May I turn in your Bibles to John 18, John chapter 18. John 18, we're going to look at the betrayal and arrest of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first 11 verses in John's Gospel. I'll read beginning in verse 1 at John 18.
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: Three Observations
Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? Amen. Let us pray. Father, thank you for this, your word.
We pray for the ministry now of the Holy Spirit. We pray that he would illumine our minds and our hearts and that you would guide us into all truth. Cause us to reflect upon passages such as these and cause us to worship our Savior. Cause us to adore Him and to glorify Him and to honor Him in all that we do, Lord God.
How we thank you for His suffering on our behalf. How we thank you, Lord God, for His death on our behalf. How we thank you for His resurrection from the grave. and His current session at the right hand of the Majesty on High. How we praise You that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
And our Father, we pray that each and every one of us would be clothed in that righteousness of Christ, that each and every one of us would be prepared to meet Him on that day. To that end, Father, we pray for the ministry of Your Spirit, that He would work in hearts here, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Well,
Introduction
commentators have observed that the synoptic gospels, that's Matthew, Mark, Luke, those are very synonymous. They see from basically the same sort of perspective. They report on essentially the same ideas or the same themes. And then John is not a synoptic gospel, but some have recognized the synoptics highlight the Son of Man in his ministry and the suffering servant in his passion.
John highlights the glory of the Son of God in his ministry and in his passion. A.W. Pink observes, that which is prominent in the closing scenes of the fourth gospel is not the sufferings of the Savior, but the lofty dignity and divine glory of the God-man. Again, this is a contradictory This isn't inconsistent, rather it is to view the same event from various aspects, to get various facets concerning the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You're familiar, I hope, with the context. Jesus has spoken to his disciples in the upper room in chapters 13 to 16, and in chapter 17 what we have is the high priestly prayer. And now Jesus moves into the passion narrative. Jesus moves into that time in His life wherein He will suffer on behalf of all those whom the Father had given Him.
Royal notes this connection. He says, we now enter the closing scene of our Lord's ministry and pass at once from His intercession to His sacrifice. That's the two-fold function of a priest. He is to intercede, he is to pray, and then he is to make sacrifice.
Well, of course, Jesus Christ, as our great high priest, prays in chapter 17. It is particular in its scope. John 17, 9, he says, I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
He prays for the protection of his people. He prays for the sanctification of His people, He prays for the unity of His people, and He prays with the prospect of their entering into glory. So the priest prays specifically for those whom the Father had given Him, and now He goes into His sacrifice specifically for those whom the Father had given to Him. And of course, what we find in the first 11 verses in John 18, as I've already mentioned, is the betrayal and arrest of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we'll take this up under three considerations. The first is the betrayal by Judas, secondly the arrest by the officers, and thirdly the response of our Lord Jesus. When we compare the accounts in Matthew and Luke we see, with reference to Gethsemane, the details of the cup of God's wrath, or even more, in the forefront. So we will look a little bit at those as well.
But
The Betrayal by Judas
note first the betrayal by Judas. Remember back in our studies in Matthew chapter 10. It was already foreshadowed in chapter 10 verse 4. When Jesus selects the twelve, Judas is identified as the one who would betray the Lord Jesus Christ.
This did not catch Christ unawares. He was not surprised by this whole ordeal. He was not taken off guard. In Luke chapter 22, it speaks specifically of what is going on in terms of the betrayal.
Jesus knew that this was going to take place. It is Judas that is the agent with reference to this particular scheme. And here we find in chapter 18 at verse 1, Jesus is at Gethsemane. He's over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
And Judas who betrayed him, also knew the place. Judas betrayed the Lord Christ. He knew that Christ would be in this location. It was a custom for Jesus and his disciples to go in there for prayer and for holy discourse.
So Judas betrays him by bringing this detachment of troops to this particular place. Notice in verse 3, having received a detachment of troops, it was a time of a feast, probably there would be several hundred troops in that particular city at this particular time for crowd control and to make sure that if there was any sort of disturbance there would be troops on hand in order to squash this. Well here Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. So we have the betrayer, Judas, we have this detachment, and we have these officers from the chief priests, probably like temple police or temple security guards that would be posted at this place, again, to make sure any disorderly conduct was taken care of, to make sure there was protection, to make sure that persons didn't enter into places where they weren't supposed to be.
