“The Arrest of Jesus the Nazarene” John 18:1-12
We have examined John 13-17 recently which is considered to be Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse”, occurring on the night which Jesus was arrested. Today we study John 18:1-4 with the arrest of Jesus:
“When Jesus had spoken these words, (all of the words of encouragement and teaching from John 13-17) He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?"
Familiar and Unfamiliar territory
Jesus has been spending quality time with His Disciples since their last supper and now as they have been walking along after the exodus of Judas from their company, and after they hear Jesus’ intercessory prayer, they cross over the Brook Kidron into the garden of Gethsemane, which is located at the base of the Mount of Olives, on a slope directly across the Kidron Valley on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Gethsemane is a garden of less than a third of an acre, located close to the route from the Temple to the summit and crest that led to the town of Bethany. This was a very familiar place to Jesus and His disciples, including Judas,
This Garden location was familiar territory for Jesus as well as for Judas, probably used often by Jesus as a place to rest as He traveled between Jerusalem and Bethany, and also a place to commune with His Father. A “Garden” is often a picture of life: the story of mankind began in a Garden. There was safety and security and quality God-time in the Garden of Eden. There was also humanity’s horrendous end to life in that Garden; and in THIS Garden, the familiar and peaceful place comes to an unpleasant end: Judas betrays his Master and Jesus is arrested, so that Jesus can restore what was lost in the first garden.
The Brook evidently had water only in the rainy seasons of the winter months. It is mentioned 10 times in the Old Testament and according to history the water and blood from the temple’s drainage system when thousands of sacrifices were made flowed into this brook, and now Jesus crosses this brook so that His blood could be shed as the “once for all” sacrifice on the Cross.
Before the days of the temple, King David had ascended the Mount of Olives in order to flee Absalom's coup, 2 Samuel 15:23 records this verse: “And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.” In this Garden by the Brook are kingly contrasts between David and Jesus. King Jesus is now crossing over into the OTHER direction to enter Jerusalem to be tried and falsely condemned… and He is accompanied only by His Disciples. King David was fleeing from his rebellious son, and Jesus is obeying the perfect will of His Heavenly Father. King David is fleeing for safety, and King Jesus, the promised Son from David’s line, is walking into the hands of His rebellious disciple, Judas.
Judas was well-prepared to betray Jesus over to His executioners; it was far from accidental that he leads “a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,” no doubt hundreds of armed officials, equipped “with lanterns, torches, and weapons.” To the disciples the appearance of Judas with hundreds of men was no doubt terrifying. Shocking events are life changing moments when you cross from the “familiar” to the very “unfamiliar. With the arrest of Jesus, things would never be the same.
Verse 4 is shocking to us, isn’t it? “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" Jesus did not shirk from the things that He already knew would happen to Him, in fact, John is telling us that Jesus is omniscient, knowing ALL things. This was Jesus’ greatest hour in which He would bring glory to the Father. The greatest humiliation, His death on the cross would be His greatest exaltation; It is the task for which He had come to earth. His task was unfamiliar to mankind and HE had never gone there before, but even knowing what was to come, Jesus stepped bravely into the unfamiliar because He knew this was Divine Purpose. He knew who the militia were looking for so the question He asks, “Whom are you seeking,” is basically another way of saying: “Do what you have come to do!”
Jesus’ proclaims His authority and Divinity to His accusers.
Look at verses 5-9; “They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way," 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none."
Jesus’ conversation proclaims, exerts and exercises His authority and Divinity before His accusers. It may seem puzzling to us that Jesus asks the question two times: “Whom are you seeking?” But He is insuring the safety of His disciples as well as fulfilling prophecy. He is forcing the militia to let the disciples go without causing any harm to them. They had no authority to take the disciples and Jesus wanted them to say so and take Him.
There is a beautiful double meaning to the promise, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none." In the setting, the promise obviously pertains to the 11 disciples who stayed by Jesus’ side. Jesus protected the eleven from harm and from being arrested.
One was definitely lost, namely, Judas Iscariot. In John 17:12 Jesus had prayed this way to the Father: “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Eleven of the disciples were “guarded” from being arrested but also secured eternally. ALL believers are eternally secure, not in their doing; not in their strength, but by the gracious and constant and capable protection of their Savior. Jesus would lose none that the Father gave Him. The Good Shepherd would lay down His life for His sheep and none would be lost.
My favorite portion of this passage is Jesus’ response to His enemies: “I AM HE.” Once again, this is an emphatic self-proclamation of Jesus’ Deity. The literal translation in the Greek would be simply: “I AM” with the pronoun “he” being understood. In the original, the word “he” does not appear, and so Jesus’ reply would have been simple but staggering; He declared with all the authority of Heaven and Earth: “I AM!”
His response perfectly agrees with all of His “I AM” statements in the book of John. With the speaking of the name of God in our text, we are told that the soldiers and the leaders “drew back and fell to the ground.” This would be the normal expectation at the direct confrontation with the LORD YHWH. This awesome display of power and His authority caused all of the soldiers, the ones who THOUGHT THEY were powerful, to jolt backward as though they were hit by an insurmountable force, and it forced them onto their backs, a very vulnerable position…like turtles on their backs.
