John 18:28-40 Today we see three main divisions in our text. We see a charge, a confession, and a custom. The charge is in vss. 29 and 30 where Pilate asks what charges the Jews are bringing against Jesus and they basically say “just trust us, He’s a criminal.” That’s a bad charge. Then we have Jesus’ good confession before Pontius Pilate in vs. 37: ³⁷ “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And finally we have a custom in vs. 39 where Pilate says “³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover.” So we have a charge, a confession and a custom.

Now just as a reminder, last week we examined Jesus’ trial before the High Priest, Annas. And we noted some things that were wrong with this trial. According to vs. 14 the Jewish leaders had already sentenced Jesus to death before they tried Him. It’s like they said, “You’re guilty, now let’s go have a trial.” Then, this trial was at night, under the cover of darkness; in essence it was held in secret. This shows how eager they were to get Him crucified, they even denied themselves their natural sleep. Proverbs 4:16 describes evil men and it says they “¹⁶ …cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.” Then, there were no charges made against Jesus, there was no evidence brought in, and there were no witnesses. What kind of a trial is this? Finally, according to vs. 22, they struck Jesus in the face with a rod before reaching a verdict. And what court ever punishes someone before a verdict is reached? Well we read that they had already come to a verdict in John chapter 3 vs. 19 that says “¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

And so we come to our study today that starts with vs. 28 and notice the first part of that verse: “²⁸ Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor.” So here’s the scene: it’s early morning, the sun is just starting to come up over the 7 hills of Jerusalem.  And here is a large crowd of Jewish officials and Roman soldiers, and there is Jesus. He is bound and shackled, and you can see this crowd moving along and Jesus is walking right with them. Notice It says they “led” Him, not “they dragged Him kicking and screaming”, no, they just led Him. He was not resisting or rebelling. He followed peaceably, without a struggle. You see, He is being led like a Lamb to the slaughter. When a lamb is led to the slaughter, the workers just lead them; they offer no resistance, they don’t even struggle. That’s Jesus.  

And vs. 28 says, “By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover” (John 18:28). You see the palace was Gentile property, and as such the Jews would be defiled by even entering that place. And they didn’t want to do anything that would make themselves unclean, so they were very careful to live by the Law so that they would not be contaminated or polluted in any way.

Now I hope we’re seeing a huge discrepancy here. They won’t go into the palace because they don’t want to get dirty by breathing Gentile air, but they will put on a dishonest trial, persecute an innocent Man, hang him on a criminal’s cross, put Him to open shame, and murder Him in broad daylight! This is the very definition of hypocrisy. Here they were walking around with their clean hands, and their filthy hearts. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 23, and let’s read how Jesus described them. Let’s start with Matthew chapter 23 verse 27. Jesus says…

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Matthew 23:27-28

See the Jews had a custom of white-washing the tombs of their ancestors, making those tombs look absolutely beautiful. They would scrub off any spot or blemish, and then they would decorate the tombs to make them look stunning (they also decorated dead bodies). But inside of course the tomb was filled with rotten, corrupting, decaying flesh. So Jesus says that these Jews were very strict and precise in small matters of the law, but careless in important matters. They were careful not to go into a Gentile’s house, oh but they could murder an innocent Man, without a fair trial, no problem. They strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel. And so the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body; it’s only for show. Proverbs 30:12 described them. They are “¹² those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth.”

And so Jesus was teaching us, that we are who we are on the inside, not who we pretend to be on the outside. Listen to 1 Peter 2:1 “¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” The Christian is to have no hypocrisy. I’m to be the same at work as I am at home. I’m to be the same at home as I am at church.

Well then Pilate comes out to them and in vs. 29 he asks, “what charges are you bringing against this Man?” And in vs. 30 they say ³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,”…”we would not have handed him over to you.” In other words, “just trust us on this one Pilate. Take our word for it. Just believe us here.” See they had absolutely no charges. After all, “Who can bring any charges against God’s elect?” They cannot say, “He is a traitor”, or “He’s a murderer, He’s a thief, a breaker of the peace,’’ so they say, “He is a criminal’’ or in the King James, “He’s an evil-doer.” Riiiiight. An evil-doer who went about doing good! Pilate should call those who Jesus had cured, and fed, and taught and rescued from demons, and raised from the dead; and ask them whether He is an evil-doer or not. So they had a bad charge. The best man who ever lived was called a criminal.

Now, let’s apply this to ourselves just now. Please look with me at Luke 6:22. Sometimes the best men are slandered as the worst of criminals, and if we are slandered for Jesus’ Name, we are blessed. Jesus said in Luke 6:22: “²² Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” That’s what they were doing to Him. They hate Him and excluded Him and insulted and rejected Him as evil.

Well let’s look what Pilate said in John 18 vs. 31. ³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” But notice what the Jews say, “But we have no right to execute anyone.” Look what they just admitted! They just admitted that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. Wait a minute, all they said was they didn’t have the right to execute anyone, how is that admitting that Jesus is the Messiah?

Ah, look with me at Genesis chapter 49. Here Jacob is dying and he is blessing his children on his deathbed, and he comes to Judah, his fourth son and says this about him: “¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Now, even the Jews say today say that this is a reference to the coming Messiah, when He would come as king, and the government would be upon His shoulders. In other words, Israel would always have a scepter (kingdom) and a ruler’s staff (that’s the government) until the Messiah would come. And when He comes, the nation would no longer have a king, or the government, that would be transferred to the Messiah.

Listen to what happened in the year A.D. 7, when Jesus was 12 years old, something happened to the nation of Israel. Up to this time they had a king named Archelaus, they had a government, they made laws, the Sanhedrin had the right to execute criminals. But in A.D. 7 Archelaus, the king of the Jews was dethroned and banished. A man by the name of Coponius was appointed governor over their land, and Israel became a province of Syria (see Josephus’ Antiquities 17, chapter 13.1-5). So now they no longer had the right to execute criminals.

This is what Rabbi Rachmon said in A.D. 7: “When the members of the Sanhedrin found themselves deprived of their right over life and death, a general consternation took hold of them; they covered their heads and their bodies with sackcloth, exclaiming, ‘Woe unto us, for the sceptre has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come.’”  

When the Jews said “we have no right to execute anyone” it was their own acknowledgement that they no longer ruled their nation, the scepter had departed, the ruler’s staff was gone. And the reason is because HE had come. And to King Jesus belongs the rule of government, and the obedience of the nations because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. So write Genesis 49:10 next to John 18:31 and you have proof that Jesus is the Messiah.

Now why did all this happen? Why did God take the government away from the Jews? Why did they no longer have the right to execute anyone? John 18:32 tells us: “³² This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.” Ah, Jesus had to get lifted up on a cross because He said in John 3:14 “¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” and in John 12:32: “³² But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” The Jewish method of death was stoning, so at the right time, God removed the government from the nation of Israel and gave it to the Romans so that Jesus would be hung on a tree rather than killed by stones.

Well then Pilate asks Jesus, in vs. 33 if He is king of the Jews and Jesus responds “is that your idea or did someone talk to you about me?” And Pilate responds “Am I a Jew? It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me, what have you done? To which Jesus responds in vs. 36 by saying ³⁶ “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

In other words, Jesus poses no threat to the Roman government. He didn’t come here to take over the government by force, Pilate has nothing to fear politically. Jesus’ kingdom is entirely different. It’s not a kingdom of man, from earth, but a kingdom of God from heaven.

