John 18:10

John 18:10 says, Then Simon Peter, having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear.  The servants name was Malchus.  The disciples had told Jesus that they now understood Who He was and why He came to earth, but Simon Peter did not react that way.  He was going to physically attack anyone that he felt was a challenge to what he thought Jesus should be.  We may at times be armed and ready for war when Jesus is calling us to act out of love.  Jesus did not need Peter to physically defend Him but to support Him with his prayers and obedience.  God does not need us to physically defeat the world today, but to reach out to the world with His love.  Anytime we act with hatred and violence, it is my opinion that we are not following God's will.  Peter thought he was doing the right thing, but he was acting on what Peter wanted.  We also need to realize the servant was not the one in charge.  Sometimes, we strike out at the wrong enemy.  Verse eleven adds, Then Jesus said unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?  Jesus was in effect asking Peter if he understood why Jesus came to earth.  It was a time, not to battle the world, but to accept the will of the Father.  We need to ask ourselves the same question today before we act, especially if we say we are acting in the name of God.  We need to make sure that we are not trying to force God to comply with our will.  It seems to me that we often act out of selfishness or anger instead of love.  Jesus was not being taken by those sent to arrest Him.  He was going willing toward the cross.  Verse twelve continues, Then the band and the captain and the officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound Him. They thought they had won, but they were only fulfilling the will of God.  For religious leaders to think they can bind the will of God is really humorous.  We today may attempt to bind up what God's word says to make it conform to our will, but it never will happen.  God's word will always prevail.  Verse thirteen concludes, And led Him away to Annas first, for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.  They did not take Jesus to the governmental rulers, but to the religious rulers.  If there is opposition to the will of God today, we need to make sure it does not come from us, as His followers.  We have a call to reach the lost with the love of God, and that means everyone who is lost, and not just those we want to reach.