Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John
John 18:12-27 10/29/06
Message: ‘When you hit bottom, you’re not alone!’
Text: John 18:12-27
Introduction: Do you know what it means to hit bottom?
· Anyone who has struggled with an addiction knows what it means to hit bottom.
· Anyone who has struggled through a messy divorce knows what it means to hit bottom.
· Anyone who has struggled with bouts of depression knows what it means to hit bottom.
· The bottom isn’t a nice place to be.
· The bottom is a very lonely place because no one wants to be around you when you’re there.
Is your theology, your understanding of God, big enough to include a Christian hitting bottom?
Read: Romans 7:19-20, 24 ‘For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?’
Paul speaks about the Christian hitting bottom. It’s not a nice place to be and you feel all alone…even Paul wondered who would rescue him, who would lift him up after he had fallen.
Read: Romans 7:25a; 8:1 ‘Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’
Then he realizes he’s not alone, there is one who’s always there, not to condemn, but to love and lift you up when you’ve hit bottom.
Transition: Turn in your Bibles to John 18:12 (Pg. 826 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you). It’s here we’ll see that Paul wasn’t the first Christian to hit bottom, Peter arrived there before him. And as hard as it was, Peter will find that even at the bottom, Jesus is there with love, acceptance and forgiveness.
I. John 18:12-14 Jesus on Trial pt.1
Read: John 18:12-14
A few things here of note.
1. Only John mentions Jesus’ interrogation before Annas. Why Annas and not focus on Caiaphas who was the High Priest?
· Well, Annas was High Priest for a while but had the job taken away from him by the Romans.
· And remember the place in the Temple courtyard that Jesus overturned the tables and threw out the merchants and he declared that his Fathers House had been turned into a den of thieves? Guess who owned that area called the Temple Bazaar? Historians tell us it was Annas and his family.
· So, Jesus not only disrupted his business, he accused a former High Priest of Israel of desecrating God’s House. Do you think it’s possible that Anna held a bit of a grudge against Jesus?
2. The High Priest, Caiaphas, had already made up his mind about Jesus…he had to die. John 11:46-53 records that it was Caiaphas who said ‘One man must die for the people’ this one man was Jesus. If Caiaphas had only understood what he said No, this was not going to be a fair trial because the guilty verdict has already been rendered.
3. Notice that Jesus is bound. Since he gave himself up willingly, it seems unnecessary. But is this an allusion to another willing victim also bound for sacrifice…Isaac? (Gen. 22:9)
Transition: Jesus is on trial for his life, but, John finds it necessary to talk about another trial that was going on in the courtyard…Peter’s.
II. John 18:15-18 Peter’s Denial pt.1
Read: John 18:15-18
Again a few things to notice.
1. While the other disciples are released by the Roman soldiers and run for their lives, Peter and an unnamed disciple follow Jesus…from a distance I’m sure.
· The unnamed disciple is known to the High Priest and most scholars believe this is John, the one who wrote this gospel. It may be he’s known to the High Priest because of his father Zebedee’s lucrative fishing business.
· Notice that John’s not afraid to follow Jesus and enter the High Priests courtyard. By his actions, it would surely be known that he was a follower of Jesus, and his life may have been in jeopardy…but he entered anyway.
2. Peter wasn’t allowed in so John asked the girl watching the gate to let him in.
· I think Peter would have preferred to wait on the other side of the gate. How do I know? When he entered the girl asked if he was a disciple of Jesus…Peter answered ‘I am not’.
· I don’t believe Peter had planned on denying Jesus, it just happened. It was easy and it didn’t complicate things and it was safe. However, I doubt Peter understood the trouble his three words ‘I am not’ would bring him.
3. Think about how Peter must have felt?
· Just a few moments ago he was bold and brave, albeit stupid enough, to try to defend Jesus by suing his sword.
· Now, he’s a coward, denying he knows Jesus to the girl at the gate.
· And on top of it, he must have been embarrassed to have done this in front of John, especially when John had not hidden the fact that he was a disciple of Jesus.
4. Think about how John must have felt?
· He was known to this girl as a disciple of Jesus, although you don’t get that from the NIV.
Read: John 18:17 ‘The slave-girl therefore who kept the door *said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He *said, “I am not.” NASB
· The word ‘also’ tell us the girl knew John was Jesus’ disciple…if she knew, everyone else most likely knew. Yet, John was willing to risk his life to be with Jesus. Peter, not so much as he chose to denied knowing him.
5. Why did Peter deny knowing Jesus?
· Perhaps he believed what he once read in the Book of Moses; ch. 15 verse 5 ‘A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble.’ OK, so there’s no Book of Moses, but the proverb is all too true for many Christians just before they hit bottom.
Don’t answer out loud but be honest. Have you ever been guilty of denying Christ? Have you ever kept the fact that you are a Christian a secret from anyone or in any particular situation in your life? Before we condemn Peter, let’s realize that we have met him more than a few times at the bottom.
Transition: John leaves the courtyard and goes into the building where Jesus is being interrogated. Let’s see what’s going on.
III. John 18:19-24 Jesus on Trial Pt.2
Read: John 18:19-24
What’s wrong with this picture?
1. The interrogation / trial was illegal according to Jewish law.
· A man was considered innocent until proven guilty
· He could not be questioned until accusations by witnesses were made
· No one could be forced to testify against themselves
· No one could be physically coerced to make a confession, we read that Jesus was slapped by one of the guards. (Can you imagine if the prosecuting attorney in the Martha Stewart trial went over and slapped her silly while she was testifying on the stand?)
· Finally, it was against the law to have a trial at night
2. Annas didn’t get what he wanted
· He wanted to humiliate Jesus by forcing him to confess to crimes he didn’t commit. It didn’t happen so he sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the High Priest who had an office on the other side of the courtyard.
Transition: OK, I believe this is where it all happens, the bottom line for hitting bottom.
IV. John 18:25-27 Peter’s Denial, Pt.2
Read: John 18:25-27
‘A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble.’ And once you tell the first lie, it become easier to tell the next, and the next. And that’s what happened to Peter. Two more times Peter lies about being one of Jesus’ disciples, one of his friends.
· Scripture tells us that there’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother, at this moment, it certainly wasn’t Peter. But that friend was very close by.
Understand something. I don’t believe it was Peter’s faith that failed. He loved Jesus, he believed in Jesus, he was the one who when a lot of Jeusus’ followers were leaving him said ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.’ (Jn 6:68) No, it was not Peter’s faith that failed him, it was his courage. And it’s easy to lose heart, to lost courage when you think you are all alone.
There is an important piece to all this that’s missing from John’s Gospel. Please turn to Luke 22:60-62.
Read: Luke 22:60-62 ‘But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.’
Isn’t it a wonderful coincidence that Jesus just happened to be walking across the courtyard at the very moment Peter hears the rooster crow? No coincidence at all….remember from last week, Jesus is in control?
Here it is, the bottom line when you hit bottom.
· Jesus is there with you and he doesn’t condemn you.
· Jesus is there with you and he loves you with the same love that saved you from your sin.
· Jesus is there with you and he forgives you when you repent.
I believe Peter’s tears flowed for two reasons.
· First, they were tears of repentance; he was sorry for his lack of courage, he was sorry for denying Jesus, his friend and his Lord.
· Second, they were tears of joy; as Jesus looked at him Peter saw love in Jesus’ eyes and he knew Jesus still considered him a friend.
Remember Christian when you hit bottom ‘There is now therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom. 8:1)
Jesus lifts you up when you’ve fallen, not with condemnation but with love, compassion and kindness.
Read: Romans 2:4 ‘Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?’
Isn’t that Good News! The Good News of Jesus Christ is his love, forgiveness and acceptance extends beyond the day of your salvation…even to the times you hit bottom. And you will experience it when you seek his face when you have fallen.
Conclusion
How can we avoid the bottom?
1. Be honest with yourself about your weaknesses.
2. Remember you were saved by God’s grace, and are continually sustained by God’s grace.
3. Realize that godly people can hit bottom
· Peter did, so did Paul, David, Abraham, and Moses to name a few.
4. You can handle any temptation if you throw everything against it when it first appears, before it has sunk it’s teeth into you.
· Seek God, fall to your knees if necessary, quote Scripture, run
· In the strength and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, fight the first temptation and there may not be a second.
5. God is the God of second chances.
· He’s patient and long suffering.
· He will stick right beside you until you come back to him.
6. Develop spiritual disciplines
· Personal, daily worship
· Daily reading of God’s Word
· Regular corporate worship
· Regular study of God’s Word alone and with other Christians
· Pray without ceasing
· And yes, even learn to fast.
7 Establish relationships where someone holds you accountable for your walk before the Lord.
8. Monitor your friendships carefully.
· Stay away from people who distract you from the things of God
· Hang out with those who are moving toward God themselves.
9. Live with an eye on the consequences of your actions.
· Ask yourself what it will cost you if you give in to temptation.
10. Never be afraid to reveal to others that you’re a Christian.
And remember, should you find you’ve hit bottom. Know that you’re not alone…Jesus is there with you, seek his face.