And by now, we understand that everything Jesus said, He said in fulfillment of Scripture. Turn with me to Daniel chapter 2 and let’s notice what Jesus was talking about. Now in Daniel chapter 2, the king of Babylon had a dream of a huge statue and Daniel has come to interpret the dream. Notice vs. 31: ³¹ “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”

And if you read on down Daniel gives the interpretation. Babylon was the head of gold, the kingdom of Media and Persia was the chest and arms of silver. The kingdom of Greece was next, Alexander the Great, represented by the belly and thigh of bronze. Then came the Roman government represented by the legs of iron and feet of clay. But then notice vs. 44: ⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings (during the Roman government), the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands–a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.” Daniel 2:44-45

So this Rock-Kingdom is a kingdom of Deity, it’s from God, it was not cut out by human hands. As Jesus says, “My kingdom is not from here.” But it’s also a kingdom of Eternity, it would “never be destroyed,” and it would “endure forever”, it was a kingdom of eternity. A kingdom of Deity, a kingdom of eternity. And finally it was a kingdom of Victory. It would “crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end.” And so right here we have the gospel, that God came to earth in the form of Man, that He died on a cross and thereby defeated all the powers of darkness and all the earthly kingdoms and He will reign forevermore. “Yes,” Jesus says, “I’m a king.” He’s not from here, his Kingdom is not cut out with human hands.

And then comes the good confession. In John 18:37 Pilate responds ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And here Jesus is going to the conscience of Pilate. He’s saying “Pilate, if you’re on the side of truth you listen to Me. But if you’re on the side of error and lies and deception you listen to the Jews. Which is it Pilate?” And we can apply this to ourselves today: God comes to us today in His Word, and He says “If you listen to Jesus, if you are in the Word studying, and hearing Jesus’ voice, and following after Him, you are on the side of truth. Earlier, in John 8, Jesus said, “⁴⁷ He who belongs to God hears what God says.” John 8:47

³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. In other words, “truth is relative.” “All that talk about a kingdom from heaven may be fine for you, Jesus, but it’s not my truth.” With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” John 18:38 Well then Pilate, release Him. Instead he says in vs. 39:

³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” John 18:39 Now I want us to notice something amazing here. They had a custom that every Passover a prisoner would be released. And so connected with Passover is the thought of grace and deliverance. Imagine, as soon as the Passover Lamb died, a prisoner was released. So Passover had come to be connected with pardon and freedom.

And how easy this is to apply, because right now in John chapter 18 the Passover is approaching, and according to 1 Corinthians 5 Jesus our Passover Lamb is about to die. And when He does die, He will pardon and release millions of sin prisoners. “If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.”

Charles Wesley wrote the testimony of every Christian when he wrote:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

See this is a prophetic custom the Jews have, it pointed forward to when the real Passover Lamb would die and free all the prisoners by pardoning their sins, forgiving them.

And so Pilate says in effect, “Let’s suppose He is guilty, I’m willing to release Him according to your custom.” In vs. 40…⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. John 18:40

This word “rebellion” could be translated thief, robber; the actual word here was used in Greek literature as terrorism. Barabbas was a terrorist, a Bin Laden. The people would rather have a thief and a rebellious terrorist released to them rather than the innocent Jesus.

So picture the scene; Pilate, the judge is out on his judgment porch, which was on the 2^nd story, and he is looking down over all the people, and he’s asking, “Who do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus?” “Who is going to suffer, the guilty or the Innocent? Who will die, the criminal or the King?” And the decision is made, they take Jesus to die, and Barabbas goes free.

Now picture another scene:  An eternity ago, there was another Judge. The Judge is in heaven, and He is looking out over all the people down throughout all time, and He sees how sin has terrorized the human race, and He asks the question within the Godhead, “Who will suffer for sin? Will it be the sinner or is their a Savior?” Who will die to pay for this mess? Will it be the guilty or the Innocent One? And the decision is made, and Jesus is sent to die, and every single person who believes in Jesus is forgiven of all their sin and released from their prison and made free indeed.

And so Jesus died and Barabbas went free proving that at the cross even a terrorist can be set free, if Jesus died in their place. This is like the animal dying in place of Adam and Eve. This is the ram dying in place of Isaac. This is the Passover Lamb dying in place of the firstborn son.

The truth is: Barabbas is us. 2 Corinthians 1:9 says, “⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death”, like Barabbas. But then came Jesus Who died, “the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” An innocent Person dying in place of the guilty! One Who went about doing good, dying instead of criminals!  

If you ever want to know what the gospel is, just compare our starting verse with our ending verse. In vs. 28 Jesus is taken and He is going to die, in vs. 40 the rebellious one goes free.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned He stood.
Sealed my pardon, with His blood.
…

Guilty, vile, helpless we,
spotless Lamb of God was He.
Full atonement, can it be
Halleljia what a Savior

Dear friend,

The life we have in Jesus Christ is described many places in Scripture as “New Life” (see Acts 5:19-20). This is because, for the one who believes in Jesus, their old life (sin, selfishness, etc.) is gone and they now live in freedom from sin’s condemnation and sin’s power.

Because this concept of having a “new life” is so important, I am going to post a study by a man of God by the name of Andrew Murray which will greatly help us to understand this new life that we have in Jesus Christ. One of the best things you can do with this study will be to read what he writes, then look up every Scripture that he quotes along the way. They should be hyperlinked here so that if you have the free program “Instaverse” (Google it if necessary) the passage will pop up when you run your mouse over it. Then answer the questions at the bottom. I will post once a week, or more often if I can get to it.

Here is the fist lesson:

1. The New Life

---

 

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” — John 3:16

“For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Christ is our life.” — Col. 3:3, 4

“We declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. God gave unto us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath the life.”  -  1 John 1

 

How glorious, then, is the blessing which every one receives that believes in the Lord Jesus. Not only does there come a change in his disposition and manner of life; he also receives from God out of heaven an entirely new life. He is born anew, born of God: he has passed from death into life. (John 1:12-13; John 3:5, 7; John 5:24; 1 John 3:14; 1 John 5:1)

This new life is nothing less than Eternal Life. (John 3:15-16, 36; John 6:40, 51; John 6:25-26; Romans 6:11, 23; Romans 8:2; 1 John 5:12, 13) This does not mean, as many suppose, that our life shall now no more die, but shall endure into eternity. No: eternity life is nothing else than the very life of God, the life that He has had in Himself from eternity, and that has been visibly revealed in Christ. This life is now the portion of every child of God. (1 John 1:3; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 5:11)

This life is a life of inconceivable power. Whenever God gives life to a young plant or animal, that life has in itself the power of growth, whereby the plant or animal as of itself becomes large. Life is power. In the new life, that is, in your heart, there is the power of eternity. (John 5:10, 28; Hebrews 7:16; Hebrews 6; 2 Cor. 7:9; 2 Cor. 8:4; Col. 3:3-4; Phil. 4:13) More certain than the healthful growth of any tree or animal is the growth and increase of the child of God, who in reality surrenders himself to the working of the new life.

