John 18 – Page 3 – Three Minute Bible

September 14, 2019September 13, 2019

The Strike – John 18: 11

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Keeping up with Jesus is hard. Throughout this gospel, we have struggled along with the disciples, the Pharisees, and Nicodemus to understand Jesus. What is he really saying? Often he speaks figuratively, but in this case, he speaks in a very human and straightforward manner.

“Put your sword away!” A very clear command.

“Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” A figuratively couched question but one that should make sense to the disciples after all of the time they have spent with Jesus.

And what cup is Jesus referring to? Isn’t it for this very moment that he came to earth? Isn’t this why he was born a human? Clear back in the third chapter of Genesis, verse fifteen, this moment was foretold:

”And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.“

This is the moment when Satan strikes at the heel of God. This is the moment when God allows a sinful creation to torture and kill his only Son. This is the moment when the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice unblemished by any sin of any kind, pays the price for all who have sinned and turn to God for salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Food for Thought: If God had to bargain with Satan for the return of those captured by sin, what price do you think Satan would demand?

Bonus Question: Why does God stoop to allowing his only Son to be killed by Satan? (See Matthew 13: 24-30)

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September 13, 2019September 13, 2019

Oops – John 18: 10

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.

So what do you think Simon Peter was thinking when he put his hand to the sword and started whittling on Malchus’ ear? Do you suppose this whole thing caught him off guard? After all, I don’t think Jesus mentioned anything about this, did he?

… but now I am going to him who sent me. (John 16: 5)

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16: 7)

Jesus went on to say, ”In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” (John 16: 16)

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. (John 16: 20)

I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. (John 16: 28)

A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. (John 16: 32)

Oops. I guess Jesus had tried to give Peter a clue after all.

Food for Thought: Put yourself in Simon Peter’s place and ask yourself why you have the urge to cut off somebody’s ear. What do you hear in answer to your question?

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September 12, 2019September 16, 2019

Jesus in Charge – John 18: 7-9

Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

The night has almost gone. It is still dark but Jesus has been up all night. He celebrated the Passover with his disciples. He then spent a great deal of time giving them his last-minute instructions. He and the disciples made their way outside of the city and across the Kidron Valley. At the other side was Mt. Olive and on the mount was an orchard called the Garden of Gethsemane. Here Jesus had prayed for several hours.

Finally, Judas finds them. With him is a group of soldiers and officials. They have torches and weapons as well as superior numbers. They are ready for anything and expecting the worst.

Jesus leaves no doubt as to who he is. He doesn’t wait for Judas to act. He steps up and takes command of the situation. This is not a matter of someone standing up and taking a bullet for Jesus. Instead, Jesus stands up and takes the hit for every person on the planet. Even those who are wanting to hurt him. He speaks first and he speaks with authority.

Having established himself as the one who is clearly in charge of the situation Jesus issues a challenge: “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” The people he is dealing with are not rocket scientists, yet the logic of what Jesus says does not escape them. They have been told to get Jesus and bring him back. If they fiddle around with Jesus’ followers Jesus might escape and then they would be in a bad spot. Better to stick with the one they are supposed to get rather than take the risk of getting them all.

John tells us why Jesus does this. It is important that Jesus not lose any of the disciples God has given him. When it comes to protecting his own, Jesus does not hesitate to act.

Food for Thought: After reading this passage how would you describe the Jesus we see here?

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September 11, 2019September 10, 2019

Cutthroat Gulch – John 18: 4-6

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, ”Who is it you want?”
”Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
”I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, ”I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

When I read this passage I smile to myself. Jesus is generally humble and gentle in all his dealings with people. Sometimes I wish he would just cut loose like he does when he cleanses the temple. You know… kind of like in the old Westerns on TV…

It is a hot, dusty day in Cutthroat Gulch. The only thing moving in the afternoon heat is the tumbleweeds that occasionally roll down Main Street. The sky is hot, and throats are dry. A stranger rides into town on a white horse. Out of every broken window of the second story boarding house, a dusty rifle bore slowly moves into the harsh sunlight. Every gun is aimed at the stranger. The bad guy sheriff slides his coat back revealing his holstered .44 Colt. Even the kid who’s dad owns the trading post pulls out his slingshot ready to have his fun with this unwanted visitor.

Before the first trigger is pulled or the first rock flung, the stranger smiles and sunlight glints blindingly off his pearly white teeth. His eyes glint with something akin to humor, and his hair, ruffled by the same breeze playing with the tumbleweeds peeks out from under his white hat.

”What’s your name, stranger?” Growls the cowhand in front of the saloon.

”Jesus,” answers the stranger.

”Jesus?!” Replies the cowhand. And then all hell breaks loose. Every trigger is pulled, every rock flung. Smoke billows from each gun, every barrel pointed at the man on the white horse. And then it happens…

Each bullet, every rock, and even the tumbleweeds all stop dead in their tracks. Jesus looks around sadly at the lost souls who inhabit this town. Then he raises his hand and speaks The Word. Each atom in every person whose heart is filled with hate suddenly stops and is repelled from every other atom in that person. Like a cloud of vapor or a mist in the wind, each gun, each slingshot, each barking dog and every person deserving death swells into a puff like the smoke from their guns. The atoms disperse and the souls sink down and out of sight. The only people left are those kneeling in awe.

Jesus rides on…

Somehow I just want Jesus to stomp the bad guys and make everything right. But that’s not his style. He is a loving God. He doesn’t want to hurt the good with the bad. He knows a price has to be paid to redeem those whom he loves. Instead, we only get a glimpse of his power, authority, and glory. When he speaks his name, they all draw back and fall to the ground.

Food for Thought: How do you feel about Jesus holding back his power when there is so much evil in the world?

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September 10, 2019September 9, 2019

Distractions – John 18: 4

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

On the surface, this statement might seem a bit nonsensical. After all, if Jesus knew what was going to happen then why did he have to ask, “Who is it you want?” In a mystery story, the universal clue is almost always about who benefits from what happened. Using that logic, let’s ask the question who benefits from Jesus asking, “Who is it you want?”

The first thing I see is that it focuses on the mind of the soldiers on their mission. As we see in the various descriptions of Jesus being tortured at the hands of the Roman soldiers, they are very capable of gratuitous violence. The second thing I see is that it draws attention away from Jesus’ disciples. It is a little bit like the scene in Star Wars where Obi-Wan Kenobi protects Luke and the droids from the evil Empire by his use of the Jedi mind trick: “These are not the droids you a looking for…”

As God Jesus has unlimited power. He created the world and presumably he could end it. Yet had he done so, you and I would never have had an opportunity to experience God’s love. Jesus needs to buy us back from sin and free us from condemnation. The price of purchasing our soul for God is Jesus’ death on the cross. So instead of wiping out the soldiers who have come for him, he distracts them from hurting his disciples by asking, “Who is it you want?”

Food for Thought: What does it say about Jesus that he would put himself between his disciples and the attackers?

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September 9, 2019September 8, 2019

Knowing (III) – John 18: 4a

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him…

John often refers to what Jesus knows. As we read John’s gospel account of Jesus’ ministry, it is easy to pick out the people who don’t “get” Jesus. They simply don’t know who Jesus is. But Jesus knows who they are. In fact, Jesus knows their hearts (John 2: 24-25).

There is an interesting illustration of what it means to “know” in the second chapter of John. The story is set in Cana at a wedding feast. The party has run out of wine, and Jesus’ mother, Mary, takes this minor crisis to her son. Jesus then changes the water into wine. In verse 9, it says, “… the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.”

The servants knew what had happened because they had filled the jars with water. They had seen the water poured into the cup given to the steward. They heard the steward declare that not only was the water actually wine, but it was “the best.” John distinguishes between what the servants know and what the steward knows. The steward does not know where the wine has come from. The servants do because they were there and they know what they have seen and heard.

Similarly, Jesus knows what is going to happen to him because he has already seen and heard what will be done. Please do not ask me how this works. I don’t know. I do know that God exists outside of time and that God is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. God’s ability to foretell what will happen with certainty and knowledge is one of the things that makes God God.

As Christians, we often marvel that Jesus would go to the cross knowing what would happen. Today, for a moment, let us just marvel at the fact that Jesus knows.

Food for Thought: What does it mean for you that Jesus knows everything about you. Not only what has happened to you in the past and what is happening now, but what will happen during every moment that remains of your life on earth?

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September 8, 2019September 8, 2019

Fears – John 18: 1-3

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

At this point in John’s gospel, we transition from the first-person account of Jesus’ words to John’s narrative of events. These events happen as Jesus’ time on earth draws to a close. It seems hard for me to believe, but we have spent nearly five months discussing the last night before Jesus’ crucifixion. It was clear back at the beginning of Chapter 13 with “Destinations” that the gospel text started describing Jesus’ last evening on earth. In today’s passage, John draws several threads together in just a few quick strokes of the pen.

Jesus leads his disciples out of Jerusalem into the night. They cross the Kidron Valley. This is interesting because throughout the history of Jerusalem the Kidron Valley was used as a dumping ground for foreign idols. Whenever the Jews repented and needed a place to dump the evidence of their shameful ways that is where they went.

On the other side of this valley was a hill called the Mt of Olives and on the hill was a garden. Not a garden in the sense of a vegetable garden or what the British might call a yard, but more of an orchard. An olive orchard to be precise. It is in this orchard that Jesus waits for Judas to betray him.