Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 18. About a year ago, we concluded an exposition of John's Gospel. I thought it would be helpful for us in tonight and subsequent Lord's Supper gatherings to work through the passion narrative in John's Gospel. So tonight, we'll take up the arrest of Jesus in John chapter 18, verses 1 to 12.
So I'll read that section, then pray, and then we'll look at it in some detail. So John 18, beginning in verse 1. 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. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, Whom are you seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am.
And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now when he said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, Whom are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered, I have told you that I am. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, Of those whom you gave Me, I have lost none. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into the sheath.
The Cup of Divine Wrath
Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, as we gather now together with reference to the Supper, please bless our time in the Scriptures as we consider the arrest of our Lord Jesus and the larger context of the passion of our blessed Savior according to John's Gospel.
We thank you for what Jesus went through on our behalf. We thank you that He is our whole and sole righteousness and that He is that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That announced in John 1 29 is being vividly demonstrated here in the latter chapters of the gospel. Forgive us for all of our sins, guide us by the Holy Spirit, and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. Well,
Introduction: Structure and Context
remember that basically John's gospel breaks down into a few sections. First you have a theological prologue in chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, and then the public life of Jesus, or what some have called the book of signs, is in chapters 119 to 1250, and then the book of the passion, chapter 131 to the end of chapter 20. And if you look specifically at John 18 1, it says, when Jesus had spoken these words, the immediate context is the high priestly prayer recorded in John chapter 17 on the heels of what we call the upper room discourse or the farewell discourse in John chapters 13 to 16. So that's the immediate context.
It's the passion week. Of course, this gets the ball rolling in terms of Jesus' arrest and His deliverance up to the Sanhedrin, His ultimate trial, His conviction under Pontius Pilate, and then His deliverance to the cross to suffer for us men and for our salvation. So
The Betrayal of Jesus (vv. 1–3)
I want to look first at the betrayal of Jesus in verses 1 to 3. Secondly, the glory of Jesus in verses 4 to 9. And then finally, the arrest of Jesus in verses 10 to 12. But with reference to the betrayal,
The Garden: Theology of Location
note the location. I think this is important. I think it's important because of the theology of gardens that we find in Scripture. Notice in John 18, 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the brook Kidron where there was a garden.
This was at the base of the Mount of Olives, according to Luke 22, 39, where Gethsemane was, that garden of Gethsemane where Jesus went and he prayed to his father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And if you are thinking biblically, you'll know that the first Adam forfeit salvation and eternal life in a garden. So it makes sense that the last Adam come to a garden and that he fetch out for us eternal life and the presence of God Almighty.
Jesus was familiar with this place according to verse 1. Notice, which he and his disciples entered, and then in verse 2, Judas who betrayed him also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So it was a place that Jesus frequented with his disciples for discourse, for discussion, for theologizing, and obviously for prayer, and this is the place that Judas knew where Jesus could be found. Now,
Internal, External, and Spiritual Threats
with reference to the threat posed against our Lord, you've heard me mention often as we're going through the Psalms of David, there's always an internal threat and an external threat. The church faces that today. Externally, we have oppressive government. Externally, we have false religion.
Externally, we just have a lot of bad people that want to destroy the church. But internally, we have heresy. Internally, we have dissension. Internally, we have disunity.
Internally, we have gossip and slander and things that would destroy the church from within. And so there's always these external and internal enemies, and such is the case with the Savior here. And the first internal threat is obviously Judas Iscariot. The Lord Jesus Christ included Judas among the 12 that were close associates to him in order to go out to preach the gospel, to heal people, and to do the things that Jesus had bid them.
Already in John's gospel up until this point, we know that Judas is going to be the one that betrays him. Turn back to John chapter 6. As we just survey a few of those passages, so when we meet with Judas in this garden, we're not surprised, we're not shocked, we've been prepared, we've been sort of foreshadowed, we know that it's going to be Judas Iscariot. So notice in John 6, 70, Jesus answered them, did I not choose you, the 12, and one of you is a devil.
