Luke 22:39-53
Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against Him… (v. 52) So I was wrong a few days ago when I chastised the Jewish leaders for not being present when Jesus was arrested. Sometimes I do and sometimes I do not look forward to the other Gospels when I am reading the first of two or three or four recounting the same incident. Apparently I should have this time!
And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. (v. 43) We saw angels “ministering” to Jesus after His forty days in the wilderness (Mt. 4:11, Mk. 1:13), but I don’t recall any other time in the Gospels where we have seen angels alongside Jesus. So the “ministering” angels and the “strengthening” angel led me to wonder whether Jesus regularly had guardian angels. I daresay that most of us, if questioned, would agree that we have guardian angels watching over us. So Jesus’ having guardian angels should not be a stretch for us. I wonder what they did for Him. Presumably He was filled with the Holy Spirit from His baptism on. Were the angels also special envoys from His Father? Jesus had said that He had twelve legions of angels at His disposal (Matthew 26:53). So what did Jesus’ guardian angels do? Thoughts…?
Slava Bohu!
Good question, Fred. It appears that the angels were there at two very alone times, when directly confronted by Satan and in the garden when He made His final commitment of obedience unto death (I imagine Satan was hovering there too). So yes, the angels strengthened and guarded him at His most vulnerable points.
Good point, Fred and Debbie, that there were two times the angels were mentioned as being with Jesus when he was at his most vulnerable and weakest. So were angels with him at other times, but not mentioned?
And where does that leave angels’ role with us? I personally don’t think there is a biblical basis for guardian angels hovering over each person all the time, although I have not actually researched this question. I always assume it is a story made up by parents or the church for children. But I have always believed they come with prayers for help. And sometimes, of course, they come to a person’s aid before the need is known—there are certainly plenty of fascinating stories about angels out there!
Although I likewise have not researched the subject at all, I think the notion of “personal guardian angels” comes from 2 short New Testament references:
Obviously, that is not a lot to go on, but there appears to be a general assumption (even by Jesus Himself) that we have individual guardian angels — or at least something like that.
Hmmm… Interesting. The Matthew reference seems to bear more weight than the other to me. I think Rhoda could have easily meant something like “his ghost” – i.e., not an angel that was with him in life, but a manifestation of Peter himself now that he was dead…(?)