What hinders this power and the reception of the new spiritual life is chiefly two things. The one is ignorance of its nature, its laws and workings. Man, even the Christian, has of himself not the least conception of the new life that comes from God: it surpasses all his thoughts. His own perverted thoughts of the way to serve and to please God, namely, by what he does and is, are so deeply rooted in him, that, although he thinks that he understands and receives God’s word, he yet thinks humanly and carnally on Divine things. (Joshua 3:4; Isaiah 4; Matthew 16:23) Not only must God give salvation and life; He must also give the Spirit to make us know what He gives. Not only must He point out the land of Canaan, and the way thither; we must also, like the blind, be led every day by Himself. The young Christian must try to cherish a deep conviction of his ignorance concerning the new life, and of his inability to form right thoughts about it. This will bring him to the meekness and to the childlike spirit of docility, to which the Lord shall make His secret known. (Psalm 25:5, 8-9; Psalm 143:8; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 64:4; Matthew 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:18-19; 1 Cor. 2:7, 10, 12; Hebrews 11:8)

There is a second hindrance in the way of faith. In the life of every plant and every animal and every child there lies sufficient power by which it can become big. In the new life, God has made the most glorious provision of a sufficient power whereby His child can grow and become all that he must be. Christ Himself is his life and his power of life. (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 38:3; Psalm 34:8; John 14:19; Galatians 2:20; Col. 3:3, 4) Yet, because this mighty life is not visible or cannot be felt, but works in the midst of human weakness, the young Christian often becomes of doubtful mind. He then fails to believe that he shall grow with Divine power and certainty. He does not understand that the believing life is a life of faith whereby he reckons on the life that is in Christ for him, although he neither sees, feels, nor experiences anything. (Habakkuk 2:4; Matthew 6:27; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38)

Let every one then that has received this new life, cultivate this great conviction: it is eternal life that works in me: it works with Divine power: I can and shall become what God will have me be: Christ Himself is my life: I have to receive Him every day as my life given by God to me, and He shall be my life in full power.

 

O my Father, who hast given me Thy Son that I may have life in Him, I thank Thee for the glorious new life that is now in me. I pray Thee, teach me to know aright this new life. I will acknowledge my ignorance and the perverted thoughts which are in me, concerning Thy service. I will believe in the heavenly power of the new life that is in me: I will believe that my Lord Jesus, who Himself is my life, will by His Spirit teach me to know how I can walk in that life. Amen.

 

Try now to apprehend and appropriate the following lessons in your heart; –

1. It is eternal life, the very life of  God, that you have now received through faith.
2. This new life is in Christ, and the Holy Spirit is in you to bring over to you all that is in Christ. Christ lives in you through the Holy Spirit.
3. This life is a life of wonderful power. However weak you may feel, you must believe in the Divine power of the life that is in you.
4. This life has need of time to grow in you and to take possession of you. Give it time: it shall surely increase.
5. Forget not that all the laws and rules of this new life are in conflict with all human thoughts of the way to please God. Be very much in dread of your thoughts, and let Christ, who is your life and also your wisdom, teach you all things.

The New Life.

“Who can bring any charges against God’s Elect?” (Romans 8:33) What a challenge! But because of the cross of Jesus Christ the question is totally unanswerable! Every sin of God’s people was laid on the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement He made on the cross, taken away from us!

The reality now is that there is no sin in God’s book against His people. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment of sin was removed. For the Christian there is no stroke from God’s angry hand—in fact, not so much as a single frown of justice. The believer can (and will) be disciplined by his Father, but God the Judge has nothing to say to the Christian, except “I have pardoned you: you are acquitted.”

A word that described the Old Covenant was “distance.” When God appeared to his servant Moses, He said, ⁵ “Do not come any closer…” (Exodus 3:5) and when he revealed Himself on Mount Sinai to his own chosen people, one of the first commands was, “Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 19:12

But when the New Covenant was given on a different mountain, Mt. Calvary, the good news came and we were placed on quite another standing with God. The word “Go” was exchanged for “Come,” and “distance” was exchanged for “nearness”. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13).

Jesus said, ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 

I praise God today that the distance between us and God has been bridged by the cross of Jesus Christ, and now all can draw near to Him without fearing punishment.

What is the definition of a Christian? Are Christians primarily those who keep God’s commandments and live in obedience to His Word? Are we those who live holy and righteous lives in this world? Are we those who love other people and give of themselves to benefit others, or those who seek to make a difference in this world in any way possible? Well the answer to all these questions is no. You see the ultimate definition of a Christian is someone who has come to deeply love and appreciate and worship the Person of Jesus Christ. A Christian is a lover of Jesus because we’ve come to know Him and to understand what He did for us. And out of a heart of love for Jesus, we keep God’s Word, live a holy life, give of ourselves to others and try to make a difference in this world. What we study in God’s Word today, should leads us to worship Him.

As a reminder, last week in John chapter 18, we looked at the fall of Peter, where he denied and disowned Jesus Christ over and over and over again. In John chapter 19 the death of Jesus Christ is recorded, and chapter 20 records His resurrection, and then in chapter 21 Peter was completely forgiven and fully restored. And this is the story of the life of every believer: we sinned, Jesus died and rose again, we’re forgiven and restored. Peter’s story is proof that Jesus does not break a bruised reed? That He does not snuff out a smoldering wick? Instead, He heals the bruised reed and he fans the smoldering wick back to life again. That’s what Peter’s story teaches us.

Now I just want to give us an overview of these final sections in John. Today and next week we are going to look at the trial of Jesus Christ. In our passage today Jesus stood trial before the High Priest in vss. 19-24, and then before Pilate the Roman governor in vss. 28-40 and Pilot sent Him to King Herod next. So we see the earthly kings and the religious leaders banding together against Jesus Christ. This is a time when there was no separation between church and state, both groups united together to crucify Jesus.

But it is very important to understand that all of John chapter 18 happened to fulfill God’s plan. Look with me at Psalm chapter 2, as Psalm 2 tells us that John 18 was the fulfillment of God’s plan. Please remember that Psalm 2 was written 1000 years before John chapter 18. “¹ Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? ² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. ³ “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.” Psalm 2:1-3 So here are two groups of people mentioned: the kings of the earth and the rulers of the people, and they both gather together against the Lord, and His anointed one. This has reference to King David, as the nations and some of his own people plotted against him. But it ultimately refers to King Jesus in John chapter 18. How do we know that?

Turn with me to Acts chapter 4 because Acts chapter 4 explains the meaning of Psalm chapter 2. Here Peter is praying, and in his prayer he explains the meaning of Psalm chapter 2: “²⁵ You (God) spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶ The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” And now he is going to explain Psalm 2. He says in vs. 27: “²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

So now we know: John chapter 18 is simply the fulfillment of what God had decided beforehand, in eternity past, should happen. John chapter 18 was prophesied 1,000 years earlier in Psalm chapter 2, showing that God had already determined that Herod and Pilate and the Jewish leaders would band together against Jesus to crucify Him.

So today we are going to see this: Jesus is bound and shackled and taken before the High Priest. There’s the High Priest in his flowing robes and his traditional beard, and he professes to have such reverence for the Word of God; he has the Scriptures tied to his forehead and his right arm. But there’s Jesus, the Living Word of God standing before him, and he determines to kill the Word of God. And so he sends Him to Pilate, the Roman governor to be examined. And here’s Pilate who is supposed to be committed to the law, and the Living Law is standing right before him and Pilot hands Him over to die. They all declare Him innocent, Pilate does 3 times, and yet they sentence Him to death. This makes no sense, unless we see that behind it all stands God’s predetermined plan. Behind all the human decisions we see that, “God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.”

See Pilate and the Jews were only doing what God had determined to be done in advance. So we can learn something from this, and the sooner we learn this the better we will be able to handle everything in our lives. Here it is: all things are from the Lord and He means all things for our good. Did it look really bad for Jesus to be brought before these kings and leaders who are going to crucify Him? Yes, but it God had determined in advance, to give us eternal life through His death. We need to be encouraged today, that whatever comes our way is what God has determined in advance and that He means it for our good. “²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

So now let’s move on to our study for today, and I want us to know that vs. 14 is key to understanding this whole trial: “¹⁴ Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.” In other words, the Jewish leaders had already decided that Jesus was to die, before they put Him on trial. It’s “Your guilty unless proven innocent”, and even then you’re guilty. Therefore the trial we are going to read about is a farce, it’s a fake trial, the outcome has already been decided. In essence they said, “Jesus, you are guilty and sentenced to death, now let’s go have a trial.” It’s completely backwards, it’s completely wrong. This trial is a perversion of justice.

