Amen Luke chapter 22. I didn't know what else to call the message. So I called it going to gethsemane Because these are things that are leading up to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which we'll talk about next week. So next week we'll talk about Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here's some incidences of his life as the Lord's table has closed now. They've observed Passover. He's instituted the Lord's Supper. And now he's just about ready to step out the door. In fact, we'll actually see him go out the door. and on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, where only he knows what he's going to face. Only he knew what was actually going to happen. The rest of the disciples having an argument about who's the greatest. The rest of the disciples worried about where they're sitting at the table. The rest of the disciples not fully understanding at all what was going to take place. We have the benefit of hindsight. We have the benefit of scripture. We have the inscripturated word that tells us, but you know as well as I do, had you been there that night at that table, you'd have been acting just like the disciples because we're all made of the same stuff. That's the truth of the matter. And we could prove that just by the way that we live our lives today, right? We haven't arrived, we're not perfect, we don't have all knowledge, and we don't obey God as much as we wished that we did. And so we find ourselves made of the same stuff as them, but of course they had the grand advantages of being with the Lord Jesus Christ, learning of him, and then they'd have the grand advantage of the Holy Spirit empowering them in even greater ways as the Holy Spirit came upon them and they'd be witnesses throughout the earth. Luke 22, we come into the middle of the context, and we've just got through talking about, of course, who's the greatest. And the Lord says, I'm the one who serves. And then verse 28, he changes the tone tremendously. After that bit of a rebuke at them for their pride and their arrogance and their actual lack of concern for him, look at verse 28. But you are those who continued with me in my trials. and I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So we see a kingdom bestowed, and it's really an amazing thing that God does here, because he rebukes them for their pride, rebukes them for their desire of service, and as we said, chronologically, we believe that probably happened before the supper was instituted, But what we have now, Luke is putting things together thematically. He begins to open up his heart. You want a fuller version of how he opens up his heart to his disciples? Just read John 13, 14, 15, 16, and then we'll look a little bit in chapter 17. But in chapter 13, we find Judas is dismissed from the group of them. Judas, sitting around the table with them, is told to go out and do what he had planned to do all along. And he leaves. And you can tell the tone changes when Judas leaves. Christ is now with 11 that love him, 11 that know him, 11 that he can intimately share his human heart with. Of course, he's God. But humanly, he now has those that he loves, cares for, that he's going to die for. Through their testimony, there would be countless millions that would come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, those 11 were not the only disciples that he had, not the only believers that existed on the earth at that time. But those were his chosen ones that he had gathered together. And he speaks to them from the heart. Luke gives us a little taste of that as he says Jesus, saying, but you are those who continued with me in my trials." And if you just stop and contemplate that for a minute, that is a tender moment. That's an amazing moment. There's a glimpse of Christ's humanity along with his deity. He's the thankful Christ. On the eve of his death, on the eve of the greatest trial in the history of the universe, in spite of their petty arguments about who was the greatest, In spite of all that Christ knew was going to come upon him, he stops and actually takes time to thank his disciples for their three years of service that they have been with him. They're traveling around. They gave up a lot, they did. Now, any one of us would have been glad to be part of that, right? Had that been God's ordained plan. But they didn't know all that was happening. They didn't understand all that took place. And they gave up a lot in service to Christ. He takes time to stop and to thank them. And I find that an amazing incident, especially with all of their weaknesses, with all their sins, with all their foibles. It would be so easy just to criticize and complain and say, why aren't these people sharper? I've been with them for three years. I've taught them so much. They've learned so little. Well, we'll see that a little bit, too, as Christ, no doubt, has those thoughts in mind. But he thanks them, and is concerned about them, and cares, and acknowledges what they had done on his behalf. And really, there's a lot for us to learn there. We need to make sure that we're a thankful people, too. There's been people that have been blessings to us. There's been people that have helped us. There are people that have done good to our souls. And there's nobody in this world that will always do good to your soul. There's things that will happen. You know, and people will disappoint us. But we need to make sure that we're a thankful people and say thank you enough. I know I've got a bad habit and I'm trying to fix it, but people will say thank you to me. And I often don't say you're welcome. I'll just smile or nod. And I've got trying to get in the habit of saying you're welcome because that's important too, you know, and and we are thankful and we need to express that gratitude or people won't know. Jesus Christ does exactly that here but you are those who've continued with me in my trials and