"We Know His Testimony Is True" -- John 21:15-25; Ezekiel 34:11-31

The Sixty-Fourth and Final in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus has but a few final words for his disciples before he ascends into heaven.  That night on which they celebrated the Passover together now seems so long time ago in light of all of the things which have happened since.  Jesus has since been arrested, tried, crucified, rose again from the dead, and then appeared to his disciples three times–twice in Jerusalem, and once in Galilee.  The fundamental character of redemptive history has changed.  Jesus will reinstate Peter as chief apostle, and prepare the others for a new phase of redemptive history, when Jesus pours out his Holy Spirit upon them on the Day of Pentecost.  Jesus’ disciples will go and preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, and in doing so, will turn the whole world upside down.

We have finally come to the end of our series on the Gospel of John.  Sixty-four sermons, twenty one chapters, eight-hundred and seventy-nine verses.  This is truly an amazing document–especially in comparison to the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke).  John’s Gospel has many affinities with the other gospels, yet at the same time John has a completely different organizational structure and unique points of emphasis.  Hopefully, John’s Gospel will remain familiar to us as we move on to new biblical texts in the weeks to come.  Now that we know John’s Gospel a bit better, it is my hope that we all turn to it often and read through it regularly.  This gospel is too important to neglect.

As I pointed out last time when we began going through the epilogue of John (the 21st chapter), critical scholars tend to argue that this chapter is an appendage–not an integral part of the gospel, and tagged on to the end by either John, or someone else.  As we saw, however, these verses make an important point and are not carelessly stuck on to the end of John’s summary statement in 20:30-31 as critical scholars believe.  Recall that in his summary statement, John writes, “now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  This is both a summary statement of the content of his gospel, as well as a challenge to all who read and hear the gospel to believe in Jesus Christ.

In context, John’s point about believing in Jesus and then possessing life in his name is tied to the blessing which Jesus extends to the doubting Thomas, as well as to those, who, unlike Thomas, believe in Jesus based upon the testimony of those who did see Jesus’ miracles and heard him preach.  John says “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  In addition to defining the promised blessings, John’s summary statement also wraps-up his account Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances in Jerusalem.  Yet several important things do occur after the risen Jesus appears to his disciples in a locked room in Jerusalem eight days after Easter.  These things are recounted in John 21.

In chapter twenty-one the scene shifts from Jerusalem to the Galilee region at some point in the days and weeks after Jesus appeared to his disciples on two different occasions in Jerusalem.  After this, the disciples (at least those mentioned here by John) returned to their home towns and their previous vocation–fishing.  Although Jesus told them that he would go ahead of them to the Galilee, they did not recognize Jesus when he began speaking to them from the shore.  Given the difficulties of grasping the new realities of redemptive-history after Jesus was raised from the dead, the disciples do not expect that Jesus was the one speaking to them from the water’s edge as they struggled to get their boat ashore.

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"These Things Were Written" -- John 20:30-21:14

The Sixty-Third in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus was not only alive three days after being crucified, but he was now appearing to his disciples.  And he was appearing to them in a resurrected body which was transformed into an imperishable body, no longer subject to human frailty, or even death.  In allowing his disciples to see his wounds, then appearing to them in the Galilee, and then eating a meal with them, Jesus offered his disciples compelling proof that he had indeed done as he said he would do–conquer death and the grave and accomplish the salvation of all those given to him by the Father.  As a new era in redemptive history dawns, Jesus is now equipping his disciples for that mission of which he had been speaking, and which will begin in a matter of weeks at Pentecost–to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

As we near the end of our series on the Gospel John, we move into the epilogue of the gospel in which John recounts some of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  Jesus has already appeared to Mary Magdalene, and to a number of the other women devoted to Jesus from the early days of his ministry.  Jesus also appeared to Cleopas and an unnamed disciple as they traveled along the road to the village of Emmaus.  Then Jesus appeared to Peter (although the details of this encounter are not revealed).  Finally, Jesus appeared to a number of his disciples who had gathered together on the evening of the first day of the week (Easter) to recount how Jesus had appeared to many of their number and, no doubt, to share their collective joy and to discuss what all of this might mean.

With the doors locked for fear of the Jews–who were already spreading the rumor that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body–Jesus suddenly appeared (he “materialized”) in their midst and pronounced his word of “Shalom” (his word of “peace” and forgiveness) upon his disciples.  No doubt, the disciples were overjoyed.  They had seen the empty tomb and the grave clothes, and yet Jesus’ body was nowhere to be found.  They heard the testimony of the women that angels had appeared to them, and told them that Jesus is risen from the dead.  The angels instructed the women to go and tell the disciples what the angels had told them.  The empty tomb, the grave clothes, and the testimony of the woman was good as far as it goes.  When Jesus appears among them that Easter evening, whatever doubts any among them were still harboring now became the certainty of sight.

Except for Thomas, one of the twelve, who will not believe until Jesus himself appears to Thomas and confirms that he is risen from the dead.  According to John 20:25, Thomas tells the other disciples that “unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  As we saw last time, Jesus graciously grants Thomas’ request.  “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.  Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, `Peace be with you.’  Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, `Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.  Do not disbelieve, but believe.’  Thomas answered him, `My Lord and my God!’”  Thomas’ confession is truly remarkable–perhaps, the clearest declaration of the deity of Jesus found in all the Bible.  Thomas sees that Jesus is truly alive and makes the immediate and proper connection to the fact that a risen Jesus, must be God in human flesh.  Even more remarkable, perhaps, is that Jesus accepts his confession.

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"Peace Be With You" -- John 20:11-29

The Sixty-Second in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

After studying Jesus’ messianic mission for many weeks, we now come to an entirely new phase of Jesus’ ministry–his post-resurrection appearances.  In the remaining verses in John’s Gospel, it becomes clear that the fundamental nature of redemptive history has been completely transformed.  Now that Jesus is risen bodily from the dead, and begins appearing to his disciples, we are given our first glimpse of the extent of Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the grave.  His victory over our greatest foe is complete and total–even if not finally consummated until the end of the age when Jesus returns to judge the world, raised the dead, and make all things new.  Jesus’ bodily resurrection changes everything.

In this new phase of Jesus’ ministry, the humiliation of Jesus–extending from his incarnation until the moment of his death–gives way to his exaltation.  When the eternal Word took to himself a true human nature, Jesus gave up the glory which he possessed with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the creation of all things.  Jesus was rejected by his people (Israel) and abandoned by his disciples.  After his resurrection from the dead, the number of those following him (exercising true faith in Jesus) grows exponentially.  Jesus’ role as the suffering servant foretold by Isaiah gives way to his identity as Risen Lord.  Although he veiled his glory with human flesh in his incarnation, after the resurrection, Jesus’ human nature has been glorified.  The body he now possesses reveals to us the kind of body we will possess after the resurrection on the last day.  So, although John’s Gospel is quickly coming to an end (as is our time in John–two more sermons after this one), there is obviously much of interest to us.

When John’s account of Jesus’ passion began in chapter 18, with Jesus’ arrest, it became clear that although Jesus is without sin, he is truly human, and therefore subject to all manner of human weakness–including death.  His flesh tears when whipped, nails can be driven through his feet and wrists, he suffers terrible thirst and struggles to breathe, and then dies.  Recall that in the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17), Jesus told his disciples that he was leaving them, and that it was actually to their advantage that he go away because he will then be able send to them the Holy Spirit (the comforter) and that he would go to prepare a place for them.  These promises were difficult for the disciples to accept because they did not yet have the categories they will need to make sense of Jesus’ instructions to them.  After Jesus rises from the dead, all that changes, as the weaknesses of human nature gives way to the transformation of human nature in the resurrection.  
    
When we left off last time (the first ten verses of John 20) with Mary Magdalene discovering that the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb was rolled away, and that Jesus’ tomb was empty, she then ran back to tell Peter and John that someone had taken the Lord’s body.  The two disciples hurried to the tomb to see for themselves what had happened.  It was just as Mary had said.  Jesus’ grave cloths were left behind, the head cloth had been neatly folded, but Jesus’ body was nowhere to be found.  John tells us that when he saw the tomb empty and the grave cloths, at that moment he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.  Peter, we are told by Luke, marveled at what he saw, and he and John returned their homes not knowing what to expect, or what would come next.  

All of this indicates to the reader of John’s Gospel that it is not until Easter and the discovery of the empty tomb, that the things Jesus told them during the Upper Room Discourse make sense, specifically his departure so as to go and prepare a place for them, and the promise that he will send the Holy Spirit.  What follows, then, with the post-resurrection appearances by Jesus, is the realization of the promises he made earlier in his ministry–as when he first cleansed the temple three years earlier, and again in the Upper Room Discourse just days before.  Now that Jesus has risen from the dead, his earlier statements start to make sense as Jesus appears to several of his disciples.

