It's wonderful to be here with all of you today and we have a
wonderful crowd and we're grateful for your presence.
It's good to see some folks that I haven't seen in a while, but
and we even have visitors here that are among us today.
And we want you to know that you are honored guest and we welcome
you back every time we have an occasion to meet.
I was asked to preach a sermon on the subject that is before us
today and I actually have a sermon or had a sermon on this
subject and I preached it about seven or eight years ago here.
Now a couple of things. First of all, I make a sermon
that is 7 or 8 years old is fair game if you want to re preach
it. But I didn't want to do that.
So just like I did when I preached on the Beatitudes a
second time when I went through the Sermon on the Mount, I wrote
a new sermon on an old subject. And I hope that it is edifying
and encouraging to you, and I really hope that the subject
matter will give you a greater appreciation for Jesus Christ
and for everything that he has done for us.
The title of our lesson, as it is on the screen, is Arrested in
the Garden. We're going to talk about when
Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and they came and
they took him away. We're going to talk about how
Jesus was totally in control, that he was no man's victim.
He was the ultimate victor. You've heard me say that phrase
regarding the crucifixion of Jesus many, many times, but he
was totally in control, even in the garden.
And we want to point some of those things out today.
I appreciate it so much. The choice of the songs today, I
was wonderful. I even heard, you know, Tina
will tell you, she reminds me and she's right, that even with
my hearing aids and I can't hear Thunder most of the time.
And that's really true. I can't help it, but that's
really true. But I did hear this this the
sound of some young voices singing today.
And I got to tell you something. I got a little emotional.
It got me because I thought about how much Jesus must really
love that. And then I thought about when
Jesus said suffer little children to come on to me and
forbid them not for of such as the Kingdom of heaven.
That's a wonderful thing, and when we meet and assemble in one
assembly with older folks or more seasoned folks,
intermediate folks, and some young folks, we all worship God
together. It's a wonderful, wonderful day.
Our introductory text will be taken from the book of John.
The 18th chapter will begin in verse one and verse 2, and then
we will make some comments. 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.
Let me just say as an introduction, apart from the
cross, there's nothing that brought any greater agony to any
human being in all of mankind than the agony that our Lord was
under in the Garden of Gethsemane on that night as He
anticipated what He was going to do.
That's true. As He anticipated what He was
going to do for all mankind. In fact, His sorrow was so
severe, His struggle was so massive, that Jesus even said
these words. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful
even unto death. The Bible describes it like this
and says it like this. In this way.
His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the
ground. He was in anguish, and he was in
agony before he ever went to the cross.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke's account, it shows the suffering
and the humiliation that made him suffer.
But today, folks, John does not present that at all.
John's account presents Jesus in majesty, the majestic power of
Jesus. It presents him as something
that glorifies him, Jesus in his deity.
From John's account, we actually see the supremacy of Jesus
Christ and is demonstrated in four features.
And I got to tell you, here's feature number one, and don't be
alarmed, OK? There's 4 features that we're
going to talk about today. We're going to spend the
majority of our time on number 1.
So when we spend all this time on number one, you think, man,
we got three more. Don't think I'm going to be like
Paul and continue my speech until midnight.
I promise I'm not going to do that.
OK? We're going to spend most of our
time on number one. And then two and three are very
brief and #4 is actually in the conclusion we're going to spend
a lot of time on #1 The feature that we find in the Garden of
Gethsemane, the preeminent feature sowing the supremacy of
Christ is his supreme courage. When you think about Jesus could
have stopped the whole thing, you have to understand He could
have put a stop to all of it. How many times are we faced with
a choice and we have no choice at all?
And sometimes we do something or we carry through something
because really we have no choice.
What if you did have a choice? The greatest things we ever do
is when we make the right choice.
That's the most difficult choice.
Even when we have a choice to do something else, that's the
greatest things that we ever can do.
How about Jesus, He could have put a stop to the whole thing.
How do I know that? In Matthew 26, beginning in
verse 53, Jesus says or do you not think, or do you think that
I cannot now pray to my Father and He will provide me with more
than 12 legions of angels? And how then the then could the
Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus, how many was
that? How many are 12 legions of
angels? Well, first of all, a legion is
6000. So 6000 * 12 is 72,000 angels.
Now we're going to find when they came to arrest Jesus,
there's going to be a lot of guys there.
