Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Healing Until the End (John 18:1-11)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Healing Until the End (John 18:1-11)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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