SPEAKER_00 0:01

Thanks for being here this evening. So, as we spend time remembering the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus, we're going to start by reading the story. Then we're going to look together at the confidence of Jesus because we see in Christ's confidence the foundations of our confidence. Then we'll have the opportunity to take the Lord's Supper together, taking our time during that, remembering and reflecting, and together finish with an extended time of worship. So that's the plan for this evening. We're going to read the account given in John's Gospel. I'm going to read the story straight through. It's a long section. I'm going to read two full chapters. If you'd like to follow along, you can open up a Bible. We will not have the words on the screen. So if you'd like to open up a Bible, if it's the one in the seat in front of you, it's on page 904. I'll give you a minute to turn there. Then I'll read. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 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. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am He. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he, so if you seek me, let these men go. This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken of those whom you gave me, I have lost not one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. And it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside the door. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of his this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not. Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in temples, where all Jews come together, as I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them, and they know what I said. When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong. But if what I said is right, why do you strike me? Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself, so they said to him, You also are not one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, Did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? They answered him, If this man were not doing evil, we had not have delivered him over to you. Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. The Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from this world. Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king, for this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? After he had said this, he went out back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should have released one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? They cried out again, Not this man, but Barabbas. Barabbas was a robber. Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews, and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Behold the man. When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God. When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all, unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. From then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the stone pavement in an Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, Behold your king. They cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. So he delivered over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull, which in America Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests and the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the King of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am the King of the Jews. And Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fill the scripture which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopus, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill Scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of preparation, and so the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already did they did dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness. His testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth, that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, not one of his bones will be broken. And again another scripture says they will look on him whom they have pierced. After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and owls, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloth with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. And now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had been laid. So because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. So Jesus is betrayed, he's sold out, he's arrested, he's lynched by a mob of his own people, he's then condemned, mocked, mercilessly beaten, tortured really, and he's crucified on a Roman cross, publicly exposed, humiliated, and worst of all, abandoned by God, choosing to bear the full weight of God's wrath against sin. Willingly, perfectly, and then he's buried. And in what looks like defeat, what might appear to be the end, if you stopped reading at the end of chapter 19, is really the culmination of the promise given in Genesis chapter 3. Because Jesus was obedient in the way that others were not. Where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus was blameless. Where the nation of Israel failed, Jesus was blameless. Where you and I fail, Jesus is blameless. What makes this Friday good is that on the cross, Jesus was victorious, and that victory is demonstrated in the resurrection. So this evening we mourn as we remember the incredible price that Jesus pays. It weighs on us, it's a heavy weight. So we mourn, but at the same time, we rejoice because of the incredible price that Jesus paid. Because of the incredible love that we see demonstrated in the obedience of Christ. This year, as I was reading the story, what stood out to me was Jesus' confidence as he takes this journey to the cross. So in the midst of evil, in the midst of misinformation, in the midst of violence and confusion and chaos, Jesus has confidence. And it's a confidence that we share. He has a confidence in his identity, a confidence in the purposes of God, a confidence in his kingdom, a confidence in his authority, a confidence in his destination, a confidence in his love, and a confidence in his completed work. Jesus can walk to the cross in the midst of all that's going on with confidence. And I want to touch on these