1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word as we begin the penitent season of Lent on this Ash Wednesday is taken from John 18:1-11. It’s entitled, “The Powerless “I Am,” and this begins our Lenten sermon series on St. John’s Passion. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. This Lenten season, we will give close consideration to the Passion of our Lord Jesus from the Gospel of John. We will hear John 18–19, Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, Jesus facing Annas and Caiaphas, Jesus before Pilate, Jesus delivered, Jesus crucified, and Jesus’ death and burial. We’ll especially consider the divine majesty and glory of Jesus that’s hidden under his suffering and death. We pray that God the Holy Spirit would, by this meditation, imprint the image of Christ crucified in our minds and hearts and on our consciences.
3. Tonight we are in the garden. The Passion begins and ends in gardens, different gardens. Tomorrow night Jesus will be brought to a garden on the other side of Jerusalem with a new tomb, but now Jesus and his disciples are in the Garden of Gethsemane, an olive grove on the west-facing slope of the Mount of Olives, just east of the city.
4. Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet. He has instituted the Supper and fed them his body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. He’s prayed for the disciples and warned them of all the things about to happen. When all this is finished, the disciples leave the Upper Room and travel east out of Jerusalem, down through the Kidron Valley, and into the garden. Jesus asks the disciples to pray with him, but they sleep while his agony begins. “Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me. But not my will. Your will be done.” Three times he prays with sweat like great drops of blood. The Father’s answer is clear: there is no other way. Jesus will drink this cup of suffering, this cup of God’s anger over sin. The angels comfort him. He rises from prayer and goes to find the eleven disciples.
5. Judas, who had left earlier and had arranged the betrayal, now comes to the place with soldiers and officials from the Sanhedrin. He indicates to his band which man to arrest by greeting him with a kiss, and then Jesus addresses these soldiers. We’ll pay particular attention to this conversation.
6. It has often been noted that John gives us seven “I Am” statements from Jesus: “I am the bread of life” (6:35); “I am the light of the world” (8:12); “I am the door” (10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14); “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25); “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6); and “I am the true vine” (15:1). These are key to understanding the Gospel of John and to understanding who Jesus is and what he has come to do. Very importantly, they remind us of the conversation Moses had with the Lord in the burning bush: “I am who I am” (Ex 3:14). Jesus is the Lord, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God.
7. What’s sometimes missed is the number of other times in John’s Gospel when Jesus says, “I am.” Not “I am something”—“I am the door” or “the way”—but simply “I am.” This gets hidden in our English versions, which will translate it, “I am he,” to make more sense. But this misses the significance. Jesus is claiming to be God. “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58). “Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I Am” (13:19, author’s translation).
8. Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is about to say this again, twice. And two very different things happen. This is amazing. The soldiers come to Jesus. “Whom do you seek?” Jesus asks. “Jesus of Nazareth,” they declare. Jesus says (ready for it?): “I Am” (John 18:4–5). With that word, Jesus reveals the truth of who he is, and he demonstrates the power of his divine majesty. That word knocks them over. At that word, all the soldiers “drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18:6). It’s like they’re hit by a tornado: lanterns drop, swords and spears fly, men falling all over one another in a cloud of dust. This is a miracle, a wonder, a sign. One little word, and they are like bowling pins.
9. But they are not destroyed. They stand up, dust themselves off, pick up their spears. A little dazed, they look at Jesus, who again asks, “Whom do you seek?” Maybe they’re a little more cautious this time. They look at each other; no one wants to say it. They grit their teeth and grasp their swords and plant their feet: “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 18:7). And Jesus says it again, “I told you, I Am” (John 18:8). And nothing happens. No one falls over. No one teeters.
10. The first “I Am” sent them flying. The second “I Am” doesn’t move them at all. The first “I Am” shows that Jesus is God in the flesh. The second “I Am” shows that Jesus is not using his power to protect and serve himself. The first “I Am” demonstrates that Jesus could avoid the cross. The second “I Am” shows that he won’t, that he is willingly and quietly led like a sheep to be slaughtered. The first “I Am” is a miracle of God’s power. The second “I Am” is the miracle of God’s weakness, and this is the greater miracle . . . and the greater wonder . . . and the greater gift.
11. The Creator of the universe, the One who spoke and the sun and moon and stars jumped to their place, is here in the garden. The One who spoke and all that existed came to be is about to be arrested. This One speaks, and the band of soldiers is repelled and knocked over, and he is safe. This is no surprise. But then, this One speaks again, and nothing happens. The soldiers are still standing. They approach Jesus. Nothing happens. They touch him. Nothing happens. They grab him and bind him. Nothing happens. They lead him away to Annas, to Caiaphas. They strike him in the face, spit on him, pull out his beard, strip him, whip him, drag him to Golgotha. Nothing happens. They crucify him, and there is no resistance, no fighting back, no knocking them over with a word. It is all weakness and suffering. And this is all for you.
12. Behold this miracle of weakness! Behold this wonder of humility! Behold the suffering of God for sinners, for you! This, after all, is why Jesus came, why God took up our flesh and blood, so that there’s a back to whip and a brow to crown and hands and feet for the nails and blood to spill, to carry our sin and sorrow, and be the King of our salvation. Jesus Shows His Love for Us in the I Am That Doesn’t Knock the Soldiers Over.
13. So, dear saints, whom do you seek tonight? Jesus of Nazareth, we ask, are you the Savior? He says to you, “I Am.” Jesus, are you a friend of sinners? “I Am.” Jesus, are you our light and hope? “I Am.” Jesus, are you for me? “I Am.” In that promise, we stand. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment