Jesus and His disciples had been
in the Upper Room all evening.
We’ve been with them, for months.
But today we step out.
This step, out of the Upper
Room, sets off a chain of events that dramatically alters the course of
HIStory, for every person, on every inch of the planet, from that day to this.
More books, paintings, music,
movies, have been written about these events than any other event in HIStory.
Jesus asked a question that night;
a question He still asks today.
Their answer dramatically altered
the trajectory of their eternity.
Your answer, does the same.
What Words?
The Words from the last five chapters. All the way from chapter 13, the Upper Room Discourse and through the Farewell Prayer, or the High Priestly Prayer, of chapter 17.
Upper Room Discourse in a nutshell:
He showed them the depth of His humility by washing their feet.
The height of His Deity by predicting things to come.
He told them one would betray Him.
Peter would deny Him.
He said:
A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you,
By this
all will know that you are My disciples.
Let not
your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My
Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also.
I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me.
If you
had known Me, you would have known My Father
If you
love Me, keep My commandments.
I will
not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
The Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all
things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Peace I
leave with you, My peace I give to you
Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you
desire, and it shall be done for you.
These
things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you,
and that your joy may be full.
A servant
is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
The time
is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
Because I
have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless
I tell you the truth.
Ask, and
you will receive, that your joy may be full.
The hour
is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to
his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the
Father is with Me.
These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the
world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.
Then, He prayed, for Himself, for His disciples, and for us. That we’d all be one, in Him, as He is One. That we’d be with Him, know Him, Love Him.
That the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
Those Words.
He went out with His disciples
Previously that night, Judas went out with the ruler of darkness.
Now, the disciples go out, with the Light of the world.
They all went out the same door, into the same night.
Over the years, I’ve taken the same walk with my kids, and
grandkids, when they were small. At the
end of the day, as the light gets smaller and the shadows get taller, I ask,
“Are you scared?”
Without fail, they’ve said, “Nope.”
“How come?” I ask, “It’s
getting dark.”
They usually just shrug, and kick a rock in the road, or point
at something like a bird, or squirrel, a dog, or cloud, or something important like
that, and say, “Look Papa.”
I press a little further. “Do you know where we’re at? Where we’re
going? How to get home?”
They just shake their head and squeeze my hand a little
tighter.
“Wow, you don’t know where we’re at, where we’re going, how to
get home, and it’s getting dark, and you’re still not scared…how come?”
They just giggle, stop walking, look up at me and say, “Cuz I’m
with you Papa, that’s how come.”
They’re so wise.
Out of
the mouth of babes thou hast perfected praise.
Psalm 8:2, Matthew 21:16.
Judas and the disciples walked out into the exact same night. Who
they were walking with determined their eternal destination.
It rains
on the just and unjust. Matt. 5:45.
over the Brook Kidron,
The Kidron (KJV: Cedron) Vally slopes off the east side of Jerusalem
and then climbs to the Mount of Olives. Somewhere between is the little Brook
Kidron which meanders down the 20-mile valley and eventually dies in the Dead
Sea.
If you walk the Kidron path today along the east side of Old
Jerusalem, it’s like walking through a graveyard. You’ll see large monuments
and tombs and the world’s largest Jewish graveyard.
The setting fits the ominous history of the brook.
About a thousand years prior, King David crossed the same
brook, also on the way to the Mount of Olives; also deeply sorrowful, exceedingly
stressed; weeping.
He too was betrayed by his own. His own son, Absalom, wanted
the throne and was coming with a mob of murderous men, to take the city of
peace, Jerusalem, by force (2 Samuel 15:23).
Jesus crossed the Kidron on the darkest night in HIStory (Spiritually
speaking, not literally because that night was actually a full moon).
In preparation for the Passover, the blood from thousands of lambs,
flowed from side of the temple into the Brook Kidron.
Questions:
Did Jesus think about how blood was soon to flow from the side
of the real Temple of God; not the one made of mortar and stone, but the
One made of flesh and bone?
Did the full moon prophecy of things to come?
Did the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, see
the blood in the brook when He stepped across the water?
Did the very moon He created, illuminate the bloodred water?
Did His heartbeat quicken as He knew that soon He would be the
bloody, slaughtered, Passover Lamb?
Did He pause at the brook and stare at the blood mingled with
water?
Did He foresee His own blood mingled with sweat, dripping from
His brow?
Did He get a flash of the spear that would soon pierce His
side, from which would flow, blood and water?
Did the weight of my sin, and yours, crush Him like an Olive
Press?
where there was a garden, which He and His
disciples entered.
The garden, was, the Garden of Gethsemane, which means
oil press.
