Isaiah 53:4–7
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
John 18:1-14
Jesus Arrested
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
“I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
Jesus Taken to Annas
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.
The authority, compassion and obedience of Jesus deliver salvation to all
There are some words that, to my mind, are very much over-used these days, to the point that we have lost the real sense of their meaning. One of my particular bête noirs is the word 'iconic'. The true meaning relates to an image that transports us in our minds – think of the religious icons of Russian orthodoxy. But it's been diluted down and is used now of anything that's impressive – from the 'iconic Atlantic highway' of southern Ireland to some iconic radio show or an iconic goal in football. Can a goal in football really transport us in our minds?
Another word similarly over-used is the word passion. It seems you can't have a hobby or an interest any more – it must be a passion. I have a passion for baking, a passion for gardening, a passion for fashion. The other day I was driving behind a lorry on the motorway with the sign 'Fred Bloggs haulier – logistics is our passion'.
But let's not forget the origin of the word passion. It's from the Latin word passionem, meaning suffering. Over the centuries the meaning has adapted, such that the proper sense now is of an overwhelming feeling – a passion masters the mind, so that the person becomes seemingly its instrument. There's almost a painful subjection to the feeling or emotion.
We can understand that in the sense of romantic passion – it overwhelms the heart and will. Sometimes love hurts. But when someone says they have a passion for growing vegetables, we need to ask ... is it really a passion? Or is it simply a hobby?
Today we begin a new sermon series that is about passion in its truest, original sense – the Passion of Jesus, as recorded in the gospel of John.
The word passion was coined by the French way back in the 10th Century specifically to denote the sufferings of Christ and later extended to express the sufferings of Christian martyrs. And from it we derive words like compassion – the feeling of sorrow or tenderness for one who is suffering.
And John leads us through Christ's passion, his sufferings, across two chapters in his gospel, which we shall be studying in instalments over the next seven weeks. We'll see how his passion reveals his character – his majesty, his love, his obedience, his victory – as well as the salvation that he won for us through his suffering.
This is a passion that occurred 2000 years ago, but whose impact is still as fresh and vital as the day the drama was cast. And today we begin with the overture to his suffering – the arrest in Gethsemane.
Gethsemane was a garden about a mile outside the centre of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley on the side of the Mount of Olives. We don't know who owned it, but Jesus and his disciples knew the place well. On that Maundy Thursday evening it would have provided welcome tranquillity after the crush of Jerusalem city which was packed out with pilgrims celebrating the Passover.
From the other gospels we know that Jesus retired there with his closest friends to pray; John omits this hour of prayer and just cuts to the chase – his betrayal and arrest. So, what do we learn is this first instalment of the Passion of Jesus? Three things:
1. The authority of Jesus
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. John 18:4
Judas the traitor has arrived with a posse – the Temple Guard, and with them a detachment of Roman soldiers. The authorities had seen how the crowds had responded to this man on Palm Sunday just a few days ago. The soldiers were in town as they usually were at times of public gatherings when nationalist sentiment might flare into violence – so they were taking no chances. They came to arrest this unarmed man with the full might and authority of the Temple and the Roman Garrison. But their confidence and their pumped-up authority soon melted away before the authority of Jesus. At their first encounter, they drew back and fell to the ground. Why did they do that? Well, it's highly significant how the conversation went.
"Who is it you want?" asks Jesus. "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said.
In fact in the Greek he simply says 'I am'. And the grammar is emphatic: I AM! John repeats the phrase three times in his account to emphasize its importance. In a sense Jesus' reply is ambiguous: he could just be saying, yes, that's me... but equally it would not have been lost on the Jewish members of the arrest party that this was exactly how God named himself in Exodus 3:14, where we read this:
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Whether it was the name, or just the dignity and authority of Jesus' presence, the men drew back and fell to the ground. They realized they were in the presence of no ordinary man.
And John testifies further to his authority in verse 4 – we read that Jesus knew all that was about to happen, and he took the initiative – he went out to meet the detachment of soldiers and to enquire who they wanted, knowing full well who they had come for. Jesus, remarkably, was fully in control of the events of that fateful evening.
And Jesus remains in control of the events that affect our lives today. Perhaps sometimes we fear that our prayers fall on deaf ears, or that the forces of evil are just too strong for the forces of good. We despair at the fate of our world, our loved ones, our own predicaments. But be assured, Jesus always has the authority – he is sovereign over the events of the world now, just as he was then.
But we cannot always understand his ways. His disciples – Peter especially – could not understand why he seemed to be giving up without a fight and even drew his own sword; but Jesus' plans were greater than Peter could ever conceive. Jesus would bring a far better and greater outcome from this torrid evening, that would be a blessing for the entire world for all time. And when we are struggling, we too must place our trust in the authority of Jesus – for in the words of St Paul,
...we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
2. The compassion of Jesus
Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me." John 18:7
Even at the point of highest tension, Jesus does not forget his disciples – charging the arrest party to let these men go. They must come to no harm, for he had prayed in the previous chapter before they set out for Gethsemane that God would protect his followers. And his compassion even extends to the man whose ear Peter rashly cut with his sword – healing it on the spot.
Jesus' compassion extends further than anything you or I might feel. Remember he wept over Jerusalem; he wept for his friend Lazarus. He is the good shepherd who is committed to his sheep. Wherever the metaphorical wolf might attack in our lives – in feelings of fear, or guilt, or inadequacy, or failure, Jesus commands: 'let my disciple go'.
As he drew the enmity of the arrest party fully upon himself, so that his disciples might go free, he provided a picture of the whole work of salvation. The culmination of this terrible 24 hours was to be his own execution – taking our place, absorbing our guilt and all its implications, that we might also go free.
3. The obedience of Jesus
They brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people. John 18:13-14
Caiaphas had unknowingly prophesied the fate of Jesus – that one man die for the people. John explains this in Chapter 11 of his Gospel – in the aftermath of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Jewish authorities became excitable about where this would all end.
Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. John 11:49
Caiaphas didn't realize the cosmic implication of his prophesy. He just saw it in political terms – a way to avoid Rome coming down heavily on the Jewish nation. But what he unwittingly outlines was the salvation plan of God – that this one man, Jesus, would indeed die in the place of the children of God, to bring them together, to grant them forgiveness and eternal life. To atone for their sin and to grant them salvation.
Praise God for his words – spoken in ignorance, and yet offering blessing and hope even to us who sit here today. For Jesus did not shrink from obedience to that mission of atonement. He spoke these words to Peter:
"Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" John 18:11
What was that cup that he needed to drink? It was the cup of judgment. In the words of our psalm
it is God who judges: ...In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. Psalm 75:7
Jesus did not shrink from drinking that cup, taking upon himself the punishment, the judgement that should have been ours. And he would drink it down to its very dregs, to the point that 'I thirst' became 'It is finished'.
The passion of Jesus is a dreadful thing – and yet also a glorious thing. Love hurts – and Jesus' love for humanity hurt to the point of death. In the words we heard from the prophet Isaiah:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
By his wounds we are healed. Do you know that in your heart? Can you say with me:
I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me
How He left the realms of glory
For the cross of CalvaryYes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me
Sing it with the saints in glory
Gathered by the crystal sea