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Open your Bibles, please, to
John 18. We'll make it our goal this morning,
Lord willing, to try to understand what's going on in verses 1-11
of John 18. I'll give you a little heads
up right now that there's going to be a fair amount of scriptural
background before we even get into the text this morning. I
will begin by reading verses 1-11 of John 18, and then we'll
pray as always for God's enabling grace. Beginning in verse 1 we
read, when Jesus had spoken these words, probably referring to
the teaching, the entirety of his teaching in the upper room
that has been recorded, especially in chapters 14, beginning in
13, but especially chapters 14-17. In fact, some of the words in
chapter 17 from his prayer are going to be recalled by John
in this passage. So when Jesus had spoken these
words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where
there was a garden. We know that this garden was
the Garden of Gethsemane from the other gospel accounts, which
he and his disciples entered. And Judas, who had 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, 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."
Literally, it's Jesus the Nazarene in the Greek text. It means Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he.
And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with Him. 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 others 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 its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which
my father has given me? Let's pray. Holy Father, We ask
for your guidance this morning and for your help to understand
your word. As always, we come before you humbly recognizing
that aside from the work of your Holy Spirit, in, with, by, through
the word in our hearts, we would never have come to see or enter
the kingdom. It is by your grace alone that we are saved, through
Christ alone. And so we come to you this morning
dependent upon your grace and always dependent upon the work
of Your Spirit to enlighten our minds, to enable us to understand
what You want us to understand of Your Word this morning. So
we pray, Lord, that You will do this for us. And we pray that
as a result, we might become more like Christ in all the ways
that we're supposed to. That we might be better witnesses
for Him and for Your Kingdom in this world. We ask these things
in the name of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. You notice there as I read the
text, we ended there with Jesus asking Peter a rhetorical question,
shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me? And that's
sort of the climax of this portion of the passage here. But in order
to understand what Jesus is really communicating there, It's important
that we understand the background for the imagery that he's employing. The Old Testament prophecies,
for example, contain a particular metaphor which speaks of the
judgment of God for our sins. It repeatedly refers to those
who are judged by God as drinking the cup of his wrath. It's fairly
common. metaphor in certain judgment
passages in the Old Testament. I'll give you a couple of examples
of what I mean. Beginning in Psalm 75. I'll read
Psalm 75 verses 4 through 8. Which says this, I said to the
boastful, do not deal boastfully. And to the wicked, do not lift
up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high. Do not speak with
a stiff neck. For exaltation comes neither
from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is
the judge. He puts down one and exalts another. For in the hand of the Lord there
is a cup, and the wine is red. It is fully mixed, and He pours
it out. Surely its dregs shall all the
wicked of the earth drain and drink down." There's a cup of
judgment that God is going to force the wicked to drink. Isaiah
51.17 says, Awake! Awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem,
who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury.
Or as the ESV has it, the cup of His wrath. You have drunk
the dregs of the cup of trembling and drained it out. It's talking
about the judgment that had come upon God's people as they're
having been forced to drink the dregs of the cup of trembling,
the cup of His wrath. Similar imagery is taken up later
on in the book of Revelation when it talks about God's judgment
on those who worship the beast, for example, in Revelation 14.
And in Revelation 14 verses 9 through 11 we're told, Then a third angel
followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the
beast in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or in
his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath
of God. which is poured out full strength
into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire
and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends
forever and ever. And they shall have no rest day
or night who worship the beast in his image and whoever receives
the mark of his name." That's referring to judgment at the
end times as the drinking of the cup of God's wrath. You see,
this cup of God's wrath is what everyone deserves to drink. All
the wicked deserve to drink this cup. All those who did not look
to God for salvation. Now, Lord Jesus, of course, also
took up the metaphor of the cup of God's wrath, which He knew
He would have to drink for our sakes when He died on the cross
as a propitiation for our sins. You see, as Christians, we don't
fear having to drink the cup of God's wrath. because Jesus
has already drunk that entire cup for us. This is what Jesus had in mind,
I think, when He prayed concerning the cup that He desired to be
taken from Him, if it were possible. In fact, He prayed this earlier
on in the same evening, just preceding the events that we're
reading about here in John 18. Between, sometime between, having
left the upper room and the events we're reading here, Jesus had
prayed three times that the Lord might take a particular cup from
him, if it's possible. For example, in Matthew 26, beginning
in verse 36, we're told that Jesus came with them to a place
called Gethsemane. This is the same garden that
John is talking about, where Jesus is later arrested. And
he said to the disciples, sit here while I go and pray over
there. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee.