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"He Must Rise from the Dead" -- John 20:1-10

The Sixty-First in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Easter Sunday is a day of joy and celebration for Christians because it is on this day we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death and the grave.  The very fact that God raised Jesus bodily from the dead means that Jesus’ has accomplished our salvation by satisfying the holy justice of God, paying the debt which we owe to God, and washing away the guilt of our sins.  The fact of the empty tomb also means that Jesus has overturned the curse, and Easter marks the birthday of a new creation.  The empty tomb, the eyewitnesses, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy provide the content of Christian preaching and serve as the foundation of Christian truth claim.  No resurrection, no Christianity.  In his Gospel, John has told of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  When we left off last time, John described how Jesus was hurriedly buried before sundown on Friday (Passover).  John now tells us that when he entered Jesus’ empty tomb and saw the grave clothes left behind, it was at that moment he believed that his Lord had risen from the dead.

We have spent sixty Sundays so far in the Gospel of John, and in the providence of God, it just so happens that the Sunday on which we come to John 20 (and John’s account of the resurrection) is also Easter Sunday.  The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the great climax of John’s Gospel, as well as the foundation of the Christian faith, which stands or falls with the resurrection.  To put the matter as simply as possible, if Jesus bodily rose again from the dead that first Easter as recounted by John (and the other gospel writers), then Christianity is true even if no one believes it.  And if Jesus did not rise again from the dead on Easter then Christianity cannot be true, even if the entire population of the world believes it.  If Christianity ends with the events of Good Friday and a dead Messiah, then we are still in our sins, and we have believed a lie.  That is how important the resurrection is to Christianity.

Thankfully, God has given us good reason to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  First, there is the fact of the empty tomb.  Second, there are the reports of numerous eyewitnesses who saw Jesus quite alive three days after he died on a Roman cross.  Third, the resurrection is the fulfillment of a number of Old Testament prophecies which predicted this very thing hundreds of years in advance, in addition to the prediction of Jesus.  We have good and solid reasons to believe that Jesus rose bodily from the dead.  

As recounted in the second chapter of John’s Gospel, shortly after he began his public ministry, and when he cleansed the Jerusalem temple the first time, Jesus told his disciples as well as the angry Jewish religious leaders that he would indeed rise again from the dead.  When the Jews demanded that Jesus perform a miraculous sign to prove that he was who he claimed to be, John recounts that “the Jews said to him, `What sign do you show us for doing these things?’  Jesus answered them, `Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’  The Jews then said, `It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’  But he was speaking about the temple of his body.  When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.’”  Jesus made this prediction three years earlier, and now with his crucified body buried and sealed in a tomb just outside the city of Jerusalem, the time has come when the disciples will remember what Jesus said to them in the opening days of his messianic mission.  Jesus has kept his promise.

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"The Scripture Might Be Fulfilled" -- John 19:31-42

The Sixtieth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus was dead. If there were any doubts, the spear thrust into his side confirmed the obvious. The end of the day was drawing near, and according to Jewish law, Jesus’ body must be buried before sundown. The women devoted to Jesus, along with his mother Mary, have watched the entire gory spectacle and now must bury their beloved. Two surprising figures step forward and ensure that Jesus receive a proper burial. They secure a tomb and the spices necessary for embalming. But even as Jesus’ body is removed from the cross and prepared for burial two things are clear to the readers of John’s Gospel. The first is that the way in which Jesus died fulfilled a number of Old Testament prophecies which pointed ahead to the coming of the Messiah. The second is that even though Jesus’ last words were “it is finished,” Jesus spoke about “rising again from the dead” three days later–it was finished, but yet it wasn’t. But on this terrible Friday afternoon, no one was thinking about such a possibility. Those who loved Jesus and who had believed in him were in shock and grieving deeply. They could not see, nor yet understand that Jesus’ final words meant that the guilt of their sins had been removed and their debt to God was now paid in full. Because Jesus had conquered sin and Satan, he will be raised from the dead, and conquer even death and the grave.

