Mark, and thank you, Lois, as well, for helping us in our song. We come to John chapter 18. We've been walking our way through the gospel of John for a while. It's amazing if you look at the gospels and see how much attention they put on that last week of the Lord's ministry. As much as a half of a gospel on the life of Christ can be given to the last week. We have spent some time in John considering the upper room discourse. Again, on the Thursday before Easter, we're going to gather and kind of recreate that upper room through the meal and through the customs of that evening. But as we read in the gospel of John, John pulls back the veil on so much of what was taught by our Lord in the heart of our Lord there in that upper room. We rushed through that series, that section of scripture. We had 18 sermons on the Upper Room Discourse. So what our Lord was able to say in a couple of hours, we took longer. After that meal, the Lord led his disciples from that room down the hill across the Kidron Valley and up into the Garden of Gethsemane. That name Gethsemane to many of us is precious as we think about what happened there and that the events of that night and John gives us a record as well. And so I encourage you to follow along in your Bible as I read John chapter 18 verses 1 through 11 which describes our Lord in the garden. John 18 verses 1 to 11. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now, when he said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. Then he asked them again, whom are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke of those whom you gave me, I have lost none. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? And so here we read of our Lord's encounter in this evening. Luke tells us as he went to the Garden of Eden, it was a commonplace. In verse Luke 22, 39, he says, coming out, as we've already read in John, he went to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed, and his disciples also followed him. And so as he went there, this was a commonplace for him to go. It's called a garden. Mainly it was a place of olive trees. It's on the Mount of Olives and the word Gethsemane literally means an olive oil press. which is not surprising, so there at the foot of the Mount of Olives, you'll see where there was an olive oil press. As they harvested the olives, they would come and press them and squeeze out the olive oil. So, Gethsemane is the garden by the olive oil press, and you can go there today, and you will see trees that are ancient, at least 1,500 years old, and they're still giving olives. If you're there in the garden and you look across what's in the Kidron Valley, or the Kidron Brook, or however you want to describe it, but this little valley, then up a hill you will see the Old City and the Temple Mount. So it's all very close. And this garden especially, remember this is the Passover season. Josephus tells us about 30 years later, that there were something like two million people in Jerusalem for the Passover. Actually, we calculate that because they counted up well over 200,000 sheep that were sacrificed during the Passover feast. And typically, you would have at least 10 people per lamb. So it was a crowd. The city was full of Jews who had come from really around the world to worship for that festival. And there was outdoor, indoor and everything else going on. Our Lord apparently spent some of the evenings there in the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Sometimes he would go up the hill and just over the crest of the hill to Bethany where Martha and Mary and Lazarus lived. He was commonly in their home when he came to Jerusalem. But somehow Judas knew Jesus would be in this garden, praying with his disciples on this night, maybe spending the night. Let me read to you some remarks from a commentator, A.W. Pink, some of you will know that name. He contrasts, he says, the entrance of Christ into the garden once reminds us of Eden. Another garden, right? The contrasts between them are indeed most striking. In Eden, all was delightful. In Gethsemane, all was terrible. In Eden, Adam and Eve parlayed with Satan. In Gethsemane, the last Adam sought the face of his father. In Eden, Adam sinned. In Gethsemane, the Savior suffered. In Eden, Adam fell. In Gethsemane, the Redeemer conquered. The conflict in Eden took place by day. The conflict in Gethsemane was waged at night. In one, Adam fell before Satan. In the other, the soldiers fell before Christ. In Eden, the race was lost. In Gethsemane, Christ announced, of them which thou gavest me, I have lost none. In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eve's hand. In Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from his father's hand. In Eden, Adam hid himself. In Gethsemane, Christ boldly showed himself. In Eden, God sought Adam. In Gethsemane, the last Adam sought God. From Eden, Adam was driven. From Gethsemane, Christ was led. In Eden, the sword was drawn. In Gethsemane the sword was sheathed. Well there's a lot to contemplate in those words but we get the significance. This was a momentous occasion, an event, an evening and once again I feel like we're trying to open the veil and step into the Holy of Holies. As he went there was a place of peace, a place of refuge, a place of calm, a place of prayer, a place where he could commune with his disciples and with the Lord. That would be attacked by Judas and his troops. In verse 1 we read, Jesus led his disciples to the garden. When Jesus had spoken these words there in the upper room discourse, he went out from that room with his disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden and he and his disciples entered. I've often thought about the crossing of that Kidron Valley and