Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to John chapter 18.
We have made our way to the 18th chapter of John,
and we are going to cover verses 1 through 27 this morning.
So John 18, verses 1 through 27.
As I always encourage you, please have a Bible open.
We're going to look with our own eyes at God's Word this morning
as we walk through this passage together.
So when you found it, John 18, verses 1 through 27,
if you would please stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.
When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron,
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.
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.
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.
Jesus said to them,
I am he.
Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
When Jesus said to them,
I am he,
they drew back and fell to the ground.
So he asked them again,
Whom do you seek?
And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered,
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.
Of those whom you gave me,
I have not lost one.
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 its sheath.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?
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,
for he was the 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 for the people.
Simon Peter followed Jesus
and so did another disciple.
Since that disciple was known to the high priest,
he entered with Jesus
into the courtyard of the high priest,
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
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.
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,
standing and warming himself.
The high priest then questioned Jesus
about his disciples and his teaching.
Jesus answered him,
I have spoken openly to the world.
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
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,
Is that how you answer the high priest?
Jesus answered him,
If what I said is wrong,
bear witness about the wrong.
But if what I said is right,
then why do you strike me?
Annas then 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 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,
asked,
Did I not see you in the garden with him?
Peter again denied it,
and at once the rooster crowed.
Grass withers and flower fades,
but the word of our Lord endures forever.
Let's pray.
Lord,
we thank you for the truth of your word,
and we pray as Jesus has just prayed in John 17,
would you sanctify us in the truth.
Your word is truth.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Amen.
About every six months,
we enter into what is called eclipse season.
I found myself reading about this this week.
We're actually just a few weeks away from an eclipse season,
March 24th and 25th.
I know you have your calendars marked for this.
There will be a partial lunar eclipse,
called a penumbral eclipse,
where just part of the moon's brightness
will be partially blocked by the earth's shadow.
The earth, as it orbits and rotates,
it gets in the way of the sun's direct light
from directly hitting, reaching, and reflecting
off of the surface of the moon.
And if it's a total eclipse,
what happens is that the earth,
it completely blocks direct sunlight from hitting the moon.
It moves right in the way.
And for a moment,
but only for a moment,
that moon that normally shines
and lights up the night sky
is partially darkened,
but only partially,
because even in this unique moment
of unusual darkness,
the light still makes its way through.
It's still visible.
The contrast is still seen.
Sometimes the moon is a reddish color
instead of bright white,
but it's still there.
It's still visible.
It's still shining forth in the darkness.
The darkness cannot overpower the light.
As we enter into this final section
of John's gospel this morning,
I want to remind you of what John told us
all the way back in John chapter 1.
He told us how this story would go.
Do you remember what he said?
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
You can take that phrase
and slap it right across chapters 18 through 21,
because what we see here
is a moment of intense,
unusual darkness.
And yet,
as much as the earth and the world
and the sinful nature of the world
attempts to block out the light
of the Son of God,
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
In fact, what we see in this passage
so clearly is the sharp contrast
between light and darkness.
We see, as we've been singing about
all morning long,
the depth of our dark sin
and the height of His holiness.
What I want you to see
as we walk through this passage together
this morning is two contrasts
between the darkness and the light
this morning.
This will be our outline
if you're a note taker,
help you follow along.
We're going to see two contrasts
between the darkness
and the light this morning.
The first is here in verses 1 through 11.
Look there with me.
It's the contrast between Judas and Jesus.
This is a contrast between
betrayal and obedience.
Verse 1 tells us that
when Jesus had finished speaking,
probably referring to the whole
upper room discourse
and His priestly prayer
in chapters 13 through 17,
when He finished these words,
He went out with His disciples
across the brook Kidron
to a garden.
I want you to try as best as you can
to picture this scene with me.
It was nighttime.
It was dark.
Here on the night before the Passover,
it would have been a full moon.
And you can picture
kind of an eerie scene.
It has all the characteristics
of the beginning of a horror movie.
It was a dark, quiet, moonlit night.
And John tells us that
Jesus takes His disciples
across the brook Kidron.
