Humanity or Divine

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HUMANITY OR DIVINE

John 18:7-11

7 Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go."  9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."  10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" 

NIV

The first odd circumstance which strikes us is that Peter had a sword. It would seem this might have been customary for travelers to have a sword or two, especially when traveling up to Jerusalem. Apparently, according to Josephus, the roads were often frequented by robbers and thieves. A sword would have been proper for a defense of such offenders. However, it seems odd that the troop including Jesus and his disciples would ever need anything other than Jesus for a defense. This would be especially true considering the reputation of Jesus. Who would rob him, when he has been doing so many miracles and healing so many of the poor or common people? What makes us think this has some truth regarding the way we approach our walk with the Lord, is that the action of Peter may well represent the human effort, rather than the divine effort. Jesus again asked them who it was they wanted. Having composed themselves after drawing back falling to the ground, they said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, again, made it clear that he was the one they were looking for. He also told them to let his men go, they have nothing to do with what was to happen. This is when Peter let his humanity get involved with the divine. There is the divine plan of God, and then there is the plan of man. It has been evident throughout all of scripture that God’s plan is always superior to any plan man can devise. That simply just makes sense, at least for us believers. The world certainly prefers its own plans over any plan of God. But the destiny of one who follows his own, or any other plan of man is to be cast out into the lake of burning sulfur. Now, that might be a little too harsh, so maybe we should say that whoever follows their or anyone else’s plan is in direct opposition to the plan of God. We cannot serve two masters, our plan and His plan. We will either love one and hate or despise the other. We know Peter’s plan was not God’s plan and thus we should pay special attention to any plans we consider. Do our plans fit into the plan of God, or are they simply our plans. Taking up our cross and following Jesus might well mean to crucify self, nailing our own life, our own desires, and our own plans to that cross and follow the plan of God. Jesus made it clear to Peter that he should put away his plan, that Jesus needed to drink the cup the Father had given to him, or follow the plan of God, instead of some plan of man. So the question which we are faced with is; how do we discern between our plans and His plans for our life? We would think the first thing we should consider, is does the plan bring glory to God. Another consideration would be if the plan benefits the kingdom of God. We might also want to know if we have heard from God, or at the very least felt a solid confirmation from the Spirit in regard to any plan we are considering making headway on. In other words, we better make sure we are working within the plan of God, that we are not just doing our own thing. Plans according to humanity or divine is our choice. Choose wisely.