Father, we confess before you that too often when we read your word or hear your word,
we think of how it applies to other people and not ourselves.
We think, Father, of the specks in other people's eyes and not the logs in our own eyes.
And so we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would do a wonderful work in our midst
and that you would bring your word to our hearts,
that you would bring your word to our hearts so that it would speak clearly to us
and that as you speak to us at the depth of our heart, the command center of who we are,
Father, please make us disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel
and learning to live for your glory and not our own.
And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
Andrew and I have slightly different ideas about how we like to have the table set.
So I do it here for the sermon. Everything else is the way Andrew likes it.
You know, there's things that happen in the world that you just can't make up.
On the 13th of March, I think that was Wednesday,
Iran, by a lot of...
One of the scales I saw that was rating how different countries treat women,
out of 149 countries, Iran finished 146th out of 149.
And you can't make some of this stuff up,
but on March the 13th, Iran was put on the UN Council for Women.
Not making that up.
UN Council for Women.
So they are now part of the body that gets to judge
how different nations are treating women.
And in terms of not being able to make this stuff up,
the same day that they got named to the UN Human Rights Commission
that looks after the concerns of women,
that same day they sentenced...
And I don't...
If those of you know how to pronounce Iranian names,
I ask your forgiveness if I get this wrong.
Nazrin Sotute, a woman lawyer,
the same day they got put on the UN Human Rights Committee for Women,
they sentenced this lawyer, this woman lawyer,
to an extra 10 years in jail.
And her crime was that she was protesting the laws in Iran
that forced all women to wear the hijab.
So the same day they get put on the Human Rights Council,
they do that.
You can't make this stuff up, can you?
I mean, it's just one of those things you just shake your head
at what goes on.
The fact of the matter is
that as long as there's been human beings,
and I could give Canadian examples,
but the problem is, you know,
we've already talked about Canadian examples
a little bit over the last couple of weeks,
and it could make it look like
I was maybe trying to play political favorites,
which I'm not.
The fact of the matter is
is that issues of religious violence
and just the whole desire for power
and how power can corrupt
is a constant human problem and condition.
And the biblical passage that we're going to look at today
is directly connected
and speaks directly in
to this problem of religious violence,
the problem of the abuse of power.
So it'd be a great help to me
if you turned your Bibles
and opened them to John chapter 18.
And we're going to look at that,
not only the text I read,
but the part that comes after it.
When we do narrative things like this,
I often have the text up on the screen,
so you will be able to read it
by looking on the screen.
But, you know, there's something special
about having your own Bible
and being able to make notes or comments
or whatever in your own Bible
as you go along.
And so we're looking at John.
It's John chapter 18, verse 1.
And John is one of the four ancient
eyewitness biographies of Jesus.
John mentions himself here in the story,
but he'll refer to himself as the other disciple.
He never names himself.
And in the flow of the gospel,
John spends more time
with how Jesus speaks to his disciples
on the night before he's betrayed.
That four, six, eight hours,
John spends a long time
talking about what Jesus says to his disciples.
And when we begin here at verse 1,
we're catching up with Jesus
has left the upper room
and the story continues on
and it's verse 1
and it goes like this.
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.
I just sort of want to pause here for a second.
The actual original word for brook
is a, I don't know if I'm pronouncing this correctly,
apologies, it's a wadi.
A very Middle Eastern thing, a wadi.
A wadi is a spring or a small river
that only erupts into water
occasionally throughout the year.
Usually in the rainy season,
there'll be a stream
or there'll be some water there.
The rest of the year, there's nothing.
And that's what Jesus is actually crossing.
And the other thing,
which is sort of is just,
we're going to talk about this more
in a couple of weeks.
But out of all of the gospel writers,
John is the one who emphasizes the most
that this is all taking place in a garden.
John is going to mention three times
the significance of the garden.
He's going to mention it here
where Jesus is betrayed is in a garden.
He's going to describe
that where Jesus is crucified is in a garden.
And he's going to be the one who says
that when Jesus is buried,
it's in a garden.
And of course, for Jewish and Christian readers,
Genesis 3,
human beings were put in a garden.
Adam and Eve fall in a garden.
There's this very clear literary connection
which John is making
to Adam and Eve
and the entrance of evil into the world.
So evil and sin and death
and brokenness and betrayal
and denial and abandonment and failure,
all of these things enter
into the human condition
in a garden.
And it is in a garden
that God will provide a remedy
for the human condition.
We continue in verse 2.
Now Judas, who betrayed Jesus,
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 just sort of pause for a second.
It's not obvious
in the English translation,
but in the original language,
John uses a technical word
for band of soldiers.
