Gospel According to John 18: 1-18- Pray, Read, Discuss! скачать в хорошем качестве

Gospel According to John 18: 1-18- Pray, Read, Discuss!

Praise God! Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane (1-11). John is very specific about Jesus crossing the Brook Hedron- this is important- the water in the brook would have been colored red from the blood of the slaughtered Passover lambs. The drain for the blood went into the brook. Jesus would soon BE the bloodied Lamb. This was to get to Gethsamen even though John doesn't name it, we know from the other gospels. It was also where He spent a lot of time for Judas to know exactly where and when He would be there. It is strange to me that they sent so many guards to apprehend one man who, other than a couple of times cleansing the Temple, was never violent. They really didn’t understand His nature. My guess is they feared multiple disciples. Judas could not take Jesus by surprise. He was ready- He knew what was coming. “The soldiers had come out secretly to arrest a fleeing peasant. In the gloom they find themselves confronted by a commanding figure, who so far from running away comes out to meet them and speaks to them in the very language of deity.” (Morris) It is interesting how the men fell back at Jesus answering I Am. Was it foreshadowing of when everyone would bend the knee at His name? It also showed a glimpse of His deity- they couldn’t take Him unless He let them. By His words alone He could have defeated them. Jesus had JUST prayed for His disciples so when He is once again asked if He is Jesus of Nazareth- He says yes and then affirms that the others are not included in this travesty of justice. This fulfills that promise that not one of them that He was given would be lost immediately after the prayer was spoken. “In a sense, he sacrificed himself for their safety. He had promised the Father that he would protect them (John 17:12) and he fulfilled the guarantee of the voluntary surrender of his life.” (Tenney) Peter cracks me up- Jesus is like- you will let my people go and Peter is like- I will cut you! Jesus scolds him by reminding Him that this is supposed to happen! John doesn’t mention Jesus reattaching the ear but he mentions Malchus by name and it is possible that Malchus later became a believer. Either way, Jesus wasn’t about to let Peter or anyone else stand in the way of His destiny. His plan. God’s plan. And I don’t know about you but I need this reminder too. God doesn’t NEED me to intervene. He leads, I follow. I guess after Peter it makes sense that they would bind Jesus but even less sense that they would let the apostles go. God was at work there. Before the High Priest (12-14). Annas- the power behind the power. He was the father in law of Caiaphas who we are reminded was the one who foretold of one death in exchange for many. This keeps it clear in our mind that Jesus was already judged, juried and sentenced. This was just a farce. And even the Jews are going against their own legalism. Peter Denies Jesus (15-18). Peter and John follow Jesus to the high priest’s house. We figure it was John. First, he mentions Pete and another disciple who had connections to the household. John never refers directly to Himself and I can’t imagine why He would have neglected to say who it was had it not been him. Also, John was literally present for every major event so far. Also, he mentions Malchus and his position by name suggesting he knew him enough to name him. Peter was so brave in the upper room. And Jesus scolded him telling what he would do. And then at Gethsemane- probably trying to prove his bravery, cuts off a servant’s ear (probably from behind which isn’t really THAT brave- but I am not judging. I can be a coward, too. ) And here he goes, makes it to the courtyard and has every opportunity to defend or go down with Jesus and he denies Him the first time. I also wonder if Peter would have said just about anything to get access so he could try to see what was going on. After being called out and denying it- he tries to blend in- warming himself by the fire. #DailyBibleVerse #BibleReading #GospelReading