The Sovereign Surrender
Notes
Transcript
When I was a kid, there was this amusement park ride that I loved. It was at Disney World and other parks I’ve been to, but it’s a race track with a steel rail right down the middle of it. And you can get in one of the cars on this track, and you get to be the one that drives that car around and around the track. What kid doesn’t love that! If you steer to the left, the car goes left. If you steer to the right, the car goes right. Every kid gets onto this ride and is excited because you can actually control the car…at least that is the illusion. After all, this is a ride for kids, and it has to be safe. And the reason that this ride is safe is that you can only go as far to the left or as far to the right as the steel rail in the middle of the track. You can turn that wheel all the way right or all the way left at the beginning of the race and ride that rail all the way through without moving the steering wheel, but at the end of the race, your car will be back in the gate house, no matter what because control is really in someone else’s hands.
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to John 18. That’s John 18. As we turn the page into a new chapter this morning, I’ll remind you that all of chapter 17 was a prayer. Jesus was praying for us and for the glory of God now and for all eternity, and through it He was modeling to us what prayer should look like. And as that prayer closed last week, Jesus declared that He knew the Father and was going to continue to make Him known. And now, His prayer is finished, as is His time with His disciples. And as we begin chapter 18, what we are going to see is that Jesus keeps His Word. In fact, He is going to continually demonstrates who He is by displaying the power and authority of God all the way through His death and resurrection.
So, let’s begin in John 18, beginning in verse 1. And as is our custom here, I invite you, if you are able, to stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word:
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.
Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”
Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
Let’s pray together: Lord, We thank you for the blessing of this day and the opportunity to worship You together. We praise You, God, because You are the only One in all of the universe that deserves our praise. Lord, we don’t want our worship of you to be an event that we attend on Sunday, but an attitude and an approach to how we live our lives out before You. And, so, as we come together into a time of studying Your Word, we ask You to send the Holy Spirit to be among His people, that He may lead us and guide us to a clearer understanding of who You are and who You have called us to be as Your servants. Change us from the inside out, even as we are seated here this morning, that we will leave this place as better reflections of Jesus. It is in His Name we pray, Amen.
Thank you, you may be seated. So, what are we to make of this passage, of this encounter with Jesus. There are so many things that we could focus in on. We could talk about the betrayal of Judas. His treacherous act comes to a head here. He leads the Roman guard, acting in the authority of the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, to arrest Jesus away from the crowds that would have likely prevented it. We could focus on the peace of God and the chaos of man. We could spend the morning talking about Jesus in the peaceful garden, surrounded by men of war, led by a traitor to come and destroy the most beautiful gift that heaven ever gave.
We could even have a discussion out of this passage on Peter and his demonstration of how not to use a sword. I think we can all agree that when he makes his fantastic move, he was not aiming for the guy’s ear. The Lord clearly didn’t choose that one for his combat skill. There are a lot of things that we could focus on in these verses that are worth exploring, but to me, none of them stand out as clearly and as the sovereign authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friends, like children on a ride, you and I live in somewhat of a delusion. And I don’t mean to sound demeaning in any way when I say that because I am talking about myself first and foremost. But we live under a delusion, and it is this: you and I believe that we are in control. Now some of you are laughing and shaking your heads, because somewhere in your head you know that isn’t true, but I would say that you do believe you are in control because you prove it all the time.
There are people in this room that would rather drive a car than fly on a plane. Never mind that the plane is faster; Never mind that statistics show you are at much greater risk behind the wheel of a car than on a plane; you want to drive your car because you think that in your car you are in control.
Others of us have it in our heads that when we are doing something, the only way it is going to turn out right is if it goes the way we planned it or if it is done the way that we do it. And we are so convinced of this, that we have a hard time letting others help us with anything because they don’t know what they are doing. Not like I do.
All day, every day, we make decisions. Small decisions that lead to bigger ones that lead to bigger ones. And we usually only stop to pray about the biggest ones, because over the smallest ones, we are in control, right?
Except we’re not. We are not in control. Sure, we make decisions and choices, and those choices and decisions affect us, but we are not in control. There is only one who is in control, and we are riding on the steel rail of His plan and purposes, and we see that clearly on display in this passage. Jesus is sovereign. He does what He sets out to do. He is the One who is absolute control and in absolute authority. In today’s text, we’re going to see three different ways that He demonstrates His sovereign authority, and we are going to talk about what these things mean for us. Let’s look at some verses together, shall we?
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.
Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
If you are taking notes this morning, the first thing that I would have you to write down on your listening guide is this:
Jesus shows us that His plan is the only plan
Jesus shows us that His plan is the only plan
Christ knew they were coming for Him. You’ll recall that as they sat at the table eating together, Jesus had revealed Judas as the traitor and then told him to go do his work quickly, and Judas got up and left. And all of this time, Jesus has been walking with His disciples, leading them to this place. Verse four tells us that Jesus knew they were coming. He could have gone anywhere, but He chose to go where He knew that He would be arrested. He chose to go there in His own authority, and what that means for is that Jesus chose to be arrested. He chose where and when it would happen.
And I want you to look at Judas here. Judas thinks he is making the choices. He thinks He’s got Jesus dead to rights. He expected Jesus would be in the garden because they went there a lot, and he came with the authority of man. Verse three tells us that when Judas came to the garden that night, he came in the authority of Rome and of the temple. Judas brought with him a cohort- that is a Roman military unity that is similar to a modern battalion . A cohort had somewhere between 360 and 800 men, plus officers besides. So, at the moment of Jesus’ arrest, there are several hundred soldiers there to do the job. It really is a bit of overkill for someone they thought was just a man, isn’t it?
And what I want you to see here is this, that Judas and Rome, and the religious leaders all thought they were moving their plan into action. They thought that they were in control. They were making decisions and they were most definitely affected by those decisions. However, the reality is that it was God’s plan that they were accomplishing; they were turning to the left and the right, but they were driving along His rail. So, what does this mean for you and me?
Well, I think we need to see that we are going to serve God’s purposes. When the Sovereignty of God, His rule as King of the universe, meets with the free will of men, what we need to understand is that God’s will is going to win. God’s purposes are going to be accomplished. We can affect our journey. We can choose how we are serving God’s purposes, but in the end, we will serve His purposes one way or another.
The prophets of Baal on mount Carmel served God’s purposes when they made a mockery of themselves and their false Gods and were killed for it. Pharoah served God’s purposes when He sent His armies to die in the Red Sea, as God closed the waves on top of them. Goliath served God’s purposes as he fell to the ground, slain by a sling shot in the hands of God’s servant. You can serve God’s purposes by pursuing the wrong things, but it won’t end well for you!
We need to seek God’s plan in making our plan
We need to seek God’s plan in making our plan
You could argue that Judas’ plan that night was successful, and it certainly fit into God’s plan, but it did not bring about his good. I can’t speak for you, but I only want my plans to succeed if they are going to bring about my good in the end. I want success like Moses and Joshua and David and Josiah, and Elijah, and Elisha, and Paul, and Peter, and John. I want to be used in God’s hand to mightily bring about His plan and purposes in such a way that I am closer to Him, growing in maturity, and seeing good things come about both in my life and out of it.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Jesus is sovereign over all things. His plan is going to win out, so if we want our plans to find God glorifying success that ends in our good, we need to seek God’s plan in making our plan. Moving on, lets look at verses 4-8
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
The second thing that Jesus shows us in this passage is this:
Jesus shows His authority is the only authority
Jesus shows His authority is the only authority
As we picture the evening when these events took place, Jesus and eleven disciples, eleven common men, sit in the garden together when Judas shows us with hundreds of soldiers. To say that Jesus and the disciples were outnumbered is seems almost laughable. They sent 600 soldiers to arrest one man out of a group of 11. It was meant to be a show of force and to kill any thoughts of resistance. Rome and the Sanhedrin sent those soldiers to paint a very clear picture as to who was in charge. They wanted to paint a clear picture that left no doubt as to who was in authority, and ironically, that is exactly what happened!
From the moment that Judas and the soldiers enter into the garden, it is Jesus that is in command. Jesus commands the conversation from the get go. There is no charge from the soldiers. There is no order called out. In the conversation that takes place between verse 4 and verse 8, Jesus speaks first in every part of the conversation. It is Jesus that is asking the questions and Jesus that is giving all of the directions. Look again at a couple of these verses with me a little more closely. Verse 6:
So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
So, to recap, hundreds of soldiers are standing with weapons and torches, and Jesus asks them who they are looking for. And they answer Him that they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And when He tells them “I am He,” the response of these soldiers is to fall to the ground. When Jesus announces who He is, everybody around Him bows to the ground. That’s crazy! These men came with the authority of Rome. They came with the authority of the Sanhedrin. They came with weapons and armed with what would bring most men to their knees in fear.
And 600 soldiers came to arrest Him, but there in the garden, in His presence, they bow…Why would they do that? Where do we see those in authority and power bow before the subjects of their authority? Why would guards, soldiers, officers kneel before a man that they were there to arrest? They bowed because they were in the presence of the King. They bowed because they were in front of their source of authority, and everybody bows in the presence of the King!
Look at verse 8:
Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
Here they are, Judas and his army, there to arrest Jesus, bowed before Him on the ground, and Jesus asks again why they are there, and when they answer, Jesus answers again “that’s me,” and then Jesus does something interesting. Jesus commands His arresting party as to who they can take, and they listen. They don’t arrest any of the disciples. Even when John cuts a guys ear off, that isn’t enough to get him arrested. And we’re going to talk more about this encounter with Peter in a moment. But have you ever wondered about that?
Do you think that you could attack a member of the U.S. military serving on duty in an official capacity, cutting that soldier’s ear off, and walk free? I don’t think so! I think you would find yourself in prison faster than you can blink an eye. How much more so was that the case in Rome?!!! It is a miracle that Peter wasn’t killed on the spot. Why wasn’t he? Why didn’t Peter suffer for what he had done to that soldier? Because of Jesus. Jesus commanded the soldiers to leave the disciples alone and they did. Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus was fulfilling John 17:12 when He protected the disciples here. He surrendered Himself, and yet He displays His authority over all things. Now, when we read of this event in the Gospel of Luke, we finds that Jesus healed this man, but regardless, Jesus commands these soldiers and they obey because when the King speaks, everyone listens and obey. And for you and me, what this means is simple, and it’s this:
The only authority we should fear is God’s authority
The only authority we should fear is God’s authority
Now, I want to be clear here. I didn’t say that we shouldn’t respect other authorities. Jesus said to render what is Caesars to him.
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
We need to obey our governing authorities, where it is not in contradiction to Scripture for us to do so. Jesus commands us to do so, and we need to be obedient in this. But one of the reasons that we need to obey those in authority is because their authority comes from God in the first place. And when it comes to the point where we must choose between obeying the authority of God and obeying the authority of God, we need to remember that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
When we are faced with a decision between the things of God and the things of men, we need to remember that the only One with real authority is the one that can send us to Hell’s fire and suffering. When our faith is threatened by earthly authorities that would contradict the commands of God, we need to remember that before they could arrest Him, 600 soldiers kneeled in a garden. The power of Rome knelt before the King of Kings, because in the end, there is only One who has any authority at all, and His Name is Jesus.
Our plans must be born out of His plans because His plan is the only plan. His authority should be the only authority we fear, because He is the only One with any authority. These things were true in the garden, they were true on the cross. They were true in His resurrection and they will be true on the last day.
We are almost finished this morning, but let’s look at these last couple of verses together.
Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
The final way that Jesus shows us His Sovereignty in this passage is this:
Jesus shows His power is the only power
Jesus shows His power is the only power
The ultimate display and act of power is to have the capacity to use it for your benefit and choosing not to. Peter lashes out with his sword here and slices off an ear. You and I both know that Peter wasn’t aiming for an ear-his intention was to behead the man. He is jumping to the defense of Christ. He is ready, in this moment to die for Jesus in defense. But what does Jesus say? Jesus stops Him. Jesus surrenders in power to the will of God the Father. In Matthew 26:53, in this same event, Jesus asks Peter a question:
“Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus had the means and the power to defend Himself, and yet He chose not to do it. He surrendered in an act of great power and authority because it is easier to offer a defense to to stand in the gap. Peter found that out, didn’t he? We’re going to see it in the next couple of weeks, when before the rooster crows he denies Christ three times. It is easier to offer a defense than it is to stand in the gap.
Jesus is standing in the gap because Jesus has real power. He isn’t afraid of anything that any man could throw at Him, even death itself, because as it turns out, Jesus has power of death. The power of Jesus, friends, is the only power, and for you and I, we need to see this and understand that Jesus used His power. He used His power of restraint. He used His power of control. He used His power to stand. Jesus used His power to stand in surrender so that you and I could be granted victory.
Victory over sin. Victory over death. We have victory, we who are in Christ because of the power of Jesus on display in this moment, when it was harder to stand than to give a defense. And in that, those of us who have been created with the purpose of knowing Him and making Him known must learn to be like our Savior. We must seek His plan in making our plans. We must fear His authority as the only One that matters, and we must remember that
Living in the power of God is a stand, not a defense
Living in the power of God is a stand, not a defense
Jesus, beloved, doesn’t need defenders. He is completely capable of defending Himself. That is not the power He has called you in. He hasn’t called you to the defense of the Kingdom of God. He has called you to stand. Stand in the task you have been called to do. Stand firm in knowing Christ and in making Him known. We aren’t to be caught swinging the sword of Christ for our cause. Rather, we are to be found living our lives seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our Lord, as Micah 6:8 commands. We are to follow Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
and again in 1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
The power of Christ lives in us, not so that we can defend ourselves against those that attack us for following Him, but so that we can continue to serve Him faithfully in the midst of their attacks. His power in us is to stand because we are confident that our plans were made in light of His plan. He gives us power to stand because we live and move in the fear of His authority. We don’t fear those that could take this life from us, but the One who could condemn us forever.
Our King is sovereign forever. He was sovereign at His arrest. He was sovereign over His death, His resurrection, and His ascension into heaven. He is sovereign as He lives in us today, giving us the power to stand in the things He has called us to, and He will One day come in sovereign power to reign forever. Jesus was sovereign in His surrender, even as He will be sovereign in His glory.
And this morning, you and I have an opportunity. We have the opportunity, ourselves, to come to the Sovereign King of the universe in surrender before Him. Right now, today, we can come before Him and say, “Lord, I don’t want any plan but your plan. I want to live in submission to Your authority, and to stand in Your power to do the things that You have called us to do.” Right now, we have the opportunity to choose the manner in which we will glorify God: I would rather glorify Him like Moses or Daniel and not like Pharoah or Judas.
Jesus knew the hour of His arrest. None of you knows when your hour, when my hour will come. In the garden Christ came to sovereign surrender. But on that day He will come in His power and might. In the garden Christ showed the power of restraint, but on that day the sword will be in His hand, and His aim is sure and true. Let today be your day of surrender. Surrender to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and find that His grace is sufficient for you. I’m going to pray for us, and then we’re going to sing a song together to close. And if today, the Lord is calling you to surrender, would you send me a message this morning. I would love the chance to talk with you by zoom or on messenger, and to pray for you in what God is calling you to. In His sovereignty He surrendered for you. Let today be the day you surrender your will for His. Let’s pray together:
Lord, I stand amazed at who You are, and I am overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed by Your perfect plan that can account for my errors and imperfections. I am amazed at Your power and authority, moving to accomplish Your will and to draw all men to yourself. And, Father, I’m here this morning to say that I’m done chasing after my own will and my own plans, because I know that Your plan is the only One that leads me to salvation. Your authority is the only authority, and Your great Power is the only power. And so, this morning, I surrender to You, and I ask You to make Your plans my plans. Use me how You see fit to bring about Your plan, because I know that it is better than mine. Lord, would You lend me Your power so that I can stand in the things that You have called me to, knowing that You have the authority to do what You have promised. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.