A lot of people are opposed to Jesus.
A lot of people there were against him, right?
But they would not have stood up to more than because that's
where he says more than 72,000 angels.
He could have done that, but Jesus says I can't do that.
Why? Because how would the Scripture
be fulfilled that it must happen thus it just has to be in Johns
10 and 17. Jesus said, therefore my Father
loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again.
Jesus even further said, he said no man takes my life.
I my life I freely give. And by the way, that's why fast
forwarding to the cross when Jesus totally in control, Jesus
says it's finished, it's accomplished.
I've done it. Everything you sent me to do,
Father, I've done. And finally he says, Father,
into your hands. I come in my spirit.
And the Bible says he bowed his head.
The word bowed, as you heard me say many times, is a word that
is described to somebody that willfully pillows their head.
That's not the posture of a victim.
That's somebody that gives his life and says this, I lay it
down, you sent me to do it, I've done it, it's finished, and now
I'll die. Wow, I just got chills on that.
That's what Jesus said, OK, He wasn't unwilling, but that
doesn't mean there was no anguish.
And that's evident in his prayer.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays three times
to his father. In Luke's account in Luke 22 and
42, he said, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
yours be done. All right, My question to all of
us is this. It's a rhetorical question.
I'm going to answer it in a minute, but let me just throw it
out in a general sense. What's the cup?
Well, I'm going to tell you what everybody says, everybody
deduces this is the cup, and I've heard it in my whole life.
The cup is the cup of suffering is what most people say.
And when they say or what they're suggesting, when they
say the cup of suffering, they're suggesting the cup of
physical suffering. In other words, what Jesus was
going to have to do physically on the cross.
Let me just suggest this to you, please.
I'm not minimizing the pain, the awfulness of the cross.
It was so horrible that even a Roman historian said that Roman
soldiers, literally even, and Roman citizens shuddered to even
speak about the crucifixion. It was so awful that a Roman
citizen could never be crucified.
In fact, it was for foreign slaves and criminals.
They're the ones that got crucified.
So I'm not minimizing the pain of the cross.
Please don't think I'm doing that.
But to say that the cup that Jesus was saying and to his
Father three times, let this cup pass from me is just physical
suffering that is way too easy. What is it?
In fact, by the way, if you look at Fox's Book of Martyrs, you
know what you find? You find a whole lot of people
that were martyred for their faith.
You know what they did? They went courageously to their
death. Stay with me.
I got a point here. They went courageously to the
death. In fact, some of them, you know
what they did? They went singing hymns and
praying and praising God. Was Jesus less courageous than
they? How about Polycarp when he's
about to be burned at the stake and they said all you got to do
is denounce Jesus. That's all you got to do and you
will not be burned. You know what Polycarp said?
You know the phrase, very ancient phrase.
We all know it. Here it is 80 and six years have
I served him, and he's never done me wrong.
How then could I blasphemy the name of my king, the one who
saved me? How about Stephen when he's
being martyred for his faith? The very first one in Acts
Chapter 7, he looks up into the heavens.
He says he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God and all he
has to say is Lord lay not their sin to their charge and he was
executed for his faith. What about Paul who was beheaded
headed What about Peter who was going to be crucified on a Roman
cross? And tradition says that he said
I'm not worthy to be crucified like my Lord, crucify me upside
down. Was he more courageous than
Jesus? Absolutely not.
In fact, Peter chickened out a few times, didn't he?
Jesus shows supreme courage. So what is the cup and why was
he troubled in spirit? Let me take it a step further.
Hebrews 12 and two, OK, looking under Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God. So that's something else we're
adding here. What do we have?
We have the pain of the cross. He endured it.
We've got the shame of the cross.
He endured that too. OK, all of those things are
true. What was on the Lord's mind that
was troubling Him in spirit with regards to the cup?
I submit to you the cup. Please get.
This is the cup of divine wrath. It is the cup of divine wrath.
And that was terrifying. That was a terrifying reality.
In other words, the Lord wasn't troubled because of what He was
going to anticipate physically or physical suffering.
He was troubled because he anticipated divine wrath from
God and that is spiritual suffering.
You know why He had to bear the sin of the world?
He had to bear the sin of the world and that include God's
divine wrath on sin. Can I say something?
Now you know why God hates sin so much.
Well, the obvious things, it's beneath him, He's perfect, it's
ugly. Secondly, the price that was
paid for it, and that is the blood of His only Son.
