John 18:1-12 comments: power under restraint

1 ¶  When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. 2  And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. 3  Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4  Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5  They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. 7  Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8  Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: 9  That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. 10  Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11  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? 12  Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,

This is the brook Kidron, the word translated here from Hebrew, which King David crossed in his escape to the wilderness during his son, Absalom’s, insurrection in 2Samuel 15:23.  This is the garden of Gethsemane and John’s version leaves out Christ’s prayer in Matthew and goes right to His betrayal by Judas and arrest.

When Jesus says the words I am, which is the name of God, the party sent to arrest Him falls down. Then Jesus tells them that since He is the one they want they should let His disciples go. This was done to fulfill what He prayed back in chapter 17, verse 12.

Peter was armed and he took a swing with his sword, cutting off a servant’s ear, the servant’s name being Malchus. That Jesus returned that ear to its place is not mentioned in this account but in Luke’s.

Jesus went voluntarily with the lawful authorities, authorities over whose actions He could have complete control, as He showed in this passage when He said I am.

Notice that Jesus did not resist the lawful authorities even though they were wicked and depended on a traitor, an inside man, to get to Him. Whether this is only applicable in this situation and whether you cannot say that this is an example for Christians to follow is only possible as a question in countries, like America, where you still have freedom of conscience and religious belief. That could change at any time and we may one day find ourselves having to make a decision, go like Christ to our martyrdom or fight to a certain death like some worldly revolutionary.

I suppose it depends on how much you trust Him.

John 17:24-26 comments: Christ reveals God

24 ¶  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one being with three parts. God’s love for Himself, His unity, is shared with us and is to be exemplified in how the church operates in the world, or at least it is meant to be that way. Christ’s will is that we be with Him and behold His glory. Before the creation God loved the Son, as He loves us now.

God, by His foreknowledge, saw who would receive Christ and chose them also before the foundation of the world.

1Peter 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father...

Ephesians 1:3 ¶  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Predestinated, once saved, to the adoption, our physical resurrection in a glorified body;

Romans 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The world does not know God. The world has created a version of God who is weak and distant, someone you call in times of trouble but who had no part in giving you that trouble. The God the world invented justifies their power structures, their social classes, their standards, their pride, their bigotry, and their violent expressions of power. But the Son knows the Father as they are one being. Now the disciples know the Son came from the Father.

Christ has declared God the Father to the disciples so that they can manifest the love the Father has for them and for Christ to a fallen world, because Christ is in them. This is the key to being a Christian, the Bible teaches, to manifest Christ, and therefore God, to a lost world.

John 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Only Christ knows God the Father because He is one with God the Father. Only Christ reveals that knowledge to mankind. All others who claim to know God or to reveal God to man, whatever religious tradition they come from, are in error and do not reveal the God who created them. There is only one way of knowledge and salvation to God.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 17:20-23 comments: the Father's love for us

20 ¶  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Here is a verse that should give we Gentiles great joy. When our ancestors were living in pagan debauchery worshipping trees, the sun, the moon, and the stars, laying our dead on hillsides to be eaten by vultures, sacrificing human beings to devils, and living worse than animals in some respects Christ made a prayer for those of us who would believe.

I read, and I don’t have the citation handy, that there is evidence that missionaries from Antioch, where Christians were first called such (Acts 11:26), went to what we would call today Northern Italy and even as far as Wales and Ireland to spread the apostolic faith. This is why there where congregations in the Cottian Alps of the Piedmont section of Italy, in Wales, and Ireland who had a more Biblical faith than mainstream Christianity although we know little about them other than through their “Christian” enemies who slaughtered them.

Christ prays for those who will believe through the preaching of the Apostles. He prays that we will be unified in our purpose as He and the Father are in the same purpose, that people will believe that Christ came from God the Father. He gave the glory that He received from God the Father to the believers, that all may be one. And that we may be complete (perfect as per Colossians 4:12 and finished as per 2Chronicles 8:16) in our understanding so that the world will know that God the Father loves us as He loved Jesus Christ.

God the Father loves us as He loved Christ. Ponder that for a few million years.

John 17:17-19 comments: thy word is truth

17 ¶  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

God’s word is the means of sanctification for which Jesus prays. Notice how important God’s word is.

Philippians 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Psalm 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

We are set apart by God inasmuch as we submit to Him speaking to us through His words in the Bible. I recommend reading Psalm 119 in its entirety.

Psalm 119:11 ¶  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

There are many things to be said about the word of God and how important it is. But, one thing is that the word of God prevents a church from being nothing more than a social club or a political club. Everything that anyone says that God has laid on their heart can be compared to it to see if what they say is true but if you do not read or listen to the word of God you cannot know if you are being lied to or deceived or told the truth.

How many times have your read the Bible through from cover to cover? If you have been a Christian for ten years and have not read or heard the Bible read through ten times there is something very wrong. You may be a great person, a serving Christian with a servant’s heart, even a soul-winner, but like Martha you may choose to be too busy to fellowship with God.

The Bible should be your standard in all matters of faith, practice, and doctrine. If reading or listening to the Bible read was a daily activity it would be difficult to deceive you. Let God speak to you through His word. God will set you apart for what He wants you to do while you are in this world through it, not the manic ravings of a celebrity preacher who just wants a following to glorify himself and to justify his own sin.

As God the Father sent Christ into the world so has Christ sent His disciples into the world. Christ’s offering of Himself sanctifies the believer. He is useful to God the Father by His death and resurrection in drawing men to salvation and by that the follower of Christ is set apart for His work in the world as part of the body of Christ.

John 17:6-16 comments: the son of perdition

6 ¶  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

As Christ teaches us and gives us an example of prayer He continues to pray to God the Father. He states that He has taught the Apostles about God, that they belonged to God, that God the Father gave them to Christ, and they were faithful and kept His word. They now know that Christ is over all things and the only way to God is through Him for He is God. They know His words come directly from God the Father.

Christ is praying for them, not for the world that rejects Him, but praying for them, those that God the Father has given Him, for they belong to the Father. Every one that belongs to the Son of God belongs to God the Father, as well, and every one that belongs to God the Father belongs to the Son of God. Christ is glorified in those who believe in and trust in Him.

    11 ¶  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Christ will no more be walking in the world of men and women, no more walking on the earth. He is going back to Heaven, the abode of God. Christ calls God the Father, Holy Father, which is not a title to give to men. Like the word reverend it has a particular application to God alone.

Psalm 111:9  He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

Christ prays for unity among the Apostles. Unity is one of the most important attributes that God wishes for the body of Christ.

Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

This unity of purpose is essential for a church to grow inwardly as the congregation draws closer to God through the Scriptures and outwardly as people are drawn to the church by the Holy Spirit using the atmosphere created by the congregation becoming closer and closer to God.

 

Jesus kept every one of the Apostles except for Judas Iscariot, who is called here the son of perdition. This epithet is used again, by Paul, in 2Thessalonians 2.

 

2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

 

This poses the question as to a further meaning of the following verses with regard to Judas Iscariot whom we have already been told is a devil in John 6:70, 71.

 

Acts 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

 

(See also 1Samuel 5:11)

 

Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 

Some believe the spirit of Judas will return in the form of someone at the end in the beast of Revelation as John the Baptist was imbued with the spirit of Elijah, the Prophet.

 

Read Psalm 109 for prophecies that will assigned to Judas in Acts, chapter one. Also see other passages that will be illuminated in Judas’ behavior;

 

Zechariah 11:12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 

Psalm 41:9  Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

 

Psalm 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

 

There are other verses that refer to Judas in the Old Testament.

 

Christ spoke these words the Apostles so they might not despair, but have joy as John wrote in his first letter in 1John 1:4 that he was writing that those Christians’ joy might be full. Believing the Bible does not lead you to despair but to joy. We may not understand everything now but we will. Trust God.

 

We do not belong to this world any more. It doesn’t own us even though we often try to let it. As Christ is not of this world, neither are we.

 

Why can we not be removed from this world as soon as we believe and are saved by God?

Jesus asks the Father not to remove His disciples from the world, but as they have a part in saving those of the world that can be saved, He asks that God protect them from the evil.  What would, “the evil,” refer to specifically in this particular context? 

 

Perhaps the evil is Satan, whom we will find out in Luke 22:31, has desires to do much damage to the Apostles.

 

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you [the plural you for all off the disciples], that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee [the singular you, for Simon Peter specifically], that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

John 17:1-5 comments: power over all flesh

1 ¶  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

As the time for Christ’s crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension are at hand Christ explains that these events will glorify the Father as the Father glorifies Him.

Matthew 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Christ has power over all flesh to give eternal life to men and women who will receive Him but other things will result from this, as well, such as God cleansing the animal world so that no animal is unclean to us.

Acts 10:9 ¶  On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10  And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15  And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Christ is completing His mission in a human body.

Hebrews 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:… 10  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Again, here we have Christ identifying with God as God, in the reference to the glory He has in the heavenly realm. Remember the first verses of this gospel.

John 1:1 ¶  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Later, John will write;

1John 1:1 ¶  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

John 16:28-33 comments: to overcome the world

28 ¶  I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29  His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30  Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. 31  Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? 32  Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Christ came from God into the physical world of men and women. He is leaving the world to return to the Father.

The disciples acknowledge that they believe that Christ came from God. Christ then warns them that they will abandon Him to His fate, the mission of dying for mankind’s sin and the resurrection from the dead.

Zechariah 13:7 ¶  Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Mark 14:27  And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.…50  And they all forsook him, and fled.

One thing that Christians are taught in this passage is that we are never alone in a trial because God is with us. We often do not draw strength from that as we should.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Christ told the Apostles of what was coming so that they would have peace and not wonder why when events unfolded. He told them this so that they would have peace and not be troubled.

John 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Isaiah 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Christ has overcome the world. We have the Spirit of God and Christ, the Holy Ghost, inside of us if we are believers in Christ.

1John 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

What does it mean for the body of Christ, the church, when Christ says that He will do certain things for them that overcome as in many verses in Revelation such as 3:5 and 21:7?

Revelation 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

And here, the Bible defines what it means to overcome the world.

1John 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

The world cannot hurt you if you do not adopt its values and follow its plans, letting it define what concepts like happiness, success, and fulfillment mean in your life. The world cannot hurt you if you trust and accept God’s will for your life on a moment by moment basis as being just and good. The world, then, cannot do anything but kill your body and it cannot harm your spirit. Your soul also, that part of you that is your self-identity united with the Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead, is safe with God for eternity.