So now we come to the trial itself, and in vs. 19 it says, “¹⁹ Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.” Now why is he questioning Jesus? What they were supposed to do at a trial is to bring a charge against someone, then bring their evidence to support it, and then bring witnesses to prove it. But here they have no charges, they have no evidence, and they have no witnesses. So, instead, they ask Jesus questions trying to trap Him.

But you’d think they would be tired of this game. They’ve been doing this a long time. Look back a few chapters to chapter 8. Here is a woman caught in adultery and they bring her before Jesus, and the Jewish leaders are now going to ask Jesus a question. They say in vs. 5: “⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.” And that is what they are still doing in chapter 18. Instead of bringing their charges and their evidence and their witnesses against Jesus, since they didn’t have any, they asked Him questions, and they are trying to trap Him.

And Jesus answers them in vs. 20. He does not defend Himself. Look what He says: ²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.” He’s saying “why are you asking me about these things, when everybody already knows my teaching, because I taught openly.” And this was a rebuke to these Jews. This trial was at night, it was done in secret. Whereas Jesus speaks openly, He does everything in the light, with transparency, the Jewish leaders hide the yeast in the bread, that is, they snuck their false teaching in deceptively and had a trial by night.

Do you know that today we have “secret societies”, such as the Masons and the Mormons who hide their teaching from the world and proclaim it in secret. “²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John 3:20But see truth doesn’t fear the light. Jesus speaks and lives openly to the world, He says nothing in secret. He doesn’t have secret trials and secret meetings. Christ’s ways are open ways, not secret ways.

And if Annas knew his Bible He would understand that Jesus’ statement here was really proof that He is God. I want us to see this, so turn with me back to the Book of Isaiah, chapter 45. I wonder, didn’t Annas know this Scripture? “¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says– he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited– he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.” And in John 18 Jesus used those same words, “I said nothing in secret, I spoke openly to the world” as He is One with the Father.

And let’s take just a second, and apply this truth to ourselves right now. Let’s acknowledge that we, too, are to turn away from all secrecy, away from all darkness and deception. Look with me at 2 Corinthians chapter 4, and let’s see how Paul applied this same principle to his own life. In this passage Paul shows us how to live our lives. Here he writes to the Corinthians in chapter 4 vs. 2:  “² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly (or clearly, or openly) we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” Christians turn from secrecy and deception and we speak openly and plainly and clearly as we should. That’s what Jesus did. So we can see Jesus is one with the Father, and we are one with Jesus, so we all speak the same way: openly, transparently, no hiding and no secrecy.

And then Jesus asks his own question in John 18:21. He questions the questioner. He asks the High Priest ²¹ Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” Why are you questioning Me? See Jesus is making a procedural point here. Under Jewish Law a person could not be convicted or freed on their own testimony, so His testimony should have been irrelevant to this trial, and Jesus is somewhat rebuking Anna for not following procedure.  You see, this whole trial is a farce. It is not fair.

But I do want us to notice that Jesus doesn’t say “bring the deaf who can now hear, the blind who can now see, the mute who can speak. Oh I know, bring Lazarus who was dead and now lives. They will all testify for me”. No He said, “bring those who heard me” putting the emphasis on His teaching, putting the emphasis on the Word that He spoke rather than on miracles.

But notice the response of the official in vs. 22: “²² When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face.”Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.” Wait a minute, this is against the Law. You can’t punish a criminal until he’s found guilty. So they’re having this court session at night, they’ve already condemned this innocent man, now they are punishing Him before giving a verdict? I mean, who really are the criminals in this case?

Now the alternate reading of this, or if you have a different version of the Bible yours might say, “one of the officials nearby struck Him in the face, with a rod” or a stick or a club. And this is actually the correct translation. Here’s Jesus who is bound in hands and feet, and a Jewish official walks up to Him with a rod, like a billy club and bashes His face with it.

Why do I say this is the correct translation? Turn with me to the Book of Micah, chapter 5. Micah chapter 5 gives a prediction about the coming Messiah, that He would be born in Bethlehem. But before it tells us about where He would be born, it tells us about His suffering. Notice Micah chapter 5:1 “¹ Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.” Then it tells a little bit about this ruler. In vs. 2 it says: ² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” So the Ruler of Israel, this One Who was ancient, would be born in Bethlehem, would grow up to be Israel’s ruler, and would be struck on the face with a rod. This is a prophecy of John chapter 18 vs. 22.

And I just love Jesus’ response in John 18:23. He responds like no man would ever respond to this beating. When Jesus is bashed in the face with a rod, He responds by saying, ²³ “If I said something wrong,”…”testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” What an amazingly calm, rational, unemotional response. There was no anger, no resentment, no bitterness, just a calm statement and a rational question. Listen to 1 Peter 2:23: “²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.”

Vs. 24 says, “²⁴ …Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.” And Caiaphas will send him straight to Pilate in vs. 28. And wouldn’t you like to just ask Annas a question? Annas, since there were no charges, no evidence and no witnesses, why did you send him to Caiaphas and Pilate to be killed? What’s your verdict Annas? And the answer is in John 3:19 which says “¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” and so they sent Him who is the light of the world, away.

And so ends this fake trial, where the Innocent is treated as guilty without any charges, without any evidence and without any witnesses.

Well, what can we learn from this fake trial? Every part of God’s Word ought to instruct us, so I just want to give us 3 things that we can learn from this trial to put into action in our own lives:

First, the Christian should not ever demand His own rights. Look at Jesus being brought to court with no charges, no evidence and no witnesses. And He did not say “that’s a violation of my rights” or “this is unfair” or “I’m going to sue you.” Instead, according to 1 Peter 2, He trusted Himself to the One Who judges justly, or correctly, or fairly.

Christians we will be mistreated, we will be treated unfairly, we may even be brought to trial on false charges. But we are not to “demand our rights” for when we became Christians we gave up our rights. “I have been crucified with Christ” and a crucified man has no rights. Listen to 1 Corinthians 6:7 “⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” Isn’t that exactly what Jesus was doing here in John 18? He is being wronged and cheated out of His own life, and yet He did not retaliate or threaten or demand His own rights or claim that He was being treated unfairly.

You know what we should do when we are being treated unfairly? We should seek for help inside the church, taking our case to the elders, looking for brothers and sisters with wisdom and insight who can discern the situation, and then we should trust ourselves to God Who is able to make a right judgment.

Secondly, what can we learn about this trial? We can learn that we should respond calmly in every situation. Imagine this for a minute. Somebody comes up to you with a club and bashes you on the face with it. It nearly knocks you out, and you feel the searing pain and the blood rushes to your face. You might begin crying because of the pain, and the temptation is to respond with hot flesh, in bitterness, in anger, to threaten. Some of us guys would just plain want to duke it out and hit them back. Look at Jesus’ response: calmness, no bitterness, no anger.

Now I’m not saying here that we shouldn’t protect our families. Even Jesus here said “if you’re looking for me, let these go.” He protected His people. We have a responsibility to protect our families. But I’m talking about the way we respond to a personal attack or to a personal insult. When someone hits us with a club or with their words, we should respond calmly, rationally, not in heated anger or bitter resentment.