But even stop to consider that God hates sin so much because
it's the one and only thing that'll keep us from Him for
eternity. And that's what He wants.
The Bible says the long-suffering of God is
salvation, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. He wants everybody to go to
heaven. He doesn't want that.
That is His desire. How do I know that?
Look at the price that he paid in order to have it.
OK, so the Lord was anticipating the fact that He would have to
bear the sin of the world, and therefore God's divine wrath on
sin. What else?
He would be alienated from his Father.
You know, I'm going to tell you what that took a tremendous
amount of courage to purpose in your mind to go to the cross
where all of your purity would be defiled.
He was perfect in every way. And by the way, that's the only
reason He was the only perfect candidate to be the Lamb of God,
because he was perfect in, excuse me, in every way.
His purity would be violated as He bore the sin of the world and
he would be abandoned by God. In Matthew 27 and 46 in about
the 9th hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Ili ili
la masa bakhtani. That is my God.
My God, why have you forsaken me?
This is a direct quote from the book of Psalms in Psalm 22 and
one my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me and my and the words in my
groaning. All right, most people think and
maybe it's true. I don't know when the we talk
about God's turning his face, even the songs that we sing,
because the Bible talks about and the Scriptures teach the
concept of God turning his face. And the easy answer is this.
And I know that most people say that's because God can't look on
sin. And maybe that's true, but
there's a lot of debate that that's not what that means.
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to talk about what we
actually do know for sure. What we do know for sure is
exactly what the Scripture says from the book of Psalms.
Notice this is what we know for sure.
This is the symbolic turning the face of God away from Jesus.
Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping
me and from the words of my groaning?
OK, what do we know? We know this God, Jesus and the
Holy Spirit have always worked together.
What else do we know? They are one in purpose, they
are one in unity. They are one in every aspect of
what they do. But they're three separate
personages in the Godhead in the very beginning in Genesis
chapter 1 and verse 26, let us make man in our image after our
likeness. Who was there?
God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit doing what?
Working together in the entire life of Jesus in heaven and on
the earth, except in this one instance, God was there side by
side, if not in heaven literally, but figuratively,
while Jesus walked on the earth. God was with Jesus every step of
the way until now. And the reason for that is he
had to do this all by himself. He had to do it all on His own.
That is infinite supreme courage.
He does so undaunted and without hesitation.
But before we go any further, when it comes to the garden, as
you've heard me say this phrase about the crucifixion, I'll say
it again. Here we go.
He's not trapped in the garden, He's not tricked in the garden,
and He is not surprised in the garden.
Let's go to John 18 and verse one.
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. OK, this phrase right here after
he had spoken these words is referring to John chapter 17.
And if you want to know, by the way, what the Lord's Prayer is,
that's the Lord's Prayer. That's the prayer the Lord
prayed. OK, I know that there's another
passage that people call the Lord's Prayer, but nobody, the
Lord never called it the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, so forth.
OK, the Lord didn't call it that, and neither does the
Scripture man calls it that. That was a prayer that Jesus
gave as a model, not words to be regurgitated, but a model on how
to pray before the Kingdom came. OK, if you want to know what the
Lord's Prayer is, it's John 17. When He spoke those words in His
prayer in John 17, what happens? He and his disciples, they left
the upper room, they left the city of Jerusalem, they went
down a little slope. They crossed the Brook Kidron
and they went to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of
Gethsemane, and that's where they went immediately.
You know, that was a place that Jesus spent a lot of evenings
there. It was a place that scholars say
or would refer to it like this, the closest thing the Lord ever
had to a place on the earth. It was a place where he would
retire at evening time. According to John chapter 8.
It was a very familiar place, the Garden of Gethsemane.
It was his custom. It was a place that he went to
be close to his Father. You know, maybe you have a place
like that. Maybe you have a place that you
just want to go and get to a quiet place, and that's the
place that you can get your mind right and you can pray to God.
You know, a symbolic sense. The Bible talks about going into
your closet. OK.
In other words, finding your private place or some place that
you want to just go and it's just you and God and you can
talk to God, whatever that is for you.
I don't know. Jesus had one too.
It's called the Garden of Gethsemane.
That's where the Lord went. OK.
Sometimes though, he would go up the side of the Mount of Olives.
