The Man in the Middle
Text: John 18:1-11
The word “Treachery” comes from an old Latin word, “Tricari” which means, “an act of treason”, or literally, “faithlessness” to a sworn oath. It’s a word that doesn’t get a lot of use today… word meaning is becoming a thing of the past thanks to modernism… but it’s a word that describes what we’re going to be reading about today. TREASON! Or faithlessness to a sworn promise.
We are in John’s Gospel, chapter 18 this morning. And if you would, please take your Bibles, and follow along as I read verses 1 through 11. John 18:1-11 (READ).
Now let me fill in some blanks for you here. John doesn’t retell for us the account of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden. We find that in Matthew’s Gospel. But basically what happened is – After Jesus had finished His “High Priestly Prayer” He and the disciples crossed the Brook – Kidron and entered the Garden of Gethsemane. It was probably a pleasant evening. They had just eaten a big meal, and the Garden was a lot quieter than the hustle and bustle of down town Jerusalem, and the temple district. These guys get out there, and they probably fully intended to pray… but we know the whole story. They go to sleep while Jesus prays.
John doesn’t give us those details. Instead, he goes right in to the treachery of Judas.
And I’ll just tell you… I’ve probably read this more than 100 times… literally… and every time, I am appalled at this. It is gut wrenching to me, to see one of the 12 Disciples… or really anyone… do this to Jesus. To betray Him. After having walked with Him for nearly 3 and ½ years. After having seen Him do miracles of healing, and feeding multitudes with just a couple of small fish and a loaf of bread, and seeing Him walk on water, and calm storms, and raise the dead. How does someone do what Judas has done?
The amount of hate, is really mind boggling. And I read through that, and I’m reminded that this same kind of hate, and animosity, and treachery was in my own heart before God saved me. And it’s in the heart of everyone who is not a believer. And people will say, “Well yeah, I mean… I was far from God in my life, but I wasn’t like that… not like Judas.” Oh yes we were! According to the Bible we all were. God by His good grace may have restrained you from going as far off the rails as Judas, but the potential was there. In every one of our hearts.
So we can thank God for His amazing grace that saved a wretch like me… Right! But here’s the thing… that amazing grace is applied BECAUSE Jesus died. If Jesus doesn’t die, there’s no payment for sin. And we’re all in BIG, BIG TROUBLE!
So let’s unpack this text and get into the real meat of it.
So, the City of Jerusalem is jam packed with people. All there to celebrate Passover. It’s an exciting time for most of the folks there. People have traveled from all over the Roman Empire to come and celebrate. Jesus and His disciples have retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus has prayed, and the disciples have passed out like me on Thanksgiving Day. In another part of town, the chief priests and elders have gathered together for a secret meeting in Caiphas’ house and Judas is there. He’s already agreed to betray Jesus and he comes in and tells them, “Now’s the time! And I know exactly where He’s going to be.” So the priests and elders gather up a cohort of both Roman soldiers, and temple guards, and they all come together to the Garden to arrest Jesus.
Now what we have right there is a picture of the world and its hostility towards the Lord.
You’ve got Jews and Gentiles. You’ve got the Roman civil authorities, and the Jewish religious leaders. And normally they would be arguing and fighting each other, but they’ve united against Jesus. And they’ve come armed. They’re carrying torches, and weapons. It’s a bit much right? I mean… I guess the equivalent might be a full FBI TacTeam raiding the home of a mom who spoke out a school board meeting. Wearing full body armor, carrying their M-4’s, kicking in the door of a soccer mom.
But that’s what they do.
So this armed mob is approaching, Jesus wakes up the disciples and again, John doesn’t tell us about the “Judas Kiss”, but we know it happened, and after words, Jesus, “knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them ‘Whom do you seek?’”
Now that’s important… There in verse 4 where John tells us that Jesus knew all that would happen to Him. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him. He knew that He would be arrested. He knew that He would be beaten. He knew He would be nailed to the cross and lifted up. He knew He would endure the wrath of God on our behalf. He knew He would die.
That’s why Hebrews 12:2 is such an amazing verse to me. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith – WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM – endured the cross…”.
Say what now?
Now notice, it doesn’t say that the cross was the joy… but what the cross would accomplish would be the joy, and that’s why He endured it. The joy is that our sins would be forgiven. That we would be brought back into a right relationship with God the Father. An atoning sacrifice, makes atonement!
And Jesus knew all of this. He knew what was coming, and so… He steps up.
And I want you to get this picture in your head.