Thirdly, what can we learn from this trial? Well if we understand the situation, shouldn’t it give us a deep appreciation and admiration for Jesus Christ? I mean here are the facts: The Bible says we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and we should be brought to trial for our sins and judged guilty and put to death.

But instead, Jesus steps up and volunteers to be tried in your place and mine. He was bound and shackled in our place. He was beat with a rod, in our place. He was handed over to be crucified in our place. And if we really understand that, it should cause us to deeply appreciate and love and worship Him. After all, this is the ultimate definition of a Christian, one who loves Jesus.

Johnny Lawson was a 3-year-old boy, who was coming out of a department store with his mom. Spotting a shiny penny out in the busy street, quick as can be he darted out and leaned over to pick it up. A man standing on the curb saw a bus coming, and immediately stepped out and shoved the little boy out of the way, and this man, having taken the place of Johnny Lawson, was hit and crushed and killed by that bus. When Johnny got older he said this to a friend, “That was 30 years ago but I still have the memory of that man’s bloody body, and am filled with an unspeakable appreciation for him.”

Do we have the memory of a man who was struck on the face with a rod for us? Do we have the memory of a man nailed to a cross in our place, and are we filled with an unspeakable appreciation for Him who died for us?

I want to close right now with some amazing contrasts that I saw in this chapter. Maybe you noticed these contrasts too: The One Who came to bring freedom to all mankind was shackled by handcuffs and leg-irons. The righteous Judge of all the earth was brought before criminals to be judged. The Lord of glory was heaped with shame and ridicule. The Holy One was condemned as a sinner. He who is the Resurrection and the Life was doomed to die. He who was innocent was treated as guilty so that He could remove the guilt of all who believe. He who was struck and beaten healed those who have been wounded by sin. The One who was sentenced to die brought life to all. Praise His holy Name. Let’s pray.

#Biblestudy Welcome to our 4^th Bible study, learning just 1 concept per study. We are at John 1:4 now:

#Biblestudy ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4 Concept: Jesus has life in Himself.

#Biblestudy Old Testament illustration: ² Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. Exodus 3:2

#Biblestudy God revealed Himself in a “burning bush” that was “not consumed.” It had life in itself, didn’t need any outside source.

#Biblestudy Jesus, as the eternal God, has life in Himself, and is not dependant on any outside source, and His life is eternal (never ending).

#Biblestudy Amazing thought: this One Who has life in Himself chose to lay His life down for you and for me. Speaking of His life Jesus said:

#Biblestudy No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. John 10:18

#Biblestudy Though Jesus “has life in Himself” He chose to lay it down in order to:

#Biblestudy pay for our sins, remove our guilt, take away God’s wrath, purchase our eternal life.

#Biblestudy Summary: Jesus has life in Himself. He chose to lay that life down to forgive us and save us and give us eternal life.

#Biblestudy Final comment: Have you received the gift of life from Jesus Christ? I sure hope so!

#Biblestudy Questions or thoughts?

John 18. Well this morning I want to remind us of the truth that God does not count the sin of any believer against them. The Bible says He does not treat us as our sins deserve, that He does not lay our sins to our account, and that He remembers our sins no more. This is an important truth, a truth that sets Christianity apart from all other religions. No other religion promises the worshipper complete forgiveness of all sin and the complete removal of all guilt, and the complete freedom from the past. Of course that’s because no other religion had a Savior come and make complete payment for all sins.

You see, in the passage before us today, Peter does wrong by denying Jesus Christ, and he does it in a public way. Our text this morning shows us this rugged fisherman, standing around a fire with a group of other people, and the flames light of his face and they recognize him and ask him if he was a follower of Jesus; and over the noise of the crackling fire, we hear him deny his Lord, with cursing and swearing, over and over and over again. And now he has a reminder of his failure. Just imagine: he denied Jesus, but he’s going on with his life, picking up the pieces of this mess, and then he hears a rooster crow and all the memories of his failure flood his mind and his emotions once again.

You see, from this point on, Peter was someone with a past, someone who had ruined his testimony, who had shamed his own name, and embarrassed himself publicly. And not only did he have a past, his past was recorded, for everybody to read, in the best-selling Book of all-time, the Bible.

And the Bible gives us a chain of events leading up to his failure, and I want to examine with you the links in the accident chain. You know in aviation pilots are taught that every accident has a chain of events leading up to it; the aircraft was not loaded properly, the weight and balance sheet was not double checked, the trim was not set correctly and there was a fiery crash. An accident that could have been avoided by removing any one of the links in that chain. And today we want to examine the links in the accident chain of Peter’s life, as the Bible presents them to us, and then we’ll summarize what can be learned from this story of Peter’s public failure.

But it’s important to remember while we’re studying this, that God did not hold Peter’s sin against him. Listen to Psalm 32: “¹ Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ² Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him…” See the truth is that when Jesus was uncovered on the cross, and died in nakedness, he did so to cover Peter’s sins, and yours and mine. On the cross God counted Peter’s sin against His own Son and so did not count them against Peter, and does not count them against you and me.

 And so we absolutely must remember as we’re studying Peter’s failures today that God forgave this man, and picked him up from his fall. Just like when Peter was walking on the water and then looked away from Jesus and sunk in the waves, and Jesus reached out his hand and picked up the drowning Peter, so today we will see him sinking in his sin, but in chapter 21 Jesus once again lifts up this man who had sunk in his sin. What a gracious Savior we have!

So let’s examine the links in Peter’s accident chain. First we read in vs. 15 that “¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus” but to get a fuller picture let’s turn back one book to Luke chapter 22 which will give us another detail about Peter following Jesus. And there in Luke 22 we read this in vs. 54. Luke 22:54: “⁵⁴ Then seizing him (Jesus), they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.” So we can see the situation: it’s night-time and Jesus is bound and shackled, He is surrounded by a large crowd, and He is being led away by Roman soldiers and Jewish officials, all the rest of the disciples have run away into the night. But there are two disciples that are still following Jesus: one disciple (probably John) stayed right near Jesus, maybe he’s walking right alongside Jesus, but Peter hung back, Peter put some distance between himself and Jesus.

And very soon after we see Peter following Jesus at a distance, we read in John 18 vs. 17 that a servant girl asks “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” And he replied “I am not.” Here’s strong, self-confident Peter, the one who said, “even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you”; and he is standing by a young girl, and she’s just a servant-girl, and all of Peter’s self-confidence is gone. How humbling for Peter.

You see, when Peter was near Jesus he was bold, he could swing his sword with 500 soldiers around in defense of His Master, but put some distance between him and Jesus and you end up with a coward; one that could be knocked off balance by a young servant girl: standing up to 500 soldiers when he was near Jesus, defeated by one servant girl when away from Jesus.

“You’re not one of his disciples are you?” “I am not.” What solemn 3 words those are, words that Peter promised he would never say. And I want us to notice that in John 18 we have 3 words that are a revelation of power of Jesus Christ, and then we have 3 words that are a revelation of the weakness of all believers. Jesus said, “I am He!” The Promised Messiah. The King of kings. “I am He.” Peter says, “I am not.” I am not a follower of His, I am not a disciple. And here is the weakness of all believers on display for all the world to see, for we all deny Jesus Christ every time we sin. “I am He” is a revelation of the power and majesty of King Jesus. “I am not” is a revelation of the weakness of all believers.

And I wonder how many times we put distance between ourselves and Jesus Christ. “I’m just too busy to read the Bible and pray to God, and church and prayer meetings are not a priority for me, and repentance of sin is old fashioned,” and I begin to distance myself from Jesus.

