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First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Tune in each week as Pastor Taylor Geurin leads us into a study of God's Word.
First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
From Garden to Glory: Who's Really In Charge? The Paradox of Power in Christ's Arrest | John 18
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus demonstrates his divine authority by identifying himself as "I AM" to the soldiers who came to arrest him, causing them to fall to the ground with just his words. Though possessing all power, Jesus chooses to surrender himself willingly, requesting his disciples be allowed to go free and fulfilling his mission to bear our sins.
• Contrast between Adam hiding in Eden versus Jesus stepping forward in Gethsemane
• The arrival of Judas with 200-600 soldiers demonstrates the perceived threat Jesus posed
• Jesus' declaration "I am" (ego eimi) reveals his divine identity and power
• Peter's misguided sword-drawing compared to Jesus' willing surrender
• Jesus exercises his supreme authority paradoxically through submission
• The "cup" Jesus drinks represents God's judgment for our sins
• Like CS Lewis observed in "A Grief Observed," Jesus could and dared take our suffering upon himself
Join us this Good Friday and Easter Sunday as we celebrate the One who laid down his life to take our sins to the grave but rose without them, offering redemption to all who come to him.
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week? Let me pray for us as we begin this morning. Lord Jesus, we do thank you for a morning like this, to start a morning with baptism. Lord, it's already been enough for us, it's already been a good morning. And so, lord, would you just, through the worship that we've offered, through the word that is preached, god, would you just show yourself more and more, as you already have, more and more. Transform us now through your word. Lord, please speak through me, please use us during this time as we look at your son, jesus Christ, and we look towards Easter. In Christ's name, amen.
Speaker 1:This may not be a big surprise to you. May not be. If Grace Pallis is here, our director of communications, I know it's not a surprise for her because she knows my keen eye for graphic design. If you knew what I meant, you'd be laughing more than that, because I do not have it. But I was on the yearbook staff in high school and so they put me on their biggest tasks the sports department. I would, and you can leave that there for a second. That was my child there in 11th grade.
Speaker 1:The baseball spread Every picture you see perfectly in place. Those action shots I did not take, but I did place them. That is all my doing. On the next slide you'll see not only was I in charge of the spread itself, but I was also in charge of the article there.
Speaker 1:How do you tell the story of the 2007 Little Rock Central baseball team? Well, I had to figure that out, I had to put that story together, and so not only a graphic designer, I really had to be an investigative reporter. I had to get down to the nitty-gritty details that people want to know when they open their 2007 yearbook about the baseball team. And how did I do that? I'll tell you before I show you that picture in the middle of two guys the guy on the left, his name is Drew Smiley. He pitched at Laroque Central. He went on to pitch for three years at the University of Arkansas, then went on with the Rays, the Tigers, the Braves, the Cubs, to have an 11-year MLB career. And so this is the guy I was dealing with. And, as a reporter, what do I have to get to the bottom of? What do I figure out to let people know?
Speaker 1:The next slide will show you that his favorite sport is baseball. No stone left unturned. I got to the bottom of it, we got it figured out. His favorite sport again is baseball. I've laughed about that over the years because I sat in a room with Drew Smiley and asked what his favorite sport was. I laughed because of the silliness of it.
Speaker 1:But really, over the last couple weeks I've been greatly encouraged. Greatly encouraged because I found out in walking through Genesis that I'm not the only one, and certainly not the first one, to ask questions. I already know the answer to. In fact, I'm in fantastic company God himself in the garden. He's walking towards Adam and says where are you? He knows right where he's at. A few verses later, he knows already that Adam is in sin. He said who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree? I commanded you not to. God already knows the answer to that. That was way back in Genesis. Even today, in John chapter 18, god is still asking questions. He already knows the answer to why? Because he wants humanity to participate in the answering of that question. And today the savior of the world, standing in the garden of Gethsemane, is going to look at a crowd and say whom do you seek and the answer we already know and we will see again today. Who are they seeking? They are seeking Jesus Christ. Why? To put him on a cross.
Speaker 1:We turn to John, chapter 18, beginning in verse 1. It says this when Jesus had spoken these words let's stop right there. When Jesus had spoken these words, what words had he spoken? Well, john 13 through 17 gives the account of the upper room, the upper room discourse. So Jesus and his at the time 12, soon to be 11 disciples are sitting in the upper room having dinner what would be the last supper before his arrest and crucifixion and Jesus begins to speak. He begins to talk about so many things that are to come. He talks about the Holy Spirit that is going to come. He talks about the reality that he will suffer, but he also prays for his disciples. So these are the words that he's spoken. And when Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. I've got a few pictures of us for us. The first is just that's Jerusalem as it sits today. That dome in the middle, the gold dome, is where the temple mount stood, and so you have Jerusalem, but then in that next picture you see the Brook Kidron or the Kidron Valley. Elevation drops about 700 feet and so you're up in Jerusalem and then you come down really into this beautiful valley, but then you start to go back up again to the Mount of Olives and this last picture shows the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane literally means olive press, so it's this garden of olive trees.
Speaker 1:When Katie and I were in Israel in 2016, we had an excellent tour guide. However, he was not a Christian. Now, he knew his facts, he knew his information, but you could just tell at times that he knew the facts but didn't believe the facts it showed at a few occasions. One time we entered into the Garden of Gethsemane and he gave us a few pieces of information about it, some facts about the garden, and then he looked at our group and he said if you want to take about five minutes to look around, then we'll get rolling. The group looked at each other and said we're going to need more than five minutes in the garden of Gethsemane. We may need more than five hours, but we were there and it looks just like this these beautiful olive trees that you walk around, and it seems like such a peaceful place. And today it is a peaceful place, but there was one night it wasn't so peaceful.
Speaker 1:We see that the disciples and Jesus entered this garden Verse 2,. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. Judas had recently left out from the dinner. He left to go to the temple authorities, the chief priests, to hand Jesus over. He knew exactly where they'd be going because he knew where their getaway retreat was, and it was in the Garden of Gethsemane. And then we see verse 3. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. And so now we arrive at this scene in the garden. Who are the characters here? You have Judas.
Speaker 1:I fast forward and you see the officers, the temple guards, you see the chief priests and Pharisees, the religious leaders. But then it says this this band of soldiers, that band of soldiers, that word in the original language can really talk about a battalion that was really used for groups of anywhere from 200 to 600 soldiers. Now I don't know how you've thought about this evening in the past in your mind, but I've usually thought it was Jesus and 11 men on one side and maybe a group of 25 or 30 on the other. No, it could be as many, from 200 to 600 men with torches and weapons, and they are ready to take Jesus and take Jesus by force if they have to. And it's interesting, they have these lanterns and torches why? Because they're coming at night. That's interesting because this is towards the end of Holy Week. Jesus has been around all week. In fact he's been around for three years now, but he's been around in the temple teaching. He's been around this whole time. They could have had him any time they wanted, and yet they knew Jesus to many was a popular figure. So they come out at night to avoid detection.
Speaker 1:Then we read verse 4. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them whom do you seek? I want to start at the beginning there Jesus knowing all that would happen to him. It reminds me so much of what Jesus said at the very beginning of his upper room discourse in John 13. It says this now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father. So Jesus knows his hour has arrived, having loved his own who were in the world I love this he loved them to the end.
Speaker 1:Fast forward to verse three. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God, was going back to God. He rose from supper and what did he do? He got down with a bucket of water and towels and he washed the feet of his disciples. And this blows me away, that Jesus, again, knowing all things, knowing that he has all authority, knowing that the Father has sent him all these things. He knows, and what does he do? He goes to the humble place of service.
Speaker 1:And now, once again, in verse 4 of John 18, then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him Again, nothing that's coming up is a surprise to him that all that has happened to him. It includes the arrest, it includes the trial, it includes the cross, all the suffering that would take place. Jesus knows all of this and what does he do? Well, what would I do, knowing all of this? I might ask if the garden has a back door, if we can get out of here, if there's some way to escape this. But what does Jesus do, knowing all that would happen to him? Look, he came forward. It's fascinating the last two weeks reading the account in another garden, the Garden of Eden, when Adam knew very well that he was in sin, that he had disobeyed his creator. What's his role? What does he want to do? He goes to hide the Savior himself. What does he do for the sake of humanity? He comes forward. He comes out. The obedient son comes forward and asks this question whom do you seek? Again, it's not like Jesus is wondering who this is. Are they looking for Bartholomew? I don't know. No, no, whom do you seek? He knows they're looking for him and they answered him.
Speaker 1:Verse 5, jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them I am he. Jesus said to them I am he? Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. Jesus says I am he? Really? He just says two words ego eimi, I am.
Speaker 1:Throughout the book of John there's been these seven. I am statements, I am the way, the truth, the life. I am the resurrection and the life. Last fall, we walked through these seven statements and now we see, in this moment fall. We walk through these seven statements and now we see, in this moment, who are you seeking Jesus of Nazareth. And he just says this I am. But really the idea of that I am statement didn't start in the book of John.
Speaker 1:You could go back to Exodus, chapter 3, when Moses is before a burning bush and says who in the world do I say sent me? When I go into Egypt and say let my people go, they sent me. When I go into Egypt and say let my people go, whose authority am I going with? And God says this I am you. Tell them that I am, has sent you. And so in this moment, jesus is bringing back that I am statement. I am the one you're looking for. But I am more than just some guy in the garden. I am God himself standing before you. And if you want proof that that is the case, am God himself standing before you. And if you want proof that that is the case, look at verse 6. When Jesus said to them I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. Let me read that again. When Jesus said to them I am he, they drew back. Remember 200, 600, maybe soldiers drew back and fell to the ground.
Speaker 1:Let me ask a question who's in charge here? Jesus and 11 men on one side, 600 troops on the other. Who's in charge? Because on one side I see a man that all he has to say is I am. And just by his words, 600 troops can't help but fall to the ground. I see, in a moment, jesus and 11 disciples and 600 troops, and yet the 600 troops are outnumbered. And it's not because of the 11 disciples numbered and it's not because of the 11 disciples.
Speaker 1:You've heard the phrase God plus one is a majority. Well, yes, that's true, but it's true because God plus zero is a majority, because God's a majority all by himself. He doesn't need help, and in the garden he just says the words and the troops fall to the ground. Who's really in authority? There's only one person in the garden that's in control. There's only one person in the garden who's in authority, who has the power, and it's nobody with a torch and with armor, it's Jesus himself. And in this moment, where he has all power and authorities, to where he can just speak the word, and 600 men fall to the ground, how does he utilize that power and authority? We're about to see by handing himself over, by allowing himself to be arrested.
Speaker 1:So we move to verse 7, which I'm convinced is the funniest verse in all of Scripture. So he asked them again whom do you seek? Think about this 600 men are on the ground, they're trying to get back up and Jesus just looks and says fellas, who are you looking for? Who was it you were after? Who was that name? You said Jesus of Nazareth. Probably a little bit more nervousness in their voice, they suddenly realize I'm not sure this is where I want to be. But they say we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus says this, verse 8, I told you that I am he. So if you seek me, let these men go.
Speaker 1:Think about this moment, the care of Jesus. Think about this moment, the care of Jesus. I've told you that I'm the one you're looking for and so if that's true, then take me. Let the others go, the 11 beside me. You let them go free and you just take me. I think about the care.
Speaker 1:I think back to again John 13, having loved them to the end. This is the end. He's soon to be arrested, put on trial, put on a cross, and he's still thinking about his love for those around him. Hey, let them go, you can have me. And I think again back to the garden for the last two weeks. The Garden of Eden. We remember the moment last week when Adam stands before God and he wants the finger pointed at everyone else. Remember he says these words exactly God, the woman whom you gave to me. She gave me the fruit and I ate. Basically, it's everyone else's fault but me. And then we come to the garden in this moment, and Jesus, the true, innocent one, lets every finger be pointed at him alone and says I don't deserve the condemnation, but you can have me, let the others go, you can have. This is the care of Jesus until the very end.
Speaker 1:In verse 9, this was to fulfill the word that he had spoken. Of those whom you gave me, I have not lost one. This goes right back to John 17 in Jesus's prayer. God, of those you gave me, I've not lost one, except of course the son of destruction, judas. I've not lost one, and we see here he loved him to the end. And then verse 10, peter just tries so hard All throughout the Gospels he wants to do the right thing and I'm proud of him, but he just gets ahead of himself. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Speaker 1:You have this moment Jesus and 11 disciples on one side, 600 troops over here, and Peter says this is my moment, this is my time. I love J Ramsey Michaels, talking about this verse, says this in all this there is a cosmic touch. Jesus has floored the whole company with a word and poor Peter thinks his sword is necessary to save the day that Jesus can just speak words and 600 men fall to the ground. And in that moment Peter says if I can just get to the pocket knife, I might can get us out of this. I might can get us out of this mess.
Speaker 1:You see, so often we're tempted to want the glory without the suffering. We want the crown without the cross. If Peter says we can just skip the arrest, we can get out of this, jesus, you don't need to go to the cross. Surely these men aren't going to arrest you. Is this not exactly what Satan promised in Matthew 4?
Speaker 1:And looking at Jesus, and he tempts, jesus says hey, if you'll just bow down to me, all the kingdoms of the earth can be yours. Why mess around with these folks? Why go to the cross for them? You can have all the kingdoms of the earth, and you can have them now. Go to the cross for them. You can have all the kingdoms of the earth, and you can have them now. Skip the cross, go straight to the glory. Jesus will have nothing to do with it. In the garden of Eden, satan looks at man and says hey, skip the obedience, go straight to the good stuff. Don't you want to be like God? Don't you know Jesus? I mean, god himself is just holding out on you. Why waste your time being obedient? Skip all that. You can be like him.
Speaker 1:And yet, in this moment, jesus is unwilling to know anything of a glory that does not first come through the cross. And so what does he do? So Jesus said to Peter, verse 11, put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me? In the other three gospel accounts we see in the garden of Gethsemane, before the arrest, jesus praying, praying to God, the Father. If you would will it, you could take this cup from me. Truly, christ is fully divine, but also fully human. Obviously, the suffering that is before him is something that causes him great anguish. Of course it should, and yet he looks to the Father and says this, not my will, but yours, be done. And here, just moments later, he looks to Peter and saying we're not going to go to the glory without first going through the cross. Shall I not drink the cup that has been given to me? Shall I not drink the cup that has been given to me? And what is the cup? It's the cup of the judgment of God that, rightly, is poured out against sin, but not Jesus' sin, but my sin and your sin. Verse 12,.
Speaker 1:So the band of officers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus. What did they do? They bound him, they led him to a trial and early the next day, they led him to a cross. I think about this moment. John 18,. There's one person in this story that has all the power. There's one person in this story that has every ounce of authority. There's one person in this story who can speak a word and 600 men fall to the floor. There's only one person in this story that can do this. And yet how does this person, jesus Christ the righteous, choose to exercise this power that he has? By handing himself over, by being obedient to these temple cops and these priests and these armed men by being obedient to this trial, obedient to death, even death on a cross, and he's taken to the cross and put into the grave. This is how Jesus Christ exercises all of his power and authority. And why does he do it? To redeem you and I. The very one who had no sin became sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The very one who had all power and authority laid himself down for the sake of us so we could come unto him.
Speaker 1:I think about a book CS Lewis wrote. Cs Lewis wrote very late in his life this little book, a Grief Observed. I remember telling our Wednesday night group about this book a little bit Just a beautiful, powerful book, and really what it is. It never was meant to be published. At first it was really just his journal after the death of his wife, helen Joy Davidman, to cancer. And his wife had been sick for some time and finally she passed. And so CS Lewis, after the fact, after she passed away, wrote a journal, very real, very raw, just beautiful words here. Never meant to be published, though in talking with him some individuals said no, no, this is gold, you've got to get it out there, and so he allowed it to be published. But he allowed it to be published under a different name, not his own, nw Clerk. Let it be published under that name.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite stories is a few months after the fact, a friend of CS Lewis's came to his house, knew he had struggled with the loss of his life and told CS Lewis I bought you a book I saw at the bookstore. I read the words by NW Clerk and I thought it was exactly what you needed, and he was gifted his own book. But as I read the Grief Observed and I hear about just really his diary after the loss of his life, I'm struck by something he says. He says that when you walk through suffering like this, there's a prayer that you pray. And he says I'm not really sure we know what we're getting ourselves into when we pray it, but as a spouse walks through cancer or any illness or a child or anyone, there's a prayer that you'll pray and you'll pray God. Would you just give it to me, god? Would you just take it from them and just give it to me. Would you just let me take this pain from them. I'll take it all. Just give me the pain, so they don't have to bear it. I will bear the weight of it. God, can you please give it to me? He said that's the prayer many pray in these moments and he says this. And God returns to us and he says this you cannot and you dare not. But he says then God says this I could and I dared that the very righteous one, who had no sin in himself, took on the very sin sickness that you and I possessed, took on our brokenness and guilt and shame, everything that we had, the death that we deserved to die, the sin that we bore in and of ourselves.
Speaker 1:He was willing to take upon himself. The very one who, in the garden in John 18, has all power and authority. What's he willing to do on our behalf? Lay down his life, take our sin sickness upon himself, our death upon himself, and he's willing to take it to the cross so he can pay for sin completely and totally. Here's why we come together this coming Friday night for Good Friday and Sunday morning for Easter is because we have a God who has done this on our behalf. When you and I could not do it for ourselves, could not do it in our own effort, christ Jesus has done it for us.
Speaker 1:And Christ Jesus has taken our sin upon himself. He's gone to the cross. He's died for sin. He went to the grave and I'm going to tell you something. But you've got to promise me you're going to come back next week, because I'm going to spoil it. But please come back Early Sunday morning. Christ Jesus got up from the grave, and that's the good news of the gospel. Please come back Early Sunday morning. Christ Jesus got up from the grave and that's the good news of the gospel that he took our sin upon himself, took our sins down to the grave. He got up, but our sin did not get up with him. Christ Jesus has laid death to death. Sin has been forgiven, and the one of all power and authority has exercised that power and authority for the redemption of you and the redemption of me, the redemption of us, for the redemption of all who would come unto him, of us for the redemption of all who would come unto him.
Speaker 1:I wonder this morning if you'll come unto him. I wonder if you want to know Jesus personally. I'd love to introduce you to him. It'd be a good day for it. I wonder if there's any way you want to respond. Maybe you want to join our church family. Maybe you want to pray where you're at. Maybe you want to have a pastor pray over you. However you'd like to respond, I invite you to do it For all of us. I invite you, today and this holy week we have ahead, to think upon Jesus this week. I know that's an obvious statement. The pastor told me to think about Jesus this week, but I mean it. Think about what he's an obvious statement. The pastor told me to think about Jesus this week, but I mean it. Think about what he's done for you. Think about him laying down that power for you, humbly going to the cross for you and boldly stepping out of the grave for you as we worship.
Speaker 1:In a moment I'll be down front. Let me pray over us. Lord Jesus, thank you for the gospel, thank you for the cross, thank you for the hope that you provide. Lord. I pray that there are any that do not know you that today would be the day that they come to know you. I pray that we would all take time to thank you for the gospel, to worship you as you deserve, because you deserve all praise, because you have done what we could not do. I thank you for the cross and I thank you for the resurrection. Lord, as we respond now, let us do so with all of our heart, with authenticity. I pray this Lord in Christ's name. Amen. Would you stand? I'll be down front.