briefly because we read these. Jesus' confidence in his identity. When Judas brings the band of soldiers, Jesus identifies himself as Jesus of Nazareth. I'm the one you're seeking for. What are you waiting for? I'm the one. Jesus does not run and hide. When Jesus is before the high priest, he testifies to the truthfulness of his words. He says, Don't ask me, ask all the people that heard me speak. When he's before the Sanhedrin, he calls himself the Son of Man. He calls himself the expected Messiah. When Pilate questions him, Jesus identifies himself as the king of the Jews. Jesus is confident in his identity. Jesus is also confident in the purposes of God. When Peter tries to defend him, Jesus says, Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? Shall I not do what I came to do? Shall I not do what God has for me? The purpose of God to redeem his people, that redemptive plan that began in Genesis chapter 3, Jesus knew his role in that plan, and for that reason he came. Jesus was confident in the purposes of God and obedient to the will of God. We see Jesus confident in his kingdom. To Pilate, Jesus declares, My kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is not trying, working to control the masses through politics or might or external rule or fear. Jesus is working in the minds and the hearts of people. He is transforming from the inside out. That's the nature of his kingdom. And the truth of Jesus, his kingdom, that truth is deep and lasting. It resonates within us and it works through us, his followers. Jesus is confident in his kingdom. Jesus is confident in his authority. After being mercilessly and brutally beaten at the hands of Pilate's guards, Jesus tells Pilate, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Jesus had authority, but he took on flesh. He submitted to the will of the Father, obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And through that obedience, at tremendous cost, Jesus is given, he's reinstated to his full authority as the Son of God, co-equal with God. Jesus is confident in his authority. Jesus is confident in his destination. Going to go out of John just for a second, but in Luke's account, Jesus says to the believing thief, He says, Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. Hebrews 12, too, we look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus set before him the joy of returning to that restored relationship, the joy of that Trinitarian bond of love. He was confident in his destination. The hope of heaven carried him through. Jesus is confident in the words we read of his love, the love that he had for people, the love that through his spirit would characterize his followers. How incredible is this detail in John that Jesus on the cross provides for the care of his mother. Is that not an incredible detail? What a beautiful picture of love and respect and care. And Jesus could trust John with that because John's was no ordinary love, it was the otherworldly love of Jesus. That is what binds Jesus' followers together. That's what binds us together here 2,000 years later. It's fun to see some people from some other churches here tonight. We're bonded together because of the love of Christ. It's incredible. And it's that which testifies to the world of the love of Christ. Jesus was confident in the multiplication of his love even on the cross. And Jesus was confident in his completed work. With his last breath, Jesus inhales. And with his final exhale, it is finished. He's not unclear. He's not unsure. He is not questioning. It is finished. And at that moment, the veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom. At that moment, the penalty for sin is paid. At that moment, we are given access to the Holy of Holies, access to God Himself. In the midst of evil and misinformation and violence and confusion and chaos, in the midst of agony and pain, Jesus has confidence. And it's a confidence that we share. Ours is the same confidence, isn't it? Think about these. Our identity as his children, you can be 100% confident in that. The language used in Scripture is that you are adopted. Nothing changes that. That's not how it works. Adopted, beloved, secure, based not in our conduct, but in his character. The purposes of God 100% trustworthy. He's 100% faithful. He works all things for the good. Nothing is lost, nothing is wasted. Amen? Nothing is lost, nothing is wasted. The purposes of God are trustworthy. The kingdom that we are working for is not of this world. It is coming in the hearts and the minds of people. Our scorecard, winning for us as Christ's followers, looks totally different than that of the world. And we're winning. We're gonna win. He won. His victory is sure. Ours is sure. Our authority. It's a derived authority. All authority has been given to Christ, and as his followers filled with his spirit, we go in his name with his words, his truth, and his strength and his power. Authority. Our destination? Paradise. We do not fear current events. We know what happens ultimately. When we move from this life to the next, ours is gain, not loss. We don't fear it. His completed work gives us hope for this life and the one to come. The veil is torn. Ours is a great high priest. We can have confidence before God. Church, the confidence of Christ that we see in his walk to the cross as he hangs on the cross, even in his final words, that confidence is our confidence. Even in the darkness that surrounds Jesus' death, even in this weight that we feel, hope abounds. So this evening, as we take the Lord's Supper together, remember these events, this story that we just read, and remember the hope that fills it, because that hope is your hope. So I'm going to invite you to, we're going to come forward and take the bread and the juice. Then you can just go back to your seat. Take the bread and the juice in your own time as you reflect. As a reminder, what we believe, what Jesus taught, is that the bread is a picture, it's a symbol, it's a help us remember his broken body, that which we're remembering tonight. The cup, the juice, is a symbol of his spilled blood. It reminds us of his life that was given. So you can come, go back to your seat, take it, and then uh the team is going to lead us in a time of worship.