Let’s turn back to John chapter 15, and let’s remind ourselves of the instruction Jesus gave His disciples. In this chapter Jesus uses the analogy of Vine and branches, and in vs. 4 Jesus says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me (or separated from me, or at a distance from me) you can do nothing.” And look at vs. 7, “⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” If Peter was with right there with Jesus, he could have said to Him, “Jesus, I’m very scared right now, could you give me strength to face what we are facing?” And Jesus would have answered His prayer.

You see Peter’s fall can be traced back to his failure to remain in Jesus, but instead he began following at a distance. The writer to Hebrews says, “²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” (Heb. 10:22). James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you…” What does the Lord require of you, not only to “do justly and to love mercy,” but “to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). This is one of my major objectives in this life, to walk closely with my God, to live at all times “in Jesus”. This past week I found myself constantly praying the words of that old song, ”Jesus keep me near the cross.” One of the verses of that song goes like this:

Near the cross! O Lamb of God, 

bring its scenes before me; 

help me walk from day to day 

with its shadow o'er me. 

<o:p> </o:p>

Peter was not near the cross, instead he began distancing himself from Jesus even before the cross. Well let’s notice what happens to Peter next. John 18:18 says “¹⁸ It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.” Now this is one of John’s favorite things to do; make a statement with a double meaning. Yes, it was cold outside, but Peter was now growing cold inside because he is away from Jesus. Remember when Jesus singled out Judas as the one to deny Him and it says “and Judas went out from them”. And immediately after that John wrote, “and it was dark.” It was dark when Judas went out to betray Jesus, not only physically dark because it was night, but it was dark inside Judas’ heart.

And now Peter is following at a distance and John writes, “it was cold.” Peter was cold! But wait a minute, we don’t hear anything of him being cold when he is with Jesus. When he’s with Jesus he is bold, but when he is away from Jesus he is cold. Now I don’t want to read too much into this, but there is something for us to learn here: that the Christian who follows Jesus at a distance will soon grow cold spiritually. Ecclesiastes 4:11 says, “¹¹ …if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” Peter was alone and cold. If we are following Jesus at a distance, how can we keep warm?

So Peter is following at a distance, he is growing cold and notice the next words in vs. 18, right in the middle: “Peter also was standing with them.” He’s not standing with Jesus, or the disciples, he is standing with the enemies of Christ: those who arrested Jesus, those who are taking Him to the cross. Remember what the Bible said about Judas; when the crowd came to arrest Jesus it says, “and Judas stood with them.” And now Peter is in the same group. What’s Peter doing standing with them?

You see, when we distance ourselves from Jesus and begin to grow cold we often find ourselves in with the wrong people. When we are cold spiritually we might turn to the enemies of Christ (the world, the flesh and the devil) to warm ourselves. Listen to Bishop Ryle: “Peter stood among the crowd of his Master’s enemies, and warmed himself like one of them, as if he had nothing to think of but his bodily comfort; while his Master stood in a distant part of the hall, cold, and a prisoner. And who can doubt that while he warmed his hands he felt cold and miserable in his own soul?”

And again, in vs. 25 it says: ²⁵ As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” Again Peter uses the same words, “I am not”.  He’s standing around this fire, more concerned about his body than his soul. He’s listening to the blasphemous talk about his Master, he is too timid to speak up and witness for Christ, and it is written in 1 Corinthians 15:33: “³³“Bad company corrupts good character.”  And that’s exactly what is happening right here, for as he stands with the enemy, he denies his Lord.

And notice this amazing statement in vs. 26. It says: ²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” What a rebuke to Peter. He’s standing around “with them” and now somebody reminds him that just a short while ago Peter was “with Him.” He was with Jesus, now he’s with the enemy. Left to ourselves, how quickly we can change sides. We may have just been to church where we’re encouraged in our faith, and then we start interacting with a co-worker and something slips out of our mouths that hides our true identity as a disciple of Jesus, or we’re with a group of people who are slamming “born-again, right wing, conservative Christians” and we say nothing but sit there in silence, or even join in with them. And we discover to our own shame that whereas before we were standing “with Him” we are now standing “with them.”  

And the final words about Peter in this chapter are in vs. 27: “²⁷ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.” Peter didn’t remain in Jesus, he distanced himself from Jesus, he grew cold, and he joined the wrong crowd, and Peter disowns Jesus three times in a row. What a horrible, shameful, disgraceful thing to do. Proverbs 14:14 says “the backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways.”

And I want us to consider some lessons that we can learn today from Peter’s fall.

First, believers in Jesus are weak in ourselves. If we are not walking close to Jesus we will fall. As we see Peter sinking in his sin we should see ourselves and understand our true condition, that we are weak. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 13. Paul is finishing up his last letter to the Corinthians, and he is reminding them of Jesus Christ, and he is warning them. He says this in 2 Corinthians 13:4: “⁴ For to be sure, he (Jesus) was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” Paul says “we are weak in Him.” The songwriter said, “prone to wander, Lord I feel it.”

Secondly, this story shows us the danger of self-confidence. It shows us where trusting in ourselves, and in our own strength will lead us. Turn with me to Philippians chapter 3. In this chapter Paul defines what a Christian is. If you ever want to know what a Christian is, this passage shows us. He says in Philippians 3:3 “³ For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.” Christians should have no self-confidence but instead have Christ-confidence. He can save me, He can keep me, He can hold me.

Thirdly, this story warns us about not praying, not remaining in Jesus. If Peter had watched and prayed as Jesus told him to he would have found grace in His time of need. “¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

Fourthly, this story warns us about developing friends with wicked people. As we see Peter around the fire, standing with the enemy and denying Jesus, we remember Psalm 1 that says “¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” Believers can be greatly weakened by the people around them, and we must do what we can to get around believers and be warmed by their fellowship. Turn with me to James 4. James is talking to Christians who are just melting in with the world, kind of warming themselves at the world’s fires, and James says in chapter 4 vs. 4: “⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” According to this passage, Peter made himself an enemy of God by choosing to the world over Jesus. This story warns us about “standing with them”. Not that we can ever avoid the world, we’re supposed to witness to them, be a light to them, share the gospel with them, encourage them to consider the claims of Jesus Christ.

Fifthly, what can we learn from this story? We can learn the power of the gospel. And I just want to close right now with the ways in which we can see the power of the gospel through Peter’s fall.

See Peter distanced himself from Jesus, so as payment for that sin, Jesus distanced Himself from God the Father and came to this earth to die for Peter’s sins. Peter separated himself from Christ and so Christ was separated from God the Father to pay for the wrong Peter did, and for the wrong that we have done.

Then Peter joined in with the world and made himself and enemy of God and so Jesus on the cross was treated as God’s worst enemy, for Peter’s sake and for our sake. One look at the cross shows God pouring out every last drop of His wrath upon His beloved Son, as if His Son were the adversary here. Why? Listen to Colossians 1: ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you (his former enemy) holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation– Colossians 1:21-22

And finally, Peter denied and disowned Christ, and so God the Father hung His Son up on a cross and turned His back on Him, and wouldn’t even answer His question. Just as Peter turned his back on Jesus, so God the Father turned His back on Jesus? Why? So that He might not ever ever turn His back on Peter, or on you and me. “¹³ if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13

The denier who weeps is taken to Christ’s heart, and in sacred secrecy has His forgiveness freely given, though, before he can be restored to his public office, he must, by his threefold public avowal of love, efface his threefold denial. We may say, ‘Thou knowest that I love thee,’ even if we have said, ‘I know Him not,’ and come nearer to Jesus, by reason of the experience of His pardoning love, than we were before we fell.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Near the cross, a trembling soul, <o:p></o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">love and mercy found me; <o:p></o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">there the bright and morning star <o:p></o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">sheds its beams around me. <o:p></o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After sermon and singing:<o:p></o:p></span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>

You know, there’s one more thing we can learn from this story, and that is that we will have brothers and sisters who fail, and who need much grace from their family. We should remember from this story not only Peter’s weakness but our own, and lavish on others who have failed the same grace that God has lavished on us. Now, if they refuse to repent of their sin that’s another story, but for those who think they have lost it all, let’s pour on God’s grace in abundance to them. Listen to Ephesians 1:7-8: “⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” He lavished on us, let’s lavish on our brothers and sisters.