It's actually,
he's using the technical word
for a group of 600 soldiers.
It's called a cohort.
And he's not saying
that all 600 soldiers came.
You know, if in Ottawa
you said that the fire department
put out the fire,
it doesn't mean that every fireman
went to put out the fire.
It just means the fire department
put out the fire.
And what John is using here
is using the technical Roman term
for a very large group
of Roman soldiers.
And he's signaling to the readers
that this means
that there's been prior collusion
between Pilate
and the group of people
who control the temple.
They have conspired in secret
because there's no way
that the people
who control the temple
would be able to just,
you know,
the bishop of Ottawa
couldn't go up to CFB Petawawa
and say,
could we borrow 100 soldiers
because we want to go do something?
No, they just say,
they say,
get out of here, right?
They don't have the power authority.
So John here
at the original language,
he's signaling
a conspiracy collusion
between the Roman authorities
and those who control
the Jewish high temple.
Verse 4,
continue on.
Then Jesus,
knowing all that would happen
to him,
came forward,
walked towards them
and said to them,
whom do you seek?
I just want to pause there again.
It's very, very interesting here
what John is doing.
Sorry,
it's very interesting
in two ways.
The first one is
if you go back
and read the Gospel of John
from the beginning till now
and it's made a bit easier
if you have a Bible like mine
where the words of Jesus
are in red,
it makes it easier
to figure out certain things.
But if you go and look
and see in John's Gospel
what is the very first thing
that Jesus ever says
recorded in John's Gospel?
It is,
what do you seek?
Very, very first words
that Jesus says.
It isn't a declaration,
it's a question.
What are you seeking?
And it's really
a very, very interesting question
to every human being,
isn't it?
Like, what are you seeking?
You can ask that of,
you could ask that of Trudeau,
you could ask that of Andrew Scheer,
you could ask of a street person,
you could ask of everyone.
Like, what are you seeking?
What are your idols?
What's driving you?
It's the very, very first words
that Jesus says.
The same thing
can also be translated
as whom you are seeking.
Sort of a bit better
to translate it as what.
And so Jesus asks
virtually the identical question
of his enemies.
Whom are you seeking?
So just as the beginning
of his ministry,
his public ministry
and his open teaching,
it's going to be prefaced
with this idea of,
like, okay,
as you're coming to deal with me,
and you might think
that you're in control,
and you might just think
that you can be acquiring information,
or it's just all about power,
Jesus asks a heart question
in all of your interactions with me.
What are you really seeking?
Because what we're seeking
is going to have
a profound effect
and impact
on how we deal with people.
That's what's going to go
in the story.
As the story goes on,
we'll see that the soldiers
aren't seeking,
the soldiers and the police
aren't seeking justice.
We're going to see
that Annas and Pilate
aren't seeking justice,
that they're seeking power,
they're seeking other types
of things,
they're not seeking truth.
If they were seeking truth,
there'd be a whole pile
of things that they would
do very different,
but what they really are seeking
is power.
And because what they're
really seeking is power,
personal power,
it blinds them to truth
and blinds them to the value,
it blinds them to a whole pile
of other things.
And so it's a really important thing
for us to think about this.
There are some of us here
who have very,
very little power.
But all of us have
some degree of power.
Maybe it's a parent
who has power over their child
or you have power
in your group of friends,
some type of authority
or influence.
And the question always is,
how are you actually using that?
There's another thing
which is really important
for us just to note here.
It's not an important part
of the story,
but it's an important thing
for us just to pause on.
It's very hard
to be an out Christian today.
I love that term
from the gay lexicon
of being out.
And it's very hard
to be an out Christian today
if we think about it.
And one of the things
which is so wonderful
about this text
is that Jesus,
he knows that he's going to die.
He knows that these people
are his enemies,
but he walks towards them.
He walks towards his enemies.
And in some small way,
but an important way,
Jesus is modeling
something here
which should be
very important to us,
that we should be willing
to be out Christians
and that God doesn't want us
to live in fear.
He doesn't want us
to live in our city in fear,
in this world in fear.
He wants us to be people
who walks toward the other,
who walks towards other people,
who walks towards situations
rather than hiding from them
and walking away.
He wants us to have a type of
just confidence in God
and love for people
and concern for people
that we walk towards them
but not live in fear.
Well, what happens
next is very, very interesting.
So Jesus, verse 4,
Jesus asks them this question,
whom do you speak,
whom do you seek?
In verse 5,
they answered him,
Jesus of Nazareth.
And Jesus said to them,
I am he.
Judas, who betrayed him,
was standing with him.
And just pause here again
for another second.
