Go ahead and open your Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 18. John, chapter 18. We've titled this lesson, The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus. John, chapter 18. We're gonna begin in verse one, and we will go through to verse 14. Give ear now to God's word. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with his disciples across the Kidron, and there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he, so if you seek me, let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken of those whom you gave me. I have lost not one. 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 its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me? So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God abides forever. So we're looking today at what should be a relatively famous scene in the arrest of Jesus. It's a scene that's covered in all four gospels, although John does put his own emphasis here. You'll notice that The garden of Gethsemane, for example, is not referenced explicitly, but that is the garden on the other side of the brook kid drawn. The famous scene of Jesus praying to the Father, asking that the cup may pass from him, yet if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. And sweating as though there were drops of blood, as Luke records for us in his gospel. in John's writing, not because it didn't happen, but because John is writing, in some cases, up to 20 years after the synoptics. He's assuming your familiarity there with, and he's trying to provide additional details. In my study of this text, there's one particular portion of scripture that came to mind, and I don't know if you do this, but I do. Sometimes when I'm reading narratives in the Bible, historic narratives, events that happen, I think, How would the caption read on this? If this was a picture that was hanging in a museum, what would the biblical caption be on that? For example, there's the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus is there, and Moses and Elijah are speaking with him. I often think of Romans chapter three, where the righteousness of God is manifest in him, the law and the prophets bearing witness to it. Here, I think if there was a biblical caption to this scene, it would be Proverbs 28 and verse 1, which reads, The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. And thinking about the reality of what it's like to be sinner and I'm sure that I'm not alone in a room like this I'm sure that we're all here as sinners sometimes particularly if you're hiding or nurturing a sin in your own life there's a tendency to fear irrationally that that you'll be found out and you will be found out by the Lord but there's a fear to think that everything you do everyone's aware There's a fearfulness that we have even when no one's looking for us. But the righteous, the Lord Jesus, in the face of those who are pursuing him, remains as bold as a line, as indeed the line of the tribe of Judah. And so what we're gonna look at today, as we look at this betrayal and arrest of Jesus, we're gonna look at it in kind of three segments. There's Jesus's preparation in verses one to three. There's the confrontation itself in verses four to 11, and there's a justification, by which I mean a reason, for all of this that's given in verses nine through 14. So you see there's also a little bit of an overlap between the second and third section. Again, preparation, verses one to three, confrontation, verses four to 11, and then justification, or reason, in verses nine to 14. Let's look first at the preparation. Let's look at how Jesus prepares for this confrontation versus how Judas does. Jesus, it says, leads his disciples across the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, in which he and his disciples entered. Now, again, I've already alluded to this in the introduction. What do we know from the other Gospels that Jesus is doing in this garden? What do we know that Jesus is doing in this garden? What do you think, Mr. Bombaro? He was praying. That's right. He was praying. He was communing with his father and he was praying earnestly that the desires and the burdens of his heart that this cup might pass from him. He was, he was praying. that there might be some other way by which God could achieve the salvation of his people. And the answer, of course, is no. And we see his resolve towards that answer at the end of this passage, or at the end of verse 11, where he says, shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me? He gets the answer. The answer is no. But what else is important about the prayer is not only does he bear his heart to his father, but we read in Luke's record of this prayer that the father sends an angel to strengthen and build him up, equipping him, not for the change of his circumstances, the circumstances are what they are, but to strengthen him to endure them. And that's one thing that I would commend to you all, as I often commend to you the necessity of prayer for your own spiritual lives, is that oftentimes we think, well, I pray and it didn't work because I prayed that such and such would happen and it didn't happen. I prayed that this person would be delivered from their affliction and they weren't delivered. I prayed that I would be delivered from my circumstances and I wasn't delivered. So prayer doesn't work. That's a way that a lot of people think. Jesus prayed that the cup would pass. The cup did not pass, but what he got was the strength not to change his circumstances, but to endure and persevere through