We take some time now to dive into God's Word.
We're going to do so this evening from John 18.
John 18, 1 through 11. We're actually going to
be in a few different texts this evening, for
as I was considering this sermon and this text,
I was thinking about what an incredible miracle
it is that we celebrate. What Jesus has done
for us and on Sunday we're going to see the resurrection
which might just be the greatest miracle of them
all and Yet as we went through a series this
winter on the miracles of Jesus There's one more
that I wanted to cover That I think is applicable
for this evening And though we're gonna look
at John 18, it's actually not in John 18. We're
gonna have to spend time in Luke, too. Matter
of fact, we're gonna be in probably all four
Gospels this evening, but we're gonna start in
John 18, one through 11. And so would you give
attention, for this is God's word. When Jesus
had spoken these words, He went out with his
disciples across the brook Kadron 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
and 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 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
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? This is
God's word let us pray Heavenly father we give
you praise and thanks for this word And this
evening we know how important it is but father
we seek understanding And so would you grant
us this and would you guide us through your word?
We pray in the name of the one who is the word.
Amen. I feel like it needs to be said, but it
probably gets said most Maundy Thursdays is that
Maundy Thursday is not Monday Thursday. It's
Maundy Thursday. And the reason that that might
be perplexing is because well, we don't speak
Latin, right? And it does sound like Monday.
What does Maundy mean? It means mandate or commandment.
And so tonight what many people across the world
are looking at as they celebrate Maundy Thursday
is the commandment that Jesus gave to his disciples.
How Jesus told them to love as he had loved them.
But he says it in an interesting way. He says,
a new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another, just as I have loved you, you also
are to love one another. And we look at that
and we think, what's new about loving one another?
This is all through the scriptures. Here's the
new part that Jesus says, as I have loved you.
Jesus exemplified love in everything that he
did, everything that he did. And we especially
see it tonight within this text. Jesus shows
compassionate love to three different groups
really within this text. The first, he shows
his compassionate love to his disciples. Then
Jesus shows compassionate love to His enemies.
And then finally, Jesus shows His compassionate
love to all who believe in Him. It's just like
John 13, one says, He loved them to the end.
And Jesus' miracle in this and the very fact
that He drinks that cup of wrath that we have
talked about illustrates His incredible love
for us. And so let's see this firstly with his
disciples. We can see this primarily in verse
eight of John 18. But before we even get there,
I wanna take you back to chapter 17. Because
in a way, 18 fulfills 17. For you remember this
incredibly important chapter. John 17 is called.
Jesus' high priestly prayer. And there's a portion
of this prayer in which Jesus especially prays
for his disciples. It's there in verses 9 through
19. Let me read this for you. Jesus praying for
his disciples. He says, I am praying for them.
I'm not praying for the world, but for those
whom you have given me, for they are yours. all
mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified
in them and I am no longer in the world but they
are in the world and I am coming to you holy
father keep them in your name which you have
given me that they may be one even as we are
one 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 and that is
a very key statement. Not one of them has been
lost except the son of destruction. That the
scripture might be fulfilled but now I am coming
to you and these things I speak in the world
that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them your word and the world has
hated them because they are not of the world
just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that
you take them out of the world. But that you
keep them from the evil one They are not of the
world just as I am not of the world sanctify
them in the truth Your word is truth as you sent
me into the world So I have sent them into the
world and for their sake I consecrate myself
That they also may be sanctified in truth Did
you hear it there in verse 12 I have not lost
one of them except for the son of destruction.
And yet what have we also read in John 18? Jesus
says it there. I haven't lost one of them. Chapter
18 verse nine is fulfilling chapter 17 verse.
12, God here, as this band of soldiers and authorities
come at Jesus with clubs and with swords and
with torches and lanterns, they come at Jesus
and what does Jesus say? He says, hold it right
there. Whom do you seek? And they say, Jesus
of Nazareth. And then he says, then let them
go. You see what happens here. Jesus is showing
his compassionate love for his disciples. And
maybe, maybe this doesn't come through as clearly
for us somehow in the English, but I wonder if
we have a full picture of what's happening here.
When you picture this as the ESV says this band
of soldiers and some officers a band of soldiers
and officers Coming towards Jesus and his disciples.
Do you picture a large group or a small group
a Large group of enemies or a small group Friends
the picture here is actually of a very large
group coming towards Jesus Again, the ESV uses
this word band of soldiers a more technical term
that you may have if you're using a different
translation is a cohort and specifically a cohort
means something like a tenth of a legion what
that means is that coming towards Jesus and the
disciples is not a dozen men and It's not two
dozen or three dozen. We're talking about hundreds
soldiers and authorities coming to arrest Jesus
and his disciples probably something in the neighborhood
of 600 or more coming towards Jesus in this way
this is a small army they have come to arrest
Jesus and Jesus says stop you have come for me
not for my disciples let them go And in a way,
isn't this what Jesus does for all of his disciples?
Isn't it true that Jesus stands in the gap? That
Jesus goes to bat for us? Throughout the Scriptures
we see this. We see Jesus battling Satan in the
wilderness. We see Jesus every step of the way
saying no to sin and ultimately we see Jesus
defeating sin and death and the devil on the
cross. For us. And he does it with compassion
and with mercy and with love. But Jesus doesn't
do this just for the disciples in this passage.
He also does it for his enemies. This is primarily
in verses four and four through six and 10 through
11, but I actually want to take you back to Matthew.
I want you to see how Jesus, in showing compassion
for his enemies, he walks the walk and talks
the talk. Matthew chapter 5, 43 through 44. You'll
likely remember this within the Sermon on the
Mount. Jesus says, you have heard that it was
said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you Now where in
the Bible does it say to hate your enemies? I'm
still looking No, Jesus is saying that's not
what I'm teaching. I'm telling you to love your
enemies For indeed you remember that as Jesus
is on the cross there as he's giving up his life
He says father forgive them for they don't know
what they are doing And here Jesus illustrates
that as well. They arrive with lanterns and torches
and weapons and overwhelming force. As I said,
hundreds of soldiers here with weapons. What
is Jesus' weapon here? It's not a club or a sword.
Jesus' weapon is his word. Look in verses five
and six. They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
And Jesus said to them, I am. You'll notice I
left off the he there. That pronoun is supplied
by English translators, but the actual word there
or words is ego a me. It means I am. Why does
Jesus respond in this way? When they say we're
seeking Jesus of Nazareth, he says ego a me,
I am. What does that mean? That's exactly what
Jesus has been doing throughout his ministry
according to the gospel of John the I am statements
I am the door I Am the Good Shepherd I Am the
resurrection and the life I am the way and the
truth and the life Jesus what he's doing here
when he says I am he's connecting himself with
Yahweh the Heavenly Father God's covenant name.
And what does this do? What effect does it have
upon the people? They fall back and to the ground.
Jesus' word has that effect on people. It's much
more powerful than any weapons in the world.
Just by saying, a go, a me, they fall to the
ground. But why? Why is that so powerful? Because
they are in the presence of holiness. Like Moses
being told to take off his sandals because he's
standing on holy ground. Like Ezekiel seeing
the glory of the Lord filling the temple. Like
John in Revelation seeing one like the Son of
Man and falling at his feet. The very holiness
of God can drop a man. Drop a legion of men.
The holiness of God can drop legions of legions.
Ego e me. I wonder if you remember Martin Luther's
famous hymn, a mighty fortress is our God. Within
that hymn, there's this line that says, one little
word shall fail him. And throughout the centuries,
people have wondered, what's the one little word?
Certainly Luther was reflecting on Psalm 46,
but what's the one little word? There's all kinds
of theories out there. Here's mine. It's Yahweh.
It's the very name of God. There's power in that
name. And it drops them to the ground. And if
they had the eyes to see these disciples of Jesus,
if they could have looked around, they would
have seen something far greater than this army
before them. It's very much like an Old Testament
text. Second Kings chapter 6, just listen to
this. I'll just read three verses. Second Kings
6, 15 through 17. This is an episode with Elisha.
When the servant of the man of God rose early
in the morning and went out behold an army with
horses and chariots was all around the city and
The servant said alas my master. What shall we
do? And he said do not be afraid For those who
are with us are more than those who are with
them then Elisha prayed and said oh Lord Please
open his eyes that he may see so the Lord opened
the eyes of the young man and get this he saw
Behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elisha Again, if the disciples
could have seen this they were supremely protected
by God But this has me thinking, you know, these
Roman soldiers likely don't know all of this
Jewish history, but I think that Judas does.
And so in this moment, with Jesus saying, eh,
go, eh, me, and everybody falling to the ground,
you have to wonder, what is Judas thinking? What's
Jesus gonna do to us? Is Jesus gonna call upon
a legion of angels? Is Jesus going to send the
plagues? Is he gonna strike us all dead? What
does Jesus do? He just asks the question again,
whom do you seek? And I imagine that these soldiers
brush themselves off, maybe clear their throats
and say Jesus of Nazareth. You can see here how
Jesus shows compassion to these enemies, right?
He drops them with a word, but he does not drop
them with swords and clubs and all the like,
but there is someone who attempts this, right?
For this is where, this is where it really gets
interesting here because if you look at Matthew
and you look at Mark, at this point they apprehend
Jesus. They seize him and the disciples are looking
around and one of them or two of them or more
say, shall we strike back? And we know what Peter
does. Peter takes his sword and he strikes the
servant of the high priest, Malchus, and he gets
him in the ear. He cuts his ear off. Now why
does Peter do this? Why would anybody strike
someone in the head with a sword? It seems that
he was trying to kill him. This is very much
a Peter thing to do, right? To act upon impulse.
But then we need to see what Jesus does to show
more of that compassion and it's in Luke chapter
22. Luke 22 and I'm gonna read just 49 through
51. Notice that the miracle of healing is contained
here. Luke 22, 49 through 51. And when those
who around him saw what would follow, they said,
Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one
of them struck the servant of the high priest
and cut off his right ear, but Jesus said, no
more of this. And he touched his ear and he healed
him. Friends, Jesus is getting arrested here.
Jesus knows he's going to the cross and in these
moments he still takes time to heal. Isn't that
just a beautiful picture, right? This is the
picture of your Savior, friends, that his enemies
are before him, they have come upon him like
he's some sort of violent criminal. Peter strikes
Malchus' ear and Jesus stops to heal him. While
Jesus is being arrested and ultimately crucified
his mind is upon others and I believe That his
mind is upon all who would believe in him for
if you're still in John 18 Look at verse 11 Jesus
said to Peter put your sword into its sheath
Shall I not drink the cup that the father has
given to me? Friends I just talked about how
Jesus shows compassion to his enemies. We need
to remember this, that before coming to Christ,
which is all by the grace of God, we too were
enemies of God. We're acting in rebellion to
him, deeply sinful, not caring for him. But again,
because of the grace and the mercy of God, we
have been saved. So we are no longer enemies
of God. We are Jesus' disciples. And for the
disciples, Jesus says, I need to drink this cup
from the Father. When we see a cup spoken of
this way in scripture, it means a cup usually
of wrath. Jesus knows what's about to happen.
And this is where theologians get a little bit
technical and they speak of the active and the
passive obedience of Jesus. The active obedience
meaning throughout Jesus' life he never sinned,
not once, not in thought, not in word, not in
deed. He actively kept the law for us. But the
passive obedience is this, and I don't believe
Jesus does anything passively, this is just a
term. passively, Jesus allows himself to be apprehended,
to be beaten, to be tortured, and ultimately
to be put up on that cross. And there is no objection
from Jesus. Isaiah 53 .7 certainly is true. He
opened not his mouth. Matter of fact, according
to John 18 verse 11, Jesus is the one that says,
I must drink this. I must drink this. And who
for? For all of you, for every one of you who
would believe in Him, Jesus took on your punishment.
I don't mean to recall sins of yours in the past
that are forgiven, but if you can, if you can
do so without despair, think about the sins of
this month or this week or maybe even this day
and think about how badly your sin grieves God
and how God is a just God and sin must be punished
all of the hatred all of the lies all of the
violence all of the slander all of the discontentment,
all of the lust, all of the idolatry. And now
think about this. It's all been placed on Jesus.
All of it. That's the cup that he drank. You
have received compassion. And you have received
mercy. And Christian, you are deeply loved. And
yet, Maundy Thursday, It's about a commandment,
a mandate, isn't it? A command to love others
as you have been loved. I don't know who you
need to love this week, and I don't know how
you need to love them, but I do know this, that
God's word says that they will know you are my
disciples by your love. Friends, as I begin to
wrap up, we've been all over the Scriptures this
evening and the Gospels, and hopefully we've
had good theology. But the purpose of theology
is not theology. The purpose of theology is doxology.
And so knowing what Jesus has done, knowing how
Jesus has laid down his life for you, how he
is atoned for your sins, and all of the punishments
placed upon him, and knowing we are to be obedient
to him, remember what he taught. Remember what
he taught. Love one another as you have been
loved. Let's pray.