Betrayed And Denied

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

We have made our way to the 18th chapter of John,

and we are going to cover verses 1 through 27 this morning.

So John 18, verses 1 through 27.

John 18:1–27

As I always encourage you, please have a Bible open.

We're going to look with our own eyes at God's Word this morning

as we walk through this passage together.

So when you found it, John 18, verses 1 through 27,

John 18:1–27

if you would please stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.

When Jesus had spoken these words,

he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron,

where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place.

For Jesus often met there with his disciples.

So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees,

went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

And then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him,

came forward and said to them,

Whom do you seek?

They answered him,

Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus said to them,

I am he.

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

When Jesus said to them,

I am he,

they drew back and fell to the ground.

So he asked them again,

Whom do you seek?

And they said,

Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus answered,

I told you that I am he.

So if you seek me,

let these men go.

This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken.

Of those whom you gave me,

I have not lost one.

Then Simon Peter,

having a sword,

drew it

and struck the high priest's servant

and cut off his right ear.

The servant's name was Malchus.

So Jesus said to Peter,

Put your sword into its sheath.

Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?

So the band of soldiers and their captain

and the officers of the Jews

arrested Jesus and bound him.

First they led him to Annas,

for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,

who was high priest that year.

It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews

that it would be expedient

that one man should die for the people.

Simon Peter followed Jesus

and so did another disciple.

Since that disciple was known to the high priest,

he entered with Jesus

into the courtyard of the high priest,

but Peter stood outside at the door.

So the other disciple,

who was known to the high priest,

went out and spoke to the servant girl

who kept watch at the door

and brought Peter in.

The servant girl at the door said to Peter,

You also are not one of this man's disciples,

are you?

He said,

I am not.

Now the servants and officers

had made a charcoal fire

because it was cold

and they were standing and warming themselves.

Peter also was with them,

standing and warming himself.

The high priest then questioned Jesus

about his disciples and his teaching.

Jesus answered him,

I have spoken openly to the world.

I have always taught in synagogues

and in the temple

where all Jews come together.

I have said nothing in secret.

Why do you ask me?

Ask those who have heard me

what I said to them.

They know what I said.

When he had said these things,

one of the officers standing by

struck Jesus with his hand,

saying,

Is that how you answer the high priest?

Jesus answered him,

If what I said is wrong,

bear witness about the wrong.

But if what I said is right,

then why do you strike me?

Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas,

the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself,

so they said to him,

You also are not one of his disciples,

are you?

He denied it and said,

I am not.

One of the servants of the high priest,

a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off,

asked,

Did I not see you in the garden with him?

Peter again denied it,

and at once the rooster crowed.

Grass withers and flower fades,

but the word of our Lord endures forever.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we thank you for the truth of your word,

and we pray as Jesus has just prayed in John 17,

would you sanctify us in the truth.

Your word is truth.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

About every six months,

we enter into what is called eclipse season.

I found myself reading about this this week.

We're actually just a few weeks away from an eclipse season,

March 24th and 25th.

I know you have your calendars marked for this.

There will be a partial lunar eclipse,

called a penumbral eclipse,

where just part of the moon's brightness

will be partially blocked by the earth's shadow.

The earth, as it orbits and rotates,

it gets in the way of the sun's direct light

from directly hitting, reaching, and reflecting

off of the surface of the moon.

And if it's a total eclipse,

what happens is that the earth,

it completely blocks direct sunlight from hitting the moon.

It moves right in the way.

And for a moment,

but only for a moment,

that moon that normally shines

and lights up the night sky

is partially darkened,

but only partially,

because even in this unique moment

of unusual darkness,

the light still makes its way through.

It's still visible.

The contrast is still seen.

Sometimes the moon is a reddish color

instead of bright white,

but it's still there.

It's still visible.

It's still shining forth in the darkness.

The darkness cannot overpower the light.

As we enter into this final section

of John's gospel this morning,

I want to remind you of what John told us

all the way back in John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

He told us how this story would go.

Do you remember what he said?

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

You can take that phrase

and slap it right across chapters 18 through 21,

because what we see here

is a moment of intense,

unusual darkness.

And yet,

as much as the earth and the world

and the sinful nature of the world

attempts to block out the light

of the Son of God,

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

In fact, what we see in this passage

so clearly is the sharp contrast

between light and darkness.

