John 18:1-10: “Jesus In The
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1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 13-26
of chapter 17.
1.1.1.
We finished
looking at Jesus’ incredible high priestly prayer that He prayed with His
disciples on the evening just before His arrest and crucifixion.
1.2.
In our
study today, we are going to look at verses 1-10 of chapter 18.
1.2.1.
We will
observe that John records for us that Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane
with His disciples His last night on earth and that Judas Iscariot along with a
cohort of Roman soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees
arrested Jesus. We will look at the
details of this story which John includes in his gospel.
1.2.2.
We have
previously observed a few instances in John’s gospel where He does or does not
include a detail in his account because of the fact that his motive for writing
his gospel is to reveal the deity and glory of Jesus Christ, rather than Jesus’
humanity. This is seen in our story
today when we observe that John does not include anything concerning Jesus’
incredible struggle that the other three synoptic gospels tell us that He went
through in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He was considering the reality of what
He was soon to suffer in going to Calvary’s cross and experiencing the wrath of
God being poured out upon Him as He pays the full debt of our sins there.
1.2.3.
We will
look at the details given us by the other gospels writers of the events of this
night and morning, including Jesus’ struggle, the disciples who sleep instead
of praying as Jesus commanded them to do, and then suffer the consequences when
they are unprepared for the conflict that occurs when Jesus is arrested.
1.2.4.
We will
concentrate also upon looking at the majestic glory of the Son of God revealed
in John’s writing when the soldiers and officers come to arrest Him and He
tells them, “I am He,” and the whole group draws backwards and falls on
the ground.
1.2.5.
We will
also see how that Jesus even on this very morning was protecting His disciples
when He obtains their release from the soldiers and officers as He is being
arrested.
1.2.6.
There are
two prominent gardens that are mentioned in the scripture. The first garden was in
1.2.6.1.In the first garden, the first Adam was rebellious and
fell into sin. In the second garden, the
second Adam was obedient for He was the sinless lamb who was without spot or
blemish, never having sinned.
1.2.6.2.In the first garden, the sin of the first Adam spread
to the entire human race, Adam becoming the federal head of all of fallen
mankind since that time. In the second
garden, the second Adam was paying the debt of mankind’s sin, and now He is the
federal head of all of those of redeemed mankind since that time.
1.2.6.3.The result of the events that occurred in the first
garden was death for mankind (for the wages of sin is death). The result of the events that occurred in the
second garden was eternal life as sin was paid for there.
1.2.6.4.In the first garden, the serpent (the Devil) was
tempting the first Adam and leading him to sin, and thereby gaining dominion
over mankind. In the second garden, the
serpent was being conquered and rendered powerless over mankind by the second
Adam.
1.2.6.5.The name of the first garden “
1.2.6.6.Temptation was succumbed to in the first garden,
temptation was resisted in the second garden.
1.2.7.
There is a
third garden that is mentioned in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 that is
established at Jesus’ Second Coming. The
Tree of Life will exist and bear fruit abundantly there and waters of life will
flow there forever. The curse of sin and
death will no longer plague the world and this garden will be heaven which will
be a garden of delights for redeemed and glorified mankind.
1.2.8.
Events
leading up to Judas betrayal of Jesus to the chief priests and Pharisees :
1.2.8.1.In chapter 12 of the gospel of John we saw that after
Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead that the chief priests had taken counsel
and began to plot putting both Jesus and Lazarus to death.
1.2.8.2.In John chapter 12 we saw that after Jesus had raised
Lazarus from the dead that a woman name Mary came and anointed Jesus’ feet with
very expensive perfume using her hair.
We observed at that time that Judas was very offended stating to others
that the money should have instead been given to the poor.
1.2.8.3.Luke 22:3 is very clear that Satan was motivating
Judus Iscariot to betray Jesus to the chief priests and Pharisees for a cash
reward.
1.2.8.4.Then in Mark 14:1-2 we read that the chief priests met
to plot Jesus’ murder right after Jesus’ Olivet Discourse on the Mount of
Olives in which Jesus answered the question of when these events would occur
concerning His prophesy that one day not one stone of the temple would be left
upon another. On that day Jesus not only
spoke about His Second Coming and the end of the world, He also spoke about His
impending betrayal and crucifixion. This
speaking this way by Jesus was probably the last straw for Judas Iscariot
because now he realized that Jesus was not going to become the conquering
Messiah that
1.2.8.5.The chief priests and Pharisees had been looking for an
opportunity to arrest and murder Jesus however they feared the multitude. They had most likely planned to trick,
arrest, and murder Jesus after the Feast of Unleavened Bread after all of the
pilgrims had left
1.2.9.
Before we go into our study, I want to take a
minute and talk about what day this was.
I believe that these events occurred “Thursday evening.” In Matthew 12:40, Jesus told His disciples
that just like Jonah who was three days and three nights in the belly of the
fish so He also would be three days and three nights in the belly of the
earth. However, how can you count three
days and three nights (or 72 hours) from Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday morning
until Sunday morning when Jesus rose again, if as tradition tells us that Jesus
was crucified on Friday morning ? The
answer has to do with how the Jews counted days and nights :
1.2.9.1.The
1.2.9.2.We see in the Old Testament this accounting for time :
1.2.9.2.1.In Genesis 42:17 it states that Joseph incarcerated his brothers
for three days. Then, in verse eighteen, he spoke to them on the third day, and
from the context it seems that he released them on that same day-the third day.
1.2.9.2.2.When
1.2.9.2.3.When Queen
Esther was about to risk her life by going before the king uninvited, she
instructed her fellow Jews to follow her example by not eating "for
three days, night or day" (Esther 4:16). The text goes on to tell us
that Esther went in unto the king "on the third day."
1.2.9.3.In the
gospels this same reckoning of time is seen:
1.2.9.3.1.In Luke
24:21, when the two disciples are on the road to Emmaus and meet up with Jesus
they didn’t say that it was now the fourth day, but rather that it was the
third day when these things had happened, “"But
we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides
all this, today ‘is the third day’ since these things happened."”
1.2.9.3.2.In Matt 27:63-62, “"Sir, we remember, while He was still
alive, how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise.” Therefore
command that the tomb be made secure “until the third day."” If they'd understood after three days to mean
72 hours they would have said, "until the 4th day."
2.
VS 18:1-2 - “When
Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine
of the Kidron, where there was a garden, into which He Himself entered, and His
disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying
Him, knew the place; for Jesus had often
met there with His disciples. ‘” - Jesus went
with His disciples across the Kidron valley to the
2.1.
The overwhelming fact that pops up as we consider
these verses is that Jesus went to a place where He was accustomed to go with
His disciples to rest, a place where He knew that Judas would know He was, and
be sure to find Him. Jesus was not
somehow overcome by the evil forces around Him, but rather He thoughtfully and
willingly laid His life down for sinners.
2.2.
If we remember back to chapter 13 when Jesus was
eating His last supper with the disciples that He revealed to them that one of
their number would betray Him. Then He
dipped the sop and gave it to Judas and told Him, ‘What thou doest do
quickly.’ Jesus not only knew what
was going to happen to Him in His betrayal and crucifixion, He also controlled
the flow of the action.
2.3.
Jesus
crosses over the brook ‘Kidron’ which in the Greek means “dark and
gloomy.” The Bible Exposition Commentary
states the following about this Kidron Valley and brook Kidron, “The
Kidron Valley is located east of Jerusalem, between the city wall and the Mount
of Olives; and the Garden of Gethsemane is on the western slope of Olivet…The
Brook Kidron is also significant. The
name means “dusky, gloomy,” referring to the dark waters that were often
stained by the blood from the temple sacrifices. Our Lord and His disciples were about to go
through “dark waters,” and Jesus would experience the “waves and billows” of
God’s wrath (Ps. 42:7; also note Jonah 2:3).
The Kidron had special historical significance, for King David crossed
the Kidron when he was rejected by his nation and betrayed by his own son,
Absalom (2 Sam. 15; also note John 18:23).
Jesus had been rejected by His people and at that very moment was being
betrayed by one of His own disciples! It
is interesting that David’s treacherous counselor Ahithophel hanged himself (2
Sam. 17:23), and David’s treacherous son Absalom was caught in a tree and killed
while hanging there (2 Sam. 18:9–17).
