Turn with me to John chapter
18, if you will. Worship service has been so good
so far, been wonderful, wonderful. I'm going to try, by the grace
of God, and I pray that he give us his presence, to bring a message
called Glimpses in the Garden. Glimpses in the garden when our
Lord went into the garden of Eden of a garden of Gethsemane,
excuse me Let me read the first 11 verses When Jesus has spoken
these words He went forth with his disciples over the brook
Sedron David did that too. He went over the brook Sedron
where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples
and And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus
oftentimes resorted there with his disciples. Judas then, having
received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore,
knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and
said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered, Jesus of Nazareth. He said unto them, I am. And
Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon as he
then had said unto them, I am, they went backward and fell to
the ground. Then asked he them again, whom
seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered and said, I've
told you that I am. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled, which
he spake of them which thou gavest me, have I lost none? Then Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it, smote the high priest's servant, cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheath,
The cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Every place we find our Lord
Jesus Christ, in every circumstances that you find him, they were
just further, further revelations of his character, of his blessed
person. And so wherever you find him
at, in whatever situation, It's just a revelation, a greater
revelation of his character. What a character our Lord was
in his blessed person. And wherever he was, his unique
personality could not be hid. You could not hide his personality. When he saw a multitude hungry,
he fed them. He fed them. When he heard the
cry of a beggar sitting by the wayside, He stood still and told
him to come to him and gave him sight. Gave him sight. That's what he does, that's the
kind of character he is. He had mercy on him, commanded
him to be brought. Our Lord don't ask things, he
commands things. And he had mercy and gave him
sight. When he looked out on the fields, he used them as illustrations. to reveal the truths of God and
the need of man. He looked out and he said, see
all those lilies of the field? He said, God closed them. God took care of them. God caused
them to be the way they are. And if he would so close the
lilies of the field, how much more then will he close you?
How much more will he take care of you and meet the need of man? And as you read the scriptures,
You hear his voice and all to hear his voice. You begin to
see what a wonderful, wonderful savior is Jesus our Lord. And his wondrous character, his
blessed personality is opened up before our very, very eyes.
And the verses that I read this morning, we just get glimpses
of his glory while he's in the garden of Gethsemane. And even
in our Master's earthly weakness, we see such strength, we see
such glory, we see such power of our Lord Jesus Christ. So
let's just take a few glimpses of our Savior in the garden and
see some revelations, glorious revelations of His character. Look in verse 2 with me, let's
start there. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, knew the place. For Jesus oft times resorted
there with his disciples. You know, I said, Jude, he went
there often. Judas knew this place. For our
Lord often went into the garden, and he went there to pray. And
this one time he prayed. He prayed three times, this time
when he was in the garden. But he often went there, went
across the brook seed, went into the Garden of Gethsemane, and
often he went there to pray, and he took his disciples with
him. And he said, our Lord Jesus Christ was a man of prayer, a
man of prayer. And that's why he says in verse
1, when he had spoken these words, he went. What words was he talking
about? Well, he's talking about John
14, 15, 16, and 17. but especially chapter 17. It
was our Lord's, John 17 was a prayer that our Lord Jesus offered before
his father and for his disciples. Look what he said in verse one
of John 17. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes
to heaven and said, Father, thou has come that thy son, glorify
thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee. And that's why
he said in John 18, when he has spoken these words, you know,
when they say, you know, our father, which is in heaven, that's
a model prayer. This right here is our Lord's
prayer is our great high priest interceding for us. He said,
father, my time's come. This is the hour that you sent
me into this world to do. And so when he has spoken these
words to his disciples, all of the last four chapters there,
when you get 17, he spoke to nobody but his disciples. And
he started out in John 14, one. Don't let your hearts be troubled.
Don't let them be troubled. You believe in God? Yes, you
do. Believe also in me. Believe also
in me. And so he came to the garden
here, often went there to pray, and he came to pour out his heart
before his father in the condition that he was fixing to face. And
it is said also in verse two that Judas also was betrayed
him. And oh my goodness, he knew the
place. Why did he know the place? Because
our Lord Jesus Christ, he followed Christ for three years. And what
a solemn warning for all of us. What a solemn warning. He had
been a companion of the Lord Jesus Christ for three years.
