It Must Happen in This Way As the Scriptures Say

At night, Jesus goes with His disciples to Gethsemane. Finishing His prayer, He comes to His disciples who have fallen asleep.

“Rise! Here comes my betrayer!”

While he is still speaking, Judas Iscariot appears with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders.

Judas kisses Jesus as he has arranged a signal with the soldiers.

“Friend, do what you came for.”

Then, the soldiers step forward and seize Jesus, whereat Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, draws his sword and cuts off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus scolds him.

“Put your sword back in its place! Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

And then Jesus says to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture Me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest Me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

A legion, the basic ancient Roman army unit, refers to about 6,000 soldiers. Then, twelve legions would be over 70,000 soldiers.

Jesus could have destroyed the enemies at once by calling such a great number of angels. But He did not do that in order to fulfill the Scriptures that said, “It must happen in this way.” The suffering and sacrifice Christ underwent because of our sins was also the prophecy of the Bible. After all things are fulfilled, we can finally get salvation.

The suffering God is going through on the earth for our salvation has not yet been over (Isa 54). Even though God’s power is invisible while the prophecies are being fulfilled, we don’t need to be doubtful or fretful. All things are being fulfilled as the Bible says, “It must happen in this way.”