John 18 is where we will be studying
this morning. I just want to do a running commentary
of these verses several verses we are going to
look at and just want to go down through
here and comment as we go. I hope the Holy Spirit will apply
the word accordingly. This is the account of Our Lord being apprehended, or
the Lord being accosted in the garden and led to the high priest's
court, his arraignment before the high priest and Peter's denial
of the Lord. Now, once again, every word is
significant. Every action, every event, every
step, every word recorded here is a fulfillment of prophecy. It's
wonderful. It's amazing. I hope you have
read this beforehand, and if so, then when you read Isaiah
53 with me, Some marvelous things there that
speak of this time. Let's read verses 8 through 11. John 18, verses 8 through 11.
Jesus answered. Remember when the officers came
to take him, and he said, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus
of Nazareth. And when he said, I am, he spoke a brief display of who he is,
God, his power. And they fell down, every one
of them, fell in the dust. And then when they got back up,
he said, Whom seek ye again? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Now, verse 8, I told you that I am. If therefore ye 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." So he said in power, I am. He showed who he was. And then
he said in authority to these enemies, who would have taken
all of the apostles prisoner. He says, if you seek me, they
go free. And that's to fulfill the scriptures
that said he didn't lose one. Then Simon Peter, verse 10. Simon Peter having a sword, and
we'll see in a minute why he had a sword. Simon Peter, having
a sword, drew it and smote the high priest's servant. There
was a fellow sent by the high priest, a servant named Malchus,
and Peter took a swing at him. He wasn't aiming for his ear.
He was aiming for his head, split his head wide open. And he missed. By sovereign providence, he missed
and cut his right ear off. The servant's name was Malchus. Verse 11, Then said Jesus unto
Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheep, the cup which my Father
hath given me. Shall I not drink it? I want
you to look over at Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. This cutting off of this man's
ear is recorded in all four Gospels. All four Gospels record this.
Why? Why is this so important, that
it is recorded four times? Not once, but four times. Why did this happen? Why? Let's look at Luke 22. Read beginning
with verse 47. The Lord is giving his directions
to his apostles before he is to be taken and killed. He says,
verse 36, Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, or a wallet,
likewise money, a script. He that hath no sword, let him
sell his garment, and buy one. He's telling them that they're
going to need at times, perhaps, to defend themselves against
robbers and so forth, wherever they are going to go to preach
this gospel. There may be a time. Read on. Verse 38, go down there. They said, Lord, here are two
swords, and he said, it's enough. Two swords. Now down at verse 47, and while
he yet spake, Now this is the same thing that
we just read in John 18. He went out to meet this band
of soldiers and so forth. A multitude, he that was called
Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto
Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest
thou the Son of man with a kiss? And they which were about him
saw what would follow, and they said unto him." Now, a bunch
of excitement, and his disciples saw what was going on. Lord, shall we smite with the
sword? They asked this. Lord, shall
we smite? Now, Christ didn't answer. They asked him, but he didn't
say anything. Or at least one of them didn't
give him time to say anything. Verse 50, one of them, which
was Peter, just took his sword out and started whacking. And the servant of the high priest
cut off his right ear, and Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye
thus far. And he touched the man's ear and healed him. Now back to the text. Why did
this happen? I looked at this long and hard
because there's got to be deep meaning in this, and there is. Why did this happen? Number one,
I believe to show us his power and his person. Now, he just
said, when they came to get him, Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus
of Nazareth. He said, I am. And with a word, just a word. He didn't raise his hand. Just a word out of his mouth.
His name. Just bowled them over. That just
slayed them. Just laid them in the dust. Just
brought them low. He could have killed them. He'd
kill them all just by saying so. That shows who this is. The Scripture says in the Old
Testament, I kill, I make alive, I wound,
and I heal." Did you catch that? He's showing
us who this is. I wound with just a word, and I heal with just a word. It's who he is. It's to show us it's not by might,
not by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. By his word,
not by human efforts, human power, human zeal, the arm of the flesh. We read there in Isaiah 53, he
is the arm of the Lord, not ours. Right? We don't defend ourselves
or we don't defend his cause by our own power or zeal or whatever. It's his word. To show us that he upholds all
things by his word and he can bring down everything by his
word. To show us the sword in our hands. Listen to it. The
sword in our hands won't open ears necessarily. Quite often we butcher them,
don't we? How often have I taken this very
word here and absolutely butchered people with it? How about you? And it's grieved me. I can recall
specific things that I've said, or ways in which I've mishandled
this word. and grieve over it later on. Just grieve over it. Not opening
a man's ear, absolutely cutting his ear off, for he won't hear
me anymore. How about you? Have you ever
butchered with this word? The sword of the Lord. I think
that applies. I think he's showing us here,
too, who's in control of all things. Now, you know, you picture this
scene here. This is a wild little mob that's
coming to take him. And Stan, I mean, they've got
swords and sticks, and men don't need very much provocation to
use a sword and a stick and a gun, you know, if they had guns. But
they're coming to get him, and the more men you get together,
they're like dogs, the more of them you get together, the wilder
they get. One dog by itself is all right. The more you get,
I mean, they get all plumb hyped up and feed off of one another.
Here are these big mobs coming in. One place said a great multitude
have come. And they come through here to
get him, and the disciples jump up and are all excited, and they've
got a couple of swords. And who do you think it is? And Peter takes a whack and cuts
a man's ear. What's going to happen? Peter takes the first blow. What's going to happen? A melee. That's all they need, isn't it?
That's all they need to go wild, these raging men and raging tempers. That's all they need. But all
Christ needs to do is say, You see the point? He's in control
of this whole thing. Even the wild, raging tempers
and passions of men in a fit of anger, he's able to say, Don't
do it again. Like when he stood on the bow
of that ship one time and the waves were crashing, that raging
sea crashing over the bow of that boat, all he had to do was
say, All the disciples thought about
this a little later. We could have had our heads cut off, they
said. But he had already said, You're
not going to touch them. Be still. Who's in control there? And if we had eyes to see, we'd
see devils raging about our heads. He said, Peter, Satan hath desired
to sift you like wheat, but greater is he that is in
us, or with us, than he that is in the world. Though a multitude,
a host, should encamp against me, David said, yet the Lord
hath said, if you seek me, let them go. Don't you like that
thought? I do. To show us this also, to
show us the signs and miracles and wonders and powerful displays,
even of God's power and his eternal Godhead, that doesn't save people. Are you with me? and miracles and wonders. Now,
he slayed them, fell out on the ground. You want to call it slaying. And then he heals this man's
ear. Surely the whole mob of soldiers
and so forth would just bow down in the dust and say, this is
God here. Nobody can heal but God. Oh,
we're sinners. Surely this would be enough to
break their hearts and and bring them down in repentance and fear
of God and believe who this is. No. No. Only the gospel will do that. See what I'm saying? Joe, you
see what I'm saying? Signs and miracles, they don't regenerate,
just the gospel. In spite of all this, these men
didn't know who he was, and neither does this religious generation. That's what Paul said in Romans
1. He said that these things are clearly seen. He had eternal
power in God's head, but that's not how he's known. He's known
through the preaching of the gospel, the Word. And also, this
teaches us to wait on the Lord. He said, Lord, shall we smite
with a sword? Peter went, I'm not waiting for
an answer. What did it do to Peter? Peter. So Peter learned the hardest
lesson of all of them, didn't he? Peter was the first to speak
and the first to act, so he learned a severe lesson. He's the first
to deny. And that, and we're going to
look at this now, Peter's denial of the Lord, it's dealt with
in all four Gospels. You reckon Peter had a little
humility later on? All four Gospels expose him. He needed it, didn't he? What
about you? Oh, my. Look at verse 11. Our Lord says, Now put up your
sword. Peter, the cup, the cup, the cup, which every word is
significant. Are you with me? Not me, I'm
not saying this, this is God's word. Put up your sword, the
cup which my Father hath given me. Shall I not drink it?" This
cup, he's talking about the cup of wrath. the cup of sin. He said, My Father hath given
it to me. It was God who was doing all
this. It wasn't his men. It was God who was doing all
this. My Father has given me this. My Father's in charge here. Though
all this seems to be going against me, it's my God who's for me,
and my God who sent it. He doesn't say God, either. He says, My Father. Meaning, my kind, merciful, tender,
gracious, caring, compassionate, loving Father is handing this
horrible thing on me. Horrible? Yes. All things work
together for good for them that love God. Well, I know what your
cup is. Well, I know what it's going
to be. He says, in this world you shall have tribulations,
afflictions, problems, trials. That's the cup. That's the cup
that David spoke of in Psalm 73. He said, the waters of a
full cup are wrung out on God's people. Who sends it? Your Father. That's a word of
comfort for somebody. Somebody that needs it. Somebody
that doesn't, didn't hear it. And look at what he says, the
cup which the Father hath given me, he doesn't say he's forced
it on me and I have to drink it, does he? Christ said, Shall
I not drink it? He's saying there, he's saying
he's doing it voluntarily. He said, I'm doing this willingly
and voluntarily. I don't have to, if I don't,
you won't have to drink it. You remember in another place
he said, The cup that I drink, are you able to drink it also?
Somebody spoke up. I think it might have been Peter.
He said, Yes, Lord. No, no, no, you're not able to. He drank it to its fullest, the
wrath of God, our sin. Verse 12, read on. Then the band,
he doesn't say men again, does he? didn't say men, the band,
this band, this cowardly mob, and the captains and officers
of the Jews, this religious lynch mob, took Jesus and bound him. Bound him, took him. As I said, they quickly forgot
his power, didn't they? They quickly forgot You know, Isaiah said, he said, Why shall you be stricken?
God said, Why should you be stricken? We just revolt more and more. Mankind is experiencing little
bit of the wrath of God upon this sinful world in the form
of natural disasters and calamities
and diseases and afflictions and deaths. They are on the rise. This whole globe is just absolutely
. . . But God said, You'll just revolt
more and more. and wonders won't do it, will
they? Only if God chooses for a person to hear the gospel.
People don't get saved in a fit of whatever by a terrible thing
happening. That's not how they get saved.
The Lord saves them through preaching the gospel to them. But it says
they took him, they forgot who he was and what he just did,
didn't matter, and they took him and bound him. Listen to
the word here. This is wonderful. Those who
are paying close attention, it says he's bound him. Listen to
this. This is Psalm 118. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We've blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. God is the Lord. which hath showed
us light, bind the sacrifice with cords, even under the horns
of the altar. Thou art my God." Binding! They took Jesus and bound him.
Who was it? My Lord and my God, and they
bound the sacrifice with the horns of the altar. They had
to bind him. Why? Scripture said so. It says,
look at the next verse, "...and led him away." Led him away. It doesn't say they dragged him. Oh, no. He said earlier, no man
takes my life from me. You don't drag me anywhere. You don't force me against my
will. You don't do anything. The Lord
is not in your hands here. They led him. Why? Because scripture says he will
be led as a sheep before her shearer is done. They led him away. This lamb,
that's who he was, bound him, the lamb. And it wasn't men who
bound him, it was God. Just like Abraham of old bound
his son. And his son did it willingly.
His son was not some little young boy at that time. He was an older
young man. And his son willingly submitted
to being bound by his father. But Abraham bound his son with
cords. There are cords of love according
to the purpose of God. He bound his son and laid him
on the altar. Even so, God bound Christ here. This was God doing this. He bound him and laid him on
the altar for us. And it says they led him away.
They didn't drag him, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Now, listen to this. This is
marvelous. This is not just good, this is
marvelous. Now, they just left the Mount
of Olives. You come off this Mount of Olives
and you go down into the Garden of Gethsemane, a huge garden
where they pressed the olives to get that. And that's where
he prayed, you know, and sweat that bloody sweat, the wine press. Around that garden of Gethsemane
was a huge valley. Remember, they crossed over that
brook Seagram. This was a huge valley where
the sheep liked to graze. That's where they got their water. In order to get to this priest's
palace, they had to go through the wall. There was a wall around
the city at that time. And the gate they had to go through
to get to this very place where they took Christ was called the
Sheep Gate. Because this is where they put
those lambs. They went out and found the lamb
without spot and without blemish, grazing in the field, chose it
from among the herd, and put that lamb through the Sheep's
Gate into the High Priest to be sacrificed on the altar. Coincidence? There were five
or six gates to go through. Why that one? He must. That's where the Lamb is going.
Besides, did not Christ say earlier on, I am the door? Didn't he not say, the good shepherd
doth end the door? and the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep." Marvelous. That's all the places
to go in. And to the high priest. Now,
look at this, and this is significant. Verse 13, "...let him away to
Annas first, and his father-in-law to Caiaphas," which was high
priest that same year. In one of the other Gospels,
I think it's Luke, And Acts talks about it. Annas and Caiaphas
were both high priests that year. They were co-high priests. Now, what does that say? That's showing the utter confusion
that religion has gotten into this time. stand as only one
high priest. But yet both these fellows were,
and they were family members, too. That's significant. Family
members, you see. One wanted to be a high priest,
the other wanted to be a high priest. Let's both be high priests.
Religion was in a state of absolute confusion, and the people loved
to have it so. They didn't care. Didn't matter. Confusion. But there's only one
high priest, and in this square of religion is today, there's
only one high priest, but yet men go into a little booth and
confess to another one. There's only one mediator, Scripture
says, yet men pray to others. One mediator between God and
men, the man, yet men pray to a woman. Isn't religion in a
state of confusion today? One Lord, one faith, yet men
say there are many. One baptism, one hope of your
calling, yet men say there are many. Annas was father-in-law to Caiaphas. Listen to this interesting note. The most well-known evangelist
in America today. This is a true story. The most well-known evangelist
in America today began early on to dabble a little bit in
the truth. They called it Calvinism. He
began to dabble a little bit in Calvinism. And his father-in-law, His father-in-law said, don't
do that, you'll never get anywhere. A man and his father-in-law,
the big high dudes in religion. But they didn't know Christ.
Now look at this, verse 14, it says, Now Caiaphas was he which
gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man
should die for the people. You remember that message? You
remember Caiaphas, what he said concerning the Christ? Well,
his reasons, you know why he said that? Well, he said it because
God told him to say it. But he had political reasons
behind that. The whole reason why he said
that was he said, now he's expedient, that one die, we're going to
lose our country, we're going to lose our people. If the Romans
think that the Jewish people are rising up against Roman government
and we're following this man, they're going to come and take
us all away. Remember that? And he says expedient that one
should die, we'll make him. the scapegoat. But it was political
reasons. Political reasons. He's expendable. Really, he's the only one who
wasn't. But he's expendable. Political reasons. Evil motives. The wrath of man. Corruption. All of this. The wrath of man. No matter what the motive, no
matter what takes place, even political things, they're all
working together to fulfill God's purpose. Whatever's going on
in Washington, D.C. right now, that that man is saying
and doing, God's turning him with his finger to bring about
his purpose to exalt his son someday. Oh, yes, like the rivers
of water. King's heart was in the hand. I know you think it is, I do
too. It's not John. This is not John. Because John
was not known of the high priest. You can study that for yourself
in Acts chapter 4 later on. But this was somebody who doesn't
even mention his name. We don't know who this was. It
wasn't one of the apostles. This was just some disciple.
Why does it say that? Why does he bring this up? It
was here with Peter. Somebody, big wig, big dude,
high and mighty, Peter. Proud, boastful Peter. Cowling, cowardly, hiding, following
afar off. I hear this unknown disciple.
Nobody knew who he was. He didn't tell his name. He went
right in. He went right in. Now there's
a lesson, huh? There is a lesson. Oh, my, it's
not words, not hearers only, not proud talkers, is it? Peter could talk a good talk,
couldn't he? Everybody will leave you but
me. Nobody knows who he is. He doesn't
care. He's unknown. You see the lesson
there, Jeanette? God never tells who this is.
