Calvary Road Baptist Church

“THE GOOD SHEPHERD GIVES HIMSELF”

John 18.4-12 

This message from God’s Word is directed exclusively to you who do not know Jesus Christ. You have never come under such conviction of sins that you had no concern for the thoughts and opinions of others as you turned to Christ, being alarmed only by your wretched condition in the sight of God and your desperation for salvation from your sins only Christ provides.

Have no fear that this message will be designed to make you feel bad or that I will attempt to browbeat you with a rehearsal of your wrongdoing. I have no such intention. I seek to point out that no one cares for your soul like Jesus. No one. Not your mother. Not your father. Not your brother. Not your sister. Not any friend you have or hope to have. Not your boyfriend or girlfriend. And certainly not your spouse.

You might imagine that someone you know loves you so much he would choose to die for you in a moment if it came to that. A great example of such love might be King David, who mourned the loss of his son, Absalom, by crying, 

“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”[1] 

The unspoken tragedy, however, was that Absalom’s death was the direct result of David’s hypocritical lifestyle, as his son had become so enraged by his father’s adultery, murder, and lies that he attempted to overthrow David, which would have resulted in his death. David was willing to die for Absalom. Sadly, however, he was not willing to live for him to be the kind of father his son could love and admire and seek to emulate. Also, many husbands would rise to meet a threat to the lives of their wives and children. But those same men routinely neglect the spiritual welfare of their families and pay little attention as they skip merrily down the pathway to Hell.

Let’s reframe this, shall we? Do you know anyone who will not only die for you in the moment of danger but will also live for you throughout your life? Many guys in the military, law enforcement, firefighters, and mothers risking life and limb to protect their babies will risk all in a moment to save a friend or loved one. But they will not live an entire lifetime for the eternal best interests of others.

Mohammed took the beautiful wife of his adopted son because he lusted after her.[2] The Buddha abandoned his wife and young son to go and “find himself.”[3] Look up and read the diaries of Mother Theresa and tell me if you think her life’s work in India served any other purpose than her selfish ends. I am not trying to be mean, but brutally honest.

After you have done all this, I suggest you inventory every human being you have known and hope to know. Include those you like and love and who like and love you. Then ask yourself this question: “Who do I know or hope to know who would not only die for me but would also live for me, and whose life and death would do me any eternal good?”

You do not know such a person. Perhaps you know of such a person, but you do not yourself know Him. I have given more thought to this question for more years than you likely have been alive, and I can predict your honest answer.

This message is about the only individual you have ever heard of who willingly lived His life for you and willingly gave up His life to experience death for you. And if you are discovered to be one of His, then both His life and His death do you immeasurable good.

You may not value such a person now. Too many things seem to be going your way for you to consider my words seriously. But there will come a day when you do value such a person. I will speak of His motives on another occasion. This morning I will relate to you that event the sinless One, Who withstood every accusation of wrongdoing His enemies searched for and fabricated against Him, offered Himself a sacrifice for sins. Only, He did not do so in the heat of the moment. He did not respond to a fury of emotion or a sudden crisis.

After living a sinless life for over three decades, He discharged the task He willingly left heaven’s glory to fulfill. About four months earlier, the Lord Jesus Christ identified Himself and His task when He said to His disciples, in John 10.11, 

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” 

Four months after He said those words, on a Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He knew Judas Iscariot would bring the soldiers and guards to take Him into custody after betraying Him, the Lord Jesus Christ did what good shepherds do for their sheep. He did for me what no one else you have ever known or imagined would have done. He gave His life for His sheep.

It took some twelve hours for the drama to unfold. But the passage we will attend to this morning shows us how it began. Please locate John 18.4. When you find that verse, I invite you to stand and read along silently with me: 

4  Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

5  They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

6  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

7  Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

8  Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

9  That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

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

11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him. 

And so His journey to the cross began. Our Lord faced three religious trials and three civil trials along the way, each being illegal and unjust, with the result being His crucifixion by Roman soldiers, the Just for the unjust that He might bring us to God.[4]

Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ was fulfilling His responsibility as the Good Shepherd on that occasion, which included protecting His “little flock” of eleven disciples against the threat of more than five hundred armed men accompanying Judas Iscariot.[5]

Amidst the details of the Apostle John’s narrative, let us focus on what the Lord Jesus Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane to show Himself as the Good Shepherd: 

First, TAKE NOTE OF HIS DECLARATION TO DISTRACT 

4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 

His command of the situation was illustrated, first, by His question, John 18.4: 

“Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?” 