So you see the scene, Jesus with his disciples, he's offered up his high priestly prayer, he goes over the Bruch Kidron, he goes into the Garden of Gethsemane, and it's there that this transaction takes place. Judas is the betrayer.
The Arrest by the Officers
Notice secondly the arrest by the officers.
Christ's Sovereign Foreknowledge
Verse 4, Jesus therefore knowing all things that would come upon him, Again, we need to understand this, as Pastor Cam pointed out this morning. Christ is one person with two natures. He is God, He is man. And we see that display throughout His earthly ministry.
We see things unique to the humanity of Christ. He wept, He suffered, He died. All of those sorts of things, but we see at times things unique to the divinity of Christ. And the reality was, is that he knew why he came into this world.
It was before my time. I'm not quite as old as Cam seemed to allude to this morning, but I know that in the 60s, the 1960s, there was a book written and then subsequent to that, a Broadway musical called Jesus Christ Superstar. Again, I never saw it never read it, have absolutely no desire to whatsoever. But from what I understand, Jesus is put forth as a man who is confused, a man who really didn't understand his identity.
He was sort of a hippie kind of a guy that just wandered around the countryside with long robes flowing and they'd break out in song and that sort of thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Son of God always knew the purpose for which He came. The Son of God did not come to let flowing robes and breaking out in song define who He was.
He knew He came for this hour. He knew that He was going to drink the cup of God's wrath. We see that evidenced here. We see that fleshed out here, and we see that He's resigned to do that very thing.
Isn't it intriguing to you that this detachment of troops doesn't have to search for Him? They don't have to look for Him. They don't have to look behind trees and rocks. Notice who's in control of this whole affair.
Verse 4, Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, Who's in control here? It's Christ. He goes, He initiates, He asks the question. Not because He doesn't know the answer, but probably because He wants Judas to face the nation or face the music.
He wants these men to articulate the charge that is before them. And perhaps He wants to make a way of escape for His disciples. He wants to identify that it's Him and Him alone that is the guilty one, at least in their minds, so that his disciples can flee. We see that that's crucial in the narrative in verse 9, that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke, of those whom you gave me, I have lost none.
Now notice, in verse 5, they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, This is the man whom we seek. This is the man whom we are after. In verses 20 and 21, he says, 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.
Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said. I mean, think about it for a moment.
Jesus of Nazareth, the man who grew up in Nazareth. We saw in our studies in Matthew last week, Nazareth was not a popular place. Nazareth, on the other hand, was a very unpopular place, and it was derision to be from that particular place. Here was a man who simply taught.
He went about doing good. And Judas brings this detachment of troops with their torches, with their weaponry, with all of these things, to crush this man, Jesus of Nazareth. But notice, again, He is in control of this whole thing.
The Divine Name: I AM
Verse 5, Jesus said to them, I am. You'll notice I'm leaving out the He here, because the He is supplied. Believe this is referenced to the name of God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3.14. I am who I am.
Several times in John's Gospel, Jesus uses I am with a predicate. That means a word that identifies further the I am. You'll know that Jesus says, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world.
I am the good shepherd. I am the vine. I am the door of the sheepfold. I am, and then he gives something specifically.
But there are several instances in John's Gospel where he just says, I am. And it's not just Exodus 3.14 that serves as the backdrop for this. Probably also very prominent is Isaiah the prophet. Several times in the prophet Isaiah, Yahweh identifies himself to the people as I am.
Let's just look at a sampling of these texts in John's Gospel.
I AM in John's Gospel
Notice in John 6 at verse 20. John 6 at verse 20. What at least incorrectly translated in the New King James. This is when Jesus is walking on the water, and in verse 20 He said to them, It is I.
Do not be afraid. Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. Literally, it's I am. Imagine the significance of such a statement.
