John 18:1-9
Notes
Transcript
vv 1-3) Jesus went forth- devotionally
vv 1-3) Jesus went forth- devotionally
[1] Remember that the previous chapters 13-17 were spoken in Jerusalem. Now Jesus left the city and walked eastward toward the Mount of Olives.
In doing so, He crossed the Brook Kidron and came to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was on the western slope of Olivet.
the Brook Kidron was a small stream that served as the drainage from the temple, and would have been reddish from the blood of thousands of Passover lambs.
John doesn’t name the garden that Jesus went too but other Gospel writers do: Matthew 26:36
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”
And Mark 14:32
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
Jesus often met there with His disciples, perhaps to sleep for the night under the shelter of the olive trees or in a nearby cave.
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.
[2-3] Judas came to the garden with a team of soldiers to seize and arrest Jesus. The troops were probably Roman soldiers; whereas the officers were Jewish officials, representing the chief priest and Pharisees.
A detachment could have three meanings: It is the Greek word for a Roman cohort and a cohort had six hundred men. If it was a cohort of auxiliary soldiers, a speira had one thousand men, two hundred and forty calvary and seven hundred and sixty infantry. Sometimes, though much more rarely, the word is used for the detachment of men called maniple which was made up of two hundred men. Regardless of the exact number… It is slightly strange that they would bring such a large force to arrest Jesus, they must have thought that there was going to be some battle or conflict.
Judas knew that the Lord spent a great deal of time praying in the garden. He know that the most likely place to find the Lord was in the place of prayer.
This really exposes that Jesus misunderstood the nature of Jesus and at the same time underestimated His power. Had Jesus been of the nature of physically battle against Judas and the devil driving the betrayer, no amount of troops would have been enough.
Let this bake your noodle: This is the second time a sinless man in a garden was about to do battle with Satan. The first time this happened, Adam failed. The Second Adam would not fail.
Lanterns and torches, they intended to search the corners and caverns, in case Jesus was going to try and hide himself. They did not need to bring them for any other purpose, it being the fourteenth day of the moon’s age, in the moth of Nisan, and consequently it was a full moon.
Talking about Jesus, how do this verses depict His the devotion to God?
Note the word went out in verse 1 and came forth in verse 4. The idea being conveyed is purpose, Jesus was going forth deliberately, for a specific purpose, knowing exactly what He was doing.
Jesus went forth to prepare Himself spiritually. He was facing the hour to which God had called Him, the hour of His death.
There was no doubt that God’s will for Him was to die for the sins of the world.
Jesus was committed to God, and God was committed to Jesus.
Was totally devoted to His Father, and His father was devoted to Him.
He must do God’s will.
But to do God’s will, He had to have God’s help. He had to pray and seek God’s face. He desperately needed God to meet His need. The unity they had is unmatched.
I’m convinced it was for this reason that He headed for the garden. He was seeking the be alone with His Father, to have His Father strengthen Him for the terrible ordeal and judgment of the cross. He was totally devoted to God, so He went forth to set the scene for God’s will to be fulfilled.
That should tear at our hearts as believer, for jesus knew He was to bear the sins of the world upon the cross, and that is no light task. Praise God in His infinite wisdom and devotion. That Christ finished all that He set out to accomplish.
Jesus is our great example. Those truly saved must be devoted and totally committed, counting the cost, to doing God’s will. The believer should be going forth all the time:
To prepare ourselves spiritually
To prepare the scene for God’s will
To do God’s will
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
vv 4-6) Jesus went forth- willingly-confessing who He was
vv 4-6) Jesus went forth- willingly-confessing who He was
[4] The Lord went forward to meet them, without waiting for them to find Him. This perfectly demonstrated His willingness to go to the cross, as well as those who seek Him will find Him.
I love the question that Jesus asks, “whom do you seek?” this was designed to have, i believe a twofold meaning: the first was to thwart and potential violence or to direct it towards himself and the second was to draw forth from their own lips the nature of their mission.
[5] Jesus of Nazareth was the common name that Jesus was known by. They sought Jesus of Nazareth, little realizing that He was their Creator and their Sustainer- the best Friend they could ever have.
Jesus responds with, “I am He” (“He” is not found in the original text, but is needed in English.) He meant not only that He was Jesus of Nazareth but that He was YHWH as well.
This connects many of His previous I am statements recorded in the Gospel of John, especially in John 8:58
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
And in many other passages throughout John’s gospel.
The Geek ego eimi rendered I am he suggests divinity. In the Septuagint the Greek translation of the OT this same rendering of words is used in Exodus 3:14
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
[6] When Jesus declared His divine identity, Judas and soldiers all fell back. There was such a display of divine presence, majesty, and power in those two words that the enemies of Jesus were powerless to stand against Him.
What does this tell you about Jesus?
That He is in complete control of the situation.
Wherever in our Lord’s life any incident indicates more emphatically than usual the lowliness of His humiliation, there, by the side of it, you get something that indicates the majesty of His glory:
Jesus was born as a baby in humble conditions, yet announced by angels.
Jesus was laid in a manger, yet signaled by a star.
Jesus submitted to baptism as if He were a sinner, then heard the Divine voice of approval.
Jesus slept when He was exhausted, but awoke to calm the storm.
Jesus wept at a grave, then called the dead to life.
Jesus surrendered to arrest, then declared “I am” and knocked all the of His enemies over.
Jesus died on a cross, but in it He defeated sin, death, and Satan.
Application: How might we find application here?
What an incredible example Jesus is for us. When the will of God is known, it is to be done courageously, no matter the opposition or threat.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Jesus’ claim “I AM” is definitely the word of deity. It must have struck Judas. We never know what effect a courageous confession has upon a soul. Our task is to confess and proclaim Christ before a lost and hostile world.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
This is critical family. Men, women, and children must heed the claim of Jesus Christ: the blast of revelation that He is the great “I AM.” They must heed the claim while there is time. As long as a man is alive, he still has time: 2 Co 6:2
2 For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
vv 7-9) Jesus went forth- vicariously
vv 7-9) Jesus went forth- vicariously
[7] Again the Lord asked them to tell Him whom they were seeking. And again the answer was the same- in spite of the effect which the two words of Christ had just had upon them.
In that situation I would not be the first one to answer the question.
[8-9] Jesus said the same words as before yet Judas and the troops did not fall to the ground as before. Proving that the words were not magic words, but previously they all fell at the conscious display of His power.
Jesus did not continue to oppose His arrest. He willingly gave Himself up to protect His disciples. This was the same sacrificial love that would find its ultimate peak at the cross. It also shows why Jesus knocked the soldiers to the ground; the show of power was to protect the disciples, not Jesus Himself.
In a very real sense, Jesus sacrificed himself for their safety. He promised the Father that he would protect them: John 17:12
12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
And he fulfilled the guarantee of the voluntary surrender of his life. The disciples took the words as their signal to leave. All except Peter.
What stands out to you in this group of verses?
Note the glorious security of the believer. Jesus will lose no one whom the Father has given Him.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Note the protection Christ provided for man. He has died vicariously for man, but every man must accept His death as his own in order to be saved.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Note the protective, vicarious commitment believers are to have to the world. They are to give themselves- all they are and have- to meet the needs of a desperate world which reels in pain, sin, and death.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.