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the 12. And then over in John chapter 13 in the upper room, John chapter 13, specifically at verse 11, for he knew who would betray him, therefore he said, you are not all clean. And then there's an extended sort of amplification of this in John 13 at verses 18 to 30. It's Judas Iscariot that would betray our Lord Jesus.
And Jesus invokes a particular passage of scripture in verse 18. Notice, I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.
This is Psalm 41 verse 9. This is about the Lord Jesus. This is about the familiar friend, Judas Iscariot, who is supping with him at this table that is going to betray him for 30 pieces of silver. He's going to hand them over to the unbelieving Jews who are going to hand Him over to the unbelieving Romans who are ultimately going to crucify Him.
And on the one hand, we get the conduct of the unbelieving Jews. On the other hand, we get the conduct of the unbelieving Roman Empire. But this was a man within the inner circle, as it were, of our Lord Jesus. This is why it's expressed in Psalm 41, even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
So when the Psalms describe for us the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus, it penetrates behind the scenes to show us the mind of the Savior as He reflects upon and rehearses the various maladies and sorrows that He faced for us men and for our salvation. As well, the external threat, notice in verse 3 in John chapter 18. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. So a Roman detachment of troops.
Most commentators speculate it would have been around 200 troops at this particular time. Remember that at feast times in Jerusalem, they would have additional soldiers to make sure to quell any possible uprisings or revolutions that may have taken place at the time of those popular feasts. So you would have had extra Roman soldiers and of course Judas is able to elicit them or solicit them and bring them into the garden with reference to Jesus. But it wasn't just the Roman detachment of troops.
There were Jewish officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. The officers were likely Temple police, temple guardians, those who made sure that things did not get broached that we're not supposed to. Things were done in an orderly and decent way. Things were not up for grabs, but rather they had officers and then the priests and elders from the Sanhedrin.
So notice this, Jesus goes with his disciples into this garden simply to pray. Judas knows because he has frequented that place with the master. And so Judas, having made this deal with the Sanhedrin, Matthew 26 tells us that he goes to them. He makes this deal, 30 pieces of silver.
He says, I know where to find them or know where to find him. Let's get the Roman detachment of troops. Let's get these unbelieving Jewish leaders and let's bring them to converge upon Jesus. And notice there in verse three with lanterns, torches and weapons.
Look at the way Jesus speaks in verse 20 in this passage. Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. In other words, why would you think you need to come in the hours of darkness and you need to come with weapons in hand?
I'm not hard to find. I wasn't doing this secretly. I wasn't engaged in covert ops. Rather, I'm just simply a rabbi teaching scripture to people that want to listen.
And yet, they converge upon him with weapons. Why? Because the unbelieving Sanhedrin hated our lore. They despised him.
He recognized that. He admitted that. He acknowledged that. And it is everywhere upheld in the New Testament.
They despised him. He says in John 15, if you hate me, you hate my father also. If you hate the one sent, then you hate the one who sent him. And so it's not the case that you are somehow in communion with Yahweh of Israel while you're trying to destroy the Messiah of Israel.
And so these men were activated by the power of darkness, which ultimately is behind the scene. You've got the internal threat posed by Judas. You've got the external threat, this Roman detachment of troops, and you've got the unbelieving Jews. You've got the spiritual threat.
In fact, look back at John 12, specifically at verse 31. Jesus announces that the hour had come. That is his hour to die, his hour to be crucified, his hour to save us from our sins. And in John 12, 31, he describes the hour thus, So in John 12, 31, he says, now is the judgment of this world.
Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. Remember, it was Satan that entered into Judas to predicate this betrayal of our Lord for the 30 pieces of silver. Jesus condemned the unbelieving Jews in John 8, 44. You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you wish to do.
So it's not like these are a bunch of innocent, haphazard people that just have a few theological quibbles with our Lord. They are purposed to kill Him. They are purposed to destroy Him. They are purposed to remove Him from the earth, and Jesus is mindful of that.
So that's the betrayal in verses 1 to 3. Now
The Glory of Jesus (vv. 4–9)
notice then, secondly, the glory of Jesus in verses 4 to 9. First, we see something of His knowledge. Verse 4, it tells us, Now how did Jesus know? Well, according to His divine nature, He's omniscient.
He knows all things. I think it's probably according to his human nature. How did he know? Because he read the Scriptures.
How did he know? Because he was familiar with the Psalms. How did he know? Because he understood the prophet Isaiah and the servant songs of Yahweh.
How did he know? Because he understood the 70 weeks of Daniel and Daniel chapter 9. He knew this, he understood the hour had come, the hour for his death, the hour that he would be handed over, yes, to suffer under the wrath of the unbelieving Jews, to suffer under the wrath of the Roman emperor, but ultimately to suffer under the wrath and fury of God Most High in the satisfaction of divine justice. And interestingly, notice in verse 4, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, vis-à-vis his betrayal by Judas, this Roman detachment and unbelieving Jews that were there for the only purpose of grabbing him, taking him, trying him, and then delivering him up to be crucified.
So Jesus, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, who's in charge here? It's not Judas. It's not the unbelieving Jews. It's not the Roman cohort.
It's Jesus. Notice, he knows what's taking place and he goes forward to initiate this. He doesn't shrink back. He doesn't say, well, you know, I just don't think I can handle all that is ahead of me now.
No, Christ shows sovereignty in this particular instance. The knowledge of Christ was the very predicate for His going forward. He knew so He went forward. He knew so He initiated this whole situation.
The question of Christ was the initiation of the arrest on His part. So again, verse 4, Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, Whom are you seeking? Now Gill makes the good comment. This question was put, not out of ignorance, for he knew full well who they were seeking after. nor with a design to deceive them and make his escape, but to show that he was not afraid of them, and that they could not have known him or have taken him had he not made himself known and offered himself to them, and which makes it appear that he was willingly apprehended by them and voluntarily suffered.
It's very important that we get that. The resignation of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his human nature, to do the will of the Father, instead of passing that cup from him, was to fully resolve to take everything that was heading his way, and this particular narrative shows that. He goes forward, he initiates this, such that now they're going to arrest him and bring him before the civil government. So
The Divine I AM Declaration
in terms of the glory of Jesus, specifically there in verses five and six, it's beautiful. They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, notice that I'm reading, I am, I don't read the, I am he. John's gospel uses this sort of convention many, many times.
I am with a predicate. I am the light of the world. I am the bread of life. I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the resurrection. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. But it also uses this I am without a predicate.
It just kind of stands on its own. I am. If you're thinking biblically, you'll hear that at the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3. When Moses says, who shall I say sent me?
Tell them I am sent you. I am who I am, the eternal one. Remember that confession, the psalmist in Psalm 18? The Lord lives.
That is basic, foundational, and absolutely crucial for everything else. If the Lord lives, then everything follows. If the Lord doesn't live, then nothing follows. And so with reference to this I am, it's one of those ones that just kind of hangs out there on its own.
A couple examples of this, you can turn back to John chapter 8. John chapter 8, we'll look at the two most popular or famous ones in John's gospel. to see the full weight of interpretation relative to that connection to the burning bush. And then several statements in the prophet Isaiah where God identifies Himself as, I am. That's it.
I am who I am. Notice in John chapter 8, specifically at verse 8. Then the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." Notice the New King James interprets it there with reference to Exodus 3.14 by capitalizing I am.
I'd suggest you be consistent all throughout John's gospel. This isn't to pick on them, I'm just saying. Translate it always capital I, capital A, capital M. You're doing theology, do it properly and get it right.
So most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. How did the Jews interpret this saying? Well, verse 59 tells us, then they took up stones to throw at him. Why?
Well, because he being a man made himself out to be God. This was blasphemy. Leviticus 24 prescribed death by stoning for blasphemy. So they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Turn over to John 10. John chapter 10. It occurs to me that this is not an I am statement, but it's a similar type of a thing. Notice in 1030, I and my father are one.
