JESUS GAVE HIMSELF FOR US
John 18:1-14
By Lay Pastor Jusak Pundiono Lemah Putro, Sunday, October 18, 2020
Shalom,
The willingness from state officials to the general public to partake in the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial gives a ray of hope. Moreover, the Phase 1 and Phase 2 tests appeared to be successful. Actually, the COVID-19 virus is not new (cf. Ecclesiastes 1: 9) but it is the result of the broken world system due to men, having been infected by the sin virus, lead a corrupt and evil life (Genesis 6: 5). The Bible, however, states that in the midst of this doomed and chaotic world where crimes and sufferings are mounting, there is still a ray of hope. Why? Because there is Someone who gave Himself a ransom for the whole world so that those who believe will no longer perish because of the sin virus. And who is this Person? That's Jesus.
Before we go further, let’s read from our key verses in John 18: 12-14, “Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.”
If Jesus already gave Himself in our behalf, what should we do when dealing with wickedness, hardships and sufferings in life?
- Holding on to Jesus’ promises in our weakness (John 18: 1-3)
“When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.”
"When Jesus had spoken these words” – What words had He spoken about? His written promises in John 14 to 17 concerning:
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- The Father's house. When death arrives and we should leave this world, we will go to our Father's House that Jesus has prepared (John 14: 2-3).
- The Helper / the Comforter that remains with us forever. The Helper brings joy because we are not left as orphans after His return to His Father (vv. 16-18). The Comforter – the Holy Spirit – guides us into all the truth (John 16:13).
- Jesus’ high priestly prayer. He asked the Father to keep us (believers) from the evil one, to sanctify us in the truth and to make us one to receive the glory of God and be owned by Him through Christ.
What is our guarantee to receive His promise? From Jesus' side, He gave His life on our behalf. Therefore, don't be afraid of threats and challenges which everyone will encounter one way or another. Instead, let’s respond differently because we believe that His promises and His Word are at work.
From our side, as promise-receivers, we are tested as His disciples were. Jesus brought them to a garden where they often met. We might imagine a garden as a fun and comfy place to relax yet this time it is a garden of trials.
Jesus led the disciples into the garden of trials. He knew exactly their weaknesses and He led them to the trials. Nevertheless, He did not let them walk alone. How would we react if in the midst of our comfortable garden of life suddenly trials hit? When Jesus is with us, we can rest assured to receive His promises amid trials. Hence, whatever weaknesses we may have, keep holding on to His promises!!
Every time we receive God's promises through hearing His Word that produces faith (Romans 10:17), that faith needs to be tested (James 1: 3). But bear in mind that we are not alone because Jesus Himself is the One who walks with us through the garden of trials. And for that reason, such trials will not weaken us.
Whatever our weaknesses are, let’s not be like these following Christians:
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- Judas Iscariot. He knew the garden because he often met there with the other disciples (John 18: 2). Sadly, he missed Jesus' promise because he had left his Teacher and his fellow ministers before Jesus even uttered His promises. Why? Because, in the first place, he did not believe from his heart (John 13: 27-30).
We may hang out a lot with Christian friends – we minister together and attend crusade together – but when differences, disagreements, challenges, etc. arise, let’s not reject biblical solution and stand outside Jesus' promises. For doing so, we will begin to despair and take our own ways, and eventually we end up betraying Jesus.
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- Judas Iscariot’s co-conspirators.They were the chief priests and the Pharisees who ordered the soldiers and the guards of the temple (v. 3). They were influencers who had high positions in the church.They knew the Bible and they even preached but instead they joined the soldiers and the guards of the temple to arrest
God forbid that we, who have become Christians, quit the ministry out of hatred, jealousy and the like. And God forbid that we forsake our Christian faith and try to find errors of it, of the Bible and ultimately of the Person of Jesus. We must pray, therefore, for our spiritual leaders. And we must have faith in Him who has sacrificed for us.
- Believing that Jesus is always there for us (vv. 4-9).
No matter what happens, if we have a personal experience with Jesus, we will persevere in faith. For that reason, we must know Jesus personally. And we must have personal experience with Him in our lives.
Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, came out into the open and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.”
(Ego Eimi)" (vv. 4-5). "Ego eimi" is the first person singular present active indicative in ancient Greek, meaning “I am, I exist”. This shows that He exists from eternity; He knew what was going to happen to His disciples and He knows what will happen to us as well. Be encouraged in the midst of uncomfortable situations we face, it is only momentary in comparison to all the time He controls from past to eternity.
Nathanael had a unique experience with Jesus of Nazareth (John 1: 45-48). The “ever-existent Jesus” knew Nathanael from the start and saw him as a true Israelite in whom there was no deceit. As a result, Nathanael experienced greater things in his following Jesus (vv. 49-50).
We are to come to Jesus and be real to Him because He knows whether we are true Christians or hypocrite ones. We need to open up our weaknesses as we come before Him and ask Him to renew us day by day so that we grow in our personal relationship with Him. Generally, transformation is produced through trials and challenges concerning health, wealth, safety and so on. Yet, beyond that, He is working something good in our lives as long as we continue to believe Him and follow Him step by step until we experience greater things with Him who are always there for us.
Whatever happens, even in this global pandemic, we must have faith and have personal experience that "Jesus is always there for us" as the Bread of Life (John 6: 35,48), the Light of the world (John 8:12), the Door (John 10: 9), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14: 6) as the ground for our access to the Father, the True Vine (John 15: 1) in whom we abide to bear much fruit. We rejoice and live in God's love in order to love one another (John 16: 9-12).
Let’s not be like the soldiers and the guards of the temple who retreated and fell to the ground upon hearing Jesus’ saying, "I am He." (v. 6) They represent the non-Christians and the nominal Christians who are amazed and marvel at temporary supernatural religious signs and wonders but they never meet the true supernatural Source that is Jesus. Beware!! Don’t let miraculous signs and wonders be the centerpiece of our ministries, for such thing is dangerous and deceptive. And it will eventually depreciate our faith. Rather, let’s make sure that we are the kind of Christians who believe that Jesus is always there for us and He was willing to give Himself for us and He guarantees that none of us who believe will perish (vv. 7-9).
Application: Let’s rekindle our personal experience with the Lord that will strengthen our faith and make it rock-solid because He is always there and He guarantees that no one will perish.
When faced with something terrible, what should we do?
- Imitate Jesus when threatened (vv. 10-11).
What did Simon Peter do to Malchus, the servant of the high priest who wanted to arrest Jesus? He pulled out his sword and lopped off Malchus' right ear. In this story, his full name Simon Peter was mentioned. Simon was his birth name given by his parents while Peter (Cephas) was the name given by Jesus (John 1:42). For Jews, the name conferred upon a child indicated a certain character that the parents wished the child would have.
Peter had two names: (1) Simon, characterized by his old self in flesh and (2) Peter, obtained after he believed in Jesus and received godly character.
When threatened, which character showed up? For Simon Peter, it was his old character in flesh. And thus he used worldly solution: drawing his sword. Prior to this, Peter was so confident that he wanted to lay down his life for Jesus (John 13: 36-38) but when confronted with a threat, he did not act in accordance with Christ’s character and his new birth.
Jesus rebuked Peter and told him to put his sword back in the sheath, saying He had to drink the cup that the Father had given Him (v. 11). In other words, He was willing to surrender Himself and to suffer and to die on the cross. We are to imitate Jesus even though we have to suffer by denying the desires of our flesh (in the forms of our money, our power, our intelligence, our position, etc.) to become witnesses as His disciples.That way, people will hear and see great things about Jesus of Nazareth through our actions.
Under threat, which character is more dominant in us? Our flesh’s or Christ’s? We are servants of the High Priest Jesus so it is fitting that we have the same character as He does (Revelation 1: 5-6) by repaying evil with good. We must be willing to be like Jesus – the High Priest – who gave Himself for us (the evil ones) as well as for others who do evil to us in order to be good witnesses, exalting His name. Let’s not use our self-defense sword according to worldly manner and cut off many ears because we will pass up a chance to testify to Jesus who died to save and transform our lives. Don't let our attitudes and actions cause others to close their ears and their hearts and reject Jesus as the Savior of the world!
After being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter wrote a letter to remind us not to return evil for evil but give a blessing instead because we were called for this very purpose. And we must seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3: 8-12).
Let’s be priests and disciples who possess the character of Jesus. And let’s imitate Him though we have to suffer so that people can see that Jesus is always there for us and He does greater things in us. No matter what happens, let’s reflect Jesus who gave Himself up for us so that people will believe in God’s great and wondrous works. And the Name of God be glorified. Amen.
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