We see, as we've been singing about

all morning long,

the depth of our dark sin

and the height of His holiness.

What I want you to see

as we walk through this passage together

this morning is two contrasts

between the darkness and the light

this morning.

This will be our outline

if you're a note taker,

help you follow along.

We're going to see two contrasts

between the darkness

and the light this morning.

The first is here in verses 1 through 11.

Look there with me.

It's the contrast between Judas and Jesus.

This is a contrast between

betrayal and obedience.

Verse 1 tells us that

when Jesus had finished speaking,

probably referring to the whole

upper room discourse

and His priestly prayer

in chapters 13 through 17,

when He finished these words,

He went out with His disciples

across the brook Kidron

to a garden.

I want you to try as best as you can

to picture this scene with me.

It was nighttime.

It was dark.

Here on the night before the Passover,

it would have been a full moon.

And you can picture

kind of an eerie scene.

It has all the characteristics

of the beginning of a horror movie.

It was a dark, quiet, moonlit night.

And John tells us that

Jesus takes His disciples

across the brook Kidron.

The brook of Kidron

was actually a wadi,

which means that typically

year-round it's dry,

except for after an intense rain

when it pulls up with water,

much like a lot of our property

here in the Lowcountry, right?

Typically dry,

except for after a heavy rain

like last night.

And this brook,

it ran through the Kidron Valley.

It separated the Temple Mount

on one side

from the Mount of Olives

on the other.

And as you imagine this,

you can imagine the Mount of Olives

would be covered with olive trees

sprawling across the hill.

And Jesus had apparently found

in there a comfortable,

familiar meeting place

where He could engage

and interact and teach

and meet with His disciples.

And maybe you have a place like this.

Some of you know,

every now and then,

sometimes, usually on a Monday,

whenever I feel particularly overwhelmed

or burdened or stressed

or worn out,

I will walk right out here

past the yard

into the trees

of the Francis Marion Forest

and walk as far back

as I can get

until I feel like

I am completely alone.

And there,

I've done it often enough now

where I'm familiar

with some of the areas.

I have a couple of places

that to me

have become meeting places,

holy places of prayer

where I can go

and speak

and interact

with the Lord.

Verse 2 says that Jesus,

here,

He went across the brook Kidron

to His meeting place

where He often met

with His disciples.

And the three other gospel writers,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

they fill us in

on what's just happened

just moments before this

as Jesus went out

and prayed

in the Garden of Gethsemane

praying that

if it be at all possible

that this cup

might pass from Him.

You remember,

He's agonizing

over this coming moment.

He's sweating drops of blood

as He met with God

in prayer.

And do you remember

how He rose

and how He finished that prayer?

Yet not my will,

but Yours be done.

And as He rises

from His prayer,

as He resolves

to perfectly obey

the will of God,

to fulfill this plan of God

to a T,

John fills us in

on what Judas,

is up to.

And I want you to notice here

the contrast

that John is trying

to lay out for us.

Jesus is resolved

to obey

to the point of death.

He is willing to

pay the price

of His own life

for obedience

to the Father's plan.

But here,

Judas betrays Him

for just 30 pieces of silver,

according to Matthew.

And this is a contrast

of rebellion against God

as Judas rebels

and perfect submission

to God

as Jesus rises

to obey.

Judas, of course,

he knew the place

where Jesus would be.

He had met there

with Him many times before.

You can only imagine

the sweetness

of those meetings,

of that personal time

with Jesus

as Jesus often led Him

there to the garden

to meet.

But now,

verse 3 says,

Judas leads

a band of soldiers

and some officers

from the chief priests

and the Pharisees

with lanterns

and torches

and weapons.

Jesus returns

to that familiar

meeting place.

I'm not sure

how you picture

this scene in your mind

or if you've ever seen

a dramatization

of this moment,

but anytime

I tend to imagine it,

usually there's just

a handful of men

there to arrest Jesus.

In fact,

I was curious

and so I went back

and I re-watched

the scene

from The Passion

of the Christ.

Have you ever seen

that movie,

The Passion of the Christ?