A garden of ancient olive trees stands there to this day.
Under the crushing weight of a large millstone, in an olive
press, olives bleed, their precious oil.
Jesus took Peter, James and John deeper into the Garden, and said:
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with
Me.” Matthew 26:37-38.
Jesus went about a stone’s throw and fell on His face and
prayed, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from Me. However, not My
will, but Thine be done.” Matt. 26:39.
Going back to check on the boys, He found them sleeping.
Jesus went again, to pray.
As if in an oil press, the full weight of what was about to
happen became so intense that…
“His
sweat fell like great drops of blood; Luke 22:44.
Hematidrosis (hema – ty – drosis) is a
rare, medical condition that causes one’s sweat to contain blood. The sweat
glands are surrounded by tiny blood vessels that rupture, causing blood to flow
out the sweat glands. The cause is extreme anguish, stress.
First Blood.
It was NOT the fist of the hypocrites, or the soldier, or the
crown of thorns or the scourge that drew first blood.
No, it was none of that, none of them.
It was me.
It was you.
Our sin, drew Him across the bloody brook, and onto His face in the olive crushing garden.
He prayed, He sweat blood, He wept…
We slept.
He checked. Peter, James, John were sleeping.
He told Peter, “Watch and pray that you enter not into
temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” Matthew 26:41. (The
reason my friend’s grandpa always prayed with his eyes wide open. “The Good Book
says, “Watch and pray”).
According to Jesus, how do we overcome temptation?
Pray.
According to Jesus, how do we overcome our weak flesh?
Pray.
Jesus prayed again, saying the same things, and concluded it
all by saying, “Not My will but Thine.”
Jesus won Spiritually before entering the battle physically.
He won by, surrender. Not My will, but Thine.
That’s exactly how we must fight. How we must win.
The war started in a garden. But not this Garden. The first
Garden. The one in Eden.
There in Eden, a sinless man, fought
the serpent, the flesh… and lost.
Here, in Gethsemane, a sinless Man,
fought the serpent, the flesh… and won.
The first man fed his flesh and died. The Second Man, died to
His flesh, and lived.
2 And Judas, who betrayed Him,
also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.
Judas found Him, because Jesus wanted to be found.
Jesus purposely went to a place that He’d been to often, and
therefore it was easy for Judas to predict where He’d be.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still
wants to be found.
He’s not hiding.
He’s knocking. Rev. 3:20
Psalm
145:18; The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in
truth.
3 Then Judas, having received a
detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came
there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
A detachment is one-tenth of a legion; which is 6,000.
So, 600 armed Roman soldiers.
Plus, temple guards, officers, from the chief priests
and pharisees.
Perhaps 700 or so, armed men against one Man. Wow. Seriously? Pretty
lopsided odds.
Jesus had them outnumbered by a long shot.
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all
things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you
seeking?”
Jesus, having already won the war in prayer, stepped forward
bold and courageous and in control of the conversation.
It was yet to be written, but He already knew:
Ephesians
6:12
For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Notice how Jesus associated with common folk.
Being called a Nazarene was a derogatory term. It was
like being called a hick, or, white trash.
Nazareth was a small one donkey town. The folks were working
class, no lifestyles of the rich and famous there. More showed up to arrest
Him, than the population of His entire town. Nazareth only had a few hundred.
But that is where the King of all the universe chose. To let
all the world know that He came for all—from the least to the greatest.
Jesus said to them, “I am He.”
His answer in the original text only has two words, ego
eimi; I AM.
They called Him a derogatory name. He gave them His real name,
the most powerful name, I AM.
They knew, exactly what Jesus was saying.
He was invoking the very name of God from all the way back in,
Exodus 3:14.
A name they all knew.
“Who should I say sent me?” Moses asked.
God answered from the burning bush. “Tell them I
AM, that I AM.”
Jesus had been telling them all along.
“I AM the Bread of Life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).
“I AM the Light of the World” (John 8:12; 9:5).
“I AM the Door” (John 10:7, 9).
“I AM the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).
“I AM the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25).
“I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life”
(John 14:6).
“I AM the True Vine” (John 15:1, 5).
A couple more, not metaphors, but invoking the Name of the God,
just the same:
“Before Abraham was born, I AM!” (John 8:58).
“I AM” (John 18:4-5).
Make no mistake. Jesus let them know, He is, I AM.
They killed Him for it.
And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to
the ground.
There is power in His name.
Did you notice, Judas was with those who fell to the ground?
God’s letting us know that Judas got knocked on his butt with
the rest of them.
Jesus simply breathed, I AM, and hundreds of armed men, fell
to the ground.
There is power in His name.
Do you remember a little shepherd named David who met a big giant
named Goliath?
David told the giant. You come to me with sword and spear
and javelin; (Judas and crew show up with lanterns, torches, and weapons)…
Our giant shows up with sickness, and disease, and cancer, and diabetes, and
grief, and loneliness, and anxiety, and worry, and fear, and financial problems
and family troubles…
But David said, and we say:
I come to you in the name of the Lord. I’ve got a
stone with your name on it, and this day, I’ll take off your head and feed it
to the buzzards, you uncircumcised philistine. 1 Samuel
17:45.
THERE IS NO NAME ABOVE THE NAME OF OUR LORD!
In John 17, Jesus prays; Father I have manifested Your name…
kept Your name… declared Your name… now keep them by Your name.
We pray in the name of Jesus.
At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, every
tongue will confess; Philippians 2:10-11.
Friends, every knee willingly bows now, or forcibly bends
then.
Angelic Warriors
There is no doubt that angelic warriors (good and bad) were
thicker than the soldiers.
Could it be, that at the mention of I AM, the angelic host
surged forward and the demonic host, fell backward, causing a shockwave from
the invisible realm to the physical, knocking the wrong side on their butts?
7 Then He asked them again, “Whom
are you seeking?”
The question was really an opportunity; to change their answer.
Whom are you seeking?
They should’ve said:
We’re seeking…umm… I AM. We’re seeking the LORD. We’re seeking,
God. Yes, we’re seeking the Great I AM. And we think, that’s You. So, we’re
just gonna sit here, and worship You.
Who are you seeking?
Jesus comes forward. He’s doesn’t hide in the shadows. He comes
seeking.
He shows up in the middle of the grove, the garden, the night.
He shows up right smack dab in the middle of your
night.
He comes seeking, looking… for you.
He’s asking now: “Who are you seeking?”
Too many
today walk by the God seeking them; to find a god who pleases them.
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
It’s so dangerous to be on the wrong side, even for a second.
What’s the wrong side?
Your side is the wrong side.
My side is the wrong side.
Jesus just prayed, repeatedly, NOT MY will, but YOURS.
If Jesus said it, we must absolutely, too.
The FLESH is the WRONG side, every time.
One moment you’re thinking, after I get my stuff together,
then, I’ll get right with God, then I’ll get back in Church, then I’ll start
living how I know I should.
The next moment, never comes.
In the next moment, that thought disappears, forever.
We saw it happen here.
Even after seeing God in the flesh.
Even after He asks, repeatedly, “Who are you seeking?”
Even after He gets your attention by knocking, you on
your butt.
Even then, you answer the same.
Jesus of Nazareth. Someone to arrest, control, silence.
Now they wish they’d have answered differently.
Now if they could they’d change
their answer
Now, it’s too late.
8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He.
Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 that the
saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have
lost none.”
Even now, He cares for and covers, His own.
The whole knock ‘em on their butt incident, may have been for
this very moment, for this very purpose.
To let the mob know that He meant business; they best let His
own, go.
10 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.
Dear Pete, you sort of got things out of order. It’s not
supposed to be: Ready. Shoot…. Aim.
Jesus healed Malchus’s ear (Luke 22:51).
By the way, Malchus means king or counselor. Malchus was
serving the wrong king, listening to the wrong counselor… but then Jesus.
What happened to Malchus?
That’s one of those questions that’ll have to wait until
heaven. Hopefully we’ll see him there.
You’d think we’d see a LOT of folks from that crowd in heaven,
after all that happened.
First, hundreds of trained, armed, soldiers get knocked on
their backsides with two small words from Jesus.
And then, Jesus shows love and compassion on someone who came
to wrongfully arrest Him… and then, He heals him with just a touch.
Surely the mob bows; certainly they bend a knee and turn from
their sin.
Right?
Nope.
Well, not according to what’s recorded. From what we read,
there’s no evidence of change in the murderous mob.
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into
the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
For Pete’s sake, Pete.
Matthew fills in some details of this conversation.
“Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Don’t
you think I can call on My Father, and He will put at My disposal more than
twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that
say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26:52–54).
Even then, Jesus stayed the course, and drank the cup His
Father had given Him.
Will you drink the cup He’s given you?
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus,
To answer Your question.
You.
We are seeking, You; the I AM.
And in our seeking, we pray we are leading, others
to You. So, all those You’ve given us, will be on the side, still standing.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Watch online:
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Seeking? John 18:1-11
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John 18:1-11
This was feed for you to read.
Now it’s Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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