Because of the horrors associated with crucifixion, we are almost relieved when we read in John 19:30 that Jesus cried out “it is finished” and then “bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John recounts that Jesus endured unspeakable anguish, pain, and suffering from the moment he was arrested until the moment he died. Our Lord has been hit in the face by the high priest’s servant, beaten repeatedly, flogged twice by Pilate (the second in preparation for his crucifixion), before being crucified–one of the cruelest and most painful forms of execution known to man. While the physical pain must have been absolutely unbearable, we must not forget the humiliation to which Jesus was also subjected. Jesus was rejected by his people (Israel), he was betrayed by one of his own disciples, denied by another, before being abandoned by the rest. Only John remained to watch as Jesus died. Jesus was found guilty by a kangaroo court which could produce no evidence against him, and even the man who ultimately put him to death (Pilate, the Roman governor), repeatedly proclaimed Jesus’ innocence.

Death is ugly. There can be no doubt that Jesus’ bruised, beaten, and bloodied body was a horrible sight to those who loved him and who remained with Jesus to the bitter end, when Jesus’ physical agony finally ended and he gave up his spirit (a euphemism for death). What those witnessing this awful spectacle could not have known is that Jesus’ physical pain and humiliation paled in comparison to that terrible and yet mysterious moment when the Father poured out his wrath upon his son–when Jesus drank the cup of wrath down to the last drop. Lost in the terrible scene before those watching was the fact that Jesus had completed his mission of accomplishing our redemption. The debt of all those for whom Jesus died, is paid in full. Jesus laid down his life for his sheep.

We can but imagine the chaos throughout Jerusalem that day–on the part of the Romans, the Jewish religious leaders who finally were rid of their chief nemesis, the people of Israel who knew not what to make of what just happened, the disciples who were now in hiding, as well as the women who loved Jesus, and who will prepare his body for burial. It was the longest and strangest day any of them had ever experienced. When Jesus died, the sky turned black as night. There was a frightening earthquake which shook the city. Most likely no one yet noticed that the veil in the temple, separating the Holy of Holies from the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom–the sure sign that the Jerusalem temple was now ichabod, the glory of God having departed.

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"It Is Finished" -- John 19:16b-30

The Fifty-Ninth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

It is easy for Christians to talk about the death of Jesus in the abstract.  We study and debate the nature and the extent of the atonement.  We speak of the cross as the basis for our salvation because through Christ’s suffering we find the forgiveness of sin–Jesus was punished for us and in our place.  But it is much harder for us to consider the horrible suffering which Jesus actually endured to save us from our sins–the agonizing physical pain Jesus felt, the shame of the humiliation and mocking he received from his enemies, being rejected by his people (Israel), and then, finally, being abandoned by his own disciples during his hour of need.  We cannot begin to comprehend that moment when Jesus became the object of the Father’s wrath.  We should not be morbid or unduly curious about the details of the death of Jesus, but at times (on Good Friday or when we read the Passion Narratives of the gospels) it is important to consider the details and agony of the death of our Savior so that we never forget that it was the person who saves us, who endured so much for us and in our place.

With the drama building verse by verse, we have come to the central moment in John’s Passion narrative, the death of Jesus by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman occupiers of Israel (John 19:16b-30).  There has been a certain inevitability about this moment from the time we first began our series–we were prepared for it early-on in the Gospel when John the Baptist “saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, `Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” It is only as John’s Gospel unfolds that we learn that Jesus must suffer and die to “take away the sin of the world.”  Jesus himself has repeatedly spoken of an hour yet to come when God will be glorified, when Jesus saves his people from their sins.  

Once this hour arrives and we learn what it is that Jesus must endure to save us from our sin, it still strikes the reader of John’s Gospel that everything which Jesus says, does, and then endures as recounted by John, is done in order to accomplish the salvation of all those given by the Father to the Son, and to whom the merits of Jesus will be applied through the work of the Holy Spirit (the blessed Comforter whom Jesus will ask the Father to send).  The death of Jesus on a Roman cross is not a random event, or an accident of history.  The cross was foreordained by God.  There is no salvation of sinners without it.  
As R. C. Sproul often puts it, through the cross of Christ, we are saved by God from God.  

But the death of Jesus is also the culmination of a whole series of improbable historical events recounted by John, in which after entering Jerusalem in triumph, Jesus is soon rejected by his people (Israel), betrayed by one of his own (Judas), denied by one of his closest disciples (Peter), arrested, tried, and found guilty before the high priest, then abandoned by the other disciples, before ending up in the Roman military headquarters in Jerusalem before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, with a crowd outside Pilate’s headquarters demanding Jesus’ death.  

Although it is clear to everyone–including Pilate–that Jesus was completely innocent, Jesus had been found guilty on trumped-up charges, and through false testimony from “witnesses.” This verdict was then ratified by the Sanhedrin.  Throughout the time Jesus was before him, Pilate repeatedly looked for ways to release Jesus–even flogging and mocking him in an attempt to satisfy the Jews.  Nevertheless, Pilate finally gave into pressure from the Jews when they threatened to report to King Herod and Emperor Tiberias that Pilate refused to execute a man found guilty of sedition.  Furthermore, it was clear to Pilate that a riot was a real possibility.  After declaring Jesus’ innocence and then washing his hands of the matter, Pilate ordered Jesus’ execution at the hands of one of his crucifixion teams. 

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"It Was About the Sixth Hour" -- John 19:1-16a

The Fifty-Eighth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Who would have ever thought that one of the most significant events in human history would play out in a Roman military headquarters in Jerusalem, in a trial presided over by a man (the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate) who is at first curious about Jesus’ presence before him, then convinced of Jesus’ innocence, then angered by Jesus’ accusers (the Jews) who refuse to take “yes” for an answer, and then as the drama unfolds, becomes increasingly worried that he is being drawn into something much greater than he first thought, and who then does everything in his power to put an end to the spectacle this trial has become, before finally giving in to the Jews, ordering the death of Jesus by crucifixion.  It has been said that the Lord works in mysterious ways.  Surely, Jesus’ trial before Pilate is one of the most mysterious!  

There is no question that Jesus’ appearance before Pontius Pilate is one of the most dramatic scenes in the whole of the New Testament.  Pilate wants nothing more than to get through another Passover without incident.  He knows nothing and cares less about Jewish theology.  He is aware of the constant infighting between the various Jewish factions–the ongoing feud between the Pharisees (the theological conservatives) and the Sadducees (the theological liberals).  Pilate knows the Jews do not trust him, nor like him, and that they long for the day when they are free from Roman occupation.  He also knows that when the Jews bring Jesus before him on the morning of the Passover (the Jews most sacred holy day) something much more than meets the eye is going on behind the scenes.  What could this man Jesus have possibly done to upset the Jews so greatly?

As we make our way through the Gospel of John, we have come to the Passion Narrative (chapters 18-21 in John’s Gospel).  So far in these chapters, John has recounted Jesus’ betrayal by Judas (one of his own disciples), Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane (where Jesus had gone to pray with his disciples after celebrating the Passover together), Jesus’ interrogation by Annas (the high-priest emeritus, who ignored the rules of Jewish legal procedure to personally question Jesus about his disciples and his teaching), before Jesus was turned over to Caiaphas for trial (Annas’ son-in-law, and the current high priest).  John also tells us that three times, Peter denied knowing Jesus, and that after the third time he denied his Lord, a rooster crowed, exactly as Jesus had foretold in the upper room earlier that same evening.

Although the synoptic gospels go into great detail about Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin–informing us that Jesus was unanimously convicted without any evidence against him, and that the Sanhedrin formally ratified the verdict from Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas early on Friday morning–John skips over these events.  John simply tells us that Annas bound Jesus over to Caiaphas, who, in turn, handed Jesus over to Pilate, which sets up the dramatic scene we covered last time in John 18:28-40, with Jesus (who is Israel’s Messiah and the true heir to David’s throne) standing before the same Gentile pagan who had offended much of Israel by insisted upon posting Roman legion banners throughout Jerusalem which identified Caesar Tiberias as a god.  Only the mysterious providence of God could have brought Pilate and Jesus together, with Pilate seemingly holding Jesus’ fate in his own hands.

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"My Kingdom Is Not from the World" -- John 18:28-40

The Fifty-Seventh in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

The Jews have found Jesus guilty of a capitol crime–blasphemy.  The sentence for such a crime is death.  The high priest, Caiaphas, and those who were present for Jesus’ trial in the high priest’s courtyard, then brought Jesus before the full Sanhedrin where the verdict was ratified.  Unwilling to take the next step of executing Jesus by stoning, the Jews deliver Jesus over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.  Jesus’ appearance before Pilate is not only dramatic–a Jewish Messiah being questioned by a pagan Gentile governor–it reveals two remarkable things.  The first is that Pilate was not about to let the man standing before him create trouble for Rome–a man who despite his reputation as a miracle worker, now stood before Pilate bound, beaten, and bloodied.  Jesus was hardly an impressive figure, a man much smaller than his reputation.  The second revelation is that the moment it was clear that Jesus was not interested in leading an insurrection against Rome, many of the people in Israel turned against him, and chanted for the release of a notorious criminal (Barabbas), while demanding that Jesus be put to death.  On the previous Sunday, Jesus was a conquering king.  On Friday morning, Jesus is a condemned man.  Such is the mysterious nature of God’s redemptive purposes.