DO NOT MISTAKE the soldiers falling as “worship”. Falling backward is not an example of worship but of betrayal: The falling back of these men of valor (and of Judas) demonstrates the actions of the enemies of Jesus not of believers. The normal mode of worshipers is to FALL FORWARD in adoration, humility, and reverence. Falling forward, prostrating oneself before a Holy God is the Old Testament model for worshiping Him. Falling backward was not a bowing before God, but a being thrown away FROM God.
If you read the text, Judas Iscariot is leading the group: “And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 “Now when He (Jesus) said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.” Here is the definition for the Greek word for “drew back”: “to go away, depart, to go away in order to follow any one, go after him, to follow his party, follow him as a leader.” Judas had departed from Jesus, not to be a child of God, but a son of perdition. He had changed his allegiance and joined the enemies of the Lord Jesus. The words in this verse describe the actions, not of those who have been filled or “slain” with the Spirit of God, but those who have become enemies of God, betrayers of Godly faith.
There is an irony in some of Jesus’ words here, too, in verse 8: “If you seek Me, let these go their way." It is obvious that Jesus is forcing the hands of His accusers to let the disciples go, but that phrase “IF YOU SEEK ME” really caught my attention. “SEEKING” is a big topic in John. The word is used more than 32 times; Two definitions are this: “to seek in order to find,” and “to seek, for example, require, demand”. People had been seeking to seize and kill Jesus. People were seeking Jesus for healing. Jesus always was seeking to do the Father’s will.
In John 4:23 Jesus had said: "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Listen to David’s instruction to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9: "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” Those who sought to kill Jesus followed their own wicked and willful hearts of unbelief. They refused to seek Jesus on His terms, as Savior, and the mention of God’s name pushed them back and away, and did not change their hearts.
God will be God
Read verses10-12 with me: “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. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" 12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.”
God will be God and God’s will definitely and decisively will be accomplished. Peter jumps in with a hand sword in order to assert a minute gesture against hundreds of armed soldiers and enforcers but Jesus immediately rebukes Peter and according to the other Gospel accounts, He restores the ear of Malchus. It makes you wonder what Peter was thinking. Perhaps he was trying to prove that he would not deny His Lord as was promised by Jesus in John 13:38. Remember that this is still the same night.
But here again we see that Jesus has authority over the situation. There is no physical fight to be had. There is only the total submission to the will of the Father. The way of the cross is humility and obedience, not the sword. Jesus’ arrest demonstrates that the Lord of Glory was going WILLINGLY. He was submitting to the will of the Father, not to the whims and wills of man.
Following Jesus is also the way of humility and obedience…and yes, suffering; the disciples would discover that reality shortly afterward, but for now, Jesus’ example would first be given for all believers to follow.
Jesus poses a question which has to be answered in the affirmative: “Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me? For a student of scriptures, the “cup” is the vivid picture of God’s wrath and judgment which Jesus would drink. The Old Testament explains this cup of wrath in Ps.75:8, Isa. 51:17,22, Jer. 25:15, Ezek.23:31-34. The cup is the settled, merciless, graceless, and compassionless response of a perfect and righteous God against sin. This is what Jesus would drink on the cross in order to provide the sacrifice for sin which NO human being can ever accomplish. The promise of Jesus is that whoever believes, follows, and obeys His Words will not perish but have eternal life.
Whoever DOES NOT BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, Savior God in the flesh, will not receive that life because their unbelief condemns them. That is what Jesus Himself said in John 3:18 because…GOD WILL BE GOD: “He who believes in Him (the LORD Jesus) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John, under the power of the promised Holy Spirit, later described in Revelation 14:10 those whose names are not written in the book of Life but who follow their own sinful unbelieving hearts; Listen: “He himself (that person) shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” As David said to his son:" If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever."
Remembering that GOD WILL BE GOD, where is your loyalty today? Can you say that you are a loyal follower of Jesus? It doesn’t mean that you do everything right but it does mean that you have an overwhelming desire to please God because you KNOW that without Him you are UNABLE to do anything righteous. You know that you are sinful to the core and Jesus work on the cross is your only hope as you strive to follow Him, learn more about Him, spend time WITH Him, and listen intently TO Him as He teaches you through His Word, and you desire to trust and obey. It means that we humbly fall FORWARD to worship and adore this Jesus, the Lord of Lords, the Suffering Servant of God sent from Heaven as SAVIOR…and as Lord of my life. Amen.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus and His Disciples entered familiar and unfamiliar territory. (1-4)
A. Gethsemane was familiar to Jesus and His Disciples.
B. In the Garden are kingly contrasts between David and Jesus.
C. Shocking events are life changing moments when you cross from the “familiar” to the very “unfamiliar.
C. Jesus stepped bravely into the unfamiliar because He knew His Divine Purpose.
II. Jesus’ conversation proclaims His authority and Divinity to His accusers. (5-9)
A. Asking “Whom do you seek” two times forced the authorities to let the disciples go.
B. “I AM (He)” again is a self-proclamation of Jesus’ Deity.
C. Falling backward is not an example of worship but of betrayal: It demonstrates the actions of the enemies of Jesus.
D. “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” John 4:23
III. God Will Be God. (10-12)
A. The way of the cross is humility and obedience, not the sword.
B. Jesus’ arrest demonstrates Jesus’ willing submission to the will of the Father.
C. The cup is the vivid picture of God’s wrath and judgment which Jesus would drink. (Ps. 75:8, Isa. 51:17,22, Jer. 25:15, Ezek.23:31-34, TO COME Rev. 14:10, 16:19)