<o:p> </o:p>

#biblestudy Greetings! Welcome to our interactive Twitter Bible study which will show amazing connections between Old and New Testaments.

#Biblestudy Twitter Bible Study number 2. Remember, we are only studying 1 concept per lesson. (Due to 140 K). If you want study 1, DM me.

#Biblestudy In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

#Biblestudy 2^nd Concept: Jesus is eternal. “The Word was with God” in the beginning.

#Biblestudy Proverbs 8:29-31 ²⁹ when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command,

#Biblestudy and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. ³⁰ Then I was the craftsman at his side.

#Biblestudy I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,

#Biblestudy ³¹ rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:29-31

#Biblestudy In the beginning, Jesus was the craftsman at God’s, delighting in His presence and in mankind. He’s eternal!

 #Biblestudy ⁵⁸ “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” John 8:58 He’s eternal God!

#Biblestudy Though eternal, Jesus came into time, took on a body, so that He might live and die for us, to purchase OUR eternal life.

#Biblestudy Let’s worship our eternal God, and the Lamb on the throne! Questions? Thoughts?

#biblestudy Greetings! Welcome to our interactive Twitter Bible study which will show amazing connections between Old and New Testaments.

#biblestudy We’ll study 1 concept per lesson.

#biblestudy Goal: 2 C unbelievers become committed followers of Jesus Christ, believers strengthened in their faith.

#biblestudy Our study is in the Book of John and is interactive (ask questions). It will be twice per week: Sunday and a mid-week study.  

#biblestudy First we will look at a passage, then show connections in Old Testament, then invite questions.

#biblestudy Here is our first passage: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

#biblestudy Concept: Jesus is “the Word” (see John 1:14). Old Testament passages show that God reveals Himself through His Word:

#biblestudy ²¹ The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. 1 Samuel 3:21

#biblestudy So God reveals Himself through His Word. Jesus is the Word (John 1:14). God reveals Himself to you and me through Jesus Christ.

#biblestudy “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways…

#biblestudy “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” Hebrews 1:1-2

#biblestudy If you want to hear God speak, go to Jesus in the Bible and listen.

#biblestudy Reminder of the concept we have studied today: Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). He is God’s communication to mankind.

#biblestudy Questions, thoughts? (I won’t be able to respond to all).

I want us to think just a minute about all the titles of Jesus Christ in the Bible: there is “King of kings and Lord of lords”, there is Messiah, and Savior and Redeemer, Lord of Glory, Wonderful Counselor, the Great Physician, Friend of sinners, etc. And all of these describe an aspect of our Lord. But there is one title that describes why He came to this earth more than any other, and that title is “Lamb of God” because that title tells us He came to be a sacrifice for sin. When John the Baptist saw Jesus for the first time, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

See God made laws in the Old Testament which said that a person who sinned could bring a lamb to the temple, and that lamb could die in place of the person who had sinned, and that lamb pointed forward to when Jesus would come and die and remove the sin of the world. But there was a certain ritual which had to be followed with every Old Testament lamb that was sacrificed: first, the lamb was to be bound, and then they were to be taken to the High Priest to be examined. With that in mind, notice John 18:12-13: ¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.” See Jesus is entering into His role of becoming the Lamb of God Who takes away our sin. Today we are going to see Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. And so He was bound and taken to the High Priest.

Well we have come in our study to John chapter 18 now, and I want to remind us of the first section (vss. 1-11) that we looked at last time. We remember that it was nighttime when Jesus crossed over the Brook Kidron on his way to the Mount of Olives. This reminded us of an earlier story in the Bible. In 2 Samuel chapter 15 King David had crossed the Brook Kidron with his little band of followers, right at the time when he was being betrayed by a close friend, one with whom he had shared bread. And we noted that David’s story was a preview of King Jesus, Who is David’s greater Son, who right here in John 18 crosses the Brook Kidron with his little band of followers, right as he is being betrayed by Judas, one with whom he had shared bread.

And the Roman soldiers and some Jewish leaders now come out to arrest Jesus, and we can hear practically hear their chains clanging and see the light of the torches, as they come out to arrest Jesus. But when they said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus said, “I am He” vs. 6 says they all fell to the ground. You can imagine a group of powerful Roman soldiers, dressed in armor, wearing their swords, carrying their chains, and then Jesus simply speaks, and they all fall to the ground at the same time at the powerful voice of King Jesus. And we noted that Psalm 29 says, “the voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic.” And so we saw that Jesus, in the garden here, isn’t acting much like a captive, but rather like a King, demonstrating His power. Evidencing that He is still in control.

And that section ended in vss. 10-11 with Peter taking out his sword, and cutting off the ear of one of the men there named Malchus. And Jesus gently rebuked Peter and then He did an amazing thing. Luke tells us that Jesus touched Malchus’ ear, and healed it. What an amazing act of love, to draw near to his captor, and to reach out His hand and touch the ear of Malchus and heal it. What amazing grace Jesus just showed to one who was coming to arrest him. I imagine that Malchus never forgot that gentle healing touch of the Lord Jesus.

And so in this first section we see two amazing aspects of Jesus Christ: His power, as all the soldiers fell to the ground at His spoken Word, and His grace as He gently touches and heals one who is coming to get Him. Powerful Word, and healing touch. What an amazing combination of power and gentleness, of strength and grace are in our Lord Jesus. I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 40, because in this chapter we see the power and gentleness of our God. This chapter was an announcement of the coming of the Messiah to comfort the Israelites. And in this passage, we see a description of the coming Messiah. Let’s read some verses together. Starting with vs. 10:

¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. ¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:10-11

This is Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He has power and gentleness, strength and grace. He is a Lion and a Lamb. I remember growing up that my step-dad loved a certain book, it’s cover was bright red and it had velvet on it, and the title was “Man of Steel and Velvet” which described a real man as both strong and gentle. And in John chapter 18 we see these both of these two marvelous aspects of Jesus, where His Word had the power to knock down a group of soldiers, and in His gentleness, and His love and His grace He touches and heals the ear of a man who was coming to arrest Him. No wonder He is loved and worshipped the world over. Men here today, I hope we are making it our goal, our ambition to be like Jesus: strong and gentle.

And now we come to this second section of John 18 and I just want to give us an overview of this section, and then we’ll finish up by looking at some of the details. The Holy Spirit wants to show us Jesus, He wants to take the things of Christ and make them known to us. In John 16:14 Jesus said that was what the Holy Spirit does. But in this chapter, it’s as if He keeps getting interrupted by Peter’s failures. In the first section, He’s telling us about Jesus and there’s an interruption when Peter cuts off Malchus’ ear. Then He’s telling us about Jesus, and He’s interrupted in vs. 17 by Peter’s first denial of Jesus. And then we’re learning more about what is happening to Jesus, when we’re interrupted yet again by Peter’s second and third denial of Jesus in vss. 25-27.

