“Then All the Disciples Deserted Him and Fled”
Matthew 26:55-56, NIV - In that hour Jesus said to
the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and
clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did
not arrest me. But this has all taken
place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the
disciples deserted him and fled.
In all the times I’ve read through
Matthew, I have no memory of reading the last line of the passage above. I was well aware that all the disciples who
had been with Jesus for three years do desert Jesus eventually. But in Matthew (and in Mark), this is the
moment – in the same moment that Judas betrays Jesus and Jesus is arrested – the
disciples desert Him. I find it rather interesting
that Mark and Matthew, both the author of gospels and disciples of Jesus, report
this desertion about themselves. Instead
of editing out that small detail that many (including me) have missed, they
report their own desertion of the Savior.
I’m thinking I would have been tempted to leave that out of an account
that people will be reading thousands of years later. Luke and John do leave out this detail.
However, I’m glad Matthew and Mark do
not. For Matthew, this is the moment
that what Jesus has been telling them all along finally hits home with the
disciples. Jesus comes to the moment
when He is confronted by the authorities and instead of dispersing them with
overwhelming supernatural force, Jesus SUBMITS to them. The gravity of that must have hit the disciples
like a ton of bricks. There will be no military
revolution. Jesus has been telling his
disciples that He will be arrested, convicted and killed. The arrest has just happened as He said. The conviction and execution must be just around
the corner. It is this realization that
sends them running – that and the very real fear that they may be next. Judas has betrayed Jesus; why would he not
betray all the others as well? So they
run.
Remember, Matthew is writing this
account decades after these events unfold.
He is a leader in the early church that is growing by leaps and bounds. Matthew himself is now at odds with
authorities and will eventually face his own martyrdom. But he feels is important to confess that
before all of that, he deserted Jesus.
He is among those who ran. I’m grateful
for that confession because I haven’t always stood up for Jesus when the
opportunities presented themselves.
Though I have sought to be faithful to my life’s mission to love God and
love people, there have been times when I’ve run and hid as well. And just like Matthew’s story, my story is not
complete without the less flattering details.
The chains are not broken until it is acknowledged that the chains
exist. Grace is not amazing if there is nothing to be saved from. Redemption is not complete without
confession. Matthew knew this and
proclaimed his desertion decades later because He knew it. Matthew was in as much need of redemption as
anyone who would ever read his gospel.
Question: Is
confession part of the regular practices of your faith? Why or why not?
Prayer: God, we like
to appear to others as better than we really are. We are tempted to hide our shortcomings and
failures. Help us see those failures as
testaments to your grace and our redemption.
Help us to tell our complete stories so that others might see the possibility
of redemption and grace for themselves.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people who seem to be buried by the mistakes of the past.
Song: Amazing Grace
(My Chains are Gone) – BYU Noteworthy
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