He had heard our Lord Jesus Christ preach. He heard the Sermon on
the Mount. He saw our Lord's miracles. He
stood there when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. He stood
there when he went into that room and raised that little 12-year-old
girl from the dead. He's seen all the miracles that
our Lord had performed. He heard all the sermons that
our Savior had said. He had heard our Lord Jesus Christ
pray. And he enjoyed the private instructions
of Christ, professed himself to be a believer, and had worked
and preached in our Savior's name. But every time he's mentioned,
it always say Judas, which betrayed him. There's three people in
the scriptures that every time their name is mentioned, their
name is always has... Nicodemus, who came to him by
night. Every time his name's mentioned,
he came by night. Judas, which betrayed him. And
there's another man, John, that disciple whom Jesus loved. Every
time he's mentioned, that disciple whom Jesus loved. Those three
men always have something said about them. And I tell you what,
I would rather hear about that disciple whom Jesus loved than
to talk about my love for him. Because I tell you what, his
love for me, that's what my soul depends upon, not my love for
him. And oh my, Lord, that's why no
wonder we say, what a solemn warning. Lord, what is man that
you're mindful of him? Take heed lest you fall. You know, lots of people, I don't
know how many people I've seen come over the years and stay
for several years under the sound of the gospel, and then just
walk away, just leave, to never come back, to never ever docking
the door of a church again, to come to hear the gospel again.
But you know all it takes to sink a ship is just one little
leak. And all it takes, and I've said
this countless times, if you can leave the gospel, if you
can leave Christ, you will. If you can, you will. If you
can, you will. And look what else about our
Savior, his habit of prayer. Oh my, Jesus, Judas knew that
place which betrayed him. And look down in verse four about
our Savior. What a revelation of Him. Therefore,
Jesus, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth. Went forth. Look at our Lord's
Savior's knowledge of the future. It says, Jesus, knowing all things
that should come upon Him. He just went out. He went forth.
You know, and what this is really saying is that our Lord Jesus
went forth to see and ensure that all things should be fulfilled
concerning Him. This is no act of a weakling
here. This is no act of just a fearful man. This is no act
of just a man doing this. Jesus knowing all things that
should come upon Him. You know, our Lord Jesus Christ,
he said over there in John 1 again, John 17, the hour's come. The hour's come. It's time for
me. I got to go forth now. You know,
when Simon Peter, our Lord told him, he said, I've got to go
to Jerusalem. I've got to be delivered into
the hands of sinful men. I've got to be crucified and
I've got to die. Simon Peter rebuked him and said,
Lord, far be it from thee. Our Lord said, get behind me,
Satan. You want the things of men. But I tell you what, it's
the things of God that you need. And I tell you, the hours come.
Our Lord's not hiding from his enemies. Our Lord's not afraid
of these men. Our Lord's not afraid of the
time that's coming upon him. And Judas knew where it would
be. And look over in John, you know, all things are in his hands. He went, look in John 13, I think,
yeah, John 13 three with me. You know, Jesus went forth knowing
all things that should come upon him. And look what it said in verse
three here. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things
into his hands and that he was come from God and went to God. He said, what he's saying is,
God gave me everything into my hands. And even this moment here,
our Lord now, he said, God gave me everything into my hands.
Now, he said, I'm going forth to empty myself. The Father gave
me this gift. God gave me this power, this
willingness. And here he is emptying himself. And look what he says there back
in our text. Jesus, therefore knowing all
things, all things that should come upon him. Look what it says.
