Arrested But in Control | Sermon 2/18/2024

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That was part of his plan, was to make his father discredited to gain the trust of the people over himself.

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And that's what Absalom was able to do. And so, at that point, David, along with his household and those loyal to him, they were forced to go into the wilderness.

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That's what 2 Samuel 15 talks about. Jesus leaves the city of Jerusalem.

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He leaves the city that rejects him as king. I'm sorry,

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David. I'm getting all messed up. David, along with his household, those loyal to him, they left.

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They went over the ravine of the Kidron. And the same thing, yes, the same thing happened to Jesus here.

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Just as David had to leave Jerusalem and flee from his enemy, Jesus fled and went to the garden.

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He passed over the brook of the Kidron, and he went to speak with the

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Lord. And so the people choose, instead, a fallen angel.

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They choose the Satan, in whom Jesus said is their father instead.

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But defeat isn't happening here in the garden. Defeat isn't happening here in the garden beyond the

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Kidron. We'll see that in a moment. In 2 Kings 23, young King Josiah has a heart inclined toward the one true

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God, the Lord. He is one of the most faithful kings to come on the scene in many, many decades.

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And Josiah then had the vessels that were dedicated to Baal, the false god, and the

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Asherah poles that were dedicated to a demonic goddess. He had them removed from Jerusalem and from the midst of the people.

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Josiah then crossed also the ravine of Kidron, and right here where Jesus is now,

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Josiah burned all the vessels of Baal and all the Asherah poles.

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And he took stones and clubs with his men, and all the ashes that were left of these idols, they would grind them to powder and ashes.

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That's what Josiah did. He would then go back to the city, he would find all the high places, he would take all the altars that were to false gods, and he struck those things down as well, and he cast them where?

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Beyond the brook of Kidron, beyond the ravine, where Jesus is now.

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So Jesus will go outside the gates, Jesus will leave Jerusalem, he will be soon hung up on a cross, and that cross is where?

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Also past the ravine of Kidron, and he will remove sin and idols from his own people.

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Jesus will destroy these things upon his own body. So the brook of Kidron, which they just passed, should remind us of these two things.

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One, where the righteous had to flee the wicked, and number two, where the righteous one made the wicked clean.

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Jesus then entered the garden with his disciples. This garden is of course what is called the

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Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane literally means oil press.

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It is an olive tree grove. It's an olive tree grove right there.

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Jesus just had a very public prayer to the Father in front of his disciples, but now he will have a private one with his

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Father, in which the anguish of his suffering is slowly coming upon him.

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So the John 17 prayer could be said to demonstrate his undeniable deity, while Matthew 26, that prayer, could be said to demonstrate his undeniable humanity.

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If you remember, if you look at Matthew 26 later, and I included some verses in your printout,

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Jesus talks about, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death.

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He's at this point of anguish with what he's about to face. So both of these prayers, this amazing, divine

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John 17 prayer that showed his deity, and then this prayer in Matthew 26, which shows his humanity, these two are different in many ways.

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They are testaments of the God -man, Jesus Christ. He could really talk to the

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Father as his equal, but he could really talk to the Father as in great need in this hour.

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That is true. Jesus isn't lying in this prayer in Matthew 26, when he says he needs the

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Father. That is true. He's altogether at this moment equal, and also subordinate in his humanity.

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And I might point something out for you. With this private prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, he took

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Peter, John, and James deeper into the garden. The image we have is that Jesus just finished the high priestly prayer, and they finished their walk to the

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Garden of Gethsemane, and they passed that ravine of the Kidron, and according to Matthew 26, he told probably the eight other disciples, you stay here.

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And eight of them stayed at the edge of the garden, while those three,

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Peter, John, and James, accompanied him deeper into it.

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I suppose what I want you to see is that once he was privately with these three men, the three men who were arguably the closest to him out of the eleven, is that he let them see his distress.

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You see, there was a right time, and a right place, and right companions to show what was happening inside of him.