If you or I say, I am, it probably isn't very impressive. But if we were walking on the water, if we were defying nature itself, if we were able to do this, and then we make this statement that I am, these disciples are not fools. They know the prophet Isaiah. They know the burning bush account.
They know the divine name Yahweh. And so when Jesus says, I am, as he's walking on the water, Certainly, this would underscore to them something of His being, something of His nature, something of His identity, something of His unity with the Father. Notice in John 8, verse 24, an extremely terrifying passage for anyone who denies the Lordship and the Deity of our Savior. Notice in John 8.23, you are from beneath, I am from above.
You are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Who but God could make such a statement?
Who but divinity could express such a reality? Who but the Lord of glory Himself could attach everlasting life to belief in His holy name? Unless you believe that I am, unless you believe that Christ is God Almighty, unless you understand who He is as the Bible sets Him forth, you will die in your sins. May I suggest this is a wondrous text when you're dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses.
This is a wonderful text when you're dealing with Mormons. A wonderful text when you're dealing with modalists, or you're dealing with people that deny the glory and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Notice in John 8, 28.
John 8, 28. Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I speak these things." Do you think it's an accident when the centurion says, truly, this was the Son of God? When He's lifted up, when He fulfills the Scripture, when He does what He says He'll do, this ascribes to Him the deity and the glory and the majesty that is His by nature. Notice in John 8 verse 57, He's disputing with the unbelieving religious leaders.
John 8, 57, 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, here it is again, I am. Now, lest you think I am forcing this particular interpretation, lest you think that I am making a connection to the prophet Isaiah and to the book of Exodus that is not warranted, see how these Jewish people who knew the prophet Isaiah and who knew the burning bush passage in Exodus 3, how they responded when the Lord Jesus Christ says to them, I am. It says in verse 59, Then 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.
They understood the claim, they understood the inscription, they understood the connection, and it caused them to take up stones to throw against him, to kill him, for what they perceived was the sin or crime of blasphemy. Again, in John 13 in the upper room. John 13 at verse 19. Now, I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am.
And what does He want to highlight here? What does He want His disciples to know? Sinclair Ferguson has made this observation, that in John's Gospel, in chapters 13 to 16, as Jesus is preparing uniquely His disciples for His own death, His own passing into glory, what bears upon the Savior's heart, and what He instructs His disciples in, is the nature of the triune God. He speaks to them of Father, He speaks to them of Son, and He speaks to them as of Holy Spirit.
Pastor Porter mentioned this morning, we need to know the Trinity. There's too much of a laziness with Western Christianity. If we can say Jesus, well, we're counted a believer. We're given all the rights and entitlement and privileges to church membership.
Now, it is by faith alone. It is belief in the Gospel alone, for sure. But as Christians, we ought to understand what it is we believe. We ought to understand what the Scriptures reveal concerning our triune God.
There is but one only, the living and true God. In how many persons does this one God exist? There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
You ought to know that. You ought to be able to go to the text of Scripture. You ought to know that John teaches these things very conspicuously and very clearly. Now let's go back to our passage in John 18.
Soldiers Fall Before the I AM
Having, as it were, set the stage with all of these iambs, with the predicates, and all of these iambs on their own, when we get to John 18, specifically at verse 6, we ought not to be like the liberal commentators who say, well, there must have been a slope and the detachment of troops were standing upon it, and when Jesus said, I am, they stumbled and they tripped and they rolled down that slope. Look at what happens. Who's in control of this situation? Verse 5, They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus said to them, I am. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now, when he had said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Now I've got to tell you, my beloved brethren, if I was being arrested for crimes I did not commit and my captors were on a sloping hill and they happened to fall down, I certainly wouldn't stand there and wait for them to get up so they could slap the handcuffs upon me.
When Jesus expresses who He is, when Jesus claims deity, when Jesus takes the Exodus 3.14 and Isaiah 40-55 name, I AM, and He expresses it to Judas and to these pagans, to these heathens, to these godless men who would rather bow to idols, when He uses that ineffable name, these men fall down. He doesn't escape. He doesn't run off. He doesn't say, well, you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It is, as it were, Him stripping away and showing us something of His divinity, of His glory, of His majesty. Again, as Pink said, that which is prominent in the closing scenes of the fourth gospel is not the sufferings of the Savior, though that's not absent. He says, "...but the lofty dignity and divine glory of the God-man." This is consistent with biblical revelation. What happens when Ezekiel sees the divine nature?