them. This is what we're looking for in prayer. It is not just that God would change our circumstances, though there's nothing wrong with praying for that and asking for that, and sometimes, by His grace, He will be pleased to do so. But we pray also for strength to endure. You know, I hear stories of Christians in house churches in China and other places like that, and they say, don't pray for persecution to end. because the persecution is actually being used to strengthen the church. Pray that we would be strengthened through it. That's how Jesus is preparing for this confrontation. He's going to his Father in prayer, and he's being nurtured and nourished and strengthened by his loving Father. Now, how does Judas prepare for this confrontation? Well, his preparation includes a couple things. First of all, he gathers to himself a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees. The word here for a band of soldiers means a platoon. Does anyone know how many soldiers are in a platoon? I know that we're maybe a little lazy on our, or a little hazy rather on our first century Roman military strategy and history, but, but it means a thousand. Now, rarely were platoons at full strength. So conservative commentators estimate this is probably between six and 700. Nonetheless, six to 700 armed soldiers, along with some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees. So we're talking, if not a thousand, you could round up to come after one man. Why? Why? Why all this? Well, it's been a long time in our study of John's gospel since we were there, but it was just a week ago, in the time of these events, that Jesus, by the word of his power, raised a man from the dead. And word of something like that spreads quickly. They know that this is a powerful man that they are going after. In fact, so prevalent was that reporting of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus that we read actually at the end of, I believe it's chapter 12, that the Pharisees, when they begin the plot to kill Jesus, they also begin a plot to kill Lazarus as well to kind of squash this whole thing. They send nearly a thousand armed men to arrest the Lord Jesus. because they trust not in, not in God, not in Christ, not in their need of a savior or else they would come and they would worship. Rather they trust in chariots and horses and in the ways of the world. This is the way the world always does battle. We do our battle through prayer. They do it through force. This is how the preparations go. Now let's look at the confrontation, even though they've gathered, Up to 700 men to come after the Lord Jesus. We see at the confrontation, Jesus merely speaks a word. Merely speaks. Says, who are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And he says in our ESV, I am he. The Greek there is ego, I me. I am, I am. Jesus speaks his deity. He says, I am. Who are you seeking? Jesus of Nazareth. I am. He's not saying that's me. He takes upon him the name of God that God gives to Moses in the Exodus chapter three. And the men, they fall back to the ground. They're trembling in fear, despite their great outnumbering. Why? Because they know they're dealing with something that is greater than themselves. Three times, actually, verses five, six, and eight, Jesus declares, I am. And what we see here is despite the fact that they are going to take him into custody, and we're going to read about how they take him to Annas and to Caiaphas and ultimately to Pilate and all these things, and they ultimately are going to crucify him, they're going to carry out their orders. That is only because Jesus gives himself over to them. With one word, he could call out and legions of angels could come and take care of this very quickly. Jesus says, no man takes my life from me, but I lay it down freely that I might take it up again. Why does he lay down his life freely? Because his eye is to the protection and the care of his people. That's why he says, if it's me that you're seeking, let these other men go. And notice how even in the shadow of the cross, His mind and his heart are to protect his people. John records this is the means by which he fulfilled what he had spoken. Of those whom you gave me, I have lost none, verse nine. Where did Jesus say that? Of those whom you gave me, I have lost none. You're allowed to check the reference suite in your Bible. John 18, nine, of those whom you gave me, I have lost none. Where did Jesus say that? Someone who hasn't answered yet. Yes, Andrew? John 17, 12. John 17, 12. Of all whom you have given me, I have lost none. Now, what's the context of John 17, 12? The high priestly prayer. The high priestly prayer. Jesus prays in that prayer that of all whom the Father has given him, that he would lose none except the son of perdition, Judas, who's there to betray him on the other side. And notice again how Jesus, prays, and then he acts in accord with that prayer. He prays, Father, keep my people, keep your people whom you have given me that not one would be lost, and then he acts as though he expects God to do so. And that's another good model for our own prayers, not only praying primarily for strength, yes, pray for the circumstance to change, but also pray for strength amidst the circumstance, but also expect God to act. You are often going to be the answer to your own prayers. I pray that the Lord would save my children. I pray that my children, my daughter who was born last week, I pray that she would be born again. How's that going to happen? Because I'm going to read the Bible to