THE EASTER STORY (2)
BY EVANGELINE UNITY ESAABA FOLSON

MATHEW 26:47 – 54
And while He yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Now he that betrayed him gave a sign, saying whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; hold him fast.

And forthwith he came, and said Hail Master, and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto Him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And behold one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck a servant of the high priest and smote off his ear.

Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more thou twelve legions of angels?
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?

The passage above gives an account of how Jesus was arrested. There are few lessons we can learn from it:

Do not put your trust in man. ( Mathew 26:47-49 )
Do not use violence to settle your problems (Matthew 26:52-53)
Trust God at all times and let His plan for your life be fulfilled. (Mathew 26:54)

DO NOT PUT YOUR TRUST IN MAN
The man who betrayed Jesus was one of His twelve disciples, Judas. He was also the treasurer or the one who kept their money. For Him to become a treasurer is an indication that they all trusted him.

Secondly, he pointed Him out to his accusers with a kiss. A kiss is usually seen as an expression of love. These two things teach us that those we trust and love can betray us. Therefore, it is important not to place all your trust in a man, who can easily betray you to receive favours from other people.

God is the only one we should put all our trust in. He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only begotten son to save you and from the punishment for our sins and reconcile us to God. This action by God makes us heirs with Christ and gives us eternal life.

Do not use violence to solve your problems
Some of the men with Jesus tried to defend him by cutting off the ear of one of those who came to arrest him. He rebuked him, He said if you take a sword even to defend yourself, you will also die by the sword. This confirms that it is not good to use violence to settle any issue. It is better to ask for help from God and pray that His plan for your life will be fulfilled.

Jesus reminded him, that He could ask this Father to send angels to defend Him, but He was more interested in the scriptures being fulfilled.
God never lies and whatever He says He would bring to pass.

Trust God at all times and let His plan for your life be fulfilled
The bible assures us in Romans 8:28 that – ‘all things work together for the good of them that love God, who are called according to His purpose’. Sometimes, God’s plan for our lives might not be as glamourous as we desire now, but if we will humble ourselves and allow God to move in our lives, the end would be glorious.

After going through the ordeal of His death, God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name that is above every other name. He is also seated at the right hand of God.

There is a victory for us if we will trust and obey God.

References:-
King James Bible
Google.com
Oxford English Minidictionary