It was late that moonlit night, with Roman soldiers and Temple guards carrying torches to light their way. They ascended a steep and narrow path into a clearing where they saw twelve men dressed as Galileans, distinguishing them from Jewish men in the city who had arrived from other regions. Since it was unlikely Judas Iscariot walked at the front of the troops, so the Roman tribune surveyed the dozen men he approached, trying to identify who the leader was. It was then we are informed the Lord Jesus “went forth.” The Savior approached the formidable group. Went forth from where? From the grove of trees? From the place where He had prayed? From the area known as the Garden of Gethsemane in the midst of the olive trees? We are not specifically told because that is not the point that John sought to make.

John made the point that the Lord Jesus Christ proceeded to meet those coming to take Him into custody. He did not run from them. Neither was He passive to do nothing as they approached. He knew that they knew where He was. He did not attempt to hide or evade capture. Understand that this was a meeting that had been arranged in the divine counsel chambers of heaven in eternity past. Judas, the Romans, and the Temple guards were there by divine appointment to play the part assigned to them in the unfolding drama of redemption by the producer and director of the drama, God Himself. To be sure, those there made individual and personal choices. But God is so vast, so wise, so unfathomable, so unsurpassed in all His capacities that those men fulfilled God's divine plan by doing what they freely chose to do.

There is no doubt that the Romans and the Temple guards, fulfilling a law enforcement role familiar to them, had never before experienced such an encounter. Typically, they took into custody those who attempted to run away in fear or were paralyzed by fear into passive inaction. This One, however, “went forth.” Imagine His posture. Imagine His stride. Imagine the look of confidence and serenity on His face when those who came for Him were so used to instilling fear in others: 

“Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?” 

Have you noticed that the Lord Jesus Christ never, ever asked a question to elicit information? He never asked to discover something. Never. He never requested. He asked questions to draw people out, provoke thought, or create an opportunity. In this situation, He asked to seize the initiative. To display His control of the situation. To demonstrate truth in action to them. To reveal Himself to the armed men in an unforgettable way. But most importantly, He asked to protect His “little flock.”

His command of the situation is next illustrated by His declaration, John 18.5: 

“They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.” 

Verse 5 begins with their, which is to say the group’s, response to the Master’s question: 

“They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.” 

Why did the Lord Jesus Christ ask them, “Whom seek ye?” Whatever the reason, He accomplished with His question was the fixation of the armed men’s attention on Him rather than His disciples. “I am he.” This phrase meant a great deal to the Jewish men who were there while meaning something else entirely to the Roman soldiers unacquainted with Jewish culture and likely unfamiliar with the language. But speaking as He did grabbed the attention of the armed men. They quickly looked at and listened only to Him. The verse concludes with the words, 

“And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.” 

Oh, by the way, Judas was also there. That Judas was not walking at the front of the soldiers (in which case he would have immediately pointed out the Savior) suggests that his usefulness was not respected by the Romans or the Temple guards, either because they were not certain they would need him or because they had no respect for him as a paid informant.

His command of the situation is illustrated, third, by their reaction, John 18.6: 

“As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.” 

In this verse, the apostle describes the event a second time from a different perspective. Why did the men fall backward? Were they surprised that the man they sought was unafraid, approaching as He did? Were they as impressed by His manner of speech as others had been? Perhaps the ground was wet with dew on that chilly night, and their leather sandals slipped. Whatever the reason, the soldiers’ attention was entirely distracted from the Lord’s men. As the soldiers and guards scrambled to regain footing, they focused on this man standing before them.

His command of the situation was finally illustrated by His question, John 18.7: 

“Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.” 

The Greek word translated “band of men” in John 18.3 is speῖra, and refers to a cohort, a word that refers to a detachment of Roman soldiers led by a tribune, consisting of as many as a thousand men but usually amounting to six hundred soldiers.[6] Add to that “officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,” a squad of men supervised by a captain of the Temple who guarded the Temple precinct at night and had the authority to arrest.[7] Thus, it is no surprise that they would “cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.” They meant business. They took themselves seriously.