As we work our way through the Gospel of John, we have come to the Passion Narrative which brings John’s Gospel to a close.  The last four chapters of John (18-21) describe Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, his trial before Annas (the high priest) and then Pilate (the Roman governor).  Jesus will be crucified by the Romans on the afternoon of the Passover, and then buried before Sundown on Friday.  Jesus will remain in the tomb for three days before his bodily resurrection on Sunday (Easter).  John has emphasized that throughout this astonishing turn of events, Jesus does all of this in obedience to the Father’s will so as to accomplish the salvation of all those given him by the Father, and for whom he is about to die.

As we saw last time, Judas betrayed Jesus by leaving the Passover meal early and then meeting the with members of the Sanhedrin (probably including the former high priest, Annas, and the current high priest, Annas’ son-in-law, Caiaphas).  Judas, no doubt, informed them that after the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples would gather for prayer in Gethsemane, a walled garden on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.  Leading an arrest mob which included Roman soldiers, members of the temple guard and certain members of the Sanhedrin, Judas directed them to Jesus’ location.  Bent on arresting Jesus and then trying him for capitol crimes (death penalty) the mob approached the garden late at night with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  These men were afraid that Jesus would resist them, perhaps to the point of exercising his miraculous powers.  But Jesus does not resist them.  Jesus is not taken by force, nor is he taken against his will.  Jesus must willingly undergo this shame and humiliation so as to be obedient unto death, so as to secure for us our salvation from sin.  And so Jesus voluntarily surrenders.

One of the things most difficult about preaching through John’s Passion narrative is that John includes a number details which are not found in the synoptic gospels, while at the same time omitting certain details found in the other three gospels.  John’s account of Jesus’ arrest and trial (John was very likely an eyewitness to many of the events unique to his gospel) includes Jesus’ appearance before Annas, before Jesus was turned over to Caiaphas (the current high priest) for trial.  Annas was the high priest emeritus and was well respected by the Jews, but had been deposed from office of high priest by the Romans in AD 15.  He questions Jesus about his disciples and his teaching, before the trial conducted by Caiaphas in the presence of the Sanhedrin begins in the same location–the courtyard of the high priest. 

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"I Have Said Nothing in Secret" -- John 18:12-27

The Fifty-Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

From the period of time Jesus time spent in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths (the previous Fall), until the night of his arrest on the eve of the Passover (in the Spring), the religious leaders of Israel have been plotting to kill him.  One of Jesus’ own disciples (Judas) had approached certain members of the Sanhedrin with an offer he knew they could not refuse.  In exchange for thirty pieces of silver, Judas was willing to direct the Sanhedrin to the ideal place where they could arrest Jesus.  Once the Sanhedrin accepted Judas’ offer, he then led them (along with Roman soldiers and temple guards) to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas knew Jesus and his disciples would have gone after celebrating the Passover together.  To everyone’s amazement, Jesus voluntarily surrendered himself and was soon on his way to appearances before the high priest, and then before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.  Jesus had done nothing wrong, had broken no laws, and was perfectly obedient to the will of his Father.  But his obedience will take Jesus before the magistrate and will end in a sentence of death.

As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we are currently working our way through the so-called “Passion” narrative of John (chapters 18-19).  Jesus has left the upper room, where he celebrated his final Passover with the disciples.  After praying for himself (John 17:1-5), for his disciples (vv. 6-19), and then for us (vv. 20-26), Jesus took his disciples across the Kirdron Valley to a small walled-in garden on the slopes of the Mount of Olives–a place known as Gethsemane.  After Jesus and his disciples entered the garden, while Jesus was praying for strength for the horrific ordeal which lay ahead, his disciples fell asleep, leaving Jesus alone when he needed them most.  Struggling with the awareness of the painful suffering he must endure the next day, Jesus petitioned his Father–“if it be your will, may this cup pass from me.”  “If there be some other way. . .”  There is no other way.  Jesus prayed to his Father, “not my will, but thy will be done.”  Jesus will suffer and die so that the guilt of our sins might be taken away.

