The Betrayal and Battle in the Garden

Luke chapter 22 as we look at g betrayal, garden battle, and garden beauty. The beautiful testimony as to the power of Almighty God in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke chapter 22. Let me read to you the narrative that we're going to cover this morning.

It begins in verse number 47. While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them. And he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? And when those who were around him saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, Stop, no more of this.

And he touched his ear and healed him. And Jesus said to the chief priests, and the officers of the temple, and the elders, who had come against him, Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay your hands on me. But this hour and the power of darkness are yours. All the Gospels talk about the abrupt transition between the commun that Christ had in the garden. In the impending conflict that would come up him with the cohort and temple priests coming to arrest him.

And we have talked to you about everything leading up to this night. In fact, we have spent over a year looking at the last week of our Lord's life. We have spent many weeks looking at the events about this night in particular, telling you about the significance of this night and what it means for you and for me. And I know I tend to repeat myself a lot. In fact, I had lunch just past week with my Oldest daughter's mother-in-law. I won't tell her her name, but she's in the church this morning. And we were talking at lunch, and she kept saying to me, Excuse me, what'd you say?

Excuse me, what'd you say? I said, Are you having trouble hearing me? She says, Yes, I am. I said, You're sitting across the table from me. How on earth do you ever hear me on Sunday morning? She goes, Well, I don't. But that's okay. Because if I miss it the first time, I know you're going to repeat it four, five, six, and seven times after that.

And so I'm bound to get it one of those times. And she's right. And I said to her, Yes, the reason I do that is because I want you to be able to repeat it back to me verbatim for memory without looking at any of your notes. Then I know. You've listened and you got it. So, I'm going to repeat back to you one more time. And what I'm going to do is show you this. If you were to come to me and ask me, Lance, I have an issue, I need to talk to you about it. I'm going to show you that no matter what your issue is, what happened on this night, We'll deal with it.

No matter what your issue is, whether it's a family conflict, a marital conflict, whether it's an office conflict. Whether it's decision-making in the will of God, whether it's a sinful issue, no matter what your problem is, no matter what it is, no matter the magnitude of that problem. If you understand this night of our Lord's life, you have the solution to that problem. That's how powerful this night is. Because if you come to me, I'm going to use the Word of God anyway. But I could use, particularly this night, to deal with whatever issue you're facing.

Let me show you how. We told you that this night was a night of pre. Everything was predetermined in the plan of God from eternity past. Because whatever issue you are facing today, it has all been predetermined by the sovereign plan of an almighty God. Nothing has escaped his notice.

Nothing has surprised him. Whatever happened in the life of our Lord happened because it was predetermined. He had designed it. Whatever happens in your life, and whatever conflict you are going through, whatever negative phone call you received this week, whatever bad report you got from the doctor this week, was no surprise. To God. It was all predetermined in eternity past. And to know that this night Was a night of predetermination that everything had been designed by Almighty God. Everything was on schedule.

Nothing happened out of order. To let you know that everything that happens in your life is on schedule. Nothing is out of order. Not only was it a night of predetermination, it was night of number two.

What is it? That's why I repeat it. A night of affection, right? A night of affection. John 13 verse number 1 saying that having loved his own, he loved them completely. He loved them fully until the end. It was a night of supreme affection in the life of our Lord. Knowing this, that everything that happens in your life, even though it's been predetermined by God, it's been predetermined by one who loves you completely all the way. To the end. Doesn happen by a God who despises you, who doesn't like you.

Happens by a God who loves and cares for his own. It was a night of affection. He loved his own completely up until the end, because that's the way he is. And on top of that, we told you it was a night of celebration with subsequent trans. Why is that important? Because he would gather his men together for that last supper to show them that he will not partake of the bread. And the cup until that glorious kingdom, showing them that there's a future, that there's a destiny. And they transform that cup of affliction.

He trans the cup of redemption and the bread of affliction. He transforms it to show you that your spiritual deliverance is more important than your physical deliverance. What happens to you spiritually is way beyond anything that happens to you physically. And that's why this night becom It becomes something that's magnificent that we can't afford to forget. A night of predetermination, a night of affection, a night of celebration, a night of transformation, a night of. Pred, right? He would predict the betrayal.

