Sunday Evening Sermon, PRBC, 7/27/08

We continue in our series looking at the glory, the deity, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, John. Chapter 1, again, let's ask the Lord's blessing upon him.

Indeed, our Heavenly Father, we would once again come before you and ask you to be with us as we seek to glorify your Son, as we seek to speak the truth concerning Him in an age where there is much falsehood.

May you be with us. May you help us to understand and indeed, Father, give up the opportunities, even this coming week, to proclaim these truths to others.

May they get to be good witnesses so that you can pray in Christ's name. Amen.

The Setting of Jesus’ Betrayal in John 18

It was a dark and a stormy night. I've always wanted to start a sermon that way. The problem is I'm not really certain that it was a dark and a stormy night that night of Jesus' betrayal. We're not told.

It certainly would have been dark. It's difficult for us living in the valley of the sun to ever really experience darkness. Have you noticed that? Just a couple of evenings ago I went outside, was looking for storms.

I don't want to try to beg them to please come in. They don't seem to want to do so. And I looked toward the downtown area and have you noticed how bright it is around here at night? Especially when there aren't any clouds at all.

We have all this light pollution. Well, there probably wasn't a whole lot of light pollution in the days of Jesus in Jerusalem. No, on the night of his betrayal, this was the period of time when Jerusalem would have been packed with pilgrims.

There would have been many people there that would not normally be there. So if there was any light pollution, there would have been a little bit that night because of all the various fires that would have been burning.

If you're familiar with the geography of that area, it is very similar to our own. A little bit moister because it's closer to the ocean than ours, but very similar in other aspects. And so it would get fairly cool in the evenings as it can here.

And in John chapter 18, we're told about how Jesus, after his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, goes across the brook Kidron and he goes into the garden. The garden of Gethsemane, the garden on the Mount of Olives.

And it is interesting that over the years, archaeology has been done, studies have been done in that area. And it has been established that at that period of time, the reason it was called, of course, the Mount of Olives, was because they grew olives there.

And they have found a natural cave there upon the mountain that was used for the pressing of olives to create olive oil. And you could go inside this fairly spacious cave. There was actually a small hole in the roof that would allow some light in during the day.

And during the day it would be used along these lines. And it's quite probable that Jesus and the disciples had worked out some kind of agreement with the current ownership of that olive press to stay there in the evenings.

I mean, it would be useful to him. He can certainly trust Jesus and his disciples. Maybe he himself was a secret disciple. We have no way of knowing. But it would be good for him because his equipment and things like that are not going to be bothered as long as there is someone around.

And the reason that Jesus and the disciples would be looking for a covered place, we can understand. When we have particularly cold winters, if you leave your car outside and it's not covered, you can, not often, but you can come out to a frosted window.

But you may have noticed that if you cover the window or if you park in a garage or even under a carport, your window will not have that. Why? Well, because this stuff called dew, something unusual for us.

But those of you who moved here from back east, I remember as a child in Pennsylvania, you'd walk outside in the morning and if you walked across the grass, you got soaked because it was quite wet from the dew forming from the cool temperatures and the moisture in the air.

Well, this does take place there. And sleeping out underneath the stars in that context isn't a whole lot of fun because you end up soaked. And so there would be a desire to find some cover, some means of getting out from that so you can sleep more fitfully.

And so it seems probable that this would be the area and this would be the arrangement that had been worked out. And so we know that after this high priestly prayer, Jesus goes into the garden. We can look at the Synoptic Gospels again.

John doesn't bother to repeat what the Synoptic Gospels have already repeated for us in regards to Christ's prayers. Instead, he goes directly to the coming of Judas together with soldiers from the Jews carrying lamps and torches and weapons.

The Soldiers Fall Back When Jesus Says “I Am”

And we begin in verse 4, Jesus knowing that all things were concerning him had come to pass, he went out to them and said, who are you seeking? And so Jesus takes the initiative. He goes out and he asks, who are you seeking?

And they answer him and say, Jesus the Nazarene. Now please look very closely at the next few verses. They say they are seeking Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus says to them, Ego Aini, I am. But then, sort of parenthetically, as an aside, John mentions something to it that Judas, the one who was betraying, was standing with them.

But then he says, when he said to them, I am, what happens? What happens when Jesus utters these words to these soldiers? Literally, they go backwards and fall upon the ground. They go backwards and fall upon the ground.

What a sight that must have been. Indeed, for those of you who saw Bill Gibson's The Passion movie, the setting in the garden, even though what happened in the garden was hardly very accurate, the setting seems to be pretty accurate in the idea of what it would have been like to be standing under olive trees, on a moonlit night, the darkness, the difficulty of recognizing who is who, and of course a flickering torch does not exactly help you identify people very, very well.

