In Luke 22:51 Jesus healed the temple servant after Peter had cut off His ear. You would think such a miracle would have been reason enough for everyone present to submit to the authority of Jesus, but it wasn’t. Judas had betrayed Jesus with a kiss, a sign of close and personal affection, but rather meant for evil. In verse 53 Jesus declares the hour of evil and the power of darkness that belonged to His captors. There can be no doubt that Satan was controlling the actions of those who came to seize Him and that they were powerless to do anything else.

          How often is Jesus betrayed by those disguised as His servants? Even a kiss can be rooted in deception. When we fail to guard our hearts, the opportunity always arises for us to betray Him through our self-interest and motivation. If we fail to consider all our actions through the lens of His word then we are vulnerable to the power of darkness and the hour of evil. Hebrews 4:12 tells us “…the word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword…able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This is the sword that He has given us to answer all evil intent. The sword of steel can only cause physical harm but the sword of the word strikes at the very existence and presence of evil itself. When Peter struck the servant, it only added to the atmosphere of hostility. It would have presented the opportunity for justification by those who came to seize Jesus but our Lord would not allow them to have such cause. In Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians (v.6:12) we are told “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

          Our first concern in warfare must be enemy identification. James 1:19 councils us “to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.” Herein lies the process for discovery of the enemy. Being “quick to hear” grants us the time to evaluate what is really happening. If we are listening then we are not reacting. This presents us the opportunity to apply God’s word from our hearts and correctly evaluate our course of action. If we fail to follow these steps we are all too likely to shoot the wrong target. We may inflict wounds to those who confront us but fail to strike the crucial blow needed to defeat our spiritual enemy. We must accept the existence of cosmic powers of darkness at work. There are demonic creatures who aid Satan in His desire to defeat God’s work by striking out against believers. All too often we focus on the other person, examining their conduct while failing to look beyond what we see in the physical sense. Cutting the ear off the servant only tends to give credence to his cause. Blindly we aid the enemy in his efforts without being aware of what we have done.

          Further study of Ephesians 6:13-18 would benefit all of us in preparation for spiritual warfare. Not only will we find the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v.17) but also other pieces of armor necessary for battle. It’s time to suit up and be prepared to do a little hunting of our own. He has given us all we need to search out and destroy the enemy. We no longer need to be subject to his schemes. It’s time to resist. It’s time to send him on the run. It’s time to walk in victory; all we need is to be prepared.