He would predict the denial. To let you know, it was the night of Revelation, John chapter 19, which says, I have predicted these things so that you will know that I am. That you will know that I am God, that I am in complete control of everything, that nothing escapes my notice.

I'm in charge. Not a revel. See, our biggest problem is not that we don't know about God, we just don't know God. Everybody in the room knows about God, that's why you're here. But do you know him? There's a big difference about having some information about God and having some kind of head knowledge about the existence of God to actually having God rub off on you. You know, you understand and know God when his life and character rubs off on you in such a way that it changes everything you do and the way you respond, the way you speak, the way you live your life.

If knowing God in that sense does not happen to you, you just might have a head knowledge of his existence. But you don't know God. Oh, we can pay lip service to His sovereignty, that He has predetermined everything. But how do you know you understand his predetermined will for you? You sleep at ease at night knowing that you've got everything under control and you don't have to worry about a thing. Now you understand his predetermination. If you're all worried and all in a tussy and tiss about this and that, you don't understand the sovereignty of God.

You don't understand his predetermination. See? It's one thing to pay lip service to some of the things that we hold dear to our lives. It's another thing to be able to live them out day in and day out. Night of. Night of Revel. It was a night of dissension. A night of dissension. Because they would argue about who was the greatest in the kingdom. And you see, the reason we have dissension in our relationships stems from the same reason they had dissension in their relationships. And that dissension comes from a selfish lifestyle that thinks everything should revolve around me.

It's all about me. And all the attention should be drawn to me, not to the Lord who's going to die for our lives, but our attention should be drawn toward me. And once the attention is not on me, there is dissension that arises and there's conflict that arises. It's a night of dissens. So, what do you need to learn? That it was a night of humiliation. That's when he would take that slave's apron. He would tie it around his waist. He'd begin to wash his men's feet because it was a night of humiliation.

The reason there is dissension is because we don't live in the realm of humility and submission. We live with arrogance and independence. We want our own way. We don't want to subject ourselves to someone else. It's all about me and nobody else. And yet, Christ would live in the realm of humility. It was a night of humiliation, which made it a night of declaration, because it would be on this night where he declared, a new commandment I give unto you, right? That you love no longer as you love yourselves.

You love as I have loved you. And if you do this, if you love this way, everybody will know you're mine. And the only way they're going to know your mind is if you, in a humble, submissive way, let go of yourself and minister to those who have a need, despite the magnitude of your pain. Now you're beginning to learn about Christ. Now you're beginning to understand Christ. Now you're beginning to understand why this night is so monum. Because for the most part, we don't live our lives that way. It was a night of consolation, right?

Night of consolation, where he would instruct his men, a night of instruction, where he instruct him about the truth of the fact that he was going to go away, but come again. He would send the Spirit of God to them. See, this is my comfort in my affliction. Thy word has given me hope. Psalm:. It's the word of God that gives me hope. And so the Lord would speak forth his word. It would give hope to his men that they would have the peace that passes all understanding. The Spirit of God would come and live in them.

You see? It was a night of consolation when my anxious thoughts well up within me. Thy consolations. Delight my soul. That's what the psalmist said. And so we begin to understand why this night's so important. That's why we keep revealing it over and over and over again. You need to know the events. You know what happened in the order in which they happened so that you can go through your week, your month, your life, understand God's call upon you to live for his glory and for his honor. A night of cons, but it was also a n of temptation.

And that's where we left off last week. A night of temptation. And Christ would say, pr. Watch lest you enter into temptation. And he would pray, and he would sweat great drops of blood in his prayer because he agonized, not because of what was going to happen to him physically, but what was going to happen to him spiritually. He wasn't agonizing because of the physical suffering on the tree. He was agonizing in his soul because, for the first time in all eternity, and never.

