Darkness Creeps in

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Luke 22:53

When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

(ESV)

Our fear of darkness resides in how it leaves us with the inability to see what lies ahead of us.  Anyone who has been in a building where the lights suddenly went out can attest to the anxiety and fear of not knowing where to go due to the sudden darkness.  However, spiritual darkness does not come upon us suddenly but is something that creeps upon us.  As Christians we must be on guard against this creep of darkness into our lives. 

The first step in guarding ourselves against this creep of darkness into our lives is to understand the process by which it creeps upon us.  The events of the night before the crucifixion of Jesus as recorded in Luke 22:35-71 provide a glimpse of this process.

1)      Complacency (Luke 22:39-40) – After the Last Supper Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives to pray.  Luke 22:39 tells us that this was not just something Jesus was doing due to his eminent crucifixion but something Jesus regularly did.   The disciples however had grown complacent in their spiritual disciplines and instead of praying with the Son of God, something most of us would do anything to have an opportunity to do, they fell asleep (Luke 22:45).  In our busy society complacency can creep in robbing us our time in the study of the Word of God, time with God in prayer, regular church attendance and fellowship with other believers.  This creeping complacency is the first step of allowing darkness to creep in as we will see in the life of Peter.

2)      Compromise (Luke 22:54-60) – Peter’s complacency in the garden with Jesus led to him staying at a distance from Jesus after His betrayal instead of staying close in Jesus’ time of greatest need.  We also see Peter sitting down to warm himself with those that will soon call out for Jesus’ crucifixion.  In this situation Peter denies he knows Jesus three times.  Peter now faces a decision, does he continue to allow darkness to creep in by beginning to collaborate with those at the fire or does he turn from them and repent, stopping the creep of darkness.  Fortunately for Peter he chose the path of repentance.  However, Judas continued down the road of darkness to collaboration.

3)      Collaboration (Luke 22:47-53) – Judas continued to allow darkness to creep into his life by striking a deal with the chief priests to deliver Jesus over to them for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew26:14-16).  In the account of the betrayal of Jesus in Luke 22:47-53 we see the completion of this collaboration with the arrest of Jesus.  Unfortunately for Judas, the creep of darkness into his life leads to extreme remorse and him taking his life (Matthew 27:3-5).  While the taking of one’s own life is sometimes the result of creeping darkness into our lives, for some the creep moves into the step of criticism or cynicism.

4)      Criticism/Cynicism (Luke 22:63-71) – The creep of darkness now sinks to the point where we see Jesus in custody and on trial.  The soldiers see the one that just a few days earlier entered the city to accolades of praise and declaration of Jesus as king now giving up without a fight.  Because of this, they perceive Jesus as weak and resort to mocking him.  The cynical chief priests and scribes finally have the one threatening their power in Roman custody and if they can accuse Jesus of insurrection, they can finally rid themselves of this threat.  Darkness has made its complete circle and crept in to those who above anyone else should recognize who Jesus is based upon the scriptures they claim to know so well.

We as the children of God must now allow darkness to creep into our lives by guarding ourselves against complacency, compromise, collaboration with evil, and becoming critical cynics.  Instead we must consistently practice the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, regular church attendance and association with other believers.  However, you may be reading this and have never entered into a relationship with Jesus by accepting his free gift of salvation.  If that is you please take a moment and pray with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You now have eternal life (John 3:16) but I urge you not to allow darkness to creep in.  I encourage you to find a church and attend regularly to find friends believing as you now do and to begin learning about your new life by learning the Bible.  I also urge you to begin practicing the discipline of daily taking time to pray and read the Bible yourself. 

May God bless everyone reading this