I've mentioned this, I think, with some of our satyrs. During the Passover season, 200,000 lambs were sacrificed. At this time in Jerusalem, there was actually a Passover sacrifice two days. So our Lord ate a Passover meal, but then he died while the Passover was being sacrificed the next day as well. Part of that relates to Galileans and Judeans and traditions, and frankly, It was kind of helpful to spread it over two days. Can you imagine sacrificing 200,000 lambs in a day? And if you think about it, if you sacrifice the lamb and poured out its blood, that would be an incredible amount of blood. What did they do with it? Well, there at the base of the altar, there was a little channel that went down through the temple mount and exited into the Kidron Valley. And so the sacrificial blood was poured into that channel as was sacred water to help flush it out. So as our Lord crossed over the Kidron Valley following the Passover meal, it would have been a valley of blood and once again reminded him why he came. I so often think of our Lord at the Passover. knowing that he was the Passover lamb. And even as a child who came with his family every year and watched the Passover sacrifices, knowing this is why he came. And so as he had that meal that night, then as he crossed over that river and the flood of blood, once again, he was reminded that's why he came to offer the final blood of cleansing. As we read these accounts and you know, as you, the four gospels are, are, you know, they say different things, but they're not contradictory. It's more like gathering four witnesses. And it's, it's, it's like listening to a multi channels of, of a music and getting the full sense of the music. There are differences in these Gospels. James Montgomery Boyce, a great Bible expositor, said, each of the Gospels tells us that having selected Peter, James, and John to go with him, Jesus went off from the others and prayed three times that if it was the will of God, the cup of death might pass by him. That's the other Gospels, but not John. Matthew and Luke record the fact that prior to this, Jesus began to be greatly agitated. and sorrowful and distressed, but John doesn't record that. Luke, who's particularly concerned with the humanity and sufferings of Christ, reports that in spite of the fact that angels appeared and ministered to him, Jesus, nevertheless, was in anguish and prayed more earnestly. Sweat drops of blood, you recall. John knew those things. And he knew his audience had read the accounts, but John was there. And he was one of those inner three who heard the prayers when the others had been set apart. John was there, he knew those details but he selected not to include them. Instead he only notes that Jesus left with his disciples, crossed the Kidron Valley where there was an olive grove and he was there rested. Why does John neglect those other details, the anguish of the prayer, the ministry of the angels, the failings of his disciples? John began his book, remember? John 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And he closes the book by saying these things are written so that you will know who he is God. We see the book will come to an end with Thomas saying, my Lord and my God. John is emphasizing the deity of Christ. Yes, in his humanity, he suffered and sweat in his deity. We will see him in his power and his authority. The Roman troops will come to arrest Jesus. You do not arrest God unless he wants to be arrested. But I'm getting ahead of the story. In verses 2 and 3 we read of Judas leading his troops to the garden. As you read in verse 2, Judas who betrayed him also knew the place for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Poor Judas. Anytime you see the name of Judas, there'll be a reference to the betrayal. Sometimes it's not the one who betrayed him, but the rest of the time it's Judas who betrayed Jesus. That defines him. And Judas who betrayed Jesus had already by this time sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And he promised to turn Jesus over to them and he knew a place where he could quietly capture him. Judas know Jesus so well he knew that he would on this evening, on the sacred evening of celebrating the Passover, he would gather his disciples in a place of quiet and calm and pray. I know where to catch him, in prayer. And so he led the troops there. Verse three we read, then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Judas is leading the way. We're told he received these troops. And if you look carefully, he received a detachment. That's basically the Roman cohort. A Roman cohort was could be as many as a thousand troops, typically about 600. It could be reduced to four, at minimum, 200 troops. A Roman force was set in the fortress, the Antonia Fortress, right next to the Temple Mount. They were on the ready during the Passover. The Passover was for one thing it was a gathering of all these Jews and it was a time of national identity. It's kind of like their Independence Day as they remember the exodus from Egypt and that could lead to riots and so Pontius Pilate made a point of having the troops on the ready there in Jerusalem lest a riot erupt. And so Judas receives a troop of at least 200 Roman soldiers. but we're told also and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. Now this could be some of their servants and some of their officials and or maybe some of the temple guard as well. And this crowd, this military force came with lanterns and torches and weapons. The weapons, that's part of a military police force if you will. The lanterns and torches were in case he tried to run away, hide among the trees, hide there in that dark valley, perhaps a cave. They were ready to search him out. And they were ready because they had seen that same Mount of Olives. They had seen the crowds exuberant to visit Jesus. And here all these Galileans who were talking about Jesus were in town. So the Romans came ready. for whatever may come and that's why they had a heavy force of troops to seize Jesus that night. In verse 4 we read, in verses 4 to 9 we see of Judas, Jesus confronts the troops that Judas was leading. In verse 4, Jesus therefore knowing all things that would come upon him went forward and spoke to them. John reminds us who Jesus is. He knew all things that would come upon him. He's God. There are no surprises. One of the things John wants us to understand about the garden and the cross is this was not a surprise. It was not a mistake. It was not a failure, it was not that Jesus or God was somehow overwhelmed or tricked. This is the plan. God is in complete control and the Lord Jesus Christ is in control. Knowing all things that would come upon him, Jesus went out to meet this army. It must have been a raucous group that came to that garden. He went forth and said to them, whom are you seeking? He knew that too. Remember we've often given you that little proverb, when God asks a question, it's not because he needs information. Whom are you seeking? He wants them to say it. And one reason he wants them to say it, he wants them in a sense to say, you know, what authority do you have on your warrant? We're coming for Jesus of Nazareth and that's going to be important because he's going to basically say, you came for me, you didn't come for these with me. I'm your man. So from the very beginning, why are you here? See, the Romans, they ruled by power and by excess. And so the most natural thing in the world would have been for them to come in in that force, seize everyone in the garden. If you read in the gospel of Mark, they seized one young man and seized him by his cloak so that he had to run off and leave his clothes behind. We assume that was probably Mark. He remembers the event but didn't want to identify himself. But in other words, they were trying to see, as the disciples were scattering, who are you? We're going to grab you too. So he wanted to say, why are you here? You're coming for me. Your business is with me. Or Jesus could have said, my business is with you. So he said, whom are you seeking? Verse 5, they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am. Now in my text, the he is in italics and probably in yours as well. That's significant. When it's in italics, that means that it's not in the original text. And so when Jesus says, you're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, he says, I am. Now you'll recall that that is really, we've seen all through the gospel of John, this is the name of God. Back in Exodus when Moses was being called by God to go and deliver the Israelites and tell them God wants them to leave Egypt and he's bringing them to the promised land. He's going to say, they're going to ask me, what's the name of you? What is your name? Who are you? There were lots of gods talked about in Egypt and God said, I'll tell you my name. I am who I am tell them I am has sent you. That's of course was said in Hebrew but it's translated in the ancient Greek text 200 years before Christ. And that Greek phrase is exactly the Greek phrase he uses here a go a me I am. We're looking for Jesus of Nazareth and he stands before them and says I am. and were reminded, and Judas who betrayed him also stood with them." The arresting force is clear, they're looking for Jesus the Nazarene. To many that would be laughable, a Nazarene. Remember, the disciples said, can anything good come out of Nazareth? I mean, Nazareth? We're here arresting a Nazarene? If you were to go back to Nazareth in the days of Jesus, literally, now if you go to Nazareth today, there's a lot going on there. Because it's a tourist place, it's a place where there's, this is the church where this happened, this is the church where this happened. It's quite a bustling town today. In the days of Jesus, literally, it had been a few families. In the writings of the time, no one even mentions Nazareth. Have you ever gone someplace and you're looking on the map and it's just not there? It's so insignificant. Of course, nowadays with these maps, you can keep zooming in. Oh, well, there it is. There it is. Nazareth would have been one of those. And you can, if someone are making an app, they would say, why would I waste ink on Nazareth? Jesus, the Nazarene. Jesus stood before them openly and boldly identified himself. And he seems to be in charge. He commands them. Now, when he said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Some have tried to explain what happened there. Jesus got up and spoke. And again, may I say, they weren't used to people coming out and presenting themselves for the arrest. Usually, you had to hunt them out, find out who he was. The last thing they expected is that Jesus would just come out of the garden and say, I'm the one you're looking for. Now, when he says, I am, it says, they drew back and fell to the ground. Some want to say that that was just a natural response. They were surprised by what he said. The guys in the front of the line stepped back, and the guys behind them started tripping, and before you know it, they all fell to the ground. Kind of sounds like an episode from the Keystone Cops, or maybe the Three Stooges, and some of you ancient ones will know what I'm talking about. But it sounds almost like a comical piece, not reality. First thing to remember is these were Roman soldiers. These were some of the fiercest fighters in the world. And these had been shipped into Israel. to deal with issues of conflict. They even, the Roman soldiers were famous for the shoes they wore that kind of dug in, kind of like so many athletes that have, you know, spikes and things. They had special shoes just so you wouldn't lose your footing. No, I don't think they would have tripped all over themselves because someone identified themselves. And that also doesn't fit with what John is trying to say. As he who was God in the flesh came forth and spoke the name of God, I am. The force of his presence knocked them to the ground. One of the guys I like to read sometimes is J. Vernon McGee. And again, I can't read him without hearing his voice. I wish I could imitate his voice. Even in this dark hour when he was yielding himself as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, he revealed his deity and they fell backwards. He revealed to these men that he was absolutely in charge and they could not arrest him without his permission. They didn't fall forward to worship him. They fell backward in fear and in absolute dismay. Again, he's making it sure he's in charge, he's in control. This is his plan. I have to wonder about those soldiers. Again, these were experienced troops. They'd been in different parts of the Roman Empire on all kinds of assignments. This had never happened to them before. And as they fell to the ground by the power of his word, I wonder what they said to each other as they walked away. I wonder if they had any pause about arresting this man. And I wonder if they, when they got back to the fort, they started talking to each other. When we fell down, did you feel that? Did you feel a push? Did you feel a power? Have you ever seen someone arrested act like him? I wonder if some of those eventually came to faith because we know eventually many Roman soldiers came to faith in the first century and that was part of God's missionary force. As the Roman emperor sent them all through the empire, believing troops brought the gospel with them. Maybe some of them were in that group that night that couldn't shake. Something different happened. Of course, the next day, remember the Roman centurion will see Jesus die and what will he say? Surely, this is the Son of God. Well, verses 7, 8, and 9, then he asked them again, whom are you seeking? And they said, Jesus, the Nazarene. Literally, that's how you say it, not of Nazareth, the Nazarene. And Jesus answered, I've told you that I am. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way, those disciples. that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke of those of those whom you gave me I've lost none. He's in command. They came for him to accomplish his purposes but he is what he said he was from the beginning back in chapter 10 of John. I am the good shepherd the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep and so he gives himself and says you take me you don't need to take them. And what's interesting is how John describes it that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke. Normally you would say the saying might be fulfilled which was written. He's kind of describing the teaching of Jesus as if it was scripture. It is, it's God's word. And so God's word was fulfilled, none was lost except of course for Judas who was never a part of them really. Imagine, why would he care about that? Well, what would have happened if the Romans captured them? The apostles likely would have been crucified with Jesus and Jesus had other plans for them. They were going to eventually be empowered by the Holy Spirit and sent into the world with the gospel. No, Jesus had to protect them and so he did and gave himself to be seized instead. Then we see Peter attacking the slave. Oh, there's always Peter who livens up the event. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? Peter didn't get the memo. Now Jesus had been telling them, we're going to Jerusalem, I'm going to be crucified, I'll rise again on the third day. I remember when Jesus earlier on had told them that, Peter, what did he say? Oh, no, no, Jesus, don't you talk like that. And Jesus had to say, get behind me, Satan. You're not talking like my father, you're talking like the devil. This is God's plan. What is Peter thinking? He pulls out a sword, it's a short sword, and he, is he gonna, with his one sword, take on at least 200 Roman soldiers, and a detachment of temple guards, all by himself? He wasn't very good, he was a fisherman. He could throw nets and draw them in very well. He was surely strong and able, but apparently when he struck at the servant's head, the best he could do is got his ear. So he was not the trained warrior the Roman soldiers were. What was he thinking? Well, I think that's the question really should be, was he thinking? Again, I want to quote an older, writer H.A. Arnside. Somebody has said often we are like Peter. How busy we keep the Lord putting on the ears that we cut off. We do not mean to do it perhaps, but we go around saying such unkind, foolish things that we injure people instead of helping them. I'm sure that Peter would have had great difficulty in leading Malchus to Christ after cutting off his ear. Good advice from McGee, don't cut people's ears off and then expect them to hear your message. The other gospels record this event. Only John gives names, Peter the offender, Malchus the victim. It's been suggested, you know, John writes at a very late time in his life. By now, Peter has already died. And so by naming him as the perpetrator, he's not subjecting him to being arrested. Now we can put out his name. Why he includes the name of Malchus, I don't know. We understand that Peter, I mean John, he knew the high priest. You can see that in verse, we'll get there eventually, in John 18, 15. Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. Whenever John doesn't name a disciple, he's usually speaking of himself. He never names himself in his gospel. Now that disciple, John, was known to the high priest. And he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. So he knew the high priest family. And so he may have known Malchus, who he was. There's another possibility that's in the back of my mind. I can't prove it. But maybe, you know, that must have had an impact on Malchus as well. He would have been one of those knocked down by the I Am. And then when he was struck with the sword, and Jesus put his ear back on his head, I have to wonder if he, like some of those Roman soldiers were thinking, I'm not sure I wanna be a part of this assignment. Who is this? He has such power, he can knock down a Roman cohort, he can put an ear back on without a thought. Who is this that willingly surrenders? Maybe Malchus came to faith later on. And so maybe that's why John names him, because some of them would have known. Are you kidding? It was Malchus? And again, I like to think of maybe this being read in a church somewhere in the first century, and you know how it is in church. You lean down the pew and you look at Malchus. There it is. There's his right ear. I can see it. It looks, frankly, it looks better than his left ear. It's interesting, the only one who tells us about the healing of that ear John tells us about it being cut off but it's not surprising, it's Luke the physician that has to throw in that detail. Luke knows how hard it would be to put an ear back on and so he makes a point of noticing Jesus picked it up and just put it back on. And so Jesus said to Peter, put your sword in the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? God has poured out a cup for me. Remember earlier, the other Gospels tell us how Jesus says, Lord, if there's any way this cup could be taken from me. But thy will be done. And he could have added, as we discussed in eternity past, this is the plan. Am I eager to drink the cup of your wrath? No, I am willing to drink the cup of your wrath. And so Peter is told by Jesus, put your knife away. I'm here on a mission. Shall I not do God's will? As we look at this passage of scripture, John, God is showing us two sides of Jesus in one. He's the lion of the tribe of Judah. He can conquer a Roman cohort with a word, too. I am. But he's also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And John wants us to completely understand. that this is God at work, not Caesar, not Pilate, not the Sanhedrin. This is God's plan and those others are instruments in the plan but this is God's plan to accomplish God's purpose. It's not a failing, it's a victory but at an incredible cost. John is the one in his gospel more than any other that emphasizes the deity of Christ. I've already mentioned at the beginning and at the end of the book as he says in John chapter 8, you honor Abraham. Before Abraham was, there it is again, I am. He is God. John wants us to understand The one who is going to die on that cross is God in the flesh. He's not just a fine teacher. He's not just a good man. Remember when the one comes up to Jesus and says, good teacher, and he stops him right in his place and says, good teacher. There's no one good except God. There's a hint. He doesn't say that he's not good. He just says, what are you saying? If you're calling me good to be accurate, I'd have to be God. But he's more than just a good man, a great rabbi, a noble teacher. He is God in the flesh. He's powerful. He's divine and man. He's in control and accomplishing his father's purpose. And John wants us to understand. that he will empty the cup of God's wrath. He will take it all down, willingly, for us. Again, Ironside first quoting a song and then he has some remarks. Death and the curse were in that cup. Christ was t'was full for thee. But thou hast drained the last dark dregs. Tis empty now. for me. There's no other wrath left for us who know Christ as Savior. And this is what we remember when we gather at the table of the Lord. We think of him, our blessed Savior, going to that cross and draining the cup of judgment to the dregs. If that cup had been placed at our lips, it would have taken all eternity to empty it. But he drank it all in those three hours of darkness on the tree, the cup which my father hath given me. Shall I not drink it? In that garden, his intention was to go to the cross and drink deeply of the wrath of God in our place. He was the only sinless one, holy and pure, the only one on the face of the planet and all of mankind who could be without sin and yet he bore the wrath of God, the infinite wrath of God in our place that we might bear his righteousness in his place. If you have yet to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, see who Jesus is. God in the flesh, the great I am, and see what he offers. Full forgiveness. If you have yet to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, recognize that cup is yours, that wrath is yours. And flee to Christ for his forgiveness in life. For those of us who know Christ as Savior, How appropriate we come to the Lord's table. Let me pray briefly. And then we will pray together, Father. We thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ. So powerfully. So humbly. There in the garden. assuring us of his love for us, his love for you and his willingness, his joyful willingness to bear our guilt and shame and condemnation that we might be forgiven. Father, fill our hearts with wonder and praise and adoration. And if any who have yet to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and hearing these words, Father, open their eyes to see a Savior. Give them grace to trust in him. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen.