I AM

Introduction

Illustration: Aluminum handcuffs.

So my friends, we are continuing our series looking deeply into the Gospel According to John. We’re calling this series “Believe and Live,” because John says that’s the reason he wrote this gospel, so that we would believe in Jesus and believing, have life in Him. We are quickly approaching the climax of the gospel. What Jesus has been calling “the appointed hour.” Judas has been gone for a while now and Jesus has finished the upper room teaching and has prayed for them. Now Jesus is ready to head to where He knows Judas will come for Him. Let’s read our passage this morning, John 18:1-12.

John 18:1–12 CSB

After Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas took a company of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees and came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “I am he,” Jesus told them. Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them. When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. Then he asked them again, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. “I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the words he had said: “I have not lost one of those you have given me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?” Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up.

This is an amazing moment set before us. First of all I want to share with you something I learned in my research that I think will just keep the reality of what is about to happen firm in our minds. Remember that this is passover weekend. This is the weekend when every able bodied Jewish male is required to come to the temple and sacrifice a lamb for his family. This would be more than 200,000 lambs slaughtered for passover. Where does all the blood go from those lambs sacrificed in the temple? There was actually a drain system that drained the blood out of the city into a nearby valley. Kidron Valley. So when Jesus led his disciples throught this valley to the garden he was walking by a river of blood of the sacrificial lambs. He was about to become the ultimate lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

So how does Jesus face the moment where Judas and the soldiers come to arrest him to prepare for this very sacrifice? Well He faces them like the Divine Son of God. I believe this passage shows us a few things about who Jesus is about what it means to follow Him. Jesus shows us through His actions that He was not an unwilling martyr, but a loving savior who laid down His life for our sakes. Jesus also shows us what it means to think of others first, an example of what it means to be a loving disciple of Jesus. Finally we see Peter give an example of what not to do, contrasting Jesus’ submission to the will of God with an example of taking matters into our own hands and trying to force the Kingdom of God to come.

Jesus Lays Down His Life

Illustration: The scene from Man of Steel where Superman allows the US Military to handcuff him.

Of course obviously we all knew as viewers that Superman was only there by his own choice. He could have left any time that he wanted to and there would be absolutly nothing that the US Military could have done to stop him. Now I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but Jesus kind of puts superman to shame. Superman is a super powerful guy, but Jesus is God Himself. He created literally everything there is. Plus He actually exists, unlike Superman. So then when Judas and the soldiers show up to arrest Him, well, they didn’t really stand a chance did they?

With just a word or a though Jesus could have made them simply cease to exist. He could have called on the armies of heaven to come to His rescue. Multiple times throughout the gospel according to John Jesus has just walked away from the people who are trying to kill Him and they’ve been mysteriously unable to apprehend Him.

Does He do any of those things? No, He doesn’t. Let’s take a look at what happens instead.

John 18:4–8 CSB

Then Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “I am he,” Jesus told them. Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them. When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. Then he asked them again, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. “I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for me, let these men go.”

Does this look like a man who is worried? A man who is being subdued? A man who is helpless? Far from it.

Some of you may already have seen one thing that you know I never fail to bring up. You’ll notice how Jesus responds when they tell Him that they’ve come for Jesus of Nazareth. In the CSB they say that Jesus said “I am he.” We’ve talked about this before, but in the original language there is no “he”. There is no object in that sentence. Instead Jesus’ reply to these soldiers is “I AM.”

This of course is a reference to Exodus, when Moses meets Yahweh, God, in the burning bush. When Moses asks God His name, God says that His name is Yahweh, and that this name means “I am that I am.” So when Jesus says this, it appears to be a subtle claim to being the “I am” of exodus that spoke to Moses, the God who created the universe.

Now only in a few cases do people accuse Him of blasphemy for saying this, so I think sometimes it’s ambiguous enough that it might not be a direct claim to being God, but look at the result in this verse. What happens to the soldiers who came to arrest Him? They step back and they fall to the ground.

Now keep in mind that the majority of the soldiers are Romans. There’s temple guards there as well, but it’s mostly romans. They have zero context for Jesus’ “I am” statement. That would mean nothing to them. Plus the ones who would understand that reference are extremely biased against believing what Jesus says here. So why do they fall down on the ground in awe?

Jesus must have made some display of power or glory that awed them. In this moment Jesus shows us that He is far from powerless. He is in complete control of this situation, and He could stop them with little effort if He wanted to.

The thing is… He doesn’t. Why does this matter? Because it proves what Jesus says in John 10:17-18

John 10:17–18 CSB

This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that 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.”

The Romans didn’t win. The Pharisees didn’t win. The Devil didn’t win. Jesus was not taken to the cross as some great failure which He turned around in the end. Jesus walked to the cross on purpose. In fact we’ve seen in many places Jesus intentionally upsetting the leadership so that they would have reason to kill Him.

Why? Why would Jesus intentionally go to that cross? We know the answer, don’t we friends? Because He was thinking about you. Yes you specifically. Also everyone else, but Jesus is God and He knew all of us before we were born according to Scripture, so He knew each individual hearing my voice now, so you and I were on His mind as He willingly surrendered to these soldiers who were helpless against Him.

Oh how great the love of Jesus, how wonderful are His ways that He would give His life for sinners who were the enemies of God. That He would lay down His life willingly for all of us. The Father didn’t punish the Son for our sins unwillingly, the Son took the punishment for our sins out of love. There’s an important difference there. Jesus did this all because He wanted to, even though it was the most difficult thing for Him to do.

That love is what saves us today. If you are hearing my voice and you have not yet made a decision to follow Jesus, let this be your reminder of how great His love is for you. Let this be the moment you step up boldly and declare that Jesus is Lord and that He rose from the dead. We will be glad to welcome you as our brother or sister in the family of God. Though it comes with a cost, surrendering your life to Jesus, the reward is an eternal life of joy. What greater prize is there?

Jesus Cares About Others First

Illustration: So some of you may have noticed that around the maritimes we’ve been having some wildfires. Because my family lives in the woods, we’ve been doing some careful thinking and planning about what to do if a fire starts in our area and we’re forced to flee. When I think about this possible scenario, as a father I think “what can I do to make sure that my wife and children are safe.” I’m not trying to toot my own horn here. Just a humility check, it’s a lot easier to hypothetically put my life in danger to make sure my family is safe than to actually do it.

It’s hard to say what any of us would do in a crisis situation. We would all like to think we would like to do the right thing and think of others first, but we can’t truly know that until we’re tested. I think we’d all rather not be tested in this way. I don’t want to have to prove it is all I’m saying, I’m sure at least some of you are with me on that.

It should come as no surprise to us, having explored the life of Jesus for so long this past year, that Jesus passes this particular test. We know that He was in control of the situation as we just talked about, but we also know that because of His willing surrender, He was about to be tortured brutally and killed in possibly the most brutal way in all of human history. Yet who was Jesus thinking about as He prepared to go with the soldiers who’d come to arrest Him? We see what’s on His mind from verses 8 and 9.

John 18:8–9 CSB

“I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the words he had said: “I have not lost one of those you have given me.”

In fact a case can be made that the whole reason that Jesus overcame them with awe and caused them to fall on the ground was to make sure they respected His power enough to honour this request. They were mainly there for Jesus, but if He was being arrested as a revolutionary it stands to reason that His accomplices would be arrested with Him. Yet Jesus asks them twice who they are after and they only mention Him, so He asks them to let His disciples go because He was unwilling to lose them.

What an act of love. Especially considering how poorly His disciples comported themselves from here on. Most of them fled and aren’t heard from again until after the resurrection. Peter goes so far as to deny Jesus three times, in effect making Him also a traitor. We’ll talk more about that next week. Yet Jesus in this moment where He is about to “drink the cup” of God’s wrath for our sakes thinks first of His beloved disciples.

The application for us then is clear. We should have the same attitude of Jesus, one which puts our concern for others above our concern for ourselves. Philippians makes the same point, also from Jesus’ example, focusing on being humble. Philippians 2:3-8

Philippians 2:3–8 CSB

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

Of course that passage makes the even broader point that Jesus death was all about putting others first. So if we are supposed to imitate our teacher we need to, in humility, think of others as more important than ourselves. I heard of a movement a while ago called “I am third,” and I don’t remember much about it, but I love that simple phrase. God first, others second, ourselves third. It doesn’t mean we never consider ourselves, but only after God and others.

This means that when we make decisions we should be thinking of how they effect others before they effect us. Putting others first might mean giving up the Sunday morning seat you love so a new family feels welcome. It might mean listening patiently when you’d rather get your own way. It might even mean setting aside your dream so someone else can flourish.

That’s the lofty goal that Scripture puts before us: Radical self denial that will give up our own wants and even needs for the sake of people we love and even people we dislike. Who is first in our lives? Let us live out a demonstration of love by making sure that God is first, others are second, and we are third.

Peter Misunderstands the Assignment

Illustration: Have you ever thought you were doing the right thing, and found out you were totally wrong? Like if you, hypothetically, saw a laundry basket and decided to fold it and put it away, and then find out from your spouse that it was a dirty basket of laundry…

You tried to do the right thing, but you got mixed up. Totally understandable. It happens to the best of us. Something like that is pretty small in comparison to the screw up that Simon Peter had here in the garden of Gethsemene. Let’s take a look at the moment Peter really misunderstood the assignment. This is verses ten and eleven of our passage this morning.

John 18:10–11 CSB

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

This is a classic Peter move. We know from examples in all four gospels how impulsive Peter could be, though he was usually well meaning. This is a clear example. In his defense, Jesus said something quite easy to misunderstand earlier. John doesn’t report this, but Jesus says this in Luke 22:36-38

Luke 22:36–38 CSB

Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one. For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in me: And he was counted among the lawless. Yes, what is written about me is coming to its fulfillment.” “Lord,” they said, “look, here are two swords.” “That is enough!” he told them.

Peter must have taken this to mean that He should try to violently defend Jesus when they came to arrest Him. That’s all the credit we’re going to give to Peter though, because he really should have known better. Jesus told them multiple times that He would have to die and be raised again. Peter let his emotions get the better of Him and did the very wrong thing here, putting his life and the lives of his fellow disciples in danger. The soldiers would have been very right to attack and kill the disciples for this. Thankfully, as reported again in Luke, Jesus heals the man who lost his ear and convinces them not to arrest Peter.

My friends I think sometimes as believers we can get mixed up like Peter. We can do things that we believe are defending Jesus and the gospel but are actually doing more harm then good. Things like using shame to degrade sinners who are still living in Sin. Things like posting angry posts and comments on social media insulting people who disagree with us. Things like in some points in history actually using weapons to try and force people to convert, a tragic mistake that I hope we don’t see repeated ever again.

My friends Jesus never wanted us to be violent revolutionaries that force our beliefs onto other people. In fact the gospel is only effective for those who truly believe in and follow Jesus.

John 3:16–17 CSB

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes. You can’t force belief. No amount of bullying shame or violence is going to bring in the Kingdom of God. Instead what saved us was Jesus laying down His life on our behalf, the very thing that Peter was trying to prevent here. I mean, imagine if he succeeded. We obviously know that God wouldn’t be foiled by one foolishly overzealous man, but he was actively trying to prevent the thing which was necessary to save us from sin and death. Talk about your foolish move.

So then, surrendering to God’s will instead is what Peter should have done, and what we should do. We show love, we share the gospel, and we let the Holy Spirit do the rest. It’s His job after all to convict the world as we saw earlier in John. We do our job, He does His job. Sound fair? There will be moments where we have to defend unpopular Bible passages or challenge people on what they believe, but there is never a time for us to draw our swords and try to force God’s will onto other people. Instead let us prove we are disciples by our love.

Conclusion

So while John keeps his description of Jesus’ arrest brief, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t full of timeless truths for us as disciples of Jesus. We saw today that Jesus was in complete control of the situation but went with them anyway because He loved us and was willing to be tortured and die on our behalf, so that we could live forever. We see also that Jesus was the ultimate example of putting others before Himself, and that we should strive to have that same attitude ourselves, putting ourselves third after God and others. Finally we see from Peter’s example that violence and coercion is never the answer, but instead submission to God and love.

So my friends let us today see this story as the inspiration for being more like Jesus and less like the Peter of Gethsemene. Let us follow His example in loving well, putting others first, and letting the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of others.

Let us pray as we continue our service.