Reacting Instead of Listening
When Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, I think the other disciples must have seen him coming, and woken up quite quickly.
Remember, Jesus had predicted Judas' betrayal a short time earlier. So when Judas arrived, the other disciples suddenly came to life.
Typical of Peter, he reacted to the situation instead of listening to Jesus. We read: "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!'" (Luke 22:49-50)
We learn from other gospel writers that this was Peter who took out his sword and attacked Malchus, the high priest's servant.
Peter's Impulsive Nature
Peter was an impulsive man! He often shot his mouth off before thinking, we see it happening often in the gospels.
Here, notice what he does: he asks Jesus a question, and then before Jesus can answer, he rushes ahead and does what he wants to do.
They say that most times when somebody asks your advice, they're not actually wanting to take your opinion into account, they're just wanting to determine whether or not you agree with what they want to do!
Peter, it seems, was very much that way inclined. Going ahead with what he wanted to do, not really taking the advice of others. He says "should we strike with our swords?" and then he strikes with his sword!
How much wiser would it have been to wait and see what Jesus had to say?
Of course, this was a high stress moment. You can hardly take this moment as the normal way Peter handled things.
But there is a lesson here: do we listen for God's guidance, or do we simply push on with what we want to do without really waiting for Him at all?
Waiting for God's Guidance
Do we consult with God?
Do we pray?
Do we consult with other Christians?
Or do we just rush off and find ourselves doing something that causes Jesus to say "enough! No more of this!"
You see, Jesus' words will always give us guidance. If Peter had stopped and waited for Jesus to speak, he would have known what to do.
In fact, maybe Jesus didn't speak because His words throughout His whole ministry should've guided Peter in what to do.
I mean, didn't Peter remember Jesus saying "turn the other cheek"?
Didn't he remember Jesus saying "blessed are the meek"?
Didn't he recall Jesus saying "the son of man must be handed over and killed"?
Friends, let the words of Jesus and the Scriptures guide you. It's no good crying out for guidance but then ignoring the words of guidance that have already been spoken to us in Scripture!
Don't make the mistake Peter did of asking for help but not listening for Jesus' response. Jesus has given us the answers we need. Listen to what He has to say, right here in His book!
Peter made a mistake when Judas betrayed Jesus. He reacted without listening to Jesus’ guidance. DO we do the same?