And so they're coming in, they've been led there by Judas. He certainly knows where they go. He knows where Jesus would be. And so Jesus comes forward and asks them, who are you seeking? Anybody else who would have been in those gardens would have run away.

But Jesus comes to them and says, who are you seeking? And when they tell him, and he responds, I am, they fall back upon the ground. For some reason, Bill Gibson chose not to show that in the film. I thought it would at least be somewhat a redeeming idea to have pointed that out, but even that didn't somehow make it into that representation.

What's going on here?

Well, we've had some interesting explanations offered to me over the years. I've had some of those folks, again, who show up on a Saturday morning and knock on your door, say that the overwhelming integrity of his words knocked them backwards.

Yeah, I see that happening all the time.

I see soldiers knocked backwards on the ground by the overwhelming integrity of people every day. It happens constantly. Some people say they tripped. Well, the problem is, normally you trip, you trip forward, not backwards.

Unless you're retreating or something, I suppose.

What's going on here?

Reading John’s Gospel Through the “I Am” Lens

Well, even the answers that I just gave you illustrate the problem that I mentioned this morning. And that is, when you look at the Gospel of John, John has intended you to read it from beginning to end.

He's provided that lens, remember this morning we talked about that lens, that prologue, the first 18 verses, through which we are to read everything else. And we saw that lens identified as this one became flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, as being the eternal Logos, the Word, through whom all things were created.

The One who makes known the Father. Here He is. The reader who's going in consecutive order just read the 17th chapter. And there Jesus talks about the glory which He had with the Father before the world was in the 5th verse.

And so the person who has read up to this point has a bunch of clues as to what exactly is going on here in John chapter 18. It's only by jumping to it without that context that any of these other explanations can even be offered.

So, let's go back in the Gospel of John, let's look at what the clues are, and then come back and see why it is that the soldiers fell back upon the ground when Jesus said,.

I am.

We'll begin in John chapter 8. And in John chapter 8 Jesus is disputing with the Jews. And in John chapter 8 verse 24 we read, Therefore I said to you, that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

Very same phrase. In certain contexts, this phrase could simply be a strong form of identification.

It's me, I myself.

And there are some people who argue that's all it is in John. But I don't think that makes any sense at all. Jesus says to men who are standing closer to Him than you are sitting to me, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

What apostle, what prophet, what creature could be so arrogant as to say, your very standing with God depends upon your accepting me for who I am. But these words do not strike us as arrogance. They do not strike us in any unusual way coming from the lips of Jesus, because we know who He is.

But remember in John chapter 8, what happens in this chapter?

Jesus says this to Jewish leaders. He makes faith in who He is, the very basis upon which a person can or cannot receive forgiveness of sins. And at the end of this very paragraph, there are many who believe on Him.

Not are believing present tense, but believe on Him. They have a surface level faith. John distinguishes between the tenses in the original language. And as soon as they say they believe in Him, Jesus addresses them and says,.

If you continue in my word,.

Then are you my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth.

And then what?

The truth will set you free. And as soon as you tell an unrepentant sinner that they need to be set free,.

Look out.

Here comes the anger. Here comes the rebellion. Don't tell me I need to be set free. Here comes the self-deception, because here are men who are living in a day there in Israel where if a Roman soldier says,.

You, come here and carry my pack,.

Yes sir, they have to go carry the pack. And yet despite knowing that that's how they live, knowing that the Romans have killed thousands of their compatriots, they can look at Jesus and say, we've never been enslaved to anyone.

Sin causes self-deception. And by the end of this chapter, the very ones who said,.

We believe,.

Are picking up stones to stone Jesus. Don't tell me there's nothing in the Bible about false faith. But what causes them to pick up the stones?

Look at verse 56 of chapter 8.

Abraham, your father, rejoiced to see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

And the Jews therefore said to him, you're not even yet 50 years old and you've seen Abraham? Verse 58, Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, am. Same grace. Same grace found in verse 24.

And now in verse 58, Jesus makes it clear. Before Abraham was.

Abraham.

Over a thousand years earlier. Jesus says, where Abraham was. Therefore the Jews took up stones, they might cast them upon him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of town. Why would they spell him Jesus for blasphemy?

Jesus, Yahweh, and the Old Testament Use of “I Am”

Now some of you are probably thinking, oh, yes, the I Am. Exodus 3 .14. Moses comes before the burning bush.

Lord, who shall I say sent me?

Tell them I Am that I Am sent you.

Yes.

But there's a step we have to take to get there. Yes, I think that is what Jesus is referring to. But when you look at the actual Greek translation of that phrase in Exodus 3. Ego I Me is there. It is there.

But the actual essence of the phrase is in the one who is.

The one being.

I Am the one being.

Ego I Me Ha-Om.

But this phrase, Ego I Me, in the Hebrew, Hanapu. Is used in the Old Testament as a name for God.

In fact,.

If you've ever gone out with us and witnessed to Mormons in Salt Lake City or Mesa, you know that one of the key texts we like to use is Isaiah 43 .10. Because at the end of Isaiah 43 .10 it says, Before me there was no God formed, there shall be none afterwards.

That cuts the Mormon theology right in half. But before it says that, it says, You are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, or Jehovah. You are my witnesses. Which, by the way, is where Jehovah's Witnesses get their name.

It's Isaiah 43 .10.

You are my witnesses, declares Jehovah. My servant, my chosen.

So that you may know and believe.

And understand that I am he. Hanapu in the Greek.

Ego I Me.

In the Old Testament you have a number of places, like Isaiah 43 .10, where this name is used in the context of God revealing who he is, and especially in revealing the future. Especially in revealing the future.

Now why is that important? Well, turn with me to John chapter 13. John chapter 13. At the end of chapter 12, the public ministry of Jesus in Athens comes to an end. In the name of chapter 13, he transitions into the private ministry amongst the disciples.

And I remember very clearly one night, long, long ago, still had hair all over my head, dear wife was already asleep, I don't believe we had any children yet, so I didn't have to worry about them, and I had this super-advanced, compact, portable PC.

Weighed about 45 pounds. It was the size of a Singer sewing machine,.

On its side.

It had about a four and a half inch green screen, two floppy drives, no hard drive.

But it was portable. You couldn't pick it up,.

Couldn't carry it very far,.

But it was portable. That shows you how long ago this was.

An acquaintance of mine,.

Had gone and become a Jehovah's Witness. He had had a quote-unquote ministry of Jehovah's Witnesses, but he was never plugged into the church, and that's always dangerous. And he had gone and become a Jehovah's Witness.

And I was writing on this subject. I now remember this was 1985, because I wrote my paper as a senior in college at that time, at Grand Canyon, on the deity of Christ.

And I remember,.

I was looking, either at this text, or Isaiah 43 .10, I think it was this text, I was translating this text, John 13 .19. And Jesus says,.

From now on I tell you,.

Before it comes to pass, in order that you might believe that when it does happen,.

That I am. And I was looking at this,.

And I only had one little light on,.

Lived in a little apartment, over on the storm at Camelback, and I had only one little light on, that little green screen glowing, still burning my retina.

And I remember going,.

I've seen this someplace before.

This sounds so familiar.

And I remember dragging out my Greek Septuagint, and turning to Isaiah 43 .10. This was before we had, now it would just be a matter of select, search, boom, there it is in BibleWorks. Didn't have that back then.

And I remember opening up Isaiah 43 .10, in the Greek Septuagint,.

Looking at what it said,.

And realizing that as Jesus.

Spoke to the disciples, he borrowed language directly from where Jehovah identifies himself to his people.

As the I Am,.

The one who goes to the future. In the very verse that Jehovah's Witnesses.

Get their name,.

Jesus takes that language and applies it to himself. There is I Am.

If you don't believe on I Am,.

You'll die in your sin. Where Abraham was, I Am. Jesus picked up stones and stoned him. Jesus says to the disciples, I can tell you what happens before it happens, so when it does happen, you may believe that.

I Am.

Drawing from Isaiah 43 .10. You think these are just random uses of this phrase by John? So with those uses in mind, we can then turn back to John chapter 18. Now we've seen where Jesus uses these words.

And we've seen him say so many other things. We've seen him say in John chapter 5, the Father is working.

Until now, and I am working. Speaking of.

God's prerogative to work on the Sabbath. The Jews want to kill him because he's making himself equal to God. We see the blind man in John chapter 9, bows down and worships Jesus. When John tries to say that to an angel in the book of Revelation, the angel says, don't do that, worship only God.

When a man tries to do that to Peter, Peter says, don't do that, worship only God. The man bows down and worships Jesus and Jesus commends his faith. By the time we get to John chapter 18, we've seen John chapter 10, when Jesus talks about the fact that he and the Father are one in the salvation of God's people.

That to be hidden with him in God, no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand because he and the Father are one in bringing about the salvation of God's people. And we've just heard the echo of John chapter 17.

Where Jesus has.

Spoken about the unity that exists between he and the Father.

And the fact.

That to have eternal life one must know the Father and the Son.

You cannot.

Separate them and still have eternal life. He has had glory in the presence of the Father before the world was and we know that Yahweh said in the Old Testament he would share his glory with no one. So by the time we get to John chapter 18 if we've read John properly, if we've listened to John, if we have kept in memory what John has said, we get to this.

And when Jesus says.

I am.

And the soldiers fall.

Back upon the ground, we don't need.

Much of an explanation. We've already seen I am. We've seen those words determining a person's eternal life. We've seen those words being affirmed of Jesus existing before Abraham even came into existence.

We've seen those words being spoken by Yahweh in the Old Testament and claimed by Jesus of himself in the New Testament. You sense the tremendous.

Contrast in.

Jesus' restraint of his power seen in his humiliation.

Upon the cross. Here.

Is one who could have with a word.

Brought.

Creation itself.

Out of him. With one word.

Commanded.

The armies of heaven.

To.

Purge the earth of.

A rebel man. It has been rightly.

Said.

That in many instances.

Humility, true humility.

Is power under control and here these men come.

With their little.

Swords and.

Their little chains.

And they can't see in the darkness.

So they leave their little torches.

And they walk up to their creator and he says I brand you.

And the glory of his person.

Is allowed.

Just a slight.

Revelation so.

These men fall upon the ground. They won't do it voluntarily.

Because.

It is not in God's purpose at this point for them to know. Have you ever thought about the fact of what Philippians 2.

Says? The day will come.

When every.

Knee will bow.

In heaven and earth and where else? Under the earth. And every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord and glory of God. They are in the presence of the deity.

And they don't know. For just a moment.

They bow.

Involuntarily.

They bow. What.

Tremendous humility. What power. Under constraint under restraint.

Is shown.

As Jesus allows.

Creatures.

To bind his hand. Why does he do so? He himself said in John 12 .32 If I be lifted up I will draw men unto myself.

To be lifted up clearly means.

To be raised up upon.

The cross. It says he will draw.

All men unto himself. But the bible also says that the cross.

Is a... It repels.

It is foolishness. So what does that phrase mean? I will draw all men unto myself. Well, John 12 is in the context of Greeks coming to seek Jesus. Non-Jews. The time wasn't yet but the time was coming that all men Jews and Gentiles Greeks, barbarians, Indians.

Male, female.

Bond and free.

The church.

Will encompass all of them or in the words of the multitude that sings in heaven in Revelation chapter 5 Men from every tribe, tongue,.

People and nation.

Drawn by that cross. United together by love of that cross.

That couldn't have happened. Jesus did not restrain. It was rightfully.

It was necessary for him to be in submission to the father's will. To accomplish that was the father, the son, the spirit in eternity past had covenanted to accomplish.

In the cross of Christ. But we dare not.

Ever lose sight of the fact that the one who was.

Crucified, the one.

Who gave himself was the word made flesh.

One through.

Whom all things came into existence for whom all things came into existence. Galatians 1 The Lord.

Is glorious. Yes he gave.

Himself voluntarily. Yes.

From the world's.

Perspective. As they looked at that cross, the passerby would see nothing special. Passerby would see the power of Rome.

Look at.

That! These people had to learn you don't fight against Rome.

You wouldn't see.

Anything special. But to those who had the scriptures, those.

Who had listened to the echoes of Psalm 22.

It began.

Eloi Eloi. Lama sabachthani. My God, my God.

Why have you forsaken me?

Yet it doesn't stop. Oh yes.

Described with amazing accuracy. Crucifixion what would happen to Jesus. But it doesn't stop there.

It ends.

With vindication.

The servant has given himself. They knew that.

If they had read Isaiah 53 my servants will justify the many he will see his offspring.

He will be satisfied.

They would know this isn't me. There was nothing that would catch the eye and go something's going on here. From a distance you wouldn't see but if you.

Had.

The lens through which to.

See.

You would understand.

Once again what a privilege.

It is to.

Possess in our hand.

This word that has been.

Preserved for us despite the hatred of.

The world and to be able.

To read within its pages these wonderful.

Confirmations that our.

Salvation is not the mere craftiness.

Of men. Our salvation is something.

That God himself has brought in Jesus Christ. I hope that causes your heart to rejoice. Causes you to desire to be an ever more obedient.

Wholehearted servant.

Of Christ in this time. Our great and gracious.

Heavenly Father we thank you that you have given to us your word that reveals.

Who you are. We thank.

You that you are the I am.

The eternal one and yet in the person of Jesus Christ. The person of.

Jesus Christ revelation has been.

Made in a way that still boggles our minds. That your beloved.

Son Father would enter into.

Flesh and would give himself.

For us. May we never tire of meditating and contemplating upon.

Jesus Christ.

May they every day be our guidance and our light in difficult times and times of blessing. May we always hold firm to the faith once for all deliberate in this house. May we be amongst those who give a.

Clear answer.

To those that ask.

Us a reason to hope for deliverance. We thank you for loving us.

We thank you for redemption.

Thank you for this time. You're being with us by your spirit. Bless us now as we go from this place. May you be honored and glorified in all that has taken place here today. We pray these things in Christ's name.