I re-watched the scene

where Jesus was arrested

and parts were moving,

it was going kind of fast,

but I could only count

maybe as many as five men

in the scene

coming to arrest Jesus.

Certainly no more

than ten men

were there.

And that's where

some dramatizations

like that

can be a little

unhelpful for us.

And my apologies

to Mel Gibson,

right,

but as I studied

this text,

this week,

I was reminded

that these two groups

of people,

the band of soldiers

and the officers,

would likely have added

up to approximately

1,000 men.

The band of soldiers

is a Roman detachment,

which in and of itself,

by the strictest definition

of the term,

is 1,000 men.

Typically,

they didn't roll

with that many men.

It's normally

approximately

six to 700 individuals.

But then you add

the Jewish officials

from both the Sadducees

and the Pharisees.

These were the temple police.

You add these two groups together

and the best estimates

are that there are

about 1,000 men

gathered there together,

all with their torches

and their weapons

coming to arrest

one man.

Jews and Romans together.

This is an image,

isn't it,

of the entire world

banding together

against this one man.

It's just as the psalmist

said in Psalm chapter 2,

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

isn't it?

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

take counsel together

against the Lord

and His anointed.

And here in verse 4,

John says,

Jesus,

knowing all that would happen

to Him,

came forward

and said to them,

Whom do you seek?

They replied,

Jesus of Nazareth.

So Jesus simply said to them,

I am He.

I am He.

Just two words in the Greek,

ego, a, me.

I am He.

And if you've listened closely

as we've walked through

the Gospel of John,

you should know that

these two words

carry a weight beyond

simply just saying,

here I am.

Right?

Jesus is saying,

once again,

I am.

He's claiming identity

of being the I am.

Yahweh,

the God of the Old Testament.

Who are you seeking?

Jesus,

I am.

Now the power of these

two words,

Ego, a, me.

Judas and the Roman detachment

and all the temple police,

all of the hundreds of men

that came with weapons reared

drew back and fell to the ground.

And so He asked them once more,

Who are you seeking?

And they said,

Jesus of Nazareth.

And so He replied,

I told you I am He.

And so if you seek Me,

let these men go.

And John tells us

He spoke these words

as fulfillment

of the word that He had spoken

of these men

whom you gave Me, Father.

I have not lost one.

He's come to die.

He's come to fulfill

the plan of God.

He's come to save

and to preserve

and to protect His own.

This was the plan of God.

And Jesus was obedient,

willing to lay down His life

to save His own.

Well, as always,

Peter was a step behind.

He had to do something

about this.

And John tells us

that he took out his sword

and he cut off the ear

of the high priest's servant.

Not exactly a good shot

or a good idea, right?

But he still wasn't quite understanding

that all of this

was according to plan.

So Jesus tells him,

Peter, put your sword back

in its sheath.

Now listen to this.

Shall I not drink the cup

that the Father has given me?

Shall I not drink the cup

that the Father has given me?

Do you see the difference here?

Do you see the contrast

that John is laying out for us

between our sin

and His holiness?

Do you see the contrast here

between Judas and Jesus?

Judas goes to betray God.

Jesus goes to obey God.

Judas unwittingly fulfills

the plan of God in his sin.

And Jesus knowingly fulfills

the plan of God in his obedience.

Judas sides with the powers of man.

Jesus sides with the powers of God.

And Judas and the hundreds of men

came with weapons ready.

And Jesus says to Peter,

put your sword away.

We're told elsewhere,

he tells him,

don't you know I can call down

as many legions of angels as I need

if I were to want to defend myself

here in this moment.

But I've come here for this purpose.

To obey the plan of God.

Church, as we walk through this journey

to the cross,

as we follow John,

as he takes us to Golgotha,

as we prepare our hearts

for Good Friday

and for Easter here

in just a couple of short weeks,

I want you to understand

once again

that the death of Jesus

is not a tragic accident.

This is not an innocent man

caught by surprise

by the powers of darkness.

Jesus was not taken by surprise.

This betrayal did not take Jesus by surprise.

He told Judas back in chapter 13,

what you are about to do,

do it quickly.

Jesus wasn't hiding.

He went to a familiar place

on purpose,

knowing that this would be

the first place Judas would look.

He wasn't trying to hide.

These hundreds of men

didn't sneak up on Jesus.

How could they?

He didn't try to run away.

He came out to them.

He didn't wait for them

to ask who he was.

He asked them,

what do you want?

Who are you looking for?

And he told them,

I am he.

He did not hide.

He did not run.

He did not need his followers

to rise up

and defend him.

He came for this purpose,

to drink the cup

that the Father has given him.

He was obedient.

Judas betrayed God,

yet Jesus fully submitted to God.

That's contrast number one.

John shows us another contrast

here in this passage.

It's the contrast between

Peter and Jesus.

It's a contrast between

the unfaithfulness of Peter

and the faithfulness of Jesus.

The scene shifts now

in verse 12

to Jesus' informal trial with Annas.

And the storytelling here,

I want you to notice this

because it's brilliant.

I want you to see it.

John, he bounces back and forth,

doesn't he?

Between the scene with Jesus

and the scene with Peter

and then back to Jesus

and then back to Peter.

And oftentimes,

when a biblical narrative does that,

the author's doing that on purpose

to help us to see a connection

between these two events.

They want us to make

some sort of conclusion

as we read these stories together.

And here,

what I think John wants us to do

is to see a contrast

between Jesus' faithfulness

and Peter's unfaithfulness.

Okay?

So we'll get to Peter

in just a moment,

but let's look at what

is happening with Jesus first.

Verse 12.

Look there with me.

Verse 12 says that

the band of Roman soldiers

and their captain,

along with the Jewish officers,

arrest Jesus,

and they bound him.

And first,

they said it,

they led him to Annas,

who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,

who was the high priest that year.

Now,

there's a little bit

of confusing language

going on here,

isn't there?

It's a little bit hard

to keep up

with the characters

in this scene.

There's a bit of political drama

behind the scenes here

because Caiaphas

was the official high priest

by Roman appointment,

but Annas was the high priest

before Caiaphas,

and by Jewish law,

when you're appointed

the high priest,

that appointment is for life.

And so it may be

that what's happening here

is that the first leg

of this informal trial

was to bring him to Annas,

who many thought

was truly the real high priest,

before bringing him to Caiaphas,

who was the official high priest.

Verse 19 says that

the high priest,

meaning Annas,

then questioned Jesus

about two things,

his disciples

and his teaching.

And Jesus, again,

staying faithful to his promise

to protect his disciples

to the end,

he just ignores

the first question completely,

doesn't he?

And he said,

I've spoken openly

to the world.

I've always taught

in synagogues

and in the temple

where all the Jews

come together.

I've said nothing in secret.

Why do you ask me?

Ask those who have heard me

what I said to them.

They know what I said.

Now, on the one hand,

what Jesus is doing here

is simply stating

an obvious fact, right?

His teaching predominantly

has been in public.

He's already had

his public run-ins

with the Pharisees.

He's taught the multitudes.

He's taught in synagogues

and in the temple.

Any one of these hearers

can bear testimony

to what Jesus has taught.

That's an obvious fact,

isn't it?

But on the other hand,

what he's doing

is he's also,

he's digging in here

to show that this line

of questioning

really isn't legitimate.

This whole trial

really isn't legitimate.

Now, the proper legal procedure,

according to Jewish law

at the time,

would be to question

the witnesses

before questioning

the defendant.

And typically,

you would question

the witnesses

on behalf of the defendant

first before you

would question

the witnesses

that are accusing

the defendant.

And all of this

goes right out

the window here.

They just start

questioning Jesus.

So Jesus says,

I have witnesses.

They've all heard me.

Why are you bypassing

the legal requirements

and coming straight

after me?

Ask them.

They heard what I said.

He's pointing out

that the real lawbreakers

in the room,

if we're going to be

serious about this,

the real lawbreakers

in the room

is not me.

It's you.

But here,

before an illegitimate

high priest

with an illegitimate

line of questioning,

all decorum

goes right out

the window.

This isn't going

to be a fair trial.

And make that clear

that they're not here

to play nice.

When he said these things,

one of the officers

there strikes Jesus

with his hand,

saying,

is that how you answer

the high priest?

But again,

Jesus answered him,

if what I said

is wrong,

bear witness

about the wrong.

But if what I said

is right,

why do you strike me?

If I've done wrong,

if I've spoken wrongly,

testify.

Hold a fair trial.

Bear witness.

Bring witnesses in here.

Jesus is calling them

to a fair trial.

But of course,

this won't be

a fair trial.

They've made up

their mind.

This man deserves

to die.

None of this was fair.

None of this was right.

He was the only

innocent man

to ever walk the earth.

And yet here,

he's treated

as a criminal.

Jesus willingly

stands in the place

of the guilty.

Willingly subjects

himself to public

shame and ridicule.

Why?

For his disciples' sake.

For faithfulness

to the promises

that he's made.

For faithful obedience

to the plan of God

to save his own.

Meanwhile,

let's change the scene.

John tells us

that while Jesus

is inside being questioned,

outside is Peter

and he's being interrogated

in his own way.

John says,

verse 15,

Simon Peter

followed Jesus

and so did

another disciple.

There's good reason

to believe that

that other disciple

is John.

And since that disciple,

John,

was known to the high priest,

he entered with Jesus

into the courtyard

of the high priest.

But Peter stood

outside the door

and at the other

disciples' request,

Peter was brought in

and the servant girl

who's holding the door

open for him

takes one look at Peter

and asks him,

not you too.

You're not also

one of this man's disciples,

are you?

You're with him too?

You?

And Peter,

without any indication

that he gave more

than a moment's thought,

I'm not.

How could he do this?

How could he say that?

You remember,

this is Peter

we're talking about,

right?

It's the same Peter

who just moments ago

was willing to take on

a thousand men

for Jesus.

And here,

he's unwilling

to identify with him

for fear of public shame

from one servant girl

holding a door.

It's the same Peter

who in chapter 13,

verse 37,

said,

Lord,

I will lay down

my life for you.

I'll die for you,

Jesus.

I'll lay down

my life for you.

I'll do anything.

I'll pay whatever it costs

to follow you.

And Jesus,

at that point,

you remember what he said,

don't you?

He called him on it.

He said,

will you lay down

your life for me,

Peter?

Truly,

truly,

I say to you,

the rooster will not crow

till you have denied me

three times.

Jesus knew

even Peter

would betray him.

Here is Jesus's

is in the proverbial

hot seat

protecting his disciples.

Here,

Peter goes out

and he warms himself

by the fire

beside Jesus's enemies.

And as he stood here

in the light of the flames,

somebody else asked him

a second time,

you're not also

one of his disciples,

are you?

Here's another chance

to get it right.

Here's another opportunity.

Peter,

okay,

it's time for redemption.

Claim him.

Yes,

say yes,

yes.

And again,

he denied it.

I am not.

How could he say that?

After all that

he had seen and heard,

after all that he'd experienced

as a personal friend

and disciple of Jesus,

how could he say,

I'm not one of his people?

And finally,

one of the servants

of the high priest,

a relative of the man

whose ear,

Peter,

has just cut off.

He gets a little bit more

pointed with him,

doesn't he?

He says,

didn't I see you

in the garden

with him?

Didn't I see you

there with him?

One more opportunity

to get it right,

Peter.

Peter.

And once again,

Peter denied it

and at once

the rooster crowed.

Do you see the contrast

that John wants us to see?

Do you see the contrast

between Peter's

unfaithfulness

and Jesus'

faithfulness?

Now here is Peter

eager to protect himself

while Jesus himself

is willing to die

to protect sinners.

Here is Peter

denying the Lord

as Jesus defends

Peter and the other

disciples to the end.

Here is Peter

avoiding association

with the perfect

Son of God

as Jesus was willing

to associate

with sinners

like Peter.

Do you see it?

Peter wanted out

of any punishment

coming his way

but Jesus came

for this hour.

He was willing

to die

in the place

of sinners.

Jesus accepts

the public

humiliation

and the shame

but Peter

can't even bear

a little suffering

for his sake.

Jesus remains faithful

and Peter

is unfaithful.

Church,

there is a

sharp

and distinct

and undeniable

contrast

between holiness

and sinfulness.

Do you see it?

between darkness

and light.

But before we

shake our heads

and wag our finger

at Judas

and Peter

here is what I want

you to see

church.

We are

Judas.

We are

Peter.

We are

guilty.

Every one of us

of sinning

against a holy

God.

we have

joined together

with the rest

of the world

to try and

snuff out

and block

the light.

John told us

how this would

play out.

The light

has come

into the world

and people

loved the

darkness

rather than

the light

because their

works were

evil.

We are

not neutral

here.

Every one of us

is guilty

of betrayal.

We join together

with the rest

of the world

in sinful

rebellion

against God

just like

Judas.

We have

betrayed

the Lord.

Haven't we?

We have

made idols

for ourselves

of sex.

Idols

of power.

Idols

of money.

Idols

of control.

Every one

of us

has exchanged

the truth

of God

for a lie

and worshipped

and served

created things

rather than

the creator

who is blessed

forever.

Amen.

As Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

tells us,

we have

done this.

We have

chosen to

take our

30 pieces

of silver

and be

content

with trinkets

and the

glory of

God is

held out

to us

in Christ.

We are

just like

Judas

and

we are

just like

Peter.

How often

have we

denied

him?

How often

are we

hot and

cold?

On and

off.

Hot and

cold.

I will

cut someone's

ear off

for you

Jesus.

I will

fight a

thousand

men for

you

Jesus.

But the

next

moment

we can't

even speak

up to

a little

servant

girl

holding

the

door.

How often

have we

pledged our

complete and

total allegiance

to God

and then

moments later

turned our

back to

him?

How often

have we

said to

him in

prayer,

Lord,

I am

yours.

I would

die for

you.

I would

do

anything for

you,

Lord.

Then we

go out

and we

live our

lives as

if he

didn't

even

exist.

I don't

know him.

I don't

know him.

I don't

know him.

How often

have we

been unwilling

to bear a

little

criticism

for identifying

with Jesus?

how often

have we

been unwilling

to be

mocked

or ridiculed

for him?

How often

have we

preferred to

warm ourselves

with the

comforts of

the world

rather than

just endure

a little

suffering

for his

sake?

I spent

a few

days this

week at

the Charles

Simeon

Trust

preaching

workshop.

And Charles

Simeon,

if you're not

familiar with

him,

was the

pastor of

Trinity

Church in

Cambridge,

England for

49 years.

And he

was once

asked by a

friend how

he had

lasted that

long.

49 years

in the

ministry.

How have

you lasted

that long

through all

the many

attacks and

persecutions

and shame

thrown his

way against

him for

identifying

faithfully

with Christ?

Here's what

he said.

My dear

brother, we

must not

mind a

little

suffering for

Christ's

sake.

When I'm

getting through

a hedge,

if my head

and shoulders

are safely

through, I

can bear the

pricking of

my legs.

Let us

rejoice in

the remembrance

that our

holy head

has surmounted

all his

suffering and

triumphed over

death.

Let us

follow him

patiently.

We shall

soon be

partakers of

his victory.

glory.

Friend, as

we read

this account,

we have to

understand that

we are

guilty.

We often

sing the

song,

Behold the

man upon

the cross,

my sin

upon his

shoulders.

My sin

upon his

shoulders.

Ashamed I

hear my

mocking voice.

It was my

sin that held

him there until

it was finished.

My sin.

We have to

acknowledge that

each one of

us, we

have betrayed

Christ.

We have

denied Christ.

We have

earned death

with our

sin.

This darkness

is ours.

But church,

the good news

of the

gospel is

that Christ

Jesus has

succeeded where

all of us

have failed.

Amen?

1 Peter 3.18

says,

Christ also

suffered once

for sins,

the righteous

for the

unrighteous,

that he might

bring us

to God.

Isaiah 53,

he was pierced

for our

transgressions.

He was

crushed for

our iniquities.

Upon him

was the

chastisement

that brought

us peace,

and with his

wounds we

are healed.

All we like

sheep have

gone astray.

We have

turned every

one of us

to his

own way,

and the

Lord has

laid on

him the

iniquity of

us all.

Christ Jesus

has tasted

the wrath of

God that we

deserved.

He's taken

death head

on, and he

alone has

come through

victorious.

Why?

So that

sinners like

us, who

just can't

get it

together,

the sinners

like us,

who are

united to

him by

faith,

might share

in his

victory over

sin, death,

and the

grave.

Now the

message that I

want you to

hear this

morning from

this passage

is not

stop being

like Judas,

be more like

Jesus.

It's not

stop being

like Peter,

be more like

Jesus.

That's not

the gospel,

church.

In fact, if

that's how you

understand the

gospel, I

would say you

don't really

understand it

very well at

all.

You might

not be a

Christian.

The gospel

is not stop

doing this

and start

doing this.

The gospel

is the

recognition that

our sin is

dark and

heavy, as

distinct from

the light as

the moon from

the darkness,

and yet Christ,

the light of

the world, has

stepped into

the darkness

to redeem us

out of the

light of the

darkness.

He stepped

into the

darkness to

do what we

cannot do

ourselves.

We can't

stop being

like Judas

unless he

comes and

he changes

our heart,

calls us

out of

darkness to

belong into

his marvelous

light.

The gospel

is the

invitation not

to do

better, but

to receive

what he

alone has

done.

As we

walk with

John over

these final

chapters and

follow Jesus

to the cross,

I want you

to ask

yourself,

have I

received what

Jesus has

done?

Do I

really know

that I've

sinned against

him and

have I truly

received his

forgiveness?

Have I truly

turned away from

this life of

sin and

trusted in

Christ alone

to say,

yes, I'm

guilty, but

I trust that

you came to

take my guilt

away from

me, that

you died for

my sin,

that you were

punished on

my behalf.

Have you

received his

work, friend?

And if

you have, if

you are a

believer, and

resting in

that finished

work of

Jesus, what

steps of

repentance do

we need to

take this

morning?

In what

ways have we

denied him

this week?

In what

ways have we

betrayed him

this week?

And in what

ways have we

been unwilling

to bear a

little suffering

for the sake

of Christ?

God's

renew your

commitment once

again to

follow him

and praise

the Lord for

his obedience,

for his

faithfulness.

Our sins, they

are many, but

his, what?

His mercy is

more.

Praise God.

I want to

close with one

final contrast

this morning.

This is a

bonus for you,

okay?

Contrast number

three is the

contrast between

Judas and

Peter.

This is a

contrast between

condemnation and

forgiveness.

Matthew tells

us in Matthew

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

chapter 27 that

Judas, when he

saw that Jesus

was condemned,

changed his

mind and came

to the chief

priests and the

Pharisees and

tried to give

them their money

back.

He said, I've

sinned by betraying

innocent blood.

He realized

he messed up,

but for him,

it was too

late.

It says he

threw down the

money on the

temple floor and

he left and he

hanged himself.

Judas felt

sorrow for his

wrongs and he

went out and he

died in his

sin.

But Peter,

Lord willing,

we'll see what

happens with

Peter in just a

couple of weeks.

Peter, although

he had denied

the Lord,

although he

had sinned

mightily against

the Lord,

this was not

the end for

Peter.

He would be

forgiven.

He would be

restored.

He would be

washed clean.

He would be

made a pillar of

the early church.

The Lord sought

him out and

restored him,

forgave him for

what he had

done.

The difference

between Judas

and Peter is not

a difference of

sin.

Do you see

that?

both have

sinned greatly

against Jesus.

The difference

between Judas

and Peter is

forgiveness.

The Lord

sought Peter

out and

forgave him

of his sin.

This is the

contrast that I

want to put

before us this

morning as we

close.

Church, all of

us have sinned

and fallen short

of the glory of

God.

all of us

are guilty.

But Christ

has come

that sinners

like us

might receive

him and

find forgiveness

by the finished

work of Jesus.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord, the

darkness of our

sin is so

evident in

these chapters.

We confess

our sin to

you this

morning in

many ways

that we have

denied you,

betrayed you,

sinned against

you.

Father, for

those who you

have sought

out and

forgiven, we

praise you,

Lord, for the

finished work of

Christ that you

have obeyed in

our place, that

your perfect

righteousness is

credited to our

bankrupt account by

faith.

God, for the

people who

do not know

you, Lord, we

pray in this

moment, would you

show them their

need for Christ?

Would you open

their eyes to see

the glory of

Jesus that he

alone can save,

not by any

goodness in our

account, but by

his perfect

righteousness and

faithfulness to the

plan of God?

God, we love

you, Lord, we

pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.