Conquer Fear (John 18:1-27) Series

This week, we begin chapter 18. At this point, Jesus has finished encouraging his disciples, and challenging them, and warning them. He's also finished praying for them, asking his Father to take up the job of being a good shepherd to them. Now, it's time to leave the upper room. It's time for Jesus' hour to come.

John 18:1:

(1) After saying these things, Jesus went out with his disciples to the other side of the Kidron brook, where there was a garden, into which he entered-- he and his disciples.

(2) Now, he also knew-- Judas-- the one betraying/handing him over-- the place

because often Jesus gathered there with his disciples.

(3) Then, Judas, taking Roman soldiers

and from the high priests

and from the Pharisees police,

came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

If you are a wanted man, the best way to get caught, is to go to a familiar place. If you robbed a bank, and the police know who you are, they will watch the obvious places-- your house, your close friends, the restaurant or bar you hang out at.

Jesus likes this particular garden-- the Greek word apparently means something more like a botanical garden, or the Busch gardens-- and going there is a common thing for him. And that's what Jesus does. Judas, knowing where Jesus likes to hang out, understands that this is the perfect place to capture Jesus. So he leads soldiers-- both from Rome, and from the Judeans, to arrest him. And when we see this, we should understand that these soldiers represent a world united against Jesus. Jew, and Gentile, come in the darkness together to capture Jesus.

Now, when we read verse 3, we are maybe supposed to ask ourselves a question here: why does AJ describe two sources of light? Why does he tell us they came carrying lanterns and torches?

I think we are supposed to remember that Jesus is the Light of the world (John 1:9; 9:5). But he is only the Light, for people who see him for who he is, and who commit to him. Jesus is a like a light that shines only in certain wavelengths, that you need special glasses or equipment to see.

Let's read from John 11:9-10 (NRSV):

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.”

And then from John 12:35-36:

35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

These police and soldiers, not having given allegiance to ("believing in") the light, have to bring lights to Jesus to find him. They are lost, in darkness, refusing to see Jesus for who he is.

Verse 4-5:

(4) Then, Jesus, knowing all the things coming upon him, went out,

and he says to them,

"Who are you seeking?"

Jesus here, knows exactly how all of this will play out. But he gives the soldiers and police an opportunity to come to him as disciples. "Who are you seeking?" Are they seeking Jesus as Savior, as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, as the King of the whole world, as the one who came from above, sent from the Father?

Verse 5:

(5) They answered him,

"Jesus the Nazarene."

The soldiers and the police are seeking "Jesus the Nazarene." They identify Jesus only in terms of his human origins (John 1:45, 46; 6:42). They are not seeking him, as potential disciples (contrast John 1:38, same verb).

Verse 6:

(6) He says to them,

"I am."

English Bibles here will say, "I am he." But "he" is missing in the Greek. What Jesus is doing here, for not the first time, is revealing who he really is to people. Jesus is "I am." He is God.

Now, Judas was also standing there-- the one handing over/betraying him-- with them.

(6) Then, when he said to them, 'I am,' they drew back,

and they fell to the ground.

The normal human response, when you find yourself face to face with God, is to fall on your knees. You collapse, before God's glory. It's too much (Revelation 1:17). Here, this is what happens to Judas, and all of the soldiers, and the police. Confronted with a revelation of who Jesus is, they become powerless. They draw back (Daniel 10:7), and collapse (Daniel 10:8-9). Jesus is not just a Nazarene. And if you see Jesus, for who he really is, you will fall on your knees.