Up to this time, the name of Judas was a royal name. There was a tribe of Judah and it was the kingly tribe. But no one ever names a child "Judas" any longer.

Why a kiss? Why couldn’t Judas have simply pointed or called out Jesus’ name? Instead, he put his lips to the cheek of Jesus and kissed Him. Max Lucado points out that a snake kills with his mouth.

Betrayal. In my dictionary, the word stands immediately before "betroth."

It is a weapon used only by one who was previously trusted. Only a friend can betray. Only one who was a part of your team can mutiny. The word connotes a violation of trust. It indicates an inside job.

Here is the point. Jesus knew what Judas was doing. And He allowed him the kiss. He would not turn away His face from those who spit and slapped. And He did not now turn away from the kiss of the serpent.

Why not? Could it be that, in the midst of this betrayal, Jesus continued to show love and grace toward Judas? That is good, because it means He can show love to me.

As the crowd took hold of Jesus, one of the disciples moved into action. He drew his short-sword and charged in. I don’t know whom it was that he intended to hit, but the attack resulted in cutting off the ear of the slave of the high priest.

Luke is silent as to the name of the attacker. Indeed, none of the Synoptic accounts mention his name. It is from John’s Gospel that we learn it was Peter.

Do you see what is happening? The other writers were protecting Peter. They wrote their accounts at a time when Peter was still living and when he could have been charged with assault and battery. The statute of limitations had not yet expired. And so, they keep his name out of the record.

But John writes after the death of Peter. He can no longer be accused or arrested. And so, he tells us his name.

There is a principle here. Am I my brother’s keeper? I certainly am. Everyone who is in the family of God is responsible for everyone else who is in the family of God. When one member of the body hurts, the rest of the body needs to say, "Ouch!"

Luke the physician is careful to tell us that Jesus healed his injured ear. Can you imagine the embarrassment of the high priest in having to pass judgment upon Jesus while this servant is sitting there with his ear still in place? I imagine that this slave was sold or transferred soon after this event.

You can argue about theology and doctrine, but how do you argue with an ear? You can make fun of the five points of Calvinism and you can engage in Christian-bashing, but what do you say about an ear that has been healed?

It is important that we all have one - that we have something in our life that can only be explained in the terms of the supernatural.

The story is told of a man who had been a drunk all of his life. He trusted in Jesus as his Savior and his life was changed and his home was restored. The man was confronted by a skeptic one day who asked him, "Do you mean to say that you believe the Bible is true and that it is the word of God?" The man replied, "Yes, I do."

"You can’t be serious!" the skeptic retorted. "You mean that you believe that Jesus really turned water into wine?"

"I don’t know much about that," replied the man, "but in my house, He turned wine into furniture and love and food."

It is hard to argue when the ear is stuck back on. You can’t turn away from it. You can’t pretend that it isn’t there. When a husband sees the love of Jesus begin to be manifested in his wife, it is a compelling argument for the power of Jesus. When a co-worker begins to live an upright and holy life, it speaks volumes for the reality of God.

What is there in your life that can only be explained in the terms of the supernatural? Go to the Lord and ask Him for an ear. And then you take it and show it to everyone you know.

There were a lot of people that Peter could have gone after with his sword. He could have gone after the soldiers or the guard or one of the VIP’s. But Peter wasn’t stupid. He was a fisherman, not a warrior. And so, he goes after this slave - perhaps the smallest one in the crowd. He will let Jesus and the other disciples handle the rest.

But Peter couldn’t even do that right. He wasn’t aiming for this slave’s ear. He was aiming for his head. He missed.

There is something delightful in the picture of Peter rushing into the crowd with his sword swinging. The crowd comes up to take Jesus. Peter is still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but he has one of the swords and Jesus is in danger and so, he rushes in. I can hear Jesus saying, "Oh Peter, not again!"