The brook of Kidron
was actually a wadi,
which means that typically
year-round it's dry,
except for after an intense rain
when it pulls up with water,
much like a lot of our property
here in the Lowcountry, right?
Typically dry,
except for after a heavy rain
like last night.
And this brook,
it ran through the Kidron Valley.
It separated the Temple Mount
on one side
from the Mount of Olives
on the other.
And as you imagine this,
you can imagine the Mount of Olives
would be covered with olive trees
sprawling across the hill.
And Jesus had apparently found
in there a comfortable,
familiar meeting place
where He could engage
and interact and teach
and meet with His disciples.
And maybe you have a place like this.
Some of you know,
every now and then,
sometimes, usually on a Monday,
whenever I feel particularly overwhelmed
or burdened or stressed
or worn out,
I will walk right out here
past the yard
into the trees
of the Francis Marion Forest
and walk as far back
as I can get
until I feel like
I am completely alone.
And there,
I've done it often enough now
where I'm familiar
with some of the areas.
I have a couple of places
that to me
have become meeting places,
holy places of prayer
where I can go
and speak
and interact
with the Lord.
Verse 2 says that Jesus,
here,
He went across the brook Kidron
to His meeting place
where He often met
with His disciples.
And the three other gospel writers,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
they fill us in
on what's just happened
just moments before this
as Jesus went out
and prayed
in the Garden of Gethsemane
praying that
if it be at all possible
that this cup
might pass from Him.
You remember,
He's agonizing
over this coming moment.
He's sweating drops of blood
as He met with God
in prayer.
And do you remember
how He rose
and how He finished that prayer?
Yet not my will,
but Yours be done.
And as He rises
from His prayer,
as He resolves
to perfectly obey
the will of God,
to fulfill this plan of God
to a T,
John fills us in
on what Judas,
is up to.
And I want you to notice here
the contrast
that John is trying
to lay out for us.
Jesus is resolved
to obey
to the point of death.
He is willing to
pay the price
of His own life
for obedience
to the Father's plan.
But here,
Judas betrays Him
for just 30 pieces of silver,
according to Matthew.
And this is a contrast
of rebellion against God
as Judas rebels
and perfect submission
to God
as Jesus rises
to obey.
Judas, of course,
he knew the place
where Jesus would be.
He had met there
with Him many times before.
You can only imagine
the sweetness
of those meetings,
of that personal time
with Jesus
as Jesus often led Him
there to the garden
to meet.
But now,
verse 3 says,
Judas leads
a band of soldiers
and some officers
from the chief priests
and the Pharisees
with lanterns
and torches
and weapons.
Jesus returns
to that familiar
meeting place.
I'm not sure
how you picture
this scene in your mind
or if you've ever seen
a dramatization
of this moment,
but anytime
I tend to imagine it,
usually there's just
a handful of men
there to arrest Jesus.
In fact,
I was curious
and so I went back
and I re-watched
the scene
from The Passion
of the Christ.
Have you ever seen
that movie,
The Passion of the Christ?
I re-watched the scene
where Jesus was arrested
and parts were moving,
it was going kind of fast,
but I could only count
maybe as many as five men
in the scene
coming to arrest Jesus.
Certainly no more
than ten men
were there.
And that's where
some dramatizations
like that
can be a little
unhelpful for us.
And my apologies
to Mel Gibson,
right,
but as I studied
this text,
this week,
I was reminded
that these two groups
of people,
the band of soldiers
and the officers,
would likely have added
up to approximately
1,000 men.
The band of soldiers
is a Roman detachment,
which in and of itself,
by the strictest definition
of the term,
is 1,000 men.
Typically,
they didn't roll
with that many men.
It's normally
approximately
six to 700 individuals.
But then you add
the Jewish officials
from both the Sadducees
and the Pharisees.
These were the temple police.
You add these two groups together
and the best estimates
are that there are
about 1,000 men
gathered there together,
all with their torches
and their weapons
coming to arrest
one man.
Jews and Romans together.
