words to his sleeping disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Today, I want to turn our attention toward Jesus’ words to those men who have come out in the middle of the night in order to arrest him in the Garden.
Just before they lay hands on him and lead him away, he says to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
What does Jesus mean when he says, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness?”
Well, I think the first thing that we need to acknowledge is that the power of darkness is real. The devil is always working to oppose God’s Word, to disrupt God’s plan, and to corrupt God’s good creation. We see this theme very clearly in Luke’s gospel. Luke is the one who tells us that, after the devil had tried to tempt Jesus away from his God-given mission that “he departed from him until an opportune time.” And now, on this dark night, that more opportune time has come. Satan enters Judas. Satan desire to sift the disciples like wheat. Satan uses these envious leaders of the people to launch his final assault against the Son of God. Tonight, the Shepherd will be struck and the sheep will scatter. The power of darkness will engulf Jesus as he journeys from this garden into the Valley of the Shadow where he will be accused, mocked, spit upon, struck, scourged, and sent away to his death. The power of darkness will cover the land as the Son of God hangs there in agony amongst criminals upon the cursed tree. The power of darkness will saturate the tomb where Jesus’s body will finally be laid. As the stone is rolled into place, darkness will swallow the very last rays of the day’s light. On this day, we will indeed be shown that the power of darkness is very, very real.
But we also hear Jesus say “This is your hour…” And in this we take comfort. Because the power of darkness is limited. It has an expiration date. For the moment, the power of darkness will seem to hold the upper hand. But just hold on, Jesus is saying, just wait for it. Because the hour will pass. The dawn will come. And the darkness that we are plunging headlong into this week will soon be driven away by the light of Easter morning. So that all those who sit in darkness might see a great light. So that all who have been imprisoned under the power and dominion of darkness might be redeemed from slavery to sin, and death, and the power of the devil and transferred into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God’s Beloved Son. The one who—here, in this garden, allowed himself to be seized by the hands of darkness so that, by his light and life, he might forever deprive the darkness of its power to ever again lay its hands on you.
The power of darkness is real, but take heart, because its hour is over. The power of darkness has been overcome.
Image Description (AI Prompt)
Imagine a scene rendered in the style of a classic Renaissance painting, where the profound depths of darkness are suddenly pierced by a magnificent, radiant beam of light. The darkness, depicted with rich, deep hues and complex textures, seems to envelop all in its path, symbolizing despair and hopelessness. In vivid contrast, the beam of light breaks through with divine intensity, its pure, gleaming brilliance cutting a clear path through the shadowy veil. This beam of light, with its soft yet powerful glow, brings a sense of hope and redemption to the scene, reminiscent of the dramatic chiaroscuro and emotional depth characteristic of Renaissance art. The entire composition conveys a timeless message of light triumphing over darkness, rendered with the meticulous detail and emotional intensity typical of this artistic period.