It's great to sing these wonderful songs, and it's great to sing them together. It's so encouraging to me to be able to sing alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ, sing these wonderful truths. I'm going to read our passage again for us, John chapter 18. So if you want to open your Bible to that passage, if you don't have a Bible that you brought with you, there's pew Bibles in the pew in front of you there. This is the fourth Gospel. We're in the New Testament here, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. The Gospel of John, and we're in chapter 18. And I'm going to read the first 11 verses here. John 18. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the brook, Kidron, where 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? And 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? Let's pray again together. God, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this portion of Your Word that You've revealed these details of Jesus giving up His life for us. And I pray that You'll bless us as we meditate on these verses this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, in our passage here, we see betrayal at its worst. Judas betrayed Jesus in such a cold-hearted manner. And as we pull in details from the other Gospels, we know from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark that the rest of the disciples dispersed at this point. They deserted Jesus shortly after this. Jesus was left all alone. Jesus entered Gethsemane with 11 disciples. And Jesus left Gethsemane only with the soldiers who had taken Him captive. There are four things I want to focus on here in these verses. First, let's think some about the garden in which these events took place, and then the key events themselves. Judas betrays Jesus, Peter retaliates, and Jesus responds. So those are the things we'll look at here in this sermon. First, thinking some about the garden here where these things took place. Verse 1 gives us the setting in terms of location and timing. This is happening right after the upper room discourse, which is what we've been studying for some time in John chapters 13 through 17. Jesus, if you remember back to the beginning of chapter 13, Jesus there was washing his disciples' feet. And then he spoke with them at length, sharing all these wonderful and comforting truths that he knew they needed to hear at this time. He told them things like, I am the way and the truth and the life. That was in chapter 14. He told them, I am the true vine. Abide in me and I in you. That's in chapter 15. He promised to them that he would send the Holy Spirit who will guide them into all the truth. That's in chapter 16. And then in chapter 17, which we've been looking at most recently, there we see the high priestly prayer, Jesus praying to the Father and praying for his disciples, praying for us as well. in the high priestly prayer of chapter 17. Jesus is preparing his disciples through all of this upper room discourse. He's preparing his disciples for what is about to happen. And now in chapter 18, we read of them departing from that upper room and heading just outside of the city, across the brook Kidron, over to this garden. Matthew and Luke identify this place as Gethsemane. We refer to it as the Garden of Gethsemane. John, he simply refers to it as a garden. And so picture yourself in a garden. Picture a serene, beautiful, peaceful place under normal circumstances. Those are the things that come to mind when we think of a garden, right? Think of gardens which you've enjoyed spending time in. As I was thinking about this, my thoughts went back to July of 1999, when I took Stacey and we were on a date and went to these beautiful botanical gardens in Midland, Michigan, where we're from, and that's where I had planned to propose to Stacey. And we walked through these gardens and sat on a bench, and I read a couple poems that I had written and got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife, and she said yes. And so I remember that garden very well and remember it very fondly. Some of you may enjoy gardening. That's not something I'm into, but some of you love gardening. And I imagine there's a peace and tranquility about spending time in the quiet of a beautiful garden. Well, this garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, was a place where Jesus and His disciples came frequently, as verse 2 tells us. Gethsemane means oil press. This garden is on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, overlooking the city of Jerusalem, a place where there are many olive trees and where those olives are pressed to make olive oil. I remember visiting there when I was in college on a study abroad program in Israel and we spent several weeks going through biblical sites in Israel and Greece and spent quite a bit of time in and around Jerusalem. And the other day as I was thinking about this place and trying to remember details of it, I looked back through my journal from that trip and found a note about something that our professor pointed out to us right there in that spot. He told us in that place, right there on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, Jesus could have easily walked right over the Mount of Olives and been out in the Judean wilderness where he could have hid anywhere. Nobody would have been able to find him if he just kind of went over the hill and out into the wilderness there. But he didn't do that. That's not what he did. He stayed right there, waiting for them to come and arrest him. He stayed right there in the place where he knew Judas would come to find him. This frequent place that he and the disciples came. He stayed right there because he knew this was the Father's will and Jesus knew what must happen. He was submitting himself to the Father's will. He was prepared to offer himself, to be sacrificed, to be crucified. One more thought about this garden. We think about the Garden of Gethsemane and it casts our thoughts all the way back to the beginning of the biblical story in the Garden of Eden. And another very significant garden in scripture. Think about these comparisons, these contrasts between the two gardens, the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. Kent Hughes lists these in his commentary on John. The first Adam began life in a garden. Christ, the second Adam, came at the end of his life to a garden. In Eden, Adam sinned. In Gethsemane, the Savior overcame sin. In Eden, Adam fell. In Gethsemane, Jesus conquered. In Eden, Adam hid himself. In Gethsemane, our Lord boldly presented himself. In Eden, the sword was drawn. In Gethsemane, it was sheathed. It was put away. So those are a few thoughts about the garden, the location where these events happen. So next, talking about Judas' betrayal. Let's think together about Judas' betrayal. We saw back in chapter 13 that Jesus predicted this betrayal and identified his betrayer. I want to read these again for us. If you want to turn back a few pages to John 13, verse 21. John records for us. After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. John 13, 25 now. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, it is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, what you are going to do, do quickly. Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, buy what we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out, and it was night. This is the culmination of a tragic pattern of wickedness in the life of Judas. In the previous chapter, in chapter 12, when Mary anointed Jesus at Bethany, Judas objected to that lavish kindness that was being shown to Jesus. Judas said, why was this ointment not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? What a nice sounding objection, right? Sounds really spiritual and servant-hearted, but that wasn't what was on Judas's mind at all. The next verse there in chapter 12 tells us that this was not because Judas cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put in it. These were things that the disciples, in retrospect, kind of realized what was going on. But they didn't notice these things, apparently, in the moment as they were playing out. They weren't suspicious of Judas. But John later, he's recounting, as he's recounting the life and ministry of Jesus, he inserts the fact that Judas was the betrayer. Even before we get to the actual betrayal, when he mentions Judas, he mentions in kind of a parenthetical comment, he was the one who was about to betray him in 12.4. And even earlier in chapter 6, Jesus made a comment there, did I not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil? John then explains to us, he spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. So we see the wickedness of Judas and an evil that was present within him and gaining more and more control over his life over time. But we also see the power of Jesus and the control of Jesus over this entire situation. in chapter 13, 27. Notice that Satan enters Judas, but then Jesus is the one who commands Judas, what you're going to do, do quickly. So we're reminded again and again through these narratives, Jesus is the one in control. It's not that Judas is prevailing over Jesus. It's not that Satan is triumphing over Jesus in any way. This would not happen unless God ordained it to happen. And it would not happen unless Jesus was submitting himself to this plan. And Jesus even directs Judas to go ahead with this. It illustrates what Jesus had said in chapter 10, verse 18. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. As we think about Judas, it is an astounding thing to think of all the time that Judas had spent with Jesus over these three years of Jesus' earthly ministry. how he had been with Jesus, traveled with Him, listened to Jesus teach, watched Jesus perform all of these miracles and show such kindness and compassion to so many people. But now Judas turns on him and heartlessly betrays him and hands him over to be killed. Mark 14, 10 and 11 tells us about Judas going to the chief priests. It says, Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. This is just what the chief priests were hoping for. They were looking for an opportunity just like this to be able to get their hands on Jesus and put Him to death, sentence Him to death. You see the religious leaders, they were in a bit of a predicament here as they had such a desire to get Jesus out of the picture, put him to death, and yet they were concerned about the crowds of people who were packed in there in Jerusalem during the Passover. They were concerned about what this might happen if they tried to do this in a public setting, in a public way. So Judas was the perfect solution to their plans, what they wanted to see happen. Judas could lead them to Jesus at a time and in a place where the crowds would be absent, kind of a private setting where they could then get Jesus and deliver him over to death. The Passover meal itself might have been a good opportunity, but according to Jesus' arrangements, if you remember how Jesus planned out the Passover meal that He would celebrate with His disciples, Judas didn't know where that meal was going to happen until they arrived there. And so it was in Gethsemane that would be the place for the betrayal to happen. As we see all through these events, Jesus is absolutely in control of the situation. He predicted Judas' betrayal. He sent Judas out to do what he was going to do. And even now, Jesus could have avoided this betrayal. He didn't have to go to the usual spot, Gethsemane, where He knew Judas would be able to find Him. Even at this point, He could have quickly made His way over the hill there, over the Mount of Olives, and would have disappeared in the wilderness. But Jesus Christ, who is in complete control, He is offering Himself up to be killed. All of this is going according to His plan, according to the Father's plan. Not according to Judas' plan or the plan of the religious leaders. Judas, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, they thought that their plan was succeeding. All of a sudden they have a breakthrough here because they have Judas and they're going to pay him off to betray Jesus to them. But they didn't realize that their wicked actions would in fact serve God's glorious purpose of salvation. Look at what verse 4 says here in our passage, John 18 verse 4, that Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, whom do you seek? This is a very strange arrest, isn't it? This is not the typical scenario that you might envision. A group of authorities coming to arrest an outlaw. This is not what you would envision. We think of the cops breaking through doors and finding their guy huddled in the closet. Or there are shots fired back and forth until the criminal realizes there's no way of escape and turns himself over. Well, this is very different. Jesus knows they're coming. He walks out to greet them. And there's such power in His words and in His presence that they all fall to the ground. Isn't that an amazing thing? In verse 5, they answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am. The translations say, I am he, but more literally, it's simply, I am. And Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am. So if you seek me, let these men go. Isn't that amazing? Jesus is the one being arrested and yet he's the one running the whole show. He's calling all the shots here. He's definitely in the lead. He's giving the orders. Here again is Jesus' powerful I am statement, which we've seen in many other places throughout this gospel. Ego, a me. I am. The translators render it I am he, but as I said, it's more literally I am. We saw this most recently in chapter 15, verse 1. I am the true vine. Earlier he had stated, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door of the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way and the truth and the life. There are seven of those metaphorical I am statements. I am something, and he gives a description. And then there are also several other I am statements, which are absolute I am statements, like in 858, before Abraham was, I am. And in all of these, there's an echo of Exodus 3.14, where God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. The I Am statements in the Gospel of John hearken back to that, reminding us of the divinity of Jesus Christ. He is the great I Am. And in this context as well, we see the power of the great I Am as He speaks and as He reveals His identity to this group. These guys, they know that they're seeking Jesus of Nazareth. They can say that. They can identify Him in that way. But they don't know he is God in the flesh. They don't comprehend the fullness of his true identity. But as Jesus proclaims to them, I am, they do begin to sense that this is no ordinary guy. And this is going to be no ordinary arrest. Jesus does all of this, though, with sorrow in his heart. We observed the son's sorrow as he anticipated these events. He's deeply grieved over these things. He is in anguish that he will be crucified and that he will become a sin-bearer and that he will be cut off from the Father for a time and bear the Father's wrath. This is a tremendously sorrowful and lonely time for Jesus. But he's not only sorrowful, he is submissive, he is submitting himself to the Father's plan in this. Remember Jesus' prayer as the other Gospels record it, when Jesus prayed for the cup to be removed from him, but then he immediately added, but not my will, not what I will, but what you will, praying to the Father. And so Jesus allows this betrayal to happen. We recall again that Judas was one of the 12 the Gospel writers remind us of many times. And it impresses upon us the depth of this betrayal. It's not just, you know, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders who have been attacking Jesus all along, the people we would expect to attack Him and try to deliver Him over to death. They were trying to plan this for some time. It's not just a group of soldiers who come to arrest him and take him away, but it's one of the twelve who personally betrays Jesus and delivers him over to these authorities who will then execute him. It's one of the disciples. And this also shows that Jesus' prediction was entirely accurate when he said to the disciples back in chapter 13, one of you will betray me. Everything is happening just as Jesus said it would. It doesn't make the betrayal any less painful, however. This is betrayal at its worst. Judas did not deserve any of Jesus' kindnesses to him throughout those three years that he was with him. Jesus certainly did not deserve Judas' treachery here. In Webster's dictionary, there are two definitions of the word betrayal, both that are relevant for this event here, this moment. One is to deliver to an enemy by treachery. To deliver to an enemy by treachery. And that's what Judas did. He appeared to be a friend of Jesus, but he delivered Jesus over to the enemy. Another definition given for betrayal is to fail or desert in a time of need. To fail or to desert in a time of need. And that's what the rest of the disciples did, as the other Gospels tell us in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. They deserted Jesus at that moment. They just fled and dispersed. Jesus was all alone. Judas continued to feign allegiance to Jesus even in the moment of betrayal. He betrayed Jesus in what way? With a kiss. That's how he betrayed him. Judas had planned it out this way, planned it ahead of time. He gave this as a sign to the others. And then he approached Jesus with the appearance of respect and honor and affection. calling him Rabbi and then kissing him. In Luke's account, he records that Jesus said, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Well, that's Judas' betrayal. Let's move on in the narrative here then and think about Peter's retaliation. In v. 8, Jesus identifies Himself a second time. He's not hiding. He's not running away. Quite the opposite. Jesus is revealing Himself very clearly and boldly. So much so, His very presence overpowers these soldiers. They drew back. They fell to the ground in v. 6. So Jesus asks them again, whom do you seek? And they respond, Jesus of Nazareth. So Jesus tells them a second time in verse eight, I told you that I am. Ego eimi, I am. And notice in verse eight how Jesus is offering himself as a substitute for his disciples. You see that in verse eight? I told you that I am, so if you seek me, let these men go. Jesus is offering Himself to be taken by these soldiers, to be delivered to death, and it's to save those whom the Father has given Him. You see how v. 9 then goes on to explain this. V. 9, this was to fulfill the word that He had spoken, of those whom you gave Me, I have lost, not one. This recalls in Jesus' prayer, in the high priestly prayer, the previous chapter, chapter 17, verse 12. 17, 12. While I was with them, I kept them in Your name, which You have given Me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost. Except the son of destruction that the scripture might be fulfilled and earlier in the gospel John 10 28 I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand and One more verse even earlier John 6 39 and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day and Jesus surrenders himself to save us. And we're seeing that in our passage right here this morning as Jesus offers himself to be arrested and commands that his disciples go free. A little glimpse there of Jesus' substitutionary atonement. Well, Peter doesn't get it, does he? Peter doesn't get it. Peter is such a fascinating guy, and this is one of his really amusing stunts. You remember that he had boldly stated his allegiance to Jesus back at the end of chapter 13. John 13, 36, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. Maybe here in the garden, in the intensity of this moment as the soldiers are coming to arrest Jesus, maybe Peter sees this as an opportunity to prove himself, to prove his zeal, to prove his allegiance to Jesus. Jesus, I won't let you down. So he's going to defend Jesus. And he's gonna save him from the armed mob before them. I imagine Peter was also emboldened by the fact that everyone had just fallen on the ground when Jesus spoke. I mean, that would kind of give you some courage, wouldn't it? To know that Jesus is right there and just his very words just, you know, knocked all these guys to the ground. Well, what does this show us about Peter? Well, it shows us Peter's passion of course, right? He was a passionate guy. It also shows us that Peter wasn't very good with the sword. He, I'm sure, was much better with the fishing net. He was a fisherman, not much of a swordsman, apparently. He would have intended to kill this guy, but the best he could do was cut his ear off. What this really shows us is that Peter and the other disciples still don't understand Jesus' mission. Jesus has told them already that he's going to die and he's going to rise again. But they don't get it. In the Gospel of Mark, Mark records three distinct times when Jesus very clearly predicts His suffering and death and resurrection. It's in Mark 8 and Mark 9 and Mark 10. In Mark 8, when Jesus spoke of these things, Peter rebuked Jesus for it. It says that Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and seeing His disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. You see, Peter thought that he was being a good disciple by trying to keep Jesus from the cross. But in reality, he was actually opposing God's will by trying to keep Jesus from the cross. He wasn't with the program. He didn't understand the plan. He couldn't get his mind around the idea of Jesus Offering himself to suffer and to die. Peter assumed that Jesus was supposed to kill his enemies, not be killed by his enemies. Peter thought, come on Jesus, this is our moment, this is our time, let's wipe these guys out. And I'll get us started here by cutting off Malchus's ear. Peter was so out of step with the suffering servant, the suffering son of man. Jesus' response is very different. So now we see the contrast between Peter's retaliation and our final point looking at Jesus' response. Jesus' response. A detail of the story that John doesn't give us, but Luke does, is that Jesus heals the ear of Malchus. What a wonderful piece of the story that is. And I'm glad God ordained for that detail to be recorded and passed down to us for our edification. And it's interesting that it's the gospel writer Luke, who was a physician, that he was the one to include that detail. It must have fascinated Dr. Luke to think of this severed ear then being miraculously healed. And what a gospel picture this is for us. One of the individuals there to arrest Jesus. What is Jesus' response to Malchus? Jesus shows him compassion. Jesus has mercy on this man. It's a striking example of how Jesus extends grace and mercy to his enemies. And we were his enemies, rebelling against him, and yet he reaches out to us with healing and with hope and with forgiveness. John's gospel is the only one which names Malchus. The other gospels identify this man as the servant of the high priest, but they don't give his name. Likewise, the other gospels don't name Peter here. They simply say that it was someone standing there, someone who was with Jesus, who drew his sword and cut off this guy's ear. But John's gospel gives us the names, tells us it was Simon Peter who drew the sword, And it was Malchus who lost his ear. And we hear Jesus rebuke to Peter. He tells him, put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? And Jesus tries again to make it clear to Peter that his mission is not about violence. It's not about winning an earthly battle at this point. Rather, it's about suffering. It's about sacrifice. Jesus' purpose at this point is not to kill His enemies, not to wipe out His enemies. Rather, He's going to offer Himself to be killed by His enemies and for His enemies. This reminds us again of Jesus' prayer that He prayed very shortly before this. As Mark records it, Jesus prayed, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. That was Jesus' request. Remove this cup from me. Yet, not what I will, but what you will. The cup is a reference to God's wrath. That's what the cup is a symbol of. In Isaiah 51, 17, It says, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath. So that's the imagery, that's the background here, the cup of God's wrath, the cup of the Father's wrath. Jesus knows the agony that's going to come upon Him in bearing the Father's wrath, which is why Jesus asked that if there's any way Please remove this cup from me. I don't desire to be under my Father's wrath, on the receiving end of His anger. Remove this cup from me, please, if there's any other way." And yet, Jesus submits Himself to the will of the Father. And in Jesus' statement here, and what He says to Peter, we see Jesus resolve to do this very thing. He will drink the cup that the Father has given Him. Isaiah 53, 12, prophesying of Jesus, the suffering servant, says, He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. That's what's happening here. Jesus is anything but a transgressor. He's anything but a robber or a criminal. And yet they come out to arrest Him in the dark of night, armed with swords and clubs, and they will eventually hang Him on a cross between two thieves. painful as it must have been for Jesus, he poured out his soul to death. And not any death, but the excruciating and humiliating death of a criminal. He was counted as a transgressor. The rest of that verse in Isaiah 53 12 says, yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. And that's what his death accomplished. He was numbered with the transgressors so that He could bear our transgressions. And He makes a way for transgressors to be counted righteous in God's sight. That's the Gospel. That I'm a transgressor, I have transgressed the law of God. I'm a sinner who deserves God's wrath because of my rebellion, because of my disobedience to Him. But Jesus stood in my place. This is the wonder of the Gospel. Jesus stood in my place. He bore the wrath for me so that I can escape that wrath and instead receive the reward of heaven. And that's true for all who are repenting of sin and trusting in Jesus. If you're here this morning and you don't understand that yet, maybe this is a new concept to you, we'd love to share more with you about Jesus and what He's done for sinners like us and what it means to have a personal relationship with Him, what it means to repent of sin and trust in Jesus. We'd love to talk to you after the service more about that. I'll close with just one more observation and an exhortation that goes with it. The statement stood out to me in this passage as I was reading through it and meditating on it. The statement that Jesus says, whom do you seek? Whom do you seek? Jesus says it twice, actually three times. He states it to the same group in verse four. He says it to this group of folks coming to arrest him. Whom do you seek? And then after they all fall to the ground, He asks them again, whom do you seek? And in verse 8, He says, so if you seek Me, let these men go. And I did a search in the Gospel of John for this Greek word, zetaio, which is the word for to seek or to look for. And it was interesting to contrast some of the different ways that individuals in the Gospel of John were seeking Jesus, were seeking after Him during His earthly ministry. Some, like on this occasion, were seeking Him in order to harm Him, in order to arrest Him, in order to kill Him. So some were seeking him in that way. And this was the case earlier in his ministry, as well as here at the end, earlier, like in chapter seven, verse 30. So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. So Jesus' enemies, they were seeking Jesus in that way, seeking him in order to arrest him and kill him. Another group, others, they sought Jesus in a seemingly good way, but not in the right way, not seeking Him for who He is, but rather for what He might be able to do for them. Like in chapter 6, Jesus said to the crowd, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.'" So they weren't seeking Him because of His true identity, which the signs pointed to and attested to. Instead, they were seeking Him for the perks that they thought they might be able to get from Him. But in a couple other places, we see individuals authentically seeking Jesus, even if their understanding was limited at the time. In chapter 1, In the account of Jesus calling the first disciples, we read this, Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what are you seeking? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? These first disciples, they were seeking Jesus because John the Baptist had told them, behold, the Lamb of God. And so they went and were following after Jesus, seeking Him. And Jesus invited them to follow Him and to learn from Him, and eventually to grasp the true identity of who Jesus is and to comprehend the amazing significance of His mission. Near the end of John's Gospel, in chapter 20, in the account of Jesus' resurrection, we find Mary weeping outside the tomb. And here's where Jesus finds her. And you remember what Jesus said to her, "'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' It was in the following moments that she came to see and to believe that her teacher, her hero, who had been dead, was now alive." Let us be among that number. Let us be seekers of Jesus who love Him passionately, who love His glory, who are seeking His person, who He truly is, His divinity, His power and grace. Some, even today, some seek Jesus in order to harm Him, in order to put Him in shackles, maybe to refashion Him in their own liking. in their own image. Others seek Jesus like He's a genie in a bottle. but let us seek Him like those disciples and like Mary, with a deep love for Him, with a deep yearning to know Him for who He is and with a passion to know Him better. Faith seeking understanding, faith seeking a deeper relationship with Him. For Jesus is abundantly gracious. He's abundantly gracious to those who seek Him in this way. Let's pray together. God, we thank you for your son. And Jesus, we thank you for offering yourself up on our behalf. We thank you for how you voluntarily gave your life. You stepped forward and said, take me and let these others go. I pray that you will Inspire us, inspire in us a tremendous gratitude and joy and hope in you and what you've done for us. May your name be praised. Amen.