So it's not obvious here
to us maybe,
some of you have heard me
say this before,
but it's an important part
of this text,
is that when they,
so Jesus said,
whom do you seek?
And they don't say,
Rabbi,
we're coming to see
Jesus the Rabbi
or we're coming to see
Jesus the Prophet.
They say,
we're coming to see,
we're seeking Jesus of Nazareth
and that's a put down.
Would be just the same
as if one of us,
if you went to Manhattan
in New York City
or you went to Washington
or you went to Hollywood
and somebody came
and introduced you
will use me as an example.
This is George
from Brudenell.
Okay,
none of you know
where Brudenell is.
If you do come
and speak to me afterwards
because you're a bit weird
or you must be
from that region,
Brudenell is a spot
on a map
between nowhere and nowhere.
Tremor is a spot
on the map
between nowhere and nowhere.
Clontarf,
spot on the,
I used to have points there
by the way
as a minister.
So what they're saying
is this is Jesus
of Nowheresville.
This is Jesus
who is unimportant
because he's from Nazareth
and nothing good
comes from Nazareth,
nothing important.
It's nowhere.
It's Hicksville.
It's a hillbilly.
He's not properly educated,
doesn't have the right connections.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for Jesus,
the nobody.
That's what they're basically saying
in response
to who they're looking.
And Jesus,
by the way,
when all the,
there's three times
in this text
where Jesus says,
I am he,
but literally he says,
I am.
Now it can mean I am he,
but it can also mean
the divine name.
That's how he answers,
three times,
I am.
I am,
I am.
And the text makes
a big point
of saying that Jesus,
Judas,
who betrayed them
was standing with them.
So the disciples
are behind Jesus
in the garden.
Judas,
Jesus walks
towards his enemies.
He walks across the room,
so to speak,
and his enemies
are all there,
maybe gathered around
and they say,
Jesus says,
whom do you seek?
They respond
with Jesus,
the nobody.
Jesus says,
I am he.
Judas is with them.
And then the next thing
is very,
very interesting.
Verse six.
When Jesus said to them,
I am he,
they drew back
and fell to the ground.
I don't know
how many of you
have experience
in the charismatic world,
but charismatics
would say,
they just all got
slain in the spirit.
That's what's happened.
Jesus says,
I am.
Boom.
They all go down.
All of them.
The soldiers,
the police officers,
Judas,
they all get knocked
to the ground.
The swords,
the lanterns,
the armor,
none of it matters.
Boom.
Just says who he is
and down they go.
Every one of them.
Now,
I'm not saying
that every time
in a charismatic gathering
somebody gets slain
in the spirit
that's an example of that.
I'm not saying that.
I've only had one time
when I prayed for somebody
and they fell down.
I have to confess,
I had the feeling
that they wanted
to fall down,
but I don't know.
Like,
in heaven,
I'll find out
whether they wanted
to fall down
because it would be
more spiritual
or whether they
actually just did.
I prayed for them
and down they went.
It's only happened
to me once,
but some people
it happens to them a lot.
And I'm not saying
that every time
it happens
it's human
because we can see here
that Jesus does it.
And this is going to be
very, very important
to the rest of the story.
You know,
there's an old Christian
saying that
when Jesus is hanging
on the cross
dying for us,
it's not the nails
that hold them
to the cross
but his love
for you and me.
And this is seen here
very powerfully
in this story.
Jesus just knocks
them all down.
How could these people
possibly capture Jesus
and put him on the cross
if he just by a mere act
of his will
can put them all
on the ground?
It helps emphasize
that whatever's going
to happen
is voluntary.
Jesus is walking
towards his suffering.
he's not truly
being captured.
The story continues.
So what happened?
By the way here,
this is also a very, very
one of the things
which is so wonderful
about the story
that we don't think
of often about
but this is an opportunity
for Judas to repent.
This is an opportunity
for the soldiers
to repent.
This is an opportunity
for the police
to question
what they're doing
which is the beginning
of repentance.
So how do they respond?
Verse 7
So he asked them again
they all eventually
get up
he asked them again
whom do you seek
and they said
Jesus of nowhere
Jesus answered
I told you
that I am he
so if you seek me
let these men go
this was to fulfill
what he had spoken
of those whom you gave me
I have lost
not one
and just sort of pause
why do Christians
believe that the New Testament
is also part of the Bible
because when Jesus
quotes the Bible
he says words
he says
he'll regularly say
in the New Testament
when he's quoting
the Old Testament
he'll say
this was to fulfill
the word
that was spoken
so it's a
it's a formula thing
that shows that God
had said it
that it has authority
and now
John is applying
this same thing
to the words of Jesus
it's a very subtle
literary thing
that's showing
that Jesus' words
have that type
of same divine authority
that the Father has
now remember
I said to you
that this story
speaks directly
into the whole world
of religious violence
it speaks to
the abuse of power
that's going to become
more and more clear
as we go on
Jesus obviously has
a type of vast
untapped
spiritual authority
which is just present
by his mere act
of his will
that the soldiers
and police officers
with their weapons
and their armor
can just
they just all collapse
just by a mere act
of his will
but Peter
is human
and
why have
spiritual power
if you got a sword
it doesn't really matter
in a sense
what Jesus has said
I got a sword
and I'm going to fix this
and that's what happens
here in verse 10
then Simon Peter
having a sword
drew it
and struck
the high priest's servant
and cut off
his right ear
the servant's name
was Malchus
and these next words
are really important
so Jesus said to Peter
put your sword
into its sheath
shall I not drink
the cup
that the father
has given me
and we're going to
talk about the cup
again in a
couple of minutes
but we have here
in this text
in a very very
pithy form
from Jesus
a clear rejection
the sword
never advances
the gospel
the sword
never advances
the gospel
we Christians
I mean probably
not the ones of us
here in this room
but you know
the fact of the matter
is is that if somebody
says to us
well what about this
and what about that
in Christian history
we have to just say
that was wrong
but we learn
that it's wrong
not because we've
taken Rogerian therapy
or because we've
learned from
post-modern
literary criticism
or Nietzsche
that everything's
about power
we can just say
any Christian
like we could
actually just take
them listen
any Christian
throughout history
or any Christian
today that uses
the sword
the power of the
sword to advance
the Christian faith
to advance the gospel
all you have to do
is look here at
verse 11
of John chapter 18
like if we were
listening to that
we would know
that you don't do that
that the power
of the sword
does not advance
the gospel
this by the way
isn't an argument
for pacifism
amongst the nations
it's just an argument
for the fact
that the sword
doesn't advance
the gospel
and some of you
might be wondering
why doesn't it
mention here
that Jesus
heals the man's ear
and I'm just
going to say this
you just
I mean we can have
some conversations
about this over
today and over
the next couple
of weeks
there's no
fundamental
contradiction
between the four
different biographies
of Jesus
about how they
picture what
happens in that
evening and over
the next few
hours
John doesn't
just he just
chooses not to
tell that particular
detail of the story
he has his own
particular way that
he's trying to
tell the story
and you can go
back and you can
put them all
together
there's lots of
different scholars
who've combined
all the different
things
but what we're
listening to is
we're listening to
John's account
and one of the
things that John
wants to really
emphasize is this
whole problem
of power
and how power
bends people
out of shape
because we're
going to see in a
moment that this
very very same
guy who's all
emboldened to
take his sword
and attack
somebody within
a few moments
when some young
snippet of a
woman says
by the way
aren't you a
disciple of Jesus
completely and
utterly cowers
before her
because of all
of the idols
that we seek
and power is a
huge idol
that we seek
it always has
feet of clay
it always has
feet of clay
it almost always
just makes us
paranoid
and it makes us
worried
and as we see
time and time
again throughout
human history
sometime
people who have
the greatest power
just somehow
or another
make the dumbest
mistakes and
the weakness
in the most
unlikely of
all places
things and
that's going
to be
communicated in
the form of
this story
as we
continue
so verse 12
so the band
of the soldiers
and their
captain and
the officers
of the Jews
arrested Jesus
and bound him
in the original
language the word
captain
John has
correctly identified
the correct
military term
for a person
who is in
charge of a
cohort
in Roman
military terminology
for that time
period
he uses the
right military
technical term
verse 13
so they capture
him
and first they
lead him
they led him
to Annas
for he was
the father-in-law
of Caiaphas
who was the
high priest
that year
it was Caiaphas
who had advised
the Jewish
leaders
that it would
be expedient
that one man
should die
for the people
see how there's
this constant
language of the
problem of power
what they really
mean is
we all know
that what the
people really
need
is people like
us
to lead them
and as long
as there's people
like us
who are in
power and
authority
well
that's how the
people thrive
we have this
man
this
tiresome
irksome
itinerant
nobody
from nowhere
is filled
and wouldn't
it be far
better for
the people
if that
irksome
man
was gone
and it's
really interesting
because John
when he records
this first thing
by Caiaphas
he said that
Caiaphas
unwittingly
is actually
speaking a
profound truth
in fact that
it's going to
be far better
that Jesus
dies for the
people
that Jesus
comes to die
for the people
you see
this is another
thing here
about this
insight
about the
problem
with power
at the end
of the day
God is always
only working
on plan
A
God doesn't
have plan
B
C
D
E
F
he doesn't
say
oh
dang
they captured
Jesus
I guess
I better
come up
with another
plan
it's not
like watching
your typical
thriller
where in
your typical
thriller
something
goes
I just
started watching
this Netflix
film about
retired
army rangers
wanting to
steal a
drug lord's
money
and of course
halfway through
the movie
there's a
problem with
the helicopter
that doesn't
describe the
gospels or
God
he never
has
that's no
spoiler alert
by the way
that you
expect that
there's going
to be some
problem that
goes on in
the movie
in a movie
like that
but God
never is
sort of
working on
dealing with
curveballs that
come his way
and he has
to have a
different
thing
and so
what we
see here
is that
what that
means is
this
there's two
fundamentally
different ways
that God
uses us
he uses
us as
his friend
or he
uses us
as his
tool
see he
uses us
as his
friend
when we
submit to
him
when we
say
Lord
may you
guide and
direct my
day today
Lord
could you
give me a
chance
where I
can bear
witness to
you today
Lord can
you show
me in
the office
how I
can pray
for people
Lord
there's a
situation
in the
office
they want
to do
something
which is
wrong
and I
don't know
how to
deal with
that
I know
I can't
do it
I just
give it
into your
hands
can you
either
give me
the courage
and the
strength
to not
go along
with it
or could
you just
work it
so that
they
realize
either
they
shouldn't
do it
or you
know
and we
pray
into it
and God
uses you
in that
way
and he's
using you
as his
friend
but other
times he
uses you
but he's
using you
as his
tool
and as we
see throughout
the entire
story
Caiaphas
who is the
high priest
ironically
his relationship
with God
is like
this
it is
like this
but it
doesn't mean
that God
never uses
him
but he
doesn't
use him
the same
way that he
uses a man
or a woman
whose posture
to God
is like
this
who is
now being
used as
his friend
and what
the text
those who
know a
little bit
about the
history
know that
Annas
is technically
not the
high priest
right then
he was the
high priest
he was the
patriarch
this just
comes right
out of
power and
politics
Annas was
the high
priest
he was
deposed
by the
Romans
but he
continued
to be
the power
behind the
throne
five of
his sons
became
high priest
and Caiaphas
is his
son-in-law
and so
for an
extended
period of
time
they might
be somebody
technically
who's the
high priest
but there's
the power
behind the
throne
the one
who actually
exercises
the real
power
and that's
Annas
and he
wants to
see Jesus
and so
the authorities
don't bring
him first
to the
Sanhedrin
they don't
bring him
to Caiaphas
they don't
bring them
they don't
bring Jesus
to lawful
authority
they bring
him to
the power
that is
controlling
the temple
for their
own
ends
the Bible
is a
constant
critique
of how
religion
is used
to further
your own
power
and interest
it is
a constant
critique
of those
who like
to advertise
in their
business
listings
that they're
evangelicals
so that
people who
are
Christians
will go
to their
businesses
and they
can get
away
with
charging
more
or on
the other
hand
those of
us who
go looking
for a
Christian
business
so they
will be
we can
try to
force
them to
charge
us
less
that's
never
happened
to a
single
person
in this
room
I'm
sure
but it
is a
constant
critique
of the
use
of
religion
in
particular
the
use
of
Christianity
to
line
your
own
pocket
and
make
yourself
powerful
so
Jesus
sorry
verse
14
verse
13
again
they
led
him
to
Annas
for
he
was
the
father
in
law
of
Caiaphas
who
was
the
high
priest
that
year
it
was
Caiaphas
who
advised
the
Jews
that
it
would
be
expedient
that
one
man
should
die
for
the
another
disciple
it's
John
referring
to
himself
since
that
disciple
was
known
to
the
high
priest
he
entered
with
Jesus
into
the
courtyard
of
the
high
priest
but
Peter
stood
outside
of
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
men's
disciples
are
you
complicated
but
see
aren't
you
one
of
his
disciples
here's
this
big
strong
fisherman
brandishing
a sword
half an
hour
20
minutes
earlier
and
between
the
lowly
servant
girl
who
stuck
at
the
door
in
the
middle
of
the
night
he
says
I
am
not
I
am
not
verse
18
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
and
some
of
you
might
know
this
some
of
you
might
not
there's
only
two
places
in
the
entire
New
Testament
where
a
coal
fire
is
mentioned
here
and
after
Jesus'
resurrection
when
he
reinstates
Peter
you
might
remember
we'll
see
the
story
in
a
couple
of
weeks
that
Jesus
has
died
he's
risen
from
the
dead
the
disciples
now
know
that
Jesus
is
risen
from
the
dead
they've
done
some
fishing
they need
to
make
a
few
bucks
and
as
they're
doing
their
fishing
they see
a man
on
the
beach
and
he
has
a
fire
and
Peter
recognizes
it's
Jesus
and
they
go
there
and
it's
a
the
same
man
who
denies
Jesus
three
times
Peter
will
now
be
asked
by
Jesus
three
times
do
you
love
me
and
in
John's
gospel
the
link
of
the
charcoal
fire
is
specifically
the
link
the
denial
of
Jesus
by
Peter
being
reinstated
so
verse
19
the
high
priest
then
questioned
Jesus
and
the
order
is
important
remember
I
said
to
you
what's
going
on
in
this
story
is
a
concern
for
power
not
for
truth
but
for
power
and
so
Annas
is
questioning
Jesus
about
his
disciples
before
he
questions
him
about
his
teaching
how
many
disciples
do
you
got
what
positions
of
authority
are
they
in
how
can
we
root
them
out
this
is
the
language
of
every
tyrant
throughout
history
and
every
tyrant
today
they
want
to
root
out
the
people
because
they're
concerned
with
their
power
Jesus
in
verse
20
answered
him
I
have
spoken
openly
to
the
world
I
have
always
taught
in
synagogues
and
in
the
temple
where
all
the
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
in
the
original
language
it's
emphasized
that he
strikes
Jesus
on
Jesus'
face
with
his
hand
saying
is
that
how
you
answer
the
high
priest
and
Jesus
answered
him
if
what
I
said
is
wrong
bear
witness
about
the
wrong
but
if
Jesus
and
send
him
to
Caiaphas
the
high
priest
and
then
we're
going
to
have
which
John
doesn't
record
all
of
the
shenanigans
of
going
around
to
the
different
Jewish
people
and
the
different
courts
and
the
show
trial
and
all
of
that
other
type
of
stuff
but
what
John
is
emphasizing
here
is
that
in
the
face
of
a
concern
for
power
and
Annas
acting
in
secret
and
not
actually
having
any
legal
type
of
authority
to
do
what
he's
done
Jesus'
response
is to
bear
witness
to
the
truth
and
say
that
in
contrast
to
a
concern
to
stay
and
work
pull
the
strings
behind
the
scene
in
contrast
to
that
I
speak
openly
to
the
people
the
truth
is
something
which
I
proclaim
openly
in
public
not
in
secret
just
before
we
wrap
it
up
there's
a
few
more
verses
now
Simon
Peter
was
standing
and
warming
himself
so
they
said
to
him
this
is
verse
25
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
didn't
I
see
you
so
it's
a
very
powerful
story
just
to
wrap
this
all
up
a
couple
of
points
if
you
could
put
the
first
one
up
it's
this
spiritual
power
is
real
because
the
God
revealed
by
Jesus
is
real
spiritual
power
is
real
because
the
God
revealed
by
Jesus
is
real
you
know
if
we
think
about
it
in
our
culture
you
know
I
don't
generally
watch
horror
movies
and
occasionally
you
know
what
when
I
watch
some
of
these
movies
that
supposedly
talk
about
different
spiritual
realities
it
captures
something
very
telling
about
our
culture
on
one
hand
in
our
culture
there's
very
many
people
who've
given
up
on
the
idea
that
human
being
that
just
cause
and
effect
and
you
know
that
there's
no
mystery
that
there's
nothing
like
angels
there's
nothing
like
demons
that
human
beings
don't
have
any
free
will
that
there's
nothing
spiritual
about
the
world
or
life
they've
rejected
that
whole
thought
of
materialism
and
naturalism
we read
Deepak Chopra
we read
those types
of spiritual
writers
there's a
large number
of people
who will
go and
they'll
call down
the moon
goddess
they embrace
Wiccan
they
understand
and believe
that there's
paranormal
things
they seek
out
therapies
and other
types
of
things
which
purport
to touch
the different
spiritual
powers
and energies
within a
human being
and manipulate
those spiritual
powers
and there
are many
people in
our culture
who've
abandoned
naturalism
they've
abandoned
materialism
they've
turned their
back on
it
and they've
accepted
the spiritual
realities
that exist
in the
world
and however
it is
that they've
conceived
of it
and they
understand
that there's
some type
of a
spiritual
longing
that
materialism
and naturalism
just can't
account for
but the
problem is
I've talked
to quite a
few people
who are
that way
but the
problem is
they don't
know how
to balance
it with
science
it's as
if they
live
it's as
if
without
realizing
it
you know
if you
try to
stand