Verse 31, then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good works I've shown you from my father, for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him saying, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy and because you being a man, make yourself God. So all that to say this, I am statement in John's gospel is pretty theologically charged.
So let's go back to John 18 in the garden. Judas is there. The Roman detachment of troops is there. The officers from the temple are there.
And then the representatives from the Sanhedrin are there. So back to verse five, they answered in Jesus of Nazareth, his question, whom are you seeking? Jesus said to them, I am. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them.
Now when he said to them, I am, note the language, they drew back and fell to the ground. Who's they? Well, everybody present, Judas, the Roman detachment, and the Jewish officers and members of Sanhedrin. When Jesus says, I am, they drew back and fell.
Now I'm not suggesting that the Roman soldiers, the unbelieving Jews, and even Judas saw the divinity and glory of Jesus. They didn't at this point say, well, you know, John 1 is right. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1.14 is right.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace. I'm not suggesting that. What I am suggesting is when Jesus says, I am, what is He demonstrating? His glory, His divinity, His power, His majesty, His uniqueness as the only begotten Son in our flesh.
What happens when man is confronted with the glory of God Most High? He falls down like a dead man and that is precisely the response that we would expect. You see it with the prophet Isaiah, woe is me for I am undone. You see it with the prophet Ezekiel.
You see it with the seer, the apostle John on the island of Patmos. When he sees Jesus, what happens? He falls down as a dead man. The Lord Christ, as it were, peeled back His humanity to show them something of His divinity in this declarative statement, I am.
And they do what is natural to the creature. He falls back and is humbled before the mighty God of heaven and earth. It is a beautiful display of the glory of Christ. And under Gurds, once again, He's in control here, brethren.
And I think there's practical benefit to observe that over and over again. Our Savior doesn't come in a, you know, grudging sort of a way. Our Savior doesn't make your salvation something that's a burden. He's not like us when it comes to, I don't know, reading our Bibles or showing up at church.
It's not drudgery for the Son of Man. The Son of Man gives Himself. The Son of Man does what He does for the glory of His Father, for the fulfillment of covenant obligation, and for the salvation of guilty, vile, helpless sinners like us. There's a willingness, a voluntariness on the part of the Savior, and here you see it.
He goes forward. He initiates this arrest proceeding. He demonstrates His majesty and glory such that these people fall down. And then it does then sort of evolve into a statement concerning his mission.
Protecting the Disciples
Notice in verses 7 to 9, So the question again demonstrates that he is in charge. It demonstrates that he's not going to escape. It demonstrates that he is resolved to do the will of his father in even this that is transpiring before him. And then he confirms this.
I told you, rather, he says, I told you that I am. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way. It's beautiful. Let these go their way.
Now, they may eventually die for the cause. They may eventually get martyred. They may eventually have heads chopped off and be crucified, but now is not their time. In fact, if you look at 1712 in that high priestly prayer, our Lord says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name.
Those whom you gave me, I have kept and none of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. So Christ purpose to protect these apostles Throughout his life, his earthly ministry, subsequent to his death and resurrection, these 12 were going to remain intact. Obviously not Judas, he's replaced. But these 12 are going to remain intact.
Why? Because they're tasked with taking the message out. They're tasked with the apostolic preaching of the cross. They're tasked with evangelism and missions and propagating the truth as it is in Jesus.
So here specifically he says, I have told you that I am, therefore if you seek me, let these go their way. And then intriguingly, notice in verse 9, that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke, of those whom you gave me I have lost none. Typically in John's gospel, this formula, that the saying might be fulfilled, typically introduces an Old Testament quotation. Right?
Usually, when you're reading John's gospel and you see that phrase, that the saying might be fulfilled, it's usually Isaiah or Jeremiah or whatever prophet is being cited. Here, the focus is on him. He spoke this in his earthly ministry. All that the Father gives me, John 6, 37, will come to me.
And the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. You see, Christ, the I Am, His Word is definitive. His Word is authoritative. His Word is on par with Isaiah.
His Word is on par with David in the Psalms. His Word is on par with Moses. In fact, he's able to say in John chapter 5, you've got Moses. I don't know why you are against me.