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Jesus wasn't trying to hide anything from anyone, and neither should you or I hide anything, but sometimes we ought to pick the right time and the right people to show our distress to.

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People who we know who will seek God with us. And I suppose what is also remarkable is that although Jesus was about to pray and commune with his father once more, he took three trusted companions with him.

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Sometimes Jesus wanted to be alone with his father, and that is absolutely needed, 100 % needed, but Jesus also shows us in his example in the

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Garden of Gethsemane that at the most excruciatingly difficult time of suffering in his life, he requires his father, but he also desires his friends.

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So I have two admonishments for you with that. Number one, stop trying to suffer alone.

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Stop trying to suffer alone. Do not recluse. Do not isolate yourself.

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Don't stay away from the church when you're hurting. There's something in our flesh that makes us want to stay away from even the church when we're hurting deeply.

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And I can understand not wanting to be vulnerable or confide in every single person you interact with, but do what

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Jesus did. Pick a few to be with you in your suffering. That's one example we see.

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Number two, find over time these few trustworthy

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Christian friends who won't simply empathize with you. We don't need people who will only put themselves in our shoes.

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When I'm suffering, I don't need you to just suffer with me.

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I need you to suffer with me and remind me what God says too. It's not a neither or, it's a both and.

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That's what's called sympathy. Empathizing, but then also sympathizing with good counsel and getting biblical reminders that speak into the specific situation you're in.

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In your desperate need, you should have those who weep with you, but also those who speak to you the words of God.

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You see, real consolation, real comfort is never divorced from life -giving truth.

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If you withhold the truth when someone is suffering, you're actually damaging them. You're actually causing them to suffer more.

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There's a tactful way, there's a loving way to do it. And so think about that as you consider a couple companions yourself.

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We don't suffer alone. We don't suffer alone ultimately because Christ is with us, but also don't suffer alone here when you have the church with you, when you have those who you can turn to.

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And so, Jesus though, gives us this example, but he is the source of truth and therefore

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Jesus doesn't need John, Peter, and James to speak truth into his situation. He doesn't need that.

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He is different than all of us. Completely different.

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But let his example serve you here in the garden. Let it serve you well when you face moments of suffering in your life.

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You are to turn to God always and bring some God -loving friends into that situation.

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Let's go to verses 2 and 3. It says, Now Judas also, who was betraying him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with his disciples.

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Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the

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Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So just as Judas fled from Jesus and the other apostles earlier that day, in the darkness of night, that's what we saw in John chapter 13,

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Judas continues to do his cunning and his evil under the same black veil.

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It is late. It is late into the night at this point. The hour has come.

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I wonder if the olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane were completely still that night.

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Just one of those still, eerily quiet nights. Maybe Judas was watching them walking in Jerusalem.

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I told you, Jesus said, Let us get up. Let us go from here. And I told you that they were probably walking through the city.

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In John chapter 15, he pointed out some vines. He talked about, He is the true vine. You are the branches.

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They're walking. They're getting to the city gates. And I wonder if Judas has been spying on them.

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That's not in Scripture. That's something that I just considered in my own mind. Was Judas watching them?

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Did he see them leave through the gates of the city? And maybe he saw that they didn't pack a lot of things.

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They didn't pack anything for long distance traveling. He knew where they would be headed. He already knew.

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East, toward the Mount of Olives. Past the brook of Kidron to a garden that Jesus loved to teach his disciples at.

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Judas used the information of friendship against his own master. He used privileged friendship information against his own master.

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He, I think, saw them. And so trust becomes treason.

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Love becomes hate. Not selflessness, but selfishness.

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Not generosity, but greed. This is Judas. Judas didn't heed the

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Proverbs growing up. They would have heard these Proverbs at synagogue. They would have heard them from their parents. Proverb 1, verses 10 -19 says,

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My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie and wait for blood.

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Let us ambush the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole as those who go down to the pit.

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We will find all kinds of precious wealth. We will fill our houses with spoil.

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Throw in your lot with us. We shall all have one purse. My son, do not walk in the way with those kinds of men.

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Keep your feet from their path. For their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood.

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Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net in the sight of any bird. But they lie and wait for their own blood.

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They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence.

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And it takes away the life of its possessors. You see, that's true of Judas. He's going after Jesus.

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He's going after his master. He's betraying him to death.

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And what will turn around back on Judas as Proverb 1 says? Death.

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Death will come over Judas himself. He will fall into his own trap. And so each step of Judas' towards the garden is on the feet running to evil.

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Each swing of the arm elevates the hands ready to shed innocent blood.

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This is not a whim. This is calculated. This is planned. This is premeditated.

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He knew. It says he knew the place. He already met with the chief priests and Jewish leaders prior to this moment.

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He already arranged this. He was looking and said what? For an opportune time to betray

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Jesus. You see, the snake doesn't charge his prey in a rush head on.

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He stalks. He slithers in the shadows. He considers that opportune moment where many eyes do not see.

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What Judas doesn't realize is the eyes of the Lord are watching. Judas acquired the

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Roman cohort and the officers of the chief priests. Look at this. I think that's amazing.

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So the Jewish chief priests and the Roman cohort are together coming towards Jesus.

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Those who are to be the people of God, the Jews, set apart, different than pagans, different than Romans, they're working together with these pagans with one singular purpose.

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You know, it kind of makes you think if you are ever finding yourself working harmoniously with unbelievers, it may be wise to double check what you're actually working towards.

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That's what's happening with these Jewish men. These men who are supposed to be men of God, working with godless

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Romans. But what the mention of the

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Romans and the Jews does in this text, I think John is trying to show us, is

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Romans and Jews working together. This is to be an indictment on the whole world for what is about to happen.

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All of us, all of our sin required this sacrifice of this spotless land.

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Jews and Gentiles participated in this. And it was required because all people have sinned.

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All of us have contributed. Now the question is, people often wonder, how many soldiers and officers came to the garden of Gethsemane to arrest

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Jesus? How many? Now we're not exactly sure. This word cohort or spira in the

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Greek typically means a tenth of a legion. A tenth of a legion.

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And a legion with the Romans was up to 6 ,000 men.

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So it is possible, according to this word, that 600 Roman soldiers, along with however many of the temple police, are here to apprehend one single man.

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It's unreal. That's certainly possible. It's also possible just some of the local cohort came out to take

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Jesus, and that's what John indicated. Maybe it was a couple hundred, maybe it was a hundred. But I want to tell you, some have argued ferociously against this.

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And I don't think it's unlikely, and I'll tell you why. I think there are a lot of men here.

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Why? Because this is during the time of the Passover. This is during the time of the

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Feast of Unleavened Bread. And during this time of the year, when these festivals and feasts were happening, it was not abnormal for extra

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Roman soldiers to leave their station in Caesarea, which was north, and they would garrison in the fortress just northwest of the

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Temple Mount. This would be because of what?

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Because at this time, when all these feasts and festivals, which are swelling religious and national pride, and all these pilgrims are coming in, and we talked about the fact that there were probably millions of people during this time at the end of Jesus' life celebrating the

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Passover, maybe a million to two million that we talked about. During that time, religious and national pride is swelling, and what is likely when that's happening?

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When you come out of a ritual, and maybe you've been drinking extra wine even, you're celebrating the

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Passover, and you're like, yeah, we're Jewish, we're from Israel, we're

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God's chosen people. You come out, and you see Roman soldiers, and you think about the times of the

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Old Testament, and how they would rise up against the repressors. Maybe these men, they were close enough to where their fathers and grandfathers remember the

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Maccabean revolt not too long before this, and they think, yeah, I remember the Maccabees. And so, during these feasts and festivals, extra

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Roman soldiers would come into the city to make sure that no mobs, mob violence or riots would break out among the

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Jews. And so, for that reason, bringing extra troops to arrest

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Jesus was probably insurance that no regular Jewish citizens would wake up in the city, and they would start fighting the

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Romans, thinking that the Romans who are arresting Jesus in this moment, hundreds of men arresting

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Jesus, if they were to come out, and maybe there was just, say, a dozen Roman soldiers, maybe the

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Jewish citizens of Jerusalem would look, they're taking some of our people, they're messing with our people.

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Then what would happen? The Jews of the city would wake up, and they would come out and they would see this, and then a mob or a riot would take place.

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And so, I think it is very likely that hundreds of men came to the

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Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus for that reason. But, nevertheless,

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John describes this scene. There was a crowd of men, they were with lanterns, torches, and even weapons.

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And at the side of this crowd, with torches and swords and clubs, the eight disciples, who were sitting at the garden's edge, must have immediately fled, fulfilling the

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Scriptures that Jesus quoted earlier. Do you remember that? It was from Zechariah 13. He said, I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

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He said that that will be you. He said that to his disciples. The shepherd's going to be struck, the sheep will scatter, and so as these men, hundreds of soldiers, are making their way out of the city, over the brook of Kidron, and they come towards the

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Garden of Gethsemane, I think it's possible that the eight were on the edge there, and they booked it. They left.

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They deserted Jesus just as He said they would. Whatever faith these men had melted at the sight of these pursuers.

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You see, without the Holy Spirit in them, they could only think of life, and not life everlasting.

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They thought of self -preservation over godly dedication. The others are in the garden though, with Jesus, unaware of what's coming.

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And they were battling the temptation to sleep. Do you remember that? They couldn't keep guard.

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He'd find them, they were sleeping. He said, wake up. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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But there is one, in this whole scene, who is not caught unawares.

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Just one. Look at verses four through six. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, already look at that.

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Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, He knew. He went forth and said to these men,

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Whom do you seek? They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. He said, I am He.

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And when He said to them, I am He, they drew back and fell to the ground.

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So Jesus left His prayer with the Father for Matthew 26. He stood up.

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His knees are covered in the dust of the garden floor, but He was resolute.

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Jesus is no martyr. He is a willing sacrifice. He's not caught unaware.

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He was ready to face what He must. There was no turning back, for this was predestined before the foundation of the world.

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This plan is older than the earth that He stood upon. And it says right here,

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He went forth. Do you see that? Jesus didn't wait for them.

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He went forward to carry out His mission. He isn't reactive. He's proactive.

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He is not surprised. They were. As He walks towards them, it says

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He went forth towards them. In Matthew 26, verse 46,

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He told the three apostles, Get up. Let us be going. Behold, the one who betrays

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Me is at hand. And as these sinful men face the

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God of the universe in the flesh, Jesus simply asks this question, Whom do you seek?

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Whom do you seek? You see, many people seek good things for all the wrong reasons.

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They did not seek the Christ for forgiveness, but the one who they consider to be a national troublemaker, a local nuisance, and a potential riot or insurgence maker.

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But He knows what they're here for. He sees the chains. Jesus sees the clubs.

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He sees the swords. He sees the torches. He sees the men. And He says, Whom do you seek?

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They said Jesus the Nazarene. And what is incredible is that Jesus does not simply affirm

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His humanity. He does. Being a man named Jesus from Nazareth, but He also decides to affirm

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His deity. The italicized He in your

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Bible is not actually there. That is a translational addition. And so His pronouncement of identification the mighty and holy

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Son of God says two words and two words only. He says,

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Ego eimi. I am. I am. In the

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Hebrew, Yahweh. The name of God. The powerful name of God.

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This is a display of the vocal, divine glory of God. This is the voice that calmed the seas.

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This is the voice that commanded the dead to rise. This is the voice that gave power for a lame man to stand.

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This is the voice that gave Scripture out of His own mouth. This is the voice that creates, church.

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And this is the voice that will command all the billions of dead to rise out of the earth on the final day.

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This is the all -powerful, all -commanding, dynamic voice of the Messiah, the

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Christ, the monogenes deos, the Son of God, the blessed forever Second Person of the

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Holy Trinity. And He says, Whom do you seek? They say, Jesus of the

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Nazarene. And He says, I am. Ego eimi. I am.

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If the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane were still before, everything now has just felt the force of a tremendous gale of wind and power at Jesus saying,

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I am. Verse 6 says, They drew back possibly 600 soldiers, possibly outnumbering

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Jesus and His three disciples 150 to one. And this word is the exact opposite of the word used for Jesus.

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It said that Jesus exerchimai. Jesus went forward to meet them.

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But these soldiers of the Roman cohort and the temple officers, they aperchimai.

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They did the opposite. They went backwards. The word can even mean that they departed.

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Some of them even maybe left. Who knows?

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And it wasn't that Jesus simply startled them and they tripped and they fell.

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They retreated backwards because of the power of the living God. And it says that that power caused them to fall to the ground.

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You see, saying the name of God with such authority caused them to step back.

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But then came the power. You know what it's like? It's like an explosion that is just some distance away and you see the explosion and you hear the bang.

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But then you take a step back seeing the explosion and then the shock wave from the explosion comes and pushes you back.

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Such was this moment when Jesus said, I am, I am. And they step back.

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There's the explosion. Then boom. Fall backwards in power from the

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Lord Jesus Christ. It was a declaration of deity. Now do you see this?

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There are men who seek and fall to the ground. Some men seek

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Jesus to destroy Him and when they face Him they fall to the ground. Non -prostrate worship but in terror.

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Then there are those who by the power and regeneration of the Holy Spirit and the sovereign effectual call of God seek

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Jesus to follow Him and fall to the ground in veneration and reverence and true worship.

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There's a big difference. And that will be the case at the final judgment.

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The voice of Christ is dread and alarm for the wicked but it is life and joy to the righteous who are purchased by God.

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Go to verses 7 -9. Therefore He again asked them,

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Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus answered, I told you that I am He.

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So if you seek Me, let these go their way to fulfill the word which He spoke of those whom you have given

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Me. I lost not one. I wonder if they were a little bit more timid to answer what they were looking for at this point.

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They don't know what just swept over them but they must still carry out their plans of evil that God's plan of good would come to fulfillment.

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So Jesus identifies Himself again. This time putting

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His attention to not Himself but to those whom

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He cares for. Peter, John, and James are still standing on the side.

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They're watching all of this unfold. They're standing on Jesus' side. Hundreds of men are coming with weapons and torches and lanterns.

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And they're standing there looking at Jesus. And then all of a sudden, Jesus says,

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I am, and they fly backwards. And I wonder if that's what gave Peter a little bit of courage. He's like, yeah.

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Gave him enough courage to get that sword out later, right? He's like, we got this.

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But Jesus is concerned for these men. He says, I told you I am He. But let these go.

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Let them go. They have nothing to do with this. Let them go their way.

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It is not time for them to give up their lives for the cause of Christ. That time will eventually come, but it is not now.

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In fact, all 11 are to survive so that they may commit themselves to the

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Spirit -driven commission of the Gospel that they will soon endeavor upon. So John records that this is to fulfill the word which

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Jesus had spoken in His prayer before them. That was in John 17. It says, while I was with them,

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I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me, and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the

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Scripture would be fulfilled. So Jesus says He didn't lose a single one, but because Judas was never meant to be kept.

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Judas was never truly a part of them. Judas was not given to the son by the father.

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Judas is fulfilling his final purpose for his pitiful existence.

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An existence that any one of us deserved. But he's fulfilling it nonetheless.

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So in this face -off, in this garden, in this dark garden, you have

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Roman soldiers and temple police and Jewish leaders with Judas on one side and on the other side, you have the

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King of kings, Lord of lords, with three of His followers. Who will make the first move?

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Who will make the first move? And it seems in Matthew 26 that there are some gaps that are filled by that passage.

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With Jesus' answers having knocked them over, there seems to be some uncertainty despite His self -identification.

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Judas has to do his part. And so Matthew records to be sure

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Judas the betrayer would go in front of all these soldiers and all these men and he would identify the man who they are to arrest.

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And so Judas walked forward these two groups and he comes up to the

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Messiah, his old Master, and he says, Hail, Rabbi. That means rejoice.

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Rejoice, Teacher. Be of good cheer. Hail, Rabbi. And Judas takes

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Jesus and he kisses Him on the cheek. He betrayed the

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Son of Man with a kiss. And not one, not a single person makes a move until Jesus allows it.

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Okay? He is in control. He says in Matthew 26 .50,

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Finally, after all that had happened, after all the soldiers fell back, after this moment,

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Judas came forward. Finally, Jesus allows it to happen. And Jesus says in Matthew 26,

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Friend, do what you came for. And as soon as He says this and not a second later or a moment earlier, as soon as Jesus says this, the soldiers rush in on the

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Christ and they lay hands on Him and they seize Him and they capture

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Jesus. And in the midst of this chaotic scuffle, John and James are thinking about taking flight.

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The brothers of Zebedee look at each other. Not too long before this, they were just thinking about who was going to be the greatest in the

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Kingdom of Heaven. They were thinking about sitting on Jesus' right or left, but now they're thinking about their lives now.

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But Peter, Peter's different. Peter did something else.

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Look at verse 10. Simon Peter, then having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear.

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And the slave's name was Malchus. Cut off this man's ear.

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This was likely one of the swords that Jesus told them to buy in Luke chapter 22 for gospel ministry in case they needed to defend themselves from bandits while on the road.

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But this situation is different. Completely different. Peter does what he always does.

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He reacts with the gut and not with faith -informed knowledge.

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He loves Jesus. That's to be sure. And as he indicated, he said before,

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I'm willing to fight for you. I'm willing to die for you. Peter's rash decision, though, once again confirms his inability to comprehend why the

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Messiah must suffer. He doesn't know. John has shown us this the whole time.

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You rewind back to a moment earlier in Jesus' ministry. Peter had just confessed

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Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Peter's like, yeah. Awesome.

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And then to take Peter down a step, Jesus says that wasn't from you. The Father put that inside of you.

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In Matthew 16. The Father revealed that knowledge to you.

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Matthew 16 verses 21 -23. We see then after that high point of Peter, you are the

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Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus tells them immediately what's going to happen.

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That a day will come when he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and he will be killed.

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He will die. But he will rise on the third day. And that seemed to elude them at the end there that he said he'll rise on the third day.

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Because then Peter, Peter took it upon himself. Jesus is telling the 12 apostles this truth of what's coming and Peter grabs him.

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It says Peter took him to the side away from the others. Peter said, Master.

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It says he rebuked him. He said, Lord, forbid it. May it never be. He says, this shall never happen to you.

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But Jesus then turned and said to Peter strongly, Get behind me,

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Satan. You are a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind on God's interests but man's.

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Peter has been on a fool's errand entertaining the interests of man rather than of God.

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He has fallen for the illusion as well as the people who wanted to make Jesus an earthly king after the feeding of the 5 ,000 rather than letting

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Jesus endure the cross which would make him Savior and Lord and the

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King above all kings. You see, Jesus didn't come for a few followers.

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He came for a countless multitude. Jesus didn't come for a small nation in the

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Middle East, but he came for the entire world. Christ won't settle.

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He will not bypass the plan of God. Remember in John 13 when

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Peter demanded to know the identity of Jesus' betrayer. One of you will betray me and Peter's like, who is it?

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Come on. We talked about that. It's likely that Peter was thinking, why don't we just deal with this right now?

