Holy Week: Judas Betrays Jesus

John 18 records the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus says, “I am he,” the soldiers draw back and fall to the ground, yet He willingly allows Himself to be taken. Jesus protects His disciples and is brought before the authorities, where He is questioned and found without guilt. Peter denies Him, and the crowd chooses Barabbas instead of Jesus. These events show that Jesus was innocent and that His arrest and suffering took place according to God’s plan.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:00

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SPEAKER_02 0:27

Welcome back, everyone, to our Teach Me the Bible podcast. We are in day five, David. My name is Tim Webb here with David Klingler, and David, it's going to start ramping up pretty quick here with a lot of action. We've had so much going on in this week, but here day five, as we're looking at this, we are now moving into something. I think it's one of my one of my favorite scenes. So chapter 18, uh walk us into this part, if you would.

The Arresting Force Arrives

Dr. David Klingler 0:58

This is um one of those uh passages where uh when I went to Israel for the first time, and and uh again, being from Texas, you think everything's so far apart, and and I remember um sitting down there in the Garden of Gethsemane uh and you're you're watching this scene and and uh you just read this scene to him sitting in that place, and it's just so powerful. And so so remember, Jesus had uh began this discussion in the upper room. This is uh kind of to to the uh west of the uh of the southern steps, and now he's made his way across uh through the garden uh down the uh the Kidron Valley. It says when Jesus had spoken these words, talking about the words, this discussion that began in the upper room and is uh uh he has continued along his way. He went forth with the disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, the Kidron Valley, and there was a garden which uh he himself entered and his disciples. Now Judas, who was betraying him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with his disciples. This is a pretty good place to meet. There's actually a little uh cave there that we think that he may have even even used there in the uh lower part of the garden. Top of that hill. If you're sitting in the garden and you're looking forward, if you're looking towards uh towards the west, you're looking up the hill uh to Temple Mount, right? And it's just right there. I mean, it's just right there. Um and uh the and you're so you're kind of on one hill looking uh at the bottom of the hill, looking across a Kidron Valley, across a little uh creek that runs through there, and then up the other side, and the other side is uh is Temple Mount. Uh at the top of the mountain you're on behind you, mountain we say mountain, it's a it's a it's a good hill. It's a good size hill. I think Austin, kind of the hills in Austin, right if you're in Texas. Yes, exactly. This isn't a mountain like the Rocky Mountains, and this isn't uh a hill like uh Brenham, but you know, probably hill country a little bit. And so the hill behind you, that's that's uh the Mount of Olives, right? The triumphal entry happened right behind you. He came down the hill, down the Mount of Olives, and entered into the city. And so all of these stories are happening right here in the same spot, right? And so now we're back in the in the the bottom in this garden, uh, and Judas having then received a Roman cohort. Uh a cohort. Uh that's not a word we use all the time. No, it isn't. It's a military uh term. It uh refers to a uh a group of soldiers. Here are about 600. Think about that. 600 soldiers coming to arrest. Now Jesus is going to be able to see them from the hill too. And that's one of the things I didn't realize, right? It says uh uh then Judas having received the Roman cohort and officers and chief priests and Pharisees, and they were coming with lanterns and torches and weapons, right? Right, right. There's one stone hill, you're sitting at the bottom of the other stone hill, and you're watching them come down the hill, and they're clanging along with their 600 plus banging around with their armor quiet before operation and they got lanterns into night. You can see them, they've got here they come, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 4:05

Uh and I remember uh before I was there reading chapter 18, verse 4, so Jesus, therefore, knowing all things, uh, I took that as well. He's omniscient, and so he no, he could see him coming. So what he's what he knows is this is what's what's happening, right? Uh knowing all things that were coming upon him, that his arrest, his death, his burial, all this was coming to him. In other words, he could have at any time gone up the hill behind him. Uh and if you go over the uh over the Mount of Olives, you're into the Judean wilderness very quickly, right? Right. And there's places to hide there. This is where David hid from uh from King Saul back in the Judean wilderness. And so certainly he could have, you know, hidden. But knowing all things were coming up on him, went forth and asked them, said to them, Whom do you seek? And they answered and said, Jesus the Nazarene. And he said to them, and this is how it's translated in our New American Standard, I am, or I am he. Right. Um now, if you know um a little bit of Aramaic, if you know Old Testament uh uh story, I am. These are the I am statements, and this is a huge one, right? Ekwe, right. It would have been uh uh I am in Aramaic or I I am in uh in Hebrew. This goes back to Moses' story, right? Uh the Lord appeared to Moses and and commissions Moses to go deliver Israel, yeah, the burning bush, and who do I say sent me? And he says, You tell them I am sent you, right? And so he goes and tells them he is sent me, right? Yeah, uh Echweh, tell them Echweh sent you. I tell him I am. Uh and so he goes and tells them, He is, Yahweh sent uh sent me. Uh and so Jesus answers with the divine name, I am. And when Judas, uh who was also betraying, was standing there, when therefore he said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. Now you you gotta slow down and and visualize this, picture this, right? Definitely six hundred soldiers along with officers and chief priests and Pharisees with lanterns and torches and weapons he says it, and just this bowling alley.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

All the pins fall.

I Am And They Fall Back

Peter’s Sword And Wrong Timing

Dr. David Klingler 6:20

Yeah, and they uh they fall to the ground. Um this is not a we're coming to take you by force. There is certainly force involved here, but it's on the wrong side. It's just Jesus, right? And so talking tremendous submission. Oh man, Father. Yeah, they're laying there basically gasping for their lives, right? This is a it's a negotiation, but Jesus is the one with all negotiating powers. Right. And so um, and again he's asked them, uh, who do you seek? And they said, Jesus the Nazarene. And he answered, I told you I am. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way. And you wonder how they're all there. Why didn't they just rest them all and put them all to death? They couldn't, right? This wasn't a negotiation, right? No. Uh that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, of whom uh you have given me, I have not lost one. And Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and he struck the high slave, uh, the high priest's slave and cut off his ear, and uh the slave's name was Malchus. And Jesus therefore said to Peter, put your sword back in its sheath, the cup which the Father has given me shall I not drink it. Now, I've heard a lot of people, you know, kind of give Peter some grief here. You know, look at Peter not knowing what he's supposed to be doing. No, I think Peter knows exactly what he's supposed to be doing. I think his response is correct, uh, correct. I think his timing is all wrong, is the is the problem. Uh, this goes back to Psalm uh one uh one forty-nine. In Psalm 149, uh you you get this um this interesting um uh passage. Let me pull this uh this up. Uh in Psalm 149, praise the Lord, uh sing to the Lord a new song, uh, and praise him in the congregation of the godly ones, of the the sedim, the the loy the the ones that who have received this chesed, the loyal uh love, the loving kindness of the Lord. Let Israel be glad in his maker, and let the sons of Zion rejoice in their king, and let their praise be in his name with dancing. Um we laugh as Baptists, right? It's dancing. Let them sing his praises with the timbrel and the lyre, for the Lord takes pleasure in his people, and he will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation, and let the godly ones exalt in glory, let them sing for joy on their beds, and let the high praises of God be on their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and put punishment upon the people, and pun for the punishment of the people, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment that is written, for this is an honor for his godly ones. Praise the Lord. And so there is a time coming when vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord, and the Lord will return with his armies and will execute judgments on the nations. And Peter says, I know this passage, give me my sword. I'm ready, let's go. Hey, Jesus, I take this one, you got the rest. It is not yet that time, Peter. It is first, uh, the suffering servant has to lay down his life uh for uh uh for this uh people. And so what a uh it's amazing what when you think about the ramifications of this passage that the Lord was not taken by force. Uh by force, he negotiated the deal for him to be taken. This was uh him laying down his life. I lay down my life and I take it up again, right? No one has the authority to take his life except for him, and if he wanted to, he could have wiped them all out. Right. But being obedient to the will of the Father to lay down his life uh for the sins of Israel, and not only for the sins of Israel, but for the sins of the whole world. Yes, uh, he goes. Tremendous submission to the Father. Absolutely. And what's going to happen is that his disciples are going to depart uh betray him, and he's going to be left alone to suffer uh alone. You'll remember uh we skipped over this uh in our um upper room discourse, but this is back in um in chapter 13 of the upper room discourse. Simon Peter, uh Jesus is explaining that where I go, you can't follow. He's going to the Father, and uh and G and the disciples can't follow, they'll follow later. And Peter said, Lord, why can't I follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you in Jesus' answer. And certainly he was willing to at that time in chapter 18. He's right to fight to the death, right? Uh at least to fight to the to the life. He thought they were gonna win, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

Well, 600 just hit the dirt. So this is great.

The Passover Lamb On Trial

Dr. David Klingler 11:06

I'm on I got one, you take the rest. I'm in uh uh Jesus. Uh I will lay down my life for you. And Jesus answered, Will you really lay down your life for me? For truly, true, I say to you, a cock shall not crow uh until you deny me three times. And of course, that's what's going to happen here. Uh Jesus' arrest and uh in chapter 18. And and before we get uh very far into this, uh Peter has denied him three times. Now at least Peter's there to deny him three times. The rest have scattered. Everyone's gone. They're they're gone. Uh apparently it's uh Peter's in close proximity. Peter and John who are there and and the rest have uh have uh have deserted. And uh and so at least Peter was there, but he he does deny him uh three times. And uh and so uh the the arrest of uh and now we're uh at the trial of what John is presenting as the Passover lamb. Now uh if you remember, this begins in chapter one, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and and that Passover lamb had to be found to be blameless. It had to be inspected to make sure that it was blameless, that it was spotless. And and what happens in this trial uh is that um that repeatedly ver uh in chapter uh 18 and end of chapter 19, uh all of those who inspect Jesus come to the same result. I find no guilt in him, I find no guilt in him, I find no guilt in him. In fact, uh the great irony of irony is is that um there was a custom uh that uh one was to be released at the Passover. And here is the very Passover lamb uh that uh that Israel could have released. And uh and so uh uh and so uh Pilate asked, Do you uh want me to release for you the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, saying, Not this man, right? The choice was between between releasing Jesus or releasing a man named Barabbas. Now we're English speakers, we don't know what Barabbas means. Uh sure uh Barabbas is how we say Barabbas, old Barabbas. Bar is son in Aramaic, and Abba is father. The S is added because of uh of the Greek, but Abba is uh is not just father, but the father, the A B B A. That that doubling of the B in the last day makes it the father. Uh Av is father, A B is father, but the father is A B B A. This is son of the father, who's a robber. He's a true robber. Yes. Um, but the true son of the father who has no guilt in him, we're gonna kill him. And so this is the perfect Lamb of God who lays down his life for the sins of the world, uh, for the sins of Israel, and not only for the sins of Israel, but for the sins of of all the world, uh put to death unjustly, raised on the third day. Um, and uh and if uh you believe in his name through the words of the apostles that have proclaimed those words through the ages, you will be saved.

unknown 14:14

Amen.

Psalm 2 Grace Before Judgment

Dr. David Klingler 14:14

And there what else is there? Right. Um uh Psalm 2, this uh this uh Psalm 2, uh John 3 16 for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son. This comes out of Psalm 2. Today I have begotten you. I've identified Jesus as being identified by the Father in Psalm 2 as the the Son, right? The kings of the world take their stand, the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Christ. And the one who sits in the heavens laughs at them. He mocks them. And he says, This is my son. Kill 'em all.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 14:51

But in between that, kill 'em all. Between the the identification of the son, both at his baptism and and at his uh and at the then at the the the um the mount of uh transfiguration. Yes. Yeah. Um and then Christ's death, burial, and his resurrection. In between uh that identification of the sun and the wipe them all out is this time of great grace, where the mercy of the Lord has gone out to the nations, where the the good news of eternal life through belief in the sun has gone out, not only to his own, but to the whole world. And here we are, right? Uh and so there's this time we call it the church age, where where this delay in God's judgment, this um patience of the Lord. It doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be. Is going out. Yes. Uh, and and so we have been uh not only have we uh believed in the gospel, but we've been entrusted with the words of the apostles and prophets to proclaim it to others that they may believe and be rescued because the king is coming. The king is coming. And that and what Peter was looking for there on that mountain where he pulls the sword, that day is coming. Yes. Peter just he timing's a little off, Peter. Hanging in there. He had the events right, he had the timing wrong. That day is coming. Yes. Uh, and so now when we say, even so come Lord Jesus, it is the wrath of God being poured out through his son. His son brings the wrath of God. So uh I I always point out to our students, and and it's a very somber thought, that that when we have placed our hope, we have taken our refuge. Uh, blessed are all who take refuge in you. Psalm two, that's how Psalm two ends. Blessed are they taking refuge in the sun. You're taking refuge in the sun, you're being saved through faith in Jesus from the wrath of God that will be poured out through Jesus. You're saved by Jesus from Jesus. Wow. Uh that's what we've been entrusted with. The resurrected king sits at the right hand, making intercession for our sins, and he is coming. And that's what we're looking forward to. So we're anxiously looking forward to the return of Christ, but when he comes, all who have rejected him, all who have not believed the gospel, he's gonna wipe them out. All they're gonna assemble uh and they're going to uh um to take their stand against him, and it's not going to go well. Right. And so we've been entrusted with the very words of life, the words that have been handed down to us, the words that uh as we uh pick it up at the the tomb, the death burial, and now uh you know Christ is going to be crucified and and uh tomorrow we're gonna talk about uh uh the resurrection, the tomb, and the uh and the the disciples and the uh the the women going to the tomb and the resurrected Christ, which gives us meaning for life. Because if there's no resurrection, there's no meaning. That's right. So that's where we're headed.

Next Up The Resurrection And Resources

SPEAKER_02 17:54

All right. Well, thank you, David, and everyone. Thank you for being a part of today and just look forward to continuing the story. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

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