Shall I not

Every miracle up to this point was a preamble for THIS moment. We’ve heard him say many times, “My hour has not yet come.” But then in John 17:1 “Father, the hour HAS come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”

Spurgeon said "All the ages meet in Calvary. The cross is the central Sun of all events.”

What did he mean? True glory. The humble Christ... with no media campaign, or platform for notoriety, not even a pillow on which to lay his head each night, and EVERY age, every generation knows of him, speaks of him, even if for mockery sake.

The prophets spoke looking ahead. We look back. And In eternity every knee will bow, we will worship the lamb that was slain. EVERYTHING spins on the axis of Christ and in particular, what we’re seeing unfold in our text this morning.

Notice what John tells us as detail. They arose and went across the Kidron brook.

From the temple a channel was dug through which the blood of sacrifices would flow from the temple, down the hillside and into this brook to be carried away. And I can imagine as they crossed this valley on their way to Gethsemane, that this brook would have been red with the blood of sacrifices which were unable to save.

Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

How much more the blood of Christ!

What a vivid picture for Jesus as we heads sown the valley toward his persecutors.

Then he enters a garden. The other gospel writers call it Gethsemane. John alone calls it a garden, perhaps thinking of that first garden where the battle lines were drawn between Christ and the Serpent, and his sentence already determined.

Luke records this for us in chapter 22:39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

All this would have happened before v3 in our text.

John brings us straight from the upper room to the betrayal and does not mention the prayer and the agony that Matthew, Mark and Luke do.

In Luke's account of Christ we see the God-man. Behold, the man. Luke gives details that really show us his humanity. We see the frailty of His humanity and the strength of His Heavenly Father, to whom He committed himself.

John’s gospel was not intended to show the humanity of Christ, but the deity of Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God and the Word was God.”

“but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

John shows us Jesus in the garden, because that’s where it began for humanity, with God, walking in the garden with Adam, and the serpent tempting eve, and the fall of humanity because of our rebellion, and the only cure being that God, himself, would do something about it by becoming man and dying.

So, even though this was, for Jesus and his disciples, a familiar place of rest and tranquility in times past, it was even more familiar to God who is in control of all things, and planned this very moment.

By the time we see Judas again with band of soldiers in v3, and officers, with weapons and lanterns, Jesus is not caught off guard.

Church, Jesus is never caught off guard by any earthly or spiritual affair.

Look at Christ in v4. “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek?”

Judas did not just come with a few men, but with a army. A band of soldiers, or a detachment of soldiers. This COULD refer to cohort of up to 600 Roman soldiers, but it doesn’t have to mean that. The Greek noun used there can also refer to a maniple, which is a subdivision of a Roman legion, which could be as little as 60 to 200 men. Either way, couple things to observe from this.

Judas did not understand the character of Christ did he?

And at the same time he sorely underestimated His power.

This all makes sense from a Roman perspective on a high feast week. They don’t want a mob forming from the arrest of such a figure as popular as Jesus. But This is the light of the world we’re talking about. This is Jesus, the one from who’s mouth comes a sharp two edged sword which will cut down His enemies in Revelation 19. And they come with lanterns, torches and weapons?

Jesus commands legions of angels, one of which could clear the entire detachment of soldiers from the earth with a single blow.

What does he do? Knowing all that would happen, he came forward. He did not retreat. He asked “Whom do you seek”, which would have immediately put the attention on the Shepherd, and off of His sheep.

He’s a protector, isn’t he?

Hey, who are you seeking? “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Knowing what’s about to happen he says, “I AM HE.” And they drew back and fell to the ground.

He asked them again, Whom do you seek? “Jesus of Nazareth.” I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

Here’s what I want us to all see right now.

They’re going to arrest Jesus, and try him, and murder him. It’s tragic and horrifying. But Jesus does not want our pity for any of this.

What is this really all about? He wants our faith.

This builds faith, church, to see Jesus here in this hour, facing his enemies, voluntarily stepping forward to be the propitiation for our sins.

When we read, “I am he.” Understand that, as it says in your footnotes, the word “he” is not in the original manuscript of John, but was added by translators for the sake of flow.

What he said was “I am”. All through the Gospel of John Jesus has been identifying himself as the I Am. The great I AM! The God of heaven and earth who spoke to Moses from the burning bush is Jesus Christ.

Why would he refer to himself this way here?

To show them and to show us that God will not be manipulated, coerced, and brought into submission in order to be crucified. What in fact happened, and what has been the plan all along, is that God, in Christ, would humble himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. Church, Jesus is in charge here.

Their falling back is a little glimpse of who they’re dealing with.

These men in armor, with commanding officers and trained Roman leaders, with Judas by their side, they think that they are there to command Jesus, but Jesus isn’t taking orders from them.

This is great comfort to the soul of a Christian, is it not? The One we have given our lives to in surrender is truly in command. His own suffering was allowed by Him. “Knowing all things that would take place.”

Look back out that last reference in Hebrews “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself”

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

John 10:15 “I lay my life down for the sheep.”

Then he said… “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.”

In John 6:39 “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

He is keeping His promise to them.

In v 11 Jesus says “shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me.”

So, Peter in this infamous scene where he cuts of the ear of Malchus in a fit of drama and heroism, what’s he actually doing?

He’s opposing the cross, and the cup of the Father’s wrath intended for Christ. Jesus is surrendering, and Peter is fighting.

Listen to this wisdom from Matthew Henry

“The true Christian hero will appear in the cause of Christ, not only when it is prevailing, but when it seems to be declining; He will be on the right side, though it be not the rising side.” Matthew Henry

Peter needed courage here. But true courage is not the ability to use our strength in times of fear. True courage is faith in Christ, trusting HIM and obeying Him at ALL times. Sometimes in this life it will appear as though we’re losing, and the cause is failing. And it’s in those moments, especially, that we cling to Christ, know his heart, and His will, and trust in him.

So how pointless was Peter’s sword here? The blow was as clumsy as Peter’s courage was great; the tactic was as pointless as Peter’s misunderstanding was total. Carson, D. A.

“It was the will of the Lord to crush him.” Isaiah 53:10

Church, the kind of courage we’re going to need in this life is to preach the Gospel of the cross. To preach Christ and Him crucified. And not be like Peter, and make rash decisions that stand in the way of the cross.

Peter was not encouraged or congratulated for this, but rebuked.

Let’s think about this cup that Jesus mentioned. Are you reminded of Jesus’s prayer in the garden that’s recorded by the three other gospel writers?

“Father, if there’s any other way let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, Your will be done.”

For Jesus to mention “another way”, but then surrender to the cup being given to him, is so humbling. So humbling. What was the cup? It was a bitter cup of wrath against sin. It was punishment for the putrid rebellion of man against God. It was the utter hatred of God against sin and evil. But this is Jesus, the perfect Son, in whom is no sin at all. EXACTLY.

The Gospel that is so beautiful, so needed, is the message that the Son of God came forward so that we would not have to. Because he drank the cup of bitterness, what do we get? A sweet cup of blessing.

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” 1 Corinthians 10:16

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26

Faith in Jesus. Jesus came forward because no one else could.