While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Luke 22:47-53
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
There is a scene in the third season of Ted Lasso when Ted is speaking with his assistant, Coach Beard, who is struggling with a feeling of betrayal by one of their former colleagues. Ted tells him, “I hope that either all of us, or none of us, are judged by the actions of our weakest moments, but rather by the strength we show when, and if, we’re ever given a second chance.” I’ve watched that scene more often than I probably should have since it first aired, and whenever I hear those words, I cannot help but think of how they speak to the grace that Jesus has shown us all in our lives.
In the midst of being arrested, Jesus did not respond with anger; he did not allow that moment that shifted him from being a rabbi to a prisoner redefine who he was. He allowed what could have been a moment of weakness to be one of strength of character, and it bears examining that there are two different actions that Jesus has in this moment that show that strength.
The first occurs when he heals the man whose ear had been cut off by Peter. I can only imagine the shock and anger that the high priest’s servant felt as his ear was severed. The rest of those who were there to arrest Jesus immediately shifted into a heightened level of anger that put the disciples under threat of being attacked. Yet Jesus touching the man’s ear and healing it, brought the situation back into control, and brought a semblance of peace.
And then he confronts that same crowd whose waters he had calmed in the moment of healing one of their own, asking them, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me.” The simple words force them to confront why they are about to act in a way that they have avoided in public and force his arresters to see that they can only act in secret.
And while those words point them in a gentle manner towards their actions, Jesus surrenders himself to the very people who had come to arrest him. This action is not one of passivity but of self-control. He knows that by giving himself into their custody, he prevents them from allowing this moment to become the potential powder keg that would have completely changed the trajectory of the development of the church. The actions of Jesus restore peace in a place where such seems impossible to achieve.
For Reflection
- In your own life, where have you sought to bring a peaceful resolution to a situation that has required that you rely upon self-control?
- When has it been hardest to maintain your self-control?
Prayer
Lord, help us to be a people of peace, who ground ourselves not in the desire to meet others at their levels of frustration but in your desire that we will find self-control. When we feel weak, let our strength be in you. Amen.
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