This is an image,
isn't it,
of the entire world
banding together
against this one man.
It's just as the psalmist
said in Psalm chapter 2,
isn't it?
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth
set themselves
and the rulers
take counsel together
against the Lord
and His anointed.
And here in verse 4,
John says,
Jesus,
knowing all that would happen
to Him,
came forward
and said to them,
Whom do you seek?
They replied,
Jesus of Nazareth.
So Jesus simply said to them,
I am He.
Just two words in the Greek,
ego, a, me.
I am He.
And if you've listened closely
as we've walked through
the Gospel of John,
you should know that
these two words
carry a weight beyond
simply just saying,
here I am.
Right?
Jesus is saying,
once again,
I am.
He's claiming identity
of being the I am.
Yahweh,
the God of the Old Testament.
Who are you seeking?
Jesus,
I am.
Now the power of these
two words,
Ego, a, me.
Judas and the Roman detachment
and all the temple police,
all of the hundreds of men
that came with weapons reared
drew back and fell to the ground.
And so He asked them once more,
Who are you seeking?
And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth.
And so He replied,
I told you I am He.
And so if you seek Me,
let these men go.
And John tells us
He spoke these words
as fulfillment
of the word that He had spoken
of these men
whom you gave Me, Father.
I have not lost one.
He's come to die.
He's come to fulfill
the plan of God.
He's come to save
and to preserve
and to protect His own.
This was the plan of God.
And Jesus was obedient,
willing to lay down His life
to save His own.
Well, as always,
Peter was a step behind.
He had to do something
about this.
And John tells us
that he took out his sword
and he cut off the ear
of the high priest's servant.
Not exactly a good shot
or a good idea, right?
But he still wasn't quite understanding
that all of this
was according to plan.
So Jesus tells him,
Peter, put your sword back
in its sheath.
Now listen to this.
Shall I not drink the cup
that the Father has given me?
Shall I not drink the cup
that the Father has given me?
Do you see the difference here?
Do you see the contrast
that John is laying out for us
between our sin
and His holiness?
Do you see the contrast here
between Judas and Jesus?
Judas goes to betray God.
Jesus goes to obey God.
Judas unwittingly fulfills
the plan of God in his sin.
And Jesus knowingly fulfills
the plan of God in his obedience.
Judas sides with the powers of man.
Jesus sides with the powers of God.
And Judas and the hundreds of men
came with weapons ready.
And Jesus says to Peter,
put your sword away.
We're told elsewhere,
he tells him,
don't you know I can call down
as many legions of angels as I need
if I were to want to defend myself
here in this moment.
But I've come here for this purpose.
To obey the plan of God.
Church, as we walk through this journey
to the cross,
as we follow John,
as he takes us to Golgotha,
as we prepare our hearts
for Good Friday
and for Easter here
in just a couple of short weeks,
I want you to understand
once again
that the death of Jesus
is not a tragic accident.
This is not an innocent man
caught by surprise
by the powers of darkness.
Jesus was not taken by surprise.
This betrayal did not take Jesus by surprise.
He told Judas back in chapter 13,
what you are about to do,
do it quickly.
Jesus wasn't hiding.
He went to a familiar place
on purpose,
knowing that this would be
the first place Judas would look.
He wasn't trying to hide.
These hundreds of men
didn't sneak up on Jesus.
How could they?
He didn't try to run away.
He came out to them.
He didn't wait for them
to ask who he was.
He asked them,
what do you want?
Who are you looking for?
And he told them,
I am he.
He did not hide.
He did not run.
He did not need his followers
to rise up
and defend him.
He came for this purpose,
to drink the cup
that the Father has given him.
He was obedient.
Judas betrayed God,
yet Jesus fully submitted to God.
That's contrast number one.
John shows us another contrast
here in this passage.
It's the contrast between
Peter and Jesus.
It's a contrast between
the unfaithfulness of Peter
and the faithfulness of Jesus.
The scene shifts now
in verse 12
to Jesus' informal trial with Annas.
And the storytelling here,
I want you to notice this
because it's brilliant.
