QUESTION #44 Whom seek ye?

QUESTIONS JESUS ASKED BIBLE STUDY

     Read John 18 KJV: 

 

  Whom seek ye? (John 18:4)

  Whom seek ye? (John 18:7)

  The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink   it? (John 18:11)

 

BETRAYAL IN THE GARDEN

Reference: John 18, Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22

 

Betrayal and brokenness are not feelings we want to experience. We long for peaceful circumstances without sorrow and suffering. But we live in a fallen world, and heartache is a fact of life. The more we love someone, the deeper the knife of deceit penetrates our hearts, cracking us wide open, spilling out raw emotion. A wayward child, a straying spouse, the loss of a beloved friend all have the potential to deeply wound us. We all know how that feels, and so does the Lord, and he helps us process they pain of betrayal. 

 

Jesus knew the sorrow that was ahead for Him and the disciples and he tried to warn them of His upcoming death and their betrayal, but it was hard words for them to understand. Jesus then began to pray for them (you can read His concluding prayer in John 17).

 

Jesus and His disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives they often visited, where Jesus would go to pray. He knew that very soon Judas would arrive with the chief priests and elders to arrest Him. He led them to a favorite spot and told eight of them to sit there and wait a while. He took Peter, John, and James a distance away from the others to pray. He confesses to them that he is deeply troubled and distressed to the point of death. This is part of the human experience.

 

Christians are sometimes tempted to think that feelings of sadness or great distress during difficult times are a failure, but it’s a part of being human and Jesus is fully human as well. He was fully human as well as being fully God, but the human side of Him knows what is about to take place. Luke refers to Jesus’ sweat as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). This had led to speculation that Jesus was hemorrhaging blood from the skin, but the more likely situation is that Jesus is sweating profusely. Jesus was certainly enduring emotional trauma. Luke also reports that an angel from heaven appeared to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). Jesus’ mortal, human body needed help to endure what He knew was to come.

 

Jesus prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

 

Taken out of context, this could raise questions about Christ’s role in His own sacrifice. In some sense, Jesus does not “want” to experience the things that were about to happen. No human being would “want” to suffer humiliation, torture, and death. But in the next breath Jesus resolves to obey the will of the Father. There is never a question as to whether Jesus will follow through on His mission. His prayer is a cry to God, declaring both natural emotions and perfect faithfulness. Philippians 2:8 says, “And (Jesus) being found in fashion as a man, he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

 

Jesus’ prayer and request to God is the perfect model for Christians, in all possible situations. It is good to ask the Father for exactly what we want, however, a Christlike prayer not only asks for something, but also commits to obeying the will of the Father, even if it’s not the answer we were searching for.

 

Now Jesus returns to His most trusted disciples. He has asked them to watch with Him while He prays. Perhaps He meant for them to watch in the sense of keeping a lookout for His privacy in prayer, or perhaps he meant for them to join Him in prayer. I believe he took them to pray with Him. When He returns to them, Jesus finds them sleeping. It is very late at night and the disciples are likely greatly troubled by the things Jesus has told them. Luke writes that Jesus found them “sleeping for sorrow” (Luke 22:45). Jesus wakes them and asks, pointedly, “could you not have stayed awake for one hour to watch and pray with Me”. He will ask them to watch and pray once more. He tells them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, unless you enter into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus’ words provide clear instruction for one to battle temptation and that is trough prayer. Prayer is a God-given weapon against our own sinful desires. God means for believers to overcome temptation through urgent and faithful prayer.

 

For the second time Jesus returns to find them sleeping again, for their eyes were heavy. This time, Jesus does not even bother to wake them up, He left them to return to pray a third time. He then returns to wake them and says, “Behold the hour is at hand… Rise let us be going, he is at hand that is to betray me.”

 

The betrayer, of course, is Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas approaches through the dark, leading a group of Roman soldiers, Jewish temple officers, and others. They are carrying swords and torches, casting shadows around the olive garden. It is late, Jesus knows exactly why they have come. Judas has worked out a sign with the security forces ahead of time. He would use a friendly, seemingly harmless kiss to identify Jesus. That was the Person they were to seize and arrest.

 

A kiss upon the cheek of a friend is to show love and respect. Luke reports that Jesus asks pointedly, “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” Jesus didn’t want Judas to miss the weight of what he was doing. Not only is he acting as a traitor, but he is also doing it using a vile perversion of pretended love. I don’t know about you, but I would feel extreme pain if a close friend was to betray me in such a way, and I’m sure Jesus did also.

 

The mob clearly expected a fight, the disciples were armed. Jesus, for His part, makes no effort whatsoever to resist. Jesus said unto them, “Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords to take Me? I was with you daily teaching in the temple and you didn’t take Me, but the scriptures must be fulfilled.”

 

Peter likely wanting to show Jesus that he was not afraid to die right there and then, drew out his sword and swung it cutting off the ear of a soldier. Jesus is not interested in an armed conflict at this moment. Jesus immediately heals the soldier’s ear and rebukes Peter, “Put up thy sword into the sheath, the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink from it?”

 

And Jesus knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth and asked, “Whom do you seek? They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said, “I am He.” They all went back and fell to the ground. Jesus asked again, “Whom do you seek?” And again, they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He, if it is Me that you seek, then let these others go their way.” Then the officers of the Jews bound Jesus and led Him away.

 

And they all (the disciples) forsook him, and fled. This is what Jesus said they would do just a few hours earlier. This is a natural reaction to being faced with an arresting mob. However, it is clear Jesus wanted the disciples to get away for their own safety. They needed to be preserved to start, in the coming weeks and months, the work for which He had trained them (John 16:12-16).

 

Notes: