Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John
John 18:1-11 10/22/06
Message: ‘He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands’
Text: John 18:1-11
Now that the children are gone, let’s act like one, let’s have some fun.
‘He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands’
Intro: Bring back memories of youth camp when you were a child? Acting childlike has its advantages.
· Children believe there is nothing that happens that their parents can’t fix.
· While, at times, they may test their parents authority, they know their parents are in control.
· And that knowledge brings them comfort and security.
We just sang ‘He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands’…do you believe that?
· As a child of God do you believe there’s nothing that God can’t fix?
· While, at times, you test God’s authority, do you still know he’s in control?
· And does that knowledge bring you comfort and security?
In our study this morning we enter familiar territory. We’ve read this text often, especially during the Easter season. Yet I think in our familiarity we can lose site of what’s obvious.
Background: This is the account of Jesus’ arrest. But we can miss the fact that this is like no other arrest. Because here, Jesus, the one being arrested, is in control. The mob who comes to arrest Jesus think they got him where they want him…but the truth is, here in the Garden, Jesus is the one in charge.
Transition: Open your Bibles to John 18:1 (pg. 826 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) Here we’ll see Jesus exercising authority and control over the final events in his life.
1. John 18:1 The Place
Read: John 18:1
Let’s back up a bit. In the Upper Room, Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him. They all asked ‘Is it I?’ Jesus privately tells Judas, ‘Go and do what you must do.’
When Jesus, let Judas know, that he knew what he was up to, it messed up Judas’ plan. The religious leaders wanted to wait till after the Passover. Now, because he is found out, Judas has only hours to find a way to betray Jesus as opposed to finding the right opportunity.
Jesus was in control. He forced Judas and the religious leaders to act in a way that was contrary to their plan.
After the Upper Room, Jesus and his disciples, minus Judas, make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus teaches them and prays for them. Gethsemane was a favorite place for Jesus and his disciples to camp out while in Jerusalem…and Judas knew that.
Jesus had positioned himself in the Garden to be arrested and he knew that Judas would look for him there. And that’s exactly what happened.
Transition: So, who showed up?
2. John 18:2-3 The People
Read: John 18:2-3
Who showed up to arrest Jesus and 11 disciples?
· Judas, one of Jesus’ friends.
· A detachment of Roman soldiers, could have been upwards of a few hundred men in armor and with weapons
· Members of the Sanhedrin: Pharisees and Sadducees
· From the other Gospels we know that part of the Temple Guard were there
They came prepared for the worst.
· They had lanterns and torches, expecting a real manhunt, perhaps lasting through the night thinking Jesus and his disciples might attempt to hide from them
· They came with armor, and weapons….they were ready to rumble, just in case Jesus and his men decided to fight.
Transition: So what happened?
3. John 18:4 The Question
Read: John 18:4
The angry mob and Roman soldiers arrive in the Garden, the exact spot Judas knew Jesus would be…and Jesus, rather than hide or run away, comes out to greet them!
· Jesus is not a scared criminal who finally got caught
· Jesus is not the helpless victim of a lynch mop
· Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who holds the world together in his hands…even at his arrest
From the other Gospels we know that Jesus had just come from spending a heart wrenching time praying to his Father to have the cup of death pass from him. But he chose to obey the Father’s will…he chose to give his life for you and me.
· Strengthened from prayer he was prepared for what faced him. (that’s a lesson we can learn)
With authority and majesty, in complete control of every rapid breath that was being taken, Jesus walked up to the leader of the Roman soldiers, placing himself between his disciples and the mob and asked ‘Who is it you want?’ or to put it another way ‘Who are you seeking?’
Transition: Before I go any further in the text, let me stop to ask you the same question… ‘When you came to CBC this morning, who were you seeking?’ Think about that for a moment.
4. John 18:5-7 The Responses
Read: John 18:5-7
Jesus asked ‘Who is it you want?’ ‘Who are you seeking?’ They replied, Jesus of Nazareth.
· They were looking for the man, when Jesus was offering them their Savior and Messiah
Let me ask you again ‘When you came to CBC this morning, who were you seeking?
· The man, Jesus from the bible?
· Or Jesus Christ, the Son of the One True and Ever Living God?
· The one you read and sing about then go home the same way to came, fearful of your future, while at the same time self sufficient?
· Or the One who encounters you in worship and you leave transformed by his power, healed by his love and forgiven by his grace, confident that He’s in control and you’re totally dependent upon him?
Friends, whether you are a Christian or a seeker, Jesus’ question ‘Who is it you want? ‘Who are you seeking?’ is the most important question you will answer everyday you wake up.
Back to the text. They said ‘Jesus of Nazareth’..the man, Jesus replied ‘I Am’. Although your text reads that Jesus said ‘I am he’ the ‘he’ is not in the original Greek.
Do you know what I believe?
· Jesus, for a moment revealed just a bit of his glory, his majesty, his splendor
· and with the powerful Word of the One True and Ever Living God, he declared to them who he truly was…the Great I Am.
Being part of the ‘frozen chosen’, we miss or hide our eyes to what happened here. The mob was struck by the power of the Holy Spirit and they fell to their knees…just like everyone will one day when Jesus returns…amen?
· They were forced by the Holy Spirit to bend at the knee,
· I pray you bend you knee to Jesus out of love and thankfulness to God
Transition: Jesus was in control that night, so much so his absolute authority knocked the mob to their knees…and Jesus had a reason for that too.
5. John 18:8-9 The Request
Read: John 18:8-9
Jesus placed himself between his disciples and the mob and asked them ‘who is it that you want?’ They replied ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. Understand when he responded with ‘I Am’ he did so to demonstrate his control over what was happening…you see he had to do something very
important…save his disciples…both physically
now and spiritually later. Let me explain.
By throwing the mob off balance, Jesus was able to make a request…he wanted his disciples released. Think about it, if you thought Jesus was a revolutionary, you would not want his followers free to keep his work alive.
Standing between his disciples and the mob, Jesus said, you’ve come for me, take me and let them go. And they did…they released the disciples. The Roman soldiers obeyed Jesus’ request…was Jesus in control?
I also want you to notice that this fulfilled Scripture…remember John 6:39?
Read: John 6:39 ‘And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.’
How cool is that? Jesus is doing what he said he would do, save his disciples. And the Father was protecting his disciples, just like Jesus prayed for. Every step of the way, Jesus was in control…and he still is.
Transition: Especially when we lose control…like Peter did.
6. John 18:10-11 The Sword and the Cup
Read: John 18:10-11
It seems Peter was a better fisherman than he was a swordsman. I’m sure he wanted to separate Malchus’ head from his body, but he managed to get an ear.
· Can you identify with Peter? Impulsive, at times, weak, at times but always passionate about his Lord. I can.
You know why I think Peter used the sword? Because just a short time earlier, he was sleeping when he should have been praying…you remember? Jesus received power to face this difficult time because he spent the night in prayer…Peter, not so much.
And that’s often the reason we’re not ready for the difficult times that come. We don’t adequately prepare by praying and then we act as if Jesus isn’t in control.
Peter took things into his hands and almost ruined it for the group. From the other Gospels we find that while everyone was off balance and on their knees, Jesus quickly healed Malchus’ ear so there could be no charges against Peter and the group. Once again, Jesus is in control.
Conclusion
Let me close with this. John makes one thing perfectly clear in our text.
No one took Jesus’ life. He willingly gave it. He was in control of all that was around him…and around you too.
‘He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands’ I pray you truly believe and depend upon that!