In response to their encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, His calmness, His fearlessness, the authority with which He spoke, and His advance toward them when He said, “I am,” they all fell backwards to the ground. The only individual there who demonstrated anything like composure at that time was the Lord Jesus Christ. Only He stood with confidence, with assurance, and with a display of calm serenity. My point? Is there any question who is in command of this situation? Can there be any doubt that they secured custody of the Savior only because He permitted them to do so? When it came time for them to put their hands on Him, they were able to do so only because He permitted them to put their hands on Him. They were not in charge that night so long ago. He was. Make no mistake about that.

What He had intended to this point He had accomplished. With His declaration He had distracted their attention to Him and away from His disciples. The Good Shepherd is protecting His “little flock.” 

Next, TAKE NOTE OF HIS DIRECTIVE TO DEFEND 

8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. 

Would you like further proof that the Good Shepherd is in command of the situation and determined to protect His “little flock”? Verse 8: 

“Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way.” 

You might wonder how much command of the situation the Lord Jesus Christ really had because He seems to have had to repeat Himself. How authoritative a speaker could He have been if He had to repeat himself? What impact could He have had on His listeners if He had to twice ask them who they sought? That is a most reasonable question to posit until you understand why the Lord Jesus Christ asked them the same question twice, in short order. Recall that He asked them, “Whom seek ye,” and they answered Him. Whereupon He said “I am,” and they went backward and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, and they answered Him, presumably as they awkwardly scrambled to regain footing.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not ask that question again because He was a weak and indecisive speaker. Neither did the Lord Jesus Christ ask that question a second time because He had failed to communicate effectively to the Roman soldiers and the Temple guards. The reason the Lord Jesus Christ asked that question a second time was to continue drawing their attention away from His eleven remaining apostles and toward Himself. He wanted the full attention of those Roman soldiers and Temple guards. He wanted no attention focused on His remaining men for their safety. In the presence of more than 500 uniformed and armed men, who was in command of the situation? He was.

In verse 8, we see yet another indication of the Savior’s command of the situation: 

“Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he.” 

Does this statement feel a bit to you like the Lord Jesus is jabbing those soldiers? It seems so to me. I think He intentionally jabbed those fellows by saying, “I have told you that I am he,” to irritate them, to provoke them a bit, thereby guaranteeing that their attention would be focused on Him and not His men.

That said, there is a second way in which the Lord’s command of the situation is demonstrated in this verse. It is His statement, 

“if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way.” 

This is a first-class conditional sentence.[8] “If therefore ye seek me,” which they are, followed by “let these go their way.” But the verb to let them go is ἀfίemi, an imperative! The Lord Jesus is not requesting that His men be allowed to leave. He directed the soldiers and guards to let His men go their way.

It is not improbable that the five hundred or more Roman soldiers and several dozen Temple guards would have routinely taken the Lord’s men along with Him, just so they would not have to venture out again that night to round them up again. But the Lord Jesus has directed them to let His men go! Who does that to Roman soldiers! The Good Shepherd does that. That is who does that.

Yet another illustration that the Savior was in command of the situation is the fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy, John 18.9: 

“That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.” 

Whatever else the apostle is referring to in this verse, two things are well-established: First, the Savior was in such command of the scene at the Garden of Gethsemane that He made sure to fulfill an event that was predicted to come to pass. Second, the details of what He did that evening, from approaching those soldiers who expected their quarry to run from them or be passive to His direct questioning of them (“Whom seek ye”) twice, to insuring they paid attention to Him and not His men, and His issuing a directive to them to let His men go. Was that not astonishing? Who has the presence of mind to conduct himself that way? Who exercises such command of so many variables as He shows Himself capable of in so many different situations? What a Savior! I am so thankful He is my Savior! 

Finally, TAKE NOTE OF HIS DIRECTIVE TO DEFUSE 

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

11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him. 

If you know anything about shepherds and their sheep, you realize that sometimes sheep do dumb things that require action on the part of the shepherd to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. To this point in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Good Shepherd has successfully attracted the attention of the Roman soldiers and Temple guards so that they paid little attention to His disciples while focusing on Him. Then Simon Peter impulsively and irresponsibly drew a weapon and attacked one of the civilians accompanying the armed men. Brilliant move. Peter attacked one of the three unarmed men standing among the hundreds of armed men. One against more than five hundred. Either Peter is incredibly brave, or astonishingly foolish and impulsive. One of the earmarks of accurate history, if you excuse what might sound like a pun, is its verifiable specificity. John’s Gospel account records Malchus’ name because readers of the Gospel could verify its accuracy regarding time, place, and the man’s name.

Not recorded in John’s Gospel was the Savior’s immediate response to the attack by healing Malchus’ ear, that is found in Luke 22.51. Imagine the scene. Peter drew the weapon and wildly slashed as Malchus did his best to avoid the attack. But the blade cut off his ear, blood spurted everywhere, and the Lord immediately touched and healed the wound and made it whole. It happened so fast everyone was stunned into paralysis: 

“Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” 

With astonishing swiftness, the Lord Jesus Christ utterly and completely defused a situation that might have quickly turned into a bloodbath. Who draws a weapon and slashes a man in the company of more than five hundred Roman soldiers without them immediately retaliating? But the Good Shepherd acted so decisively that the damage done was repaired in a moment, the weapon was ordered into its sheath, and the offender was rebuked even though he was one of the Savior’s own men!

The Romans and Temple guards had never seen or imagined anything like it. A miracle was performed before their very eyes. And the weapon was returned to its sheath without being confiscated by Romans or guards. How does that happen? But, just as improbably, the soldiers and guards observe the Lord Jesus Christ rebuke His Own man and they seem to embrace what is about to be done to Him: 

“the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” 

Have we yet read anything suggesting the Lord is not completely in control of every aspect of what took place, but for Peter’s rash attack on Malchus? Even that might have been allowed to display the Lord’s control of the soldiers once more, and also His grace in healing Malchus’ ear? Truly, Christ is lord over all. He is the Good Shepherd.

His command of the situation was lastly illustrated by His seizure, John 18.12: 

“Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him.” 

Before I address this final remark detailing the arrest of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, let me remind you once more of my assertions that, mostly John’s Gospel, but also the other Gospel accounts, show the Lord Jesus Christ’s command of the situation that seemed to everyone else present at the time to be overwhelming: 

The other three Gospel accounts then report Judas Iscariot’s kiss, the Lord’s arrest, His disciple’s reaction, with Matthew, Luke and John mentioning His directive to His men, and the other three Gospel accounts telling us of the Savior’s remarks to His captors. 

Once the Savior was bound His disciples fled and He was taken to the home of Annas, the former high priest. Ten or eleven hours later He was crucified by the Romans. Three days later He rose from the dead.

The thrust of this message? The Lord Jesus Christ put on display His commitment to protecting His “little flock” as the Good Shepherd. His control of the situation in the Garden of Gethsemane was complete. He distracted, defused, commanded, and controlled dangerous men to protect His disciples, using only words.

What did He show? He showed His love. As the Good Shepherd, He gave His life for His sheep. And the passage we have examined is the record of Him turning Himself over to hundreds of armed men who would, in short order, crucify Him.

I love my wife. I love my daughter. I have no doubt that I, and many of you, would lay down your lives to protect your loved ones from a sudden threat. But would you live your entire life for the benefit of a loved one? I am quite sure I would fail that test, and so would you.

I can confidently say that you do not know anyone who would live for you, and you might be surprised to discover who might not rise to the occasion and die for you. In this regard, the Lord Jesus Christ is unique.

He lived for me. He died for me. He rose from the dead for me. And He lives for me. Only He does that because only He is the Savior of sinners. You need such a Savior as that.

__________

[1] 2 Samuel 18.33

[2] Ergun Mehmet Caner, General Editor, Voices Behind The Veil, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2003), pages 41-42.

[3] Josh McDowell & Don Stewart, Handbook Of Today’s Religions - Understanding Non-Christian Religions, (San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., 1982), page 48.

[4] 1 Peter 3.18

[5] Luke 12.32

[6] Andreas J. Köstenberger, John - ECNT, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), page 505.

[7] Ibid., page 506.

[8] Lidija Novakovic, John 11-21: A Handbook On The Greek Text - BHGNT, (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2020), page 219.

 

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