If you actually understood Moses, you would welcome me because Moses wrote about me. So again, in just a sort of a quick referential way that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke, of those whom you gave me, I have lost none. The word of Christ is authoritative. We know that, but it's an interesting place for him to display that when he's about to be arrested, when he's about to be handed over for crucifixion, when he's about to be cut off by man.
Let's never forget who's in charge here. He's not a hapless victim, subject to circumstances beyond his control. Christ knew precisely what he was getting into. And the fact that he continued on in it, for us men and for our salvation, should make you happy.
It should make you smile. If not outwardly, inwardly. You can smile inwardly. I don't think the police around here aren't going to judge you for that.
I'm grinning from ear to ear in my heart. Good. You should. He went through this for us.
Imagine you getting arrested for something you didn't do. Man, I would not want me on YouTube video if that were the case. That would not be good. I remember when our little dog got attacked and I flipped out.
I was thankful there was no camera and somebody posting me on YouTube. Jesus is in control. Jesus set His face like a flint. Jesus was not going to be backed down.
Jesus was not going to be stopped. Jesus was going to do all that the Father had given Him, again, for us men and for our salvation. He's being arrested for crimes He didn't commit. He's being arrested for crimes that we committed.
He's being handed over because of envy, unbelief, rejection, bad theology, and inability to read the Scriptures aright. You can't say, well there wasn't enough information in the Old Testament for them to have a messianic expectation that it looked like Jesus. Are you kidding me? Everything in the Old Testament describes the Jesus of the New Testament.
Every jot and tittle, servant songs of Yahweh, four of them portray to us the servant of Yahweh. The Psalms of David. I mean, if you don't get this Jesus out of the Psalms, you're not reading it the way the apostles read it. If you're not getting Jesus out of the prophets, if you're not getting Jesus out of the law, if you're not getting Jesus out of the Old Testament, you're reading scripture as an unconverted Jew.
You're not reading it as a blood-bought child of God who has the Holy Spirit, who teaches and instructs us and illumines us in a manner that is consistent with the apostolic interpretation of Old Testament scripture. Everything in the New Testament confirms everything the Old Testament proffered by way of a description of the Messiah.
The Arrest of Jesus (vv. 10–12)
And then finally note the arrest of Jesus in verses 10 to 12.
Peter's Sword and Christ's Rebuke
Peter's probably happy that there wasn't a camera, and he's on YouTube forever for what he does here, but there's a certain part of me that says, good for Peter. I know that's bad. I shouldn't confess that, but it is what it is. I'm a bad man.
Notice in verse 10, then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Again, at some gut level, with the contrast that's obviously set up. Judas leading the detachment, the unbelieving Jews, and then there's Simon Peter.
You ain't taking my lord. You ain't taking my master. Notice Jesus doesn't condemn that Peter had a sword. Oh, I can't believe you brought a sword.
Notice that the Romans don't confiscate the sword. The sword's never the issue. The gun's never the issue. I know it's wacky.
It's the heart of man that's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Swords and guns can be utilized for good. Notice what Peter does here. He strikes Malchus in the ear.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that he wasn't aiming for the ear. I'm going to suggest that Peter probably wasn't the best swordsman. His backdrop is fishermen. Not a lot of swordplay and fishing, I wouldn't imagine, unless things have drastically changed since the first century.
He's probably going for a headshot. Malchus, keep your filthy hands off my master. Whack! And he hits him in the ear.
What does Luke's gospel tell us? Jesus healed him. likely the reason Peter wasn't marched off to prison. No crime, right? If the master puts the ear back on, then Malchus, you know, notwithstanding, but he hit me with a sword.
Well, your ear's perfect, it's fine. No reason to steal or capture Peter and take him off to prison. I think what we find here with reference to Peter and with reference to our Lord's rebuke is similar to what we find in Matthew 16. Remember when Jesus says, I must go to Jerusalem, I must be tried at the hands of a godless man, I must be crucified.
What does Peter say? May it never be, Lord. It's not going to happen to you. The same one who had just confessed, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, says, may it never be, Lord.
Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. He went from the pinnacle of confessing Jesus as the Son of God to being told, get behind me, Satan, in one fell swoop. Jesus says, you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. The same obtains here at the arrest in the garden.
Jesus is in control. Jesus goes forward. Jesus starts the dialogue. Jesus confirms that he is him.
Jesus says, make sure that these disciples don't suffer. Peter's not seeing that. Peter's thinking the way Peter thinks. He's not thinking grand schemes.
He's not thinking suffering servant of Yahweh. He's not thinking of Daniel's Messiah that must be cut off. He's not thinking in terms of the Lord's provision of a ram caught in the thicket. He's not thinking of the Lamb of God who must take the punishment in order to satisfy divine justice.
Peter wants an immediate regress of what he concludes to be a major travesty in the judicial process. Peter stays, or rather Jesus stays his hand. Notice what Jesus does. Verse 11.
So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Again, not go melt it, turn it into coins and give it to the poor. You can actually put your sword in the sheath and not cause problems. I know, it's strange that there's such this assumption of self-government and the ability to not actually have to go kill people when you're holding a sword.
Jesus says, put your sword into the sheath. Practically, right here, right now, put it into your sheath. We're not going to fight our way out of this mess. We're not going to cut off more Malchus's ears.
Malki. We're not going to dispatch the servants of Caesar. Here's the theology. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me?
Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? The arrest was according to the plan of God. Jesus had introduced the hour being that time when he would die. And here we see it referred to as the cup.
If you take out a concordance or you Google or AI it and you look up cup, you'll see a lot of instances in the Old Testament where the cup refers to God's wrath. God's wrath poured upon the enemies of Yahweh. Well that's picked up in the New Covenant, in the New Testament. specifically predicated of the sun. I've already mentioned him in Gethsemane.
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. What's the cup? It's divine wrath and fury and judgment for the sins of the people. As Gil describes it, this cup of fury, cursing and trembling.
So Jesus says to Simon Peter, shall I not drink the cup? Shall I not bear the punishment? Shall I not take upon myself all that the Father has purposed for the satisfaction of divine justice in order that I might save you, Peter, and all these immediate disciples, and everybody subsequent to this, and everybody retrospectively who is looking forward in faith? Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me?
Again, always emphasizing that Christ is in control, that Christ is not a hapless, unwillful victim participating in this act. He is there to the uttermost for the glory of his father and the salvation of his people. The cup demonstrates substitutionary atonement. The cup is the result of Christ bearing the sins of His people.
The cup is the result of the execution of divine justice upon the Son of God for the sins of His people. And the cup is reserved for Him alone. Another reason to dispatch these disciples. Kind of evokes the imagery of the scapegoat.
Remember the high priest confesses the sins of Israel, Leviticus chapter 16, and he sends that goat out into the wilderness, a solitary creature, expiating, removing, taking away the sin and the guilt of old covenant Israel. There's a type there, and the anti-type is our blessed Savior. He's not helped on the cross. There's no participants alongside of him on the cross.
There's nobody to sort of further him along in the sufferings and the sorrows. No, it's Christ. He's that scapegoat. He is that expiator, the remover of our guilt via his death and resurrection.
And then notice in verse 12, then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. The mention of Captain here brings us into a very specifically official category now. This isn't just mob rules. This isn't Judas got to be in his bonnet, a handful of malcontents from the Sanhedrin.
No, no. This is official. This is sanctioned. And everything that proceeds from this point on, the trial before the Sanhedrin, deliverance up to Pontius Pilate, it's all official.
I mean, it's officially bad if you're looking at it from the perspective of jurisprudence, but it's officially glorious if you're thinking of it theologically in the context of, shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me? Well, just a couple of thoughts and then we'll transition into the supper.
Application: Christ's Covenantal Resolve
In terms of the mission of Jesus, again, can't stress this enough, He is in control of the entire situation. He is in control of the entire situation, and he is obedient in the entire situation. Obedient through and through. Peter, put the sword back in your sheath.
