John 18:1-27

The Control of Christ and the Weakness of Men

Big Idea: Even when betrayed, Jesus remains in control, fulfilling God’s plan, while those around Him reveal their weakness.

This text reveals the macro structure of redemptive-history, the necessity of God to come and save us. In our weakness, we are unable on our own to overcome sin and death, we need a savior to come who has sovereign control, one who can fulfill all that God promised of such a savior as laid down in scripture.

Intro

The glory and wisdom of God is seen in the diversity of human personality. Think of what trouble we would be in if every single one of us was exactly the same. If we had the same gifts and the same weaknesses. We need those people who, under an immense amount of pressure, make the right decisions. These kinds of people seem to come alive when the wheels are falling off. They’re calm and in control. Others don’t have that gift. The more pressure you applied, the less likely they are to make a good decision. But if you gave them time and space, they will come up with unthinkable solutions. You need a diversity of people on a team to get things done and really thrive. That diversity is a good thing.

In our text this morning, we have a cast of characters who respond differently to the pressure of their situation. One tries to take control of the situation, but encounters someone with more control than He, others collapse under the pressure and begin to reveal their weakness. In this account of the betrayal, trial, and denial of Jesus we see the control of Christ and the weakness of men. It’s the control of Christ that becomes a source of great encouragement. Even when betrayed, Jesus remains in control, fulfilling God’s plan, while those around Him reveal their weakness.

Surrendered

Although it was five chapters and many months ago for us since we considered ch. 13 and Jesus’ prediction that one of the disciples would betray him, in real time it has only been a matter of hours. Judas was dismissed from the last supper, while Jesus teaches His disciples some last lessons as they make their way from the upper room to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. Now the hour has come, and Judas, familiar with the patterns and habits of Jesus, knew exactly where to find Him.

It’s really hard to piece together what might have been going through Judas’ mind? What was his thought process? Why did he do it? Is he really as diabolical as we think? Was he like a spy who embeds himself for years and years into the life of the person he sent to spy on, and when it is finally discovered he is really a Russian operative, it’s a stunning revelation.

Anna Chapman’s story is a striking modern tale of such a betrayal. Born in Russia in 1982, she married a British man, Alex Chapman, in 2002 to gain citizenship, embedding herself in his life as part of her cover as a Russian spy. After their 2006 divorce, she moved to New York in 2009, posing as a real estate agent while secretly gathering intelligence for Russia’s Illegals Program. Her 2010 arrest by the FBI unveiled her double life, shocking colleagues and the public who knew her as a glamorous socialite, though her ex-husband later claimed he wasn’t surprised by her mysterious nature. Deported to Russia in a prisoner swap, she transformed into a media personality, leaving a legacy of deception that echoes the sting of betrayal—hidden in plain sight, only revealed when trust had already been shattered.

Was that something of the story of Judas, a successful operative sent to infiltrate Jesus’ disciples and subvert His mission? Maybe, his motives are certainly animated by Satan, for at some point he becomes possessed, and seems to be animated by the Devil. But I am inclined to think that Judas started off genuine. Satan is not stupid, he is subtle, and he suggests half-truths that sound enticingly plausible. Things like, you won’t die. In fact if you eat this fruit you will be like God, which he doesn’t want you to be. We know “the Devil has already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray” Jesus (John 13:2), sometime before the last Supper. But what subtle lie did he use to put that idea in His heart?

Doubtful he took a straight-to-the-point tactic. Here’s what I think, and its pure speculation, but it may help as we try to understand why often enough we do the things we should hate, and leave undone those things we ought to do (Rom. 7:15).

I think the Devil implanted this idea: Judas, Jesus needs your help to accomplish His mission. In fact, he made you the treasurer for a reason. You’ve got the resources of the group so that you can help him. You know He has the power to restore the Kingdom to Israel, but something is holding him back. You need to create an opportunity for him to prove himself. Some kind of test. That’s why he needs you Judas. You can give him the opportunity to be all you know he can be, and accomplish all those things you had hoped he would accomplish when you first started following him. He just needs a little, a shortcut to get where you know he could be with your help.

Judas thinks, that sounds reasonable. Maybe God just wants me to help Jesus by providing an opportunity for Jesus to show His true colors, to show the world who he really is, and how much power he really has.

At the bottom of every one of the Devil’s lie is a shortcut to glory. Eat the fruit and become like God, now. Why wait for God to feed you, turn these stones into bread now. Why go to all the trouble of a cross, when I can give you the kingdoms of the world right now, if you just worship me. The Devil keeps using this tactic with great success to this day. Why cultivate a loving, reciprocal relationship with your wife that will lead to intimacy, just look at porn and have intimacy now? Why develop the habit of being truthful when you can lie and get what you want right now? Why wait for God to bring justice when you can give into your anger and get even with your enemy right now? Why go through suffering to get to glory, when you can have it now? The Devil keeps running the same play because we keep thinking we can help God accomplish His mission by offering to Him our quick-fixes and shortcut solutions.

But Judas assumed God needed him to take control of the situation. An assumption which led him to believe that Jesus wasn’t in control. Boy was he surprised then when he comes with a band of soldiers and Officers of the Jews to betray Jesus.

Jesus knows exactly what is about to happen to him, and instead of passively waiting for it he confronts this betrayal head-on asking, “whom do you seek?”(4).

“They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”” (Jn 18:5–9).

I want you to notice three things from this exchange: Jesus’ powerful presence, Jesus’ control of the situation and the trustworthiness of Jesus’ words.

At the self-identification of “I AM He,” they react with uncontrolled humility, such as those confronted with the glory of God in a theophany. When sinful humanity, or any within the realm of darkness, is confronted by the glory of God, they fall down in worship. These men have come against Jesus as His enemies with one purpose in mind. To trap and kill Jesus. Driven by all kinds of motives, from envy and hatred to religious zeal and the supposed honor of God, these men intend to rid Israel of what they see as a troubler. But what ends up happening is worship.

Jesus proves he is in control of the situation, not only by confronting the confronters, but by demanding that no one but Him be taken (harmed). “Let these men go,” Jesus commands. He is fully prepared to go with them, for this hour is the very purpose for His coming, but he will allow nothing to happen to His disciples because of His word of promise. Nothing happens in this world apart from the will of Christ.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1:15–17).

Notice also that his word is trustworthy, what he promises he will fulfill. “This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”” (Jn 18:9). Most often in the Gospel of John, fulfill is used of Scripture, but here it is the words of Christ within the gospel, which are now equated with scripture. We would expect no less since Jesus is the Word which with God, which is God. So it’s not surprising that like the trustworthy Word of God, the words of Jesus are also trustworthy.

Why then do you doubt His promises to you when he so clearly is able to fulfill them even in a situation as dire as this? “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb 10:23). We’ll come back to the encouragement the control of Christ gives the Christian in a moment. But let us briefly consider the control Jesus has over His trial, and the weakness of His disciples, especially Peter, when he denies Jesus.

Tried

They take Jesus under the cover of darkness to try Him before the high priest. This is what we might call the Jewish trial. The Roman’s allowed the Jews a certain amount of liberty to govern Judea, but it was overseen by Roman Prefect. First, he is taken to Annas, who was High priest that year and the Father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the one that warned it would be better that one man should die for the people than that the whole nations should suffer, not knowing, of course, the implications of what he was saying.

Then Jesus is questioned about His teaching. I think at this point they are trying to get Jesus to blaspheme God, as they believe he has done through His teaching. Specifically, with His teaching that he and the Father are one. But Jesus refuses to answer, stating He has taught everything publicly, and if they want to know, they should go and ask those who heard Him speak openly.

So they switch tactics and have Jesus struck for His impudence to the High Priest. What a terrible misjudgment of the whole situation. For there before them is God in the flesh, the very God they claim they represent. But Jesus continues to show He is in control by demanding that they bear witness to any wrongdoing. He is then sent to Annas the High Priest for more questioning.