on a
you know
those
balls
that some
offices
have
that people
sit on
I don't
know what
the name
for them
is
but imagine
you try
to stand
on that
ball
and there's
a lot of
people in our
culture
they're trying
to stand
not only
in that
ball
but a
second
ball
which is
apart from
it
on a
very
slippery
floor
and the
fact of
the matter
is you
can't put
your feet
on both
balls
on a
very
slippery
floor
you're
just
going to
keep
falling
all the
time
and that's
the
problem
talking
about
ghosts
yet
somehow
or another
they can
put it
in a
box
and they
can't
actually
even
think
of how
to conceive
of these
spiritual
things
without
there being
something
material
or
scientific
that's
connected
to it
the fact
of the
matter
is
if they
completely
and utterly
embraced
the
spiritual
point of
view
of the
world
then you
would
have
what was
present
in North
America
before
science
and reason
came
it's
what would
happen
in many
places
in Asia
and in
Africa
where you
believe
that every
bush
and every
tree
and every
stream
is also
a god
or has
some type
of spiritual
presence
and the
fact of the
matter is
is that
science
could never
develop
in such
a world
because
science
depends
upon the
ability
to do
an
experiment
and
afterwards
you measure
the experiment
and you
trust that
if you have
a theory
and you
do the
experiment
you can
come to
conclusions
you can
sort of
figure out
how the
natural
world
works
but if
you live
in a
world
where
every
stream
has a
spiritual
power
and every
tree
and bush
has a
spiritual
power
you
couldn't
actually
do an
experiment
that works
because you
wouldn't know
if the
tree
just
the spirit
of the
tree
just decided
to have a
different result
and so we
have a world
where on one
hand there's
this attempt
to understand
that there's
something
spiritual
and they
try to
reach out
and to
understand it
but at the
same time
they keep
it's as if
on one
time
they're on
one ball
with the
spiritual
thing
and then
they jump
to the
other ball
which is
all science
there's this
one fellow
I've talked
to quite a
few times
and I just
keep challenging
him
how is it
that you
can accept
evolution
and at the
same time
accept all
these spiritual
realities
and he can't
he jumps
from one
ball to the
other back
and forward
only the
gospel makes
it clear
only the
bible
makes it
clear
because the
bible shows
how there
is a god
that all
things came
to be not
because of
a what
but because
of a who
that there
is a god
who does
exist
who's created
all things
and he
created
not only
a physical
world
but he also
created angels
and we know
that some
angels have
fallen
and that they
are demons
and so there's
a bad
spiritual reality
as well
and we know
that the god
who created
all things
and made
a world
where science
can understand
things
also made
human beings
to not just
be a body
but also
to have a soul
and also
to have a mind
that in fact
that natural
laws and
science
and all those
things cannot
account for
everything that
goes on in a
human being
that the idea
that there is
love
there is truth
there is beauty
there is goodness
there is
these other
things which
are not
physical
Christianity
is the only
system of
thought that
actually allows
you to understand
that there can
be both a
natural world
and a
spiritual world
because there
is the one
god who's
created both
and has revealed
the ways that
you can understand
both in the
proper way
and so when we
see here with
Jesus in the
story that by
the mere exercise
of his will
he knocks the
soldiers he
knocks the
police officers
down we
understand that
that is real
because spiritual
power is real
because the
god revealed
by Jesus
is real
another thing
which is really
important
if you could
put up the
second point
have to deal
with this
very briefly
god's grace
and mercy
are very real
so failure
betrayal
denial
and abandonment
do not have
to be final
every single
one of us
have been
victims of
this
some of us
have been
the perpetrators
of it
some of us
have been the
victims of
somebody who's
denied us
or abandoned
us or failed
us and others
of us have
and most of us
have been both
by the way
we've both
failed others
and we've been
failed against
and in our
culture we just
want to say
well that's not
the final word
things can get
better but the
fact of the
matter is in
our culture
the final word
about all of
us is death
I don't know
how much Al Gore's
film and
inconvenient truth
documented
inconvenient truths
but in our
culture the
reality of death
is the most
profound
inconvenient truth
that our
culture does
not want to
talk about
or think about
but what we
see here in
the gospel
it's not obvious
in this story
but it's hinted
at for the
charcoal and those
of us who know
the story know
the end
is the fact
of the matter
is that Peter's
failure
his denial
his abandonment
his religious
violence is not
the final word
about him
because the
final word
about Jesus
is not death
but life
he dies
and tastes
all there is
to taste of
death and on
the third day
he rises
having defeated
death and he
does all of
this out of
love for you
and me
he does this
knowing that we
cannot make
ourselves right
with God
that left
to ourselves
things like
betrayal and
abandonment
are in fact
the final words
about us
but be in
Jesus
because we
see the grace
and mercy
of God
made flesh
and made
real
that when we
put our
faith and
trust in
him
we can
begin to
believe the
promise in
Romans 8
that all things
work together
for them
that love
them
and that
nothing can
separate us
from the love
of God
forever
and that
the final
word about
us is that
you have
been given
by God
the Father
to Jesus
because the
Father loves
you and
Jesus loves
you
final takeaway
from this
whole thing
because Jesus
loves you
your cup
he drank
because Jesus
loves you
his cup
he prepared
for you
and the
language in
this story
about Jesus
saying
yes I have
the spiritual
power that I
can knock you
all down
just like that
but I've
come to
drink the
cup
and it's a
very very
powerful Old
Testament image
and those of
you who love
fantasy things
if you just
imagined that
God in a
sense was to
take all of
me and
take me in
his powerful
hand and
then sort of
just to squeeze
me but
as he squeezed
me the lies
of my life
come out
and they come
out it would
look very black
and foul
everything that
would come out
of me in
this sense
in this image
would be black
and foul
and underneath
the Lord
has a cup
and as he
squeezed me
my lies
come out
my abusive
power
comes out
my hatred
comes out
my envy
comes out
my lack
of forgiveness
comes out
my greed
comes out
we could go
on and on
and on
and all of
them as he
squeezes
all of my
life
from the
moment of
my conception
to what is
me and my
future
my debt
it's still
in the future
but the
whole of me
as he
squeezed me
and if you
just imagine
that everything
that he
squeezes
which is bad
and foul
and wrong
that I have
done
and all the
good things
that I should
have done
and could
have done
but didn't
do
and they're
all squeezed
and they're
all black
and they're
all foul
and they
all stink
and they
all go
into a
cup
and the
image here
is that
that cup
that if at
the day of
judgment
God gave
to me
to drink
it would
kill me
it would
be my
damnation
but Jesus
takes that
cup and
drinks it
for me
he takes
that cup
and drinks
it for me
because he
loves me
that's what's
happening on
the cross
on the cross
Jesus is
drinking that
cup
for you
and for
me
and the
wonderful
thing which
is powerful
because we're
going to
celebrate it
right now
if you read
Matthew Mark
and Luke
and you see
and you read
first Corinthians
and you see
the institution
of the Lord's
Supper
and what
happens in
the Lord's
Supper
Jesus is
giving the
disciples a
10,000 feet
in the air
view of what's
about to be
happening with
his betrayal
and his
death upon
the cross
and in that
10,000 view
thing what
Jesus is
saying is
that I
am the
one who
is instituting
a brand
new covenant
between human
beings and
God and a
covenant means
that God
will be your
God he
will redeem
you he
will care
for you he
will love
you he
will he
will provide
for you he
will never
let you go
he will never
abandon you he
will never
deny you he
is your God
you are his
child by
adoption and
grace if you
put your faith
and trust in
Jesus and
Jesus says this
is my body
broken for you
and this
cup is the
blood of the
new covenant
shed for you
and so we
see this very
very powerful
image because
Jesus loves
me my cup on
the cross he
drank and
because Jesus
loves me and
you his cup the
cup of the new
covenant the cup
of his broken
body the cup of
a brand new
relationship with
God by adoption
and grace he
prepares and
offers for you
please stand
if there's any
here who have
not yet given
their lives to
Jesus all you
have to do is
you could even
just use
can you put
that last point
back up Andrew
all you have to
do is just say
Jesus thank you
for drinking the
cup that was
mine and for
offering the cup
that is yours
I am yours
just say something
like that your
own words it's a
conversion prayer
and and for all
of us it's just a
time to marvel at
God's great love
for us and Jesus
is great love for
us let's pray
father we thank you
for Jesus we
thank you father
that he set
aside his power
and divine
prerogatives and
his glory and
out of love came
and walked amongst
us and lived
amongst us to
live the life that
we could not live
to die the death
that we deserve
but that if we
died that death
it would doom us
forever eternal
separation from you
that he lived the
life we could not
live died the death
that we cannot die
he did it all for
us so that by
faith and trust in
him we are given
his life for us
and he dies for us
and we are given
his life and his
resurrection by
faith and trust in
him father make us
disciples of Jesus
who are gripped by
the gospel learning
to live for your
glory and we ask
this in the name of
Jesus and all God's
people say amen