On one side: You’ve got the world, with all of its hostility and hatred. With murder and evil intentions in their heart.
On the other side: You’ve got some sleepy headed disciples that have just woken up. They’re scared. They’re confused. They don’t really know what’s going on or everything that’s happening. They don’t fully understand. Their knowledge is limited. Their faith is weak.
And standing between the world, and those frightened disciples is JESUS!
This is what a man does! He stands between those He loves and danger. This is what a Good Shepherd does! He stands between His flock and the predators. This is also what God does.
“The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and is safe.” (Prov. 18:10), “The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God, my Rock, whom I take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold” (Ps. 18:2), “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1), “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thess. 3:3)
So Jesus positions Himself between the disciples and the threat, and He asks them, “Who are you looking for?” And they answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” And in verse 5 Jesus replies, “I AM”
And I’ll just tell you right now… in the original Greek. It’ doesn’t say, “I am He.” It says, “I AM”
“Ego Eimi”. It’s the Name God reveals to Moses at the burning bush!
You all remember that story right? Moses sees the burning bush and God tells him to go to Pharaoh and say, “Let MY people go.” And Moses says, “When I speak to Pharaoh, who do I tell Him sent me.” And God says, “Tell him, I AM sent you.”
That’s why all of these guys, including Judas, go tumbling backwards. The same voice that said, “Light be!” has just spoken to them and revealed Himself to them.
I actually love the way Matthew Henry addresses this in his commentaries. He writes, “What He could have done with them. Then He struck them down, He could have struck them dead; when He spoke them to the ground, He could have spoken them to Hell, and sent them, like Korah’s company, the next way thither; but He would not do so. Because the hour of His suffering was come, and He would not put it by; He would only show that His life was not forced from Him, but that He laid it down of Himself.”
And again, make sure you’re seeing the picture that is being given to us here.
You’ve got the believers – the Disciples.
You’ve got the worldly powers – the Roman soldiers
You’ve got the false religions of the world – the temple officials and guards.
You’ve even got false believers who eventually side with the world – Judas
And there’s this clash – this confrontation – this standoff. Full of hostility and anger, and hatred.
And it’s because of who Jesus is, and what He stands for, and what He has taught and said.
He is a threat to the wickedness, and corruption, and evil that runs rampant in the world. It’s in every world system of government. It’s in every false religion. And like I said earlier, it’s in the heart of every person who has not been saved by the Grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Man in the middle is also God in our midst. He is Emmanuel – God with us. And by His coming He says, “You must pick a side.”
You can pick the side of the world, with it’s temporary wealth, temporary pleasures and comforts. Or you can pick the side of the Lord – Where in this world you will have trouble, but in the world to come you will have life eternal and joy everlasting. You can pick the world with its false religious leaders and military might, or you can pick the side of the Lord who stands before you, and promises to watch over you.
In-fact, we even see that here in our text. Jesus says, “If it’s Me you’re looking for, let these others go.” Verse 9 tells us that this is because God’s Word says, “Of those whom You gave Me, I have lost not one.”
What’s that tell us? That Judas wasn’t among those given by God. Judas was chosen because he was a traitor from the beginning. Judas was in love with the present world. Judas loved money. And despite Jesus’ earlier warning, “You cannot serve both God and money. You’ll love the one and hate the other.” Judas chose money, and it opened him up to Satan.
Now one more thing quickly and we’ll close.
Remember – Jesus knew all that would happen to Him. This was the plan from before the foundation of the earth. And it was for the joy that was set before Him, that He willingly went to the cross.
Look at verse 11 (READ).
Who gave Jesus this cup? The Father! Like I said, the plan from the beginning. And I think it’s so interesting that it’s Peter that Jesus tells this to. Because later on Peter will write “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice when His glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13).
This is a Sovereign Savior, and a Sovereign Sacrifice. And I hope that it gives you a great deal of comfort. Jesus willingly comes to this world as a man. He willingly puts Himself between the mob and the disciples. He willingly sacrifices Himself on the cross, and endures the cup of wrath poured out upon Himself. That is the grounds for our salvation! It’s not “Oh I’m wise.” “I’m a decent hard working fella, who doesn’t drink too much, or steal.” It’s not, “Oh well I’m a teacher, or cop, or preacher… or some other good upstanding citizen.” And it’s not “Well I’m better than so and so over there.” None of those things are our grounds for salvation. Those are all sinking sand. The basis and confidence of our faith is that Jesus died for us. His death on the cross is totally and completely sufficient.
Give Him praise!
Closing