I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my father bestowed one upon me that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel now The scholars will debate whether there's any significance over 12 tribes of Israel and 12 disciples. And I think that's an easy one to answer myself, but they'll go on for pages debating it. Turn to Acts chapter 1. The same author is Luke, the book of Acts. You have the book of Luke, the book of Acts, same author there. Acts chapter 1, is there significance to the fact that there are 12 apostles or 12 disciples? And I think the scriptures actually do definitively say, yes, there is significance to this. Acts chapter 1, verse 15, keep your finger in Luke. But Acts chapter 1, verse 15, this is after the Lord Jesus Christ has died and risen again, and they're waiting for the Holy Spirit to fall at Pentecost. They've gathered together for prayer. They've gathered together from time to time for prayer. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples. Altogether, the number of names was about 120. So that's why I said there was a lot larger number of believers than just the 11 that were there with Christ once Judas was dismissed. Here's 120 gathering together for prayer at this particular time. And Peter said, men and brethren, This scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas. I was going to address the whole issue of Judas Iscariot, who, of course, betrayed Jesus and then, in human sorrow, went out and hanged himself because he was sorry for what he had done. Concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was numbered with us and obtained a part of this ministry. Now, this man purchased the field with the wages of iniquity And falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all of his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so the field is called in their own field, that the Echol Dama, that is the field of blood." And that's not what Peter says, but that's a note that Luke inserts for us, just so we'll understand what happens. We continue with the words of Peter. For it's written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, let no one live in it. let another take his office. So he takes two Psalms, puts them together, applies them to this particular situation. Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John to the day when he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. And they proposed two. Two men, there were probably more men than this that would have qualified for what they said needed to be, but two men were proposed, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, you, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show us which of these two you've chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas, by transgression, fell that he might go to his own place. And they cast their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the 11 apostles. So now we have 12 once again. And Matthias becomes the 12th one. And he's a legitimate apostle in every sense of the word. He takes the place of Judas. Now there's 12 once again. Of course, this becomes an interesting situation, too, because you say, well, what about the apostle Paul? The Apostle Paul doesn't actually fit the exact qualifications of what they had set forth here, that he be one that were with them since the beginning, from the time of John's baptism all the way through the three-year ministry of Christ. But the Apostle Paul tells us that he is an apostle, and that he was one born out of time. So I think we're probably wise to assume that the Apostle Paul is a 13th apostle, and now there's 13, which isn't dissimilar from Israel too, because if you count them up, there's actually not 12 tribes of Israel, there's 12 sons of Israel, but there's 13 tribes. Because Joseph had two sons, two sons himself, they were grandsons of Israel, Ephraim and Manasseh that were made their own tribe. And of course, Levi had no inheritance amongst them as a separate land, the Levites were scattered throughout the land. So geographically, there's 12 tribes, But there's a tribe that's within all of the tribes, the priestly tribe, to teach and instruct them and show them the ways of God. So there's actually 13 tribes of Israel, too. So we even see that similarity between the apostles and between Israel. And probably the note to make here is the continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. because he says in verse 30 that these 12 will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And I think what we ought to picture here is the church, the continuity between the church and Israel, but also the blessing that comes from the new people of God, the spiritual people of God now. And there are many Israelites that, of course, do not embrace Christ and will not embrace Christ and die and go to hell. And we even see that in the Old Testament, as Pastor Jeff was reading today, the woes that came upon the impenitent Israelites, the woes that came upon the impenitent inhabitants of Judah, who would not bow to God. But within that, if he were to have read just a little bit further, and he will next week, you'll see the remnant. There may have been a great cutting down. But there's also a great remnant that God has always reserved for himself. And if we come to the book of Revelation, and the Holy Spirit, through John, ties all this together, how many elders are there around the throne? 24 elders. 12 plus 12. Israel, the church. Together, combined together, and certainly that's the imagery that the Holy Spirit is giving to us there, and that we ought to be able to see. And so there's a, we ought to see the great continuity here. It was interesting that they were concerned about being the greatest. By the time you get to their ministry in the book of Acts, they are no longer concerned about who is the greatest. They're concerned with magnifying Jesus Christ as the greatest. And they lift him up as the highest. So no longer do we have the controversy about who is the greatest. Now they know who the greatest is. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And their mission and their goal at first was to tell all of the Jews the truth of Christ. And then God opens the doors to the Samaritans. God opens the door to the Gentiles. It's a worldwide gospel greater than ever before. Everything, and whenever we make a contrast between the Old Testament and New Testament, we can always see the New Testament as greater and more full. If I can just elaborate on something Pastor Jeff said in Sunday School again, he mentioned the fact that the Trinity is rather veiled in the Old Testament, and this is true, it is. But the Trinity wasn't created in the New Testament. The Trinity has always been true. But it's continued revelation, and the fullness of it is brought forward to us in a way that was not fully understood before. And this is the way that we always should see between Old Testament and New Testament. We don't go backwards. And we also don't just cut it off and say it doesn't exist. The Old Testament is a grand and a glorious thing. But in the New Testament, we envelop all of that and have more. And that's God's great grace to us in this particular age that we live in. Well, back to Luke. We change themes now. That was the thankful Christ praising his disciples because they did give up so much and they had served him and they may not have served him perfectly any more than you and I serve him perfectly. But they had served him and they had loved him and they had been with him in the trials that he went through and they had endured the sleepless nights and they didn't do it uh... some sporms of persecution although the forms of persecution we get much worse for them first thirty one and the lord said simon simon indeed satan has asked for you they may sit u s week i can you just picture the lord jesus christ at the table now turning to simon peter looking square in the eye saint satan has prayed for you he wants to sit us week you can only imagine what went racing through Simon Peter's mind as the Lord Jesus Christ says that to him but I prayed for you that your faith should not fail and when you have returned to me strengthen your brethren now if you return you have to leave right so obviously there's going to be a fault here obviously there's going to be a problem obviously there's going to be a difficulty he says when you've returned to me strengthen your brethren but Peter said to him Lord I I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Now, do you think Peter was a liar? Do you think Peter was a coward? Do you think Peter was one that really just said things? Well, sometimes he said things that he didn't think about, but Peter wasn't one to say things that he didn't mean. He meant the things he said. He was a very sincere man. Even if he was impetuous, he was sincere. And I know for a fact and prove from the Bible that he's very sincere in what he says here. I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. And how do we know that's true? Well, we know it's true because in just a few hours from now, he's going to take a sword and go after the entire army and start whacking away. Now, when you're one man with a sword and you're going after an entire army, the odds of winning are not very good, right? And the odds of you being killed are extremely high. But he was willing to do that, and he actually did it. So we know that he was brave and courageous, willing to go to prison, which actually the Book of Acts he did do many times, and willing to go to death, which eventually he did do. History, tradition tells us that he died by being crucified upside down. And that may or may not be true, because it doesn't say that in the Bible. but that he died by being hung on a cross, and he didn't want to die the same way the Lord had. He didn't feel worthy of it, so he asked to be crucified upside down. Whether that's true or not, we don't know, but it is. It would be within his character. It would be within the realm of believability that he would be doing something like that. That's the kind of man he was. Lord, I'm ready to go with you, both to prison and to death. Can you imagine? these striking words from the Lord coming back at him. I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know me. And I know you know the story, and you know that it exactly did happen. Now turn, please, to the book of Mark. I want to show you this same incident from the book of Mark. Because Mark, a very descriptive gospel, and puts it in a somewhat different way, tells us the same truth. But Luke tells us the story in a very intimate way. Mark tells it in a very dramatic way. There's good reason to believe that the Holy Spirit inspired Mark. But as Mark talked to Peter, most theologians believe that Peter had a great deal to do with the book of Mark. And as Peter told this story, you can almost see Peter telling it the way that it was in his heart and in the way that he believed and the way he thought at the time. So Mark chapter 14, verse number 27 is where we start. Mark 14, verse 27, then Jesus said to them, to all the disciples, All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. For it is written, and now he gives us a scripture why this must happen, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I've been raised, I'll go before you to Galilee. And in fact, after he was raised, he told that to Mary, remember to tell my disciples, I go before you to Galilee. And right here is where he said it. But Peter said to him, Peter, now the spokesman speaks up. Even if all are made to stumble, Yet I will not be. And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night before the rooster crows twice, you'll deny me three times. But he spoke more vehemently. If I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said