Lesson 47

Betrayed, Arrested, Denied

John 18:1-27

As we come to John 18, our text for today's message, the private ministry of our Lord with His disciples has now ended and the public drama of redemption is about to begin. Man will do his worst and God will give His best. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20).

John 18 records the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the arrest of Judas by the chief priests and Pharisees, the illegal trial of Jesus first before Annas and Caiaphas and later, before Pilate and the denial of Jesus by Simon Peter. In chapter 19, Jesus is tortured and crucified; He dies and is buried. Chapters 20 - 21 record His resurrection and some of His appearances thereafter. So we are nearing the end of the gospel. For today, we shall concentrate on 18:1-27.

Perhaps the best way to see the truths of this text and to grasp the lessons they convey, is to pay attention to the symbolism that is involved. John's gospel is saturated with symbols - birth, water, bread, sheep and light. It seems to me that there are several significant symbols in John 18:1-27 and that theses symbols convey some important spiritual truths. Let's identify them and learn from them.

The Garden - A Symbol Of Struggle, 18:1-2.

The Temple was located on the far eastern side of ancient Jerusalem, a walled city. Beyond the temple and eastern wall of the city is the Kidron Valley that has a stream running through it and then comes the Mount of Olives. On the western slopes of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane. I have stood on the Mount of Olives and have visited the Gethsemane with its awesome olive trees. The view from there is spectacular. You can see the valley and the eastern gate and the Temple area.

According to verse 1, Jesus along with His 11 disciples went to the garden. It was a favorite spot of our Lord, v. 2. He went there often to pray and rest and meditate. Jerusalem was swelled to capacity and beyond with pilgrims attending the Passover. Gethsemane was appealing as a place of some privacy. He knew also that Judas would come for Him there and He was not trying to avoid what lay ahead.

John makes it a point to mention that Christ and His disciples crossed over the brook Kidron (v. 1). There is some significance to this. The brook is named for its color (it means dusky or dark). The waters of this brook were dark from the blood of temple sacrifices, especially at Passover time. Jesus is going to go through dark waters and His blood is going to be poured out as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The Kidron also had some historical significance. When King David was betrayed by his son, Absalom and his best friend, Ahithophel and had temporarily been forced to step down from the throne, he too, had crossed over the brook Kidron and ascended the Mount of Olives (II Samuel 15:23, 30). It is described in II Samuel 15 as a time of great sorrow and tears.

After crossing over the stream, Jesus ascended the slopes and entered the Garden of Gethsemane. The word "Gethsemane" means an oil press. The olive would be pressed to render its oil. Gethsemane was a place where Jesus himself was pressed.

Gethsemane is a place of struggle. Jesus prayed that if possible, He would, humanly speaking, prefer to avoid what lay ahead. "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." We all have our Gethsemanes, our times of struggling with surrender to the will of God. But just by being in the garden, Jesus reveals His obedience to God's will, His willingness to do whatever is necessary to redeem fallen humanity.

Human history began in a garden and the first sin of man was committed in that garden. The first Adam disobeyed God and was expelled from the garden but the last Adam (as Jesus is referred to in I Cor. 15:45) was obedient as He went into the garden. In a garden, sin and death came to mankind. But in another garden, obedience and submission resulted in righteousness and eternal life being provided for mankind.

The Band - A Symbol Of Sovereignty, 18:3-9.

The traitor, Judas, arrived at the garden, it says in verse 3, with a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. Judas is standing with the enemy, v. 5. The word "band" gives some indication as to its size. A Roman military cohort (band) was one tenth the size of a legion. A legion was 6000 soldiers, making a full band 600 men. Whether or not this was a full band is uncertain. Even so, this is not a handful of men that arrive to arrest Jesus. There was a show of strength and these men were armed. They were prepared for battle.

At this very moment, Jesus is totally submissive - a meek Lamb - and yet He possesses absolute sovereignty and power. Notice, how His sovereignty is demonstrated.

Jesus is sovereign in His knowledge, vss. 4-5. He "knows all things that should come upon Him". He was not ignorant about what was going to transpire in the moments and hours ahead. And yet, He did not shrink back from it. He "went forth" and presented Himself to them. By surrendering immediately to the officers, Jesus protected his disciples from danger.

Jesus is sovereign in His power, vss. 6-9. Here is a supreme evidence of Christ's power and sovereignty. When Jesus said, "I am he" (in the Greek it is just a one word answer which quite literally means "I am") as many as 600 soldiers fell backward to the ground, v. 6. Right to the very end He revealed the fact that no man could lay hands upon Him until His hour had come. The soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Instead, He, as it were, arrested them. Psa 27:2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. The same question and answer are repeated and Jesus appeals for the soldiers to let His disciples go free, vss. 8b-9.

The Sword - A Symbol Of Misguided Zeal, 18:10-11a.

Peter had claimed to have forsaken all to follow Jesus (Mt. 19:27). He had declared his loyalty to Christ. "Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended" (Mt. 26:33). He had said that he was willing to "lay down his life for Jesus' sake" (John 13:37). Here, Peter decides to prove his devotion to Christ. He draws out sword. There are two Greek words for sword. The one used here refers to a short sword which would resemble a very big knife. He attacked and cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. This is an example of misguided zeal. Peter made every mistake possible! He used the wrong weapon. He slept when he should have been praying. He talked when he should have been listening. Peter was prepared to engage in a holy war. But Jesus' command is to put your sword into your sheath. There are those today who are zealots, in favor of a holy war. I'm thinking of those who bomb abortion clinics and who kill abortion doctors. I'm thinking of the militia movement and of groups like the Freemen who just had the long standoff with the FBI. 2 Cor 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal <bodily/physical>, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;). Our only weapon is the "sword of the Spirit which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). The word of God is "quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

(Matthew 26:52-54).

Luke tells us that Jesus healed Malchus. Good thing for Peter who otherwise might have been arrested and crucified. Peter hurt Malchus, something no believer should do. Peter also hurt the testimony of Christ and gave the false impression that His disciples hate their enemies and try to destroy them, see 18:36. The sword is a symbol of misguided zeal.

The Cup - A Symbol Of Suffering, 18:11b.

Jesus refers to what is about the transpire as "the cup which my Father hath given me". Mark 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? Matthew 26:39 O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. The cup represents the suffering that Christ would endure and the separation from the Father that He would experience from the cross. The disciples understood the language which Jesus used. To drink the cup means to go through with a difficult experience. We are not totally unfamiliar with that imagery today. When we say, "not my cup of tea" we mean to say no to a certain course of action. The fact that some trophies are designed like cups suggests that winners have been through demanding experiences and have had to "swallow a lot".

The cup involved several illegal and unjust trials which Jesus would have to endure. First, (vs. 12-14, 19-23) Jesus was taken before Annas, the previous high priest and the father-in-law of the current high priest Caiaphas. I say that this was illegal for several reasons. The arrest was without authority. Annas was without jurisdiction. The trial was held on an illegal day (Passover feast), at an illegal hour (night). Jesus was slapped by an officer of the court. (When I preached through Matthew I preached a message called The Illegal And Unjust Trial Of Jesus. I recommend the tape.) Next, Jesus was bound and led to Caiaphas the high priest, v. 24. Jesus was spit on and beaten. Then the charges were changed from blasphemy to treason and He was taken to Pilate, v. 28ff. Pilate heard part of the story and sent Him to Herod. Herod sent Him back to Pilate. This is the contents of the cup. Being treated unjustly. Being hated and persecuted and mocked and beaten and crucified and killed. This is the cup. Jesus was willing to drink the cup. It is symbolic of His suffering.

The Fire - A Symbol Of Spiritual Collapse, 18:15-18; 25-27.

These 7 verses record the spiritual collapse of Simon Peter. They are the fulfillment of what Christ had predicted about Peter, 13:38. The text tells the story in a captivating way. Jesus is bound and led to Caiaphas, vs. 12-14. Simon Peter and another disciple follow, v. 15. Who was the other disciple? It would seem to be John, the author of the gospel who always refers to himself in the third person. He knew what happened to Jesus because he was there. But because the text says that this another disciple was known of the high priest (v. 15) and John was a lowly fisherman from Galilee, some have wondered whether this other disciple might possibly be Nicodemus. Has he become a disciple of Christ at this point?

At first, Peter is stuck at the gate to the palace. Homes were constructed in such a way that they did not face the street. The only thing visible from the street would be the side walls of the house and a gate. Upon entering the gate, one would walk down a corridor to the courtyard. Families would add a section for adult, married children - extended family. Building formed the perimeter with a courtyard in the center. Peter was let through the gate by this other disciple. Then came the first denial. He was asked by a damsel (a servant girl) if he was one of Jesus' disciples, v. 17. His answer, "I am not." He moves to a bonfire where the servants and officers are huddled to keep warm.

At this point, John takes us away from Peter and into the trial with Jesus, vs. 19-24. The style of telling the story makes the tension build. It's as though, Jesus is on trial inside the palace and Peter is on trial out in the courtyard.

In verse 25, John takes us back out with Peter. He was asked the same question and denied it again, this time with an oath, an emphasis of his truthfulness according to Matthew. In verse 26, Malchus' cousin challenged Peter's denials with "Didn't I see you in the garden with Jesus?" Peter denied knowing Jesus the third time this time cursing (not using vulgar language but adding a statement like "God kill me if I am lying". And immediately the rooster crowed, v. 27.

There is an interesting comparison between the behavior of Judas and that of Peter. Judas was a betrayer. Peter was a denier. Judas pretended to be a disciple of Jesus when he really wasn't and Peter pretended to not be a disciple when he really was. Judas was motivated by the possibility of self gain and Peter by the self preservation. Judas was lost. Peter was backslidden. To be backslidden and to deny Christ in word or deed is to behave like a lost man. Confessing Christ publicly - identifying ourselves with Him is evidence of salvation (Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9, 10, 13; 1:16; Luke 9:26). It is also an important part of obedience. Identifying ourselves with Christ is an effective way of guarding against sin and an effective means of witnessing. Don't apologize. Don't be afraid. Don't be caught unprepared. Peter was ready for the big test (at arrest) but was taken by surprise with a little test.

But these denials did not happen spontaneously. There were some early indicators that Peter is headed in the wrong direction. He seemed to a problem with pride and feelings of invincibility. He had a problem with prayerlessness. He fell asleep indifferently. Peter had a problem with presumption. He fought impulsively. And Peter had a problem with p______. He followed inappropriately. There is always a danger in putting distance between yourself and the Lord.

When the rooster crowed, it reminded Peter of Jesus' prediction. The other gospels tell us that he went out and wept bitterly- the initial steps in repentance. Later, he would be confronted, forgiven and restored to a right relationship with Jesus.

There were two trials taking place in the palace that night. The innocent man died (Jesus) and the guilty man (Peter) was forgiven.

Consider the symbols that these verses point to - a garden, a band of men, a sword, a cup, a fire. Are you struggling? Do you need to surrender? Do you know that a Sovereign Savior drank the cup of suffering for your sins? Have you trusted Him as your Savior and Lord? Are you guilty of misguided zeal? Are you backslidden and on the verge of a spiritual collapse? Do you need to get your life right with God?