her, and I'm going to pray for her, and I'm going to teach her the doctrines of our religion. I'm going to keep the vows that I'm going to make at her baptism in a month or six weeks or whenever it happens. Not that I'm the one who saves her, but I'm the one employing the means that God uses for salvation. Does that make sense? Now, that's just one example. You pray that the Lord would do something. You pray that the Lord would bless somebody, and then you seek to be that blessing. That's what Jesus says here. He prays that all who the Father has given him, that not one would fall away, and then he protects them. He watches over them. And this is a particularly important context because some commentators, they'll look at this and they'll say, well, John's confused. because he's citing Jesus's prayer in John 17, which is about salvation, saving from sin, perseverance of the saints, the beloved pee from our tulip. And he says that in Jesus saying to the guards, let these men go, sparing their physical lives, how does John see that as fulfilling this prayer over here about their spiritual well-being? I think actually Dr. Phillips probably gives the best answer on this. It's because had the disciples at this point been arrested, had the disciples at this point before having seen the resurrected Christ, before having eaten with him, before having had the 40 days of his teaching and his ascension, had they had to endure the sufferings and the persecutions at this point, they would have cracked. I think it's virtually certain. Peter is going to crack in the next passage, not in the face of Roman guards and soldiers, but in the face of a 12 year old girl. No disrespect to those of you who were not too long ago, 12 year old girls, but he's a grown man and he should not be afraid of you, okay? And what a blessing it is to know that God will always protect his people. even from trials that they cannot endure. And knowing also that that means that the trials that you're in, he will persevere you through. He would not give it to you if he did not intend to preserve you through it. Jesus protects his people in the midst of the congregation. And he says, he, and then he speaks. So we've got Jesus's words of power. I am he, his words of protection, let these men go. And then we have his words of peace. He says to Peter, Peter grabs out his sword and he cuts off Malchus's ear. If you ever want to give Dr. Phillips a hard time, ask him who was the man who Peter cut off the ear of, because that's the one question he missed on his licensure and ordination exams. But he knows it now, it's Malchus. I missed more than one, so full disclosure. But Jesus says, in this moment where Peter is going the way of the world and he's trying to wage this battle, Not according to the spirit, but according to the ways of the world, Jesus said to Peter, put your sword in its sheath, put it away. That's not how we're doing this. And then again, we read in a different gospel, Luke 21, 51, 22, 51, that Jesus takes the ear and heals the man. He's a God of peace. He's a God who does good even to those who are in the midst of afflicting him, who are in the midst of persecuting him or in the midst of hating him at the right time, Christ died for his enemies, Romans chapter five tells us. And this reminds us as well that we are not to engage with the world on the world's terms. Rather, we engage the world and we seek to do them good by the spreading of the gospel of peace, being kind to those who are wicked to us. And then finally, we have in our passage here, the justification for all of these events. Why is all of this happening? It's in verses nine to 14. We look at verse nine. First of all, this was to fulfill the word that he had spoken of those whom you gave me. I have lost not one. Now we already talked about this verse a little bit and we talked about in the context of, of Jesus answering his own prayer. Jesus, Seeking an opportunity to protect those who have been entrusted to him, but it's also in that bigger context How is it? How is it that Jesus can be sure how is it that you can be sure that you will not fall away? Because Jesus allowed himself to be arrested and because Jesus allowed himself to be led to the cross, because Jesus allowed his blood to be shed for your sins. You've been ransomed, not by perishable things such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Christ as that of a lamb without spot or blemish. There is power in the blood of Christ, and it's by the shedding of that blood that you, who have trusted in it, who have been washed who have been cleansed, who have been sanctified, can be sure that you will not fall away, because he prayed that it would not happen, and he provided the means by which it would not happen. This happened, all of this betrayal, all of this arrest, to fulfill the purposes of God, the saving of his people. Secondly, the justification, the reason, the other reason we see is in verse 11, the end of the verse, shall I not drink the cup that my father has given to me? So the first reason that this happens is to fulfill the words of Scripture, to fulfill the prayers of Christ. But secondly, to satisfy the Father. To satisfy the Father. The Scripture speaks of two cups often, especially in the Old Testament. There's a cup of God's grace. We see this in like Psalm 23, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. There's also the cup of the Lord's wrath. Why does Jesus have to die for sin? This is a question that my son asks often, and so I'm going to ask you. Why does Jesus have to die for sin? He asked last night, why can't God look at sin? What would you say? Because he's perfect and holy. Because he's perfect and holy? Okay. Sin has to be paid for. You can't just wish away the payment. It has to be paid for. And because, like Matthew said, Jesus is perfect. He was the only person who could fulfill the payment. Yeah, that's exactly right. So God is a perfect, holy, just God. And a just judge must punish Sin. Jesus, being the perfect holy one of God, is the only one who could pay for sin on behalf of his people. So that's exactly right. I want to press a little bit further, though. What is it about sin that is such an affront to God? Cole? It goes against his nature. It goes against his nature? Yes. What else could we say? How else could we put it? Sin is any violation of God's nature. All right, let's think this way. Why does every human being have dignity, worth, and value? Because God put it there. Because God put it there. Okay. What's the biblical expression I'm looking for in Genesis 1, verse 26? Because we're made in his image. Because we're made in his image. Now, When we're made in his image, we're made to reflect him, to be like him, to represent him to the world. And when we sin and go against his character, we are rebelling against him. We are shaking our fists at him and we're saying, I'm not going to be like you. I know what's better than you do. Sin in all of its forms is cosmic treason. It's not just something God doesn't like. It's wicked and evil rebellion committed against your creator. That's why it must be punished. It must be stopped. And that's why there's the cup of God's wrath that must be poured out on it. So why was Jesus arrested and betrayed? Because he was going to satisfy God's justice on behalf of those whom he loves. He took the cup of the wrath that was yours and mine to drink to the dregs. And he did it on our behalf, in our behalf, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, you might become the righteousness of God. So why was Christ, what's the justification? It's to fulfill the prayers, it's to satisfy the wrath. And then finally, as we've already alluded to, it's to gather and save his people. We read this in verse 14. Backing up to verse 13. First they led him to Annas, where he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Now again, I know this was a long time ago in our study of John's gospel, but it has only been a week So since the raising of Lazarus, so let's flip flip back in your Bible to John chapter 11 Because that's what that's what John's alluding to in chapter 18 is these words of Caiaphas from John chapter 11 Where we read John 11 and verse 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all. He's speaking in the context of those who are seeking to arrest and kill Jesus. You know nothing at all, nor do you understand. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people not that the whole nation itself should perish. Verse 51, he did not say this of his own accord, but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one, the children of God who've been scattered abroad. In other words, Caiaphas, not meaning to, gives the reason. It is expedient, it is profitable, it is beneficial that one should die for the many. That one should die for his people. That one should die, in this case, for the church. That's what's meant by, and gathering into one, not just the Israelites, not just the Jews, but into one all the children of God who are spread abroad. You and I are here today because of the effectual power of the blood of Christ poured out on the cross. that led to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and the advance of the gospel of that kingdom from Judea to Samaria to the ends of the world. That's why you and I are here today on the other side of the world from where these events happened 2,000 years later. Because it was expedient that one should die for the many, that one should die for the saving and the gathering. That's the word I'm really trying to highlight here. To gather into one, verse 52 of John chapter 11, the children of God who are scattered abroad. John 12, so flip over, or maybe it's on the same page for you. John 12, in verse 32, Jesus says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Again, why is Jesus giving himself over to be arrested? Because he knows this leads to the cross. And that when he is lifted up, when he is on the cross, he will draw all of his people. not one will fail to come unto himself. And then lastly, John 17, back in the prayer, the high priestly prayer, John 17 and verse 22, Jesus says, the glory you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, for the saving and the gathering into one of his people. That's why Jesus, who is God in the flesh, who at the word of his power is able to cause this legion of soldiers who have come to arrest him to fall on their face, gives himself over for the gathering of his people. Let's pray. God in heaven, we give thanks to you for your word. We thank you for these familiar passages and familiar scenes that teach us afresh these great truths of the power of your son, the protection he offers and the peace of his gospel, that he is fulfilled, All your word is spoken, that he has satisfied the wrath of your justice against our sin, and that he has even saved and gathered us to be his people. Lord, I do pray for my dear friends, that you would cause them to wonder in amazement at the glory of your son, who loved us and gave himself for us. And it is in his name we pray, amen.