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Call to worship: Isaiah 61:1-4
Text: John 18:1-14
Summary:
So begins the final crises of Christ. Let us not be unaffected. Having prepared and prayed for His disciples in view of His departure, He now takes to the Garden of His distress. Being often frequented, a place of sweetest assembly becomes a place of sinfullest arrest. Proving ignorance of Christ, the betrayer comes to Him with a weaponized hoard. To display His authority over the situation, and to give a manifestation of His guardianship, Jesus unsheathes the divinity of His Word. Something of Him is revealed in His self-identification. His enemies reflexively bow. His disciples, in contrast, safely stand. One disciple, Peter, however, continues to misunderstand. Perhaps enemies of Christ approach Him on-guard, not because of Christ, but because of disciples who, sadly, fail to appropriate the heart of Christ and the true character of His mission. To that end, Jesus is arrested and 'bound,' and the process of unjust examination begins, whereby one Man will die for the people---whereby Jesus will justify, free, and arrest the hearts of all who believe.
Sermon Outline:
- Coming to Jesus---in the dark. (18:1-3)
- Jesus stepping forward---to give Light. (18:4-11)
The Word in charge. (18:4-6)
The Lord our Shepherd. (18:7-9)
The Lamb of God. (18:10-11)
- Jesus arrested---to be arresting. (18:12-14)
Prepare
Discussion Questions:
- Read John 18:1-14
Where did Jesus lead His disciples? Thinking across the canon of Scripture (the big story of the Bible), why might it be significant that He takes them now to a garden? If we isolate the words, 'there was a garden . . . which He and His disciples entered,' anything glorious come to mind? How does a place of sweetest assembly become a place of sinfullest arrest? We want people to come to Jesus, but how does Judas come to Jesus? How does Judas *lead people to Jesus? (Note the apparent time of day. Note what they bring with them. What does it all say about the condition of their hearts?) What is their belief about Jesus?
How does Jesus meet their unbelief? Or rather, does He confirm their beliefs about Him? Does He run? Does He hide? Does He offer a violent counterpunch? How does He respond to their approach? What does John want us to understand about it? What in v. 4? What in vv. 5-6? What in vv. 7-9? What in His rebuke of Peter in vv. 10-11? What is the picture Jesus presents in its parts and in its sum?
In 18:4-11, what do we learn about Jesus? About the power of His Word? About the power of His enemies? About the dividing line between Heaven and Hell, His own and His enemies (18:5-6 especially)? About His power to care for His own? About the nature of His Kingdom (18:10-11)? About the passion of His heart and the purpose of His coming into the world?
In 18:12-14, Jesus is arrested and bound. In light of the preceding verses, why is that ironic? Why is it 'gospel'? How does His arrest go on to set us free? Is the Word bound? Or are we? From the fact that they (including a 'disciple') went on to do this, what horrors of hardness can we conclude about the unbelieving heart? What warnings come to the fore? John closes the opening portion of his passion narrative with these words: 'that one Man should die for the people.' What's at the heart, then, of the narrative? What's at the heart of the Gospel? How do people, like Caiaphas, preach (but entirely miss) this? What does it take to see, in Christ crucified, the wisdom and power of God?