To ever be repeated, he would be separated from his father for those dark hours on the cross as he would hang there paying for your sins and mine. That was the agony. And he would come back to his men. He would say to him, Pray, lest you enter into temptation. Watch and pray. Could you not watch and pray for one hour on three separate occasions? He would go back to them upon that third occasion.

Going back to them, Judas and the multitude arrive. They come to the entrance. Of the garden. And that sweet communion that the Lord God had with his Father who is in heaven. Abruptly changes to a conflict he has with the religious leaders and the Roman soldiers on that night. Which will lead to his inter. It becomes a night of interrogation, but before that, there was a night of Decept and a night of def. And that happened on this night in this scene. On the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane.

It was the Garden of Br. It was the Garden of Battle. But it was ultimately the garden of supreme beauty, as we will see at the end of our time this morning. But it was a garden of betrayal. Listen to what the Bible says.

While he was still speaking, speaking to who? His men. Always the instructor, always the rabbi, always the teacher. He always taught his men. He never missed an opportunity to teach them. Why? Because through his instruction, he would give them the wor of God. And so he would instruct him. And while he was speaking, behold, a multitude c. One called Judas, one of the twelve, was preced them. Isn 't it interest how Judas is referred to in Scripture? You can read a lot about Judas in extra biblical works, but it's all negative.

It's interesting how the writers of scripture portray him. They portray him as Judas being one of the twelve. They don't write negative things about Judas. That loser, Judas, came. He was leading them. They don't say that. That betrayer, that traitor. No, they don't see anything like that. In fact, everything they say is out of sorrow for Judas. Because when the writers would look back on this night, they would understand it was a night of pre. And everything was predetermined by the sovereign plan of Almighty God.

And in the midst of that predetermination, there was affection that our Lord had for all of his men, including Judas. And they write almost as if it's a warning to those who would read. Judas is never referred to as an outsider, always an insider. He's never referred to in a negative way by the writers of Scripture, only in a sorrowful way. For lack of a better phrase, positive way, one of the twelve. To accentuate the fact that as you read the story of Judas, You need to be careful that you don't follow in the footsteps of one called Judas.

That's why our Lord, when he preached and they had that first recorded sermon of the Lord in Matthews 5, 6, and 7, he Concludes that sermon by saying to you that the gate is small and the way is narrow, few there be that find it.

For on that day many will come to me and say, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, do many marvelous deeds in your name? He will say to them, Depart from me, I never knew you. Christ would talk about the importance or the warning of self-deception. Because many people can deceive themselves into thinking they're a child of God. Judas was a man who was self-deceived. He was possessed by greed, yes. He was possessed by Satan, yes. We saw that in John 13 when the Lord dismissed him and Satan had entered into him.

Yes, he was that way. But it wasn't until this time on this n that all of the rest of the disciples understood that Judas was the betrayer. John knew based on what John's gospel tells us, but nobody else knew until now.

Because Judas was great at masquerading his hypocrisy. The multitude would come. The multitude was filled with haters and hypocrites. Judas was the leader of the hypocrites. He was the leader of all hypocrites, of all traitors, of all betrayers. And he would be the one who would lead them. But it stands as a warning. And as the gospel writers reiterate the story to us, it's almost in the sense of great sorrow for Judas and where he is. In rel to Christ. Later on in the ministry of Christ, in Luke 13, toward the latter half of his ministry, someone asked him: Are there only a few being saved?

And Jesus says, strive to enter, for narrow is the gate, and few there be that can ever enter in. And he goes on to say in Luke chapter 13, as he talks about people who respond to him, he says these words in Luke chapter 13. And verse number 25: once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, Lord. Open up to us, then he will answer and say to you, I do not know where you are from. And then you will begin to say, Well, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.

And he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evil do. How many times would Christ repeat that throughout his ministry as a warning to people about self-deception? And the question comes, how do you know you are self-deceived? I'm going to answer that for you this morning. In one brief, brief scene in this text How do you know you're one of the Judases? One of the ones who has been involved in the ministry and been involved in doing things, but in reality, You've deceived yourself, and in the process, deceived all those around you.