But he was faithful. He was faithful. Christ said
to all those disciples, all of you will be defended of me. Those
apostles, all of you will be defended of me. But not this
one unknown fellow. All right, let's go on. Verse
17. Now, verse 16, Peter stood at the door without. Peter was
on the outside looking in. You ever been there? He felt so sinful and cowardly. Why did this happen? Now Peter,
in all his boldness, said, Lord, I'll go with you wherever you
go. Remember that? I'll go with you
to the death. I'll go with you. And when they
got to the door, Peter just shrunk back, and they closed the door
in his face. Because Christ said earlier,
whether I go, you can't come. Every word Christ said must be
fulfilled. Where I'm going, you can't go.
You didn't even enjoy that like I did. Well, Peter stops at the
door, verse 17. He stopped at the door in a damsel
and kept the door, said unto Peter, Well, you're one of them,
aren't you? Now, what happened was that this
other disciple went in with the Lord and a little bit later came
back to the door and asked the woman, said, There's another
fellow out here, let him in. Peter's over there kind of hiding
around or whatever, and she opened the door and this other disciple
said, Peter, come on. And Peter started to walk through
the door, and this young lady who was opening the door for
everybody said, Hey, you're one of them, aren't you? You're one of his disciples,
aren't you? And he said, I am not. First denial. Look at verse 18, And the servants
and officers stood there, who made a fire of coals. Servants
and officers. And it was cold. It was cold. It was cold. John, a little while earlier, Christ
was sweating. That's significant, isn't it? It's cold. What warms a man? And they warmed themselves, the
scripture says. And look at these ominous words,
horrible words. Verse 18, And Peter stood with
them and warmed himself. You want to have mercy? No, no,
I'm not like that. Oh, no, sir. I'm one of you. Now look back at the same chapter,
look at verse 5 with me. They answered him, Jesus, and
now Jesus said unto him, I am a Judas also which betrayed him,
stood with them. And here in verse 18, Peter stood
with them. Now what's the difference? between Peter and Judas. Sovereign grace. That's it in a nutshell. Sovereign
electing grace. If anything, Peter's worse. Peter is worse. Judas, it says,
was a son of perdition from the beginning. Peter is supposed
to be a son of God, and here he is standing with all these
fellows. You can't tell them apart. What
about you? Have you been there? Do you stand with them? Have
you? Do you? Warming yourself. Fearful. If you're outside of Christ,
anybody outside of Christ is going to try to warm themselves,
going to try to comfort themselves, going to try to find some peace,
some rest, some comfort in this world, warming themselves with
the fires of this world, the things of this world, and with
buddies and so forth, rub shoulders with buddies and warm themselves
here. But if you're God's own now,
you're not going to get warm. You're going to be cold. You're
going to feel it. That's the reason our Lord, I
believe, said, I would that you were cold, but you're lukewarm. Warmed yourself rich and increasingly
good, and now you're lukewarm. I would that you were cold, or
at least felt it. And you wouldn't seek it, you
can't seek it, you can't find it in the bodies of this world,
things of this world. You're not going to find it.
Outside of Christ, you're not going to find it. The high priest then asked him,"
and just give me a few more minutes, OK? Just a few more minutes. The high priest. I want you to picture this with
me now. Picture this scene with me. They led Christ into this
hall, this judgment, and it was a big, elaborate, lush, lavish
place. And here all of these religious
leaders, the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, And all that
was sitting around, and here sitting up on this big red velvet
chair with his robes on and his phylacteries and his big hat,
you know, and his chains and all these things around, these
statues and symbols, and the big high priest with a sober,
somber look on his face looking down, and then they bring this
common fellow. He's white, he's downright ugly,
and he's dressed like, why, he looks like a carpenter. And he doesn't have any robes
or symbols or anything on him, cross on him. And he doesn't have a palace. It says doesn't even have a place
to lay his head. And here up here sits on this
chair with all this pomp and show, this fellow. Who is the
high priest here? Do you look on things after the
outward countenance? Look at this scene here now. Here's all this going on and
trappings and grandeur and beauty and robs, and here's this old
common fellow, nobody. Who's the high priest here? Who's
standing before whom? Who's being judged here? God saith not as man saith."
Religion today, what does that tell you about religion today?
With all this stuff going on. I tell you, the more of that
stuff, the more you can work it down. God's not in it. There's
a temple with all its grandeur and everything, and the apostles
themselves were taking over. Look at it, isn't that beautiful?
The Lord said, it's coming down. While they met in the little
upper room, nobody knows where it is. Where was God? In the glass house or little
upper room? With the multitudes? With eleven. Who was the high priest? That's how God works. God's ways
are not man's ways. God is not worshipped with all
this, all this going on. And they asked him about his
disciples. Where are your disciples? In his doctrine. He said, Ask
them that heard me. Verse 21. Verse 20, he said,
I spoke openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue
and the temple where the Jews resorted. In secret have I said
nothing. Paul said one place, he said,
We commend ourselves with every man's conscience in the sight
of God. We have nothing to hide if our gospel be hid as hid to
them that are lost. Don't make vain references, don't
speak in a language nobody understands. Since we have one hope, we say
it plainly, he said, so that everybody can hear it. We're
not hiding anything. The world hides things. their
lies, read on. And when he had thus spoken,
verse 21, Christ said, Ask them that heard me. They know what
I said. When he had thus spoken, one of the officers smacked him
on the face. It wasn't some little patty.
Don't you spit to the high priest like that. What makes a man Hmm? I'll show you. I'm bothering him. There's a man, Joe. There's a
man. I smacked him on the face. I
remember one time the Lord saying before this, If your right hand
offends you, cut it off. I tell you, this man wishes he
never had a right hand. If the Lord didn't save him,
he's hit the Lord a blow. You answer the high priest like
that. Christ said in verse 23, If I
spoke an evil, If I've said something wrong, then prove it. But if well, why are you hitting
me?" Now, Annas had sent him down
unto Caiaphas, a high priest, and Simon Peter stood and warmed
himself. Says it again, doesn't it? Standing
there warming himself. And they said unto him, Art thou
also one of his disciples? He said, I am not. One of the
servants of the high priest, being his kinsman, whose ear
Peter cut off, a brother or cousin of this fellow Peter Smoak, said,
Didn't I see you in the garden with him? And another version
says, Peter began to cuss. The other versions say he went
out and wept bitterly. Now, Judas, when it's said Judas found out, when Judas said, I
have betrayed innocent blood, what does it say? Happened. He went out and hanged himself. Peter, when he found out he had
done the same thing, what did he do? Oh, he wept bitterly. What kept him from hanging himself? The same thing that made him
a child of God, that made the different sovereign race. And
everybody in here denied him. Not once, not twice, but three
hundred times. And it ought to cause us to weep
bitterly. And don't think for a minute, though, don't presume
for a minute, that you're one of his. Because Christ said, He that
denieth me before men, I'll deny before my Father in heaven. I tell you what, we're going
to die, and God forbid, God keep us from it. What's going to prove, if we
in the end, we're a Peter and not a Judas? It's going to be sovereign grace. Later on, Peter wrote, you know,
Oh, my, we're kept by the power of God. We kept the power of God through
faith, and he exhorts all of us to hold fast. So we deny him, but there's no
promise that he's going to have us, that we're his own. This
is a very sobering passage. There's no way you can take it.
No way I can take it but this. And for those who have never
confessed him, Christ said, He that confesseth me before men,
I'll confess before my Father and the angels. But he that hasn't,
if you're yet without Christ and haven't confessed him, you
die and you're a goner. And to die in your life will And if we don't, it will be sovereign
grace. So, let him that thinketh, he standeth. Can you quote the rest of it? Let him, that's right, let him
that thinketh, he standeth. Take heed, lest ye fall. All right, Joe, what number have
you got picked out? Let's sing the first, second,
and the fourth stanzas. First, second, and the fourth. When our sorrows were agreed,
for the Son of God who came, who was sinners to reclaim, hallelujah,
what a Savior. Baring shame and scoffing truth,
in my place condemned he stood. Spilled my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Lifted up for me to die, in His
pain and cross, His pride. Now in heaven exalted I, hallelujah,
what a Savior. Thank you. you