Power is… well, a powerful thing. It can help do great things in the right hands, but it also can do awful things in the wrong hands. Looking at recent events, Osama Bin Laden is a great example of what happens when power is placed in the wrong hands. Bin Laden’s reign of terror lasted two decades; blood was shed in numerous places, people mourned the death of their loved ones, and they screamed for justice that seemed would never come. Then we have someone like Mother Teresa, someone who was cautious and careful with the power that was given to her, knowing it could be dangerous if not used properly. Here was a woman that used that power to minister to the poor, the sick, the orphaned and the dying, who because of her love, mercy and grace was able to bless others while spreading the love of Christ. Mother Teresa is known around the world to this day because of her choice in how she used the power given to her and praised for all she has done.

We as a nation tend to define power in so many ways: by the amount of money someone has, their status in society, the position they hold in their career. We define power as being in control. But how often do we relate ‘Power’ to God? So often we skim over this concept and yet we have proof time and time again of Jesus’ power in God’s Word.

Here we have a man that was born under circumstances in which His mother was publicly perceived as an adulterous woman. That if Joseph and the community wished, could have had Mary stoned to death. He was born into a family that was not of great wealth; a boy that grew up like every other kid. And yet it is this same boy that had the power to heal the blind, heal the lepers, raise the dead, and speak with an authority that held a Power no one had ever seen or heard of before. Here was a man that had the power to forgive your sins.

It is this same man that spoke life into everything that we spat on, beat on, publicly humiliated and killed in a slow and murderous death. And it is this same man-whom we killed that three days later took His life back up again after He had freely placed it down in order for you and I to bridge the gap that was between God and us.

We get a small glimpse of God’s power up on the Mount of Olives. Here we have a man who was feared by the Sanhedrin in such a way that they plotted to take Jesus prisoner in the middle of the night. To arrest Him in a place that no lingering eyes other than His disciples and the guards would see. Here was Jesus who never showed anything but love to these people, never gave them a reason that He would be violent, and yet He was feared enough that a mob of soldiers- 600 - were ordered to go to the Mount of Olives with Judas to arrest Him.

It was in the mist of His arrest that the true power of God is shown. The fact that Jesus was feared enough to bring a mob of the best soldiers out to arrest Him, tells us just how much power the Sanhedrin already believed He had, but what happened during the arrest puts the power they knew about to shame. A lot of us miss this in scripture because the accounts of what happened that night are in 4 different books: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. However if we dive into two of the four accounts, we capture what many miss.

John 18:3-6

3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Upon Jesus saying “I AM” the soldiers fell to the ground….think about this… When Jesus used His true name and said “I AM” it was then just a small glimpse of Christ’s power was revealed. Men who were trained, strong, ready for the unexpected had fallen-600 of them- all at once.

But this wasn’t the only thing that happened in this moment. If we look at another account, we see something more. A boy…

Mark 14:51

51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

Most would miss what is happening here; after all we would just assume this boy had just followed Christ. However, if we do a quick google search we find out that the Mount of Olives is in actuality a cemetery, one that is still used even today for Jews.

So who was this boy? It doesn’t say, but what we can derive from the way this boy is dressed, from the location of this place, that the boy had not followed Christ and His disciples to this place, but that this was the boys resting place. It was this boys burial ground. In the same moment that Christ said “I AM” 600 soldiers fell to the ground and a boy was raised from the dead.

Talk about power.

Labels: Christ, Disciples, God, Jesus, Mother Teresa, Osama, Power