Gospel Readings:
Matthew 26:47-56
Matthew 26:57-68
Matthew 26:69-75
Devotion 1
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.
Read: Matthew 26:47-56
All at once, the event that Jesus has been preparing for is at hand. The Jerusalem elite arrive in the garden, accompanied by Judas (whom Matthew persists in referring to as “one of the twelve”) and a lynch mob. The prevalence of the word “sword” in this part of the narrative—mentioned four times on its own and a further two times alongside “clubs”—puts the issue of violence front and centre in the account of Jesus’ arrest.
One the one hand, those who have come to arrest Jesus come with swords and clubs. Their approach is the typically heavy-handed response of state power to those whom it sees as a threat to proper order, and shows that they clearly see Jesus as such a threat. In Jesus’ words, they approach him “as though [he] were a bandit”. The term bandit (léstés) was used for peasants who had resorted to robbery both in order to survive as well as to strike back at the establishment:
Many brigands were in origin simply peasants who refused to submit. In the face of some injustice done to themselves or to relatives or neighbors, they risked the route of resistance and outlawry as preferable to meek submission. Once declared by the authorities to be outlaws, bandits often took it upon themselves to “right wrongs,” to “take from the rich and give to the poor.” 1
These Robin Hood style resistors were likely “alienated by harsh economic conditions such as indebtedness and were involved in social unrest and violent civic uprisings against the elite… Terrorists raided property, forcibly gained booty, food, and land, and killed landlords, before themselves being killed in pursuit, or crucified.2 It is no coincidence that the above description uses the “t” word, for it seems that in the first century C.E. the label “bandits” was seen in the dominant narrative with all of the social import that today we would ascribe to the label “terrorist”. And that, according to Matthew, is how the Jerusalem rulers saw Jesus.3
On the other hand, Jesus has taught nonviolent resistance in the face of oppressive treatment (Mt 5: 38:42) and love of enemies (Mt 5:43-48). The question seems to remain, however, at least for the disciples: When push comes to shove—when faced with the possibility of Jesus’ vision of God’s reign being finally crushed—won’t he at last resort to violence in order to bring about God’s purposes? One of the disciples banks on the fact that he will. He pulls out his sword and uses it, striking a blow on the slave of the high priest.4 Jesus, however, is unequivocal. Even in the face of probable death, he will refuse violence. Rather, he will continue to live out the script of “biblical radicalism”5 —faithfulness to God’s way of nonviolent confrontation with unjust power, trusting that God will use it to bring transformation.
Reflect
- What thoughts and feelings does today’s reading evoke for you?
- In what ways do you experience the temptation to respond to people or situations with violence?
- In what ways is God’s Spirit inviting you to live out today’s reading?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
1 Richard A. Horsley, Jesus and the Spiral of Violence: Popular Jewish Resistance in Roman Palestine (1987; repr., Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 37.
2 Warren Carter, Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2000), 514-515.
3 The synoptic Gospel writers, however, flip this accusation around to accuse the Temple elite of being nothing more than bandits in the way they exploit the people and rule through violent coercion. See Mark 11:17; Matthew 21:13; and Luke 19:46.
4 One wonders whether the slave himself had a choice in being involved in the whole matter.
5 Ched Myers, Binding the Strongman: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus (20th Anniversary ed. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2008), 268.
Devotion 2
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, aware of God’s presence in a broken world.
Read: Matthew 26:57-68
The ideological warfare is now stepped up against Jesus as he is brought before the high priest Caiaphas, with scribes and elders present. He is accused of what we would call today a “terrorist act”, which is no surprise given the way he was treated like a “bandit” at his arrest.
At being questioned about whether he is “the Messiah”, Jesus doesn’t answer on their terms, saying in effect, “They are your words”. “Messiah” is not a term he will use for himself. Rather, Jesus quotes Daniel chapter 7, which narrates a vision of “beastly” world powers who have their authority to rule stripped away by God and given to the “Human One” who then shares it amongst all of God’s people. In answering this way, Jesus places himself in the role of the Human One and, in doing so, claims that those in power now—Roman imperial forces and the Jerusalem elite aligned with them—are playing the part of the beastly powers of Daniel’s script.
It is more than they can take; so with labels to delegitimate and with mistreatment which dehumanises, they will close in for the kill.
Reflect
- What sticks out to you in today’s reading?
- What do you notice about Jesus’ way of seeing things in this passage? What do you notice about the Jerusalem elite’s way of seeing things?
- In ways are you challenged or encouraged by today’s reading?
Pray for one another.
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
Devotion 3
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.
Read: Matthew 26:69-75
Something we often miss in Matthew’s narration of Peter’s denial of Jesus is the identity of the servant-girls who question Peter. Who were they? The common assumption is that they were aligned with the elite, and their questions came with the intention to “do him in”. But as slaves, and as girls, they were certainly marginal, vulnerable people. Were they among the dispossessed of Galilee, sold by families whose debts left them destitute with no other option? What were their struggles and hopes. Perhaps they hoped that Jesus would bring about their own liberation.
What opportunities did Peter miss here? There was certainly a risk in revealing his true self to the encounter—a risk Peter wasn’t willing to take. But what if he had? Perhaps a real, honest encounter with the servant girls may have led to their liberation spiritually and emotionally if not physically. Or perhaps it may have been liberative for Peter—like Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:21-28). We’ll never know.
Reflect
- Imagine that you are standing around the campfire with Peter and the servant-girls. What do you notice?
- In what ways are you challenged by today’s reading?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer
Devotion 4
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of gratitude together, giving thanks for the ways you’ve experienced God’s loving kindness.
This week’s Common Value: Advocacy
Read: Proverbs 31:8-9
Ask
- How might we amplify the voices of the poor and oppressed this week?
Pray
Share Communion
Close with the Lord’s Prayer