Selfless to the Extreme

When someone is in a stressful situation, we would normally make allowances for behaviour which is a bit ‘off’. When the steam is coming out of someone’s ears and they have ‘that look’ in their eyes, we know to tread carefully and give a wide berth! We think to ourselves, “Well, they’re having a rough day and it’s kind of understandable.”

Recently I was reading in Luke about the time just before Jesus was arrested. I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was experiencing a stress level none of us have come close to reaching. I don’t care if you are the President of the USA, work in childcare, or if your wifi just crashed, you’ve never tasted stress as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. The passage in Luke 22:39-46 describes Jesus alone and in agony, being comforted by an angel and praying so earnestly that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground!

This is the point at which He is betrayed by Judas, and we get to today’s verse. One of the disciples grabbed their sword and lopped off the right ear of the High Priest’s servant! Pause for a minute and imagine the commotion. I picture the servant falling to the ground, screaming in agony as he grasped the side of his head. No-one would have expected Jesus to be bothered. He was experiencing the most stress ever encountered by a human being! But look what happens. Play it through in your mind. He stopped, rebuked His disciple, focussed on the servant who had lost his ear, stooped down, laid His hands on him and healed him!

Wow! In the middle of His own personal anguish, He focussed on someone else’s need. This is extreme selflessness. This is complete other-person-centredness. This is Jesus! This is our model.

Sorry to add that last bit, but it is true. Jesus is the One we are to imitate. He is showing us that we are also to be selfless - even in extreme situations of personal stress. Maybe we’ve got used to giving ourselves a pass on kindness because of what we’re going through, but Jesus is calling us to a different path. A selfless path. So, let’s ask for God’s supernatural empowering to live like Jesus in this way - there’s no point trying to do it without His help!