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THE ARREST OF CHRIST

John chapter 18: verses 1 to 11

The description of His arrest here is different from that in the other Gospels:

The first three Gospels focus on His humanity, His human nature, and upon His sufferings. As He approached Jerusalem, He said He was going there to die, mentioning His abuse in the hand of the Gentiles, and that He would rise bodily from the dead.

In the Gospel of John, the focus is upon the deity of the Lord Jesus. As the God-man in this Gospel, the emphasis here is upon His glory, which appears in His arrest, His death, and His resurrection, in accordance with His frequent statements that He was returning to the Father.

In these passages we will find a blending of His majesty and His meekness.

He seems to have spent His nights under the open sky (Luke 21:37). In this passage He again left Jerusalem and crossed the brook Cedron to get to the garden of Gethsemane on the mount of Olives, where it was His custom to go (Luke 22:39).

The Brook Cedron (winter flow of the Cedars) flows only after heavy winter rains on the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives, but the small valley in which it flows takes its name. King David crossed this brook barefoot and weeping, when fleeing from Absalom, who betrayed him with Ahitophel (2 Samuel 15:23, 30), and it later had evil associations, becoming the receptacle for all manner of impurities and the common cemetery of the city.

The Lord's praying and His extreme suffering in the garden isn't mentioned in this gospel, for John is concerned with His glory, His deity, leaving the other Gospels to emphasise His humanity.

Judas knew that the Lord was in the habit of going there at night, hence his proposal to the temple priests, for a fee of thirty pieces of silver, to find Him while the feast was going on, alone in his usual place of prayer. They all knew that He had performed miracles, but they thought that, if they brought along a big enough company of armed men, they could capture Him. So they brought a multitude of men with swords and clubs. A band is the tenth part of a legion and would consist of approximately five hundred men.

For His part, on this last night, the Lord went again to this place in order to give His enemies an opportunity to arrest Him. He knew they wanted to lay hands on Him but, because they were afraid of the people, they dared not lay hands on Him in the temple or in the streets of Jerusalem. In previous incidents, when the enemies of the Lord Jesus tried to close in on Him, He hid Himself, because it was not yet His hour. He could just disappear supernaturally when needed. But this time the Lord was about to give Himself up without any resistance, for now He was the Lamb of God: ". . . as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7).

John does not mention the kiss by Judas as a sign to the soldiers and police. It probably happened before verse 4. The Lord then went toward the mob and asked whom they were seeking - knowing full well, of course. He was not just a poor, weak man who had been trapped by some clever religious rulers and the power of Rome, as some people would like to imply. If He had not yielded Himself, all the weapons those men had would have been absolutely useless and worthless, and they immediately discovered.

They said they sought Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus comes from a Hebrew name meaning Saviour, whereas Nazareth, means Separated, like Holy, or a "Sprout" or a "Branch", another name for the Messiah, or Christ (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). The name they gave Him clearly identified Him for Who He really was.

He then presented Himself to the religious leaders, the officers and men as "I AM" (the word "he" is not in the original and has been added by the translators). Their reaction was of terror, for I AM is the sacred name of God to the Jews. In that instant the glory of God in that man revealed itself in their minds (chapter 1:14).

Even at this hour, when He was yielding Himself as the Lamb of God, He revealed His deity, and they fell backwards! They didn't fall forward to worship Him, but they fell backward in fear and in absolute dismay. They now realised that He was absolutely in charge, and they could not arrest Him without His permission. There must have been utter confusion for a moment. They were seeing not simply Jesus of Nazareth but the God-man, the Lord of glory.

He took the initiative, repeated the question, they fearfully gave the same answer, and He confirmed His reply. He was in authority now, telling them whom to arrest and whom not to arrest. He allowed them to take Him but instructed them to leave His disciples alone. The Lord had said that He would not lose any of those the Father had given Him (chapter 17:12), except for the son of perdition. This was Judas, who was also present and would very soon hang himself (Matthew 27:5). No one could touch His disciples without His authority. They would normally have been seized and brought in as witnesses or accomplices, but the soldiers now obeyed the higher authority of the Lord himself, and let them go.

Even when Simon Peter truculently drew his sword and struck the high priest's servant Malchus, cutting off his ear, they let him go. The Lord immediately healed Malchus' ear (Luke 22:51) and rebuked Peter. This impulsive and outspoken disciple was probably outraged. He had earlier asked the Lord why he couldn't go with Him where He was going, and declared he would lay down his life for Him. He really meant it. But the Lord had told him that he didn't know himself, and that he would deny his Lord that night.

Like Peter, it's so easy to make promises to dedicate and rededicate our lives to the Lord. The problem is that we cannot fulfil them in our own strength. It is only the power of the Holy Spirit that can enable us to continuously present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

Christ's hour had come, and He was ready to drink the cup the Father had given Him. There are several "cups" mentioned in the Scriptures, for example,

1. the cup of shame (Habakkuk 2:16), the cup of horror and desolation (Ezekiel 23:31-33), the cup of drunkenness (Zechariah 12:2),

2. the cup of judgment (Psalm 75:8), or cup of punishment, of God's fury, of trembling (Psalm 11:6, Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15, 49:12),

3. the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:13), the cup of inheritance (Psalm 16:5), the cup of joy (Psalm 23:5), the), the cup of consolation (Jeremiah 16:7),

4. the cup of the new covenant in Christ's blood (Luke 22:17) also called the cup of blessing (1 Corinthians 10:16), and the cup of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:21)

The cup which our Lord was to drink was given Him by the Father, and it was that dreadful cup, the cup of judgment He bore for us on the Cross. It was totally repulsive to Him, because He would be made sin in our place, and would be separated from the Father to take upon Himself our punishment, but he took it willingly, obediently. Those who do not trust in Him will drink the cup of judgment themselves. The cup of judgment is also to come on this world (Revelation 15), on the followers of the beast (Revelation 14:10), on Babylon the Great (Revelation 16:19) and on Religious Babylon (Revelation 18:6,7).

 

R David Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.

2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?"

5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.

6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

8 Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,"

9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none."

10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"