Once upon a time I wasn’t married. Sheri and I were just dating. So it came to pass at a social gathering she hosted on the Fourth of July in her beach house, there was another guy who expressed an interest and desire to take Sheri out on a date. This proposition happened right in front of my eyes. My blood instantly boiled with jealous rage. I will not say out loud what my reptilian brain imagined doing to this other guy. And besides all that there was a problem. This guy was at least a 100 pounds bigger than me, and that 100 pounds was all muscle. He was huge! I was not. But I didn’t appreciate the things he tried to say to Sheri during that party.

I didn’t want to cause a scene, or have things escalate for obvious reasons, so I waited until Sheri stepped outside. I very calmly went up to him and said, “Excuse me but, Sheri is with me. So you don’t need to talk about her like that.” 

He cocked his head to the side and said, “Do we have a problem here”? 

So I said, “Sheri and I are together. This is her Sheri’s house. So I think you should leave.” 

The guy looked angry and annoyed. He began to walk out the front door and said, “I am going to leave for a little while, but when I come back, you better not be here, or we will have a problem.” I was relieved to see him walk out the door, but also kind of started panicking as to what I was going to do! 

I can sympathize with Peter who also panicked not knowing what to do. Peter understood that Jesus had come to be an earthly and a heavenly king. However, he had no idea how Jesus would rule. Jesus said that he would go to Jerusalem, but that his enemies would cause him to suffer and die. Jesus would not fight against his enemies, but show love and mercy to them. Peter went out of his way to try to dissuade Jesus. Kings, in Peter’s mind, do not willingly suffer and die, they command armies to make their enemies suffer and die by use of violence. 

Today you might struggle with Peter’s temptation to use violence as a way to solve problems. This is the age-old problem of works righteousness. You might be tempted to believe that you must earn your salvation and God’s love through your actions. The problem is that you, and all human beings, are fundamentally flawed and damaged in your hearts and soul by sin. This means that even when you try to do something good, noble, honorable, and just, you can end up making matters worse. Taking justice into your own hands is a bad idea. 

God, unlike human beings, is a perfect administer of justice. God sees into your heart and mind, and will hold you accountable for your actions. In both Romans and Deuteronomy God says, “Vengeance is mine.” Furthermore Jesus told Peter and the disciples: 

For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Matthew 16:27-28

God is righteous and will serve judgement swiftly. So when did that happen?

It’s just like Jesus told Peter. He went to the holy city, Jerusalem, suffered at the hands of his enemies, and then died meekly on a cross. To most of the world this seemed like utter foolishness. But to those who have been called to faith, Jesus on the cross conquers: sin, death, and the devil. The almighty power of God was poured out from Jesus’ wounded side and this is the power to forgive sin, and give eternal life. Jesus accomplished this most powerful act not with violence, but with peace and humility. 

The good news is that if Jesus didn’t need violence to change and even save the world, then you don’t need it either. What you do need is faith. Have faith that God will b