In Christ’s death, there is life hallelujah! Rejoice in this truth.
John 18: Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.
3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?"
5 They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
6 When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go."
9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one."
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas
12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.
13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.
Peter Denies Jesus
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest,
16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.
17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."
18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.
21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said."
22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?"
23 Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?"
24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter Denies Jesus Again
25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"
27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.
Jesus Before Pilate
28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?"
30 They answered him, "If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you."
31 Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death."
32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
My Kingdom Is Not of This World
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
34 Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?"
35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?"
36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."
37 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world---to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."
38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him.
39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
40 They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 19: Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.
2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
3 They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands.
4 Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!"
6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him."
7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God."
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.
9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 So Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?"
11 Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin."
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."
13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."
16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
The Crucifixion
17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called ‘The Place of a Skull’, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'"
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom,
24 so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did these things,
25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"
27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
The Death of Jesus
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst."
29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Jesus' Side Is Pierced
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
35 He who saw it has borne witness---his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth---that you also may believe.
36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken."
37 And again another Scripture says, "They will look on him whom they have pierced."
Jesus Is Buried
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Things to think about…
1. The words of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 were spoken by Jesus in the garden across the Kidron Valley John 18:1. This is an incredible place and as such does tend to evoke a desire to pray where Jesus prayed for us 2000 years ago. But look at what else happened in this garden – Christ’s arrest. Even in the midst of spiritual highs there can be incredible lows. Judas comes with soldiers. Peter tries to handle things in his own strength from this point on – not just with a sword but even as he follows Jesus into the courtyard of Caiaphas the High Priest. Just because we are in the presence of Jesus does not mean our hearts are following Him. Pray for the strength to resist completing a spiritual task with a fleshly action.
2. Even at His arrest we see in John 18:6 the soldiers fall to the ground. Christ is in control, even at His arrest. “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”, Phil 2:10, 11. They could only get up and arrest Jesus when He allows them by saying “shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" Jn 18:11.
3. Even a wicked High Priest can speak by inspiration of the Spirit simply because the Lord honours the position. In John 18:14 “Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people” speaks concerning the sacrifice needed for sin. Even though this man neither knew the Saviour nor the truth of his own utterance, like Saul of old, prophesied under the inspiration of the Spirit, even while his heart was unregenerate.
4. We go pretty hard on Peter as the Christ denier, John 18:25-27, but let’s be honest, there is a Christ denier in all of us. The only way to combat this is to reaffirm what we have been saved from and to go to the place where this was all achieved – the cross.
5. Jesus acknowledges He is both the King of the Jews and that His kingdom is not of this world. Both these statements are of course true but can only be fully realised in both the Jew and Gentile by faith. Hence Christ’s words to Pilate “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice”, John 18:37. The key is that all other voices are stilled, and that the Lord’s voice is given an opportunity to find volume and influence in our lives. What voices are you listening to? Let’s not be spiritual schizophrenics. With so many voices competing for our attention, pray for grace to discern and listen to the Lord’s voice above all others.
6. The horror of the mock trial of Jesus is laid out in these verses John 19:1-19. Pilate is struggling to get the people to see sense. They are bound up by fanatical religious zeal. There is no zeal for truth. Their confession after Pilate says “shall I crucify your king” is “We have no king but Caesar”, vs 15. They acknowledge their hearts are against the Christ. They were seeking an earthly military saviour. Sadly, the nation of Israel still seeks such a Saviour. Pray they see Yeshua their Saviour. Pray for our outreach to continue in Israel.
7. The sign read “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews”, John 19:19. This was a true statement. They had rejected their king. Pray that many in the house of Israel today would see the truth of this statement.
8. John 19:28-30 fulfil both a physical and a scriptural purpose in the life of the Saviour. Not one dash or stroke would be lost from the scriptures. Our Lord is in complete control and His word will always come to pass.
9. Jesus may not have had His legs broken but he did have a spear thrust through His side to confirm the complete fulfilment of Roman law that the criminals were to be dead before being taken down. If our Saviour was still alive after being taken down there is no power in the cross and hence no power over our sin. This is why there are many stories that suggest He didn’t really die, but merely fainted. Even in the piercing – scripture was being fulfilled, John 19:37.
10. We see Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus looking after the body of Jesus in burial, John 19:38-41. This was an act of faith by these men. They were effectively making themselves unclean for the Sabbath (a High Sabbath – aligned with the Passover) and as such were identifying with Christ rather than the strict religious code required for the festival. Fortunately the law in Numbers allowed the Passover to be kept in such circumstances, Num 9:6-10. Joseph earlier became a believer secretly, but now comes out boldly with Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night in John 3, who also now openly identifies with Christ in the daytime. We all get a chance to shine and be bold for Christ where we can openly declare our faith in Him. We must recognise the season and be faithful in it.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Israel an object of mercy” – Reading Ezek 28:20-26
1. Australia is a land that has received undeserved mercy. So have you. Discuss.
2. Israel was about to be judged, but Ezekiel speaks of future blessing, vss 25, 26. What is your understanding of how this will outwork?
3. Israel is very religious, but only have 2% Christians. Most are atheist or have some form of Jewish mindset and belief system. How will they come to see Yeshua as their Lord and Saviour?
4. How are we to provoke Israel to jealousy to follow Christ? Read and discuss Rom 10:19.
5. Pray for each other and the outreach of the gospel.
Prayer Points
1. AGM – 6th Nov after the service.
2. Carols service 18th December – Family fun Day afternoon 3pm-7pm.
3. Christmas Day Service
4. Pray for the leadership of our country.
5. Pray for the people of Iran and Ukraine.
6. The right choice for a full time Youth and Young Adults Pastor to start Jan 2023 and the finances to support them.
7. Health of Ross Goltz, Zac - sciatica
8. More young families and youth into the church.
9. Ministry leaders within the church.
10. Our One for Israel ministry.
11. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The marriage of James and Kirstine Smith.
2. Visitors to church on Sunday.
3. Some returning back to church after a while away.
4. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Suzy, Gina, Ashley. Bec on Words and Doug on sound. Thankyou. Suzy and Maddison in café always do a stellar job. Thankyou for those who welcomed at the door.
5. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members Meeting – AGM 6th November after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
