John chapter 8. Gospel of John
chapter 18. John 18. Read verse 1 with me. When Jesus had spoken these words,
his high priestly prayer, he went forth with his disciples
over the brook Cedron, Cedron, where was a garden into the which
he entered and his disciples. He crossed a brook, went into
a garden, he and his disciples. Many ways we know this is God's
Word. Many ways. The wisdom of it.
The power of it. The life-giving power of God.
God gives life by His Word, and I receive life by this Word. Let there be light. The power
of it. The glory of it. Oh, it's glorious,
God's Word. The glory of it. The wisdom of
it. Oh, by the wonder of it. The
wonder of it. The message of it. It's all Christ
in it. Rivers of blood from start to
finish. Christ crucified. The complexity
of it, meaning it's intricately connected. Complex means many
things that are connected in one thing. Nothing is written for mere information.
All things bear witness of Christ. Everything written in the Word
bears witness of Christ. All points to Him. Everything
that's written says, this is Christ. Every step He took. Everywhere
He went. Nothing is written for information.
He brings up this book. Why? Just tell him where he is
at that time? No, no, it all bears witness
of Christ. The first mention of this book,
go with me, is 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15. And as said, it's God's people,
brothers and sisters, there's so few people that hear these
things, that know these things. And this ought to make your heart
leap. When God shows us pictures of
Christ, when God shows us Christ in His Word that He hides from
the wise and the prudent and reveals unto us, we ought to
thank Him in a high heaven. Thank you, Lord. It's all Christ,
He said. And He keeps showing His people,
Christ, Christ, Christ. See? He's there. See? He's here.
The world says He's there. He says, no, He's here. He's
in His garden with His people at the brook. 2 Samuel 15. David. Absalom made a conspiracy. He made a conspiracy against
Christ. What are they coming to get Christ
for? It's a conspiracy. Absalom made
a conspiracy against David. David. He's coming to get him. Look at it. 2 Samuel 15, verse
19. The king said to Atai, the Gittite,
wherefore goest thou also with us? Are you coming with us? See,
David is leaving. He left Jerusalem. He left his
throne, Brother Kelly, to go down and eventually he's
going to get in a cave. And this fellow Attea said, I
want to go too. And he said, no, return to your
place. Abide with the king there. That king, Absalom. Thou art
a stranger in exile. Verse 20. Wherefore thou camest
but yesterday? Should I this day make thee go
up and down with us? Meaning, you're young, you're
new. Go on back. Go back. See, and I go with her. I may,
return thou, take back thy brethren, mercy and truth be with thee.
Atteah answered the king and says, As the Lord liveth, as
my Lord the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King
shall be, whether in death or life, that's where I'm going
to be. That there also will thy servant
be. I'm coming with you, wherever
you go. And David said to Tygo and Passover,
and Ty and Giptite passed over, and all his men, and all the
little ones that were with him. It was a time of sadness, weeping. His
people, David's people, were weeping. And all the country left with
a loud voice, and all the people passed over. Passed over what?
The brook Cedron. And all the people passed over.
David's people. They all passed over that. Why? Where were they going? Following
David. Did David, our Lord David, David
who wrote Psalm 110, verse 7, drank of the brook, by the way.
That's the brook he's talking about. Did David go down and
drink from this brook to refresh himself? I believe he did. And
then he went. Did our Lord, passing over the
brook here, bend down and drink out of that brook? Did he? Well,
I'll tell you a brook that our Lord did drink. The wrath of
God. The wrath of God. He drank of
that brook. and drank it dry. And all of
God's people should pass over that way. You know the second
mention of the brook Kidron? Josiah. Josiah took all the idols
of all the people and ground them to powder and threw them
in the brook Kidron and said, now drink it. And then Hezekiah
did the same thing. Nothing's written for information.