Why is it that the sin of Peter is made so prominent here? Why is so much time and space given to Peter’s failures here? And I will suggest that the recording of Peter’s failures and sin is to emphasize the need of Christ’s atoning death in chapter 19. A diamond shines most beautifully against a black backdrop. So in chapter 18, the Holy Spirit paints a dark background of sin so that the diamond of the cross in chapter 19 might shine more brilliantly. Right here in John chapters 18 and 19 you could put Romans 5:20 as a summary: “…where sin increased grace increased all the more.” Where Peter failed, Jesus died to pay for it.

So across John 18 we could write “failure”, and across John 19 we could write “forgiveness”. Across chapter 18 it’s “SIN” in black letters, across chapter 19 it’s “Salvation” in red letters.

So that’s the background on chapter 18 here, let’s look at some of the details of this chapter together. We begin with vs. 12 which says, “¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him.” So here is this group of people at night coming to get Jesus: there are Roman soldiers plus Jewish officials (Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin), a very mixed group, these people are quite different from one another. And yet they had one thing very much in common: they were all blind to the glories of Jesus Christ. I mean look, He had just given them a demonstration of His power as He knocked them over with His Words, and He had just given them a demonstration of His tender mercy as He healed the ear of Malchus, and yet these people were not moved, they were not changed, they remained hardened and insensitive to Who this man is. They are blind to the beauty and glory and power of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 4:4 says “⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

And here this group of people are, Jews and Gentiles, soldiers and Pharisees, and they are surrounding Jesus like ferocious lions about to tear their prey. If you would, turn with me to Psalm chapter 22. In Psalm 22 we have a preview of the cross of Jesus Christ, and all that would happen to Jesus as He is arrested. Starting with vs. 12: “¹² Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. ¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.” This is what is happening in John 18, Jesus is surrounded by the Roman soldiers and the Jewish leaders, and they arrest Him. And the rest of Psalm 22 is what will happen in John chapter 19. Vs. 14 is where He poured out His life’s blood. Vs. 15 is where Jesus says “I thirst” as His tongue sticks to the roof of His mouth, vs. 16 shows the manner in which He was to die, He would have His hands and feet pierced, which happens during crucifixion.

And so we see the blindness of this group of people who cannot see the glory of who they are arresting. But we also see the kindness of the Lord Jesus in allowing Himself to be arrested when many times before He escaped arrest. In Luke chapter 4 Jesus is taken up to a high hill and the crowd wants to push Him off, but He walks right through the crowd and escapes. And in John chapter 8 Jesus says “Before Abraham was born, I Am.” And the Jews pick up stones to stone Him, and the Bible says “Jesus hid Himself, and slipped away from them.”

But not this time. This time He allowed Himself to be arrested. In vs. 12 it says He was bound. Now in those days, much like our own today, a prisoner was bound with iron chains on his hands and then up around his neck, and then to his feet, so that he could not escape. And so we see the Son of God taken prisoner and led away like some common criminal to be brought before wicked judges, to be insulted and treated with contempt. And He did all this willingly, for you and for me. When Samson was bound he threw off the ropes and escaped easily, and so could have Jesus. He could have thrown off the chains or just knocked them all down again and again if he wanted to. But He didn’t do that here; instead He had set His heart on saving sinners, by bearing their sins, by being treated as a sinner, and by being punished instead of them. So He willingly receives the iron chains and the shackles.

Psalm 105:18 says about Joseph, “¹⁸ They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons…” This is a preview of the Lord Jesus Who likewise was sold for the price of a slave, who was then bound with iron chains which bruised His hands and His feet. Isaiah pointed forward to this very thing when He said in chapter 53 that the Messiah would be “bruised” for our iniquities. Here is the picture of Jesus Christ in John 18, His feet and hands and neck bruised with shackles, because this Lamb of God is about to take away the sin of the world.

Now as we get closer to the cross, the details of the story become very meaningful. And so let’s ask ourselves this morning, why was Jesus bound? I mean, He clearly has done no wrong, and yet He is bound. And I want to give us 4 biblical reasons this morning why Jesus was bound, and we will finish with these.

First, because Judas told them to. Judas had seen the miraculous power of Jesus, he knew Jesus had escaped capture and death many times, and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to get away, so he told the soldiers in Matthew 26 to “hold him fast.” Judas told them to bind Him.

Secondly, to show how far He humbled Himself. He allowed these soldiers to heap shame upon Him, treating Him like a common criminal. Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus was equal with God“⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Why was He bound? To show how far Almighty God humbled Himself, as He was heaped with shame and treated as a common criminal.

Thirdly, because all that Jesus did, He did to fulfill prophecy. As we mentioned earlier, the sacrifices of the Old Testament were always bound as they were taken to the High Priest.  And so Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding sacrifice. Now there is one place in the Bible that is the greatest picture of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and that is in the story of Abraham and Isaac. Would you please turn to Genesis 22 with me? Now I want to remind us of this story. You’ll remember that God told Abraham to take his son, his only son whom he loved, and go to a particular mountain called Mt. Moriah, and we know from geography that Mt. Moriah is on the same ridgeline as another mountain called Mt. Calvary. But this is a 3-day journey for Abraham and Isaac and so they leave early in the morning, and so the beloved son of the father is under the death sentence for 3 days.

And in vs. 6 it says “⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together…” And so we see the object of the father’s love, carrying the very wood that he would die on, up the hill to the place where he would die. And in vs. 7 Isaac asks where the lamb is for the burnt offering, and in vs. 8 Abraham makes a famous statement that points straight to the cross when he says ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And we remember what John the Baptist said the first time he saw Jesus, ^29…“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And notice what happens in vs. 9 “⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.” The beloved son is bound. And of course in the rest of the story God rescues Isaac, and the father receives His son back on this third day, but this picture of the beloved son of the father, bound as a sacrifice, is the very picture we see in John chapter 18. Everything Jesus did He did to fulfill the prophecies, and all sacrifices were bound and taken to the High Priest, before they were killed, and so was Jesus.

So remember the first 3 reasons why Jesus was bound: the first is that Judas told them to, the second is to see just how far He humbled himself, the third is in order to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament…

…but there is a fourth reason why Jesus was bound: He was bound, that we might be set free. Listen for a minute to an old Puritan writer by the name of Thomas Goodwin: “It is a certain rule that what should have been done to us, was instead done to Christ; and when He was bound in His body, it brought freedom to our souls; and by Him being thus bound and led away, He Himself afterward, when He ascended, led captivity captive” (Mr. Thomas Goodwin).

You see, we are all sin-captives by birth, we were bound to wrong-thinking, tied to sinful behavior, born in iron chains. And we’re bruised from the chains of our sinful past, we’re hurting people, we think back on our years of captivity and it hurts our hearts. And so Jesus came and was bound, and taken captive, and judged as guilty, and put to death, that we might be free from sin. Free from our past. Free from the guilt of it, free from the shame of it, free from the condemnation of it, free from the power of it. The truth is that when Jesus was bound, and led captive to die, He broke my chains. “¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains” (Psalm 107.14).

And so as we look at this dark night, where this band of soldiers surrounds Jesus and arrests Him, as we see Him being bound in our place, let us want to be bound for Jesus. In the Old if a slave wanted to remain in the family, He asked to have his ear pierced so that he would have the marks of ownership by that family. And Paul describes himself as a “bond servant” of Jesus Christ. Jesus was bound for Paul, Paul desired to be bound for Jesus.

And I just want to close with what it means to be a bond-servant. Let’s look together at Matthew chapter 8. ⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” Matthew 8:5-9

Category: Recent Posts | No Comments »
Tags: