John Part 38

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.

I want to pause and emphasize that Jesus’ habits

were so routine

that Judas knew the place Jesus would be

He knew where he would find him

Keep in mind, this is long before GPS

and location sharing

and cell phones where you could text and ask where a person was

I mean, you had to just go looking for people

We are not too far removed from that time

in our own lives

when we could relate to this

I remember as a kid

getting distracted by a toy or something in a store

and turning around and not seeing my mom or sister

and having to walk down every aisle of the store

until i found her

Today, my wife just calls me and says, Where are you?

I remember going to a friends house

and knocking on the door

and their mom saying they were at Tyler’s

and going to Tyler’s

and his mom saying they were all at the ball field

And going there, hoping they hadn’t left

and if they did, I would just have to wonder around all the spots

that we normally hung out at

or ride around on my bike trying to find signs of them anywhere

like seeing all their bikes laying in a friends front yard, for example

It didn’t take long to find my friends

because I knew all the places they might be

and here, Judas knows exactly where Jesus would be

He didn’t have to go to two or three places

He knew the most likely place Jesus would be at

was in that garden

with his disciples

praying.

I wonder what would happen

if our prayer life was so routine

that people didn’t need to wonder where we were

they would just go to our prayer closet

and know they would find us there

This was how much Jesus prayed

Luke 5:16 ESV

16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Luke 6:12 ESV

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

And in Luke 22.39, on the last night before he was betrayed, Luke says…

Luke 22:39 ESV

39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

Luke 22:40 ESV

40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:41 ESV

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,

So, as we can see, It was “his custom”

Luke said

To withdraw to a quiet place

and pray

Most people pray when they are in need

or when they are in an emergency

But Jesus prayed often

As it was his custom

And he urged his disciples to watch and pray with him.

The best time to pray

is not when you are in need

but when you are not

Often times

people find themselves in emergency

after emergency

because, I think that’s the only way God can get them to pray

If you want to break that cycle

make it a custom to pray even when things are going just fine

Even when you don’t need anything.

James said it this way:

James 5:13 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

In other words,

whether it is a good day

or bad day,

pray.

Later in that chapter,

James tell us that there is power in prayer

And that prayer really works

but it works so much better

if you don’t wait until theirs an emergency to utilize it.

Let’s make prayer a custom

that is so routine

that when the enemy comes looking for us

he knows he’s going to find us in the middle of prayer

and that’s where Judas finds Jesus in verse 3

John 18:3 ESV

3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Now, watch what happens next…

John 18:4 ESV

4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

Who are you looking for?

John 18:5 ESV

5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

Now, your Bible says “I am he”

but the Greek text simply says “I AM”

Which is the name of God

that was provided to Moses from the burning bush.

So, there is a double meaning here

Jesus is answering their question

and claiming to be Jesus of Nazareth

whom they were searching for

but he is also claiming to be God

And the evidence of that second meaning is in the next verse

John 18:6 ESV

6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Again, the word “he” is added in English

but Jesus literally just said, “I AM”

and when he said it

they fell to the ground

Now, there are many instances in scripture

where the name “I AM” being pronounced

causes people to fall on their faces

Normally it is out of worship

Abraham in Gen 17, for example.

Saul, who became Paul

fell to the ground blind

when Jesus says

I AM Jesus

Also, John himself fell like he was dead

when Jesus said “I AM” in Revelation chapter 1

There are also apparently Jewish legends

that claim that when Moses spoken the name of God

into Pharaohs ear

he fell down speechless

But this isn’t recorded in the Bible

only in other Jewish writings

So, it seems pretty clear to me here

that these soldiers did not fall down

simply because Jesus answered their question

but John is pointing out

that when Jesus said the divine name of God the Father

It caused them to fall down

And this reminds me of Phil ch 2

where Paul says that Jesus has the name above every name

and that one day

every knee WILL bow to that name

So, it seems that some people chose to bow

like Abraham

and some were forced to bow

like Saul on the road to Damascus

but every one must bow

when Jesus says His name

This is further proof

that Jesus is not another person

but that jesus is the same God that Abraham, Moses

and all the prophets worshipped

and called “The Great IAM”.

Jesus then asks them the same question again

and they give the same answer…

John 18:7–8 ESV

7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

And so, he asks to let his disciples go

and the reason for this

is because Jesus came to die

but he also came to spread the gospel to the whole world

through his disciples

so, it is important

that they do not go on trial with him

but that they are able to survive

so that the gospel survives

And we see John explaining that in the next verse

John 18:9 ESV

9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

The disciples were preserved

and they were not made to go on trial with Jesus

and this is the gospel within the gospel here

He never intended for his followers

to go through what he went through

the cross was his alone to bear

we were never meant to pay for our sins

We couldn’t even if we wanted to

Don’t let the devil ever try to convince you

that you need to pay for your own sins

that’s just his way of keeping from repenting

Jesus said, let these men go

and take me

and he is still saying that today

and the reason is

So that we won’t be lost

The only way to be saved

is to let Jesus doing the saving part

and do the letting go part

John 18:10 ESV

10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

Interestingly, the names are provide here by John

which is evidence that he wrote this gospel

later in life after everyone else had died

The other gospels were written much earlier

and providing these names

would likely have gotten Peter arrested

So, Peter, didn’t do the letting go part

and this is common for us too

we want to try to do the saving part

But Jesus said, take me

and let these men Go

and Peter says, well i’ll see about that

and he pulls out his sword to fight for Jesus

Now, we have the advantage of seeing this after it happened

and hind sight is 20/20

Peter thought that using his sword

was going to save them all

but in reality

using his sword could have caused them all to be lost

Suppose Peter was able to kill all the soldiers

tie Jesus up

and take him to a safe house

so that he couldn’t be put on trial

and he couldn’t hang on the cross?

If that happened

none of us could ever go to heaven

we would all be lost

And this is exactly what happens

when we try to earn our salvation

by trying to be good enough

by trying to do the right things

and by putting on a front that we are the savior

We have the sword in our hand

when we try to save our selves by will power

or by our flesh

But when we finally learn to put that sword down

and let Jesus do what must be done on the cross

then, and only then

can we find true salvation

You can’t be saved by beating yourself up for sins

you can’t be saved by incrementally improving yourslef day by day

You’ve got to let Jesus do the saving

and let the Holy Spirit doing the sanctification

otherwise, you’re gonna end up worse off than you started.

and Jesus is going to have to undo the mess you made

trying to save yourself

and that’s what happens in vs 11

John 18:11 ESV

11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

In otherwords,

the cross is mine to bear

Stopping Jesus from going on the cross

is stopping all of us from being saved

And this is the faith you must have

when you ask Jesus to forgive your sins

you MUST believe that he forgave them

The devil will tell you he didn’t

he will tell you that you need to wait a few weeks

and suffer in silence before you repent

all of this is a lie to keep you from trusting in the cross

and I see it all the time

It is the greastest lie of the devil

He knows how much power there is in the blood of Jesus

and how much grace there is

and how easy it is to access the grace of God

so, the devil will lie so much

to convince us that it can’t be that easy

surely I need to pull out my sword and start swinging at devils

surely I need to fight hard for forgiveness

and Jesus is just standing there saying…

put the sword up

let me drink the cup.

Now, Jesus is about to go through a series of 3 trials

the first one is a bit informal

as it will be with the former high priest, Annas

then he will go be for Caiaphas the high priest

and finally before Pilot, the Roman govener

Intertwined with these 3 trials of Jesus

are the 3 denials of Peter

and while Jesus answered “I AM”

we will hear Peter say “I AM NOT”.

And I think John is trying to remind us, here

about how strong Jesus is

and how weak we are

He IS God

and We are not

He IS the savior

and We are not

John 18:12–14 ESV

12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

So, Annas is first

and John uses that word “first”

I think to make us count to 3

3 trials of Jesus

3 denials of Peter

and at the end of it all,

we will see 3 times Jesus asks Peter something

Do, you love me?

And God is trying to show us

that we don’t need to pull out our sword and fight for him

We just need to love him with all our heart

and that is the greatest commandment

John 18:15–18 ESV

15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

“That other Disciple” is John

who is referring to himself

So, here we see Peter,

symbolically standing outside at the door

It was another disciple who had to invite him into the courtyard of the high priest

and then in verse 17,

Peter denies Jesus for the first time

and remember, Jesus told him that he would deny him 3 times

and here is also, where we see the words from Peter:

I AM NOT

The opposite of what Jesus said

when he said I AM