Scripture Introduction
On a Thursday night, they gathered to eat the Passover, the annual celebration of God’s rescuing the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. During that eventful evening, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples (providing the great example of love and service), Judas commits to betraying the Lord (and leaves to carry out the act), the remaining eleven express their anxiety and fears, and Jesus comforts his friends with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Soon they will leave him to suffer alone, but Jesus tells them in advance what will happen, so that when the hour comes, they will remember and their faith will not be restored.
In our study of John’s biography of the Messiah, we are at chapter 18. The Passover table now holds only cold scraps; the teaching is complete; the voice of the High Priest is silent; the last Psalm has been sung. After a season of sequestered safety and security, Jesus steps back into the flow of space and time, which immediately sweeps him toward the cross. I will read the first 11 verses of John 18.
[Read John 18.1-11. Pray.]
Introduction
William Ernest Henley’s poem, Invictus, expresses the hope many people have for control over their lives:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Young people often believe themselves masters of their own fate, able to manipulate situations to obtain the results they desire, regardless of the “fell clutch of circumstance.” Most of us, however, eventually realize that we have less control than we wish. The educational opportunities we have, the place and parents to whom we are born, the way we were raised, even the color of our skin – these affect greatly the choices we are presented with and the outcomes which are possible.
Now because we are so constrained by conditions beyond our control, some suggest that the same was true for Jesus. He was, after all (so the reasoning goes), merely a man. He had high hopes, but the government in Rome and the religious authorities in Jerusalem conspired against him, sweeping away his dreams in an early and unfortunate death.
Albert Schweitzer was one who thought Jesus was overcome by circumstances beyond his control. In his 1906 book, The Quest for the Historical Jesus, Schweitzer said: “There is silence all around. The Baptist appears, and cries: ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Soon after that comes Jesus, who lays hold of the wheel of the world to set it moving on that last revolution which is to bring all ordinary history to a close. It refuses to turn, and he throws himself upon it. Then it does turn; and crushes him. Instead of bringing in the eschatological conditions, he has destroyed them. The wheel rolls onward, and the mangled body of the one immeasurably great Man, who was strong enough to think of himself as the spiritual rule of mankind and to bend history to his purpose, is hanging upon it still.”
Obviously, you can, like Schweitzer, make up your own ideas about Jesus and God. But you should know that the picture which the Bible presents is not of a “mistaken idealist caught and crushed like a rag doll in the wheels of history, [a man] who died in confusion and despair” (this quote and the Schweitzer illustration are from Hughes, John, 414). Instead, the Bible shows Jesus’ intentionally directing of every circumstance to yield his perfect purpose. Far from being crushed by the wheel of history, he exhibits absolute control over the unfolding of providence. Here is the one man who truly was “master of his fate and captain of his soul.” And as the master, he governs all things to bring God’s salvation for all who believe.
This true and accurate record of Christ’s last day encourages those who wonder if God cares about our lives. Sometimes we do feel abused by the “bludgeonings of chance.” Is there a purpose? Is God in control? Today we will see the mastery Jesus has over time and space, so that you too can trust his governing care. To get there, first notice how…
1. Christ Entering the Garden Teaches Us to Trust His Governing Care (John 18.1-4)
Judas’ betrayal was no surprise. Earlier in the evening, Jesus reminded his men that Psalm 41.9 predicted these events centuries before: the friend of Messiah would eat bread with him and then betray him. Jesus enters the garden precisely because that is where Judas would bring the mob. Rather than avoid the danger – Jesus insists on this outcome. But why?
To answer that, you must know the overarching story of the Bible. (Even if you do not believe the Bible, you should at least understand the claim which Christianity makes.) It is this:
• God made mankind good and upright
• Mankind rebelled against God’s good rule, bringing sin into our lives
• The just punishment for sin is death. The penalty is great, not because each sin is so “bad,” but because the measure of a sin is how great the one we sin against. Since God is perfect and holy, every sin deserves his anger and wrath
• To restore people to God and life, God himself becomes a man in the person of Jesus. As a man he lives a perfect life and dies an atoning death, a just and perfect punishment for sin
• God’s people are saved by faith which accepts the death of Jesus, the God-Man, in their place
• This way of salvation was God’s plan from the beginning of time. By it God vindicates his justice (since sin is fully punished at the cross) and he proves his grace (by taking the punishment himself)
So when Jesus walks into the garden, he says by his actions, I will take the punishment for my people. Just as life began in a garden, so now Jesus gives up his life in a garden. But where Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, Christ overcomes sin in the garden of Gethsemane, by absorbing its just punishment and putting an end to its power.
Two things to especially notice. First, Jesus fully controls these events. He is not crushed by the wheel of history; he crushes the history which had always been, and replaces it with a new history for the all who will come to him by faith. No longer must your sin separate you from God forever; he walks to the cross in order to bring near those who were once far off.
Second, notice the assurance and comfort which this action creates. Because Jesus’ death is not accidental or unintended, we know that God’s plan for his people is for good and blessing. The apostle Paul explains it by saying: “If God is for us [which Jesus proves by entering the valley where Judas would bring the mob] if God is for us, then who can be against us? God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, therefore he will also graciously give us all good things.”
It is an argument from the greater to the lesser. God has already done the great thing – he established a way of salvation; and then, since none could be found to fulfill it, he did it himself. Now since he has done the great thing, we can trust him for the lesser things.
Yes, life is full of pain and suffering. But when compared to what Christ Jesus guaranteed by entering the Garden of Gethsemane, there is no comparison.
Listen to how Paul applies this in 2Corinthians 4.16-18: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
You can trust God’s good governing, even though he allows trials, troubles, and tribulations, because his sovereign control brought salvation through the cross.
2. Christ Drinking the Cup of His Father’s Wrath Teaches Us to Trust His Governing Care (John 18.11b)
Between verses 2 and 3 some things happen which John chooses not to record. Matthew’s biography explains that after the arrived in the Garden, Jesus prayed to his Father in Heaven, asking him if there were any other way of salvation other than his drinking the cup. The phrase, “drink the cup” comes from the Old Testament. Because drinking a large tankard of wine would make a man stagger with drunkenness, Isaiah used that image for staggering under the punishment due sin. “Drinking the cup of God’s wrath,” therefore, came to mean receiving in yourself God’s punishment for sin.
So when Jesus says to Peter in verse 11: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” he tells us that there is only one way to redeem a people – God the Son must suffer for sin.
As we approach Easter, the church thinks again about the suffering of Christ on the cross, and much attention is focused on the physical torment. I do not downplay that at all. The horrors of crucifixion probably cannot be exaggerated. But we do well to remember the suffering greater even than the physical pain – the agony of soul which Christ endured.
Stuart Townend’s song, “How Deep The Father’s Love,” captures the sorrow: “How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure: that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss: the Father turns His face away….” God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have loved one another with a perfect, pure and holy love for all eternity. They have known no separation, do disagreement, no conflict, no division. So unified of purpose and love are the three that they are one, even while the one is three.
But sin demands separation – so the Father forsakes the Son at the cross. Surely we can trust the God who would endure such agony to redeem a people. Circumstances did not sweep Christ away against his will; this is the choice of the God- Man who orders all things for his glory and the good of his people.
3. Christ Confronting the Mob Teaches Us to Trust His Governing Care (John 18.3-6)
A mob’s arrest might make us think that Jesus has lost control. The novelist, H. G. Wells once said the world is like a great stage production managed and directed by God. When the curtain rises, you see a perfect set and resplendent characters. Everything goes well until the leading man steps on the hem of the leading lady’s gown, causing her to trip over a chair, which knocks over a lamp, which pushes a table into a wall, which in turn knocks over the scenery, which brings everything down on the heads of the actors. Meanwhile, behind the scenes God is running around, shouting orders, pulling strings, trying desperately to restore order from chaos. But, alas, he is unable to do so! Poor God! According to Wells, he is a very little, limited God. (Illustration from Hughes, John, 416).
But that is not what happens. This is more like a Jedi Knight attacked by a band of third graders. Instead of using Force Throw to repel his enemies, Jesus speaks the self-existing name of God, “I am,” and they fall to the ground.
So the mob comes to arrest Jesus and they are, instead, arrested by his self-proclamation of deity. Jesus intentionally identifies himself with the same title that God used with Moses in Exodus 3. Moses asked God: “When I go to rescue Israel from bondage and they ask me, ‘What is the name of the God who sent you?’ what shall I say?”
God answered: “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” So honored is that title to the Jewish people that they will not utter it.
But Jesus does. He says the word with all the power of its reality. He is in full control of the events unfolding.
4. Christ Providing for His Disciples Teaches Us to Trust His Governing Care (John 18.7-9)
When I think of power and control and authority, I usually imagine the ability to protect myself from pain and problems. Notice, however, how Jesus uses his sovereignty: to protect his own.
With a band of soldiers, it is obvious that they intended to arrest Jesus and his men. But twice Jesus makes them affirm that they seek him, then he says, “So, if you seek me, then let these men go.” And they do. I read somewhere that Martin Luther believed this was the greatest miracle of all that happened in the Garden Gethsemane.
One thing is clear: this is no impotent prophet caught in the gears of history. Here is a mighty Lord dictating his will over and upon even those who imagine themselves in charge. Christ governs the actions even of Rome’s armies, for the protection of his people. Surely you can trust his care.
5. Christ Healing Malchus Teaches Us to Trust His Governing Care (John 18.10-11)
Impetuous Peter wants a fight! Little does he realize that God’s will is not a military victory. If he wanted to battle, legions of angels stood at the ready, swords drawn, power invincible available to instantly slaughter armies by the millions. One day those angels will ride out to battle for the Lord; but not today. Today Christ fights sin and death, and victory will be won by laying down his life for his friends. In fact, John Calvin warns what might have happened if Peter’s rash act had started a fight which interfered with the plan of God: “No thanks to him that Christ was not kept from death and that his name was not a perpetual disgrace.”
To make clear what kind of ministry he has, Jesus heals Malchus’ ear. Even to the end showing mercy and grace to those in need. This is a sovereign you can trust with your life.
6. Conclusion
Some people see Gethsemane as a tragedy, a time when a good man was overwhelmed by hatred, misunderstanding, and evil. The text tells a different story. Jesus does not walk into a trap; he lays one. A trap in which unsuspecting armies of Rome and Priests of Israel fulfill their role in the grand drama of redemption. Rather than resting control from him, Christ remains the conductor of the show.
The Bible consistently tells us to observe how Jesus uses his authority for our blessing, so that we will trust his sovereign control over our lives. He does not use his sovereignty to eliminate the wounds and hurts of this life, neither for us nor for himself. The events of John 18 promise us that “for those who love God, all things work together for good” (Romans 8.28).
Someone write a poem:
All those who journey, soon or late,
Must pass within the garden’s gate;
Must kneel alone in darkness there,
And battle with some fierce despair.
God pity those who cannot say,
“Not mine but thine,” who only pray,
“Let this cup pass,” and cannot see
The purpose in Gethsemane.
The purpose may not be revealed today, but it is good. Will you trust the Lord of your Gethsemanes?