Because that's what Judas did. He deceived everybody. He was the most trusted of the apostles because he was the one who kept the money. But he was the best at masquerading. And so the multitude would come. They were led by Judas, one of the twelve. This is the garden. Betrayal. He would know where Jesus was because this is where they went every night. Every night. And the text tells us that a multitude was coming. The question comes: who is the multitude? How many are in the multitude? And we can sort of figure that one out.

Because down in verse number 52, it says: Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the temple and elders who had come against him. So you have the chief priests, you have the elders, the Sanhedrin, which is 70. You have the officers of the temple or the temple police, which consists of 200. Soldiers. John's Gospel tells us that there was a cohort with them which encompasses six hundred men. So now you have close to 9 people. You have a cohort, 600. You have 200 of the Temple Police, that's 800.

You have 70 of the Sanhedrin, that's 8. Plus, some others that might be with them, and you have Judas who leads them. You have a number of people. And Judas would somehow, on this night, once he left the upper room, would have to go and gather the Sanhedrin. They would have to then go and gather and go to Pilate and ask him for soldiers. Trying to convince Pilate that this man Jesus was an insurrectionist and needed to be dealt with. All this had to happen on this night. They had to gather everybody together.

It would be no small feat, but under the sovereign plan of Almighty God, it would come together at just the right time. And this is Jesus they're coming to get. This is the one who had banished disease from all of Israel because he healed everybody. He was the miracle worker. He was the one who fed thousands upon thousands of people. This is the one filled with grace and mercy and love who reached out to people. And Rome would know about Jesus. Everybody knew about Jesus. He was the most popular thing going.

And they knew that when he came into the city on that Monday, they came in hailed as a king. And the Pharisees would use that because if you read, I think it's John's account, the Pharisees and the scribes were am the 900 who came. The Pharisees, the scribes, the Sanhedrin, the cohort, the temple police, Judas, all of them. And they would come, as John's account tells us, with lanterns and torches to look for who? The light of the world. They would come with weapons, swords, clubs. For what purpose?

To fight the P of Peace. They came expecting a battle. They came expecting a war. And so they would come and they would lead Fort Antonio and they would have to cross over the Kid, which is the valley of what? Decision. Three of you were with us last week. It was the valley of decision. That's why we keep repeating things. The Kij Valley is the valley of Jehoshaphat. It is the valley of decision. You can read about it in Joel chapter 3: the valley of decision because it's in that valley. The decision will be made by the Lord of the universe when he comes again in Matthew 25, puts the sheep on his right, the goats on his left, and will decide their eternal destiny.

But in the meantime, everybody who crossed the Valley of Decision made a decision. Did they not? Christ made the decision to live a life of independence and obedience to his Father in heaven. The disciples would make a decision to live a life of independence by not praying. They would make the decision to forsake the one they say they loved. Those who came, the multitude who came to capture the Christ, they too made their decision against the Christ. And so you have this Jesus who was hailed as king when he came into the city, and Rome knew what was happening because it was Passover, and Pilate would have left.

Caesarea. He would come to Jerusalem for Passover, and there would be many Roman soldiers in case there would be an uprising to squelch the uprising. And so they would be there already. And they would gather all those people to to get to Christ. And as they would depart from the Eastern Gate, go down that short ravine over the Valley of Decision, and make their way up to the Garden of Gethsemane, they would be seen and heard. By their footsteps. They'd be seen because of the lanterns and torches.

Jesus would know they were coming because everything was predetermined by the Lord God of the universe. He knew they were coming. And as he would conclude his speaking with his men, talking to them about rise, watch, and pray, lest you enter into temptation, here they come. Here they come. John's account tells us that Jesus goes to the entry gate and meets them when they come. They're coming to look for him. It's the Garden of Gethsemane. There are no street lights. It's black, it's dark, it's filled with olive trees.

They think they're going to have to search for him, hunt him down. They know where he is because Judas knows where he is, because every night they went to the garden. They went to the Mount of Olives. That's where they would retreat to. And so Judas would know where Jesus was this night. He would lead them in his betrayal of the Master of the universe. He would come to the garden. The Bible tells us that Judas was a part of the ministry of Christ. And the twelve for three years. He was involved in preaching the gospel for three years.