About this time, Judas, who left the upper room early, went to inform the Sanhedrin that Jesus and his disciples were going to Gethsemane to pray, and that this would be the ideal spot where the Sanhedrin could find Jesus and arrest him.  The garden was small, it was surrounded by a stone wall, and Jesus and his closest disciples would not be expecting to be arrested there, of all places.  Following Judas’ direction was an arrest mob, described by John as “a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees . . . with lanterns and torches and weapons.”  

Fearing trouble–that Jesus would perform a miracle, or evade arrest (as he had done on several occasions earlier during the Feast of Booths), a detachment of Roman soldiers was present, as were the temple police (who worked closely with the chief priests).  According to John (chapter 18:4-5), “then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward [i.e., out of the walled garden] and said to them, `Whom do you seek?’  They answered him, `Jesus of Nazareth.’  Jesus said to them, `I am he.’” The moment Jesus identified himself, simply answering “I am he,” John, who was an eyewitness to these events, tells us that the armed mob “drew back and fell to the ground.”  All Jesus need to is but identify himself–ego emi “I am he,” and those arresting Jesus cower in fear–perhaps seeing his words as an assertion of his oneness with YHWH (who identifies himself as the “I am” throughout the Old Testament), which, as we saw last time, fulfills messianic prophecy.  Fearing that Jesus might attempt to escape, the mob fell to the ground, likely because they were afraid that Jesus would unleash upon them whatever power which lay behind his miracles.  Jesus’ reputation as a miracle-worker was now widely known (many of the people in Jerusalem knew about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead).  The arrest mob exposes their private fear that Jesus might do something to harm them and free himself.

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"I Am He" -- John 18:1-11

The Fifty-Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Jesus has done absolutely nothing wrong.  He has spoken only those words which YHWH has given him to speak.  He has broken not a single one of God’s commandments in his thinking, in his doing, or in his speech.  He has loved God with his whole heart and his neighbor as himself.  But the religious leadership of Israel absolutely detests Jesus–this includes the Sanhedrin (the Jewish senate), both main political parties and religious factions (the Saduccess and the Pharisees), the smaller factions (the Herodians and the zealots), as well as many of the chief priests, elders, and biblical scholars (the scribes and teachers of the law).  In their minds, Jesus is a blasphemer and a heretic.  Although his miracles attest that he is from God, instead, many of the Jewish religious leaders see this as proof that he is in league with the devil.  Jesus has spoken of himself as equal with YHWH, he has called himself the true temple as well as the true Israel.  He identifies himself as the “Son of Man,” a prophet, and that one foretold throughout the Old Testament.  Because people love darkness rather than light (even “religious people”), the Jewish leadership seeks to put an end to Jesus’ messianic mission, even as he seeks to be alone with his disciples to pray.  It is hard to imagine, but the sinless Son of God is about to be arrested by an armed mob on the charge of blasphemy, even as one of his own disciples betrays him by revealing where Jesus is to be found.  And all the while the citizens of Jerusalem and pilgrims in the city to celebrate the Passover, remain sound asleep only to be rudely awakened as the news of Jesus’s arrest begins to spread.

We continue our series on the Gospel of John, and we enter into the final section of this gospel, the so-called “Passion Narrative.”  In the “Passion” section of his gospel, John recounts those events associated with Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion (chapters 18-19), followed by the account of our Lord’s triumphal resurrection from the dead (John 20-21).  The first seventeen chapters of John’s gospel have been pointing to those events found in the closing chapters.  Jesus’ long-dreaded hour is at hand.  The time has come for Jesus to suffer and die, and in doing so, secure eternal life and faith for all those given him by the Father.  In his death and resurrection, Jesus will bring glory to both the Father and to himself–the very thing which Jesus sought in the opening portion of his High Priestly Prayer.  

One of the things which makes the gospels unique as a literary genre, and which separate them from ordinary biographies, is the presence of a so-called “Passion narrative.”  Each of the gospels includes an account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and brutal death by crucifixion, followed by the account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Although each of the gospels emphasizes different aspects of Jesus’ passion, when taken together we get a very full eyewitness account of why Jesus was crucified, how his death fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, what this death means (in terms of our salvation), and how his death was not the end of his messianic mission.  It is in Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead that many of the hard sayings and unexpected turn of events revealed throughout John’s gospel find their resolution–something which the disciples have been led to expect but were struggling to understand.

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