I want you to see it.
John, he bounces back and forth,
doesn't he?
Between the scene with Jesus
and the scene with Peter
and then back to Jesus
and then back to Peter.
And oftentimes,
when a biblical narrative does that,
the author's doing that on purpose
to help us to see a connection
between these two events.
They want us to make
some sort of conclusion
as we read these stories together.
And here,
what I think John wants us to do
is to see a contrast
between Jesus' faithfulness
and Peter's unfaithfulness.
Okay?
So we'll get to Peter
in just a moment,
but let's look at what
is happening with Jesus first.
Verse 12.
Look there with me.
Verse 12 says that
the band of Roman soldiers
and their captain,
along with the Jewish officers,
arrest Jesus,
and they bound him.
And first,
they said it,
they led him to Annas,
who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was the high priest that year.
Now,
there's a little bit
of confusing language
going on here,
isn't there?
It's a little bit hard
to keep up
with the characters
in this scene.
There's a bit of political drama
behind the scenes here
because Caiaphas
was the official high priest
by Roman appointment,
but Annas was the high priest
before Caiaphas,
and by Jewish law,
when you're appointed
the high priest,
that appointment is for life.
And so it may be
that what's happening here
is that the first leg
of this informal trial
was to bring him to Annas,
who many thought
was truly the real high priest,
before bringing him to Caiaphas,
who was the official high priest.
Verse 19 says that
the high priest,
meaning Annas,
then questioned Jesus
about two things,
his disciples
and his teaching.
And Jesus, again,
staying faithful to his promise
to protect his disciples
to the end,
he just ignores
the first question completely,
doesn't he?
And he said,
I've spoken openly
to the world.
I've always taught
in synagogues
and in the temple
where all the Jews
come together.
I've said nothing in secret.
Why do you ask me?
Ask those who have heard me
what I said to them.
They know what I said.
Now, on the one hand,
what Jesus is doing here
is simply stating
an obvious fact, right?
His teaching predominantly
has been in public.
He's already had
his public run-ins
with the Pharisees.
He's taught the multitudes.
He's taught in synagogues
and in the temple.
Any one of these hearers
can bear testimony
to what Jesus has taught.
That's an obvious fact,
isn't it?
But on the other hand,
what he's doing
is he's also,
he's digging in here
to show that this line
of questioning
really isn't legitimate.
This whole trial
really isn't legitimate.
Now, the proper legal procedure,
according to Jewish law
at the time,
would be to question
the witnesses
before questioning
the defendant.
And typically,
you would question
the witnesses
on behalf of the defendant
first before you
would question
the witnesses
that are accusing
the defendant.
And all of this
goes right out
the window here.
They just start
questioning Jesus.
So Jesus says,
I have witnesses.
They've all heard me.
Why are you bypassing
the legal requirements
and coming straight
after me?
Ask them.
They heard what I said.
He's pointing out
that the real lawbreakers
in the room,
if we're going to be
serious about this,
the real lawbreakers
in the room
is not me.
It's you.
But here,
before an illegitimate
high priest
with an illegitimate
line of questioning,
all decorum
goes right out
the window.
This isn't going
to be a fair trial.
And make that clear
that they're not here
to play nice.
When he said these things,
one of the officers
there strikes Jesus
with his hand,
saying,
is that how you answer
the high priest?
But again,
Jesus answered him,
if what I said
is wrong,
bear witness
about the wrong.
But if what I said
is right,
why do you strike me?
If I've done wrong,
if I've spoken wrongly,
testify.
Hold a fair trial.
Bear witness.
Bring witnesses in here.
Jesus is calling them
to a fair trial.
But of course,
this won't be
a fair trial.
They've made up
their mind.
This man deserves
to die.
None of this was fair.
None of this was right.
He was the only
innocent man
to ever walk the earth.
And yet here,
he's treated
as a criminal.
Jesus willingly
stands in the place
of the guilty.
Willingly subjects
himself to public
shame and ridicule.
Why?
For his disciples' sake.
For faithfulness
to the promises
that he's made.
