Jesus Is in Control (John 18:6-8)

Lesson #295

In the last lesson Jesus responded with “I AM [he]”. We learned that “he” was added in translation for the sake of English. When Jesus responded with “I AM” it went forth with power. “When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18:6 ESV). When the translation is written “I am he” it loses the impact of saying “I AM” and how you might interpret the action of them drawing back and falling down. I believe this is one more example of Jesus demonstrating who he was and giving proof of his power. We are not told what there was about the stance of Jesus when he addressed them, but there was something they experienced that caused them to pause and draw back as though afraid. Was it his boldness, lack of fear of them, power of his spoken response, or something else that momentarily overpowered them? In Job 4:9 (ESV) we read: “By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.” Did they experience some of this in their soul when Jesus spoke?

Because of their falling back, Jesus speaks again: “So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”” (John 18:7 ESV). Jesus did not hurt them with his words and now Jesus seems to invite them to get up and proceed with their mission. He repeats the question to them of who they were after. Repeating this question demonstrates that Jesus had no intentions of trying to escape or to resist. He was delivering himself into their hands because it was now time to do that. Up until now when anyone came to arrest him he would manage to escape them, but now he turns himself over to them. Having recovered, Judas and those with him, with hardened hearts intent on wickedness, set aside Jesus display of power and do not respond with “We seek the Messiah!”, but instead they again say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” to which “Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” (John 18:8 ESV). Following the authority of Jesus saying “I AM”, I believe when Jesus spoke “let these men go” he was expressing authority, not an entreaty. Jesus was turning himself over to them, but he made it clear that in exchange his disciples were to be free to leave unharmed.

There is no question about whether Jesus could avoid them taking him in, but that was not the plan. Jesus was sent by the Father to lay down his life for the sheep so that he could show them mercy and extend grace to them. Under the power of Jesus, the soldiers and others were restrained from harming the disciples. They needed to leave the garden and wait for further direction to be received from Jesus after his resurrection.

Prayer

Father, I find it interesting and encouraging how Jesus was in control when Judas came with those who wanted to arrest him. Jesus knew when they would arrive, received them with power that caused them to fall to the ground, and gave directions to let the disciples go without harm. Jesus then gives himself to them. There may be times when we may need to submit into the hands of the enemy and suffer as Jesus did. There may be other times when we will be protected and sent on to finish our work for him. Father, I am so thankful that you have a plan for me, that if followed, will produce the results you want from me. Thank you that the Holy Spirit is in control. 

I AM [he] (John 18:5)

Lesson #294

In the last lesson we ended with Jesus asking the question: “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” (John 18:5 ESV). John does not mention the kiss of Judas to identify him and so we don’t know if it occurred before or after this response. Jesus makes it clear that he is the one they are after by saying, “I am he.” Most translations weaken his answer by adding “he” to “I am” for English clarity, but in the Greek, Jesus said: “I AM”, identifying himself as part of the Godhead. We will see the impact of Jesus saying “I AM” in the next verse.

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with those he brought to capture Jesus. What a contrast we see here with Judas. A short while ago he was at supper with Jesus and the rest of the disciples and now he is with those intent to destroy Jesus. This reminds me of Psalm 1 (ESV): “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Judas clearly left the place of blessing and went and walked in the counsel of the wicked, stood among sinners, and sat with scoffers and as we follow his life we will find that he like chaff will be driven away into destruction. Those who stay with Jesus and delight themselves in the Word will be like a tree planted by streams of water and will yield its fruit, even in times of drought.

One must stop and think hard about Judas. How did he get from being a disciple to walking with those seeking to destroy Jesus? Is it possible for you, if you experience some major tragedy or disappointment, to get really upset with God and turn away from him? If you were to experience severe persecution and were about to lose everything, maybe even your life, how would that affect your walk with the Lord? Be sure of your salvation and decide how you will respond if that time comes and how to prepare for it. Study those under persecution and learn from them. Find verses that relate to persecution and learn the proper interpretation of them, not the western view. As you experience any form of suffering now, learn from it as your first priority, even at the expense of comfort. If persecution comes you will lose your idols of comfort, convenience, safety and security. How will you live without them? Will you continue to walk with the Lord or maybe tend to follow Judas?

Prayer

Father, we each need to clearly determine who we are standing with. It is Jesus or some form of Judas and are there conditions that help us determine that? Father, I believe that this is a serious question to be asked here in the west where we are not standing in the face of active persecution against our faith. If our faith was tested what score would we receive? At what cost would we say enough and turn away like Judas? I believe we need to determine if we are willing to die for our faith as Jesus died to make faith possible. 

The Beginning of the Execution (John 18:3-4)

Lesson #293

The stage has been set and now comes the action: “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” (John 18:3 ESV). Judas, the betrayer, enters the garden with a band of soldiers. How large this band was, is uncertain so I will not speculate. The soldiers were probably those Roman soldiers given by the governor for the defense of the temple and the officers were those belonging to the Sanhedrin.

These came with lanterns and torches and weapons. At this time in the month of Nisan there should be a bright full moon, so why the lanterns and torches. They were probably for the possibility of searching for Jesus if he was hiding in the garden, but surely he would not be hiding because he knew this was his time and he knew what was going to happen and what should happen. The weapons were probably swords and clubs (Mark 14:48); the swords probably those of the Roman soldiers and the clubs belonged to the chief priest’s officers.

As Judas and the band of soldiers and officers arrived, “Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” (John 18:4 ESV). Jesus, being the Son of God, was the omniscient, so he would have access to all information. The One who can speak the universe into existence would know what was going to happen to him because he and his Father worked out the plan of salvation long before creating humans. They knew sin would enter into their creation through them, but that would not stop them because out of that rebellion would be create something even better. Jesus, as the sacrificial Lamb, knew of the suffering that lay ahead and he knew what was to happen next.

As Judas and the band of soldiers and officers arrived, Jesus did not try to hide from them, but instead stepped forward to intercept them and engaged them with the question, “Whom do you seek?” Jesus knew who they were after and he knew this was the time to give himself to them and not escape from them as he had in the past. Jesus is still in control and will be, even up to the point when on the cross he says it is finished and takes his last breath.

Prayer

Father, what an adventure and what a thrill it has been to develop nearly 300 Bible studies in following Jesus on his way to the cross. I don’t feel that I just followed him, but in so many ways I walked with him. Father, I feel the same way as I study those under persecution. At times when I suffer, I feel a unity with them and I join them in prayer for encouragement, endurance and steadfastness. As Jesus was crucified on the cross, by faith I am crucified with Christ that he might live in and through me. Father, thank you for this great plan of salvation that is unfolding before our eyes and in our lives as we work out our salvation. 

On to the Garden (John 18:1-2)

Lesson #292

With this lesson we begin chapter 18, which in the ESV translation is divided up into seven sections. The first section, about the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, includes the first eleven verses. Beginning at the first verse, we read: “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” (John 18:1 ESV). The words which Jesus spoke refer to his prayer in the preceding chapter. At the end of his prayer, he and his disciples went out and crossed the brook Kidron, which was a small stream that flowed to the east of Jerusalem, through a very narrow valley, dividing the city from the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemani is located on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives and is a place that Jesus knew about and probably went there to get away from the crowds and pray at various times. At this critical time in the ministry of Jesus, he and his disciples enter this garden.

It is interesting to note that it was in a garden that Adam’s disobedience was committed resulting in death permeating the human race and here in the garden of Gethsemani, the obedience of Jesus, the second Adam, to die for sin begins. The sentence of death, on account of sin, was passed in a garden and in a garden the execution for that sin began.

The next verse indicates that Jesus and his disciples often came here. There is reason to think that the garden belonged to some wealthy man in Jerusalem that Jesus was friends with who gave him access. “Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples’ (John 18:2 ESV). Because of the Passover celebrations in Jerusalem and with many attending from outlying locations, lodging in Jerusalem was probably scarce so Jesus chose to take his disciples and stay the night in the garden. When visiting Jerusalem, Jesus probably stayed here with his disciples and so Judas expected to find him there.

Prayer

Father, as I think about Jesus and his coming trial, scourging and crucifixion and think of his response to that evil against him, I often wonder how I would respond to persecution against me and I think of how I am preparing myself for that possibility. Father, prepare me so if that time comes I will be encouraged by having made a previous decision to endure and stand fast through your strength and not turn away and experience the shame of denial. Lord Jesus, you are my example. Prepare me to live it out if called upon to do so. 

To Know and to Love God (John 17:24-26)

Lesson #291

Jesus continues to pray, saying: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24 ESV). Justice demands that every person physically born must die an eternal death in hell, but mercy can be extended to those God wills because Jesus was able and willing to die for these sheep (John 10:11). These Jesus died for, the Father gives to him as a gift and Jesus then gives each eternal life.

Jesus is looking forward to when all the sheep will be with him in heaven, but now he is praying for those yet to come to salvation. Jesus desires so much that they be able to behold his glory and enjoy it in bodies that are also filled with his glory. The Father loved his Son from eternity past and desired to express this love by selecting a bride for him from out of the world, preparing that bride and giving her to Jesus. What a scene of beauty and love we see here and to think it includes you and I as believers.

Jesus continues to pray for those who the Father has given to him: “O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me” (John 17:25 ESV). Jesus admits that the world does not know the Father because it does not know or accept Jesus for who he is. Again Jesus confesses that he knows the Father because he has been with him for an eternity past and he confesses that we know that Jesus was sent by the Father to purchase our salvation.

Jesus then concludes his prayer with: “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26 ESV). While on earth, Jesus declared the Father to his disciples and to others and he makes the promise that while in heaven he will continue through the Spirit to proclaim the Fathers name that we would know the One True God. Again he asks for the Father’s love to be in them. God is love and as God in the Spirit dwells in us, that love in is us. Jesus then concludes with that great concept of “Christ in us the hope of glory!” How desperately we in the western church need to experience that hope to draw us away from friendship with the world.

Prayer

Father, as we come to the end of another great chapter, I want to pray again for my readers and myself. The growing number of readers humbles me and emphasize the opportunity and responsibility I have with the Lord and the Spirit to provide lessons to think about and to learn from. I pray for the mind of the Lord and the help of the Spirit for me in writing these lessons and then for the Spirit to draw more readers to come and be touched by the word of God. I pray for the needs and trials being experienced by my readers. I pray for God to encourage, provide endurance and steadfastness in their walk. Father, bless them and fill their hearts with your love and kindness of your grace. 

Perfectly One (John 17:23)

Lesson #290

Jesus continues to pray about this oneness becoming a perfect unity: “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23 ESV). In the last lesson we spoke of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Jesus points this out by saying: “I in them.” Then to link us to the one who dwells in unapproachable light, Jesus says: “you in me” where “you” refers to his Father. Try to grasp the significance of this when we have our perfect resurrected bodies. We all need to spend more time considering this great mystery because we need to make the hope of glory part of our daily walk.

All that the Father is, is also in Jesus and with Jesus in us he brings the Father into us, establishing unity with each of us and thus we with each other. Jesus establishes and maintains this unity: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17 ESV). Jesus is the glue, through the presence of the Spirit, that creates and maintains perfect unity. Think of all those you can’t stand, who you wish you would never see again; those who seem to make life so difficult. Now think about having perfect unity with them and think of what is going to have to change in you and them to make this possible. The “may” become perfectly one is reference to life of the body of believers here on earth. We need greater unity now because in that way the world will see us as different than they.

If we were to love one another as Jesus loves us we would be much more united that we are today. This oneness is important because it enforces the message that the Father sent Jesus into the world as a demonstration of the Father’s love for them: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16a). If the Father can love us retched sinners, then we should be able to love one another and establish this unity that Jesus is praying for.

Prayer

Father, I think of this oneness of love in the body and with you and Father and think of the great diversity that will be found in this family of God. I think of the many different cultures, language, foods, clothing, etc. and then I think that I will be able to know the name of each and be able to communicate with them as I do my own brothers and sisters. I am overwhelmed at all we will experience with one another, but then add to that all we will know and experience about God. Father have mercy on us because we are of the world, not living in the world as sales people creating interest in the great life we can begin to experience now. 

The Hope of Glory (John 17:22)

Lesson #289

Now that we have stretched our minds with the concept of being in God and thus part of God, we now need to stretch them further and consider this next verse: “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:22 ESV). Before we do anything else we need to try to figure what this glory is. How does one define glory? How does one describe beauty? How does one describe a basketball? Which is easier to describe; a basketball or beauty? Do you see the problem? Isaiah 6:3 might help: “And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”” (NKJV). Is the glory of God somehow a manifestation of his holiness? Maybe if we understand holiness we can get a handle on glory.

The holiness of God puts him in a class by himself. That holiness is what God is that nobody else is. His perfections, greatness and worth are matched by no one else. God is not determined by anything outside of himself; he defines himself; his infinite value. There also seems to be a connection given between holiness and glory in Leviticus 10:3: “I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people” (NLT). As we draw near to him and can apprehend and reckon with his holiness we can then is some sense perceive to see his glory. Maybe we can say that the glory of God is the infinite beauty of his holiness in terms of his perfection, greatness and worth. Maybe it is that unapproachable light of his holiness that veils the Father.

Moses asked God to show him his glory and God responded with: “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name” (Exodus 33:19 ESV). Here there seems to be a relationship between glory and goodness. A few verses later we read: “while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:22 – 23 ESV). This seems to suggest an unapproachable light shining from his face. I think this because of the transfiguration of Jesus when “he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2 ESV). To connect us to this glory we need to look at 1 John 3:2 (ESV): “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” We shall be like him by becoming partakers of his divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). When Moses went up Mount Sinai to talk with God, he returned and “did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29 ESV). In heaven we will be given a new sinless body that will allow the glory of God who dwells inside of us to radiate out from us. The unapproachable light of God’s glory will permeate every part of the body of believers. We cannot begin to comprehend what this will be light! Paul refers to this as a great mystery: “how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 ESV). What a mystery; what a hope; what glory we will experience in all of its characteristics.

Prayer

Father, I only touched on the mystery unfolding in this lesson. When I think of Christ in us and he with the glory he is asking you to restore to him and our new bodies to radiate that glory, I can’t begin to comprehend our potential beauty. Father, as we absorb ourselves in this world, we lose sight of this coming glory as we become willing to live like spiritually homeless people. Preparing this lesson sure pointed this out to me and hopefully to my readers.