The Arrest and Trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin

Testify to the Truth

Main Idea: Jesus has been explaining to the disciples that He will be handed over to death and that His death is for those who believe. Now it starts to get real

Division Statements:

Jesus Must Drink of the Cup

Jesus Drinks the Cup on Behalf of His People (Substitution) 12-27

Jesus Must Drink the Cup 18:1-11

Explanation

In the Old Testament there are both positive and negative connotations with drinking from the cup.

Psalm 23:5 HCSB

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Psalm 116:13 HCSB

I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of Yahweh.

It is here, however, that the negative picture is seen.

Luke 22:42 HCSB

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me—nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Isaiah 51:17 HCSB

Wake yourself, wake yourself up! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk the cup of His fury from the hand of the Lord; you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs— the cup that causes people to stagger.

Psalm 75:8 HCSB

For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand, full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it. All the wicked of the earth will drink, draining it to the dregs.

Hebrews 10:31 HCSB

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

This cup that Peter swore he could drink is the same cup Jesus agonized over in the garden before His death.

The cup is not just some of God’s wrath it is the fullness of his wrath that was stirred by all the world’s sinful works. The the fullness of that cup was completely emptied out on Jesus at Calvary.

Transition:

In our text we see Jesus moving towards that cup of wrath on our behalf through what is known as Propitiation 1-11

Read 1-11 emphasis on 4, 5, 6, 9, and 11

Jesus moves towards the cup

He had them leave to go where He would be found.

Those who arrest him either by force, power or sheer worship fall

He assures safety to his followers and goes peacefully to His trial.

John 10:17–18 HCSB

This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”

Earlier that evening Jesus shared with them that he must take this cup so that He can give them eternal life but taking the wrath of God on himself (propitiation) but also exchanging their unrighteousness for His righteousness (substitutionary atonement)

John 13:8 HCSB

“You will never wash my feet—ever!” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Illustration

This week the Olympics rolled out thier absolute assault on Christianity. Comparing Christ at the Last Supper with that of a drag queen. When I seen that I though that is a

mentally sick,

deranged individual

who is a disgrace

and an abomination…

And they would say, well that is how we see Jesus.

Argumentation

Yet, every mocking display of rebelliousness,

every celebration that seeks to not only suppress the truth in unrighteousness, but encourages others to do so to..

is being seen by God.

And there is a cup of wrath that will be drunk and drunk to the dregs.

Christ takes initiative in this passage. He controls the questioning and the outcome.

He defends his sheep and protects the soldiers. He is the true King and His sovereignty rules- even over the mob of soldiers.

Application

Christ, while holy and righteous enough to drink all the worlds wrath of God, has chosen only to apply his suffering and death sentence to those who put their faith in Him for their sins.

If those people who celebrate such wickedness died during the ceremony they would face God’s wrath; not just for those actions but for all of their sins.

If however, God reveals to them the nature of their sin before His holiness and they seek a way out from that recognized judgement they can escape God’s wrath through Jesus, substitutionary atonement.

Jesus Drinks the Cup on Behalf of His People (Substitution) 12-27

Read 12-27

John 18:12–27 HCSB

Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish temple police arrested Jesus and tied Him up. First they led Him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was advantageous that one man should die for the people. Meanwhile, Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” “I am not!” he said. Now the slaves and the temple police had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself. The high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching. “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered him. “I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple complex, where all the Jews congregate, and I haven’t spoken anything in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.” When He had said these things, one of the temple police standing by slapped Jesus, saying, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” “If I have spoken wrongly,” Jesus answered him, “give evidence about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit Me?” Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of His disciples too, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!” One of the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?” Peter then denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.

Explanation

The story is written to help frame this as a failure. John is trying to write a letter to the churches that has a theme.

John 20:31 HCSB

But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.

The signs preformed in John the discourses taught after are all to sway you to belief. The climax is building and John is wanting it to appear that all is doomed.

Illustration

Like the cartoon cliff hangers where the villain has the lead characters tied up and the world in his crosshairs

Will the world be destroyed by Dr…

will ______ free himself in time to stop the evil plans of Dr….?

That is John here.

Is Jesus going to be arrested and sentenced to death?

Will Peter and his disciples be able to overthrow the bad guys?

Will Jesus escape this trial?

The answer to all these questions is no. Sadly, it is no.

Argumentation

However, there is a small tell. He gives the reader this tell in vs. 14.

John 18:14 HCSB

Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was advantageous that one man should die for the people.

Context Lazarus set up

John 11:45–51 HCSB

Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs? If we let Him continue in this way, everyone will believe in Him! Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation.” One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He gained quite a following. The religious leaders became concerned that their popularity and status in Rome would be impacted if Jesus continued on

The High Priest at the time said, They’ll kill him and then we wont have to die.

Cut off the head and the beast dies.

While the Jewish leaders thought His death would satisfy Rome’s wrath and spare their own death.

Jesus was coming to take God’s wrath upon Himself and to do so for us so that we would not experience death like Lazarus.

When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus he was dead and decaying already. He exercised his authority and called him out of the tomb and Lazarus walked out.

Jesus has the power to raise us from death to life. He is about to do it in the following chapter’s Himself.

However upon His resurrection, no one will need to worry about dying again.

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 HCSB

Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

This is due to Jesus.

He is the one who not only takes on the wrath of God but

He takes on our death sentence and give to us His righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21 HCSB

He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Application

The religious leaders felt they were righteous and yet at the name I Am they bowed down before Him

Peter swore He would never deny Jesus, and that he could drink the cup set apart for Jesus-even cut off an ear, protecting Jesus yet in that moment his fear caused him to say “I am not”

But Jesus said “I AM”

What is our response to this?

We need to understand that when it comes to righteousness before God, and who is worthy to stand before Him, we must acknowledge that like Peter’s response “we are not [worthy]”

And when we trust Jesus to be our payment and our substitute we realize that

Righteousness is a gift.

Mercy is a gift.

Forgiveness is a gift

because Jesus paid the cost. He can give the gift to all who believe.

Do you believe that Jesus did for you what you cannot do for yourself?

Who do you know that needs to know that truth?