It all points to Christ, he said. He's the son of David, against
whom this great conspiracy was and now is. The book Hedron, Cedron, Kedron,
in the Old Testament it is Kedron, K-I-D-R-O-N. The book Kedron, means dark and
dusky and ashen. And one of the writers said it
implies mourning and sackcloth and ashes. It's a sad place. And this Brook Kedron dissected
all of Israel. You understand? Let's do it.
This Brook Kedron separated the temple in Israel where all the
enemies of Christ were. And on the other side of that
book were the friends of Jesus Christ. And this gospel separates the
whole world. She played Amazing Grace, How
Sweet the Sound. It saved a wretch like me. The gospel of God's mercy and
grace, it comes to us through the blood of Jesus Christ, a
river flowing. The river is at mercy. Dissects
and separates this whole world. It's like a line drawn in the
sand, this river. God put this river, this brook,
John, that separated. You had to cross over. To leave the enemies of Christ,
you had to cross over this brook. Christ took his disciple, and
they crossed that river. Where did they go? Into the wilderness.
Into the wilderness. A mount. A mount. Mount of Olives. Verse 1 says he's with his disciples. I hope that you entered into
what I just said, because that book is very significant. Very
significant. The Gospel. God's mercy and God's grace is
what separates His people from the world. And He went with His
disciples. Notice that? He went forth with
His disciples. And He entered into this garden
and His disciples. Where would you find the Lord
Jesus Christ? If you were looking for the Lord Jesus Christ, where
would you find Him? Look at verse 2. Judas knew the
place. Jesus oft-times resorted thither
with His disciples. Go with me to the Song of Solomon.
Find the Song of Solomon with me. The Lord often resorted to
this garden of Gethsemane. Song of Solomon, chapter 1. If
you seek the Lord, listen to me, if you seek the Lord with
all your heart, you'll find Him. And you know where you'll find
Him? In His garden. Always. He's with His disciples. That's where He went. The Mount
of Olives. Olive Press. Representative of
Christ Crucified. Mount Zion that preaches Christ
Crucified. That's where you'll find Jesus
Christ. If you're looking for Him, that's where you'll find
Him. Every time. John? Always. At all times. We're two or three together.
That's where what? I am. That's what he said. Where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I. I am. Song of Solomon chapter
1 verse 7. This woman was seeking the Beloved. She says, Tell me, O thou whom
my soul loveth, where thou feedest with thy flock? Where can I find
you? Chapter 5. Go over there. Chapter 5, verse 1. He says,
I am coming to my garden, my sister, my spouse. I've got myrrh. I've got honeycomb with my honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk.
I'll land flowing with milk and honey. Wine, blood, Christ crucified,
milk, honey, that's the Word of God. The river of God, the
mercy of God, the grace of God is in His Church. How many messages have you heard?
It just keeps flowing. The blood keeps flowing. The
grace and the mercy of God keeps flowing. It just keeps coming,
word after word, line upon line, line upon line, precept upon
precept. This river keeps flowing. The water of life never quits
flowing from that rock that was smitten. Aren't we blessed? Where is he? He's in his garden.
Chapter 6, verse 1, Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest
of women? Withers thy beloved turned aside,
that we may seek him? And they said, My beloved has
gone down into his garden. What's he doing? To the beds
of spices. That's where you rest, to bed.
To feed in the garden, to gather lilies. Oh, I'm my beloved's
and my beloved is mine. He feedeth among the lilies.
He's the lily of the valley and he's the bright morning star. Where will you find him? In his
garden. Go back to John. I don't want
to lose you. This is too great. John chapter 18, verse 1. Everything
is significant. Everything points to Jesus Christ.
He's with His people. He's in His garden. That's where
you'll find Him. Judas knew the place. Judas' name is mentioned 22 times. Do you know anything about Bartholomew?
Anybody? He's an apostle. His name is
mentioned one time. You know anything about Thaddeus? He's an apostle. His name is
mentioned one time. Judah's name is mentioned 22
times. Why? He'd been in this garden a lot.
