 Our sermon title this morning is His Glory in Submission, His Glory in Submission, and we are in part two here as we're working through this text, John chapter 18, verses 1 through 12. As we get into these verses again this week now, we want to remember John's purpose for writing. John said that he wrote in chapter 20, verse 31, so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life in His name. So what John intends to do through this text, as he does in all the texts of the Gospel of John, is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ as the Christ, as the Son of God, as the Messiah, as our Savior, one who has come to take away the sin of the world. So in John chapter 18, verses 1 through 12, we're seeing Lord Jesus Christ revealed by John, the Apostle John, in this way in order to glorify the Lord. And specifically to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through His submission in verses 1 through 12 here. We see the Lord who is sovereign over all, God in the flesh in humble submission, heading to the cross, walking now with His forehead as flint as it were, toward the cross to die there for His own. As we began this text last week, we saw that His submission was revealed first in His courage. It was a courageous submission. Knowing all those things that would come upon Him, He went forward. He marches inexorably to the cross, knowing all that would take place. And we saw that He, in submitting Himself to God the Father, as Hebrews says, being perfected, being tested and proven through the things which He suffered. It was a courageous submission. Now this morning as we come to verse 4, we not only want to look last week at His courageous submission, we want to look this week, this week point 2, at His humble submission from verses 4 through 9. And then we'll conclude our text with point 3 on your notes, His determined submission in verses 10 through 12. So in part 2, we want to unpack then the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ expressed in His submission, His humble submission beginning in verse 4. Let's begin there this morning. His humble submission beginning in verse 4, the humble submission of His authority, the humble submission of His power. In verse 4, John records, Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, Whom are you seeking? And they answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Now Jesus said to them, I am He, and Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, I am He, they drew back and fell to the ground. And He asked them again, Whom are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. So Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He. If you seek Me, let these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke of those whom you gave Me, I have lost none. Now in two parts in verses 4 through 9, we're going to see His humble submission of His authority, the humble submission of His authority, and we'll see the humble submission of His power. Now in courageous submission to the will of the Father, in immeasurable love for His own. For those for whom He goes to die, Jesus, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward. When they wanted to take Him by force and make Him king, in John chapter 6 He withdrew from them. But when they want to take Him now by force and hang Him on a cross, the Lord Jesus Christ marches forward. He goes forward. He went forward in verse 4 to confront them directly. As we looked last week at His prayer, Matthew chapter 26, Mark chapter 14, Luke chapter 22, the Lord Jesus Christ is strengthened as He prays in the garden. He becomes more and more resolved, always resolved, more and more convinced of the Father's will, resolved to do the Father's will, and to take the cup that had been prepared for Him. So He says in Matthew chapter 26 and in Mark 14, to the disciples, rise, let us be going, my betrayer is at hand. He wasn't going to hide. He wasn't trying to flee, trying to escape. He was going out to meet them. And so going out in verse 4 then, He asks them, whom are you seeking? And we think about this passage, verses 4 through 9 specifically, it paints a very interesting picture of the Lord's arrest, paints a very interesting picture of the Lord's arrest in first His submission to the Father. But that picture intentioned by John to communicate here that He's the one in charge. Lord Jesus Christ coming into the garden with all authority. The Lord's not a victim here. He's not a victim. He's not fleeing. He's coming in, having all authority. He knows all things that would come upon Him. He's not cowering behind some rock, behind some bush. He's acting with complete authority. If you notice, He goes out to meet them. He goes out to meet them head on, to meet them directly. He is the one who initiates the contact. He goes up to them and asks them, whom are they seeking? He's the one asking the questions here, right? From start to finish, He is the one who directs this encounter, and we'll see that as we'll work through the text. All of this then taking place according to His will, and only by His will does this take place. Jesus told Peter in Matthew chapter 26 verse 53, He's rebuking Peter for taking out a sword. And Peter, He said to Peter, do you not think that I can now pray to my Father and He will provide me with more than 12 legions of angels? In other words, that's a rhetorical question. Certainly the Lord Jesus could. He chooses not to. The Lord has all authority, and the Lord is the one here directing this encounter. If He wanted to, He could have run Him out of the garden with a whip of cords, couldn't He? Right? Like He did those in the temple. John 2, Matthew 21. Now what are we to understand from this picture? First we're to understand His authority. His authority and His power and His sovereignty in this text are on display. And again, that's intended by John for us to see. John chapter 10 verse 18, speaking of His life, the Lord Jesus Christ says, no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. He says, I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Interesting that word, power there, exosia in the Greek. It's power, but it's power with authority. It's power that comes with authority, or authority's power to do what He has determined. In this case, He has the power, and only He has the power to lay down His life, and He has the power to take it again. And He says, this command, John chapter 10 verse 18, I have received from my father. When we were looking at John chapter 17 in verse 19, the Lord says, I sanctify myself for them. No one is taking this from Him. You see? He has the authority. He has the power. And what has He decreed? What has He decided to do? He's going to lay His life down for His own. He's going to go to the cross, and He's going to die for them. He says, I sanctify myself for or in behalf of their sakes. Now put this in perspective in John chapter 18 verses 4 through 9. His arrest, His binding, eventually His beating, His scourging, His suffering, His crucifying, His death, the laying down of His life. In all of that, Jesus Christ is the initiator. Jesus Christ is the one in authority. Jesus Christ is the one in complete and total control. The salvation of His people is only possible at the cross. And so what has Jesus determined to do? He is determined to go to the cross. He's going to go there for His people. He goes out of the garden here to take care of that business. So in verse 4, Jesus went forward then, taking the initiative. With authority, Jesus went forward instead of them, whom are you seeking? They answered him in verse 5, Jesus of Nazareth. Now picture the scene. Make the setting clear for a moment. You have this great multitude we discussed last week, this great multitude now that has come into the garden, come to arrest Jesus, a cohort upwards of 600 Roman soldiers, the temple guard sent by the Sanhedrin, the chief priests, the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders of the people, all representing this world's authority. And they certainly believe that they're in charge here. They've come out in force, right? Then you have the one who goes out to meet them, the one with all authority, true authority, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of man. He goes out with all authority. That authority partially veiled here in the garden by his own humble submission. But you catch glimpses of it. You catch glimpses of that authority, flashes of power that John intends here to bring out in this text. So you have this world's authority. You have true authority, but there's another so-called authority represented here. Another pretender to the throne. One who also believes in John 18, verses 4 through 9, that he's pulling the strings. Look at verse 5, and Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now flip back and look at John 13. John chapter 13, there's another so-called authority represented here in the garden. In John chapter 13, look at verse 1, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the end, and supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel, and he guarded himself. In other words, the devil now motivating Judas to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. Look down at verse 27, after the piece of bread, Satan entered him, and Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. Satan entered him and took over in John chapter 13, verse 27. So behind Judas, we see Judas here in the garden, behind Judas, you have Satan aggressively asserting his own authority in the garden, always laboring to usurp true authority, to undermine true authority. In John chapter 12, verse 31, John 14, verse 30, John 16, verse 11, Jesus calls him the ruler of this world. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 2, he's called the prince of the power of the air and the spirit that now is at work in the sons of disobedience. In Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12, he heads the principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age. He is the leader of the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. In 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4, he is the God of this age. And according to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14, he holds the power of death. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter 14, Isaiah chapter 14. We're looking here in the garden at these gathered authorities. You have one holding all authority, true authority, and you have two pretenders to the throne. You have this world's authorities that have arrayed themselves, gathered themselves together against the Lord's anointed, and you have Satan himself through Judas here asserting his authority in the garden. In Isaiah chapter 14, we see where this comes from and where this is going. Look beginning with me at verse 9. What happens to this world's presumptuous and pretender authorities? Verse 9, hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth. It is raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you, have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pump is brought down to shield and the sound of your stringed instruments, the maggot is spread under you and worms cover you. Verse 12, how you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. What happens to Satan and to his authority? Verse 15, yet you shall be brought down to Sheol to the lowest depths of the pit. That's what happens with these pretender authorities. That's what happens with Satan and his pretending authority. Verse 15, seals the fate of Satan. The Lord has spoken. Will he not do it? Certainly he will. And he comes into the garden with that thought in mind. We'll look at that in a moment. But Satan here in the garden, Satan knows his end. Satan's not omniscient. He doesn't have omniscience, right? Satan knows and understands based on revelation as things are revealed from God. And it has been revealed to Satan what his end is. Remember as the Lord Jesus Christ, right? In Matthew chapter eight, he meets the two demoniacs. In Matthew chapter eight, as he meets the two demoniacs, the demons cry out, what have we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God, you know exactly who Jesus is. Have you come here to torment us before the time? They were expecting torment. They knew that torment would be their end. They were questioning Jesus if he had come to torment them before the time. They know the time is coming. They know. They know. The demons know that there is an everlasting hell prepared for the devil and his angels. So if we think about Satan in the garden, what's his point? What's his purpose? His purpose is to oppose and hate, to oppose and hate. He's the adversary. Satan is the adversary. Both the Hebrew word and its Greek translation, Diabolos, mean adversary or plotter, someone who opposes through evil means. His intent is to oppose God, oppose the Lord Jesus Christ by fraud, by slander, by murder. Satan opposed God in the Garden of Eden, didn't he? With Adam and Eve. And now he opposes God in this garden in John chapter 18 as he stands before God and as he stands before the Son of God in brazen defiance. Satan knew from Genesis chapter three verse 15 that his ultimate destruction would come through the seed of the woman. So knowing that from Genesis chapter three, he at once begins to work in time in history to destroy that seed. What do you have in Genesis? You have Cain murdering his brother Abel, right? The first murder. And what does John say was the reason for that murder? First John chapter three verse 12 says that Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. Why? Satan was evil and his brother's deeds were righteous. You see Satan's plan, Satan's motivation, Satan's heart, so to speak, in opposing God. Just a few examples in Satan's work to destroy that seed. It was revealed in time from God that the seed, the seed of the woman would come from Abraham's descendants. So what does Satan do? Works through Pharaoh, Pharaoh who tries to murder every Jewish male baby and Moses is saved in a little basket, a little arc, right? Haman in the book of Esther tries to destroy all the Jews and his plot is victoriously turned against him, right? He was hung on the same gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. It was revealed in time that this seed would come from the tribe of Judah into the line of David. And so a distressing spirit assails Saul as he attempts to kill David. In second Chronicles, this is a great account, in second Chronicles chapter 21 and 22, Queen Athaliah, when her son King Ahaziah was killed, Queen Athaliah ordered every grandson in line for the Davidic throne killed, ordered every one of those grandsons killed. She thought she had succeeded, she thought she got away with it. But they hid one baby for six years, Joash. He was the only one, the line of David brought down to one baby. They hid that baby for six years to avoid him being killed and at age seven he was brought out of hiding in crowned king and the Davidic line was preserved by God. It was revealed in Micah chapter five, verse two, that the seed would be born in Bethlehem. And in Matthew chapter two, King Herod sent troops and had all of the male Jewish children in Bethlehem, two years old and younger, had all of them slaughtered. Mary and Joseph and the baby escaped into Egypt. Jesus began his earthly ministry. Jesus comes in his incarnation, begins his earthly ministry, and Satan takes him out immediately in Matthew chapter four to tempt him. All of this according to God's plan, none of this catches God by surprise. The Lord Jesus Christ is an authority. God in decree is superimposing his rule, his sovereign reign over all of this, but we see Satan's plot. The Jews of their father, the devil, constantly sought to kill him. From the beginning, they sought to kill him. As they stand here in the Garden of Gethsemane in John chapter 18, Satan continues to oppose him and wants him dead. Jesus Christ is about to have his heel bruised, but that heel is lifted and it's about to crush the head of the serpent. The Lord is in complete control here in the garden, but he is humbling himself. He's humbling himself in submission to the Father. According to Hebrews chapter two, there are always, always those who, like their father, the devil, oppose the work of Christ. Always those who presume to prop up their own authority, their own rights, so to speak. They stand opposed, stand against the Lord. Hebrews chapter two, drop down to verse 14. We see an example here of the Lord's intention in the garden. In verse 14, in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he, the Lord Jesus Christ, he himself likewise shared in the same. He did that by making himself of no reputation, right? Taking the form of a slave, coming in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and he became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So that verse 14, through his death, he might destroy him who had the power of death. That is the devil. He goes into the garden, not subjected in any way to Satan's authority, not subjected in any way to anyone, to anything. He himself in sovereign control. He goes into the garden to destroy the devil. He's going to destroy him who had the power of death. That is the devil. Verse 15, and release those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. So Satan may believe that he's orchestrating the arrest in the garden. Those authorities, those worldly authorities, including Judas, they may believe that they're pulling the strings here and orchestrating these events in the garden, but that's not the case. That's not the case. And the Lord here is submitting himself in humility, great humility, right? You know, if we think in worldly terms, one of us might have been standing there. We can see it in Peter's response, can't we? When you want to reach out and grab Judas by the throat, Peter pulls his sword and wants to take a swipe at Malchus. That's the worldly response. The Lord Jesus Christ here in great humility, great humility submits himself to the Father's plan. In Hebrews chapter two, verse 16, he says, for indeed, he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of his people, to deal with the wrath reserved for his people as a result of their sin. He came to take that upon himself. Verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted. He is able to aid those who are tempted, not just similar to his brethren, but in all things. He was made like them and all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Why? Look at verse 17. Why? Well, first, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. He represents his people to God and he wants to be and he is a merciful and faithful high priest. But secondly, to make propitiation for the sins of his people. In other words, to be totally sympathetic to the great need of his people and proven faithful through temptation, through suffering, so that he might effectively deal with the sins of his people and set them free from bondage and aid those who are tempted. Because Christ was tempted through his suffering, because Christ was exposed in the way that he was to humiliation, he is able to come to the aid of his own when they are tempted. When they're tempted to fall back because of suffering, when they're tempted to fall back or become weary or become discouraged because of their circumstances, because of persecution or because of suffering, Jesus Christ aids his own as Jesus Christ suffered such hostility against himself at the hands of sinners. So let's apply this to our understanding back in John chapter 18. The Lord here in John chapter 18 is humbling himself in the garden, one with all authority, one with all power. He is submitting himself to the death of the cross for his people to be their merciful and faithful high priest. This is a humble submission. And in thinking about that, make no mistake, the Lord Jesus Christ is in control. The Lord Jesus Christ is in control and through that very death, he is about to destroy him who had the power of death. You think about God's sovereignty in this, right? And how miraculous it is that God in his sovereignty bring to a confluence, if you will, God's will, God's plans, God's intentions, God's purposes, and the wicked intentions, wicked plans and wicked deceptions and wicked plots of all the wicked. And their intentions converge, if you will, here in the garden, converge, if you will, at the cross where God accomplishes, even through their wickedness, God in complete sovereignty, complete authority, complete control, accomplishes all his intentions, all his purposes. It's an awesome picture. And what's our response to that? Right, when we understand what the Lord Jesus Christ has come to do, He marches with authority into that garden to submit Himself, our response, knowing that He voluntarily and willfully determined and resolved and actually did submit Himself in that way in the garden to death, even death of the cross, we should submit ourselves, heart, soul, mind, and strength to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. We should humble ourselves and submit. And when John 18, John makes the point at the end of verse five to say that Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. So Judas, now Judas himself, is a completely willing accomplice, obviously, in all of this. At the end of the day, no one can really say the devil made me do it, right? No one can say that. At the end of the day, Judas is only too willing to go along with all of this. Jesus in John chapter six calls him a devil. Judas is the son of perdition, a son of destruction. So you have the first Adam in the first garden. He took of the fruit, right, and said in pride, not your will, God, but my will be done. And then he went and hid himself in the bushes due to his guilt, due to his shame. And he comes out of the bushes, cursed, and all his descendants cursed in him. So here's Judas in our garden in John chapter 18, having walked with Christ for three years of ministry, standing face to face with the Son of God after seeing all the miracles, right? After hearing the gracious words that came out of his mouth. Judas stands here in the garden, face to face with the Son of God saying, not your will, God, but my will be done. And Judas, just like all children of the devil, he asserts, he presses his desire to rule his own life. He will not submit. He's blinded here in the garden by hatred. He's blinded by a lust for self-rule, blinded by pride, blinded by greed, blinded by envy. He's witnessed firsthand the power of God, witnessed. He was an eyewitness to the grace of God in Christ, the love of God in Christ. And don't be tempted to think now of John 18 and Judas being an extreme example. Put yourself in Judas' shoes. If you're not following Christ wholeheartedly, then you're like Judas. Judas is a picture of the true nature of all men apart from the grace of God. Judas is a picture of the true nature of all men apart from the grace of God in Christ. If you've not submitted yourself to Christ, if you've not turned to Christ from your sin, then you are a Judas. If you have not heart, soul, mind, and strength in repentant faith, entrusted yourself to your Creator to serve him and him alone, then you have a Judas heart. And like Judas, you have no excuse what may be known of God. God himself has shown it to you, his attributes, his eternal power in Godhead, his right to rule, his word revealed to you this morning. But you've not glorified him as God, you've suppressed the truth of him in your unrighteousness, in your sin, then you have a Judas heart. You've said in your heart, if you've not said it actually with your words, it matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. And you've rebelled against him, and with your life, if not with your words, you've cursed him, you've rejected him, and you've rebelled against him. When he holds out grace and mercy in Christ, his only son who died, the blindness, the blindness of someone who has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, the blindness of a hard heart who says, I will not follow him. I will not be ruled by anyone but myself. The hardness of heart, right? It reminds me of those in Revelation chapter nine, verse 21, when the judgments of God, the bowls and the trumpets are being poured out on the people. And what does the Bible say of them? What does the Bible testify of those earth dwellers? They would not repent. They wouldn't repent of their wickedness. They wouldn't repent of their murders. They wouldn't repent of their sorceries. They wouldn't repent of their sexual immorality or their thefts. They refuse to submit themselves. And yet the Lord Jesus Christ goes into the garden here to submit himself to the will of the Father, to die for sinners, to give himself, to shed his blood that you might be saved. And you sit there with a hard heart. You sit there with your teeth gritted and your forehead wrinkled, refusing to submit yourself to Christ. You will surely perish. And in that you're like Judas. You have a Judas heart. Acknowledge that about yourself and turn to Christ in faith. Acknowledge that you are a hard, hearted, stubborn, stiff necked sinner. Submit yourself, confess your sin. Bow your knee to Christ and be saved. Why will you resist? Why will you die? Why will you go to hell paying for your own sin there? They would not repent. And here Judas is after walking with the Lord and he will not repent. Others, others feign to kiss him. They pretend to be one of his own. They pretend to be someone on the inside and they draw him close to them before they stab him in the back. Rabbi, teacher, I love you, Lord. Right? As they slowly slip the blade in between the ribs. Look at this Christian work that I'm doing. Look at all these Christian people that I'm doing it with. Look at the Christian attitude that I display while I'm doing it. But if any one of those genuine Christians attempts to hold them accountable for their sin, or if they don't toe the line that that one says they must toe, then he's going to kiss them too. Spurgeon said that bold-hearted men are always called mean-spirited by cowards. There's a lot of speculation in John 18, in Mark 14, Luke 22, Matthew 26 regarding the kiss. John doesn't specifically go into the details here in John chapter 18. All three synoptics address it, all three. Why did he do it? Why did he do it? Judas could have just pointed him out, right? And said, there he is. But he doesn't do that. Mark 14, verse 44, records that Judas had given them a signal saying, whomever I kiss, he's the one. Seize him, lead him away safely, it says there. The word is better rendered under guard. Judas wasn't concerned about the Lord's safety. It means hold on to him tight, keep him secure. Seize him, lead him away under guard. Verse 45 there in Mark 14 says, as soon as he had come, immediately he went up to him and said to him, rabbi, rabbi, and he kissed him. The word they're used for kissed is a compound word. And the compound word, the compound part, intensifies the kissing. It either means that Judas kissed him for a long time or kissed him repeatedly. But it intensifies the use of the kiss. Take those things together, that it's in all three synoptics. This was a point that the writers intended to convey, the Holy Spirit intends to convey. And then the intensity of the signal, the intensity of the kiss, the sign, kissing him repeatedly. Some would argue that Judas there was simply being foolish, right? Coming up with some unnecessary signal to point out Christ. Others would say that he's just being polite. This was a common way that you greeted, greeted your teacher in those days. It's apparent to me from the text that it's much more wicked and much more insidious than that. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 6 says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. And here are the ways, think through this with me. Here are the ways in which this kiss is intended to be wickedly deceitful. First, Judas wanted to draw him close. Judas wanted to draw him close. He wanted to draw him close under a facade of friendship, under a fake deceitful picture, an illusion, a deception. In Matthew chapter 26 verse 50, after Judas kisses him, Jesus says, friend, why have you come? Judas wanted to draw him close under a facade of friendship, under a fake notion of friendship. Second, it's the closeness. It's the closeness that magnifies and intensifies the wickedness of the hate, the wickedness of the betrayal. David cries out in Psalm 55. David says, for it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it, nor is it one who hates me, who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion, and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together. We walked to the house of God in the throng together. We worked in ministry together. We evangelized together. We worshiped together. We fellowshiped together. In other words, I know you, and you, you know me. It's the closeness that magnifies and intensifies the wickedness of the hate, the wickedness of the betrayal. But thirdly, I want you to see, it's a form of sick pride, sick, sinful, disgusting pride. One of the likely, or several, one of several indications of Judas' wicked heart occurred in Bethany when Mary anointed the Lord with the costly oil that she'd been saving in John chapter 12. And Judas responds to that. Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? And John said he said that not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. So what happens in the heart of one like this who bent on sin? In other words, for Judas, among the 12, or among the 11, the other 11. I can't sin among them in the way that I want to, or in the way that I am. I can't continue in my sinful pattern among them in this way, and so I begin in my heart to despise them. Rather than humbly submitting to my brothers, contempt for my brothers now begins to grow in my heart. I want you to think through this progression with me, because this may be some of you. It may have been some of you by the grace of God no longer you, but we all know many who have this progression has taken place in their own heart. Every time Judas says, every time I'm corrected, every time I feel convicted over my sin, every time I'm challenged for the direction that I'm taking, my contempt for them only grows until at last my pride will no longer allow me to stay among them. And in fact, my pride will not allow me in leaving them to remain silent. That would be too loving. I must vindicate myself by opposing them. I must justify myself by tearing them down. In the Lord's day, Judas had Jesus arrested. In our day, that comes through false accusation, it comes through slander, comes through gossip, comes through backbiting, comes through tail-bearing, here amongst the brothers and sisters, amongst God's people. You can't sin the way that you want to, because you have a loving brother, a loving sister who will come alongside you and confront you in your sin, will talk to you about your sin, will call you to repentance, you have two responses possible. You can be humbile or you in your heart can be hostile. Humble yourself, submit yourself to your brothers. When you aren't humble, when they come alongside you and say, listen, brother, you're sinning against the Lord, you're sinning against the Lord's people, when they don't respond with humility, then bitterness grows in their heart. Contempt for those brothers will grow in their heart. Eventually, their pride will get the better of them. Every time they're corrected, every time they feel convicted over their sin, it's an affront to them, an affront to their pride, and pretty soon they can no longer take it, and they've got to leave, but they just can't leave. Their pride won't allow them to simply leave. They need to leave opposing God's people. They need to leave with a vicious voice of hate towards God's people, saving faith for themselves. They need to leave opposing, vindicating themselves, justifying themselves by tearing the people of God down as they go. That's what Judas is doing here in the garden. That's what Judas is doing with this mocking kiss in the garden. Can't think this is innocent in any way, shape, or form. Judas goes up to the Lord Jesus Christ, draws him in close, and then, and he does that with intention in his wicked heart to mock the Lord Jesus Christ, to save faith, to justify himself, to vindicate himself. I'm with these. It doesn't matter if you come out with a whole Roman cohort against the Lord Jesus Christ. Who's righteous in this, right? But what does Judas do? He comes out with an entire multitude with him. One so close to Christ revealed as a wicked, deceitful, lying, slandering, prideful, contemptuous, accusing, hypocrite. John's words, they went out from us because they were not of us. If they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. They go out in sin, go out accusing, go out like Judas. Now, the kiss of Judas, the kiss of Judas begins the mocking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the humiliation of Christ. One closest to him within his inner circle has delivered him over. And Judas and Satan both reveling in this, they're reveling in it. This was a tasty morsel. And this was delicious to Judas, to Satan, to see this happening. And yet in the midst of it all, the Lord in great humility, incomprehensible humility, the Lord humbling himself to it as the will of the Father, committing himself to the one who judges righteously. So let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Even when they gather around them, a bunch of religious looking people, yes, even then, hang in there, trust the Lord, submit to the Lord, believe upon him, hold on to his promises, obey his word, pray, even when they come with chief priests and Pharisees, leaders among the people, yes, even then, even then, trust the Lord, don't fear their faces, don't turn and cower, believe upon him, even though they come against you with an entire Roman cohort, cohort. I'm here from the association, I'm here to help you. Yes, even then, even then, you trust in the Lord, you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you obey his word, you love your brothers, you love your sisters, you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, committed to him whom you have committed your soul to, who is able to keep it until that day. You commit yourself to him, you trust him, the Lord is in authority, the Lord is in control, the Lord is sovereign over all these things. Incidentally, this is what happens when you draw people close. When people get close, this is what happens. Judas, one of the 12, Jesus said, have I not chosen you the 12, and yet one of you is a devil, and Jesus drew him close. Does this mean that you keep everyone at arm's length because you might get hurt? No, you love them, you love your brothers, you love your sisters. You mourn the break, which is justifiable, only will be right to do so, you weep over that, you pray to the Lord that he would restore and would preserve you, and you get up from your weeping, you get up from your praying, you acknowledge the Lord's goodness in it, you acknowledge the Lord's sovereignty in all those things, you trust him in your circumstances, and then you embrace those whom the Lord has drawn close to you, you embrace them. If you're a part of this church, this has likely happened to you on a personal level many times. It happens to us as a church on a regular basis, false and baseless accusations, slander, gossip, tailbiting, tailbearing, backbiting, lying. Why? Why? Because it's the sin of a Judas kiss, it's the sin of a Judas kiss, and, and, because God in his goodness to us, God who will not withhold anything good from those who walk uprightly, because God in his goodness has determined that it must be so. In Matthew chapter 27 verse 3, Judas would show remorse, but his remorse wasn't genuine repentance, the evidence that it wasn't genuine repentance was that Judas didn't turn back to the Lord, he didn't turn back and bear fruits befitting repentance, he continued to take matters into his own hands, and he went out and he hung himself. Acts 118 says that after he hung himself, he fell, and that he burst open in the middle, and all of his entrails gushed out, fitting end for the betrayer. Fitting end is Judas now in hell. Back in John chapter 18 verse 5, this was not Judas' hour, this was not Satan's hour, it was not the hour of the chief priests and the Pharisees, though they certainly thought that it was, this is the Lord's hour. Richard Phillips says, not as a victim, but as a determined savior who has come to his most glorious hour. The second Adam enters the garden, and for the joy that was set before him with all authority given to him, he said in humility, not my will father, but your will be done. And knowing all that would come upon him, he went forward, he took our guilt, took our shame upon himself, he died bearing the penalty due our sin, and he comes out victorious, having destroyed him, who had the power of death, that is the devil, and releasing those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now this narrative in John chapter 18, much less about what the world here and Judas and the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees and the cohort, much less about what the world is doing to him and much more about what he is doing for his own in this world. So point two on your notes, we're looking at the Lord's humble submission, his humble submission. With great humility of his submission, we see his great humility in that he submits himself despite having all authority. We also see that great humility, the humility of his submission, and the fact that he submits himself despite having all power. Verse four, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, he went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? And they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. So he said to them, I am he. The word there is I am. He is added. Jesus said to them, I am. And Judas who betrayed him also stood with them. Now when he had said to them, I am, they drew back and they fell to the ground. As we've seen before in the Gospel of John, he responds to them here with a profound statement about his person. I am. It's become through the Gospel of John a clear title for who he is. It's a clear claim to deity. And here in verse five, there's no predicate with it. Not I am the bread. I am the life. I'm the, this is I am like in John chapter eight, verse 24. If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. John chapter eight, verse 58. Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was I am. They understood exactly what he was saying. And they understood exactly what he was claiming through the use of that statement in John chapter eight, verse 59. They pick up stones to stone him for blasphemy because he, they say, being a man claimed to be God. Here in John chapter 18, verse six, the reader, you and I, those reading this Gospel, are meant to understand exactly what he's saying. And that understanding is communicated through the response of those people in the garden listening to this statement. Their response in the garden emphasizes his identity and his power. Verse six, when he said to them, I am, they drew back and they fell to the ground. There was force in his words. Now someone want to explain this away, right? They want to explain it away. They, they do the same thing with the account of him clearing the temple with a whip of cords. Let's say it was the authoritative tone of his voice and we spoke with authority. He had this look in his eye and they were just astonished. They were taken aback by that. They stepped back and fell to the ground. No, this was, this was a miracle, a small, but significant glimpse of who he is, a glimpse of his power. One said the army fell down as if vanquished by a greater army. And that's true. This response, their response validates or reinforces our understanding of his use of I am to describe himself and the Lord wants us to see here. They couldn't even stand before him, much less arrest him without his consent. They wanted to kill him but could make no claim on him without his humble submission. Hundreds stood there to oppose him and hundreds were hopelessly outnumbered by one. This is the word, the word who was in the beginning with God, the word who was God, all things made through him and without him, nothing was made that was made. And one day all rebellious stubbornly standing rebels will be brought before him. You know, this one word and they step back and they fall to the ground. Imagine the terror of the wicked when they see his completely unveiled power. The full display of his power as every one of them, all the wicked is made to fall to the ground at the name of Jesus. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on the earth and of those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. You can submit yourself to him now as he offers grace and mercy and love to you or you will submit yourself to him later then as you stand before him in judgment. Turn to Christ now. This is a time when the Lord Jesus Christ has come to seeking to save that which is lost in great mercy, in great grace, abounding in grace and mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ has come to save sinners. Those who are well though, those who are well though, don't need a physician. Those who are sick confess your sin, understand your condition apart from Christ. Repent, turn from your sin and bow the knee to Christ. In John chapter 18 verse 6, they're in shock. You know, they're trying to get up, they're composing themselves after having fallen down. They're probably trying to step out of the way of several puddles that have formed on the ground underneath them. In any event, in verse 7, they have to be asked again. He said in verse 7, then he asked them again, who are you seeking? It's like Jesus has come into the garden now helping them. He's trying to help them get on with the business. Again, he asked verse 7, who are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I've told you that I am. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way. That the saying might be fulfilled what he spoke of those whom you gave me, I've lost none. So in verses 8 and 9, then we see yet another example of his sovereign power. This is the good shepherd protecting his sheep. The same sovereignty by which he directs this entire encounter is the same sovereignty by which he now provides for and protects his disciples. He keeps the focus of the stunned multitude on him, right? Asking them twice who they came for. And then he says, he's got their focus on him. Who'd you come for? You came for me and let these go their way, right? It was a great foreshadowing. These words foreshadowing what was to come when he says to the crowd, take me instead of them, right? He'd go to the cross and die for his own saying to the father, take me and let these go their way. Edward Clink, the commentator said, if the greater purpose of the coming of Jesus was to remove the wrath of God from his disciples and place it upon himself, he could certainly do the same with the wrath of this world. The reason for this, because it was the will of the Father and because Jesus Christ had prayed for it. In John chapter 6, verse 39, this is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day. John chapter 17, verse 11, Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept and none of them is lost except the Son of Perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. Here he doesn't even, in John 18 doesn't even mention Judas, it's obvious, right? The Son of Perdition, the Son of Destruction, betraying the Son of God with a kiss. They would eventually, these disciples here, he's praying for their protection, he's protecting them sovereignly, but they would eventually, they would be themselves arrested, they would be beaten, they would be scourged, they would be imprisoned, they would be martyred. But this was here in John 18, not just physical protection, it was as much spiritual protection as it was physical. They had a mission to accomplish, they had a work to do, it wasn't their hour yet, and they certainly weren't ready. Peter, Peter denies the Lord to a girl in the courtyard, much less having been arrested and facing death, facing execution, right? They weren't ready, they weren't ready for the torture, they weren't ready for the imprisonment, for the beating, they weren't ready for that kind of a severe test of their faith. It would have been too much for them. So the Lord is protecting them, he's protecting them physically, he's protecting them spiritually, and the Lord has the power to keep that which you have committed to him against that day. He considers all of that, all of that. He will preserve his own to the end, and you can trust him to do it. This is his protection of the disciples here in the garden, a practical outworking of the promise of eternal security, a practical outworking of the perseverance of the saints, God's preservation of his own people. God is in control, and listen, if God is in control of your circumstances, then you are invincible until God is through with you. You are invincible in him, he will preserve you in the faith until the very end. Will he preserve you from pain? Not always. Will he preserve you from imprisonment? Not always. Will he preserve you from death? Yes, until he's done with you, until it's time for you to go. He will preserve you, however, always in the faith until the very end and take you to himself. Trust him, and trust yourself to him, and trust yourself to him. Thirdly, on your notes, we see his determined submission, beginning in verse 10. He is determined to submit himself to the will of the Father. Verse 10, then Simon Peter, having a sword, a makaira, it's a short sword, it's something that could be concealed under a cloak, right? Peter having a sword, he drew it, and he struck the high priest's servant, cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. It mentions him by name. In other words, these are eyewitnesses. These are people you could have gone and spoke to. They were eyewitnesses of what took place. Verse 11, so Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? Now, Luke 22, 49, Luke says that when they saw that he was going to be arrested, they asked him, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? At that point, it was when Peter drew his sword immediately and took a swing at Malchus. It was impulsive, Peter. But Jesus was determined to submit himself to the will of the Father in his circumstances. So Jesus said to Peter, verse 11, put your sword into the sheath. Dr. Luke, Dr. Luke mentions in his account how Jesus touched the ear of Malchus and healed him, right? Jesus touched him, touched his ear and healed it. But the Lord responds, shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? One statement, right? A rhetorical question. Shall I drink the cup which my father has given me? A rebuke of Peter, a statement of divine intention, and a commitment of determined submission, all in one statement, right? The economy of words. It's an emphatic negation in the Greek. He said to Peter, essentially, do you think it's even remotely a possibility that I would even consider to refuse to drink the cup which my father has given me, right? It's an emphatic, an emphatic answer. It begs the answer in Spanish, no way, Jose. No way, Jose. That cup that we discussed last sermon is the cup of divine wrath, the cup of divine judgment. And it was a cup that he was determined to drink to the dregs for all those the father had given him. And it says in verse 12, the detachment of troops and the captain, the officers, the Jews, they arrested Jesus and bound him like the binding of a sacrifice to the altar. It's like Abraham's binding of Isaac, right? He took Isaac up on the mountain. The Lord Jesus Christ bound, bound, so that we could be loosed. He was bound so that we could be set free from our sin and the courageous, humble and determined submission that the Lord renders here in the garden. Think about this, becomes a part of his perfect righteousness. As you read this account, his humble, courageous, determined submission, his resolved obedience, even under the fiercest conditions, knowing all that would come upon him, he obeys perfectly to the point of death, even the death of the cross, all of that becomes a part of his perfect righteousness, that righteousness, which is credited to you if you turn from your sin and put your faith in him. He humbled himself that you might be forgiven of your sin. All part of God's perfect and sovereign plan for the salvation of you and I who believe in him. Praise the Lord for Gethsemane. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we praise be to your name. Thank you Lord for this unspeakable gift. Thank you Lord for your glorious grace, your goodness, your kindness to us in Christ. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for your humble and perfect and courageous and determined submission in the garden. Thank you for your perfect sinless life. Thank you Lord that having loved your own, you loved them to the very end. Thank you Lord for the grace and mercy of a gift of repentance and faith. Thank you Lord for drawing us close with cords of love, where this world draws close in hate. Thank you Lord for your picture, this example, this truth, these acts of our Lord revealed to us here in John 18. I pray God that for your people, that they would consider Christ when they become weary, when they become discouraged, lest they become weary, lest they become discouraged. They would consider him who endured such hostility, such humiliation, such mocking, such evil, such wicked at the hands of sinners against himself. And that we would, by your spirit and according to our Lord's own submission, we would live in humble submission to you, who are able to keep that which we've committed to you until that day. And we praise you and thank you for the powerment and the enablement that your spirit provides. Thank you Lord for those often painful but in the end sweet sufferings that draws closer, that mature our faith, that prepare us, yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. We thank you for all that Lord. Thank you for your grace and mercy to us and your kindness to us in that. Help us to learn those lessons. Father I pray for anyone here not saved. They would not go in the way of Judas. They would turn from their sin such a gracious loving Lord, such a gracious loving God. They would humble themselves to the one who humbled himself to die for sinners. And they would be saved for your everlasting praise and worship. In Jesus' name we pray all these things. Amen.