Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Glad you could join us this morning.
I'd like to welcome you to our program. If you'd like to follow
along in your Bibles, I'm going to be continuing in the book
of John. I'm going to begin chapter 18. And this is where we begin
the historical record. of when Christ was actually taken
from his disciples and put under arrest and taken to Pilate and
Herod and tried and going on his way to the cross. And I've
entitled this message, the title may seem a little strange, but
the title is this, Let Christ People Go. And I took that from
verse eight, where Jesus told the soldiers that had come to
take him, he said, if you seek me, let these go their way, talking
about his disciples. Let Christ's people go. When
you think about the saying, let my people go, you think of Moses,
don't you? Because that's where Moses, he
was commissioned by God to go into Egypt and face down Pharaoh,
the most powerful man on the earth at that time, and tell
him to let the Hebrew children go, let my people go. And that
back there, that physical deliverance of the Hebrew children from Egypt,
was a type or a picture of the spiritual deliverance and freedom
of the true people of God, the elect of God, Jew and Gentile,
out of the bondage of sin. As the Hebrews were led out of
the bondage of Egypt, the slavery of Egypt by Moses, God's prophet,
all of God's sheep, all of God's elect, all of the saved, are
literally led out of the bondage of the law of sin and Satan by
God's prophet, priest, and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact,
in the Book of Luke, when it talks about the Mount of Transfiguration,
that was where the Lord took Peter and James, I think John,
up on the Mount, and He showed them a great vision of His glorious
character. He was transfigured, and He spoke
with two men who appeared in a vision. It was Moses and Elijah. Moses represented the law, Elijah
represented the prophets and they spoke with Christ and the
Bible says in the book of Luke that they spoke of his decease
which he should accomplish in Jerusalem and that word decease
was the Greek word for exodus and what that's telling us is
that the death of Christ was not the end, it was a leading
out leading His people out of sin and death and hell and Satan,
bodies to Satan. So it wasn't Exodus. So we'll
get to that, but let's look at some of the history leading up
to this. This is after the Lord's Prayer, chapter 18, verse 1.
It says, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with
his disciples over the brook Cedron. Now, sometimes you'll
see that in the Old Testament spelled with a K and it's called
the book Cedron. So usually in the Greek, the
transliteration is Cedron, but it's Cedron. the Brook Kedron
where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples.
And of course that's the Garden of Gethsemane. Now this Brook
Kedron or Brook Cedron has a prominent place. It was a waterway between
Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives and it was a waste dump for the
most part And it's sort of a picture of our Lord going through that
brook, that dirty brook. That's how the Lord went through
the sins of His people to the cross. Now, our Lord was never
a sinner. And He never became a sinner.
He was never contaminated or corrupted by sin in His body,
in His mind, or in any other way. He is the sinless Savior. He is impeccable, incapable of
sin. Why not? He's God manifest in
the flesh. But in 2 Corinthians 5.21, the
Bible says that He was made sin. Well, how could He have been
made sin? Well, the Bible tells us in the
same chapter how it talks about that God, in verse 19 of 2 Corinthians
5, was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, and that's
the world of His elect, not everybody without exception, not imputing
their trespasses unto them. He didn't charge their sins unto
them. He didn't charge their debt unto
them. Who did He charge them to? He
charged them to Christ. And that is a legal charge of
the sin debt of the people of God whom He chose before the
foundation of the world and gave to Christ and put the debt on
Christ. Now that's what it means when
we talk about Christ being our surety. He paid the debt. Back over in the book of Hebrews
chapter 2. There's an interesting verse
that puts it in perspective. If you want to look there, Hebrews
chapter two and verse 17. Now again, our Lord never was
a sinner. He never had an evil thought
or an evil motive. He never was contaminated with
our sin, but the sins of God's people were laid on Him legally
by imputation, charging, accounting the debt to them. He became responsible,
accountable for my sin debt. It had to be paid. That's what
a ransom is. A ransom had to be paid. That's
what redemption is. A price has to be paid, okay? And so the Bible says, the Lord
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, all of his people,
all of his sheep. And it was laid on him. That's
just a metaphor that describes imputation. that he took my debt, but he's
never corrupted by my sin. He was never contaminated in
any way transformed by it in that sense. But look here at
Hebrews 2 and verse 17. It says, wherefore, or for this
reason, in all things, it behooved him. Now it behooved Christ. What does that word behoove mean?
It's the Greek word for debt. In other words, in all things
he was indebted to be made like unto his brethren that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. What
he's saying there is because the debt of the sins of his people,
the elect of God, the sheep, was put to his account legally. And because he took upon that
debt himself, he said, I'll pay it. He voluntarily accepted that
debt. And he's able to pay it and he's
willing. And so he took that debt and
became the surety of his people, was made the surety of his people.
Then he had to be our substitute. He had to become man. He had
to be God and man in one person. and then he had to go to the
cross and die. That's our Redeemer. Our surety, our substitute, our
Redeemer. And He satisfied the debt by
His death, His blood, the ransom, the redemption that He accomplished. We'll go back to verse 18. Going
over the brook Kidron, or Sidron, however you want to pronounce
it, is sort of like a little picture of Him crossing the sea
of our sins to the cross to pay that debt. And it says here in
verse two, now this is John 18, it says, and Judas also, which
betrayed him, Judas had already betrayed him and been cast out,
he knew the place. And he says, for Jesus oftentimes
resorted thither with his disciples. So Judas was familiar. Now we
see the plan coming together. that Judas has betrayed Him and
is going to bring the soldiers to Him. Now let me tell you this
now, these Roman soldiers and these Jewish soldiers that were
soldiers that were members of the court of the Sanhedrin and
Judas, everything they did was because of an evil, sinful, selfish
mind and heart But every bit of this was ordained by God. Because this was the way that
Christ was going to the cross. There's no happenstance here. There's no chance. It's all ordained
by God. And let me show you that. He
says in verse 3, Judas, then having received a band of men,
an army, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh there with lanterns and torches and weapons, Now they're
just going to arrest one man. Verse 4, Jesus therefore knowing
all things that should come upon him. Now how did he know that? You see? Well, some people say,
well he looked down through the telescope of time and he foresaw
it. That is totally, totally unbiblical. And it's dishonoring to God.
Our God is no crystal ball gazer. He's no fortune teller. Our God,
the Bible says, that our God is the sovereign determiner of
all things in this world, in this universe. And I know that
a lot of those things are hard for us to wrap our minds around
and understand, but it's true. Let me show you this in the book
of Acts chapter two, before I go back to John 18. Listen to what
Peter preached at Pentecost in Acts chapter two. And this is
verse 22. This is Peter preaching in Jerusalem. In Acts 2.22 it says, you men
of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know. Now look at verse 23. Him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Now foreknowledge doesn't mean
just telling the future. Foreknowledge means foredetermination. So by the determinant counsel
and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain. And then look over at Acts chapter
four. Here's another passage that seals
this down. Verse 26 of Acts chapter four. And there are other verses that
we could go to. But it says in verse 26 of Acts
chapter four, the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers
were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. Verse 27, for of a truth against
thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, Pontius
Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered
together. Now look at verse 28. For to do whatsoever thy, God's
hand, and thy, God's counsel, determined before to be done. Now, does this make God the author
of evil? No. No, it doesn't. These men meant it for evil.
We meant it for evil, our sins, our rebellion, and if we'd have
been there, we would have been right with them. If you don't
believe that, you don't know your sinfulness. But does that
mean we're excused? No. It simply means that God
had a plan and a purpose in mind for the good of His people. And
He does all things good and right. And if you want to know the answers
to your objections on things like that, read the book of Romans
chapter 9, a passage that many preachers will stay away from. They'll say they can't explain
it. That's not the problem, folks. It's not that they cannot explain
it. It's because they don't like it. Because it puts God on the
throne and man in the dust. Well, let's go back to John 18. It says in verse four, Jesus,
therefore knowing all things that should come upon him, he
already knew it. He went forth and said unto them,
whom seek ye? Now he knew who they were seeking.
But he's asking this question to make a point. Well, what point's
he trying to make? Verse five. They answered him. We seek Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
said unto them, I am. Now if you've got a King James
Bible, it says I am he, and the he is in italics. But the way
it reads in the original, he said I am. One of the great I
am statements of Christ. I am. And it says, and Judas
also, which betrayed him, stood with them. And as soon then,
verse six, as soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they
went backward and fell to the ground. Now what do you think
was happening? Do you think they were all drunk?
Or do you think that they just all had a moment of uncoordination? and fell down? No. At the power
and the sound of His voice, He's making this point. He said, and
here's the point, He says, basically He's saying, you couldn't touch
one hair of my head unless I let you and direct you. You heard that song, He could
have called 10,000 angels? Well, He could have, but He didn't. And it wasn't because He felt
sorry for us, It's because he had a mission. And that mission
was stated back up in John 17 about glorifying the Father and
glorifying the Son and the salvation of his people. And he said, after
they fell backward, they all got up, then asked them again,
whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
And Jesus answered, verse 8, I have told you that I am. If
therefore you seek me, Let these go their way. Let Christ's people
go. What a statement. If you take
me, these are going to go their way. You see, this is the doctrine
of His surety shift, His substitution, His redemption. He took the place
of a whole multitude of sinners, which no man can number, Not
everybody without exception now. When Christ died on that cross,
he did not die for every individual without exception. Those who
perish in hell, Christ did not die for them. Justice cannot
twice demand payment for the sin. And I know people today,
they say, well, you have to accept it. The Bible doesn't say that.
That's a concoction of man because he wants to think that he is
the captain of his own fate, the determiner of his own destiny. He wants to feel like that he
has some part in making the difference. The Bible won't let us do that.
The Bible says, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Christ
died for a people and they're going to be saved. And how are
you gonna know them? The Holy Spirit's gonna bring
them under the preaching of the gospel and give them life from
the dead, spiritual life, the new birth, and bring them to
faith in Christ and repentance of dead works. And you may sit
there and you say, well, how do I know if I'm one for whom
he died? Well, are you interested in the gospel? How God saves
you. Are you really interested? Or
are you just going to church somewhere and being taught everything
without challenging it, without questioning it? Question what
you're hearing. Even what you're hearing from
me, question it. And determine the answers by
the Scripture. And not by just piecing little
pieces of Scripture together. Don't just quote John 3.16. I
love John 3.16. It's a beautiful verse. But it's not the answer to all
of the questions and the objections. That word world there is not
talking about everybody in the world. It's talking about the
world of God's people whom he loves, for whom Christ died. It's talking about this world.
Look back over here in John 17. When he said in verse nine, he
said, I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou hast given me, for they are thine. That's who that
world is. And who are they? God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on Him should not perish, but have what? Everlasting life. Everlasting life. Well, He said
it, verse 8 here, John 18. If therefore you seek Me, let
these go their way. That's the justice of God in
a statement. If Christ dies, For the sins
of His people, they must be set free. They must go their way,
and their way is the way of grace. Their way is the way of mercy,
the way of the cross, the way of God, the way of righteousness. There's no choice. The justice
of God, the law of God cannot hold them. Satan cannot hold
them. Sin cannot hold them. The grave
cannot hold them. Oh death, where's thy sting?
Grave, where's thy victory? It's gone. You'll die physically,
and you may be buried in a tomb, or you may be cast to the four
winds, but it cannot hold you if you're one of his sheep. He
said, my sheep will never perish. He says, no one shall pluck them
out of my hand. I and my father are one. He said,
of all which he had given me, I should lose nothing, but raise
it up again at the last day. And look at verse nine of John
18. It says, well, let's read verse
eight with verse nine. He said, Jesus answered, I've
told you that I am, if therefore you seek me. Let these go their
way, let Christ's people go. Verse nine, that the saying might
be fulfilled which he spoke of them which thou gavest me, I
have lost none. And that's a saying that Christ
himself made. You can see it over here, as
I prayed in John 17, nine. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they
are thine. John 6 and John 10, other passages. I lost none. And he will not
lose any. I've heard preachers intimate
or implicate that Christ failed to save a lot of people because
they wouldn't cooperate with him. That is not true. He never
failed. He always prospers. And he shall
never fail to save his people. Now here's the way I look at
that. I wanna be one of those people whom he never fails to
save. I wanna be one of those men,
one of those people that he says, let him go. And I know there's only one way
that I give evidence of doing that. And that is by believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ and resting in His blood for my whole
salvation, His righteousness, for my whole justification. I'm
forgiven of all of my sins to the point that God will not charge
me with my sin. Romans chapter 8 says, Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died, yea rather, is risen again, who's seated at the right
hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for us.
That's what He says. Let these go their way. Let Christ's
people go. Well, here's another point of
history here. Look at verse 10. You know who
Simon Peter is. He was a very rash man who oftentimes
spoke when he should have shut up. And it says in verse 10,
then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it. Now these men are coming
after Jesus of Nazareth. And Peter, he jumps up, he draws
his sword. He smote the high priest's servant
and cut off his right ear. And the servant's name was Malchus.
Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into thy sheath.
The cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
He told him one time, he said, this is the very reason I came
into this world, to drink the cup of God's wrath. Remember,
he prayed in the garden, if it be possible for this cup to pass
from me, then thy will be done. He was suffering in his humanity
there. He wasn't doubting or anything. But he told Peter, look, this
is not why we're here. We're not going to declare war
on these guys. We're not going to draw swords. That's not how
the gospel ministry is accomplished in Christ. He said, I came into
this world. And he said, this is the cup
that my father gave me, and I'm willingly going to drink it.
And so it says in verse 12, then the band and the captain and
officers of the Jews took Jesus, bound him. They didn't have to
bind him, but they did. And led him away to Annas, that's
Caiaphas' father-in-law. He was kind of like the Kohai
priest. Annas first, for he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas,
which was the high priest that same year. And it says in verse
14, now Caiaphas was he which gave counsel to the Jews. And
this was earlier, Caiaphas said that it was expedient that one
man should die for the people. And there's another statement
by Caiaphas that he spoke unwittingly when he said that. It's over, I think, in John chapter
11. Let me just show you that. This is Caiaphas the high priest. Annas was the man behind the
high priest's throne. But in 1150, Caiaphas, when they
saw the multitudes come after him, And he said, Caiaphas said,
well, read verse 49. And one of them named Caiaphas,
being the high priest that same year, said unto them, you know
nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that
one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should
perish not. And this spake he not of himself,
but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should
die for the nation. And not for that nation only,
but that also he should gather together in one the children
of God that were scattered abroad." So he was prophesied and didn't
even know it. That Christ was going to die
for all of his people all over this world, Jew and Gentile,
the elect of God. Not everybody without exception.
Caiaphas himself was left out, not for himself, but for the
people of God, for whom Christ would die. And this is what he's
saying. If you take me, and they did, he let them take it, let
my people go. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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today and may the Lord be with you.