He'd been with the Lord in that garden many times. One of the
old writers said, Judas heard every word Jesus Christ said. He went into that garden. And
brother, he went back. He crossed that brook. But he
went back. He crossed the line. He crossed
the line now. And the next time he comes back,
he's betrayed the Lord. Everything's significant. Twenty-two
times. Twenty-two times. You know, His disciples were always with
Him. That's where they wanted to be. If you wanted to look
and find the Lord, you'd find Him in that garden with His people.
The Beloved in Song of Solomon said, Where is my Beloved? And she found Him and she said,
That's where I want to be. And you remember the story of
Ruth? Huh? You remember she said, Where
you die, I'll die. Where you go, I'll go. Your people
be My people. She followed Him everywhere.
She wanted to be with Him where He was. That's Ruth. That's this
man named Attiyah. And that's all of God's people.
All of God's people want to be with Christ where He is. Is it the Lord you seek truly?
There's some people coming to seek Him. There's some people coming to
seek Him. But His disciples were with Him. They had sought Him and they'd
found Him and they never left. Is it truly the Lord you seek
and love? If it is, that's where you'll
be. And you'll never leave. You'll
never leave. Judas knew the place. And that
Judas is a clarion cry to all of us. Hebrews 3 talks about
today's the day of salvation. Hebrews 3 says this, take heed,
brethren, take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one
another daily while it's cold today. Forsake not the assembly
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, like Judas. Thomas, one time he wasn't with
them. One time he wasn't with them. Wasn't the Lord merciful to Thomas?
My, my, he wish he had never left them that time. For verse
3 of our text, John 18, verse 3. It says, Judas having received
a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
come a thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. He received
a band of, who were these men? Chief priests and Pharisees.
He received, meaning he went and collaborated with and spoke
with and became united with these men that hated Jesus Christ. He went and sided up with them
and had supper with them and they were laughing and drinking,
having a good time. These men hated Jesus Christ.
They were out to kill him. Judas was right there with them.
How? Somebody tell me? He received
them. That's inconceivable to me. He did, after hearing the truth,
after seeing Christ's glory and seeing all those things, the
mercy of Christ, and to unite with those who dishonored our
Lord. How? That's what Paul said. How can light have fellowship
with darkness? How? How can Christ and Baal get along?
Can't. Can't do it. We've been laboring
this point lately, haven't we? Why? Judas 22 times. How could he go and mingle with
these people who hated Jesus Christ? How? Would you tell me? Listen to David. David's a man after God's own
heart. Don't you want to be like David? Listen to David in Psalm
26. Listen to this. He loved the
Lord and he hated every false way. He said in Psalm 26, David
said this, I have not sat with vain persons. You're not going
to catch me with these God-haters and sitting around with them.
He said, neither will I go in with dissimilars. I'm not going
to spend my time with them. He said, I've loved the habitation
of thy house, the place where thine honor dwelleth. That's
where you'll find me, David said. And he said in verse 12, my foot
stands in an even place, a straight place, a wonderful place, a narrow
place, in the congregations will I bless the Lord. That's where
you're going to find me, with God's people. You won't find
me mingling with my companions, David said, are them that fear
the Lord. How can two walk together? He
said to David. How? He can't. Only one way. Don't say a thing about the Lord.
Don't say a thing about this name, John. Don't bring up this
name now. Silent Peter said, How can I
not? That's my husband. It's my life. I can't be silent. I can't mingle with those who
hate him. I came with lanterns and torches and weapons. It was
dark. There's no mention, Brother Kelly,
that the disciples had any torches or lanterns. They were in the
dark. Well, how could they see? True story. Israel in Egypt,
it said God, right before He killed the firstborn, He sent
darkness in the land, darkness so thick that it can be felt
and nobody could see one another. Egypt couldn't see each other. And we'll get to that later.
The darkness over the land, it could be felt. Do you feel the
darkness in this world? Do you feel the darkness in this
world? It's a dark place, isn't it? But it says the children
of Israel had light in their dwellings. They had light. What's the light of God's people?
Jesus Christ. His Word. A lamp under my feet,
a light in my path. They had light. Well, these enemies
came with torches, lanterns, and weapons. They came with swords
and staves, sticks, rods. They came with weapons. They
brought their swords against the sword of God. You know what it says about Jesus
Christ? He's the sword of God. And He's going to smite with
the sword. Where does it come from? Out of His mouth. That's what it says. They came against the sword.
came against God with swords. Well, no weapon formed against
Him will prosper. How foolish is man to fight against
God, huh? That came with weapons. Later,
a little while later, Simon Peter took out his sword. He meant
well. He was defending. He wasn't with
these Christ-haters. Simon Peter wasn't, was he? Where
is he? He's in the garden with his Lord.
And when they came to dishonor our Lord and apprehend our Lord,
Simon Peter took his sword out. He wanted to kill them all. To
defend his Lord. He was going to stand up in defense
of his Lord. He took that sword out. And our
Lord said this, and I think it's Luke's Gospel. He said, put it
yourself. He said, don't you know. I could ask the Father
right now. And he would send ten legions
of angels. He could have called ten thousand
angels to destroy the world and set it free. He could have called
ten thousand angels, but he died alone. Could that be so? They couldn't have taken him.
They couldn't have slain him. They couldn't have apprehended
him. No man takes his life from man. He came to this garden,
Brother John, on purpose, for a meeting. He came to this garden
to meet with his disciples first, to bless them, to cheer them,
to pray for them, but also to meet the foe. To be apprehended. He was delivered. This is where
God is going to deliver him up. We don't have the account. John
doesn't give the account of our Lord sweating blood. Right after
his high priestly prayer, he took three of them and went into
another place and said, watch, watch. And he went in and sweat
blood. And he came out with confidence,
his face set like a plant. Verse 4, Jesus therefore knowing
all things that should come upon him. How does he know everything? He went into this garden on purpose,
ordained before the foundation of the world. The God, the Father
and the Son made a covenant in the Spirit and said on such and
such a date, You will go into this garden, and they will come
after you, and they will... And our Lord kept telling His
disciples this day. They're going to take the Son
of Man, they're going to spit on Him, they're going to crucify
Him, knowing all things. How does He know all things?
Because He worked it all day, after the counsel of His will.
And this ought not Christ to suffer, He said. He must, that
the Scriptures might be fulfilled. knowing all things that should
come upon him, and brethren, everything that comes upon us,
Jesus Christ brings it. He said it. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. They came forth. And verse 4,
he went out as he always did, Preached a message years ago
on, he went before them. He always was before them. He was always out in front of
them. You see, dogs follow their master. Generals go out front,
face the foe. He went before them. He's the
forerunner. He go out before them. He went
to face the foe. He went out to face the enemy
by himself. He didn't say, you know, John,
Jane, get your sword and come with me. Oh, no, he doesn't need
them. Salvation is up in the Lord.
By himself. He went out in front of them.
They're all going to run. He's not running. He's not running. Now look at this. I hope you're awake and I hope
you're listening to this. This is glorious. Whom seek ye? And he looked them all in the
eye. They can't hardly see him. They didn't know him from Thomas,
from Simon, and Judas had to come and kiss him. Oh, the disciples
knew who he was, even in the dark. Whom seek ye? And he looks into the face of
every one of that mob that came seeking Jesus. They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
We're looking for Jesus. Judas, which betrayed him, stood
with them. Stood there with them. Jesus. Oh, how many people say they're
seeking Jesus. They love Jesus. People got His
name in their yards. Thank you, Jesus. All talk of Jesus. Many talk
of Jesus. His enemies called Him Jesus.
The devils called Him Jesus. We know who they are. They are
Jesus. You can't call Him Lord but by
the Holy Spirit, can you? You know, when you hear the name
of Jesus, you're supposed to say He's Lord. At the name of
Jesus, you're supposed to hit your knee and call Him with your
mouth, Lord. Lord Jesus. We're looking for
Jesus. Listen to what He said. He said, Jesus saith unto them,
I am. Verse 6, as soon as he said unto
them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground. They
all hit the ground. They bowed, as it were, before
the Lord Jesus. I am. Whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? He asked his disciples. Whom
do they say that I am? Whom do men say that Jesus is? Time magazine had on their cover
years ago, and just recently, a picture of the wild Bill Hickok,
you know, they call him Jesus. Long hair, Caucasian. And the title said, Who is Jesus
of Nazareth? Men are still forced to acknowledge
him, that he was here. And they're still wondering who
he is. Still debating who He is. There's still as many opinions
about Him as there are people. Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus
knows. He said, I am. And they hit the ground. They hit the ground. Whom do
men say that I am? And his disciples said, well,
you're my Lamb, you're my Lord, you're my God, you're my hope,
you're my salvation. Thomas, who do you say that I
am, Thomas? My Lord and my God. They came to Christ one time
in John 8 and they said, who are you? And he said, I told
you. The same that I said unto you from the beginning, the same
God on the mountain, Mount Sinai, is the same one in Mount Olivet,
and the same one that's going to be on Mount Calvary, and the
same one that's going back to the right hand of the majesty
on high. God was manifesting that way. Isaiah 25, one of my
favorite scriptures, it says this, in this mountain, Shall
the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat thing.
Wine on the leaves, well refined. He'll destroy in this mountain
the face of the country. spread over all the people, the
veil that's spread over. He'll swallow up death in victory. The Lord God will wipe away tears
from off all faces. The rebuke of my people He'll
take away from all the earth. The Lord has spoken it. And it
will be said in that day, Lo, this is our God. He will save us. This is the
Lord, Jehovah. We've waited for Him. We'll be
glad and rejoice in His salvation. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God. Well, He said He was the Son
of God. He said, I am. What's that mean? He's all that
God is. God made all the fullness of
the Godhead. Is this theology? Is it just
necessary that you acknowledge the deity of Jesus? Is that it?
If you acknowledge that, you're okay? Brothers and sisters, when
you're saying that Jesus Christ is God, it means you're saying
my soul is in His hands. My future's in His hands. My
family's in His hands. This world is in His hands. He's
not standing outside hoping I'll let Him in. I'm standing outside
hoping He'll let me in. When you say He's God, you're
saying He reigns and rules among armies of heaven and none can
stay His hand. And I bow at His feet and I ask
Him for mercy. Not He wants this, wants that,
and hope you'll let me. No! This ain't doctrine, it's
knowing God. This is life eternal, Christ
said, that they might know the true God and Jesus Christ who
He sent. Who is He? Jesus Christ is God. We'll never see God as long as
we live. In heaven, we're not going to
see God the Father. But we will see God. Who is He?
Jesus Christ. And the Mormons and the Seventh-day
Adventists and the Jehovah Witnesses, they all say He's the Son of
God. But they don't know He's God. And so their hope is not
in Him. Their salvation is not in Him.
Their life is not in His hands. They glory in what they've done
and how they've made Him Lord. They all glory in how they've
let Him be Lord of their lives. Brethren and sisters, we glory
in that He let us be His life. He let us in. I can't say it
strongly enough. This is not doctrine. This is
who God is. It's what Jesus Christ did. He
didn't come down here to try and save people. He didn't come
in this garden hoping nobody would find Him. He didn't come
in this garden hoping nobody would find Him. He came there
to be found. Delivered up by the Father. Why? For the transgression of my people
was He stricken. Open up the windows. Take this
message to the Word. This ain't doctrine. This ain't
a matter of What you believe, it's who you know. It's who you know. He said, I am.
What are you? That I am. He's everything I
need, John. He's all that I need. Name something
that God is, and that's Jesus Christ. Name something we need,
and that's Jesus Christ. I am that I am. All the enemies
of the Lord will know who He is. It's salvation right now
to know the I Am. Do you? Why did He come? He came for
His people. He came for the transgressions
of His people was He stricken. He came to take captivity captive.
Look at this. Read on now. Verse 7, He asked
them again, Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
They still don't know Him. They fell to the ground and they
still don't bow to Him. They still don't call on Him.
They still don't know Him. Isaiah 1 says, Why should you
be stricken? He'll only rebel more and more. Why? The wrath
of God every day. Who's calling on the Lord? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. Judas, why wasn't Judas just
trembling and shaking and renouncing? He said, I told you that I am. Now look at this. See, this is
why he came. He didn't have to come. Since God made a covenant to
save a bunch of worthless sinners. A bunch of fishermen didn't know
him, didn't care for him, didn't call on him, but God. And he
came to save his people. And he said in verse 8, If you
seek me, if therefore you seek me, let these go their way. He went out before them. Who's
with me? He went out before the brethren, right in front of them,
faced the whole enemy, the whole army, that whole band, was come
out against one man. That's my captain. That's my
salvation right there. When David was going out to meet
Goliath, all Israel was hoping, hoping, hoping. Their hope, their
salvation, their captivity depended on that man. What happened? And so our Lord went out before
them, if you seek me. See, John, God sent the law. It's a curse to us. So Christ
came and He made a curse for us, didn't He? And the law, He
had to be crucified by the law, didn't He? The law took Him.
The law apprehended Him. He had to be made sin so the
law of God and the wrath of God would fall on His head and not
mine. John was talking about, I hit
the top of my head and it's wounded. Good illustration. Where did
you get these wounds? There's one person in glory who's
got scars. He was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities. Our head, our Lord, our head
was wounded, wasn't it? Bloodied. bloodied for us. You see, if you seek me, you
let these go. If Satan, God allowed Satan to enter into Judas and
these evil men and come to apprehend him and bind him, we're going
to look at that Wednesday maybe, they bound him like Samson. You with me? They bound him like
Samson. That sword is not going to take
him. And those bands are going to
bind him. What did? If you seek me, let them go. The law of God, Satan, was our
enemy, our adversary. Handwriting of ordinances against
that. So Christ came, brother. He came and said, if you seek
me, let John Davis go. The law says, I've come to apprehend
him. No, Christ came. He says, no, take me instead. The law says, he's guilty. Christ
said, no, he's not. I shed my blood for him. He's
holy. I'm blamable and unapprovable
on my side. Satan, the adversary, is the accuser of the brethren,
saying, but he's nothing but a sinner. No, no, Christ said,
he's not. He's holy. He's righteous. How? Why? How can these things
be? Blood. Jesus Christ. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies it.
Who is He that condemned it? It is Christ that died. How did He die? Willingly. On
purpose. His people. That it might be
fulfilled. The Scripture might be fulfilled.
You see that? Everything in Scripture is going
to be fulfilled. from him crossing a little brook. How did he cross
that brook? He had to. He had to. This is the Son of David going
to a place of mourning and they're going to come and apprehend him.
From the crossing of that brook to being apprehended by this
mob as a substitute for his people that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled. of them which thou gavest me." Now what was the
first thing he said in his high priestly prayer? Thou hast given
Him all power over all flesh that He should give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given Him. And He said, I've kept them,
none is lost. Not one. Brothers and sisters,
if Jesus Christ came down here for you, if He came to be your
sin bearer and your substitute, and He came and revealed Himself
to you as God, God, You're all in it all. It shall be well with you. You
can't be lost. Do you see what good news this
is? If you really believe, all your hope and all your salvation
is in that man named Jesus. But no, he's not just a man,
he's God's man. If all your salvation is in that
man, wrapped up. Is it? Is that all your hope? Is it really? You can't be lost. You can't be lost. Ever. Ever. The soul that on Jesus Christ
hath leaned for repose, he said, I'll never, no, never desert
to its foe. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, he said. I want to keep going,
but we've got to stop. To Jesus Christ be all the praise
and the glory. He's the I Am. And I am glad
He is, aren't you? Okay. Brother John.