Again, at some guttural level, we're all rooting for Peter at that point. Jesus says, put the sword back in the sheath. He is gracious in the entire scene. He protects his disciples.
He doesn't join Peter in this anti-Malchus campaign. He's gracious. But ultimately he is covenantally resolute. That's the take home message from the end of verse 11.
Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? The gospel narratives portray the life and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, not as haphazard, but as fulfillment of jots and tittles from the old covenant. fulfillment specifically on the part of the Son of God to His Father in terms of what we call in theology the covenant of redemption and bringing to fruition the covenant of grace.
Typological Significance of the Arrest
I would suggest secondly there's some anti-typical significance going on with Jesus in the garden, Jesus being betrayed and Jesus being arrested. Antitypes is what the types stand for. So a type in the Old Testament could be a person, could be a place, could be a thing. It points forward to a corresponding but better fulfillment.
There's a parallel with David here. In our studies in the Psalms, I hope this doesn't come as a shock to you, but there's a parallel with David. Remember when Absalom usurped the kingdom, the authority of his father, he worked the crowds? I mean, it's genius in some ways.
Absalom, he had a winsomeness about him, he was a handsome fellow, he was good-looking, he had prowess, he had ability, he had an axe to grind with his father, and he basically seized the kingdom from his father. Well, it's intriguing because Absalom is the vile son rebelling against his father's kingdom. Christ is the obedient son furthering his father's kingdom. Both parties cross over the brook Kidron, 2 Samuel 15, 23, John 18, 1.
Both parties recognize the sovereignty of God in all that's happening. Jesus says, shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? As well, the betrayal by Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 15 31 is very much similar to what you have in Judas Iscariot here in the garden. But as well, verse 12, then the detachment of troops and the captain, the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and notice, they bound him.
They bound him, the binding of Isaac in Genesis chapter 22, when God says to Abraham, take your son, your only son, the son whom you love, predicates of course, which are applied in the New Testament to our Lord Jesus and the relation he sustains to his father, take him up and sacrifice him at Mount Moriah. Interestingly, Mount Moriah is the site where the temple would be built. Mount Moriah is very significant as the place of sacrifice. So what happens?
Isaac dutifully obeys. Abraham dutifully obeys and takes Isaac. Isaac is old enough to know we've got wood and we've got fire but I don't see anything for a sacrifice. Abraham theologizes.
He says the Lord will provide. Of course, Abraham's about to kill his son and the angel of the Lord stops him. They turn and they see a ram caught in the thicket. The Lord had provided there temporally, but the Lord had provided his son.
No angel of the Lord would stay the father's hand when it comes to the crucifixion of our blessed Savior. The binding of Isaac, the binding of our Lord Jesus, and then as I mentioned, the garden. This garden is significant. The Geneva Bible has a gloss.
Christ goeth of his own accord into a garden, which his betrayer knew, to be taken, that by his obedience he might take away the sin that entered into the world by one man's rebellion, and that in a garden. Edward Klink, when the first Adam brought death into the world in a garden, Jesus, the second Adam, brought life into the world in a garden. John's a theologian, par excellence, and he is theologizing right down to the nitty-gritty, even in the arrest of our Lord Jesus. He is highlighting the resoluteness of our Lord.
He is highlighting the covenantal faithfulness and obedience of our Lord. He is highlighting the willingness of our Lord to be subject to all that these wretches are going to inflict upon Him, but ultimately the satisfaction of divine justice relative to His Father.
Transition to the Lord's Supper
Brethren, I think just in this small account of the arrest of our Lord and His willingness to go through with it, we ought to eat this bread and drink this cup with joy in our hearts that our Savior went through what He went through for us men and for our salvation. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your Son, our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who went to the uttermost to save us from our sins. We give all glory, praise, and honor to You. We ask that You would be pleased to encourage and build us up and cause us to reflect upon the resoluteness of our Savior relative to His own sufferings and death, to that resurrection.
We know with reference to that coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.