Free Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion by Rick Renner

help. He didn’t request Peter’s intervention. Nevertheless, Peter suddenly jumped in the middle of God’s business and tried to instigate a revolt. Yet rather than walk off and leave Peter in the mess he had made by his own doings, Jesus stopped everything that was happening and intervened on His disciple’s behalf. Jesus took the time to heal Malchus’ ear for two primary reasons: 1) because He is a Healer, and 2) because He didn’t want Peter to be arrested for his impulsive actions.
    The next time you think you are too busy or too important to get involved in a friend’s problem, remember this example that Jesus gave us on the night of His arrest. That night Jesus had a lot on His mind, but He still stopped everything to help a friend. He could have said, “Peter, you’ve made this mess by yourself; now you can fix it by yourself.” But it was clear that Peter would never get out of this trouble without assistance, so Jesus stepped in to help Peter get things back in order again.
    When you are tempted to be judgmental about other people’s self-imposed problems, it would be good for you to remember the many times God’s mercy has intervened to save you from messy situations that you created yourself. Even though you deserved to get in trouble, God loved you enough to come right alongside you and help you pull things together so you could get out of that mess. Now whenever you see others in trouble, you have the opportunity to be an extension of God’s mercy to them.
    Put everything on hold for a few minutes so you can reach out to a friend in trouble; then do whatever you can to help restore the situation. If this was important enough for Jesus to do, then you have time to do it as well. Make it a priority today to be a faithful friend to the end, just as Jesus was to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane!

    The only thing more frustrating and painful than making a mistake or going through a difficult time is watching someone you care about go through difficulty — particularly when it’s a situation of his or her own design. There are times when people need someone to step in and help them get their lives in order again.
    Can you think of a time when you were in trouble and someone helped you fix your situation without smothering you in judgment for what may have been a self-imposed problem? How did that person’s intervention affect you then, and how does his or her example of love continue to influence you today?

    Usually when a person needs your help the most, it isn’t convenient for you to step in. Jesus was in the midst of an intense spiritual battle in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Peter’s actions only further complicated the situation. Notice that Jesus put His own pain on pause to correct the chaos as He brought healing to Malchus and help to Peter.
    How do you respond to others around you when, in the midst of trying to deal with your own personal dilemma, you see someone making a mess in his or her life or observe someone suffering? Does your response mirror the way that Jesus responded to Peter?

    Jesus is a faithful Friend. Every day His mercy is available to intervene in your life — pulling you out of problems, pulling your life together. Are you honoring the sacrifice Jesus made for you by receiving His merciful intervention in your life? Take some time to think about that, and then consider how you can be an extension of God’s mercy to someone else today.

Chapter 12:
Twelve Legions of Angels
    How much strength do you think one angel possesses?
    To answer that question, I want you to consider the full impact of Jesus’ words in Matthew 26:53, where He said, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”
    To fully understand the magnitude of what Jesus said here, we need to know:

What is a “legion”?
How many angels would there be in 12 legions?
What would be the combined strength of this number of