For faithful obedience
to the plan of God
to save his own.
Meanwhile,
let's change the scene.
John tells us
that while Jesus
is inside being questioned,
outside is Peter
and he's being interrogated
in his own way.
John says,
verse 15,
Simon Peter
followed Jesus
and so did
another disciple.
There's good reason
to believe that
that other disciple
is John.
And since that disciple,
John,
was known to the high priest,
he entered with Jesus
into the courtyard
of the high priest.
But Peter stood
outside the door
and at the other
disciples' request,
Peter was brought in
and the servant girl
who's holding the door
open for him
takes one look at Peter
and asks him,
not you too.
You're not also
one of this man's disciples,
are you?
You're with him too?
You?
And Peter,
without any indication
that he gave more
than a moment's thought,
I'm not.
How could he do this?
How could he say that?
You remember,
this is Peter
we're talking about,
right?
It's the same Peter
who just moments ago
was willing to take on
a thousand men
for Jesus.
And here,
he's unwilling
to identify with him
for fear of public shame
from one servant girl
holding a door.
It's the same Peter
who in chapter 13,
verse 37,
said,
Lord,
I will lay down
my life for you.
I'll die for you,
Jesus.
I'll lay down
my life for you.
I'll do anything.
I'll pay whatever it costs
to follow you.
And Jesus,
at that point,
you remember what he said,
don't you?
He called him on it.
He said,
will you lay down
your life for me,
Peter?
Truly,
truly,
I say to you,
the rooster will not crow
till you have denied me
three times.
Jesus knew
even Peter
would betray him.
Here is Jesus's
is in the proverbial
hot seat
protecting his disciples.
Here,
Peter goes out
and he warms himself
by the fire
beside Jesus's enemies.
And as he stood here
in the light of the flames,
somebody else asked him
a second time,
you're not also
one of his disciples,
are you?
Here's another chance
to get it right.
Here's another opportunity.
Peter,
okay,
it's time for redemption.
Claim him.
Yes,
say yes,
yes.
And again,
he denied it.
I am not.
How could he say that?
After all that
he had seen and heard,
after all that he'd experienced
as a personal friend
and disciple of Jesus,
how could he say,
I'm not one of his people?
And finally,
one of the servants
of the high priest,
a relative of the man
whose ear,
Peter,
has just cut off.
He gets a little bit more
pointed with him,
doesn't he?
He says,
didn't I see you
in the garden
with him?
Didn't I see you
there with him?
One more opportunity
to get it right,
Peter.
And once again,
Peter denied it
and at once
the rooster crowed.
Do you see the contrast
that John wants us to see?
Do you see the contrast
between Peter's
unfaithfulness
and Jesus'
faithfulness?
Now here is Peter
eager to protect himself
while Jesus himself
is willing to die
to protect sinners.
Here is Peter
denying the Lord
as Jesus defends
Peter and the other
disciples to the end.
Here is Peter
avoiding association
with the perfect
Son of God
as Jesus was willing
to associate
with sinners
like Peter.
Do you see it?
Peter wanted out
of any punishment
coming his way
but Jesus came
for this hour.
He was willing
to die
in the place
of sinners.
Jesus accepts
the public
humiliation
and the shame
but Peter
can't even bear
a little suffering
for his sake.
Jesus remains faithful
and Peter
is unfaithful.
Church,
there is a
sharp
and distinct
and undeniable
contrast
between holiness
and sinfulness.
Do you see it?
between darkness
and light.
But before we
shake our heads
and wag our finger
at Judas
and Peter
here is what I want
you to see
church.
We are
Judas.
We are
Peter.
We are
guilty.
Every one of us
of sinning
against a holy
God.
we have
joined together
with the rest
of the world
to try and
snuff out
and block
the light.
John told us
how this would
play out.
The light
has come
into the world
and people
loved the
darkness
rather than
the light
because their
works were
evil.
We are
not neutral
here.
Every one of us
is guilty
of betrayal.
We join together
with the rest
of the world
in sinful
rebellion
against God
just like
Judas.
We have
betrayed
the Lord.
Haven't we?
We have
made idols
for ourselves
of sex.
Idols
of power.
Idols
of money.
Idols
of control.
Every one
of us
has exchanged
the truth
of God
for a lie
and worshipped
and served
created things
rather than
the creator
who is blessed
forever.
Amen.
As Romans
chapter 1
tells us,
we have
done this.
We have
chosen to
take our
30 pieces
of silver
and be
content
with trinkets
and the
glory of
God is
held out
to us
in Christ.
We are
just like
Judas
and
we are
just like
Peter.
How often
have we
denied
him?
How often
are we
hot and
cold?
On and
off.
Hot and
cold.
I will
cut someone's
ear off
for you
Jesus.
I will
fight a
thousand
men for
you
Jesus.
But the
next
moment
we can't
even speak
up to
a little
servant
girl
holding
the
door.
How often
have we
pledged our
complete and
total allegiance
to God
and then
moments later
turned our
back to
him?
How often
have we
said to
him in
prayer,
Lord,
I am
yours.
I would
die for
you.
I would
do
anything for
you,
Lord.
Then we
go out
and we
live our
lives as
if he
didn't
even
exist.
I don't
know him.
I don't
know him.
I don't
know him.
How often
have we
been unwilling
to bear a
little
criticism
for identifying
with Jesus?
how often
have we
been unwilling
to be
mocked
or ridiculed
for him?
How often
have we
preferred to
warm ourselves
with the
comforts of
the world
rather than
just endure
a little
suffering
for his
sake?
I spent
a few
days this
week at
the Charles
Simeon
Trust
preaching
workshop.
And Charles
Simeon,
if you're not
familiar with
him,
was the
pastor of
Trinity
Church in
Cambridge,
England for
49 years.
And he
was once
asked by a
friend how
he had
lasted that
long.
49 years
in the
ministry.
How have
you lasted
that long
through all
the many
attacks and
persecutions
and shame
thrown his
way against
him for
identifying
faithfully
with Christ?
Here's what
he said.
My dear
brother, we
must not
mind a
little
suffering for
Christ's
sake.
When I'm
getting through
a hedge,
if my head
and shoulders
are safely
through, I
can bear the
pricking of
my legs.
Let us
rejoice in
the remembrance
that our
holy head
has surmounted
all his
suffering and
triumphed over
death.
Let us
follow him
patiently.
We shall
soon be
partakers of
his victory.
glory.
Friend, as
we read
this account,
we have to
understand that
we are
guilty.
We often
sing the
song,
Behold the
man upon
the cross,
my sin
upon his
shoulders.
My sin
upon his
shoulders.
Ashamed I
hear my
mocking voice.
It was my
sin that held
him there until
it was finished.
My sin.
We have to
acknowledge that
each one of
us, we
have betrayed
Christ.
We have
denied Christ.
We have
earned death
with our
sin.
This darkness
is ours.
But church,
the good news
of the
gospel is
that Christ
Jesus has
succeeded where
all of us
have failed.
Amen?
1 Peter 3.18
says,
Christ also
suffered once
for sins,
the righteous
for the
unrighteous,
that he might
bring us
to God.
Isaiah 53,
he was pierced
for our
transgressions.
He was
crushed for
our iniquities.
Upon him
was the
chastisement
that brought
us peace,
and with his
wounds we
are healed.
All we like
sheep have
gone astray.
We have
turned every
one of us
to his
own way,
and the
Lord has
laid on
him the
iniquity of
us all.
Christ Jesus
has tasted
the wrath of
God that we
deserved.
He's taken
death head
on, and he
alone has
come through
victorious.
Why?
So that
sinners like
us, who
just can't
get it
together,
the sinners
like us,
who are
united to
him by
faith,
might share
in his
victory over
sin, death,
and the
grave.
Now the
message that I
want you to
hear this
morning from
this passage
is not
stop being
like Judas,
be more like
Jesus.
It's not
stop being
like Peter,
be more like
Jesus.
That's not
the gospel,
church.
In fact, if
that's how you
understand the
gospel, I
would say you
don't really
understand it
very well at
all.
You might
not be a
Christian.
The gospel
is not stop
doing this
and start
doing this.
The gospel
is the
recognition that
our sin is
dark and
heavy, as
distinct from
the light as
the moon from
the darkness,
and yet Christ,
the light of
the world, has
stepped into
the darkness
to redeem us
out of the
light of the
darkness.
He stepped
into the
darkness to
do what we
cannot do
ourselves.
We can't
stop being
like Judas
unless he
comes and
he changes
our heart,
calls us
out of
darkness to
belong into
his marvelous
light.
The gospel
is the
invitation not
to do
better, but
to receive
what he
alone has
done.
As we
walk with
John over
these final
chapters and
follow Jesus
to the cross,
I want you
to ask
yourself,
have I
received what
Jesus has
done?
Do I
really know
that I've
sinned against
him and
have I truly
received his
forgiveness?
Have I truly
turned away from
this life of
sin and
trusted in
Christ alone
to say,
yes, I'm
guilty, but
I trust that
you came to
take my guilt
away from
me, that
you died for
my sin,
that you were
punished on
my behalf.
Have you
received his
work, friend?
And if
you have, if
you are a
believer, and
resting in
that finished
work of
Jesus, what
steps of
repentance do
we need to
take this
morning?
In what
ways have we
denied him
this week?
In what
ways have we
betrayed him
this week?
And in what
ways have we
been unwilling
to bear a
little suffering
for the sake
of Christ?
God's
renew your
commitment once
again to
follow him
and praise
the Lord for
his obedience,
for his
faithfulness.
Our sins, they
are many, but
his, what?
His mercy is
more.
Praise God.
I want to
close with one
final contrast
this morning.
This is a
bonus for you,
okay?
Contrast number
three is the
contrast between
Judas and
Peter.
This is a
contrast between
condemnation and
forgiveness.
Matthew tells
us in Matthew
chapter 27 that
Judas, when he
saw that Jesus
was condemned,
changed his
mind and came
to the chief
priests and the
Pharisees and
tried to give
them their money
back.
He said, I've
sinned by betraying
innocent blood.
He realized
he messed up,
but for him,
it was too
late.
It says he
threw down the
money on the
temple floor and
he left and he
hanged himself.
Judas felt
sorrow for his
wrongs and he
went out and he
died in his
sin.
But Peter,
Lord willing,
we'll see what
happens with
Peter in just a
couple of weeks.
Peter, although
he had denied
the Lord,
although he
had sinned
mightily against
the Lord,
this was not
the end for
Peter.
He would be
forgiven.
He would be
restored.
He would be
washed clean.
He would be
made a pillar of
the early church.
The Lord sought
him out and
restored him,
forgave him for
what he had
done.
The difference
between Judas
and Peter is not
a difference of
sin.
Do you see
that?
both have
sinned greatly
against Jesus.
The difference
between Judas
and Peter is
forgiveness.
The Lord
sought Peter
out and
forgave him
of his sin.
This is the
contrast that I
want to put
before us this
morning as we
close.
Church, all of
us have sinned
and fallen short
of the glory of
God.
all of us
are guilty.
But Christ
has come
that sinners
like us
might receive
him and
find forgiveness
by the finished
work of Jesus.
Let's pray.
Lord, the
darkness of our
sin is so
evident in
these chapters.
We confess
our sin to
you this
morning in
many ways
that we have
denied you,
betrayed you,
sinned against
you.
Father, for
those who you
have sought
out and
forgiven, we
praise you,
Lord, for the
finished work of
Christ that you
have obeyed in
our place, that
your perfect
righteousness is
credited to our
bankrupt account by
faith.
God, for the
people who
do not know
you, Lord, we
pray in this
moment, would you
show them their
need for Christ?
Would you open
their eyes to see
the glory of
Jesus that he
alone can save,
not by any
goodness in our
account, but by
his perfect
righteousness and
faithfulness to the
plan of God?
God, we love
you, Lord, we
pray this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.