ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME

 

John 18:1-14

Let’s set the scene as Jesus and His disciples enter into the

garden to pray because His hour has finally come.

 

Jesus, has spent the last remaining hours with His disciples; closed off to the world to prepare Himself, and His disciples, and the those who would believe in the future…. that Jesus came from the Father. This is why John concludes near the end of his letter, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31. It is time, for Him to do what He came to do, for sinful man and woman. We have seen throughout John’s gospel that Jesus said “my hour has not come.” Even as early as John chapter 2, when Jesus turned water to wine, he knew, “My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4

 

But Jesus acknowledged His hour would come.

And it shaped Him from the beginning.

 

We know leading up to this moment in time that Jesus has not been physically harmed by His accusers, through they tried several times, but failed in all attempts.

 

Why? God is sovereign and Jesus’ hour has not yet come. We are told they crossed over “the Brook Kidron” and when you hear this you begin to think it must be very beautiful and pleasant to rest. It was actually a “wadi” means a “dry gulch” the only time water flowed in it was during the two rainy seasons. When rain came, water would pour down the Kidron and it would become a rushing waterway, a dangerous torrent to cross. But most of the time the creek bed was dry and people could walk it without any difficulty.

How intense is this dark moment in history?

 

John doesn’t give us that answer leading up to His arrest, but the other gospels do. We know from the other accounts Jesus became very sorrowful, His sweat was like great drops of blood falling down, and He begged His Father to let this cup pass Him bye. If we went to Mathew’s account, we would ready something happened before the mob came to arrest Him. “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Matt 26:36-46

 

John account begins with them at Jesus’ arrest. How fitting of a location….. as sin began in the garden of Eden, there the curse was pronounced, there the Redeemer was promised; and in a garden that promised Seed entered into conflict with the old serpent. And now the Seed is here to crush the works of darkness underfoot, as He is arrested in a garden. As we read in Mark’s gospel, “The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Mark 14:41

John begins right at the encounter with those who hate Him, and want Him to die at the hands of the people. (v1-v5) Take note that its only natural that Judas would lead these men to Jesus here, because this is a place that Jesus would frequently stay on His visits into Jerusalem. Judas would have known this, and by what Jesus said to him in the upperoom when Satan entered him. “Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” John 13:27

You think to yourself why didn’t Jesus go to a different area? Because His hour has finally come to do what the Father sent Him to do. By John’s account we see that this was a joint operation between the Romans and the Temple Police. We are told that Romans didn’t have large garrisons of troops in Jerusalem, most of them were stationed in Caesarea. But during the Passover, when hundreds of thousands of Jews from around the region flooded into the city the Roman authorities sent detachment of troops to Jerusalem to handle any riots and protect against local insurrections. R C Sproul said in his commentary, “On paper, a detachment of Roman soldiers numbered one thousand men. Usually, however, units did not have their full accompaniment of soldiers, so it is estimated that the troops who came out to arrest Jesus were between six hundred and seven hundred in number. When we add in the Temple Police, we can guess that almost a thousand men were sent out to capture one man.” Now with a large crowd like that and many holding torches and lanterns, it was no doubt easy for Jesus and the disciples to hear and see them coming.

 

What was filled with troubled hearts probably became even worse as the mob approached them. You can imagine that fear getting greater as the sound of the mob in the distant became louder, and louder, with every step as they hear the clanging of swords, seeing the lanterns moving and the torches burning. As for the disciples, they were not only thinking that Jesus was going to be arrested, but themselves too. 12 men standing there as what seems to be a large army coming their way, they are outnumbered by a thousand to one. This situation reminds me of Moses when the people of Israel were trapped by the Red Sea as the chariots of Pharoah moved in. Exo 14

Moses situation was hopeless, there was a sea of water in front, and sea of chariots behind. But God, made a way through the sea, for Moses and the Israelites.

 

Something to consider as we see

the mob approaching here.

 

Though there was many men coming, Jesus knew He was surrounded at that moment by a host of angels. In biblical terms “a host” is not a master of ceremonies at a banquet, but rather an army. Jesus knew that He has this host whenever he commands to protect Him. “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11 

He also knows that if he asked, legions of angels would come to His aid according to Mathew’s account of this arrest. “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” Matt 26:53-54

 

Jesus never calls for His host of angels, rather He is ready to fulfill the Father’s will by drinking the cup of wrath for sinners to please a holy God. Jesus first response is what I want us to look at a little bit this morning because what Jesus says speaks volumes to who they are standing before. (v6) This where I got my title for my message this morning. How powerful is His name?

 

His name is described as the Son of God, is the power of God…. “making Himself equal with God” John 5:17-19

 

His name describes that He is supreme…… “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Eph 1:21

 

His name is described as unlimited…. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matt 28:18

His name is described over all flesh….. “You have given Him authority over all flesh…” John 17:2

 

His name is described as glorious… 2 Thess 1:9

 

His name is described as everlasting…. “to whom be honor and everlasting power.” 1 Tim 6:16

 

His name is exhibited in creation….. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3

 

His name is exhibited in His teaching….. “…the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matt 7:28-29

 

His name has the power to raise the dead…… John 5:28-29

 

His name has the power to raise Himself from the dead….. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19-21

 

His name as the power to overcome the world and the devil…. Col 2:14

 

His name has the power to destroy the works of the devil… 1 John 3:8

 

His name….

 

Preserves the believer…… 2 Tim 1:12

Is where the child of God rests upon….. 2 Cor 12:9

Is where the sinner finds salvation and forgiveness….. Heb 7:25

Where the believer finds their strength….. Phil 4:13

Where the believer is transformed for all eternity…… Phil 3:21

  

It is through His name that the wicked shall be destroyed and He will subdue all other power. “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” 1 Cor 15:24

 

When Jesus said “I am He” they all fell backwards; battle-hardened men confronted Jesus and when He spoke, they all fell. What a demonstration to the deity and power of Jesus, The Christ, as we have seen throughout John’s letter to the world. We have looked at the “I AM” sayings of Jesus, “I am the bread of life”, “I am the light of the world” and so on. Its this phrase where we get the same, “I AM” statement in Old Testament which renders the inexpressible name of God as “Yahweh” We first see this in the encounter with Moses and the burning bush. “Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14. The Great I Am, instead of waiting to be found, the Creator and sustainer of life, went forward to meet the armed crowd.

 

When Jesus said “I AM” the crowd feel down to the ground, this wasn’t out of fear because the Roman soldiers knew nothing of Jesus and no reason to fear Him. Jesus responded using the divine title of His deity. This was the last exercise of power by which He calmed the seas, stilled the winds, and healed the sick.

 

And amongst all that what was Jesus’ greatest concern

as He offered Himself to the mob? (v8-v9)

 

Jesus responds to the mob with a request to let the disciples go, Jesus wasn’t concerned for His own safety, but for the safety of His disciples. And something to consider as these men stand before the Creator and sustainer of all things. Did they really have the authority to arrest Jesus? One commentator notes that, “Technically speaking, Jesus was not arrested, for He was in control of the situation despite all appearances. John’s record highlights Jesus’ control. Jesus knew what was about to happen, and He stepped forward before the authorities could ask for Him to reveal Himself (vv. 4–5). Effectively, He handed Himself over to the Romans and to the Jews. They did not seize Him, for He came to lay down His life for His people, and He did so willingly, without sacrificing His sovereignty over the events associated with the crucifixion.

Augustine of Hippo comments in a sermon on today’s passage, he would say, “Had [Jesus] never permitted them to apprehend Him, they would certainly not have done what they came to do.”

 

What this reveal as this sets the stage for His

death and resurrection is that…

 

Since God control of the universe, that extends to the tiniest of details.  “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” Prov 16:33

 

It is no surprise that Jesus was in full control of the events of His crucifixion. After all, He is God incarnate. John 1:1–18

 

Because of this sovereignty, we can be confident that He will not allow His people to fall away. We are secure in the hands of the One who was sovereign even over His own death. Its here we see Christ’s supreme power when Jesus asked whom do you seek and He responds with “I Am.” It’s here where we see Christs supreme love as He commands the mob “If you seek Me, let these go their way.” You could ask! Why did the Lord shield the disciples from arrest? The Lord is the Good Shepherd, who protects His sheep and He is not a hired hand who will flee at the first sign of trouble when the wolf approaches. Jesus kept the disciples from being arrested that night He protected His disciples from physical capture, and from falling away from the faith, when they saw Him arrested. Jesus allowed the Romans and Jews to arrest Him as long as they left the other disciples alone, and John says this fulfills Jesus’ words that none of His true disciples would be lost. (v6–v9)

 

We know that this is true by what Jesus prayed for over them. “All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:10-12

Peter didn’t get the memo when he only saw what he wanted

to see and hear. So, what does Peter do?

 

Luke’s account gives us detail to this confrontation. “And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.” Luke 22:49-50

 

John’s gospel gives us the name of the person

who cut the ear of this man.

 

It was a late night after a full day, and Peter was thoroughly exhausted. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter had dozed off several times while he was supposed to be praying, and each time Jesus roused him. Then a mob led by Judas, a fellow disciple and friend, appeared in Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. Peter, shocked and scared, acted on impulse to defend his Lord. He swung his sword and cut off Mal-chus’s ear in the chaos. Its here we see Christ’s supreme obedience, when Jesus rebukes Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath.” (v11) Jesus said, “Shall I not drink the cup that my Father sent Me to drink? (v11) I did not come to bring violence and resistance. As Jesus said to Peter in Matthew’s account. “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.” Matt 26:52-55

 

Peter’s bravery, but impulsive act, revealed his continued failure to understand the necessity of Jesus’s pending death for our redemption. Remember when Jesus spoke about His future death to redeem lost sinners? “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matt 16:21-23

Jesus must drink this cup in order for Peter, and anyone else, to ever be saved. The cup of God’s righteous and holy judgement for the sin of mankind. This would be fulfilled completely on the cross when, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:17. Peter, who at that time had “merely human concerns” in mind, tried to prevent the arrest with violence. Peter’s earth-bound perspective, fear, and exhaustion clouded his judgment the rest of that night. Peter forgets how precious and powerful Jesus’ name was, as Jesus prepared Himself for this time in history. Peter’s rebuke was a demonstration of Jesus’ obedience. “shall I not drink it? This expresses his, willingness to do it, his eager desire after it, his delight in it, and displeasure at Peter's attempt to hinder him. This is why the Lord allowed His arrest because His hour has come for the Son of God to be exalted in death to save many. It was to that saving sacrifice that’s Christ’s supreme courage, power, love and obedience would lead many to the gospel confession. As Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:17-18. In the darkest hour in history God is still in control. Men may intend for evil, but God intends for good. Gen 50:20 All hail the power of Jesus name Jesus submitted to His Father’s plan and let Himself be apprehended and crucified to fulfill Scripture and pay for the sins of the world.