I Am He

It's great to be with you tonight.

If you've got a Bible, you can open up to John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

John 18.

One announcement I'd love to make.

We'll have two services on Easter.

Probably most of you already know that, 8:30 and 10.

And I would just say in Birmingham, Alabama, probably the easiest time to invite somebody to church is Easter weekend.

You can have virtually no relationship, have never had a deep conversation with somebody, and say, You have plans to go to church?

Love you to come with us, and they won't probably look at you like you're that weird.

So I would encourage you to prayerfully think about one person, neighborhood, your gym, where you work, that maybe you text, you call, or just have a conversation.

See if you can bring somebody with you.

John chapter 18, and I'm going to pray for us in just a second, but I want to prompt your mind with two questions.

John 18 · chapter mention

I want you to think about, while I'm praying, the hardest situation you've ever been through in your life.

Maybe it was physical pain, maybe it was an emotional, traumatic experience, I don't know, but the hardest, most agonizing experience you've ever been through in your life.

And then, secondly, I want you to think about this.

What kind of power do you have in life?

What kind of influence?

Maybe it's around your money, maybe it's around your name, maybe it's around a position you have at work, but where do you have power and influence in life?

And how do you tend to use your power and influence?

So just think about those two things in your mind and let me pray for us.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for Christ.

We thank you for the cross.

We thank you for salvation.

And we ask that you would draw near to us.

We pray that you would fill us full of the Holy Spirit.

We pray that there would be a real moment of worship as we listen to your word, as we consider these things, that you would open the eyes of our heart even wider, maybe than they have ever been opened before, to behold wondrous things from your law.

We pray all this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Alright, John chapter 18, we're going to start in verse 2.

John 18 · chapter mention

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 priest and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

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 fill the word that he had spoken.

Of those whom you gave me, I have lost not one.

Now, really just three points tonight.

We're gonna look at Judas, we're gonna look at Jesus, we're gonna look at justice.

Judas, Judas is the famous sinner, maybe the worst sinner of all time.

Probably for years at least, he had been very intimately acquainted with Jesus, chosen by him to be in this inner circle of 12 people that got to follow him around, that got to do life.

It was like a 24-7 uh camping trip with Jesus.

He knew Jesus really well.

At least at some point in his life, there was something about Jesus that he liked, that was compelling to him, was attractive to him.

But at this point, he's become the betrayer.

He's gotten tired with Jesus, he's gotten bored with Jesus.

We don't know all of his motivations.

Okay, but uh this place, the garden where Jesus had been praying, Jesus had been to before.

He often went there with his disciples for times of prayer, times of teaching.

So Judas knew this, and Judas is using this against him.

Jesus knows it, but he goes there anyway.

And I want us to just think about Judas's sin for a second.

Okay.

Judas comes, the words here in the Greek let us know.

He's got temple police, he's also got Roman soldiers.

And at minimum, he probably had 200 soldiers, and they're armed to the teeth.

Romans knew how to put down a riot.

They waited until Jesus was pretty much alone, in the dark, isolated.

They didn't dare take him in front of a crowd because too many people liked him.

But they were still worried about a fight.

So they come, hundreds of soldiers, armed to the teeth, ready to fight, and here's Jesus and just the 11 disciples that are left with him.

And Judas was there to make sure they identified the right guy.

Why would Judas do this?

We know at least partially it was 30 pieces of silver.

The Bible's very clear about that.

Other commentators speculate that Judas didn't really like being the last of the 12 disciples.

He's always last in the list.

Probably was the last one that got picked for the dodgeball team.

And maybe he got sick of that.

And he's like, you know what?

If I turn this guy in, everybody's looking for, at least for a moment, I'll have a place of prominence and fame.

I'm the leader of the pack now.

We don't know for sure if that was part of it.

We know money was part of it.

But here's the bottom line I want us to think about, guys.

Sin is always preferring something above Jesus.

And usually the thing that we tend to prefer above Jesus, it's not evil in itself.

Money's not a bad thing.

Wealth is often a gift from God.

Power and influence and prominence and fame, those are not necessarily bad things.

But if I take any of God's good gifts and I start to love the good gift, I start to get more excited about the gift than the giver, now I've got a problem.

That's sin.

And here's the thing, guys, all of us are doing this at some level.

Even if you're like, no, no, I'm doing better than I've ever been doing spiritually in my life.

I really am loving Jesus, committed to, I believe you.

I've had seasons like that in my life, but here's what I know.

Your pet sin is always like right here in your peripheral vision.

You know what I mean?

About two decisions away.

Always attractive.

Hard to stiff arm it, hard to prefer Jesus.

I mean, have you ever had an experience, maybe with a loved one, maybe with a child, maybe with a grandchild, where you gave them a gift and it very quickly became apparent they are really excited about this gift, and they don't care that much about me.

They might be staying in my house for the next couple of days, but they don't really want to talk to me.

They just want to enjoy the gift.

It hurts.

And some level, that's what people are doing to God all the time.

It's an evil thing to do to such a good master.

That's Judas.

That's us.

Let's look at Jesus.

Notice how calm and confident he is.

We know from other gospels, Luke especially, that he had been praying so fervently, literally almost like throwing himself on the ground, the capillaries in his head, bursting, sweating, and blood mingling with the sweat.

Begging the Father, if there's any other way out, I want out.

Yeah, not my will but thine.

And now when the soldiers come, he gets up, he's calm, he's confident, and he asks them, Who are you looking for?

Now they say Jesus of Nazareth.

Why?

It may be a term of derision, kind of like, yeah, you know, you claim to be Messiah, Messiah's supposed to come from Bethlehem, you're known that you grew up in Nazareth.

We don't even think you're the Messiah.

That may be part of it.

It also partially, they probably literally had a warrant for his arrest, Jesus of Nazareth.

And they're like, This, you're the guy we're looking for.

Notice he doesn't run, he doesn't high, he steps forward and he says, I am he in English.

Literally in the Greek, he just says, I am.

Which could be a normal way to say, that's me.

But when Jesus says it, and especially when you read the Gospel of John, he builds his whole gospel, 21 chapters, around the I am statements of Jesus, I'm the bread of life, things like that.

This is Jesus saying, and guys, some of the temple guards that were there, they would have known this very well.

They were Levites.

You remember when God in the Old Testament wanted to get personal with Moses?

Moses like, you're telling me to go to Pharaoh, the commander of a superpower, and say, let all this free slave labor go?

Who am I supposed to say?

Sent me.

I am.

That's my divine name.

I'm self-existent.

I don't refer myself to anybody.

I'm the self-existent.

I've always I and Jesus is saying, 33-year-old Jewish carpenter rabbi man is saying, I am.

And notice what happens.

They step back and they all fall down.

200 brave, strong Roman soldiers.

And Tim Keller says, this is like Jesus flexing for just a minute.

Another commentator said, just for a second, he unveiled just a glimpse of his glory.

You know, you read in the Old Testament, there are moments when God shows up and people tend to fall down.

Most of the time they fall down prostrate and worship.

Not these men, they fall back in terror.

And yet they're gonna get up and persevere.

Listen to what John Calvin says.

We may infer from this how dreadful and alarming to the wicked the voice of Christ will be when he shall ascend his throne to judge the world.

At that time, he stood as a lamb ready to be sacrificed.

His majesty, so far as outward appearances were concerned, was utterly gone.

And yet he utters but a single word, and his armed and courageous enemies fall down.

Now, why is Jesus doing this?

Almost certainly, at least partially, he's giving them a warning.

Do you realize what you're about to do?

Don't do it.

Guys, sin is a slippery slope.

Have you not experienced that in your own life?

You take one little tiny, small baby step towards sin, and the second one is a lot easier and a lot quicker.

And the next thing you know, there's an old country song that says, Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.

I mean, that's good theology right there.

I've got a friend, and uh he drinks too much sometimes.

But he's a Christian, and so he's like, I gotta I gotta quit this.

So he made a deal.

He said, I will I will never drink unless I'm with my wife.

She's a good check.

I was on a business trip one time in the Delta Sky Lounge.

Drinks are free.

Why not?

Gets his drink and his wife calls.

What do you do in that moment?

You can not answer, you can answer and lie, or you can just stop right there.

I'm just giving you one example among many.

What I'm saying, and guys, God is a righteous judge, but God is also such a merciful father that oftentimes when he sees us taking our stupid, stubborn steps towards sin, it's like he gives us little warning lights and says, Don't do this.

And the smartest thing you can do is stop, okay, okay, I'm sorry, stop right there and not double down your sin.

Well, I've already started, I might as well finish.

That's bad theology, it's bad thinking.

Another commentator named Matthew Poole said this: This is the genius of all sinners.

They may be under some convictions and terrors, but they get out of them.

If God does not sanctify them as a means to make a thorough change in their hearts.

Guys, one really practical application I'd give for all of us.

Whatever the pet sin is over there that you keep being drawn back to like a magnetic beam, pray that God would sanctify you enough, even if he has to use a little bit of conviction and terror so you don't go back.

Sin's never worth it.

Judas, Jesus, and then justice.

The men get back up.

They should have dropped their swords and left.

But Jesus asks again, who are you looking for?

Jesus of Nazareth.

I am, he says it again.

He says, Listen, if you're if you're looking for me, let these men go.

Your human court has given you an arrest warrant for me.

So, humanly speaking, since you have a right to take me, justice will allow you to do that.

You don't have a right to these men.

Let them go.

Let them go, let them go free.

And they do.

I mean, most of you probably know the rest of the story.

Right after this, Peter, the passionate fisherman, is gonna pour out his sword and try to chop somebody's head off, and he just gets an ear.

And they didn't arrest Peter.

I mean, Jesus' divine majesty.

This is what I want us to think about, guys.

This is the worst moment of suffering in Jesus' life.

The agony, the pain.

What do we tend to do when we're in agony, we're in pain, we're in suffering, we got trauma?

It's like whatever little bit of power and influence I have, I'm gonna use it to protect myself.

Right?

I mean, that just feels like the knee-jerk gut reaction, does it not?

Not Christ.

Worst moment of his life, let me use my influence I have here to protect these men.

You don't have a right to them.

You got a human court, says that you can take me, take me, let these men go.

He's so selfless.

He's so giving.

Now, I want us to think a little bit more about what Jesus is doing here.

Because look at the last verse that I read, verse 9.

This was to fill the word that he had spoken of those whom you gave me, I have lost not one.

And Jesus has said that a couple of times, most recently in John 17, the great high priestly prayer.

But when you interpret it, the other places where he's saying it, what he's saying is, I'm going to save people and then make sure they never lose their salvation.

They never become an apostate, they never fall away, they persevere all the way to the end.

And now Jesus is saying, Well, I'm fulfilling that word, and it sounds like he's just saying, Well, I saved them physically, that's enough.

You understand kind of the dilemma, so to speak?

Doesn't seem like it works.

And then if you fast forward, you go read the book of Acts, just a few years later, James, one of these men, he does get arrested, he does get killed.

And it's like, well, where was Jesus then?

Because the word is not really about saving people physically, it's about saving people spiritually.

So, how does that jive with this text?

And this is really beautiful, guys.

Jesus realized these 11 guys, they're not ready for arrest.

They're not ready for torture.

They're not ready for the suffering that would come.

If they get arrested right now, they might all leave.

So, in this physical protection, he was really spiritually protecting them.

Does that make sense?

And what can we take away from that?

Guys, this is a great picture of 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except that what is common to man.

And when you are tempted, God is faithful.

He will always provide you a way that you can stand up under it.

I know different ones of us have different temptations, and it can seem overwhelming.

It can seem impossible.

But we've got to cling to this promise, and it's not just a dead promise, it's a living promise from God.

And here's an example.

And if he sees that temptation coming, he will stop it.

And if he didn't, none of us would be sitting here tonight.

Matthew Henry.

And he will wisely time the cross and proportion it to our strength.

If you're a true follower of Christ, there will be times of suffering, there will be times of pain, there will be times of temptation, there will be crosses, but he'll make sure it comes at the right time and the right proportion that by his grace, his indwelling spirit, you can resist.

You can't obey.

That's great news.

But here's the problem.

I know what I'm thinking.

Even though I've been studying this and I'm talking about it, it's like there's situations where I get tempted, and I know I have the power by the Holy Spirit to resist.

And then I'm like, uh, I'm not gonna resist.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.

And that's why this text is really glorious.

Because, guys, the word here, let these men go, literally the Greek word, it can mean dismiss, it can also mean forgive.

Jesus got arrested.

He got tried, kangaroo court, though it was, human court found him guilty, and he went to the cross.

And see, what was happening at the cross was much more than just the human court verdict.

God, the judge, showed up, and he had a cosmic, eternal arrest warrant for all sinners, including me and you.

We were at the bar of justice, and we would have fallen back in terror.

We would have had no hope.

And we would not have gotten back up.

But the Lord Jesus Christ said to the divine judge, take me.

Let these people go, forgive them.

And that's really what the cross is about.

First John chapter 1, verse 9.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He is God in the flesh.

He has died, he's buried, he is risen, he's ascended.

So we'll sing a song after this.

We'll leave the sanctuary in silence.

And it's good, it's good to contemplate the death of Christ, the sorrow, the pain, the separation from God that we should have experienced.

But make sure you come back Sunday morning.

Because it doesn't end there.

Because he used all his power, he used all his influence in his worst moment to save us.

Let me pray.

You're a good God, you're a good Savior.

And we are a very unworthy people.

Thank you for your mercy.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you for your tenderness.

Thank you for choosing us.

Thank you for saving us.

Thank you for forgiving us.

Lord, if there's anyone here that has not fully trusted in Christ, I pray that you would draw them to yourself tonight.

And I pray for all of us who have trusted in you.

Help us walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please you in all respects and to bear fruit in every good work.

We pray all this in Christ's name.

Amen.