[0:00] All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
[0:11] Him serve with mirth, his praise foretell, come ye before him and rejoice. Know that the Lord is God indeed, without our aid he did us make.
[0:22] We are his flock, he doth us feed, and for his sheep he doth us take. O enter then his gates with praise, approach with joy his courts unto.
[0:34] Praise Lord and bless his name always, for it is seemly so to do. For why? The Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure, his truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age endure.
[0:52] These verses to God's praise from Psalm 100 on page 362. All people that on earth do dwell. All people that on earth do dwell.
[1:12] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with mirth, his praise foretell, come ye before him and rejoice.
[1:39] Know that the Lord is God indeed, with our courage he did us make.
[2:00] We are his flock, he doth us be. Unpolished sheep, he doth us take.
[2:20] O enter then his gates with grace, approach with joy his courts unto.
[2:39] Praise God and bless his name always. For it is in his own to do.
[3:00] For my God, Lord, and God is good. His mercy is forever sure.
[3:18] His truth at all times buries too. And shall promise to each end you.
[3:40] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Gracious and ever-blessed Lord, we thank you for this morning where we can come and gather around your word.
[3:58] Come and gather to sing your praises and come and gather to hear you speak to us through your word. Lord, you are our king. You are the Alpha and the Omega, Lord. You are the author and the finisher of our faith.
[4:14] You are the creator of this world. Father, we come once again to remind ourselves of all these things. To remind ourselves of our own inadequacy.
[4:26] To remind ourselves of our own incapability. And to remind ourselves of just what you have done for us. What you have done for us all that time ago.
[4:38] But what you still do for us even today. And what you can do for us. Even if we are so far away from you. Lord, you are so merciful.
[4:50] Lord, you are so merciful. To have reached down to us. To have even come down to us. We did not deserve your intervention and yet you came.
[5:02] And Christ came as a child. Christ came humbling himself. Lord, we remember this once again.
[5:18] And we pray, Lord, as we look into your word deeper and deeper. As we remind ourselves once again of your truth. That we would be refreshed by it. That we would be refreshed by your gospel.
[5:31] Father, we need it every day. We are so foolish. We are so sinful. We are so illogical. We continue to make mistakes.
[5:43] Even if we do follow you. Even if we do love you. Lord, those temptations and those sins. Keep crawling back into our lives. And keep gripping our hearts.
[5:54] Just for a season. Just for a time. Just for a moment. And we slip and we fall. And yet Christ is there. Lord, we do not deserve you.
[6:07] Lord, we often forget about you. But you never let go of your people. You never let go of those who trust in you.
[6:20] And that is what we cling on to. Every day. Every day. Every week. Every week. As we come here once again. As we confess our sins daily.
[6:32] Lord. That is what we cling on to. It is your forgiveness. It is your mercy. It is your sovereign choice. It is your power.
[6:43] It is your power. And we depend on, Lord. Father, we come before you as a congregation. As a community again this day.
[6:56] Lord, we thank you for all the blessings that you give us. Every week. Every day. Lord. That we take so for granted. Father, we ask that you would open up our eyes more and more every day.
[7:09] That we would understand just where your hand is upholding us. Just where you are helping us. And in your providence, Lord, you are blessing us.
[7:23] You are enlarging our life. Through all that you have done and through all that you do. Lord, we remember those in this congregation that may even be here today that are hurting.
[7:36] That are struggling, Lord. Whether it's through illness. Or through a lack of mental health, Lord. Whether it is through the difficulties in their lives.
[7:49] Or through hard providence, Lord. We remember all those who are here today. And in their hearts they are weeping. Father, we put on a mask so often.
[8:01] We hide the fear. We hide the pain, Lord. We hide how we are struggling from those that we love and those that we know. We hide it even from our brothers and sisters.
[8:15] Lord, you know. You know. You know how we struggle. You know our pain. And we pray, Lord, that today we would be reminded that we can come to you with this pain.
[8:28] That we can come to you with our struggles. That we can come to you. And you can give peace and comfort and healing into all of our different situations.
[8:47] But, Lord, we must come to the one who knows all things. To the healer who provides all things. And, Lord, we ask as well for those who cannot make it out today.
[9:02] We remember those in all our communities on this island. And in all our congregations. Those who cannot make it out through age or ill health.
[9:14] Or other circumstances that prevent them from being where they would dearly wish to be. Lord, we pray that you would draw near to them with that special blessing.
[9:25] With that special comfort. At these difficult times. Lord, we particularly remember those. As we look around us, even in our own families.
[9:40] Even, Lord, as we think about those that we work with. Those who are not here. Those who refuse. To follow those who refuse to listen.
[9:52] Those who harden their hearts. Lord. Our hearts are so prone to hardening themselves against you. Father, soften our hearts.
[10:04] Those who have ears to hear. Let them hear them. Father, we pray for all those who are not here today. Draw near to them. Equip us that we may be able to speak to them kinder.
[10:20] And more into their situation. That we may be able to speak the right word. Into what they are going through. Into what they are experiencing. Into their lives. Just as you had the right word.
[10:34] As you walked on this earth, Lord. And you spoke. And you spoke. The timely word. And the right word. And both the sensitive and the harsh word.
[10:49] To different people at different times. So, Lord, equip us. Give us wisdom. To be able to speak to those. Who we say.
[11:00] As yet. Do not listen. Do not follow. Do not love you. Lord, we pray for this island. We pray for these communities.
[11:14] And we ask, Lord. That as school draws to an end. That you will keep our children safe. And that as families go traveling. And go on holiday. That you will keep them safe in their travels.
[11:26] And keep them safe. As they go across the world. And across this nation. In order to bring them back to us. Safe.
[11:39] And refreshed. And rested, Lord. And just as you rest. So, Lord. We enjoy. Rest in all its different ways.
[11:52] Lord, we pray that you will go before us now. Help us as we. Dive into your word. That you would. Breathe it into our very hearts. Speak into our different situations. Lord, that you would.
[12:04] Illuminate. Its truth. And its mysteries to us. And show us, Lord. The beauty. Of the one. Who came. And died for us.
[12:15] On that cross. Lord, may we reflect on that cross. More and more. And fall in love with you. More and more. But go before us now, Lord. We ask all of these things.
[12:27] With the forgiveness of our sins. Amen. If I could speak. To the young folk.
[12:39] Just for a second. And I'd like to share with you. Just something that happened to me in the last. Three weeks. In the last three weeks.
[12:51] I had my first. Ever. Coffee. Never before have I ever tasted coffee. Apart from. A sneaky sweet. That somebody gave me in church. Which I thought was strawberry.
[13:02] It was a coffee sweet. I was surprised. But three weeks ago. I had my first. Ever. Coffee. And it tasted. Horrible.
[13:13] It was so. It was so. Disgusting. Now I don't know about you. I don't know. Whether you're allowed to have coffee yet. I don't know whether that will make you too excited.
[13:24] Or too excitable. But I had my first ever coffee. And it. Was. Disgusting. But everyone keeps telling me. Coffee is amazing. Oh the smell.
[13:35] Oh the taste. Oh. It just makes me so hyper. Everyone keeps telling me how good it is. But they also keep telling me. Keep going. Keep drinking that coffee.
[13:47] Everyone finds it disgusting at first. Everyone thinks it's awful at first. But if you keep drinking the coffee. You begin to realize how good it is.
[13:58] I'm not quite at that stage yet. I'm still very early on in my coffee drinking days. But what I want to say about coffee. In this way. Is that very often.
[14:11] And this is where it gets serious. Very often. We think of sin. And we think of our own inadequacy. And we think of. The truth of who we are.
[14:23] We find out the truth of who we are. Now you can be any age. When you find out the truth of who you are. You can be young. When you find this out for the first time. You can be.
[14:34] In your mid-twenties like myself. When you find this out for the first time. Or you can be very old. When you find this out for yourself. For the first time. Regardless.
[14:45] Everyone finds it out. That truth. And they learn about it. And very often. It's a hard truth. Very often.
[14:56] It's a difficult thing to swallow. Very often. It tastes horrible. But one of the beautiful things. About the Christian life. And this is what I want to tell all you young people.
[15:09] One of the beautiful things. About the Christian life. Is that even though it can sometimes feel very difficult. Sometimes feel very hard. Sometimes the truth of who we are. Can be too much.
[15:20] Over time. We realize that that truth. Is an amazing thing. Because that truth. That we are not perfect.
[15:33] That we can't do this on our own. Leads us. To Jesus. To Jesus. And Jesus. Is the energy that we need. And Jesus. Is the one.
[15:44] Who gives us the comfort. And the joy. And going to him. Instead of ourselves. It's that growing. Realization.
[15:55] It's that growing taste. For the mercy. For the forgiveness of Christ. That's the best thing of all. So I often think of that.
[16:07] When I have my first. Coffee. It might taste. Horrible now. But I'll get used to it. And maybe I'll grow to love it. I hope I do. But it reminds me a little bit.
[16:20] Of that hard truth. Of the gospel. It can. First of all. Seem so difficult. But it leads to the truth. Of Jesus.
[16:31] Forgiving us. For all. Of our sins. And that's the best thing of all. Let's sing again. Singing from Psalm 51. This time.
[16:43] From the Sing Psalms. Sing Psalms.
[16:54] On page 67. And 68. And we can sing down to the verse. Marked 9. So. From the beginning to the verse.
[17:04] Marked 9. Oh my God. Have mercy on me. In your steadfast love. I pray. In your infinite compassion. My transgressions wipe away.
[17:16] Cleanse me from iniquity. Wash my sin away from me. And we can sing down to the verse. Marked 9. Cleanse with hyssop. Purify me. I'll be whiter than the snow.
[17:28] Let the bones you crushed. Be joyful. May I joy and gladness know. From my failure. Hide your face. Blot out.
[17:39] All. My. Wickedness. We can sing these verses. To God's praise. From Psalm 51. Oh my God. Have mercy on me. In your steadfast love.
[18:01] I pray. In your infinite compassion. My transgressions wipe away.
[18:16] Cleanse me from iniquity. Wash my sin away from me.
[18:33] For I know my own transgressions. I can't see my sinful fight.
[18:47] You, you only I've offended. And done evil in your sight.
[19:01] So your words are verified. And your verdict justified.
[19:15] From my birth I have been sinful. Such the nature I receive.
[19:31] Sinful from my first beginning. In my mother's womb conceived.
[19:45] Truth you would fall in my heart.
[19:56] Wisdom to me you impart. Cleanse with this so purify me.
[20:11] I'll be whiter of the soul. Let the wounds you crush be joyful.
[20:25] May I joy and unlessed know. From my failure I cure face.
[20:42] Not at all my wickedness. May we turn now to the Gospel of John.
[21:02] John's Gospel and we can turn to chapter 18. And this will be a passage for today.
[21:25] And we can read from the beginning. And we'll read down to the verse marked 27. In fact we can read the whole chapter.
[21:37] John chapter 18. And from the beginning. When Jesus had spoken these words. He went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley.
[21:51] Where there was a garden. Which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas who betrayed him. Also knew the place. For Jesus often met there with his disciples.
[22:04] So Judas having procured a band of soldiers. And some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees. Went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
[22:17] And Jesus knowing all that would happen to him. Came forward and said to them. Whom do you seek? They answered him.
[22:29] Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said to them. I am he. They drew back and fell to the ground.
[22:47] And so he asked them again. Whom do you seek? And they said. Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus answered. And Jesus answered.
[22:58] I told you. That I am he. So if you seek me. Let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken.
[23:10] Of those whom you gave me. I have lost not one. Then Simon Peter. Having a sword. Through it. And struck the high priest servant.
[23:22] And cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. And so Jesus said to Peter. Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup.
[23:35] That the father has given me. And so the band of soldiers. And their captain. And the officers of the Jews. Arrested Jesus. And bound him. First they led him to Annas.
[23:47] For he was the father of. Father in law of Caiaphas. Who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas. Who had advised the Jews. That it would be expedient. That one man should die.
[23:59] For the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus. And so did another disciple. And since that other disciple. Was known to the high priest. He entered with Jesus. Into the court of the high priest.
[24:11] But Peter stood outside. At the door. So the other disciple. Who was known to the high priest. Went out. And spoke to the servant girl. Who kept watch at the door.
[24:22] And brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door. Said to Peter. You also are not one of this man's disciples. Are you? He said. I am not.
[24:34] Now the servants. And officers. Had made a charcoal fire. Because it was cold. And they were standing. And warming themselves. Peter also was with them.
[24:45] Standing and warming himself. The high priest. Then questioned Jesus. About his disciples. And his teaching. And Jesus answered him. I have spoken openly. To the world.
[24:56] I have always taught. In synagogues. And in the temple. Where all Jews. Come together. I have said nothing. In secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those. Who have heard me.
[25:07] What I said to them. They know what I said. When he had said. These things. One of the officers. Standing by. Struck Jesus. With his hand. Saying.
[25:18] Is that how you answer. The high priest. Jesus answered. Answered him. If what I said. Is wrong. Bear witness. About the wrong. But if what I said. Is right.
[25:29] Why do you strike me? And that's thing. Sent him bound. To Caiaphas. The high priest. Now Simon Peter. Was standing. And warming himself. So they said to him. You also are not.
[25:40] One of his disciples. Are you? He denied it. And said. I am not. One of the servants. Of the high priest. A relative. Of the man. Whose ear. Peter had cut off.
[25:51] Asked. Did I not see you. In the garden. With him. Peter again. Denied it. And at once. A cock. Crowed. Then they led. Jesus.
[26:02] From the house. Of Caiaphas. To the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves. Did not enter. The governor's headquarters. So that they could not. Be defiled. But could eat. The Passover.
[26:13] And so Pilate. Went outside. To them. And said. What accusation. Do you bring. Against this man. They answered him. If this man. Were not doing evil. We would not have delivered him.
[26:24] Over to you. Pilate said to them. Take him yourselves. And judge him. By your own law. The Jews said to him. It is not lawful. For us.
[26:35] To put anyone. To death. This was to fulfill. The word. That Jesus had spoken. To show. By what kind of death. He was going to die. And so Pilate. Entered his headquarters.
[26:46] Again. And called Jesus. And said to him. Are you. The king. Of the Jews. Jesus answered. Did you. Do you say this. Of your own accord. Did others say it.
[26:57] To you. About me. Pilate answered. Am I a Jew. Your own nation. And the chief priests. Have delivered you. Over to me. What have you done. Jesus answered.
[27:08] My kingdom. Is not of this world. If my kingdom. Were of this world. My servants. Would have been fighting. That I might not. Be delivered. Over to the Jews. But my kingdom. Is not.
[27:19] From the world. And Pilate said to him. So you are a king. Jesus answered. You say. That I am a king. For this purpose. I was born.
[27:30] And for this purpose. I have come. Into the world. To bear witness. To the truth. Everyone. Who is off. The truth. Listens. To my voice. And Pilate said to him.
[27:42] What is truth. After he had said this. He went back. Outside to the Jews. And told them. I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom. That I should release. One man.
[27:53] For you. So do you want me. To release to you. The king. Of the Jews. They cried out again. Not this man. But Barabbas. Now Barabbas. Was.
[28:04] A robber. May the Lord bless to us. This reading. Of his own. Holy. Word. We can sing again. Singing. Singing from. Psalm 147.
[28:17] In the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 147. Psalm 147. Psalm 147. Psalm 147. Psalm 147.
[28:29] Psalm 147. Psalm 147. On page 446. Praise ye the Lord. For it is good.
[28:41] Praise to our God. To sing. For it is pleasant. And to praise. It is a comely thing. sing down the verse marked 8 who covereth the heaven with clouds who for the earth below prepareth rain who maketh grass upon the mountains grow these verses from Psalm 147 to God's praise praise ye the Lord for it is good praise ye the Lord for it is good praise to God God to see for it is blessed to learn to praise ye the Lord for it is a comely thing
[29:45] God to build up Jerusalem and he is the Lord that God is first of Israel that God has a victory in heart those that are broken in their heart unuiten in their eyes he healeth up to joy can turn
[30:50] He tenderly applies. He cuts the number of the stars.
[31:07] He gives them every one. Great is our Lord, an old great heart.
[31:25] His wisdom's search can numb. The Lord lives out, the meek and cast.
[31:44] The meek and to the ground. Sing to the Lord and give him thanks.
[32:01] On heart is gracious sound. The meek and to the Lord.
[32:19] The meek and to the Lord. The meek and to the Lord.
[32:37] The meek and to the Lord. If we can turn back to the passage that we read here in John chapter 18.
[32:54] John chapter 18. And we can read verses 4 to 6.
[33:16] And then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
[33:29] Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. And when Jesus said to them, I am he.
[33:40] They drew back and fell to the ground. Well, may the Holy Spirit go before us as we look into this word more and more.
[33:58] About four years ago, I had just come back from quite a bad injury. And I was playing football in the north. And it was my first game back.
[34:10] And I was put straight back into center defense. And I was there playing center half that day. But I was really rusty. And for the first 20 minutes, I couldn't do a thing right.
[34:23] I'd been out for so long that I'd forgotten how to position myself. I could hardly sprint. I could hardly do a thing. I was put there by reputation alone. Even though there was actually a younger, far better player and far fitter player than me on the bench.
[34:39] And I was awful that day. Absolutely terrible on the pitch. And I remember after about 25 minutes, my hamstring seemed to go.
[34:52] And I thought to myself, it's quite sore. I could keep going. But I am playing so badly. And we've already conceded because of what I've done, because of how I'm playing.
[35:04] I am playing that terribly. That my hamstring, even though it wasn't that bad, I knew I should just come off. I am playing that badly. I should just let myself be substituted.
[35:17] So I called over to the bench. And I asked to get substituted. And on came this younger player. And he played an absolute blinder.
[35:28] He went out onto that pitch and the game changed. He was hungry. He was chasing every ball. The whole game changed. We ended up winning 6-2. And I thought to myself that day.
[35:40] A friend came over afterwards. And he said to me, you were so bad that you made that kid look absolutely world class.
[35:52] You were so bad that you made that kid look absolutely world class. Now, there are many ways. And there are many things.
[36:04] There are so many golden nuggets in this passage. In this chapter that we could spend a whole year on this chapter alone, I imagine. If you were going right into details.
[36:16] But what I want to take out of this today. Is the contrast between Peter and Jesus.
[36:27] Because the failure of Peter in this passage. In this chapter. Only goes on to highlight the absolute success.
[36:38] And the control. And the power. Of what Jesus has just done. It's the contrast. That highlights just how brilliant.
[36:50] Jesus is here. Let's look at it. There is a contrast between Peter and Jesus. Now, here in this passage.
[37:02] We see Jesus being arrested. Then we have just had four chapters worth. Of sermons. Of discourse. Of conversation. Of potentially.
[37:13] The greatest four chapters in all of scripture. Where Jesus is unpacking why he came. He's unpacking the whole mission. Of why he's here on earth.
[37:24] Here on earth. And he gives us in chapter 17. Quite possibly. The greatest prayer. That has ever been witnessed in mankind. And straight away.
[37:36] We have this arrest. Now, there are a few things. To see. And we will look at two. Contrasts in particular.
[37:48] We will see the contrast. We will see the contrast in power. And we will see the contrast in truth. And we'll wrap it up today. By looking at other themes. That are coming through.
[37:59] Between both Peter and Jesus. In this chapter. But first of all. The power. We first of all see Jesus's power.
[38:11] Here in verses 4 to 6. Read again with me there. Verse 6. When Jesus said to them. I am he.
[38:22] They drew back. And fell. To the ground. To the ground. The people who had come. This band. Or as other translations say.
[38:34] This detachment. It's reckoned that. In your heads. I imagine. I always visualize. There's a small band of soldiers. Coming into this garden. How big can this garden be? But it's likely.
[38:47] That that detachment. That band. That has come into the garden. Is around 600 people. 600 armed. And trained soldiers. Now.
[38:58] There are many reports. It's either between. 500 or 1,000. But the closest I've come. And the best description. I've heard is 600. It doesn't really matter. It's a lot of people. 600 men.
[39:10] 600 soldiers. Are coming into this garden. This is far more. Than Obama sent. To capture. And assassinate. Osama bin Laden. This is a. This is how highly.
[39:22] They treat. This scenario. And not only. Is it 600 men. At least. 600 soldiers. But you have. The high priests. You have their servants. You have Pharisees.
[39:33] Coming into the garden. And what we see here. Verse 6. They drew back. And fell.
[39:44] To the ground. To the ground. That little glimpse. Right there. Highlights. The power of Jesus. In this scenario. He has.
[39:55] All the cards. And it's always. Been the case. That he has. All the cards. And it's always. Been the case. That he has. All the cards. And in this.
[40:07] Situation. Where he is being. Confronted. By a massive. Armed detachment. Of Roman soldiers. He is in absolute control.
[40:20] He could have sent. These people. With a word. To their deaths. He could have sent. These people. In a thought. To a lost eternity. There and then.
[40:32] He could have. Swallowed up the ground. And swallowed them all up. And swallowed them all up. He doesn't. All he does. Is force them.
[40:44] To the ground. Now there's something in that. Where Christ. Gives that. Space. Gives. And shows.
[40:55] Enough of his power. To give the space. To repent. For these people. To be so overawed. By Christ's power. That they. Would. Repent. But immediately.
[41:07] They get up. And ask. The same. Question. Again. How hard. Are their hearts. Where they've just. Been faced by. Three words.
[41:18] That knocked them. To the ground. I might have. A loud voice. But I have never. Knocked. A single person. Down to the ground. With three words.
[41:29] The viewer. And the authority. And the creative. Authority. In that voice. The authority. Of the creator. Knocked. All. Of this detachment.
[41:41] To the ground. And they get back up. And their hearts. Are immediately. Hardened. It goes to show.
[41:52] The extent. Of the human heart. That time. And time. And time. And time. Again. We can be faced. With the reality. Of who God is. We can either.
[42:03] See it. In other people. Or we see it. In the word. Or we hear it. In the preaching. Or the Lord. Speaks to us. Directly. I don't know.
[42:14] About your heart. I can't speak. For you. But I guarantee. There will be many of us. And I include myself. In this. That I've heard. The Lord's voice.
[42:25] In. Even a glimpse. Of the authority. And I surprise myself. By immediately. Hardening up my heart.
[42:39] Regardless. What we're looking at here. Is Christ. And his power. They don't even have. The power. To put handcuffs.
[42:50] On him. At this stage. They bind him. They bind him. In verse 12. But that comes. After verse 11. Shall I not drink. The cup.
[43:01] That the father. Has given me. He. Is. The volunteer. And he's still. In control. They couldn't bind him. They couldn't put. Anything.
[43:12] On him. They couldn't lay a glove. On him. Until he. Gave. The word. He gives it. He gives it. And they bound him. And right the way through this chapter.
[43:25] We see that same power. We see that same authority. Playing out. We see it time and time again. The high priest questions Jesus. And Jesus answers him.
[43:36] With such authority. We see it with Pilate. Pilate is asking him questions. And Jesus answers. With such authority. He is the one. In control.
[43:47] He keeps. Turning the tables. On their questions. He keeps. Absolutely. Frustrating. In fact. The people.
[43:58] Who are. Questioning him. He frustrates. The high priest. He frustrates. Pilate. He. Time and time again. Frustrates. All the Pharisees. And all of it.
[44:11] As well as meaning many other things. Highlights. Highlights. He has the power. In this situation. In this situation. There is nothing in this chapter. That denies.
[44:22] The deity. Of this man. There is nothing in this chapter. That even hints. That the.
[44:34] This God. Is weak. He is in control. The whole time. He becomes weak. Because he makes.
[44:45] Himself. Weak. Nothing. Is forced. On him. Not even death. But secondly. The other thing. That we see here.
[44:56] In this passage. Is the way that Jesus. Is committed. To truth. Notice that here. Jesus. Jesus. Word. Is true. John.
[45:07] Tells us. All the time. Right the way through. Right the way through. His whole book. John. Is telling us. Time and time again. The ways. That Jesus. This was to fulfill.
[45:18] The word. That he had spoken. Of those. Whom you gave me. I have lost. Not. One. Verse 23. Jesus answered. The high priest.
[45:29] And said. If what I said. Is wrong. Bear witness. About the wrong. But if what I said. Is right. Why do you strike me? He is committed.
[45:40] To truth. We even see. In verse 37. When he's answering. I have come. Into the world. To bear witness. To the truth. Everyone.
[45:51] Who is off the truth. Listens. To my voice. These are two things. That are wrapped up. In the very identity.
[46:02] Of Christ. As he walked. This earth. He is power. He's not just. Powerful. He is the very definition. Of power. He's not just truthful.
[46:13] Uncommitted to truth. He defines. Truth. But to show. That he is the one. That defines. Truth. He is committed. To it.
[46:24] At every. Possible. Stage. But before I come back. To highlight. Those things. Let's look at those. Two things.
[46:35] In Peter. Let's see the contrast. Let's see. The injured football player. Before we come back. To the wonder kid. Peter.
[46:46] Peter has. No. Influence. Whatsoever. On the situation. That's unfolding. Behind him. Peter. Was the chief. Of the disciples. The one.
[46:57] Who was the forefront. Of all things. The one. Who had all the confidence. And time and time again. I look at Peter. And I think. I'm so glad he's there.
[47:08] He reminds me. He reminds me. Of myself. And often. We all say that. But sometimes. We have to look at Peter. And think. You completely.
[47:20] Messed this up. You got this. So. Monumentally. Wrong. He is highlighted here. In this passage. Not as someone. To necessarily.
[47:31] Empathize. And. And. Sympathize with. He. But he's someone. That we look at. And we are meant to think. He. Absolutely. Failed.
[47:42] He is a failure. In this passage. That's what we're meant. To identify with. Of course. But let's first look at this. He has brought a sword.
[47:54] Into the garden. He's just had four chapters. Four chapters worth. Of. The best teaching possible. The greatest prayer ever prayed. By.
[48:05] Christ. Himself. No less. And he goes. Right into the next chapter. And completely. All of that goes out the window.
[48:17] Why he thought of bringing a sword. To the Passover. And to the garden. That's something for. You all to maybe discuss.
[48:28] They had two swords apparently between them. And here is Peter. Wielding. The sword. And while Jesus is being interrogated.
[48:39] While Jesus is being interrogated by the courts. By the highest law on the land. Peter is being interrogated by a servant girl. The servant girl.
[48:50] The servant girl. And what we see is Christ. The servant girl. Utterly committed to the truth. In the face. Of all the powers. In the land. At the time. Jesus is asked.
[49:02] Peter is asked one question. By a servant girl. Around a fire. And he crumbles into lies. In front of 600 plus.
[49:23] Armed Roman soldiers. and in his denial for Jesus. Peter is now waving this sword, waving it around in front of 600 plus armed Roman soldiers and he thinks that this one sword can win the day for him.
[49:45] Now obviously he's not been through rigorous army training because either he goes for the head of this chief priest servant and misses and gets the ear or for some reason he decides to go straight for the ear. Regardless the situation does not go well for him but he has to be thankful he didn't cut this man's head off because you have to imagine that if he had dealt a killing blow to that servant that it wouldn't have crossed the minds, it wouldn't have been far away from the minds of these Roman soldiers to just go ahead and completely dismember all the disciples in that garden.
[50:28] What was Peter thinking? In one moment he could have completely destroyed the whole ministry of Christ and that's why Christ gently rebukes Peter so gently and says to him put your sword into its sheath this is not about violence this is not about aggression this is not about forcing my kingdom onto these people this is not about forcing my kinghood my kingness onto this kingdom on earth do you not see what I have been teaching you in the upper room put your sword into its sheath that is not my way we see in another gospel that he even goes and diffuses the tension so much by healing that servant's ear
[51:43] Christ is committed to truth and power in exactly the way Peter is not here is a man who brandishes a sword and yet gets things horribly wrong he completely misunderstands the situation he absolutely misunderstands the gospel and what Christ is coming to do and he absolutely misunderstands his role in the story what makes it worse time and time again for Peter is just the pure self confidence of the matter in chapter 13 we have there the washing of the feet of the disciples by Jesus and the message that goes on behind the washing of the feet is that Jesus is the one who serves them now this was alien to the disciples and they fought back no Lord you must not wash our feet but Jesus insisted why does he insist why does he wash their feet because that is the whole purpose of his coming that's the whole reason why he's here
[53:06] Peter misunderstood it then and he absolutely misunderstands it again here the point John is trying to make time and time again is that we need Jesus to serve us Peter couldn't handle that he had such self confidence such arrogance such a view of himself and a view of how things were meant to be done that he just couldn't he couldn't fathom letting Jesus serve him he couldn't take it and in the garden what do we see here Jesus again showing his power over the cloud I am he but what do we see festering in Peter's mind bring out my sword wave it around I'll strike the ear off this man he completely reads everything wrong and as the cock begins to crow in verse 27 after all his lies after lying time and time again he breaks down and we see in another gospel that he begins to cry weeping is that at this point that he sees all that Jesus has done he couldn't follow Jesus on his own he couldn't do it on his own
[54:44] Peter seems to realize just how true that was that he was incapable in himself he doesn't have the power in himself he doesn't have truth he lies time and time again just to save his own skin just to sort of save his own life he keeps lying and lying and lying he couldn't follow Jesus on his own but that's the cross that's why it's here that's why we have this passage that realization of Peter's here after the cock crowed is the whole point of the gospel it's the whole point of this passage the gateway to understanding the crucifixion narrative the door to understanding what Jesus has just done is to go through this lesson is for all of us to go through this lesson that Peter the chief of his disciples is incapable how much more are we how much more incapable are we if you're here today and you love the
[56:08] Lord and you love Christ you love him because exactly that you are incapable I am absolutely incapable that's why we love this Jesus of Nazareth that's why we love this Jesus the son of God because he humbled himself and took my place because I was incapable and if you're here tonight if you're here today it's the morning and you don't yet understand that that's why Jesus came exactly because you're incapable if you have any tears in your life so many people struggle with depression in this world so many it's a horrible thing to go through it numbs you to the world and even in that glimpse of just being even incapable of living you feel like you're incapable of living like a normal person that is a glimpse of the human heart it's a glimpse of the truth of the situation the truth of the world is that we are incapable but that's the point of the cross we are incapable but it just goes to show how capable he is the more
[57:45] I learn this lesson my incapability my failure the more I learn it it's actually an essential truth to following Jesus it's actually at the very heart of following you because I have to understand day after day that Jesus is there to wash my feet I have to put aside my pride I have to put aside my pride and let God wash my feet the one who created feet is now washing them I don't want to let him do that not naturally I don't think any of us do we don't like feeling helpless we want to feel powerful but like Peter we have no power in this situation it's like whiskey
[58:51] I'm not tired whiskey but I'm told that the first time you drink whiskey if you drink too much of it straight away you'll be knocked for six you have a little bit of it and over time you can have a little bit more thankfully that's what Christ that's what God does to us with our sin we can only handle a little bit of it at a time and over time he'll peel back the veil of our own heart and we will see over time the darkness in it but for now he just shows us a little bit at a time all that we can handle it's like coffee that's the other parallel the truth of who we are can be disgusting at first but not only do we get used to it we actually grow to love the fact that we are incapable because it means that
[59:57] Christ is the one that we depend on and Christ is the anchor in our lives this is the truth that I need and as Peter began to hear the cock crow that was the herald of redemption he was now in a place to understand what Jesus was doing for him this truth that the Lord has carefully dealt out bit by bit this measure of truth for you and for me this truth that we are incapable that's who you are it's why you need the cross it's the very gateway to the cross but to finish with this the other theme that Peter is weaving that John is weaving into this story weaving into this passage we see it again there in the narrative in verse 8
[61:00] I told you that I am he so if you seek me let these men go it's the idea of substitution I actually think it's implicit it's actually there in the very form it's in the construction of the story itself you have that chunk there between 15 and 18 denial number one you have the next chunk verses 19 to 24 you have Christ upholding the truth and then you have another part the two more denials Christ's act of truth and Christ's time before the courts is book ended by Peter's denials why either side it's because if you're looking for me
[62:07] Christ says let these men go nobody was asking to arrest these men nobody said we are looking for Jesus of Nazareth and everyone else that's with you Jesus asked them whom do you seek they had one name they didn't say Jesus of Nazareth and your whole band one name we're looking for you but he makes a deliberate point of saying to the soldiers let these men go Jesus weaves substitution into the story but the consequences of Jesus being taken is their freedom the consequence of Jesus being taken is their freedom and that's why he says that they are even though they weren't asking for freedom and they weren't being asked to be arrested the very consequence of
[63:14] Jesus being taken and volunteering himself is the freedom of his disciples and that's why we see again verse 14 just that reoccurrence of the same theme it was Caiphas who advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people Caiphas had no idea the depth of his words that one man should die for the sake of the people substitution what we see in this whole passage through the contrast of Peter and Jesus what we see in the substitution between Peter and Jesus between ourselves and Jesus is that we see the I am he dying for the I am not verse five whom do you seek I am he Peter in verse 17 are you also not one of these man disciples are you
[64:20] I am not that's it in a nutshell it's the I am dying for the I am not it's Jesus dying for Peter it's Jesus dying for you and for me it's the I am dying for the I am not I am not able I am not capable you are not able you are not capable but you don't need to be because the I am has died for the I am not that's the whole point the one of truth dying for the one who speaks falsehood the one who succeeds standing in the place of the one who fails the one of truth the one of power standing in the place of the one of lies and the one of no power that's us that's
[65:24] Peter it's the I am dying for the I am not and Jesus volunteers himself he stands in the place of Peter so that Peter can have life that's the basis of the Christian life that's it in a very nutshell it's the cross is the thing that makes us whole it's the I am dying for the I am not remember that take it away and I finish with this very thought why do we have chapter 21 we have the resurrection we have the cross we have the resurrection why do we have chapter 21 why do we have it where Jesus seems to have a breakfast and question Peter these three different ways there is so much in that again the three different questions highlighting or taking back the three denials there's so many different things to look at but if we want to look at something simply in regards to chapter 18 it's that
[66:42] Jesus restores Peter in parallel to the denials three times he asks do you love me and three times Peter replies and he says when you are old you will stretch out your hands and you might think oh poor old Peter here he is with Jesus and the last thing Jesus says to him is you're going to stretch out your hands and die probably signifying the fact that Peter died on a cross but where before we have to remember John 18 and where what Jesus is telling Peter is not just you're going to die that's not just it but it's actually to tell him you will now be able to stand where before you failed where before you couldn't even observe me in my crucifixion you will stand there too where before you couldn't actually speak the truth you kept lying you will be so committed to the truth yourself that you will stand there too he's been given certainty of growth and change by
[67:58] Jesus telling him the way he's going to die he's telling him you will succeed in the place of your failure whereas before you denied God in the way that you spoke now you succeed and stand you experience the power of the spirit because he has died for you now hopefully you reflect reflect on the week gone by reflect on the days gone by reflect on the months gone by and we all dwell on the things that we have failed in we all dwell on the things and our sins but hopefully we will reflect on our time gone by and yes it'll expose guilt and failure of course it will but there is always opportunity to succeed and stand faithful where this past year maybe you didn't maybe next year you can succeed the cross gives us a basis of inadequacy it shows up and it tells us and we find out all about our inadequacy at the cross but that's not all the cross does it gives it provides the power it provides the spirit it provides the act of what
[69:26] Jesus did so that we can change so that there is opportunity to be changed and transformed and succeed we are never slaves to our past selves you can change and off the back of Peter's failure in chapter 18 that's exactly what Jesus is saying to him here in chapter 21 you will change you will succeed in all the ways that you dwell on the ways that you failed I'm telling you Peter you will succeed may the Lord bless to us these thoughts let us pray heavenly father we we ask that you reveal to us once again the depth of our sin in our hearts as much as we can handle but Lord we pray that you would as you show us just how low we are that you would remind us once again just how glorious
[70:43] Jesus is and that the cross has bridged the gap between our inadequacy our incapability and just how capable he is of doing it all we ask Lord that you'll go before us for the rest of this day help us as we all go our separate ways and we ask this all in Christ's name amen we can conclude singing psalm 116 in the sing psalms psalm 116 page 154 verses 1 to 9 I love the Lord because he heard my voice he listened when I cried to him for aid I'll call on him as long as I shall live because he had turned to hear me when I prayed and we can sing to verse mark 9 rest oh my soul God has been good to you for you oh Lord have saved my soul from death my feet from stumbling and my eyes from tears that I may live for you while I have breath these verses to God's praise
[71:55] I love the Lord because he heard my voice he love the Lord because he heard my voice he listened when I cry to him for aid I'll call on him but told us I shall live because he turned to hear me when I pray the heart of death with unentangling me upon me in thee and wish of the grave with grief and trouble
[73:12] I was overcome then on the name of God I call Lord sing the Lord the Lord the God is kind and full of grace both righteous and calm passion it is he the Lord protect all those of childlike pain when I was in great need he rescued me rest oh my soul
[74:18] God has been good to you for you oh Lord have saved my soul from death my feet from stumbling and my eyes from tears that I may live for you while I have breath let us pray heavenly father we ask that you will go before us now as we enjoy the rest of this your day and lord go before us as we join up with our families or come together to worship you this evening and we ask all of these things in christ's name amen you