Judas, of course, went out and hanged himself (Matt. 27:3–10).”
2.4.
All through His ministry Jesus had talked of “the
hour” that He came to this earth for, and now that “hour” had
arrived. Jesus walked straight into the
fiery furnace of God’s wrath against men’s sin, otherwise they would not have
been able to touch or harm Him in any way.
2.5.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the synoptic gospel writers)
chronicle in their gospels the huge struggle that Jesus had in the Garden of
Gethsemane on this morning as He awaited His arrest and crucifixion and
resolved Himself to do the Lord’s will no matter what might come about, just as
Matthew 26:36-46 tells us, “36 Then
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is
deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
39 And He
went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet
not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and
said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch
with Me for one hour? 41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not
enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went
away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My
Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes
were heavy. 44 And He
left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing
once more. 45 Then He
came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still
sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being
betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who
betrays Me is at hand!””
2.6.
Luke in his gospel tells us
in Luke 22:41-44 that there was an angel that appeared and was strengthening
Jesus during His agony in the garden and that Jesus’ sweat was like drops of
blood falling to the ground as He was being resolved to do not His own will but
His Father’s will, “41 And He
withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to
pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not
My will, but Yours be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening
Him. 44 And
being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops
of blood, falling down upon the ground.” During times of great stress and anxiety
people have been known to have blood exit through the very pores of their skin,
as happened to Jesus on this morning.
2.7.
The Bible
Exposition Commentary records the following concerning Jesus asking the Father
to take the cup away from Him, and His eventually resolving to accept the cup
that the Lord had for Him in this trial :
“Jesus
had prayed, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). The cup represented the suffering He would
endure and the separation from the Father that He would experience on the
cross. He prayed this prayer three
times, evidence that His whole being was sensitive to the price He would pay
for our salvation. His holy soul must
have been stirred to the depths when He contemplated being made sin!
The
drinking of a cup is often used in Scripture to illustrate experiencing
suffering and sorrow. When
Jesus
had compared His own sufferings to the drinking of a cup and the experiencing
of a baptism (Matt. 20:22–23). When He
instituted the supper, He compared the cup to His blood, shed for the remission
of sins (Matt. 26:27–28). The image was a familiar one to His disciples, and it
is not an unfamiliar image today. To
“drink the cup” means to go through with a difficult experience; and “not my
cup of tea” means saying no to a certain course of action. The fact that some trophies are designed like
cups suggests that winners have been through demanding experiences and had to
“swallow a lot.”
Jesus
was able to accept the cup because it was mixed by the Father and given to Him
from the Father’s hand. He did not resist the Father’s will, because He came to
do the Father’s will and finish the work the Father gave Him to do. “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy
law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8).
Since the Father had mixed and measured the contents of the cup, Jesus
knew He had nothing to fear.
This is a good lesson to us: we need never fear the
cups that the Father hands to us. To begin with, our Saviour has already drunk the
cup before us, and we are only following in His steps. We need never fear what is in the cup because
the Father has prepared it for us in love.
If we ask for bread, He will never give us a stone; and the cup He
prepares will never contain anything that will harm us. We may suffer pain and heartbreak, but He
will eventually transform that suffering into glory.
2.8.
Both Matthew and Luke
record in their accounts that Judas in an act of treachery came up and gave
Jesus a kiss in order to point Jesus out to the soldiers and officers. Luke records Jesus questioning Judas about
how he could betray the Son of Man with a kiss.
2.9.
When we look at the love that Jesus had for us in
going to the cross with the intent and purpose of dying for our sins, we should
also realize that He has the same love for us each and every day of our
life. If He so intensely loved you then,
how could He love you less now? You
ought to trust Him completely and devote yourself completely to Him. If Jesus loved us with the great intensity
that His word says He did, can we not commit our way completely unto Him and
live for Him?
2.10.
Can you not make a clean break with the very sin that
sent Him to the cross? One day it
occurred to me that the sin that I commit each day simply adds to the grief,
pain, and sorrow which He suffered back then on that cross. However, my sin grieves Him greatly today, as
it displays my disrespect and ungratefulness for the price which He paid for me
upon that cross.
3.
VS 18:3 - “Judas
then, having received the Roman cohort,
and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns
and torches and weapons.” - John tells
us that Judas came in the night to the garden where Jesus was with His
disciples bringing with him the Roman cohort and officers from the chief
priests and the Pharisees
3.1.
There is a variety of opinions as to how many Roman
soldiers made up this ‘cohort,’ however it seems that all of the
speculation places the number from between 200 to thousands. There were at least 200 Roman soldiers in
this group however.
3.2.
Roman soldiers were the best trained soldiers in the
world at that time. There was also a
number of officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees. These were soldiers whose responsibility it
was to secure and guard the Jewish temple in
3.3.
Matthew records that those who came with Judas to
arrest Jesus were a great multitude.
Luke records that in addition to the ones I have already mentioned there
were also, “the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders.”
3.4.
It is evident that the chief priests and Pharisees had
thought that there would be quite a lot of resistance in arresting Jesus,
therefore they had brought such a company with weapons to arrest Him. Even though it was a full moon on that night
they also brought lanterns and torches since they might have to chase Jesus out
of some place of hiding. This group was
intent upon arresting Jesus and they would settle for nothing less.
3.5.
Though John does not record Judas as coming and giving
Jesus a kiss in order to point Him out to the group, that event most probably
occurred upon their initial arrival and before Jesus came out to the multitude
(this occurs in the next verse) to question them as to whom they were
seeking. The fact that the next verse
indicates that Judas the betrayer was standing with them seems to be evidence
that His kissing of Jesus precluded the happenings of verse 4.
4.
VS 18:4-6 - “Jesus
therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth, and
said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They
answered Him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene’. He
said to them, ‘I am He’. And Judas who also was betraying Him, was
standing with them. When therefore He
said to them, ‘I am He’, they drew back, and fell to the ground.” - Jesus went out to those who were arresting
Him and asked them whom they were seeking, when they said it was Jesus of
Nazareth, Jesus said ‘I am He,’ and at those words the entire group drew back
and fell to the ground
4.1.
In order
to protect His disciples from the soldiers and arrest, we see here that Jesus
went out to the group who had come to arrest Him. To the end Jesus was thinking of His
disciples’ well being above His own.
4.2.
In these verses we see the awesome majesty and glory
of the Son of God in simply saying the
words which are most accurately translated, ‘I am,’ and the entire
multitude falls to the ground. This is
yet another sign of Jesus’ divinity and Messiahship performed for His disciples
and the world, for how could a man knock over an entire multitude of such a
magnitude and humanly power by his mere words if He were not divine?
4.3.
The purpose of this sign is also to reveal that Jesus
was laying down His life for the world voluntarily, His life was not being
taken by anyone by force.
4.4.
As had happened a couple of other times in Jesus’
ministry because “His hour” had not yet come, Jesus could have
miraculously caused this multitude to have been unable to lay a finger upon
Him.
4.5.
Jesus reveals that He is Jehovah of the Old Testament
by speaking the words, ‘I am’ in these verses, for this is the Name that
Jehovah told Moses to tell the Israelites who was sending him to them.
4.6.
When men stand before God almighty on judgment day,
because His majestic glory there shall not be anything that they will be able
to say anything to Him to justify their sin.
They will also not be able to blame Him for anything. His holiness and awesome majesty shall
overwhelm them and they shall bend the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord.
5.
VS 18:7-9 - “Again
therefore He asked them, ‘Whom do you seek?’
And they said, ‘Jesus the Nazarene’.
Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am He; if therefore you seek
Me, let these go their way’, that the word might be fulfilled which He spoke,
‘Of those whom Thou hast given Me I lost not one’.” -
Again Jesus asks this multitude whom they are seeking and when Jesus
tells them that He is the One He then asks them to let the rest of His
disciples go free
5.1.
The multitude might have remained on the ground had
not Jesus asked them again whom it was they were seeking. It seems that this question actually caused
them to get up off the ground and then pursue their evil plot.
5.2.
There are two ways that the Lord showed His mercy on
that day:
5.2.1.
Jesus showed His mercy to this multitude in performing
this attesting sign for their benefit, giving them a chance to repent of their
evil deeds, however they chose not to repent on this day.
5.2.1.1.God gives us
all of us many chances to repent, does He not?
5.2.2.
Jesus also shows His mercy to His disciples in this
attesting sign He has just performed.
After Jesus’ performing of this attesting sign, the multitude is now
glad to let Jesus’ disciples go having found Jesus the real object of their
search.
6.
VS 18:10 - “Simon
Peter therefore having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s slave,
and cut off his right ear; and the
slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus
therefore said to Peter, ‘Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall
I not drink it?’” - John tells
us that Simon Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the high
priest’s slave, but Jesus tells Simon Peter to put his sword away for how shall
the Lord not drink of the cup that the Father has given to Him?
6.1.
Peter shows the characteristic of unguided zeal for
the Lord. In seeking to kill the servant
by bringing the sword straight down upon the head of the servant, he misses and
just cuts off the man’s ear. To Peter’s
misguided zeal, Jesus asks the haunting question of how He could not drink the
cup that the Father had given Him to drink.
Jesus’ courage and willingness to accept and drink this cup of suffer
and wrath ought to win the loyalty of every sinner on whose behalf Jesus was
doing this.
6.2.
Luke records in 22:40-46 that Jesus had earlier that
night in the garden prayed that if it might be possible that the cup might pass
from Him, “And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye
enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Saying, Father, if thou be willing,
remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to
the ground. And
when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them
sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise
and pray, lest ye enter into temptation”
6.3.
Luke in his gospel records that Jesus last act of
healing was to heal the ear of the servant that had been cut off by Peter: Luke 22:50-51, “50 And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and
cut off his right ear. 51 But
Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.”
And He touched his ear and healed him.”
6.4.
Matthew in Matthew
26:52-54 records Jesus asking Peter at this juncture if he did not realize that
at any time Jesus could call 12 legions of angels to fight for Him, but the
scripture must be fulfilled this way, “52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your
sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by
the sword. 53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put
at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must
happen this way?””
6.5.
Had Peter spent His evening praying for Himself, He
probably wouldn’t have attempted this foolish and fleshly act of drawing his
sword and striking this servant. Each of
us ought to spend proper time each day in prayer and thus hopefully we won’t be
as disposed to act in the flesh as Peter acted on this day.
6.6.
Peter might not have cut off that ear had he been more
prayerful, and we might not cut off ears if we would be more prayerful! This is a warning to all of us to not fall
asleep praying. If you are sorrowful, as
the disciples were on this night, you would do much better if we would spend
some time in prayer.
6.7.
Those who are in the habit of sleeping long hours are
often trying to sleep away their sorrows as the disciples were on this day, but
only the Lord can remove those sorrows, therefore we need to pray through those
difficult times.
6.8.
Unfortunately, I have found it true that much of
Jesus’ ministry today involves healing the ears cut off by Jesus’ disciples as
He follows behind us. How we ought to
learn from the failures of Peter and the disciples.
6.9.
As Luke records that in this experience in the garden
of Gethsemane was one of great agony for Jesus, so much so that He was sweating
great drops of blood, we have to see that Jesus suffered what He did as a
man. And as a man, submitting to the Father
was no easy task for Him. He had to
constantly say no to His flesh and stand for what was the Father’s will even
when no one was going along beside of Him.
As we see the humanity of Jesus in His suffering, we ought to be
encouraged out of love, gratitude and awe to follow His example and deny our
flesh moment by moment as we submit to the Father’s will.
7.
CONCLUSIONS :
7.1.
We need to learn from this story the importance of
always watching and praying in all of the situations that we find ourselves in.
We are always so much better prepared to
deal with things when we have first been in prayer about them.
7.2.
Never fear the cups which the Lord would have you to
drink. He will be with your and sustain
you in His grace and mercy through each one.
7.3.
If Jesus was willing to drink this cup from the Lord
in dying for your sins on Calvary’s cross, incurring unspeakable horrors, can
you be willing to simply stand and be loyal and obedient to Him in your life.