How do you expect God to build His kingdom?
“The Cup”
(John 18:1-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 25, 2010)
18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 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. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,”they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 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.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Now Judas (1-3)
With John 18:1-11 we begin two chapters that relate to us some of the experiences associated with the final sufferings of Jesus Christ culminating in His death and burial. In these verses we see Judas, and we see Peter; but with all of the people and events that are presented in these closing hours of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, we need to keep in mind the sovereign hand of one other player, Almighty God.
Through passages like Isaiah 53 we are persuaded that what is taking place here is not only happening by the hands of evil men, but also according to the “definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). What better way to see this than to find the leading role of God in the death of the Messiah presented to us in the Hebrew Scriptures written so many hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. It is important for us to embrace this concept when we consider the events of our Lord's suffering. As God Himself said through the prophet Isaiah. “It was the will of the Lord crush Him.” He tells us very clearly what this death was all about when He calls it an “offering for sin.” We need to also keep in mind that these events of treachery and pain could not change the fact that it was also recorded in Isaiah that the Lord would prolong the days of His Suffering Servant, and that this Servant would “make many to be accounted righteous.”
That was not the plan of Judas or Peter, but it was the plan of God. God's providence also involved men like Judas and Peter, and all of us hearing this Word today. Judas had an arrangement. He knew the place where Jesus often met with His disciples. He came there with a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and others who had discussed how all this should take place. They had determined that Jesus must go, and that nothing short of His death would accomplish their own purposes. Judas was a key to this plan. He was an insider, and he could lead the officers to Jesus, so that this arrest would not take place in front of a crowd, and so that the most important people who were part of this plot could not be tied to any of these events. They sent many to this spot with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Their plan was simple. All Judas had to do was identify the right man in the darkness of that night, and the military people would take over from there. There was no need for interaction with Jesus beyond his greeting, a necessary and unmistakable indicator so that they would get the right man.
Jesus knowing...(4-9)
One thing about this whole sad scheme: The one they were arresting was the Son of God. He had an indisputable ability to work miracles. We are dealing with a man who literally does walk on water. Don't you think we sometimes have a little too much confidence in our own weapons and our own plans? I'm not sure how they ever could have gotten Jesus to go with them unless He had been willing to go.
The One they came to arrest was actually in charge. The first three words of verse four say it all: “Then Jesus knowing.” Jesus knew about all of this. He knew about Judas, about the soldiers, about what Peter would try to do, and most importantly, about what would happen to Him. If He had wanted to avoid this entire scene there are so many ways that He could have accomplished that... a violent storm, a change of venue with His disciples,... but none of that happens. He is willing to do the Father's will. He has come to die for us.
We are immediately struck by the fact that the forces arrayed against Him seem like no match for the Christ. He says, “Whom do you seek?” They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He is not running anywhere. On earlier occasions in His ministry when people wanted to kill Him there was suddenly a way out. Now the time has come for the perfect Substitute for sinners to die the death that we deserve, and they did not even need a Judas to capture Him. He was willing. These soldiers are just as powerfully touched by the voice of Jesus as the original disciples when Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They are overwhelmed by His little statement, “I AM.”
This “I AM,” with the translators supplying the pronoun that makes His response, “I am He,” is a bold statement of His divinity as He takes this willing step to the cross. They are literally floored by this response, though it is not clear that they could have gotten the theological point of the “I AM” title, but they have to sense that He is in charge, and that He is willing to go with them. He tells them twice, “I AM,” and then He adds a note of protection for His disciples, “If you seek Me, let these men go.” That fulfills something from His earlier prayer to the Father, that He would lose none of these disciples, except Judas, the one who betrayed Him.
Then Simon Peter (10-11)
Everything should have been over at this point, but then there is sudden drama as Peter takes matters into his own hands. He has a sword and he is going to use it. From within the church we have someone who is confident in the use of his weapon. He presumes to protect the Son of God, when Jesus is very willingly surrendering Himself. This is at least as sad as the actions of Judas and his mob who come with their own weapons thinking that they will capture Jesus against His will. Peter has been the leading disciple, if we have to pick one, and He is a chosen instrument of God to preach the first message of the victorious death of Christ for sinners in just a few days. Here he supposes He should and can stop the cross with the weapons of this world.
Jesus has an uncompromising answer for Peter, and for all who intend to bring about the kingdom of heaven through their own force or coercion. “Put that thing away.” He does not need their sword to fight His enemies. Those who would win the Lord's battles with the world's weapons don't understand the nature of God's kingdom and the overwhelming force that the King will soon unleash through the weapon of His own righteous life and obedient death. His answer is simple: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
What is this cup? It is the last thing anyone would want to drink, yet Jesus will consume it to the dregs. It is the wrath of God against us for our sins. Our Savior has been fully prepared to drink this cup by passages like Isaiah 53. He will be wounded for our transgressions. By His pains we will be healed. The Lord will lay upon His own perfect and powerful Son the iniquity of all who are to be in the Kingdom of heaven. This cup will include great indignity. It is all beginning to happen in front of us. This is the Father's cup, and Jesus is willing. But this is the holy way that the earth will be won for the kingdom of heaven. And now the will of the Lord will truly prosper in the hand of the Son who will soon be reigning again at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
APPLICATION: How do I expect God to build His kingdom? See 2 Corinthians 12:9.
1. What seems to have been the plan of those who were in league against Jesus?
2. How did the events of their plan unfold in this passage?
3. What was Peter's response to these events?
4. What is the cup that Jesus must drink, and in what sense has this come from His Father?
(John 18:1-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 25, 2010)
18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 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. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,”they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 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.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Now Judas (1-3)
With John 18:1-11 we begin two chapters that relate to us some of the experiences associated with the final sufferings of Jesus Christ culminating in His death and burial. In these verses we see Judas, and we see Peter; but with all of the people and events that are presented in these closing hours of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, we need to keep in mind the sovereign hand of one other player, Almighty God.
Through passages like Isaiah 53 we are persuaded that what is taking place here is not only happening by the hands of evil men, but also according to the “definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). What better way to see this than to find the leading role of God in the death of the Messiah presented to us in the Hebrew Scriptures written so many hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. It is important for us to embrace this concept when we consider the events of our Lord's suffering. As God Himself said through the prophet Isaiah. “It was the will of the Lord crush Him.” He tells us very clearly what this death was all about when He calls it an “offering for sin.” We need to also keep in mind that these events of treachery and pain could not change the fact that it was also recorded in Isaiah that the Lord would prolong the days of His Suffering Servant, and that this Servant would “make many to be accounted righteous.”
That was not the plan of Judas or Peter, but it was the plan of God. God's providence also involved men like Judas and Peter, and all of us hearing this Word today. Judas had an arrangement. He knew the place where Jesus often met with His disciples. He came there with a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and others who had discussed how all this should take place. They had determined that Jesus must go, and that nothing short of His death would accomplish their own purposes. Judas was a key to this plan. He was an insider, and he could lead the officers to Jesus, so that this arrest would not take place in front of a crowd, and so that the most important people who were part of this plot could not be tied to any of these events. They sent many to this spot with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Their plan was simple. All Judas had to do was identify the right man in the darkness of that night, and the military people would take over from there. There was no need for interaction with Jesus beyond his greeting, a necessary and unmistakable indicator so that they would get the right man.
Jesus knowing...(4-9)
One thing about this whole sad scheme: The one they were arresting was the Son of God. He had an indisputable ability to work miracles. We are dealing with a man who literally does walk on water. Don't you think we sometimes have a little too much confidence in our own weapons and our own plans? I'm not sure how they ever could have gotten Jesus to go with them unless He had been willing to go.
The One they came to arrest was actually in charge. The first three words of verse four say it all: “Then Jesus knowing.” Jesus knew about all of this. He knew about Judas, about the soldiers, about what Peter would try to do, and most importantly, about what would happen to Him. If He had wanted to avoid this entire scene there are so many ways that He could have accomplished that... a violent storm, a change of venue with His disciples,... but none of that happens. He is willing to do the Father's will. He has come to die for us.
We are immediately struck by the fact that the forces arrayed against Him seem like no match for the Christ. He says, “Whom do you seek?” They say, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He is not running anywhere. On earlier occasions in His ministry when people wanted to kill Him there was suddenly a way out. Now the time has come for the perfect Substitute for sinners to die the death that we deserve, and they did not even need a Judas to capture Him. He was willing. These soldiers are just as powerfully touched by the voice of Jesus as the original disciples when Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They are overwhelmed by His little statement, “I AM.”
This “I AM,” with the translators supplying the pronoun that makes His response, “I am He,” is a bold statement of His divinity as He takes this willing step to the cross. They are literally floored by this response, though it is not clear that they could have gotten the theological point of the “I AM” title, but they have to sense that He is in charge, and that He is willing to go with them. He tells them twice, “I AM,” and then He adds a note of protection for His disciples, “If you seek Me, let these men go.” That fulfills something from His earlier prayer to the Father, that He would lose none of these disciples, except Judas, the one who betrayed Him.
Then Simon Peter (10-11)
Everything should have been over at this point, but then there is sudden drama as Peter takes matters into his own hands. He has a sword and he is going to use it. From within the church we have someone who is confident in the use of his weapon. He presumes to protect the Son of God, when Jesus is very willingly surrendering Himself. This is at least as sad as the actions of Judas and his mob who come with their own weapons thinking that they will capture Jesus against His will. Peter has been the leading disciple, if we have to pick one, and He is a chosen instrument of God to preach the first message of the victorious death of Christ for sinners in just a few days. Here he supposes He should and can stop the cross with the weapons of this world.
Jesus has an uncompromising answer for Peter, and for all who intend to bring about the kingdom of heaven through their own force or coercion. “Put that thing away.” He does not need their sword to fight His enemies. Those who would win the Lord's battles with the world's weapons don't understand the nature of God's kingdom and the overwhelming force that the King will soon unleash through the weapon of His own righteous life and obedient death. His answer is simple: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
What is this cup? It is the last thing anyone would want to drink, yet Jesus will consume it to the dregs. It is the wrath of God against us for our sins. Our Savior has been fully prepared to drink this cup by passages like Isaiah 53. He will be wounded for our transgressions. By His pains we will be healed. The Lord will lay upon His own perfect and powerful Son the iniquity of all who are to be in the Kingdom of heaven. This cup will include great indignity. It is all beginning to happen in front of us. This is the Father's cup, and Jesus is willing. But this is the holy way that the earth will be won for the kingdom of heaven. And now the will of the Lord will truly prosper in the hand of the Son who will soon be reigning again at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
APPLICATION: How do I expect God to build His kingdom? See 2 Corinthians 12:9.
1. What seems to have been the plan of those who were in league against Jesus?
2. How did the events of their plan unfold in this passage?
3. What was Peter's response to these events?
4. What is the cup that Jesus must drink, and in what sense has this come from His Father?
posted by Pastor Magee at 2:47 PM
<< Home