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Let's find this betrayer. Tell me who it is. We'll deal with it right here and now.

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And when Jesus told them that he's leaving them and that they should love one another as he has loved them, all

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Peter could think about was, where are you going, Jesus? Why are you leaving?

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Where are you going? Jesus said, you can't follow me now, but only later.

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And then in John 13 v. 37, Peter said to him, Lord, why can't I follow you right now?

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I will lay down my life for you. And then at that point, if you remember, that's when

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Jesus said, you will deny me three times. Then in John 16, the disciples acted like they understood what

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Jesus was talking about concerning his approaching death and absence. You remember out loud, they're on the road.

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They said, now we know. Now we understand. And then Jesus replied to them and he said, oh, do you?

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Do you now believe? You're about to scatter and leave me. I told you,

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Peter didn't have a category for a suffering and sin atoning Savior.

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To Peter, taking up the sword is the last ditch effort to save what

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Jesus started. Jesus, you were gaining traction.

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You were getting tons of followers. We just saw the triumphal entry. Thousands and beyond thousands adored you.

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They put palm branches before you. They called you the king. They said Hosanna. They shouted your name.

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So Peter takes out the sword. He puts it into his own hands. Not realizing that laying down the sword is the right decision.

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Laying down the sword is the end of man's attempts to save himself and the beginning of the

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Son of God saving man for Himself. That's what has to happen. So look at verse 11.

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Our final verse. So Jesus said to Peter, put the sword into the sheath.

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The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it? It's not what

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I will, but what you will. Right? The Lord said that in His prayer in Matthew 26 in that subordinate human position.

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And then Matthew 26 then reports something similar to this. To this verse 11.

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It says, then Jesus said to Peter, put your sword back into its place. For all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

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Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

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It's always a marvel when people say Jesus was a pacifist when He was actually threatening with them with twelve legions of angels.

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He's like, I could do that. It's just ridiculous. He says, how then will the

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Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? The point is,

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Peter isn't taking up his sword for defense. Something that in Luke 22 we saw that Jesus is for.

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Jesus is for self -defense. The law of God talks about the fact that God is for self -defense.

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Peter is taking up the sword in this moment not for defense. It's for offense.

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It's for offense. His attitude is to fight for his own purposes, not the purposes of God.

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You see, when you are to defend yourself against someone who is coming against you, you are to defend yourself in a way that God prescribes.

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To preserve life. To save life. But what Peter is doing by taking up the sword and committing an offense instead of defense is he's not thinking about life.

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He's thinking about doing something that would make him feel better. He's thinking about striking, harming, maiming, possibly even killing.

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He's not going to preserve life by keeping Jesus from being taken by the Jews and the Romans. He would destroy all chances of life being preserved through the cross at Calvary.

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Peter taking up the sword is actually what goes against preserving life in this moment.

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And so Peter's blow to the ear of Malchus was as inept as his courage was great.

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Peter is no swordsman. Thank God. Thank God that all

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Peter did was slice off an ear instead of kill a man through the heart.

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Praise God. I know he's thankful for that to this day. But we see a contrast here.

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In Matthew 26, the Romans may have had a tenth of a legion, but Jesus with no difficulty could at once in a moment's notice have at His disposal more than 12 legions of angels to fight this battle.

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That would be 72 ,000 angels. Think about Genesis.

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How many angels destroyed and fought in Sodom and Gomorrah?

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Two. 72 ,000 angels at His disposal.

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For the I Am that speaks a word and knocks down a crowd of soldiers and Jewish officials calling upon a mighty angelic force would be nothing to Him.

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Nothing. How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus?

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So the point is, this is bigger than you, Peter. This is far bigger than anyone in this moment in this garden.

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This is bigger than the last three years of your discipleship with me, Peter. This is about the rest of humanity.

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This is about the rest of history. This is the crossroads of history, past, present, and future converging into one.

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This is at this moment about eternity. So, we could talk so much more about that.

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I wonder if Malchus turned to Christ. I hope so. I have a few more lessons as we wrap up with the arrest of Jesus.

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We're finishing here. First, whatever temptation Jesus may have faced from the enemy while in His agony and anguish in that garden, in that He did not sin.

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He did not sin once. In His prayer to the Father, in His anguish, in His agony,

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He had no sinful anxieties. He had no sinful doubts toward the

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Father. Jesus did not sin in the garden of Gethsemane. He did what

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Adam could not do, actually. In the garden, Adam failed to guard and keep.

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Adam failed, allowing sin to come into the world in the garden of Eden.

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Jesus, now in this garden, did not take the easy way out.

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Jesus did not bypass His arrest leading to the cross. He gave

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Himself for others in that garden. You see, Adam gave up others for himself in his garden, but Jesus gave

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Himself up. Next, without the dark night of Gethsemane, without betrayal, without the cross, without sufferings, without bad news, there would be no good news.

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There would be no gospel. And what that means for you and I is that out of our sufferings,

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God can make the most glorious things. Your dark nights, your betrayals that you've experienced, the hatred that you've received from family and friends for following Christ, will result in eternal life and joy and peace and healing.

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That's certain. And lastly, it's said it in verse 1 of chapter 18.

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Exarchimai. This is an important verb in chapter 18. Exarchimai.

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It says, Jesus went forth to the garden. Went forth. He chose a place

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Judas would know and a time that would make it easier for his arrest to occur.

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This wasn't in the middle of the day. This wasn't in the middle of Jerusalem with people all around. Jesus went forth to the garden.

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He made it easier for Judas. That was all on purpose.

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Then verse 4, once again, the verb exarchimai. He went forth to his captors and betrayer.

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It says he knew all of it. He knew it all. He went forward. Then in chapter 19 of John, in verse 17, it says that the whipped and beaten

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Christ, who's bleeding profusely and has a crown of thorns on his head, it says he exarchimai.

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John chapter 19, it says that he went forth to the cross. He went forth to the garden.

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He went forth to betrayal. He went forth to the cross. He did it all.

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He bore the cross to the place of the skull, Golgotha. Jesus went forth.

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He moved forward. From the moment the God -man came to the earth, he went forward.

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He never resisted, always moving towards his destiny. Exarchimai.

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He went forth. He took each step. And each movement was for you and me.

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Each event, each step, each time he went forth was for you and I.

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And he was always in control. This was always his plan. And so when you feel out of control, when you experience suffering or betrayal, or if you've experienced arrest or maybe you might experience arrest for your faith, remember that Christ went forth and was in control in this moment so that you would not need to fear such things.

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He is over all that you go through. And when you and I are in the least amount of control, he remains to be in the only true and greatest control.

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Because really the control that you and I feel through our faculties is a sense of illusion.

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And therefore, at the same time, those who are apprehending you, those who are persecuting you, who think they're in control, their control is an illusion as well.

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We ought to look to Jesus Christ in John 18. And there, whenever we need it, we would see in John 18,

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Jesus' incredible and glorious control over all things. He went forth.

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Whether good or bad, whatever we go through, he went forth for you.

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And that's enough. That's enough for you to keep going too. I believe it.

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Well, let's pray, church. Father in heaven, thank You for today.

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Thank You for Your Word. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that although You were the

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Lamb who was led to the slaughter, You were the willing

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Lamb. They could not take

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You unless You allowed it. They could not come out to that garden unless You willed it.

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They could not put You upon the cross unless You desired it. And that's what's unfathomable, is

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You did this for us. You did it for us,

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Lord Jesus. Thank You for every step, every movement, every event, every persecution, every nail, every drop of blood, every agonizing second,

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You did it for Your people. And we'll spend all eternity thanking

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You. We love You, Lord. We love You so much. You're worthy of all our love.

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You're worthy of all our affection. You're worthy of every adoration we can ever demonstrate to You for forever.