November 30 — "How Do You Arrest the ‘I AM’?"

Today's Reading: John 18:1-18

Today’s verse plays out like the opening scene of a police drama—lanterns flashing, soldiers with grim faces, the crunch of boots echoing through a quiet garden. But lean in closer. This isn’t a manhunt; it’s humanity’s flimsy attempt to handcuff the Almighty. Ironic. Absurd.

Judas arrives at the front, leading a “band of soldiers”—a phrase describing a sizeable detachment of trained, armed, government-backed professionals. Rome’s muscle. Religion’s pressure. Humanity flexing its self-assured strength. And yet they march toward the Great “I AM”—the very One who spoke galaxies into existence—as if He were the threat that needed to be contained.

Here’s the twist: nothing in this moment is spiraling out of control. Not a single torch flickers without His permission. The garden they storm? He chose it. Judas knows it because Jesus often prayed there. The place of communion becomes the place of arrest, not because darkness cornered Him, but because Light deliberately stepped into darkness on purpose.

The torches, the weapons, the clanging armor—all symbols of a world terrified of losing control. They illuminate the garden, but they cannot recognize Truth standing before them. They carry weapons, but they cannot derail the plan written before time began. They march with confidence, but they fail to see that the Lamb they’ve come to seize is actually the Shepherd who lays down His life willingly.

And here’s the comfort tucked inside the absurdity: humanity throws everything it can—strategies, authority, intimidation—and none of it can bend Jesus from His mission. If anything, their show of force only magnifies the voluntary nature of His surrender. Love is marching toward the cross, and nothing—not governments, betrayals, soldiers, or mobs—can deter a love that had already decided to save.

And here’s the truth that slips quietly into our own midnight fears: if Jesus remained sovereign in a dark garden surrounded by torches and violence, He remains sovereign in whatever darkness surrounds you today. Not one shadow surprises Him. Not one Judas catches Him off guard. Not one army intimidates Him. The King who stepped forward that night still steps into every moment of your life with full authority and unstoppable Love.

May the Lord surround you with the same unshakable peace that steadied Jesus in the garden, and may His presence remind you that no force of darkness can outrun His Light or overturn His purpose for you.