He went forth. He went forth. He said, whatever I gotta face,
here I'm gonna face it. He went forth to be cut off from
the land of the living. He went forth to be numbered
with the transgressors. He went forth to be wounded for
our transgressions. He went forth to be bruised for
our iniquities. He went forth to be forsaken
of God, his Father. He went forth to face everything
that was to come upon him. Oh, he went forth. He went forth
to the agony of betrayal. He went forth to the shame of
becoming a prisoner and being treated as a common criminal. He went forth to the humiliation
of being left to the devices of man. He went forth to be slapped
in the face, went forth to be spit in the face, went forth
to be a robe put upon him and be mocked as a king. Went forth
to have a crown of thorns put on him. So they'd say, look at
him, king of the Jews. Oh, he went forth knowing all
things. He knowed all things that should
come upon him. You know, our Lord's foreknowledge
was perfect, absolutely perfect. And you know, he knowed all things
that God decreed by him. He knowed everything that God
had decreed. That's why He said, knowing all
things. Everything that God decreed from
the beginning to the ending, Christ knew that. Christ knew
everything. You know, all things agreed upon
in the eternal Son's covenant of grace. There was something
that took place Before you and I ever existed, before we ever
lived, before God ever put a star in the sky, before God ever made
an angel, God the Father and God the Son, when there was no
one but them and the Holy Spirit, God said, I will have a people,
I'm gonna have an elect people, I'm gonna have a chosen people.
They'll all be fallen sons of Adam, every single one of them
will. But he said, I'm gonna have a people, and they're all
gonna be sinners. They're all gonna be rebels.
They're all gonna be God-haters. They're all gonna be sinners
from the top of their head to the sole of their feet, from
the inside of their heart to the outside of their flesh. And
God said, but I tell you what, I cannot save them. I can't clear
the guilty. I'm a just God. So how can I
save them? How can I choose them and make
a way for them to be saved? For me to save them? Our Lord Jesus Christ stood up. He said, you send me. Send me
into the world. Send me. And I'll go. and I'll face everything
that they must face. I'll face their sin and I'll
put it away. I'll face their death and die
it so they won't have to die eternally. I'll face your wrath
and I'll endure it so they won't have to endure it. I'll give
myself over into the hands of men so that they so that I can
be blessed. I'll bear a curse so that I can
do something for them. So our Lord Jesus Christ knew
everything that was coming upon him. Everything that was predicted
in the Old Testament scripture. The first promise in the Bible.
First promise ever made. When our Lord Jesus Christ, when
Satan tipped at Eve and they fell, the scripture said, We'll
crush the serpent's head, but you'll bruise his heel. First
promise of our Savior coming into this world. And oh my, and
I'll tell you it's time for him to be led as a lamb to the slaughter. It's time for him to come into
this world. And oh, I'll tell you something. We don't have a clue. You know,
we don't know what a day's gonna bring forth. much less knowing
all things. But I tell you one thing, I know
him who does know all things, and I know him who does all things
well. I know him who has ordered all
things for our good and his glory. And let me say something about
that. All things happen for our good and his glory. Now, you
know, we think that that's for us when we first get converted. But our whole life, from the
day we entered this world, till the day we enter glory, everything
God orders in our life is for our good and His glory. God,
when I was born, God said, I'm going to have His
name Donald. He said, I'm going to have a,
He's not going to have a mother and father that cares a flip
about it. Going to give Him away. and let him wander in this world.
And then he said, I'm gonna send him to Vietnam. And I'm gonna
have to go to Vietnam, and he's gonna have to suffer over there.
And he's gonna have to come back and stay in hospitals for 18
months. And then I'm gonna make him a
rebel. I'm gonna make him a drugger.
I'm gonna make him a hippie. I'm gonna make him something
that's not fit to live in this world. I'm gonna make him to
hate to see the evening come. And I'm gonna hate him to see
the morning come. And then one day I'm gonna cross
his path. One day I'm gonna cross his path
with the gospel. One day I'm gonna cross his path
with the truth. One day I'm gonna make him understand
that he has no power, no ability, nothing good about him. I'm gonna
make him see it and understand it. And he'll come before me. And he'll say, oh Lord, you owe
me absolutely nothing. Nothing. But would you please,
please have mercy on me. And he did. So everything in
our lives from the day we're born to the day he takes us to
glory is for our good. To bring us to himself. To bring
us to himself. Oh. We don't know all things. I wouldn't have, old Scott Reese said one time,
if we had the power, we'd change a lot of things in this world,
but if we had God's wisdom, we wouldn't change one thing. We
couldn't be here without coming from there. Huh? All right. But we don't have
to know everything, but we know him who does know. Oh, bless
his name. And then look what he said concerning
himself. Back over here in chapter 18.
They went forth and said unto them, who are you looking for?
Look what happens now. They said unto him, Jesus of
Nazareth. Our Lord answered and said, I
am. I am, I am. They came to take
him. But he challenges them. They
come to get a Nazarene, a man, a name of his humiliation and
his reproach, the one who's despised and rejected of God. Oh my, and
look what he says. I am, that's all he said. That's
all he said, I am. Look what happens, look how they
respond. As soon then as he said, I am, they went backward and
fell to the ground. In one place, he said, there's
over 500 of them. But our Lord just said, I am.
You read this morning where Moses got down and worshiped before
him. If these folks would have known
who he really was, they'd have fell down and worshiped. But
they were so shocked, so amazed, They didn't know who he was.
Judas had to kiss him to let him know who he was. But they
fell, them fellows fell all over their self to get away from him.
Fell backward. Fell backward. And so he asked
them again. He asked them again in verse seven. He asked them again, whom seek
ye? And they said, Jesus and Nazareth. He said, I told you that I am. I told you. I told you. And oh my, they come to get him
and they retreated. Instead of falling down and worshiping,
they fell backwards. This is the same voice I talked
about last night when Moses stood before God in that burning bush. How can a bush be on fire and
not be consumed? God's in it. God was in it. God appeared to him in a burning
bush. Moses, get your feet off. Get your shoes off. Get them
off. You're barefoot before me. You're
naked before me. And I'll tell you what, he said,
where you're standing, you're standing before me, you're standing
in holy ground. You're standing on holy ground.
You're talking about a display of our Lord's majesty, a display
of his power, a display of his quiet exhibition of his divine
power. He just demonstrates his power
with two one-syllable words, I am, I am. And those fellas fell backwards. Oh, I'll tell you what. It's all what a disdemonstration
of that he was the word. He never raised a hand against
them. And they fell backwards. And
they got up. And he said, who are you looking
for? Jesus said, I am. Don't go no further. Don't look
no further. You found me. Why did our Lord
act like this on this occasion? Just said, I am. that everyone
could clearly see that he was more than Jesus of Nazareth. Oh my. He was God in the flesh. Oh, he was God in the flesh.
God came down in the person of his blessed son. And he did this
that everyone could see that our Lord did what he did absolutely
voluntarily. What he did, he did voluntarily.
He delivered himself into their hands. They never took him. Our Lord said, he said, my father. He says, no man takes my life
from me. Nobody can take my life. He said,
I've got the power to lay it down. I've got the power to take
it up again. He said, this commandment have
I received of my father. And everyone could clearly see
that he delivered himself into their hands. Keep John 18. Look
with me over in John 7, 32. Look in John chapter seven with
me. Look in verse 32. Talking about our Savior. He
was not captured, but he gave himself up. This is where he's
led as a lamb to the slaughter. Look what he said in verse 32,
John 7. The Pharisees heard that the
people murmured such things concerning him. And the Pharisees and chief priests
sent officers to take him. Go get him, go get him. Now look
with me down in verse 44. And some of them would have taken
him. Our Lord started preaching. and some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers,
chief priests, and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why
have you not brought him? The officers' answer said, never
a man ever spake like this man. When he spoke to the 500 men
with swords and staves and lanterns, he just said, I am. and shocked
him, and we fell back. Oh, my. Oh, what our Lord did,
he did. He has power over his enemies.
Oh, look what our Lord, look what it said about our Savior
there in verse two of John 17. You know, our Lord has power
over his enemies. In fact, God said he's gonna
make his enemies his footstool one of these days. He gonna make his enemies his
footstool. Everybody that ever hated him. Everybody who ever
despised him. Everybody who mocked him. Everybody
who made fun of him. Everybody who says he doesn't
exist. He's just a prophet. He's a wonderful
teacher, but he's nothing to him. Oh, every one of them one
of these days, he's gonna sit down. And he's sat on his throne,
and when this thing's ended, God will say, get out on your
knees right now. And our Lord Jesus Christ gonna
prop his feet on him. He has power. He can fill a man
with a word or a look. What it says here in verse 2
of John 17, As thou hast given him power. all authority, absolute
power, over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. Given him. He can fell a man
with a word or with a look, and I'm certainly glad he fell me.
Fell me like just cutting down a tree. Fall down, fall down
before him. He could have sent them to hell
as easily as they fell to the ground. He could have done them
like Korah. When Korah says, you know, he
told Moses and them, he said, listen, I'm as holy as you are.
You all take too much on yourself. Listen, it's time for us to be
in this business of running the church. It's time for us to be
in this business making decisions. Whoa, the next morning he said,
everybody's on God's side, get over here. Everybody's on Korah's
side, get over there. God opened the earth and sent
them to hell without, Barter said, give them a chance to pack
a suitcase. They could have done the same
thing for these people. They were completely at his mercy,
helpless on the ground. He wasn't at their mercy, they
were at his mercy. He could have easily walked away,
but he didn't come to walk away. And oh, look at this, look at
this precious thing about our Savior, John 18. Looking at love for his own.
He said there in verse seven again, he asked them again, who
seek you? They said Jesus and Asher. He said, I told you that
I am. Now look what he says about his
people. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way. You can't have me and them at
the same time. You can't have me and them at
the same, you come to get me, you gotta let these go. You come
to punish me, you can't punish them. You came to exact your
justice on me, you can't exact it on them. Let these go their
way. Oh, keep John 18, look in John
13 going. Look what he said about our savior. Having loved his own, John 13 warned, now before the
feast of the Passover, and that's what's happening here, our Passover,
Christ, our Passover's being sacrificed. When Jesus knew that
his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto
the Father, listen, having loved his own which were in the world. Having loved his own which were
in the world, how long did he love them? to the end. Oh, His own by covenant, His
own by gifts. I think that in John 17, there's
seven places where it talks about us being given to Christ. Seven
times it's mentioned that way. And oh my, we're His by covenant. God gave us to Him. We're His
by price. God set a price for our souls.
God set a price for our redemption. And the prize was the blood,
the death, the agony of our Savior on the cross. You know, it's
the blood. When you hear about the blood
of Christ, the death of Christ, it's always about the death,
not for himself, but for someone else. Oh, when our Lord cried
on the cross, he said, Father, forgive them. They don't understand what they're
doing right now. And I didn't understand what
was going on when I first began to believe her. No, no. He's
owned by power. Oh, he has the power. Oh, in
the day of his power, he makes his people willing. In the day
of his power, he comes and puts us in the dust. In the day of
his power, He comes and changes our heart. In the day of his
power, he changes our mind. That's what repentance is, it's
a change of mind. And our Lord's thoughts here
are not of himself, but of his own. If you seek me, let these
go their way. Oh my. He says, you know, here
he is taking care of his sheep. He said, I said, they're my sheep. I'm laying down my life for my
sheep. And here he is, he's more concerned about his own people
than he is his own sufferings. He's just more interested in
that they don't suffer if he's gonna suffer. Here's the shepherd
protecting his sheep. And they'll remember, they'll
remember one day that the last thing our Savior said about them
was, Let these go their way. Let these go their way. Simon
Peter went his way to betray him. The rest of them was somewhere
else. John was the only one, that disciple
whom Jesus loved, that stayed. And oh my, the very, very last
thought of their master before he was taken a prisoner was for
them and their safety. and all the shepherds responsible
for the sheep, and I'm so thankful for that. Our Lord here doesn't
act like a captive, but he acts like a king. He doesn't ask him,
would you please let these go? I'd appreciate it if you'd let
them go. I would really like for you to, you know, not bother
these fellas. No, no, he said, you seek me,
let them go. That's a commandment, let him
go. He didn't ask him, he told him. He told him. Oh, take me,
but don't you dare touch mine anointed. And let these go their
way. You have me. You have me. It's not just for them to suffer
if I suffer in their stead. They can't suffer with him and
be alone. He alone is the price of their
redemption. Oh my. Let me show you something. I
hope I'm not taking too long. But look in John, you know, when
it talks about this, look in Isaiah 63. Look in Isaiah 63. I just saw this here. Look in
Isaiah 63, when I saw the Lord said, let these go their way.
You can't have me and them. Look what it said in verse one. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with thy garments from Basra? This that is glorious
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine-print. I have trodden the winepress
alone, and of the people there was none with me. I'll tread
them in mine anger, I'll trample them in my fury, and their blood
shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will state all my rampant.
Listen to this. For the day of vengeance is in
my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked,
and there was none to help. I wondered there was none to
uphold. Therefore my own arm brought
salvation unto me. Oh my, our Lord did it by himself. Did it by himself. And then last
of all, last of all, talk about these glimpses of our Lord's
revelation, a little more revelation of him. Look what it says down
here in verse 10 and 12 and 11. Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it, smoked the high priest's servant's ear, cut off his right
ear. And our Lord, when he'd done
that, he'd just reach out and put that ear right back on. And
he says, sir, put up your sword. Put up your sword. And look what
he says now. Look at our Lord's submission
to the Father's will. He said, the cup which my Father
hath given me shall I not drink. Oh my. He submits himself to
man and God. You're talking about perfect
power and perfect supremacy and his perfect submission and subjection. Here's the sovereign and yet
the servant. Here's the lion and also the
lamb. And he says the cup, the cup
which my father hath given me. Shall I not drink it? You thought
for a moment that I wouldn't take the cup my father put in
my hand? Did you ever think for a second
that what my father put in my hand that I would not drink it?
Did you think that I'd come into this world to make it easy on
myself? Oh, my. He doesn't say a necessity
is laid upon me to drink this cup. He doesn't say my father
commanded me to drink it. He says, shall I not? Did you
ever doubt that I wouldn't? Did you ever doubt that I would
take that cup with all that sin and all that wrath and all that
judgment, that you don't think that I would take that and drink
it? And it says in one place, I can't
remember where it's at, but he said he drank even the dregs. The dregs. It shows us that our
Lord in his heart, in his spirit, didn't know how to do anything
else other than submit himself to his father. He couldn't help
but do it. Oh, that's the highest willingness
that any human's ever had on this earth. that our Lord said,
should I not drink this? This is my Father's will. This
is what I've come to do. And oh, what a lesson this teaches
us. Every once in a while, our Lord
will put a cup in our hand. He'll put a cup in our hand. And it's a bitter cup. Sometimes
he gives us a bitter cup. There's a couple in our congregation
last Sunday morning. Their son got murdered. Having
his funeral today. That's a bitter cup. The only
child they had. That's a bitter cup. It's a bitter cup when God comes
in and takes somebody out of your home. It's a bitter cup
when God makes your flesh so weak, makes your body ache, makes
your mind confused. It's a bitter cup that God puts
in our hands every once in a while, but if we'll just remember this,
that it's in the Father's hands and He gave us to drink it. You
know what it'd do? It'd sweeten it just a little
bit, make it a little easier to swallow, a little easier to
swallow. My wife that died, when she got the death sentence
pronounced on her, you know what she said? She said, this is from the hand
of God and we'll just kiss the hand of God's providence and
take what he's given us. I'd make these cups a little
better, wouldn't I? Make them a little sweeter, a
little easier to take. A little easier to take. Has God got the
bitter cup in your head right now? Take it and say, thank you, Father. Thank you. Appreciate you very
much.