What happens when Ezekiel is given a view of the glory of God? What does he do? He falls down as a dead man. What happens on the road to Damascus when the Apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus rather, sees the glorified Christ?
He falls down as a dead man. What happens when John is on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ? When he sees the glorified Christ, you know what he does? He falls down as a dead man.
Do you see a constant theme in this? A constant idea in this theme of texts. When we see the glory of God, when we behold the majesty of deity, when we see Christ as He is, He isn't simply our buddy. He isn't simply our friend.
He is God Most High. He is the lofty One, the Holy One, the One who inhabits eternity, the One who by God's grace and for His glory came into this world's centers to save. There ought to be a reverence if these pagan men fall down before the presence of the Lord Christ. How ought we to be in His presence?
This doesn't diminish joy. There's this idea that if we fear God, we can't be joyful. I would argue that the only way we can be joyful is with a proper fear of God, reverence and trembling. This is what ought to typify the believer.
This is what ought to infest itself in our hearts. We ought to be a people that if these pagans and this betrayer falls down when he says, I am, how is it with us? Do we show reverence to our Lord? The father Augustine said, what shall he do when he comes to judge?
Who did this when about to be judged? What shall be his might when he comes to reign? Who had this might when he was at the point to die? In other words, if in this time of betrayal and arrest, He expresses this dignity, this power and this glory, what is it going to be like when He comes again in the glory of His Father, with all of His holy angels, taking vengeance on them who knew not God, and on them who do not obey the gospel?
Christ shows the dignity. Christ shows His deity. Christ shows His majesty to these men. And they drew back and fell to the ground.
Christ Protecting His Own
He then asks again, whom are you seeking? They said, verse 7, 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.
Isn't that glorious? To the very end, he loves his own. To the very end, he protects his own. To the very end, he secures his own.
To the very end, he makes sure they're safe. He wants to make sure that they're not caught up in this. He wants to make sure that they are free to go and move about. Of those whom you gave me, I have lost none.
Peter's Sword and the Kingdom
Notice what Peter does. 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." Now, I seriously doubt that Peter was going for an ear shot. Peter probably wanted to lop off a head.
Peter was functioning the way Benaiah functioned for King David of Israel. Peter takes out his sword and he swings. Note the sovereignty of God there. Dr.
Beeke pointed out the other night in a sermon. One thing that is consistent with soldiers is that they'll protect their own. Right? How did Peter, A, get this swing off, and B, not get an equal swing immediately?
God restrained that. Now the parallel accounts tell us that Jesus picked up the ear and put it back on Malchus's head. That probably helped to keep Peter out of the jail and out of the death chamber. But just see the scene.
Peter takes out his sword, swings it at Malchus. Instead of a headshot, he cuts off the ear. This was legit in the theocracy when King David ruled over Israel. Benaiah's actions are not frowned upon.
Benaiah is a hero. Benaiah is a mighty man of Israel. Benaiah is a servant of God Most High, functioning in a particular capacity. What Jesus is instructing Peter is that with the Kingdom of God Most High, with its inauguration, and with its advancement, and with its presence among us now, the way of advance is not through carnal weaponry.
It is not through the sword, it is not through guns, it is not through blowing people up, but rather it is through the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel itself. It is through truth that the advancement of the kingdom happens. So what we have here is Peter taking this swing, and what we have here is Jesus reproving him for it, and
The Response of Jesus
that brings us to the last observation, the response of Jesus. Verse 11. So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Put the sword away.
Carnal weaponry does not advance the kingdom. Again, I think I've made the distinction before. A man is free to join the military as an individual citizen of a body politic. What is discouraged and what is sinful is when the church takes up arms, when the church seeks to advance the holy kingdom of God with carnal weaponry.