He'd make a little turn, he'd take a little Rd. around the
hill, and he'd go to a place called Bethany.
And he would be there with dear friends Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus. But not this night, Not this
night. It was His time to go to this
fatal garden. And I'm going to submit to you
this. He did it on purpose.
Not only that, He knew everything that was going to
happen. And #3 He planned every detail
that happened in it. OK?
It was a place that the disciples knew about.
Jesus took his disciples there with him.
But do you know who else knew about that place?
You know Judas, the vile betrayer.
He knew it too. He knew where it was, and Jesus
knew that Judas knew 2 reasons #1 Jesus knows everything.
OK, that's obvious, right? But there's another reason that
Jesus knew that Judas the Betrayer knew, and it's all
because of an Old Testament example.
An Old Testament passage that we can read about an Old Testament
example in prophecy brings up an interesting point about
prophecy. I'm going to be brief about
this, but we'll throw it on there about prophecy because
prophecy matters. But let's talk about it for just
a moment. There's two kinds of prophecy.
There's verbal predictive prophecy and there is typical
prophecy. OK, verbal predictive prophecy
is a prophecy that's verbally spoken that's going to happen or
be proven or fulfilled later on. Give you an example of verbal
predictive prophecy? Here's an easy one.
Here's a softball toss. Here we go.
For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given.
That's Jesus verbal predictive prophecy.
Jesus fulfilled that. He was born of a virgin.
He did come into the world and a son, the Son of God, was given
to all mankind. Great stuff.
Verbal predictive prophecy. Typical prophecy is prophecy in
types. That's a fancy word for a
picture or an example. OK, a picture or an example in
the Old Testament fulfilled with Jesus in the New Testament, for
example, every Old Testament sacrifice was a picture of Jesus
Christ. A prophecy of a final sacrifice
would come. That is typical prophecy.
All right. Also in a in a distance in a, in
more than this or step from this with typical prophecy.
There were also men or characters in the Old Testament
who were types of Christ who by their life actually typify
Jesus. Give you 3 brief quick examples.
Here we go #1 How about Moses? OK, the children of Israel were
in Egyptian bondage for many, many years.
God sent Moses, a deliverer to deliver the children of Israel
out of Egyptian bondage in life manner, Moses became a type or a
picture of Jesus because guess what, all of us were in the
bondage of sin and God sent Jesus to deliver us from sin.
So therefore, Old Testament type, Old Testament picture
Moses was a picture of Jesus. Let's move on, how about Joseph?
I don't have time to go into this.
It's actually a sermon all in itself, but there is over 100
points of likeness in the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus.
I'm just going to give you one because I don't have time.
Here we go. One when Joseph was sold by his
brothers and betrayed and sold by his brothers into slavery.
He was sold for 20 pieces of silver, the price of a slave.
When Jesus was sold and betrayed by Judas, he was also sold for
the price of a slave and at that time it was 30 pieces of silver.
Joseph in 100 points of likeness in his life became a type of
Jesus Christ. What else?
Sometimes there's even a character in an event that
typify Jesus. One example would be Isaac, when
God told Abraham, Abraham, take your son Isaac, the one that you
love, your only son, you sound familiar.
Your only son, the one you love, sound familiar.
And God said, take him and take him to a place that I will tell
you and offer him as a sacrifice unto me.
We know the story. They leave, they leave for three
days. 03 days is significant, isn't it?
Three days? They leave for three days.
And by the way, in Abraham's mind, Isaac was gone from the
very moment that they left on that journey.
You know what's going to happen three days later, Abraham, the
father gets him back. You know what happened with
Jesus? He was crucified, he was buried.
Guess what happened? Father lost him.
Three days later, God got him back.
Notice, but in this instance, Isaac, who typified Christ in
this one event, actually carried the wood that he would be
sacrificed on. Can you imagine carrying the
wood that you're going to be sacrificed on?
Jesus carried the wood that he was sacrificed on to in this
event. Isaac typified Jesus in that
event. OK, give you another one.
And that's the reason that I'm doing this is because we're
getting to the connection of why everybody would have known what
Judas was going to do, and Jesus knew too.
And that's the character from the Old Testament, David.
The Bible says that Jesus was a king like David, and David was
betrayed by a familiar friend and his name was a hit.
The fell Jesus was betrayed by a familiar friend and his name was
Judas. Now David said the following in
Psalm 41 and verse 9. Even my own familiar friend in
whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel
against me. I got to make this point, got to
make this clarification. It is true that this statement
is twofold. 2 Twofold. One, it does include Jesus.
It does include as if David was speaking for the mouthpiece of
Jesus in the book of Psalms, like he did many times talking
about Judas. That's true, but literally and
specifically, David had the same exact thing.
A familiar friend who he trusted lifted up his heel against him.
So from a prophetic type scenario, this is talking about
a hit the film. All right, let's talk about
Jesus. In John 13 and 18, Jesus said
this. I do not speak concerning all of
you. I know whom I've chosen, but
that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me,
and we know exactly who that is. That is Judas Iscariot.
So a hit. The fell was David's closest
advisor. Judas was the apostle, an
apostle in the Lord's inner circle.
What story am I referring to about hit the film?
I'm talking about Second Samuel, chapter 15.
Don't turn there, stay with me. I'll narrate it and we'll be
quick. Second Samuel, chapter 15.
David is king, and he's got a bad son.
He's got a wicked, corrupt son. It was his third oldest son and
his name was Absalom. Now I don't understand this, but
Absalom had two motives and I don't get this.
Number one, he wanted to kill his father.
Can you imagine that killing your dad?
He wanted to kill his father and he wanted to take away the
Kingdom. He wanted to reign as king, get
his dad out of there. Ahithophel, according to I think
it's First Chronicles 27, Ahithophel was David's
counselor. And the word in Hebrew, the word
counselor translated in Hebrew means one who guides.
So Ahithophel was supposed to be the guy that was by the David's
side, the King's side, and guide him.
That's when Ahithophel's job was, that's what he was supposed
to do. But remember, the Bible says
he's lifted up his heel against me.
In other words, he's opposed. He becomes the enemy of me.
OK, what do we also know about Ahithophel?
He was a counselor. He was a guide, yes, but he was
also the grandfather of Bathsheba.
Now, I don't know if this is true and I don't know that it
matters, but some people say, some scholars say that that's
the reason that a hit the fell rose up against David is because
David had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba.
Whether that's true or not, the Bible doesn't say that.
What we do know for sure, a hit the fell was David's counselor.
A hit the fell was Bathsheba's grandfather.
And one day he's going to join forces with the enemy, and
that's Absalom. Let's talk about Absalom for
just a moment. There's so much to the story we
can't go into. Absalom one day goes to his
father and he lies to him. He comes to David and he says to
David, I want to go to Hebron and worship God.
Sounds good, right? And David said, go ahead, gives
his blessing. The whole point is he's lying.
He's lying. When he gets to Jerusalem, he
goes out and he tells everybody, he says I am now ruling over all
of Israel. So here was the question, what
are we going to do to get rid of David?
A hit the fell who's supposed to be on David's side?
A hit the fell now is going to give counsel to the opposite
side and that is Absalom, second Samuel 17 and verse one that got
chopped off. That's verse one.
Moreover, a hit the fell said to Absalom, Now let me choose
12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I will come upon him while he is
weary and weak and make him afraid, and all the people who
are with him will flee, and I will strike only the King.
Doesn't that sound a little familiar?
What happens with Jesus when he escaped?
You know where he went, David. He left Jerusalem.
He went down the slope, He crossed the Kidron, He went to
the Mount of Olives with his faithful disciples or faithful
followers. What did Jesus do on this fatal
night? He left Jerusalem, He went down
the slope, He crossed the Kidron, He went to the Mount of
Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane with his faithful
followers. So Hithephel and David in that
little incident become a perfect picture in the Old Testament of
what is to come when the true king arrives and Judas becomes
even more treacherous, treacherous than Hithephel.
OK, the question is, if Jesus knew that, why did he go to the
garden? Well, first of all, the garden
was threefold. Here's the obvious stuff.
The garden was a place of prayer, a place where He prayed
to His Father. The garden was a place of rest,
according to John chapter 8, that He went at in the evening
time, and the garden was a place of fellowship that He could have
with His disciples. All of that is obvious, but all
of those things are secondary, OK?
The primary reason that Jesus went to Gethsemane is because He
knew that Judas would be there and he knew that Judas knew
Jesus would be there and He knew Judas would take the mob
straight to him. Why Old Testament prophecy with
Ahithophel? But not only that with
verbalization, accurate verbalization.
It even says he would buy or sell Jesus and buy the Potter's
field. The Lord knew John 18 and verse
2, and Judas who betrayed him also knew the place, for Jesus
often met there with His disciples.
Jesus wanted the final betrayal to be in the garden.
If the final betrayal would have happened, by the way, in
Jerusalem, there would have been perhaps an insurrection, maybe
even a revolution. You know why?
Because there was a lot of people that hated Jesus, but
there was a lot of people that love Jesus too.
And with that, and with all the people that love Jesus, He
healed them. He fed them, did great stuff for
him, right There would have been an insurrection, maybe a fight
back, a revolution. He didn't want that.
You know why? Remember, he says, my life was
not taken. My life I freely gave.
This is voluntary, willful surrender.
John 1017 and 18. We read the first verse a moment
ago. Now we get into 18.
Therefore my father loves me because I lay down my life that
I might take it again. No one takes it from me, but I
lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This command I have received
from my father. Listen, folks, a coward would
have gone any place but the garden.
Matthew 26 says more stuff about it.
Notice a great multitude came, and they came with swords and
clubs, and they were ready for action.
Can you imagine how many came? How many in John 18 and 3?
Then Judas having received a detachment of troops.
What is that? A detachment of troops is a
Roman cohort. How many of the Roman cohort?
Well, first of all, we know that by this deduction a Roman legion
is 10 cohorts. Therefore 10 cohorts, which is a
Roman legion was 5000 men. So 1 detachment of troops or one
Roman cohort was about 500 men. Wow, 500 guys soldiers, plus the
chief priests and the Pharisees and the angry mob.
And Judas is out in front and they come with lanterns and
torches. Now you'll remember this.
This part might be a little familiar, OK?
They came with lanterns and torches.
Historically, during the time that this occurred, and which is
during the Passover, historians say that there would have been a
full moon, and that moon would have lit up the sky.
In other words, you would not have needed lanterns and torches
to navigate down the road and go into the Mount of Olives and the
Garden of Gethsemane. You wouldn't have needed that to
go from Jerusalem to that place. They took lanterns and torches
because they thought they were going to have to search every
nook and cranny and find Jesus because they thought he'd be
hiding somewhere. Here comes 500 men, along with
chief priests and Pharisees and the angry mob, and Judas is out
front. Interesting.
The irony. They came with lanterns and
torches looking for the light of the world, and they came with
weapons in search of the Prince of Peace.
What a brutal misinterpretation of who the Lord was.
And here comes Judas. What happens when he arrives?
The other gospel accounts tell us more.
Let's go to Mark, Mark 14 and 44.
Now his betrayer had given them a signal saying whoever I kiss,
he's the one sees him and lead him away.
All right, Notice in verse 45, as soon as he had come,
immediately he went up and he said to him, Rabbi, Rabbi, and
he kissed him. You might look at that and say,
well, what's the big deal? It just says what he said he was
going to do until you look up this word kissed.
This is an intensified form of the verb to kiss.
He said when I kiss him, that's who it is.
But this word is different, an intensified form of the verb.
In other words, a fervent, continuous expression of
affection, meaning He kissed him repeatedly.
Wow. Then verse 4, Jesus.
Therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, He
went forward. He knew.
He knew what was going to happen.
He's all knowing. But he also knew from prophecy
too. I do not speak concerning all of
you. I know whom I've chosen, but the
scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has
lifted up his heel against me. This is humble, willing
sacrifice. OK, it may be that the kiss came
first, but I'm saying this. Nothing happened until Jesus
went forward. Nothing happened until he went
forward and he said this. Whom are you seeking?
Who are you looking for? So and I said, this is the
majority of the lesson. Now we're going to hit the next
three really fast. Stay with me.
I'm almost finished. Not only do we see the Lord's
supreme courage in every way, but you know what else we see?
We see his supreme power. We see his supreme power in the
garden in chapter 18 and verse 5 of John.
They answered and said Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus said to them,
I am he. You might remember this, the
word He by the way, this whole thing is in italics, but the
word he in the original or in the Scripture in the original is
not there. It is in italics in our English
translations, which means it was added by the translators for
clarity. In other words, in the original,
it simply says this I am came to notice we see a supreme power in
the next verse when he said to them, I am he or I am, they drew
back and they fell to the ground.
You remember this, This is not new, very brief.
I got to be brief about this. Be careful when you read
commentaries and the explanation that commentaries give, because
sometimes a commentary can just give you what they think because
they're not inspired by God. And sometimes it's better just
to read the Bible and see what the Scripture says and what
makes sense. Why did they fall?
Commentators say, well, they were so stunned that they found
him so quickly, so they tipped over and fell.
Really. 500 men soldiers stunned?
Come on. Other commentators say, well,
one guy tripped. You've heard me say this.
One guy tripped. And like Domino's, they all
fell. Really.
You don't think 500 soldiers knew how to stand up?
Come on, why did they fall? They fell because of what he
said. He was demonstrating his supreme
power. He said I am because that's who
He is. He's the I am.
And they fell. Thirdly, you know what else we
see? Not only his supreme power, Oh,
we see his supreme love. Jesus anticipated the cross.
He never was concerned about himself.
He is always concerned about his disciples.
In fact, Mark's account says that he interrupts his prayer
three times to go check on his disciples in John 18 and verse
7. Notice then he asked them again,
who are you seeking? And they said Jesus of Nazareth.
Why did he ask them twice? The next verse Jesus answered.
I've told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek me, let
these go their way. Picture this because I want to
show this as an example of what Jesus does for us today too.
OK, you got the enemy, you got the disciples who's standing in
the middle. I see some nodding your head.
Yeah, you get it. Jesus, the busiest man in the
world that was about to be crucified for the sins of the
world. He's protecting his disciples,
he said. I already told you.
That's why the question was asked twice.
I already told you that it's me that you're looking for.
If that's all you want, then you let these go their way.
You live that you leave them alone.
One man put it like this, Jesus is not the kind of shepherd that
rescues the sheep when he's half eaten by the wolf.
No, he stood in the gap and he protected his own.
How do I know, verse nine, that the saying might be fulfilled,
which you spoke of? Those who you gave me, I have
lost none. I believe the Lord knew they
were not ready for a test like that.
They would not have been able to handle it.
You know, the Bible talks about that too when it comes to us,
doesn't it? Paul dealt with that.
There's no temptation taken you except what is common to man.
But with the temptation, we're given a means of escape that
we're able to bear it. In other words, the temptations
that come our way are not going to be more than we're able to
bear. Jesus knew they were going to
not be able to bear that. It was too much.
He stood in the gap and he protected them, OK, Just like he
does for us today. Wow.
So let me just say this, if you are a faithful child of God and
you're doing your very best and you have something come your
way, don't think it's too much because the Lord says, yeah, you
can handle it. And not only that, I'm there
with you all the way to help you through it.
Also, Jesus knew that if something happened to them, they
wouldn't be able to carry out their Commission to proclaim the
gospel and do their work after he was gone.
This is the protecting power of the shepherd.
And then specifically, he protects old Peter.
Here comes impulsive Peter verse 10.
Then Simon Peter having a sword, drew it and struck the high
priest servant and cut off his right ear.
And the servant's name was Malchus.
Luke's account says that Jesus grabbed that ear and he put it
back on. If you look at the original
language, it actually demonstrates the concept.
He actually made him a new ear because by the way, if you cut
off an ear, it's pretty, I don't know, mangled.
I would say he made him a new ear.
He protected him. Now, what was he actually doing
when he said this in Matthew 26 and 52?
But Jesus said to him, put your sword in its place, for all who
take the sword will perish by the sword.
First of all, what was Peter trying to do?
He what? He was a fisherman.
He wasn't a skilled swordsman. He wasn't trying to just shave
down the side of old Malchus's face and cut off his ear.
He was trying to cut his head off.
He was in battle and we can try to cut his head off and Malchus
moved and he sliced off his ear. I believe that.
So because of that, people assume Jesus says put up your
sword from this place because if you take up the sword you will
perish the sword. So most people commonly think
what he was doing is he was protecting him from the death
penalty. Maybe that's true, maybe not.
I think there's a little better point though.
I think there's a better point. What was the Lord actually
saying with regards to His Kingdom?
One violence begets violence. Nothing good ever comes from
violence. Violence begets violence.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace bringing in a Kingdom of peace.
It is a spiritual Kingdom, not a fleshly Kingdom.
So he was saying, put your sword in its place because if you take
the sword, you'll perish with the sword.
You're missing the whole point of my Kingdom, Peter.
And he protected him. Wow.
And that comes to our last point in our conclusion.
Here we go. And maybe this is the most
sobering thought of all. Maybe this one is going to get
all of us a little bit. And I hope it does me too.
Because you know what? We hate this word.
Society hates this word. You know what it is?
Obedience. We see supreme obedience by
Jesus. Going back to verse 11, after he
told Peter, put your sword into its sheath, he said shall I not
drink the cup which my Father has given me?
Are you really going to stand in my way?
Do you really think that I shouldn't drink the cup?
We talked about what that is and fulfill exactly what my Father
sent me to do. Are you really going to stand in
my way? Remember when Jesus said get
behind me, Satan here, he's saying to Peter, I got a job to
do. Are you really going to stand in
that way and notice, shall I not drink the cup which my Father
has given me? I'm going to ask you a question
when it comes to obedience. Do you make your decisions in
your life from a spiritual perspective based on that
obedience? The opposite of obedience is
this. I'm going to do it my way.
I like this other way instead. I know the Scripture says that,
but I like this. I got a friend of mine, good
friend, we talk the Bible all the time.
He said, I know the Scriptures say that, but I just choose to
decide that I'm going to believe this other instead.
Even the Lord Jesus demonstrated supreme obedience and you know
what he did? He paid a price he didn't owe
because we had a debt we couldn't pay.
Aren't you thankful that he did that?
I'm so thankful that he did that.
So in closing this morning, when Jesus went to that fatal garden,
he knew where he was going. He knew the whole thing.
And he goes to the garden of Gethsemane and four preeminent
features are brought out in the garden which could show him as a
victim. But he's not 4 things.
Supreme courage. A coward would have gone
anywhere but the Garden. Supreme power.
He spoke the words I am, and they fell at his feet.
By the way, it had no effect on them.
They just got right back up and, you know, bounced right back up.
No effect. What else?
Supreme love. He protected his own, and He
protects us too. And finally, supreme obedience.
4 preeminent features found when Jesus went to the Garden of
Gethsemane. Then they took Him and it was on
to the mock trial, the beatings, and the scourging, and then to
Golgotha where he would fulfill God's plan.
Does that give you a greater appreciation for the Lord?
I hope so. He could have stopped at all,
but He didn't. He did that for you.
He did it for me. What are we willing to do back
in return for Him? Is He first in our life or is He
an afterthought every once in a while?
Is he #1 Can't say he's #1 without demonstrating it.
So He's going to be demonstrated in my life by my actions.
Is he #1 Because guess what? You were number one to Him.
We never close a time when we teach from the Word of God, when
we don't extend an invitation to somebody that might be subject
to the gospel call. Are you here and not a
Christian? There are steps in order to
receive the benefits and blessings of what Jesus has done
for us. The first thing you got to do,
you got to hear the Word of God. Romans 10/17 So then faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
After you hear the word of God, you got a choice.
You got to believe with all your heart.
Hebrews 11 and 6. Without faith it's impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and
that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Then what Jesus said you got to make some changes.
You know it's true. Jesus wants you to come as you
are, that's true. But when you come to Christ, you
leave what you were behind and Jesus wants us to change.
That's called repentance of our sins.
Acts 17 and 30. Truly these times of ignorance
got overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent.
Got to change. Then we must be willing to
confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
Acts 837 Then Philip said, if you believe with all your heart,
you may. And he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Upon taking those steps, you are a fit candidate to go to the
point of salvation, and that's to be baptized for the remission
of sins. Mark 1616.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does
not believe will be condemned. The word belief means this,
having the force to obey. I believe so much, I'm going to
obey. There's that word again, obey,
I'm going to obey. And what the Lord say, be
baptized. Is it necessary?
OK, I can't give you the verse on that because the computer's
doing a thing. I'll quote it first.
Peter 321 Is it necessary? The like figure we're in the
even baptism. This is the from the King James.
I like how the King James renders it doth also now save
us. What's that mean?
It saves us not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the
answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. If you've never become a
Christian, you could do that today.
We'd love to assist you in that. Maybe you have taken those steps
of obedience. Maybe there's something in your
life that just isn't what it should be.
Hey, all that matters what you do now, repent of that.
Confess that. We'll pray with you and for you,
and God will forgive and restore all fixed.
We want to be the class. Come forward while we stand,
while we stand.