who come to the betrayal and arrest of the Lord Jesus. And before I begin, I would like to give a special credit to R.C. Sproul for his wonderful insights into this particular event in the passion of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus' courage is manifested in his determination to head to the cross where he would bear the wrath of God for his people, his sinful people. The evangelist John does not tell of Jesus' agony in the garden, nor even refers to his prayer in the garden, as does, for example, Luke, in Luke 22, Luke 22, 44, where it reads, 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. John's focus, instead, is on Jesus' betrayal and arrest. The one thing that this is especially helpful, that is John's account helpful for, unlike the other synoptic gospel writers is that it has a more historical account or a more historical running account. And so I'd like to follow that to some extent and reread the verses that we read together. Verse 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Sidron or Kidron, where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples. The Brooks Kidron runs between the city of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. During the two rainy seasons, it would be a torrential flood. But most of the time, it is a dry creek, such as at this time. so that they could easily cross. Verse two, and Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place where Jesus oftentimes resorted thither with his disciples. The garden again is Gethsemane, where he would pray with his disciples. And of course, Judas knew that he does this, and does it often. because he had been with the Lord from the very start. And by the way, it's good to start your day with prayer, is it not? It's good, especially when there's something important coming up, and not just to rush out the door. Like in the case of the Kong of the Twelve, when it says in Luke 6, 12, And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. That was, again, when he would call his 12 disciples. This time, he would pray before undertaking the greatest work of his life. Now, back to Judas. The Lord knew where Judas was headed first, after he had eaten the salt with our Lord, and then the Lord released him to go out and do the work that he was to do, and to do it quickly. You would think that Jesus would go anywhere else than the garden, where they would regularly resort, would you not? In order not to be caught. Yosemite was the first logical place for Jesus to take those soldiers and policemen of the temple. Obviously Jesus was not trying to avoid being apprehended. In fact, it was as if he went out of his way to be arrested. Verse 3, Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. It was what I describe as a sting operation between the military and the civilian police. First, the military. It's described as a band or a detachment of Roman soldiers. In the Greek, it is the word cohort, like what we know of in English, cohort, your cohorts, for example, which were upwards of 1,000 Roman soldiers stationed, in this case, in Caesarea, which is nearby Jerusalem. Now, it could be less than a thousand and still be called that. Israel was a tribute of the Roman Empire and thus was under its oversight, if not its control. During the Passover season, there would be hundreds of thousands of people gathering in Jerusalem for that event. And so, they would be sent into Jerusalem in order to control traffic, as it were, and in the event that there would be any insurrection on the part of the Jews. Jews, especially those who were the zealots, were noted for that. They would be housed in what's called the Antonia Fortress, named after Mark Anthony, who was King Herod's patron, supporter, who was, at that time, the king, and that's where they were housed, which was adjacent to where Pontius Pilate was headquartered. The Antonia Fortress was a citadel built by Herod the Great and named, as I said, for his patron, Mark Antony, which served the chief purpose of protecting Jerusalem, yes, but particularly the second temple, which was the third temple, I believe it is. which would ultimately be destroyed in 70 AD. It is actually a 45-acre well-protected, well-fortified fortress that is not commonly talked about, and they call it also the Temple Mount, when in actuality it is a Roman fortress. Now the second group were the officers, who were the temple policemen, and they were the ones who were the arresting officers who would bring the Lord Jesus to the Sanhedrin, which was the main ruling political body of Israel, and court. All in all, there were probably around 1,000 armed soldiers, including the police. They came with weapons, expecting resistance from Jesus and his apostolic band. And so with a large crowd approaching the apostles and the Lord Jesus, carrying lanterns and torches and weapons. Who could miss it? Who could miss them coming? Verses four and five. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek you? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am He. I am He. And Judas also, which betrayed Him, stood with Him. The Lord Jesus knew what was coming. Why? Because He is God. He is God. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. The Lord Jesus is the searcher of our hearts. and the Holy Spirit. We don't see the Lord Jesus hiding behind His disciples, do we? In fact, the very opposite. He steps up to the front of them, and He personally greets the soldiers. Who are you looking for? Just like you would when someone comes to your door and is perhaps trying to sell you a bill of goods, and you ask, well, how are you? Are you looking for someone? Jesus of Nazareth, I am he. In the Greek, it is actually, and I'll give it to you, ego, ami, which is a pronoun, ego, which means I, or I am, and then ami, which means I am also. So it's like a double, a double repetition, I am he, or I am, I am. And it harkens back, to Exodus 3.14, and I'm cutting to the chase for the sake of time here. So, in Exodus 3.14, I'd like to read that to you. You can read it also with me, if you choose. In which, God said to Moses, I am that I am. That's in the Greek of the Old Testament, that it comes out that way. I am that I am, and He said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. This is a very special name. This is a name which stands out in all the Old Testament, hundreds of times more than any other name of God. It is what is called His covenant name. It is a name that speaks of his eternality, of his being the eternal God, of his being the everlasting one from everlasting to everlasting, as spoken about by Micah, the prophet, who would come and would govern God's people Israel and the world. And it's the name that the Lord gave to the policemen and the soldiers of Rome. And he called himself that in order that they might know that He is God, and there's none else, and that He is Savior, and that there's none like Him. In John 1, 1 through 3, it reads, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. The Word is God. in the Greek Elagos, which is another name for Jesus Christ. He was in the beginning with the Father, with God the Father, and yet he and the Father are both God. This is a mystery. This is the mystery of which many stumble. And thankfully, by the grace of God, we don't. And it goes on to say in John's introduction called the prologue, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He is the only begotten. Meaning he is one who came from the Father and yet is a separate person. and they together represent the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our Lord says that, I was daily in the temple with you. You stretched forth no hand against me, but this is your hour in the power of darkness. Look at their reaction in verse six, back in our passage. John 18. Assume that as He had said unto them, I am, for I am He, they went backward and fell to the ground. I used to think that at this point Christ used some special power to bowl them over. That's what I thought. After all, He's the Son of God, right? We saw how He is omniscient, right? Omnipotent. Well, we know that nothing in this text actually proves that, although there are situations in his ministry where he did exercise his omnipotence, such as in this calming of the storm, but nothing here. Leon Morris, who is another commentator, wrote, he, that is John, stresses the majesty of Jesus by telling us that he spoke and acted in such a way as to strike awe into the soldiers who came to arrest him, so that they went backwards and fell to the ground. We're talking here about battle-hardened soldiers. We're talking here about the guards of the temple. The disciples were afraid all right, thinking that they probably would also themselves be arrested with Christ. But the soldiers and police were even more afraid than them, though they outnumbered Jesus a thousand to one. And so the truth is that the Lord, through his awesome majesty, created such fear in their hearts that they were overtaken by them and physically fell backwards. The truth is also that the soldiers themselves were literally outnumbered by the angels, for our Lord said in one other account in Matthew 26, 53, thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father? And he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels? There are 6,000 approximately in a Roman legion, 6,000 men, soldiers. And so, if you times 12 that, you come up with 72,000 angels. There was one instance that comes to my mind in Elijah's ministry where that many or more angels literally surrounded the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. As he surrounded the city of Jerusalem, he thought he was gonna win that battle with that city, but he had another thing coming. And the next morning, they were all dead except for a few. including the leader of the pack who went home to report what had happened. In Psalm 91 11, it says, for he that is the father shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. If God did that for David, how much more his only begotten son? Jesus chooses not to call His angels. Instead, what does He do? According to verses 7-9, which I will read, Then asked He them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He. If therefore you seek Me, let these go their way. that the saying might be fulfilled which he spake of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." Who are you looking for again? Jesus of Nazareth. That's me. Let my disciples come. It sounds like Moses in Egypt. telling the Pharaoh, let my people go. God says, let my people go. Here, the Lord Himself says, let my disciples, my people, go. The Lord is always thinking about His followers. And He came through with what He prayed earlier for them, in His high priestly prayer for them, in the garden, when He prayed, while I was with them, Father, in the world, I kept them in Thy name. Those whom Thou gavest me, I have kept. and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scriptures might be fulfilled." Later, Peter would write, "...who are kept by the power of God through faith of the salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." All of God's people, to this very present day, you and I, are kept by the power of God. We are preserved and kept from the evil one, and from all of his cohorts. all of His minions, all of those in the world that are on His side and not on the Lord's, we are kept from them, we're kept from them. And our Lord Jesus presently is at the right hand of the Father praying on behalf of His church for their well-being, for their provision, for their protection, for their defense, for their safety. arrest and imprisonment would be more than what his disciples could probably take at this point. And as we know, even later, they would be scattered to the wind. When the shepherd was smitten, the sheep were scattered, as we are told. They weren't ready for that yet. But one day, oh, or not now. But then what does the impetuous Peter Golan do? verses 10 and 11. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and smote the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into this sheath, the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? So he cuts off Malchus's right ear. And it's interesting how Sometimes the scriptures give us the names of the persons, even in a parable such as that of Lazarus and the rich man. Peter, put that sword back in the sheath. It's almost like a father telling you, don't do that. Peter, don't you know that I must drink the cup of my father's wrath against the sins of his people? Oh, that's right. You were asleep at the time. I prayed that earlier tonight. If you look up Luke 21, 41 through 45, that's where we may find that. Luke 22. And he was withdrawn from them many of his disciples who were with him in the garden, 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, guess what? He found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said unto them, why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. So that explains that. However, what about that? John keeps us hanging. Sorry for the pun. on that, but not Luke, if you keep reading down to verse 51. Read it, verse 51. And Jesus answered and said, suffering you thus far, and he touched his ear and healed him. So the Lord healed his ear. Isn't that what our Lord is known to do? Isn't that what he did throughout his ministry? And it didn't matter who. He would go everywhere. He would preach the kingdom of God, and he would teach in the synagogues, and would heal every sickness and every disease among the people, and every injury, such as this. Let me come to verses 12 and 13, and I'm gonna end with those, which they took the Lord Jesus away. Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him and led him away. And I'll stop with that. And so we come tentatively to the end of Christ's betrayal and arrest. In conclusion, let me make some points. We are saved by Christ's active obedience and passive obedience. And what are those? His active obedience is His living the life that we cannot live according to the perfect standard of God's holy law. In other words, we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. And it takes the act of obedience of Christ, i.e. His righteousness, accounted to us, as I said previously, to be our righteousness. God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And His passive obedience is in His dying, the death that we deserve to die ourselves in eternal hell. He endured in our place. on the cross. That's what God required in the world's court to be pronounced as the sentence of death, which was accomplished in Him. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. However, let me have you note this, that as Jesus' passive obedience did not actual start on the cross. But I contend that it started the moment that he got up from his knees in prayer to his father in the garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed, as we noted, Father, if you'd be willing to take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. He declared to the soldiers and the policemen that came to take him, I'm the man you're looking for. Because it was his father's will to which he now acquiesced by being the substitute for our sins on the cross. And eventually he would be taken to the high priest, Caiaphas, who had predicted his death, according to verse 14. Now Caiaphas was he which gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Thus he was arrested, bound, and led away to what would next be the greatest court case not only in the history of the Jews, but in the history of the world. And with that, we will conclude this episode of his passion. Hopefully, it will lure to begin next week with his mock trial. So with that, shall we pray? Lord, we know that you are as a sheep Before his shears is done, so you open up your mouth. When you were reviled, you reviled not again or back. When you were smitten, you did not strike back, but committed yourself to him who judges righteously. You came to do the will of your father and to finish his work and finish it you will. And we are thankful for that. For had you not chosen to do that, we would still be in our sins. We would still be under the wrath of God. We would still be on our way to an eternal hell, or perhaps we'd be there already. So we rejoice in you for your great love. We're with you. We're willing to die for our sins. Thank you, Lord. We pray this in your most holy name. Amen.