Do your kids draw pictures and you place them on the refrigerator? When Sky was growing up, she never had an artistic bone in her body. When she drew a picture, I always had to ask, "What is it?" But Paula would always take it and say, "Isn’t it wonderful!" and tape it to the refrigerator. Paula is a tremendous artist and she knew better, so I don’t know why she would say that. No, that’s not right. I know why she did it. And I like to think that God has a giant refrigerator in heaven. And one of the pictures that He has on it is Peter and his sword.

Peter was loyal to Jesus. His heart was in the right place, even if his aim was off and he thought that he could achieve a right result with a wrong method.

There are a lot of church ministries that need to learn this lesson. There are a lot of Christian leaders who think that they can achieve the work of Christ through manipulation. They need to learn the lesson that Peter learned that night - you don’t use a wrong method, even to achieve a right result.

Jesus calmly faces his enemies. He questions their motives and their fearfulness. If He had truly been a wrong-doer, they had ample opportunity to arrest Him when He was preaching in the temple. But they did not. They tried instead to blanket their actions under the cover of darkness.

A single soldier would have been enough, for Jesus was to offer no resistance. On the other hand, if Jesus had meant to resist this arrest, all of the armies of the world would not have been enough. Indeed, the armies of Rome were powerless to stop the spread of the church. It wasn’t that they didn’t try. But all of the legions and all of the emperors of Rome and even the very gates of hell itself could not withstand the growth of the church of God.

Why did such a large crowd come to arrest Jesus? Perhaps they remembered that Jesus had single-handedly cleared out the temple. He was not some wimp in a Renaissance painting. He was a bold preacher who spoke with authority and His enemies were afraid of Him.

Another reason that so many men were utilized was because they suspected that He was capable of performing real miracles. It had been reported that He could give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. He had raised a cripple and had cast out demons with a word. They recognized real power and they were awed by it.

And having arrested Him, they led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. (Luke 22:54).

Out of the night, a voice of recognition. "I remember you! You were with Jesus." Startled by the suddenness of the question and all too aware of how the trial is proceeding, Peter denies his involvement with Jesus.

What happened? Peter had gone willingly into the courtyard of Jesus’ enemies. He was in the lions den. The rest of the disciples are not mentioned. They were apparently away hiding. But Peter was on the front lines. He was ready to fight and to die for Jesus. He was ready to take on an entire band of temple guards. But he wasn’t ready to handle this servant-girl.

Isn’t that so often the way it is with us? We are ready to withstand the charge of the elephant, but instead we are brought down by the attack of the mosquito. It isn’t the big things that defeat us - it is usually the little things.

Why? Because we are ready to trust God for the big things. But we get to thinking that we can handle the little things ourselves. And that is where we fail.

Now the seed of recognition has been placed so that another of the bystanders soon speaks up. Peter’s Galilean accent is giving him away. Again Peter denies. He says, "I don’t even know what you are talking about!"

No sooner has he said this then he hears the echoing notes of the cock crowing. As the echos of that signal pass through the flickering shadows, Jesus turns and looks across the courtyard to see Peter. And Peter sees Jesus looking at him. The words of Jesus come back to him and he realizes that he has unwittingly fulfilled them.

Peter went out and wept. And in those tears, there is hope. It is the hope of repentance. How do I know that Peter repented? It is his life after the resurrection. It will be seen when he stands before that same high priest and declares his faith in the risen Christ.

There was not much difference between the denial of Peter and the betrayal of Judas. But there was this one difference - the tears of Peter. They were tears of repentance. And that made all the difference in the world.

There is hope here for you. Have you sinned? Do your sins weigh down upon you? Do you ever wonder if you have passed the point of forgiveness?

I have some good news. It is that God is a forgiving God. He forgave Peter. And He can forgive you, too.

Did you ever stop to think where Luke got the story of Peter’s denial? Ultimately he got it from Peter! Peter used this shameful story to tell men of the forgiveness of Christ and the message of hope that is found in him.