Gethsemane: Swords or Surrender? // Lent 2026: The Way of the Cross // Luke 22:37-55 // 02.22.26 // Doug Glynn

Gethsemane: Swords or Surrender? // Lent 2026: The Way of the Cross // Luke 22:37-55 // 02.22.26 // Doug Glynn

This week we stepped into Luke 22 and the Garden of Gethsemane, the night Jesus is betrayed and arrested. In the moment when fear is real, danger is real, and violence could seem justified, Jesus refuses the way of the sword. He stops the violence, heals the enemy, and surrenders Himself to the Father’s will. Gethsemane shows us what the Kingdom of God actually looks like: not domination or retaliation, but healing, surrender, and love under pressure. We named how fear pulls us toward separation and can lead us to justify contempt and harm, even in the name of God. Jesus invites us to follow Him into a cross-shaped way of life that trusts the Father enough to love when it costs. The invitation for the week is to notice where fear shows up, where we reach for control or distance, and to pray Jesus’ prayer: “Father, not my will, but Yours,” making room for His Kingdom to form us.