So on the one hand, you can be a member of a church in good standing and be a member in the military services. I don't want to get into all of the ins and outs and legitimate war and all that sort of thing. The Bible is not a pacifistic document. The Bible does not discourage men from pursuing such activities.
But realize that if you pursue such activities and you're serving in that capacity, it is not to advance the Kingdom of God. We do not take up carnal weapons to advance Christ's holy kingdom. This is the emphasis. Put your sword into the sheath.
And probably as well, because Jesus doesn't discourage self-defense. Jesus assumes, Jesus presupposes, Jesus realizes that it's a part of being image bearers of God, that we will defend ourselves, we will defend our households. Somebody comes in and does a home invasion robbery, you don't say, hey, my wife is in the other room, my jewelry and my goods are in this room. No, you stop him!
Jesus assumes that, Jesus presupposes that. But in this instance, Jesus knows what His task is. And that brings us to 11b. Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me?
Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me? I just want to make three quick observations here. First, the cup is the will of God. This is it.
This is the point. This is what it's about. Ridderbos says it this way, Jesus is not departing as the victim of Judas' betrayal and the superior might of his enemies. He has the power to lay down his life before taking it up again, and no one takes it from him, John 10, 18.
What he does and suffers, he does and suffers out of love for and obedience to the Father. That's what's going on. Yes, Judas is the human agent of betrayal. Yes, the detachment of troops executes the orders from above and they put the shackles upon the Lord Christ and they haul him off to engage in the trial.
But it is God the Lord who has predetermined this. It is God the Lord who has predestined this. It is God the Lord who has decreed this from before the foundation of the world as the means by which He will save His people from their sins. Christ doesn't shrink back.
Christ doesn't resist. Christ doesn't reject. Christ doesn't say, no, I don't want to do this after all. What we find in this passage is what we find later in the book of Hebrews.
He is the surety of a better covenant. He is the mediator of the new covenant. And as that mediator, as that surety, there are certain obligations placed upon Him that He has to fulfill. He's lived the life of perfect righteousness.
He has fulfilled the law of God. Now it is time to die for the sins of all those whom the Father has given Him. The cup is the will of God.
The Cup as the Wrath of God
Notice secondly, the cup refers to the wrath of God. It is the will of God that Jesus suffered the wrath of God. If you've ever done a study on this cup in the Old Testament and in the New, you will see that it deals with that very thing. Psalm 11, verse 6, "...upon the wicked he will rain coals, fire and brimstone, and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup." Psalm 75, verse 8, "...for in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red.
It is fully mixed, and he pours it out. Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth." drink and drain down. Isaiah 51, 17 and 22. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury.
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling and drained it out. Thus says your Lord, the Lord and your God, who pleads the cause of His people. See, I have taken it out of your hand, the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury. You shall no longer drink it.
You see the constant theme? When Jesus says in verse 11b, shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? This is his resignation to take the punishment due for our sins. Pastor Cam mentioned satisfaction this morning.
It's not a C. An A is here and F is here. Satisfaction. Jesus satisfies divine justice.
That's the very heart of atonement. Atonement is an example. Atonement isn't moral influence. Atonement is Christ satisfying divine justice by His sufferings and death.
That's what the cup is. It's decreed by God. It is the wrath of God for His beloved Son, the prophet Jeremiah 25, 15, and 16. For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me, take this wine cup of fury from my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.
And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them. Ezekiel 23, 31 to 34. Revelation 14, 10. He himself also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation.
He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Revelation 16, 19. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Why all those passages? So you can see what's in this cup. You see why Jesus says this. The Lord God decreed that it would be so.
The Lord Jesus Christ does not shrink back. He resigns Himself. He states the inevitability of His coming death, His willingness to do the Father's will, and His commitment to do that will as well.
The Cup in the Synoptics
A third observation on the cup. The synoptics flesh out in a bit more detail what this cup looks like. In Matthew's Gospel 26-38, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. You know, it's typical for us to come to the suffering narratives and see ourselves there. to see us in our sufferings, to see us bearing our crosses, to see us undergoing our trials, and to see us undergoing our difficulties.
There's other passages for that. The passion narratives are not about us. They're about Christ, the God-man. I want to make sure I'm understood here.
Not saying we cannot look to the example of Jesus and find a great shot in the arm in terms of our trials, in terms of our suffering, in terms of our crosses. But make no mistake about this. Your betrayals by your friends are not the same as this. Your sufferings in this world are not the same as drinking the cup of God's wrath.
Your stress, your pressure, Your difficulties have not caused you to fall prostrate on the ground and bleed through your pores." Isn't that what Luke tells us? And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. That's not our trials.
That's not our suffering. That's not what we undergo. Again, go to the epistles. Go to other narratives.
Find the exemplar in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is legit. That is consistent. That is biblical Christianity.
But in these passion narratives, the spotlight is not on what we can take away in terms of some practical life tips. The emphasis of the passage is that Christ our Lord took the cup of God's fury and God's wrath and He drank it down to its final dregs. Isn't the blessing of the Gospel simply this? We're not in Gethsemane.
We're not in Gabbatha. And we're not at Golgotha because of our Savior. That's the emphasis in the passage. It ought to disturb us when we look at texts like these and have to call out five practical pieces of information on how I can have a better life.
Do you know what's practical at times in Bible study? Stand and marvel. Better yet, fall and worship. We have to take something and internalize it and be a better Christian.
Again, I'm not against internalizing truth. I'm not against being better Christians, but I'm against this idea that sees our sufferings on the par with, on the level of our saviors. No. I don't care what you've been through.
I don't care what I've been through. None of us have sweat drops of blood being in agony. Consider the Christ of God. He knew what wrath and fury was like.
Do you realize that we don't? We read these portions of scripture, we've gone through the parables of the dragnet and the tares, and we see our Lord Jesus describe that place as outer darkness. We hear him describe it as a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth. You know, it's hard to sort of imagine what that will be like.
Christ knew exactly what the wrath and fury of God is. Christ knew exactly what that cup was. Christ knew exactly what filled it to the brim. And Christ knew the pains and the sufferings that would be involved.
And interestingly enough, on the cross, it's not the physical pain that causes Christ to cry out. It is the cry of dereliction, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The physical pain was high, the physical pain was tough, the physical pain was torturous, the physical pain was excruciating. But it was when the Father, as it were, turned his back upon the Son, that the Son then cries out, Why have you forsaken me?
See, we don't understand that. Because the worst man on the face of this earth enjoys the goodness of God. The worst beast on the face of this earth gets to eat good food once in a while. The worst sinner, the worst criminal, the worst malefactor, in fact, a man on death row, prior to them pulling the lever on the electric chair, injecting him with that lethal cocktail, what does he get?
He gets a last meal of his own choice. See, we don't understand what the deprivation of the goodness of God actually looks like. Because we've always benefited from it. Even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were not in hell where we belong.
Christ knew the wrath. Christ knew the cup. Christ understood the implication. That's why Christ prayed, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass.
That is an expression of the humanity of our Lord Jesus. When we know there is danger ahead of us, we cry out to God, if there's another way, Father, please spare me from this suffering. This expresses His humanity, but we see His resignation, because He says, not my will, but thine be done. You see, when we come to narratives like this, it is perfectly consistent and perfectly legitimate to just worship.
I read a study that was done on narcissists, people who take selfies that are narcissists. Now, if you don't know what those words mean, let me try to explain this. Some of you older brethren may not know what a selfie is. A selfie is when just about everybody who occupies Earth who has a camera on their phone takes a picture of themselves.
Can you imagine that a study actually revealed that people who take selfies have a problem with narcissism? I know that's surprising. Narcissism is when you love yourself. Now, do not leave here tonight and say, oh, Pastor Butler said I'm a narcissist because I've taken selfies.
I've taken selfies. I've got troubles with narcissism, though. I'll confess it. There's a narcissistic tendency when we come to the Bible.
What's in it for me? Sometimes churches are measured that way. What's in it for me? I've had people call me before.
Hello, Free Grace Baptist Church. Yeah, what do you offer there? Well, we meet for worship on Sunday morning and evening. And we have a Wednesday night Bible study.
I like to slip in. We're going through Matthew, 1st Timothy, and Judges. What else do you have? What else do you want?
I want things for me. I want things for my kids. I want there to be a smorgasbord of things that please my soul. One man has referred to this type of exegesis as a narcegesis.
We mine out truths of Scripture and just see how they relate to me. That's the generation in which we live. How many times have you heard, well, that preaching was good, but it was doctrinal, and he really didn't give me anything to use at home. See there the Son of Man suffering on your behalf and worship." There's nothing better you can get out of that text.
There's nothing more appropriate than to learn to fall at the feet of the great I AM. There is nothing more in line with narrative passages like these as coming away to be a worshipper of the Lord God Most High. In this passage, in summary, we see the glory of Christ manifested. The voice of the I Am caused the soldiers and Judas to fall to the ground.
Secondly, the sovereignty of Christ in keeping His own. Thirdly, and primarily, the obedience of Christ to His Father, to the bitter end, to fulfill the demands of the covenant made between those divine persons fleshed out in history. The Lord Christ fulfilled. The Lord Christ did.
The Lord Christ obeyed. The Lord Christ secured the salvation of His people by functioning as a surety, by functioning as the mediator of the New Covenant. Throughout John's Gospel, the obedience of Christ to His Father is vividly demonstrated. John chapters 4 and 5, John 6, John 7, John 8, John 12, John 18.
He is not... Relinquishing his role as mediator, he drinks the cup of the Father's wrath to the bitter end, so that he may glorify his Father, so that he may secure the salvation of the elect. In the language of our confession, this office, mediator and surety, the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake. which, that he might discharge, he was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfill it, and underwent the punishment due to us, which we should have borne and suffered, being made sin and a curse for us, enduring most grievous sorrows in his soul and most painful sufferings in his body, was crucified and died and remained in the state of the dead, Yet saw no corruption. On the third day He arose from the dead with the same body in which He suffered, with which He also ascended into heaven.
And there sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return to judgment and angels at the end of the world." And as I said, the practical import of this section, just so I'm not misunderstood, Jesus is an example for us. Jesus ought to be one to whom we look in terms of our trials, in terms of our sufferings, in terms of our difficulties, in terms of those who betray us. We should look at Jesus. We should see Him in that reality.
But we also ought to realize when we come to passages like these, the primary emphasis isn't so that you'll go out and be a better person. The Bible teaches that you do that. The primary emphasis is upon the doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep you from drinking that cup of God's wrath. I praise God that Jesus went through this so that we don't have to.
I praise God that Jesus went through Gethsemane. Jesus went to the cross. Jesus stood in our place. Don't you praise God for the doctrine of substitution?
The doctrine of vicarious atonement? That means He stood in our place. Jesus paid it all. Jesus took the wrath and fury of God on our behalf.
I like the way the Geneva Bible says it. Christ goes 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! You see, the Geneva Bible notes writers saw the connection.
Adam falls in a garden, Jesus wins in a garden. Our confession again talks about the ground of our salvation. Those whom God affectionately calls, He also freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone, not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in His death for their whole and sole righteousness. That is the ground upon which we stand.
Jesus' life, Jesus' death, Jesus' resurrection. Shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me? Praise God that Christ did this on our behalf. So please do not go from this place saying, Butler says we can't look at Jesus as an example.
Most certainly look at Jesus as an example. He is an example. When we come to these passion narratives, see Jesus on His own. Jesus securing the salvation of His people.
Jesus bringing glory to the Father. And instead of five ways to go out and be a better you, bow and worship Jesus. That is practical application, I think, at its very finest. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus. Truly, it is amazing to read these accounts, to read what our Savior went through on our behalf. How we thank you, Lord God, for his obedience to the divine decree, his obedience to the divine will, his His function as a covenant surety and mediator, and all those things the Bible tells us.
God, how we praise You that You made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I pray now that as we look to Your word as we look to this table, our hearts would be stirred, our love would be drawn out, and we would worship the triune God of heaven and earth. For certainly you are worthy, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen.