“But now is your time, when the power of darkness will prevail”

(Luke 22:53, Modern Korean Bible).

As Jesus spoke to the great crowd sent by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders (Mark 14:43, New Translation of the Bible), He said, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not arrest me. But this is happening so that the Scriptures may be fulfilled" (Luke 22:48-49, New Translation of the Bible). As I reflect on these words, I want to learn the lessons they convey:

(1) The large crowd sent by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders treated Jesus as a “thief.” The Greek word for “thief” used here, in addition to referring to an organized and oppressive plunderer, was also used to describe revolutionaries who were admired by extreme nationalists (Josephus). In fact, what Jesus was about to do was not to gather a few followers in an attempt to overthrow the Roman or Jewish authorities. Jesus was completely different from the “thieves” who conspired in secret with weapons. He always taught publicly, in front of the people, and His message was one of “love and peace.” Of course, He did not cowardly remain silent when confronted by evil forces. He was not afraid of His enemies and even cleansed (purified) the temple. However, His actions were never like those of a lawless criminal or plunderer. Yet, when Jesus was crucified, He was placed between two violent criminals (Matthew 27:38), and He was treated as a “thief” by both the Roman and Jewish authorities until the very end (Hokma). In fact, Jesus was treated worse than the true thief, Barabbas (John 18:40, New Translation of the Bible). They cried out to the Roman governor Pilate to release Barabbas, the thief (v.40, New Translation of the Bible), while they shouted, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (Luke 23:21, Modern Korean Bible).

(i) However, in reality, I believe that the "thieves" were the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders (Mark 14:43, New Translation of the Bible). The words of Hosea 6:9 in the New Translation of the Bible say: "The priests are like a band of robbers, lying in wait to kill people, committing murder and every kind of sin on the road to Shechem." They may call out with their lips, “Lord, Lord” [(Luke 6:46) “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”], but in reality, their hearts were full of the sin of loving money (see Luke 16:14). They were disobeying the words of Jesus: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Therefore, they made the Lord’s "house of prayer" into a "den of thieves" (Luke 19:46, New Translation of the Bible).

(ii) The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders did not arrest Jesus when He was with them in the temple, teaching every day (Matthew 26:55; Mark 14:49; Luke 22:53, New Translation of the Bible). According to Jesus' words, the Jewish leaders could have officially arrested Jesus while He was teaching during the day in public, but they did not do so because they had no legitimate reason to arrest Him. Furthermore, since large crowds followed Jesus, they were unable to handle the reaction of the crowd if they arrested Him. So, they did not arrest Jesus during the day in the temple and instead waited for an appropriate opportunity. At this time, the betrayal of Judas Iscariot and the Jewish leaders’ timely decision lined up perfectly. Therefore, the crowd they sent arrested Jesus like a criminal (“thief”) in a remote place at night, where there were few people (Hokma).

(iii) The Gospel of Mark says that what happened when Jesus was arrested occurred in order to fulfill the "Word of Scripture" (Mark 14:49, New Translation of the Bible), while the Gospel of Matthew says it was to fulfill the "writings of the prophets" (Matthew 26:56), and the Gospel of Luke states: "But now is your time, when the power of darkness will prevail" (Luke 22:53, New Translation of the Bible).

(a) Here, the “Word of Scripture” refers to the Old Testament Scriptures, and Matthew refers to it as the "writings of the prophets." In other words, what happened with Jesus’ arrest was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the prophets in the Old Testament. However, Luke records: "But now is your time, when the power of darkness will prevail," highlighting the moment when the power of evil seems to have its strength.

(i) When meditating on the "power of darkness," I think that Colossians 1:13 in the Contemporary Bible will help in understanding: “God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Also, Acts 26:18 in the Contemporary Bible will be helpful: “Now, I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” When reflecting on these two verses together, the "power of darkness" refers to the "power of Satan," and before we believed in Jesus, we were under that power/dominion, which 1 John 2:11 in the Contemporary Bible describes as being "in the darkness and living in the darkness."

• Here is Ephesians 5:8 in the Contemporary Bible: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” We are no longer part of the darkness, nor do we live in it; we are children of light, children of the day (1 Thessalonians 5:5, Contemporary Bible). As such, we listen to God's word, which is like a lamp that illuminates the darkness (2 Peter 1:19, Contemporary Bible). We do not engage in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead, we rebuke them (Ephesians 5:11, Contemporary Bible). We live praising God, who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, Contemporary Bible).