You may have noticed what seems like a discrepancy between v. 19 and v. 24. John tells us Annas, the Father-in-law of Caiaphas first questioned Jesus, but he calls him in v. 19 the High Priest. While in v. 24 Annas sends him to Caiaphas the High Priest. Does John contradict himself? Who was High priest? The answer is not as complicated as you might think. Annas was the high priest, but Pilate replaced him with his Son-in-law Caiaphas, because he was making trouble for the Romans. Annas however was highly respected and presided over the High priesthood as a patriarch, having no less than five Sons (and Sons-in-laws) who were also High priests. So His opinion still carries a great deal of weight in Judea, with many still considering him the rightful High Priest even though the Romans have given that title to Caiaphas.

Nothing about John’s portrayal of Jesus’ trial leads us to see a person put upon, or made a victim. The arrest and trial are means Jesus uses to reach His desired goal, the cross. Not at all meaning they are unwitting puppets, they are free in their choice and responsible before God for the their treatment of Jesus. It is necessary that Jesus be tried, but woe to those who do so. This treatment by the Jews by now doesn’t surprise us, what may surprise us is Peter’s behavior.

Denied

Although this shouldn’t be the case, either for us or for Peter since Jesus warned that this would happen already. Again this was five chapters and months ago for us, but for Peter this would have been only hours earlier.

“Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” (Jn 13:36–38).

We admire the boldness of Peter. He wears his heart on His sleeve, speaking often without thinking through what he is saying. When you love and are devoted to someone as Peter was to Jesus, it’s easy to promise such devotion. I would lay down my life for you. There’s something in that which resonates with us. That’s the stuff of movies. It makes me think of the Steven Spielberg movie Saving Private Ryan. A group of men are tasked with going deep into German occupied territory to find this private Ryan and bring home. He was one of four brothers, three of which had already been killed in action, and the government decided to spare His mother the grief of losing the last son, he must be returned. In the process of that mission the unit sent to recover Private Ryan must wrestle with the cost of a life. Is it worth the sacrifice of their lives to recover His life. Some in the unit don’t think so, but in end (spoiler alert) they all do so that Ryan can return home with only two surviving the ordeal.

But it’s one thing to wish that you could give the last full measure of devotion, and it’s quite another to actually do it. I volunteered to go to Iraq, thinking I was willing to die for my country, but when I got there, I found that more than anything I just wanted to survive and go back home. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when pressure mounts, Peter begins to distance himself from the source of the problem, namely from Jesus.

Now, it’s commendable that unlike the rest of the disciples who scatter from Jesus immediately, John and Peter follow Jesus. It would seem that John was known by the High Priest, which most take to mean he was somehow related to the priestly family. So he is able to gain access to the trial of Jesus. Peter accompanies him but waits outside. However, John sends a servant girl to go out and bring him in, its then that Peter first denies his relationship to Jesus. She asks if Peter is one of His disciples, something that he has not been shy about being until now. This time the stakes are raised. No doubt it has been costly personally for Peter to associate with Jesus in His public ministry. But given that he was from Galilee, and a fisherman, it’s doubtful he had much standing in society. So, in a cost/benefit analysis, it may have actually been more favorable for Peter to be with Jesus than without Him.

But if identified with Jesus now, when His future is so uncertain, that seemed to Peter to be too much of a risk, so he denies that he is His disciple. Two more times that night Peter is questioned as to His association with Jesus and both times he denies Jesus. The last of three denials Peter hears the rooster crow. John tells us nothing more than this. Here Jesus words must have come back to haunt Peter. Other gospel writers tells us after this Peter departs in shame, weeping bitterly.

Now, we are going to return to this event again when we get to Jesus post-resurrection encouragement to Peter in Ch. 21. But for now I want you to notice how this event reveals the weakness of Jesus’ disciples.

It’s striking that in this event we see a retelling of the story of redemption. The weakness and inability of man to save himself and the control and sovereignty of God to come and save us. Nowhere are we confronted more with weakness then when we try to overcome sin. You can’t reconcile yourself to God. Nor could you persevere with Him. This is a lesson Peter must learn and so must you. We often overestimate our own abilities, both to defeat sin, but also just to persevere when things get hard.

Every once in a while, the Lord allows you to get a taste of what it’s like to go it alone. Not because he actually abandons you, but he lets you feel what it would be like if he did. Peter thinks he could follow Christ to His death, and in truth, one day Peter would do just that, but now Peter must come to terms with the fact that if he is to lay down His life for Christ, he will actually need Jesus’ help to do so.

Until you learn how weak you are, there will always be a little streak of self-sufficiency in you, and self-sufficiency does not agree with faith. Peter doesn’t understand this lesson, even though Jesus has already demonstrated this in His incarnation, Peter will only begin to grasp this when he encounters the cross. There on the cross Jesus surrenders control, and through suffering learns obedience, entrusting himself to the only one who could save Him from death. By that, he shows Peter where true strength lies. It’s not in overwhelming military power, or show of worldly strength, but in sacrificial self-surrender, true power is subversive and triumphs by dying. Peter had to learn that weakness was not something to be overcome, it was something to be embraced. “Weakness is the way.”

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed…Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Pe 4:12-13;19).

But its when we face a trial that brings suffering that we realize just how weak we really are. Peter may have consoled himself with the thought, at least I didn’t abandon Jesus in the garden like the others did. He may have said that to himself even after denying he knew Jesus the first time. But then when the rooster crowed and the words of Jesus came back to him, the reality of His weakness would have hit home.

As I said, we will see how Jesus responds to such denials, to such weakness, and its not as the world might respond, but for now Peter needs to sit with the reality of His weakness. As we all do from time to time. The confession says,

The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave, for a season, His own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends. (WCF. 5.5)

God allows you to discover your weakness so that you learn to rely on His strength. This lesson is writ large in the letters of Paul.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Co 12:7–10).

“My power is made perfect in weakness.” Peter can’t save himself. Peter couldn’t even suffer with Christ without the Lord upholding him. All sin and idolatry is born with attempts to try to save oneself. But scripture wants you to see over and over, from the individual stories of the saints, to the overall story of redemption, you can’t save yourself! In fact, you can’t even be relied upon to suffer with Christ in your own strength. Until you learn the lesson of weakness, your attitude will always be like Peter’s once was–I will lay down my life for you. Only when Peter discovered how hard that really would be would he come to see how great his Savior really was.

Christ is in control, while your weakness is slowly being revealed. How will you respond, will it be in faith, embracing weakness and entrusting yourself to Jesus who said “of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” Or will you hold on to your conceit and continue to believe that in your own strength you will follow Christ, you will save yourself?

Christ is in control, and he would have you learn that weakness is the way. Amen.

Lord’s Supper Meditation

Jesus was a spotless lamb who took away the sins of the world, but he wasn’t a helpless lamb. He was completely in control of the situation leading to His death. Sometimes to people who don’t understand scripture will try to refute substitutionary atonement by calling it cosmic child abuse. How could a father kill his son for the sake of others without it being child abuse? The answer is actually very simple. It can’t be child abuse, or any kind of abuse, if Jesus goes willingly to His death. Jesus gives himself up to His betrayer, and as we will see in a few weeks, that even the moment of His death he chooses willingly by giving up His Spirit. Jesus dies for you willingly, no one made him do it, and he did it out of His mere good pleasure. Certainly not because you had somehow earned His favor. There was nothing in you that could, or would, have induced Christ to offer His life for you except that He loves you. To keep that constantly before you and to strengthen faith so that you might persevere, he gives us this table. I am not re-sacrificing Christ here as the popish church thinks. Nor is this merely a memorial of His once-for-all sacrifice for sin. But in these elements of bread and wine the Spirit of Christ takes the things of Christ, that is all His benefits and gives them to those who eat and drink by faith. The supper trains us to see that weakness is not a limitation that will keep us from Christ. But weakness is what must be embraced so that Christ’s power and control can be unleashed in us. It trains you to see that the cross is the way to glory and glory can be had through no other way. Only when you die with Christ can you truly live. So come weak and weary, come and see the suffering savior, come and see him triumph over sin and death by dying, come and taste and see the power of God for your salvation, come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

Charge

From beginning to end, first to last, Jesus is the sovereign Lord, in control, able to fulfill his purpose and plans, even when he is betrayed and denied. Only when you surrender control to Him, can you learn what Peter so painfully learned, that in your weakness His power is perfected. Amen.