The 'ear incident'...

Who doesn't love the Ear incident It has the mark of drama, drama that even Hollywood could not create. Imagine the tension in the garden, as the Apostle Peter pulls out his sword and strikes the ear off the servant in the garden. The tension must have been tremendous. I imagine you could cut through the air with a knife, there was so much in the atmosphere. Wow...sends shivers down my spine.

 I want to examine this passage some more, get a better perspective of the ear incident if you like.

In Luke 22:49 the writer (Luke) uses the phrase 'gleefully asked'. Peter, in the eyes of the author, was excited at the opportunity of striking out at the enemy. Sounds like Peter was having impulse control issues, or as I like to phrase it - 'he was having a flesh attack'. A flesh attack is simply when your impusle to strikeout over rides your spiritual good sense. 

This lack of impulse control has placed Peter in history for ever. I must admit, that if I were there, I would probably have fallen into the same trap. The enemy purposefully delivered the servant to Peter at a time when tension was heightened. Emotions must have been screaming...adrenaline pumping, passions flaring and at that time the trap was set. Peter walked right into it, eyes open, flesh screaming for action. 

What are we to make of this? The lesson to be learnt is a simple one. Action is not the best strategy when tensions are high, adrenaline is pumping and there is a pressure to act. Its best to step back and carefully examine the edges, look for the steel hinges that so often resemble the trap awaiting you. No good came out of Peter's action (that I can see in the Word), but a valuable lesson is there. In a society where action is praised, in a culture that places high value on quick thought and rapid reaction, we need to re think our paradigms. To be spirit led is to be sons of God. The sons of God need to be spirit led, not flesh led. 

Tension, high emotions and adrenaline pumping are all of the flesh. If we allow our flesh to dominate our reactions then we too will walk eyes wide open into the trap set for us. A simple strategy is: recognise that when adrenaline is pumping, emotions are running full throttle, thats when you need to back off and walk away. This would be a great time to , stop, think and pray. Hear from God before reacting.

For some reason we believe that we have to act NOW. If God could (and He did) make the sun stand still in the midst of the battle, I know He is not in a hurry for you to move right now. Adrenaline pumping, heat of the battle, are all signs of flesh. Flesh equals trap.