He was involved in the healing ministry of the apostles for three years. He did everything Peter, James, John, Nathaniel, Matthew, Andrew, they all did. He was a part of that ministry. And yet, he was the son of perdition. Jesus called him a devil. The writers never call him a devil, but Jesus called him a devil. And he was one of those That Jesus chose to be a part of the twelve. Here he was, coming now in fulfillment of Scripture. To betray the k of the universe. And the Bible says As Judas was preceding them, he approached Jesus to kiss him.

Okay? So he was coming to kiss Jesus. And it says, But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man? With a kiss, very important. He hasn't kissed him yet. He's going to come and kiss him. And Jesus says to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?

At that point, at that point, Judas knows that Jesus knows everything. And he doesn't care. That's how you know you're self-deceived. You know Jesus knows what you're doing, but you just don't care. You are one like Judas. You just don't care what Jesus thinks. You don't care what he says. Makes no difference whatsoever. You are bound and determined to follow through on your sinful behavior no matter what Jesus says.

That's how you know. Self-deceived. That was Judas. Jesus says to him, because Jesus never Heard Judas say this is going to happen.

And you to read Matthew's account, Mark's account, to fill in the blanks. So if you go back to Matthew 26, this is what it says. Matthew 26, verse number 48. Now he was betraying him gave them a sign, saying, Whomever I shall kiss, he is the one who sees him. Okay? So Judas says to the Cohort to the temple police, to the Sanhedrin, to the Pharisees, to the Sadducees. He tells them all: the one I kiss, that's the one you need to seize. So he tells them. But Jesus wasn't there when that was spoken.

That was all set up in advance. He couldn't just point to Jesus because he might be pointing to the wrong one. Remember, it's dark, you can't see. And so he couldn't just point to him. He couldn't just say, that's the guy. No, he was going to do something that would be unmistakable. So that everyone coming to capture him would know this is Jesus, the one hailed as king of the Jews. And so the Bible tells us, Whomever I shall kiss, he is the one who sees him. And immediately he went to Jesus and said, Hail, Rabbi.

Hey, oh, Rabbi. And before he kissed him, Jesus said to him, In Luke's account, Judas, you're not betraying the Son of Man with a kiss, are you? See that? That's how the chronology goes. Hail, Rabbi. Hello, teacher. Thinking that if he kissed him, he could still continue his masquerade with the twelve, or the other ele. And the Bible tells us that when he kissed him, he kissed him on the cheek, he kissed him repeatedly and embraced him in that Kiss. It wasn't just a quick peck on the cheek. It was an embrace and a continuance of the kissing of the rabbi.

But it had no effect on his heart because of his hypocrisy. See, people can express outward affection. For Jesus, but on the inside be as cold as ice. That was Judas. That's where he was. He didn't care. He wanted payback for the three years of wasted, wasted time. Because Jesus never did what he thought he was going to do, set up a kingdom and he could be a part of that wonderful kingdom and rule. But that wasn't the plan for Christ at that time, and therefore Judas betrayed him. Him. This is not what he wanted.

He wanted popularity and power. Didn come. So he betrayed the Lord Jesus. He kissed him. He kept kissing him according to Mark's account. And it says in Matthew's account, I believe it's Matthew's account, Jesus said to him, Friend. Do what you have come for garden bet. We'll see to point number two, garden battle.

Garden battle. It's not really much of a battle, but it's sort of interesting to see how it all comes together. It's interesting to see in verse number 49. And when those who were around him saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? Now, what caused them to do that? Well, for that, you have to go to John's Gospel. So, turn me to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. Verse number 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth and his disciples over the ravine of the Kid, where there was a garden.

Excuse me, garden into which he himself entered and his disciples. Now, Judas also, who was betraying him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with his disciples. Judas, then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, Whom do you see? This would happen after the kiss of Judas. Judas would kiss him.

Christ would say to him, Friend, do what you have come to do. And Jesus would say, Whom do you seek? And if you read in John chapter 18, they answered him, Jesus the Nazarene. And he said, I am. And Judas also, who was betraying him, was standing with them. When therefore he said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. This is an amazing, amazing scene. You have nine hundred individuals. 600 of them are a part of the Roman cohort. 200 of them are part of the temple police. They think they're going to engage in battle.

In their search for Jesus. So Jesus wants to clarify everything at that moment. Whom do you seek? We seek Jesus the Nazarene. And Jesus simply said, I am. In the Greek text, it's eg, am, which is the Greek translation. Of the tetragr in Exodus chapter 3, I am that I am. He is the Lord God Jehovah. And when he speaks those words, every falls over. They just fall over. And the amazing thing is that they all get right back up again. They don't stop to think for one moment, you know what? This is way beyond us.

We can't handle this. This guy is too powerful. Had they not heard of the miraculous power of Jesus? Yes, they had heard. Had they not seen people who had been miraculously healed? Yes, they had seen them. Had they not known about his resurrection power? Yes. Yes, they knew about Lazarus. In fact, in John's gospel, they wanted Lazarus dead because of the living testimony he gave to the power of Jesus to raise the dead. And Jesus, in a very small and simple way, would say simply, I am. And they all fell over, but they got back up again.

They got right back up again. And to clarify everything, the Bible says, and therefore he asked them, Whom do you seek?

And this is about as funny as Jesus ever gets. Okay? Because it's almost as if it's like, excuse me, who are you guys looking for? And they repeat the same thing. Jesus the Nazarene. They say the exact same thing. Because Jesus wants them to know that you've come for me and me only. No one else. And the one you're coming for? Jesus of Nazarene? Is the Lord God of Israel him? That 's who you're coming to get. He wants them to know that. Now, they miss that, of course. But they all fall over backwards, get back up again.

And Jesus says, Whom do you seek? Jesus of Nazarene. I am. I am. And he goes on to say these words: I told you that I am. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way. That the word might be fulfilled, which he spoke of those whom thou hast given me, I lost not one. And now you know in Luke's Gospel why they say, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? Remember, earlier in the night, they said, Lord, we have two swords. Is that enough? Well, evidently, now they're thinking we have the swords. Lord, shall we now strike with the two swords that we have?

And why wouldn't they say that? They have just seen the power of God. They have just seen that when He speaks the word, everybody falls over. Hey, I got my sword out. Let's go. Let's go to war. We can win this thing. Just say a word, Jesus, and we'll win this thing. Do we take our swords now? Is now the time? And of course, Peter was one with the sword. And in John's account, it says, Simon Peter, therefore.

having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. And the slave's name was Malchus. In Luke's account, it says, and a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest. John tells us which one it was. It was Peter. And cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, Stop! No more of this! No more. He touched his ear and he healed him. He healed him. Luke is the only one who records the healing of Malchus' ear. John does not. Matthew and Mark do not.

But Luke does because Luke's a physician. This is important to him. Really, it's the ear lobe, it's not the entire ear, it's just the earlobe of Malchus, which is very important to understand garden beauty. You go from garden bet to garden battle to garden beauty. What makes this scene so beautiful? Four things you need to get. Four things in four minutes. Yeah, I'm laughing too. Four things. One is the power of the Master. The power of the Master. He is so powerful. He is so inc powerful, he speaks a word.

And they all fall over. They had a cohort, six hundred men, one-tenth of a legion, right? He says in Matthew's account: Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once. Put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels. Twelve legions of angels, that's seventy thousand angels. I appeal to my Father. He'll send 70,000 angels, just like that. Doesn need angels. He just speaks the word and they all fall over.

It is the power of the word of God, the power of the master. And everything about God's word is p. And although Jesus might not Speak audibly anymore. Doesn have to, doesn't need to, because He's given us the living and abiding Word of God, which is the gospel of God, which is powerful. And therefore, God's word in and of itself is powerful to accomplish its purposes. And what's so beautiful about the garden is the power of the master. And how he could wield that power at any moment, do whatever he wanted to do, and yet he would submit him will.

To be arrested, falsely accused, falsely condemned, because he had a purpose. And that's point number two.

He was going to perfect his mission, the power of the master, and the perfection of his mission. It was to be completed on time, on schedule, in the exact way he had designed it from eternity past, and nothing would change. It truly was the perfection of his mission, which, number three, is the proof of his messiahship.

It was the proof of his messiahship. He would prove once again that he was the Messiah. Because, as the lion of Judah, he would be led away as a lamb to the slaughter in fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 53. He's a proof of his messiahship, the perfection of his mission, the power of the master. And, number four, the protection of his men. The protection of his men. In J 10, he said that he would not lose one of them, which helps explain the power of the shepherd. Here he talks about a fulfillment of prophecy in Zach:, strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter, and they did.

But he would protect his men. Whom do you seek? Jesus of Nazarene. I am. Whom do you seek? Jesus of Nazarene. I'm him. He said that so they would know that it's him they've come to capture to leave his men al. He 's going to protect them. Protect them all the way to the end. In spite of all the temptation, in spite of all the difficulty they would face, they were under the protective power of the omnipotent God of the universe. So you have what? You have the power of the Messiah. You have the proof.

Of his Messiahship. You have the perfection of his mission. You have the protection of his men. And one more, number five. You have the provision for Malchus the provision for Malchus Why is this garden beauty? Because this is the last miracle that Jesus performs. L one. He doesn't have to. Why? Just leave it alone. It's the earlobe. He's going to be okay. He's not going to bleed to death. Put on a few band-a, you're good to go for the next day. You don 't have to heal the earlobe of the high priest's servant's ear.

You don 't have to, Jesus. Let it go. But Jesus can't. Because in his provision of Malchus, which is the last of all of his miracles, making it Because it's the ear, the least of all of his miracles, right? It's not like he lost an eye and let him see. O he stabbed him in the throat, cut his jugular, had to heal that. It wasn't like he cut off his arm, he needed a new arm. It wasn't like it was a major deal to heal the earlobe. It was just a minor deal. But that's the way Jesus operates. See? Jesus would perform this last miracle.

And the last miracle was the least of all the miracles. It wasn't like he was feeding the 5,000. It wasn't like he was walking on water. And it certainly wasn't like he was raising the dead. He was he a man's earlobe. Really, Jesus? You got time for that? You're going to be interrogated, condemned, and crucified, and you're going to heal a man's earlobe. How small can it get? So, in the provision for Malchus, in the healing of the high priest's servant's ear. Being the last miracle of our Lord, being the least of all the miracles of our Lord.

Was the loudest of all the miracles of our Lord. It was the loudest. It screamed more than all the other miracles screamed. Why? Because it was the loveliest of all the miracles that Jesus performed. Having loved his enemies, he loved them completely. The man who preached, love your enemies, loved them to the very end. Even when he would pray, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. This was the loveliest of all miracles. That's why it's called garden beauty. In the power of the Master, in the proof of His Messiahship, in the perfecting of His mission, in the protecting of His men.

But most importantly, in the provision for Malchus, he would perform the greatest miracle during his earthly life. By taking a man's earlobe and healing him when it wasn't even necessary. But he had to proclaim his love for his enemies to the end. Because that's Jesus. His men would leave. They would forsake him and flee that moment. Luke's account tells us that Peter would follow, but Peter would follow only from a distance. And next week you will see why following Jesus from a distance is a bad thing, not a good thing.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for today. Truly, Lord, your word is great and powerful. And truly, Lord, we have the opportunity to study your word and to examine what took place in the Garden of Gethsemane the night you were betrayed. In the night, they came to take you away. We thank you, Lord, for what took place, for everything that happened, happened under your sovereign pl. We are grateful because, Lord, through all this, you showed yourself sovereign, showed yourself powerful, you showed yourself true to your word to the very end.

May we be followers of Christ. May we not be anything else but true to your word, that we might live for the glory of your kingdom in Jesus' name. Amen.