likewise. And then you notice they come to the place of Gethsemane at that time. So here's the same account told from a slightly different way. And that's because this wasn't just one little incident that happened and a couple things were said, then they moved on to something else. Obviously, this was a big deal and something that had captured their attention. Verses 27 and 28 tell us, it won't be just Peter who will fall. All will be made to stumble, as we see from the gospel accounts. But Peter will be the chief stumbler. But no one's going to be able to point the finger at Peter and say, well, look at what he did, and I was innocent. but he'll be the chief stumbler. Verses 29 and 30. Verse 29, out of the mouth of Peter comes these words, even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. And if you really think about it, you can see the sense of pride had not left yet. Because who is the all that he's talking about? And as they're all gathered around and talking, who would he be motioning to? Even if all these other disciples are made to stumble, you got one guy you can count on. You got one guy that's going to be here for you. You got one guy that's not going to let you down. Can't vouch for the other 10. Can't vouch for what they're going to do. But I know my own heart well enough to know that I will never be made to deny you or to stumble. And he was sincere as he said that. And he believed it with all of his heart. And he never had abandoned the Lord before. And as I said, in Gethsemane, he didn't abandon the Lord. But Christ got specific here. And turns to Peter, and instead of being the exceptional hero, Peter, you're gonna be the exceptional coward. Others will forsake me, but you'll deny even that you know me. And you won't do it just once. Anybody can have a momentary slip of the tongue. Anybody can have a momentary act of cowardness. But you'll deny three times. And there'll be forethought. And there'll be meditation. And there'll be ample time between the denials to repent and turn and realize what you've done. And before the night is over, you will have done that three times. And what was Peter's response? No, I won't. No, I won't. I'd never do that. You can count on me. It's not me that's going to do that. And that's exactly what the Greek word that's translated vehemently means. We often think of vehemently being loud and strong and boisterous that way. But the tense of the word and the meaning of the word is such that really what he was doing was he was over-talking. He was saying too much. He was denying and denying that I will not do that. That's not going to happen. You can rest assured that that's not going to be the case with me. And the other disciples were joining and doing the same thing. And they all said, likewise, you can count on us. We're not going to do that. We're with you. We're going to walk with you. We're going to be with you. Wherever you go is where we're going to go. You can be assured that we'll never leave you or forsake you. Well, it's the Lord Jesus Christ that says, I'll never leave you or forsake you. Left to ourselves, my friends. we would deny the Lord. Left to ourselves, we would forsake the Lord. Left to ourselves, we would not be faithful. Left to ourselves, we would fall. Left to ourselves, if it was possible, and I'm sure glad that it's not, but left to ourselves, if it was possible to lose our salvation, left to ourselves, you would lose your salvation. I know there's a lot of Armenians that believe you can lose your salvation. But you heard what I said, you can't. But why can't you lose your salvation? It's not because we're so great. It's not because we're so wonderful. It's not because we're so faithful. It's because he is faithful and what he has done for us. It's his grace. It's his mercy. To him goes all the glory. So they were insisting over and over and over again that we couldn't possibly do this thing that you're saying. And it simply shows us the folly of trusting in ourselves. And if we do trust our own hearts, we're a fool. We're a fool if we trust our own hearts. We're self-deceived. If we think for a moment, we can keep ourselves faithful to Christ and the strength of our own power. But what was the key to this whole thing, as we saw from Luke? Let me turn back to Luke. There was a key thing that Luke's gospel mentions that we didn't see in Mark. Because not every single word that's spoken is given to us in scripture, so we compare scripture with scripture. We find out from Matthew and from Mark that Satan has desired to have you. But I have prayed for you. And there's the secret right there. I have prayed for you. That's the part that Peter didn't hear. the part that went over his head. He was so busy saying, I will be faithful, I will not leave you, I will not desert you, that he missed the promise, and he missed the blessing, and he got it later, no doubt about it. Read 1st Peter, read 2nd Peter, read his sermons in the book of Acts, see what happened there. He got it, and he understood it fully, but not that night. There was a great word of comfort that Christ was given to Peter. Probably, I'm going to guess, now the Bible doesn't say, so I can't say with that 100% accuracy. But when Peter does deny the Lord, comes to his senses and realizes what he's done, he goes out and he weeps bitterly. Doesn't go out and hang himself like Judas does. Goes out and weeps bitterly and repents. And I'm sure the Holy Spirit at that time brought to his mind, but I have prayed for you. This is what you're going to do, but I have prayed for you. And he could take some measure of comfort in the midst of this horrible sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ had not abandoned him, nor was the Lord Jesus Christ going to leave him alone. Instead, Christ had prayed for him. Satan had desired to have Judas. And right before their eyes, Satan got Judas. Why did Satan get Judas? Because Jesus tells us in John 17 that Judas didn't belong to him. Judas, originally, wasn't one of his own. So Satan desired to have him, and Satan got him. Satan desired to have Simon Peter, but he couldn't get him. Why? Because Christ had prayed for him. And Satan would have desired all of the other disciples. In fact, Satan would have desired all of those that were in the upper room that we looked at in the book of Acts. And Satan would desire to have you also. His desires are still that way. It's what He desires and what He would do if He could. But the words of Jesus Christ are, I have prayed for you. And do you think that God the Father is going to say, well, Jesus, I'm sorry, but I can't answer your prayer. Not meant to be. You see, you and I pray the wisest way we know how. We pray the best way we know how. We pray for someone to live. And sometimes they die. And all we can do is say, but the will of God was done. And we know that he's wiser than we are, that he's more righteous and holy, and his plan is perfect. And so we accept it. But the Lord Jesus Christ is God. So he never prays and asks for something that won't happen. When he asks, he gets it. And we can be very, very thankful. in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, Father, let this cup pass from me, that he didn't end it there. He said, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. Because even though, humanly speaking, that's what he would have wanted with all of his heart, he also was not going to fall and fail. So the purposes of God were still to be. So whatever he prays for is going to come, because the will of the Father and the will of the Son are exemplary. They can't be separated. They can't be taken apart that way. Well, we change themes again. Luke does this often. And now we go to verse 35. And this is part that you can actually see very strongly. I just picture all of John 14, 15, and 16 right here in these very few words. And he said to them, when I sent you without money bag, sack, and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said nothing. But he said to them, but now he who has a money bag, let him take it. And likewise, a sack. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in me. And he was numbered with the transgressors. Where's that from? Yeah, you know, from the Old Testament. That's right. For the things concerning me have an end. Verse 38, one of the most enigmatic verses in the Bible, we'll talk about it as we end today. Then they said, look, Lord, here are two swords. And he said to them, it is enough. You ever wondered about that verse? Hopefully, we'll be able to open it up for you so you won't wonder if you ever have, because it is an odd one in many ways. And there are even a few different interpretations of it. Verse 35, their needs have been met for three years. They endured with him. They were faithful with him. They went around the countryside with him. They heard hundreds of sermons preached by him. They talked to thousands of people. They saw healings. They saw miracles. They were waiting for the kingdom of God to come with power. They were waiting for him to overthrow the Roman authorities. They were waiting to sit on earthly thrones. And they're told, well, tonight's the end. I'm leaving. But don't worry, there'll be heavenly thrones for you to sit on. But there aren't going to be any earthly thrones. It's not going to be what you thought. And in confusion and heartache, they have all these things going on. He talks about, did you ever go without? No, we never went without. And then you look at the way the 70 was sent forth, and look at the way that they went out. They went out with nothing, basically just the clothes on their back. And they were taken into homes, and they were taken care of. And that was the way that God dealt with them. And that's the way that God helped them. And if a town wouldn't receive them, then they would shake off the dust of the feet against that town as a testimony against them and go to a town that was more worthy to hear their message. That's the way they'd endured for three years. But Cray says things are just about ready to become different. Verses 36 and 37, he's telling them difficult days are coming. And John's gospel elaborates on it much, much more. But basically, the difficult days were this. They would no longer have Jesus by their side as a human, as their leader and their guide. He would be numbered with the transgressors. Of course, they'd have the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit in an even greater way, in a more powerful way. They wouldn't have more of the Holy Spirit, but his ministry would be such. that they'd be pointing to jesus christ pointing to the crucified christ pointing to the risen christ their message would be all about christ whenever they preached about the old testament they wouldn't stop at the old testament they show how the old testament opens up to messiah and how he gave his life for them he was numbered for the transgressors but the popularity that they had now jesus was wildly popular people throughout crowds with the wrong to hear it the popularity favor they'd had with the people was about ready to come to an end. And instead of being popular amongst the Jewish neighbors, they were about ready to become the most persecuted group of all. Persecuted first by their own countrymen and then persecuted by Roman authorities. Persecuted so with such vehemence that and with such great difficulty that although they wanted to stay together in Jerusalem, although they had hoped to bring all Christians into Jerusalem and teach and guide and have a super church, so to speak, there, in God's providence, the hand of persecution comes in Acts chapter 8 and drives them out to the furthest parts of the earth. So the gospel will go forward in other places. That was God's wise plan. It wasn't their plan. If they had worked their plan, they would have just continued to gather in Jerusalem. But such was not to be the case. So the normal means will now be necessary. Normal means will have to be taken up. It's time to have a money bag. It's time to have a sack. And it's even time to have a sword. Now, what does that mean? Well, I think it's just simply this. Persecution is coming. Difficulty is coming. There's going to be peace at an end. It's going to be all out spiritual warfare. And it's also going to be real true physical persecution that will come upon them too. But we know from other places in scripture that Christ wasn't telling them, OK, now what you do is you gather yourself together into an army and try to beat these guys off and try to fight against them. Our warfare is a spiritual warfare. And what are disciples supposed to do when they're persecuted? Nothing wrong with hiding. Nothing wrong with running. There would really be nothing wrong with defending ourselves if you have wherewithal and means to do so. But like in China, what's going to happen? What do you think would happen to the persecuted Christians in China if they all took up swords or even handguns and tried to beat back the government? What do you think would happen to them? Yeah, well, yeah, unless it was a great miracle of God, they wouldn't last long, right? And we know there have been great saints of the past, great saints, John Knox comes to mind, of a warrior, a warrior preacher who dies in battle. Okay, well, that can happen. But that's not what's actually being said here. If we think that's what's being said, we fall into the same trap that the disciples fell into. Because he says, if you don't have a garment, go buy a sword. And they said, well, yeah, we got two swords already. You know? So we're in pretty good shape. We got two of them, at least, you know? And that's the answer they come back with. And it really just shows that they had a gross misunderstanding of what Christ was really saying to them right here at the very end. The spiritual truth goes right over their heads. But they weren't the last ones to misinterpret these words. There was a Roman Catholic pope named Boniface VIII, and in AD 1302, He wrote what's called a papal bull, and that's what they're called. And he tried to prove from this text that what Christ meant when he said that there's two swords is there's two swords that are being given to me by as large as the pope. I have the sword of the secular, and I can rule over nations. And I have the sword of the spiritual, and I rule over the spiritual affairs of men. And he wrote this treatise that's very well known. and obviously is a gross misinterpretation of this text by hyper-spiritualization. Christ certainly didn't mean that the church was to rule over men and rule over the spiritual nation as such, and that's what Pope Boniface basically said. Long story short, you can easily find it on the internet if you want to read it. But the disciples were guilty of hyper-literalization here. They interpret his words to mean that they should carry swords. And Christ gives an interesting reply to the whole thing. It is enough. Now, there's many ways to look at this. And as you've read it, you might have thought, OK, just like the disciples did. We have two swords. It's enough. Two is all we're going to need tonight. Well, actually, there was only going to be one that was needed, because Peter was going to cut off the high priest here, and Christ would heal him. So I don't think that's what we could say that it means. And we really don't know because we don't know the way that Christ said it. It's difficult to know the tone and inflection of what we had. But I think the safest course of action, when he says it's enough, is basically to say, OK, this is the end of the discourse. Let's go about what we need to do now. time to go. He didn't even rebuke their misinterpretation of the two swords. They misinterpreted what he said, and he didn't go into now another long dialogue and say, wait a minute, wait a minute. No, you didn't understand what I meant. Here's what I actually mean by that. I think we see multi-layered here of it is enough that, again, strikes to the very humanity and core of who Christ is. Let me try to explain it in just a couple of minutes here, and then we'll be done. I think basically what we're saying is, this is the end of the conversation. It's time to go and do what we need to do. It's possible that there was maybe even a note of frustration in Christ. I don't know for sure. It would be holy frustration if it was. I can't say for sure. But once again, they didn't get something that he had taught them. And how do you feel as you're a teacher? and you're instructing somebody, and they say, oh, I know what you mean, and then they just get it all backwards, exactly wrong of what you meant. Well, that can be a little frustrating, can't it? But Christ knew some things that were going on here that the disciples didn't know yet, but soon would know. And the whole incident, I think, could be understood this way if we understand just how alone Christ is going to be in this entire crisis. Because no one will be with him, no one can be with him, he must endure the wrath of God alone. So when he says it's enough, I don't think he means that two swords are sufficient. We could say enough of this, but I don't think that really quite gets it either. I think basically, I'm not going to try to even teach you anymore. It's time to go. And off he goes to face what he alone understands and what he alone must face. John chapter 17. This is where we conclude this morning because it ties in so well with what we've already seen. John 17. And you notice on your outline, this passage is remarkable in its context. It's remarkable in its exclusivity. And this passage is remarkable in its phraseology. Just this one verse in the midst of the prayer that takes up the entirety of John 17, Christ says something that's very relevant to the disciples and to us. Jesus says, I do not pray for these alone, talking about his disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. And that's an amazing thing. amazing in the context of what's happening because he's just about ready to step over into the garden of Gethsemane and he's just hours away from the cross and he's about to suffer the greatest agony and torment ever known the precious son of God is about ready to be made sin for us he stops and takes time to pray for us that live in the year 2008 because you and I are the heritage of those and that would come to know him through the testimony of them." They said, well, I never talked to John, and I never talked to Peter. Well, the Holy Spirit inspired them, and we have an apostolic word. And the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So we have an apostolic word, and it's true that we are the heritage of that, and Christ is praying for us as he's in the garden. He's praying for you. if you're a Christian. And I had to say, if you're a Christian, because there is exclusivity in this too. Look at verse number nine in the context of what's happening here. He says, I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they're yours. And it wasn't time to pray for the lost world. He was on a mission, a mission that would be accomplished. He was going to die for his people. Jesus Christ didn't die for the world at large. And he didn't die to give you a chance. I know that's very popular. That's what people think. And bumper sticker theology says that. I hope nobody has that bumper sticker on your car out here. And if you do, I hope you take it off. But give Jesus a chance because he died for the opportunity. That couldn't be more wrong. I appreciate the sentiment. A true Christian could have that on their car and have great love for the Lord, but they're wrong. That isn't true. He didn't die to give you a chance and hope that you make the best use of your opportunities. He died to save you from your sins. He's a holy God, he's righteous. And he tells us here, I'm not praying for the world, I'm praying for my people now. Praying for them. Because you've given them to me, and I'll hold them in my hand, and I will not lose them. And Satan won't take them. Satan may take a Judas, but he won't take a Simon Peter. And these things are still true to this day. And in verse 20, his prayer is as far reaching as his death. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. He prays for those who will come to him by faith. Two men may be drunkards today. But the Lord knows which one will be redeemed and which one will be left in his sin. Two women may be adulterous today, but the Lord knows which one is his and which will be saved and which one will die in their sin. We don't know. We never know who the elect are until they exhibit faith and believe. And that's where we close today. What does it say? I pray for those who will believe in me through their word. And Christ even spoke about the way they'd become his people. They'll believe. It's right to call Christians believers, because that's what they are. There's no such thing as a non-believing Christian. No such thing as an atheist Christian. No such thing as a Jesus-hating Christian. Those don't exist. They can't exist. So here's the simple question to you. You should be able to know right now, and of course I'm not going to ask you individually, but you should know right now, are you a Christian or not? You should be able to know the answer to that. And there's just one simple way to know. You should know, right this very moment, if you are a Christian. And it isn't by looking in your Bible and seeing a decision that you made many years ago. Although that can be important, we do talk, have people give their testimonies. But the simple way to know if you are a Christian is this. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Right now. This very moment. This very second. Are you a believer? Or are you a unbeliever? And that's how you can know if you're a Christian. Do you believe in the present tense? And you have eternal life in the present tense. Eternal life that will never die, because it's eternal life. You have it today, you have it now. I'm not asking do you ever fail, I'm not asking do you ever doubt even. Because we do. Because we're still sinful. But do you believe? And how do we come to believe? Through His word. It's His word that's used. And the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts and makes us to be believers. Do you believe I'm the only begotten son of God? Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Father, we look to your word once again. A word that has been true from all eternity. And will remain true for all eternity. We thank you for the time and place that you placed us in. here in this particular place at this particular time. And Lord, we would pray that we'd be faithful to your cause, faithful to your name. But Lord, we see that men and women so often do fail. But we thank you, though we may stumble. Lord, a just man may stumble and fall seven times, but he rises up again. And this is only by your grace. It's only by your spirit. And it's only by trusting in you. Teach us not to trust in ourselves. If the holy men of God, like the disciples, could be with you for three years, and then come to the end of time and still be trusting in themselves. How we know, Father, that we who are lesser, we who would have to admit have not attained to the measure of grace that they know. Father, how much more in danger are we? But we thank you, just like you have prayed for Peter, that you have also prayed for us. And we take comfort in that, Father, so we trust you. All of our hope is in you. All of our confidence is in you. All of our trust is in you. Father, we thank you for Jesus Christ, the Lord. In his name we pray, amen.