These would be James and John, of course, the same John who
wrote the Gospel of John. And Jesus began to be sorrowful
and deeply distressed. And then He said to them, My
soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and
watch with Me. And He went a little farther
and fell on His face and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass from Me. What cup is He talking about? What's He looking forward to
in the coming hours? Death on the cross. But we know,
from the implications of this metaphor that he's using, if
we understand it in terms of Scripture, and we know because
of the way, for example, the Apostle Paul describes his death
as a propitiation for sinners in Romans 3, we know that the
most horrific thing that happened on the cross wasn't anything
physical. As bad as all that was, it was the fact that the
wrath of God was being poured out on him, and there can be
no doubt that when he refers to a cup here, that's the cup
he's talking about. He says though, nevertheless,
not as I will, but you will. In other words, he willingly
offers himself as the one to drink this cup. Then he came
to the disciples and found them asleep and said to Peter, What?
Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray lest you
enter into temptation. which he knows is going to happen
to Peter and the other disciples soon. Lots of temptation. He
says, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And again,
a second time he went and prayed, saying, O my father, if this
cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will
be done. And he came and found them asleep
again, for their eyes were very heavy. So he left them and went
away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words. seen in our previous study of
John's Gospel, our Lord Jesus taught that he himself had the
power to lay down his life for the sheep. When Jesus prays this
prayer, Father, if it's possible, remove this cup from me, nevertheless
not my will, but thine be done, he's also willing to die. Remember
what he said when he talked about being the good shepherd who lays
down His life for the sheep in John 10. He said, for example,
in John 10, 15-18, as the Father knows me, even so I know the
Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep
I have which are not of this fold, thank God for that. That's
how you and I are saved. them also I must bring. And they
will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Therefore, my Father loves me, because I lay down my life that
I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This command I have received
from my Father." Well in advance of the events that are taking
place in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made it very clear to His
disciples that he was in complete control
of what was going on, even of his own death and resurrection. As we've also seen in our previous
study of John's Gospel, John presupposes that we've read these
other Gospel accounts. So he can have Jesus talking
about this cup without having given us this other background.
He assumes we already know it. And he chooses to focus his attention
primarily on the other teachings and events in the life of our
Lord Jesus that the synoptic Gospels didn't include, but which
the Holy Spirit made to stand out to him, apparently in a very
special way. Remember, Jesus said that the
Holy Spirit would later bring to mind all the things that he
taught. Well, there are certain things that he brought to John's
mind in a very special way that lead to differences and additions
in his Gospel to what we see in the other Gospels. But he
presupposes that we know those things. already. So, although the other Gospels
each include an account of Jesus' betrayal and arrest, John gives
his own presentation of the same account and emphasizes additional
details in a particular way. Presupposing, for example, that
we already know about Jesus' earlier prayer in the garden,
as he writes. And so he presupposes that we
understand how determined Jesus was to drink the cup of God's
wrath." And this is really what he emphasizes throughout the
passage we're about to read together and study together this morning.
I give you all this background so that when you come to this
passage with me, you'll see more clearly what I think the Holy
Spirit, through the Apostle John, wants us to see. And that is
that laced throughout this account, in these eleven verses, is Jesus'
determination to drink the cup of the Father's wrath for us. And His control over the events
that lead to that. Anyone who reads passages like
we're about to read more deeply here this morning, and comes
away thinking that Jesus was just some victim doesn't understand
what John is trying to get across at all. Jesus was not out of
control here. He was in complete control. So
determined was he to drink that cup, that it was not just his
father's will to drink, but his own will to drink. However horrific
the prospect was for him to drink it. Let's dive into the text
now with all this background in our heads and begin reading
again. I'll read the first couple of
verses again. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out
with his disciples over the book Kidron, where there was a garden,
which we know as Gethsemane, which he and his disciples entered.
And Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place. For Jesus
often met there with his disciples. The fact that Jesus went to a
place where he'd often met with his disciples shows his determination
to be arrested and killed so that through his death on
the cross he could endure the wrath of God on our behalf. Had
he not been willing to do this, arrested, falsely tried, and
killed as he knew he was going to be, and it frequently foretold, He wouldn't have gone to a place
where he knew Judas would easily find him in order to have him
arrested. Would he? He didn't avoid being arrested. He went to a place where he knew
Judas would find him so that he could be captured. As John has already told us,
back in chapter 13.1, Jesus knew that His hour had finally come,
that He should depart from this world to the Father. And then
He went on to foretell, prophetically, the very betrayal of Jesus that
we're reading about here by Judas in chapter 18. I'm going to back
up and read a portion of that for you, just to remind you What's
in the mind of Jesus when He decides, let's go back to Gethsemane.
Let's stay there tonight again. Right where Judas knows where
to find us. Why is He doing that? Well, in chapter 13, beginning
in verse 18, Jesus has talked about certain blessings. of those
who follow Him. And He says, I do not speak concerning
all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but
that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with Me has
lifted up his eel against Me. Now I tell you before it comes
to pass that when it does come to pass, you may believe that
I am He. And the He there is italicized.
It's I Am. That you may believe that I Am.
And remember when we studied that passage and others like
it, we saw that Jesus was deliberately calling Himself I Am. applying the divine name from
Exodus 3 to himself. I am that I am. Calling himself
the I am. And he wants them, when they
later on, see these things happen. Exactly what's happening in chapter
18, what's being recorded there. He wants them to remember that
he foretold this, and that he has supernatural knowledge of
these things in advance, and is in control of these things
when they happen. And he's not caught by surprise
at all. He wants them to know that and to think about, he really
is who he said he is. I am. He really is God. He really is in control of things.
That's what he wants them to be able to Think back and understand. He goes on to say, Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who receives me, or excuse me, he who receives
whomever I send receives me, and he who receives me receives
him who sent me. When Jesus had said these things,
he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, Most assuredly,
I say to you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples
looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. They all
knew they were weak and could be the guy. Nether was leaning on Jesus,
who was one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. And Simon Peter
therefore mentioned to him to ask who it was of whom he spoke.
Wouldn't you want to know if he were there? Then leaning back
on Jesus' breast, he said to him, Lord, who is it? And Jesus
answered, It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I
have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas
Iscariot." That's the Judas in John 18. the son of Simon. Now, after
the piece of bread, Satan entered him, that is Judas, and Jesus
said to him, what you do, do quickly. We know he did. Later on that same night, here
comes Judas, the betrayer, leading a whole bunch of people. So,
our Lord Jesus went to the place where Judas would have expected
to find Him, and he did so because he was following a plan. A plan
that had been foretold centuries before in the Old Testament.
A plan that he had just told them about earlier that same
night that included the very betrayal that was happening.
Here in chapter 18, Jesus was determined to drink the cup of
God's wrath. That meant getting arrested and
being betrayed by Judas. Then in verse 3 we read, Then
Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the
chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches,
and weapons. Here John tells us that there
were two groups that came to arrest Jesus. First he uses a
Greek word which refers to a Roman cohort. It's translated in the
New King James as a detachment of troops. This word technically refers
to a group of a thousand men in its original meaning, which
consisted of 760 foot soldiers and 240 cavalry, led by what
is called a kiliarkos, or a leader of a thousand. In fact, such
a leader is mentioned later in verse 12 and referred to as a
captain in the New King James Version, but the Greek word is
kiliarkos, this leader of a thousand. And that's what this detachment
would have been, this Roman cohort would have been, But such detachments
were rarely at full strength in terms of their original design.
In fact, in the first century, the guesstimate by most people
is that there were usually only about 600 men in one of these
cohorts, one of these Roman cohorts, even if their leader was still
called Achillearchos. And whether or not the full detachment
was present that night to arrest Jesus, we can't be absolutely
sure. The commander may have left some
behind when he came. But here's the thing, we may
assume that there were several hundred men here at least coming
to arrest Jesus. This isn't a small group of like
a dozen people. This is a very large number of
soldiers. As Andreas Kostenberger has pointed
out, the Romans could use surprisingly large numbers of soldiers even
in dealing with a single person, like the 470 soldiers protecting
Paul in Acts 23.23, especially when they feared a riot. Roman
troops were stationed in Caesarea, but during festivals they gathered
northwest of the temple by the fortress of Antonia. This enabled
the Romans to keep a close watch on the crowds during Jewish festivals
and to quell any mob violence at the outset. Why are there
so many soldiers on hand? For this very kind of thing,
what would have happened here? Well, the Jewish leaders would
have said, you know, there's this guy attracting all these crowds,
thousands of people at a time. This guy's a troublemaker. We
want him arrested. And they would easily have gotten
a Roman cohort to come with them to arrest him. Because if this
is a guy who's had so many people following him, so many people
interested in him, they don't know what they're going to run
into when they go out to meet him. They don't know that Jesus is ready and
willing to be arrested. So apparently they're assuming
the worst. And that's because they obviously
have never really listened, these Jewish leaders, to anything Jesus
really said about himself. And that's the second group.
that he mentions here, officers from the chief priests and the
Pharisees. These would essentially, most of them probably have been
temple police under the authority of the Jewish leaders. In fact,
one of them, as we'll find out, is a servant of the high priest
named Malchus, is a part of these people who come, probably to
go back later and inform the high priest of what everything
that had happened. He's probably there to keep tabs
for his master But they're probably mostly temple police who would
have sought out Roman support due to their fear of the crowds,
again, who had always surrounded and supported Jesus. At any rate,
here's something to keep in mind. The forces coming to arrest Jesus
would have been easily seen and heard. You've got several hundred
people coming. With enough torches for them
to see, and although this time of year there probably would
have been a full moon, down where they are in the lower part of
the Mount of Olives at night, in a garden, there are going
to be lots of dark places. If you're looking for someone,
you want lots of light. We don't know how many torches
there were, but you can imagine a large group of soldiers coming
with their armor and swords and stuff clanging, with torches
and lamps, this is not going to be what you call a stealth
movement. In other words, they would have heard and seen these
people coming for some way off probably. So they ran and hid,
right? Once again we see that Jesus
stays put. He could have gotten out of there.
If that had been his goal, so could the disciples. But they
didn't. And so we see again, his refusal
to get out well again, as good as they say, once again demonstrates
his determination to drink the cup of God's wrath for us. In verse 4 it says, Jesus therefore
knowing all things that would come upon him, We've already
seen that, right? In his previous teaching, he
knew exactly what was going to happen. He went forward and said
to them, whom are you seeking? So again we see he knew full
well what was going on, but this knowledge did not cause him to
flee. This is what was supposed to happen. In fact, not only
did he not flee or avoid these people, he went out to meet them. He offered Himself up. And He asked them whom they were
seeking, knowing, of course, that they were seeking Him. Because
He knows all things that are about to come upon Him. You think
He didn't know they were after Him? So why does He ask them? Who are you seeking? The answer,
I would say to that, is to make them say it. Why does He want
to make them say it? Well, we'll see that in verses
5 and 6. But once again, we see Jesus
is determined to drink the cup of the Father's wrath. He's not
going anywhere. In fact, He's going out to meet these people.
And then He asks, they answered Him, when He said, Whom are you
seeking? In verse 5, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them,
I am He. Now, in the New King James, that
He is italicized again, that means it's not there in the Greek. Jesus said to them, I am. And Judas, who betrayed Him,
also stood with them. If anybody else didn't understand
what Jesus meant here when He said, I am, Judas ought to have
understood it, for sure. He stood with them. Now when
He had said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Now, I've already highlighted
a little bit what Jesus meant when he used this phrase, I am.
And I think he has that meaning here, too, when he says, I am,
to them. I think there's a double meaning.
I think he's saying to them, I am Jesus of Nazareth, the guy
you're looking for. But when he just says, I am, the way he
says it, John, who's recorded these words so frequently of
Jesus, he wants us to see something a little bit deeper going on
here than just, yeah, I'm Jesus of Nazareth. He wants those who've
heard his past teaching to remember some other things that he said.
And some of these Jewish leaders and officers would no doubt have
heard some of his past teaching. For example, teaching like that
which was recorded in chapter 8, beginning of verse 54, when
Jesus says, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my
Father who honors me, of whom you say that He is our God. Or
your God, rather. Yet you have not known him, but
I know him. And if I say I do not know him,
I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it
and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, You
are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus
said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, Before Abraham
was, I am. That's a clear claim to deity,
pre-existence. Then they took up stones to throw
at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going
through the midst of them. Somehow he went right through
the midst of them, but hid himself from them. There's something
miraculous I think John wants to see there, and he passed by
them. So on this earlier occasion, our Lord taught, saying, before
Abraham was, I am. And I would argue that later
on when they say, When he says, whom are you seeking? And they
say, Jesus of Nazareth. And when he simply says, I am,
there are still the overtones of that in his intention. Some
of these people may have heard him say it before. These people
wanted to stone him. And Jesus isn't backing off of
that statement one bit. Because now they're supposed
to kill him. See, earlier, he avoided being arrested. Because
his hour had not yet come, as John told us several times. But
beginning in chapter 13.1, Jesus knew what? That his hour had
come. So the difference here isn't that suddenly the Jews
got better at catching Jesus. No. Jesus, it's time for him
to go to the cross now. And he's been in control all
along. Not them. Things are going according
to his timetable. Not theirs. Here you have it, though. Once
again, we see His claim to be I Am again, His refusal to flee,
His hour had come, and He was determined to drink the cup of
God's wrath for us. We see this in everything Jesus
is saying and doing, don't we? This determination. This is especially clear given
the fact that his claim to divinity, I think, was backed up here by
a display of his divine power. We cannot miss the fact that
when all of them, including Judas, who betrayed him, by the way,
drew back and fell to the ground, that this was not of their own
free will. There is one commentator who
is noted to have said, Somehow Jesus must have stepped forward
forcefully, and the first couple of guys jumped back, and then
they knocked into the next guy, into the next guy, and then they
all fell down. You know, like dominoes or something. That is
so silly, as though well-trained Roman soldiers couldn't stay
on their feet if one of them fell down. And here's the other thing. A
whole group of well-trained Roman soldiers and temple police are
not going to say, this guy told us who he was, oh no, let's fall
on the ground. No, what's happening here is
something that we can't explain other than it's supernatural.
Jesus is letting them all know as they're laying on the ground
there, if he goes it's because he wants to, not because anybody's
making him. Wouldn't that communicate that
to you? Certainly wouldn't it to me.
They didn't have any control in other words. They couldn't
even stand on their feet if Jesus didn't let them, let alone arrest
him. Such a display of power by Jesus
is seen by us and could only have been seen later by the disciples
as a clear affirmation of his earlier words when he said, Therefore,
my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, and He may take
it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This command I have received from my Father." He has the power
to lay them on the ground, too. And He makes His point very clearly
to them, doesn't He? He wants His disciples to look
back on this and say, Jesus told us all this. He exercised the
very power that He said that He had. And that we saw so frequently. So again, what do we see here?
We see that Jesus continues to demonstrate His determination
to drink the cup of God's wrath for us. He's in control of this. He wants
to do this. Verses 7-9 He asked them a second
time. And here's where we're going
to start to catch on to why he wants them to point out so clearly
that they're after him. 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. Therefore, if
you seek me, let these go their way. And by that, he must mean
the 11 who were there with him. And some others who were apparently
there. and had joined them. You look
at Mark's gospel, apparently he was around. And most people
believe the guy that fled naked was Mark, John Mark. But at least
the eleven, and maybe some other close disciples, were there,
and he's talking about them. And that the saying might be
fulfilled which he spoke, of those whom you gave me, I have
lost none. So when Jesus asks for a second
time, whom are you seeking? For a second time, he's getting
them to say, Jesus of Nazareth, to specify a particular person
that they're after. Why? So he could say, well, if
you're after me, and I'm who you really want, then you have
no need of these other people. He's doing it to protect his
disciples. As the Net Bible Notes observe,
The second time Jesus replied, I told you that I am he, identifying
himself as the one that they are seeking, Jesus also added,
if you're looking for me, let these men go. Jesus successfully
diverted attention from his disciples by getting the soldiers and officers
of the chief priests to admit twice that it is only him that
they're after. Even at this hour, Jesus still
protected and cared for his own, giving himself up on their behalf.
By handing himself over to his enemies, Jesus ensured that his
disciples went free. From the perspective of the author,
this is acting out beforehand what Jesus will actually do for
his followers when he goes to the cross." I think that's right,
don't you? I think that's exactly what's
going on here. I couldn't agree more. And I think such a perspective
is also made clear when after reporting Jesus' words, if you
seek me, let these go their way, John immediately adds, that this
was so that the saying might be fulfilled which he, meaning
Jesus, spoke, of those you gave me I have lost none." When did
he speak this? Well, I think this is a summary
of what he said in his High Priestly Prayer in John 17, verse 12,
where Jesus says to the Father, while I was with them in the
world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have
kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition,
meaning Judas, who's standing with the enemies at this point.
He says that the scripture might be fulfilled. Thus Jesus kept his word concerning
his protection of his disciples and he continued to do what?
To show his determination to drink the cup of God's wrath
on their behalf as well as on our behalf. There's a cup he
knows he must drink. That cup can only be the cup
of God's wrath. Understood contextually and he is determined to drink
it Verses 10 and 11 were told then Simon Peter full of Misunderstanding
right then Simon Peter having a sword which is probably more
of a dagger that he could hide in his clothes a Druid and struck
the high priest servant and cut off his right ear The servants
name was Malchus So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into
its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which
the Father has given me? Remember there was another time
when Jesus prophesied his death and Peter said, no, that's not
going to happen. And Jesus had to tell him, get thee behind
me, Satan. Well, this is the same Peter,
not wanting Jesus to be arrested and killed. A courageous Peter. willing to
attack a very large group of people. This is no coward we're reading
about here. It's a guy, though, who's full of misunderstanding.
He probably thinks Jesus is about to whip all these guys. After
all, he just knocked them all down. And maybe that mustered up the
courage to pull that sword out. Fighting time has come, maybe
he's thinking. But he was wrong. as he often was when he jumped
the gun. He didn't pay close enough attention
to Jesus' teaching. Now, all four Gospels record
this event, but it's only John that informs us that it was actually
Simon Peter who cut off this right ear of the high priest,
and only John tells us that the service name was Malchus. But John doesn't tell us that
Jesus goes on to heal Malchus' ear, so for those of you who
are worried about Malchus and his ear, and Peter's destructive
attack on him. He doesn't tell us about that
apparently again because he presumes we'd already know. Because Luke
wrote about it in his account. Luke says in Luke 22, 50 to 51,
and one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off
his right ear. Who is that one of them? John says, that was
Peter. That's Peter again. And whose
ear was it? It was this guy, Malchus. But Jesus answered and said,
permit even this. And he touched his ear and healed
him. So there was yet another display of his power that followed
this. But John, he wants to focus his
attention on not having told us about the prayer, about the
cup. He records these words of Jesus
instead. Shall I not drink the cup which
my father has given me? It's the cup he was praying about
earlier when he said, oh, my father, if it is possible, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as you will. It's the same cup that he's talking about. And he's trying to get Peter
to see. Peter, who should have been hearing his prayers earlier,
probably did before he fell asleep. That cup I was praying about,
Peter, I must drink it. So he said, shall I not drink
it? And the obvious answer is, of course. Of course you shall. See, he was determined to drink
this cup of suffering for us. He was determined to drink the
very cup of God's wrath. And the fullness of it. The dregs
of it, as the Old Testament would say. That we deserve to drink. For us. so that we never have
to fear the wrath of God ever again. Those of us who are in
Christ, there is no cup of wrath that awaits us. There's only
drinking this cup of the new covenant anew with Him in His
Father's kingdom. That's what we await. The marriage
supper of the Lamb. Jesus was in complete control of the events
that led up to this. So where do I hope you get out
of this? Well, I hope You can see the glory and power of our
Lord Jesus Christ in this account of His determination to drink
this cup that the Father has given Him. The world didn't force this cup
on Him. The Father gave it to Him and He willingly took it. I hope you can see in this passage
Jesus' love for His sheep for whom He was to lay down His life. His love for you and I, that
made Him so determined to drink that cup of wrath for us. And I hope you're encouraged
to know that just as He protected His disciples
then, in a way He did not protect Judas, because he wasn't chosen.
The eleven were chosen, and those others who were with Him there,
they were chosen. And what did Jesus do for them?
He protected them. Not just them, but in the hours
to come, from all kinds of temptation. And you know what? He will protect
you and I too. Jesus protects those for whom
He drinks this cup of wrath. Now that doesn't mean we're not
going to suffer. Because we will. We're called to suffer. We're
called to follow in Jesus' footsteps, take up our cross and follow
after him. We're called to suffer for his sake and for the sake
of the gospel. In fact, Peter, who was there
that night, acting so impetuously, later
on with a clear head and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
wrote in 1 Peter 2, beginning in verse 21, For to this you
were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example that you should follow in His steps." How determined are you to walk
the path of suffering? Do you have the kind of determination
your Savior has? He says of Jesus who committed
no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was
reviled did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously,
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose
stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going
astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and guardian
of your souls. So we will suffer in this life.
But we can be assured that our Lord Jesus will keep us through
that suffering to the end. He had promised earlier in the
upper room that He went to prepare a place for those whom the Father
had given Him. And that He would take them to
Himself. Remember what He said earlier in John 6? Beginning
in verse 37? He said, all that the Father
gives Me will come to Me. the one who comes to Me, I will
be no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven
not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This
is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given
Me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I
will raise Him up at the last day." The Jesus who knocked all
those soldiers on their keisters that night, who demonstrated
His complete control over everything that was happening, is still
in complete control of everything that's happening in your life
and in mine. And He will raise us up at the
last day. We will be in heaven with Him
forever. Because He's determined. He's
just as determined to bring us home to heaven as He was to go
to that cross and drink a cup of God's wrath for us. And as
you can see from this passage, when Jesus is determined to do
something, no one and nothing can stop Him. He's God. Our Shepherd. Our Good Shepherd. He is all power. With this in
mind, I'll just conclude with the benediction from Hebrews. Now may the God of peace who
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you complete in every good work to do His will, working
in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus Drinks The Cup of God's Wrath
Series The Gospel of John
| Sermon ID | 9281520074 |
| Duration | 46:56 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | John 18:1-11 |
| Language | English |
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