The Criminals Arrest the Judge

In the third year of his public ministry, Jesus Christ made a puzzling statement: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). What did he mean? At the wedding of Cana in Galilee Jesus had said that his hour had not yet come (John 2:4), but now he said it had arrived. He was speaking of the hour in which his Father would hand him over to be betrayed, arrested, tried and crucified by the powers of evil. Jesus was the Lamb of God slain from the creation of the world, and only through his death can the elect be saved. This was God’s eternal plan, which Jesus had agreed to, and so he was always anticipating his suffering and death. Finally, in the third year of his ministry, just before the celebration of Passover, Jesus’ hour to die had come.

Jesus and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee for the Passover celebration, during which he would become the ultimate Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus knew this was God’s plan and did not resist it. When his enemies came to arrest him he said, “This is your hour–when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53). Jesus knew he came down from heaven to give his life as a ransom for many.

After the Passover meal, then, Jesus and his disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane, where he spent time in prayer and solitude with God his Father. After earnest, agonized prayer he determined to drink the cup of God’s wrath which the Father was giving him. We must note here that this cup was from God the Father, not Satan, and was part of God’s plan. As the beloved Son, Jesus submitted completely to his Father’s plan and will. Therefore he prayed, “Not my will but thine be done.” Then God the Father sent an angel to strengthen Jesus, and after he was strengthened, Jesus boldly and calmly waited for the powers of evil to come and arrest him.

The Betrayer

The evil powers who came to arrest Jesus were led by Judas the betrayer. In every gospel we see him identified as”Judas, one of the Twelve.” This description emphasizes how shocking it was that one of Jesus’ close disciples would betray Jesus. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus had prayed before he chose his twelve apostles, including Judas. Judas was from Kerioth, a town south of Hebron, so he was called Judas Iscariot, meaning a man from Kerioth. Jesus knew that Judas was a devil because, as we are told in John 2:25, Jesus knew what was in a man. Judas was a greedy, deceitful thief who struck a deal with the chief priests even before the Passover meal and sold Jesus for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver. Yet Jesus chose this son of perdition to be an apostle.

This was the hour of darkness and Satan. So we read how Satan entered Judas, and Judas guided the authorities to the garden of Gethsemane where he knew Jesus and the disciples would be.

Judas arranged with the authorities to identify Jesus by kissing him. He wanted to ensure that Jesus would not get away. He knew that the authorities had tried to arrest Jesus several times, and that Jesus had always slipped out of their hands. This time he wanted to make sure that would not happen.

Did Judas lose his salvation by his actions? No. Judas was never saved. Judas enjoyed great privileges, but he refused to believe in the Son of God. He was a doomed and damned man. Soon after betraying Jesus, wracked by pangs of guilt, he hung himself and went to his own place of torment.

The Religious Authorities

Who were these criminals who came to arrest Jesus? Some were religious authorities–high priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, and members of the Sanhedrin, which had issued the arrest warrant for Jesus and authorized him to be bound. Some were Jewish and Roman soldiers. Some were slaves of the religious authorities. We are told that hundreds of people, carrying lights, torches, swords, and clubs, came to arrest Jesus.

Why did so many people come? I believe they came because the Sanhedrin was afraid of Jesus. They had tried to arrest him several times before but never succeeded. In John 7:32, 45-46, the chief priests sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus but they could not. When they came back they told the chief priest, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.” Some religious leaders tried to kill Jesus at Nazareth, at the beginning of his ministry, after he had declared in the synagogue, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears,” meaning he was the Christ with the Spirit of the Lord upon him. The wicked synagogue leaders, together with the mob, took Jesus to the brow of the hill of Nazareth, intending to kill him by throwing him off the cliff, but the text says “He walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:30). In John 8 we read that the religious authorities wanted to stone Jesus when he said, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” meaning he was God, the eternal I AM. But Jesus hid himself and slipped away from the temple grounds (v. 59). Finally, in John 10 we read how the authorities wanted to seize Jesus another time, but he escaped their grasp (v. 39). Why had they failed so often? Jesus’ hour had not yet come.

The authorities knew that it was not easy to arrest Jesus. He seemed to have supernatural powers that enabled him to escape at any moment. So they brought a crowd of several hundred strong men, carrying torches, clubs, and swords, to Gethsemane. But they did not need to use any force to arrest Jesus. His hour had come. Jesus was waiting for them, and, in fact, he assisted them in arresting him. He told them this was their hour, the hour of darkness. Even the angels were told not to interfere. Why? God himself at that time abandoned his own Son to the reign of darkness.

The Flashing of the Glory of Deity

Judas gave the authorities the sign, the sign of the kiss, to indicate who Jesus of Nazareth was. But Jesus himself gave them a sign. He showed them that he is eternal God. Jesus gave a similar sign of his deity to Saul of Tarsus while he was on his way to Damascus, as we read in Acts 9 and 26. Saul, breathing out slaughter and threatening like a wild animal, was on his way to Damascus with authority from the Sanhedrin to arrest Jewish Christians and persecute and punish them. But he was arrested by the Lord Jesus, and in Acts 26 he says, “I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'” The Lord Jesus Christ had thrown Saul and his companions to the ground.

Something similar happened to this crowd. The crowd had come with weapons and lights, seeking the Light of the world. They came with clubs and swords, seeking the Prince of peace. When Jesus asked them, “Whom do you seek?” they said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and he told them, ” I am,” probably speaking the ineffable Name by which he revealed himself to Moses, “I Am that I Am,” meaning deity. When he said that, the powerful authorities and their soldiers were instantly paralyzed. They fell backwards to the ground, dropping their lights and weapons.

Why did Jesus say “I am”? He was identifying himself as the eternal I AM–the self-existing, self-sufficient, eternal God; the Creator of the universe and Upholder of all; the Redeemer of his people. He had said this before in John 8: “Before Abraham was born, I am,” and because of that, as I already said, they wanted to stone him. But here the crowd fell backwards to the ground. Why? No crowd can arrest Jesus unless he himself determines to be arrested by them. No one can! No Sanhedrin can arrest him, unless the Father had decreed and he himself voluntarily permits them.

Hence, Jesus paralyzed the authorities. They could do nothing unless he permitted them to. I am sure he then told them to rise to continue their evil work of arresting him, the eternal I AM, the Judge of all the earth.

But there was another purpose in Christ’s question. Twice he asked, “Whom are you seeking?” and the authorities answered, “We are seeking only one person: Jesus of Nazareth.” When they said that, Jesus told them, “Then these people can go.” Jesus was interested in protecting his disciples.

Jesus’ Concern for Others

Jesus is always concerned for others. To ensure that the crowd had no legal authority to arrest his eleven disciples he asked twice whom they were seeking, and twice they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” So the disciples were free to go. In the hour of his pain and struggle, Jesus was interested in the welfare of his own sheep. He wanted his disciples to go away without being arrested, and so secured their freedom by questioning the authorities two times.

Jesus was concerned for others also. There was a slave named Malchus, whose name indicates that he was either an Arab or a Syrian who was in the service of the high priest, Caiaphas. The confused Peter, probably emboldened by the demonstration of the flash of Christ’s glory, thought he could now take his sword to defend Jesus and prevent him from being arrested. In a confused manner he wielded his sword and cut off Malchus’ right ear.

Malchus was the slave of the wicked high priest. Who cares for a slave? Who cares for a foreigner? Who cares for a foreign slave who was in the forefront of the crowd, thereby indicating that he came as an enemy to arrest Jesus?

Jesus cared. Luke the physician tells us that Jesus immediately told Peter to sheathe his sword. Then he touched Malchus–this foreign enemy slave–and instantly healed him. Christ is always for others.

Jesus thought about others even when he was on the cross. We know that he thought about his mother, who was standing there. Jesus meditated on Psalm 22 as well as other portions of the Old Testament during his ordeal, and no doubt he remembered Psalm 22:9-10: “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” When he saw his mother watching her son being crucified, he knew that a sword was going through her own heart as Simeon had prophesied (Luke 2:35). In great compassion Jesus called to his mother from the cross and said, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and then told John, “Here is your mother,” meaning from that day forward John was to take care of his mother (John 19:26-27).

Not only that, Jesus was also for the soldiers who crucified him. From the cross he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus was for the thief crucified next to him. Although he had earlier reviled Jesus, one thief changed his mind and asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Demonstrating that he was also for the thief, Jesus answered, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 22:43).

Jesus Ministered to Judas

Not only was Jesus for Malchus, for his mother, for the soldiers, and for the thief, but he was also for Judas. Remember, Judas was a betrayer. His actions were worse than those of Joab, who we read about in 2 Samuel 20:2,3. Joab had been David’s favored general, but when he saw that his cousin was more favored by David, Joab went out to Amasa, greeted and kissed him, and simultaneously plunged his dagger into Amasa’s belly, killing him. In the same way Judas betrayed Jesus, the Son of God, with a kiss. Amasa was deceived by Joab and surprised at his treachery, but Jesus understood what Judas was doing, and so he asked, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48)

Jesus was confronting Judas. Why? Perhaps Judas would be convicted of his sin and stop doing it. Jesus used the phrase, “Son of Man,” which referred to Daniel 7:13 and was a declaration that Judas was betraying God himself. In other words, Jesus was probably indicating to Judas that he understood what Judas was doing. He knew Judas would come to betray him, and yet he wanted to minister to him. This would be the last time Jesus would minister to Judas. He was urging Judas to repent from his wickedness.

Jesus was even for Judas! Judas was betraying the Son of Man–very God and very man–and yet Jesus was giving him opportunity to repent, even at this last moment. Jesus was ministering to Judas by these words. Despite his shame and humiliation, Jesus is a minister. He came to minister and give his life as a ransom for many.

But Judas would not repent. He chose sin, and he would be punished for it. But we must note here that opportunity for repentance was offered to Judas by the Lord Jesus Christ as one of the last acts he did in his state of humiliation.

Jesus Ministered to the Authorities

Jesus even ministered to the evil authorities. In Matthew 26:55 we read, “At that time Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.'” What was he saying? He was telling the devilish authorities, “What you are doing is criminal and dishonest. I am not a thief and you know it. I am not a revolutionary. I was teaching publicly in the temple. Why did you not arrest me earlier?” What they were doing was evil and illegal. Jesus was innocent and they knew it. By his questions, he was ministering to this crowd, urging them also to repent and be saved.

But they chose not to repent. They chose not to believe. They chose to arrest, try and crucify the Son of God. And this is true of all people. Either they will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, or they will try to eliminate him. There is no other way.

Jesus Ministered to Peter

Then Jesus ministered to Peter. “Put the sword away,” Jesus told Peter. Peter had tried to defend Jesus to prevent his arrest and death. Earlier, he had been sleeping instead of praying, and thus was not ready to deal with temptation. He was still opposed to Jesus drinking the cup of God’s wrath and dying on the cross for the sins of the world. Peter was still looking for a political Messiah who would use power to defeat his enemies and establish a kingdom in which Peter could have a cabinet position.

Peter was confused. He did not understand that the death of Jesus Christ was the Father’s only plan of salvation for the elect. The death of Jesus Christ is the heart of Christianity. In fact, the gospel is the passion narrative, and everything else is introduction. The heart of it is Christ’s death on the cross for our sins. Why? Without Christ’s death, no one will be saved. Jesus had to become sin and curse, so that we might become righteousness and inherit the blessings of God. The substitutionary suffering and death of Jesus was decreed by the Father from all eternity. The Son determined to lay down his life for his sheep freely, and he would not change his mind. He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. This was the very purpose of incarnation.

Jesus told the confused, foolish Peter to put his sword away. Peter did not realize that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world and thereby not promoted by the sword. The state uses the sword, but the church preaches the gospel, asking people to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. The church is responsible to declare to the world that people must either believe or prepare to be judged by this Jesus Christ, who is exalted to be Lord of all and judge of all.

Jesus asked Peter, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Twelve legions! That is seventy-two thousand angels. Even one angel meant great power. In Isaiah 37 we read how the Assyrian king Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah prayed, and God sent one angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. In Revelation 20 we read that just one angel was sent to seize Satan himself and lock him up. Imagine what seventy-two thousand angels could accomplish!

But Peter did not understand. In 2 Corinthians 10 Paul wrote that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual. But Peter had been sleeping, not praying, and so he did not understand spiritual reality and the eternal will of God. This was Jesus’ hour of suffering. It was the hour of the evil men and the prince of this world. Although it was brief, it was the hour of the reign of darkness. It was the Father’s will that he abandon Jesus to the will of the powers of evil. Jesus had to be arrested, tried and executed, and raised again on the third day. If these events did not occur, Jesus asked, “how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matt. 26:54).

What did the Scriptures say about Jesus? Isaiah 53:12 says he was numbered with transgressors. Daniel 9 tells us the exact time when the Messiah will be cut off. All of Psalm 22 speaks about the death of Jesus Christ, beginning with the verse Jesus spoke on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Zechariah 13:1 says, “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from impurity,” and Jesus quoted Zechariah 13:7, “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered,” as he predicted the abandonment of the disciples that very night.

Jesus came to fulfill the Scriptures. Had not the psalmist said of Christ in Psalm 40: “Here I am; I have come–it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do thy will, O my God; your law [meaning God’s will] is in my heart.” And after his resurrection, on the way to Emmaus Jesus explained, “beginning with Moses and the all the Prophets . . .what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27). What did the Scriptures say? That Christ would suffer and be raised from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations.

Peter needed to read and understand the Bible. Jesus was a student of the Bible, because the Bible is the will of God. In John 3:14-15 Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. . .” For what purpose? “that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” But Peter was leaning onto his own understanding, and thus we see him confused and without wisdom or grace. Peter was like so many Christians of today. Because he did not study the Bible, he did not have knowledge of the will of God.

Jesus was fully aware of the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. He knew the Scriptures and the writings of Prophets. To know God’s will was the singular aim of Jesus’ life. Even when he was twelve years old he was debating with the doctors in the temple about the scripture. He hid God’s law in his heart and desired to do God’s will. He knew God’s will must be done because it was divine decree. He knew there was no alternative to the way of the cross. He knew the salvation of the elect is impossible unless he drank the cup the Father was giving to him. In fact, in John 18:11 he asked, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father gives me, Peter?” That is why he is the beloved Son in whom the Father is well-pleased. Jesus submitted to the Father’s will at every time and turn.

We must ask if we are like Peter. Do we know God’s will? Are we studying the Scriptures? What about our children? Are they learning scripture? If we do not study the Bible, we will be confused and tempted to lean onto our own understanding. Peter was confused, graceless and ignorant of the way of his own salvation. But Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him (John 18:4). He was not surprised when he was bound and led by evil men down through the Kidron Valley to Jerusalem. He knew he would walk the path of obedience alone, abandoned of God and forsaken and betrayed by his own. Jesus traversed the path of humiliation ordained by his Father before the creation of the world. He did so that we might be saved and cleansed of all sins, and be a glorious people for his own possession.

Who Are We Like?

Can we identify with Judas, or the authorities, or Peter, or the Eleven? Let us look at them again. First, there was Judas, who knew God, but chose to abandon him. Judas looked at money and then at Jesus, and he chose the money. He chose this world, in other words. Judas had the great privilege to be chosen by Jesus to live with him for three years and hear the gospel. Judas saw many gracious, miraculous works of Jesus. Yet Judas chose to abandon Jesus in favor of silver. He would rather be a greedy, deceitful thief, a worshiper of money, a son of perdition, and a damned man.

Let me assure you, privileges do not always benefit. There are many children born in Christian homes who come to church often and listen to stories from Scripture. They are surrounded by privileges. But you cannot presume that they will serve God, despite all their coming to church and knowing Bible stories. Privileges don’t always profit.

We need to confront our children with the claims of Jesus Christ again and again. May they not be among those who come to church for years and hear the word of grace, yet never committing their lives to Jesus Christ! Jesus gave us a sign of warning of the danger of privileges when he said, “Remember Lot’s wife!” Although she was married to a godly man, Lot’s wife preferred to be worldly rather than godly. She would rather live for pleasures and the things of this world, and the worries of life, rather than for God. Judas is also a sign of warning. He who used his kiss as a sign to betray Jesus is a sign for all people who refuse to commit themselves to Jesus Christ.

Is there a debate going on in your own mind? Will you be like Judas and Lot’s wife? Will you favor your own pleasure, safety and security, and choose the way of the world?

What about the religious authorities? They heard the gospel and witnessed Christ’s miracles. They heard Jesus declare that he is God. They heard of the irrefutable miracle Jesus performed by raising Lazarus from the tomb after four days.

Yet they were blinded by the god of this world. They would rather be powerful than be saved. But these powerful men, by a flash of the glory of Christ’s deity, were thrown to the ground in the garden of Gethsemane. They were convicted when Jesus proclaimed that he was innocent, and arresting him was illegal and criminal. They knew he was not a thief, a revolutionary or a robber. But they refused to repent. Their consciences were seared, and they arrested Jesus and led him away. How blind they were! Are you like these authorities?

What about the eleven disciples? They failed to watch and pray, and thus were unprepared to deal with temptation. They were graceless and had no wisdom. They did not know the scriptures and did not know what to do. They relied on their own two swords for defense but finally abandoned Jesus and fled. They had not planned to desert Jesus. In fact, Peter said that he would die on behalf of Jesus, and James and John said they were ready to die with Christ. But they were graceless, and they all went away.

In 1 Peter 5:8-9 we read, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” In Ephesians 6:10-13 Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes . . . and after you have done everything, to stand” in victory. And in 2 Corinthians 10:4 Paul wrote, “The weapons that we fight with are not the weapons of the world,” meaning the sword. “On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

We must think about these things. Are you like the Eleven–sleeping, careless, graceless, without knowledge, not knowing what to do? May God help us to watch and pray, and approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of our need.

What about Jesus? Jesus prayed and was strengthened, and he remembered God. Judas abandoned God, the authorities were blinded by God, and the Eleven forsook and forgot God. But here is one who remembered God, God’s scriptures, God’s will, and God’s eternal plan of salvation. Jesus remembered the purpose of incarnation, that God/man came to die for the sin of the world. Jesus would willingly lay down his life for his sheep. At the crucial moment he remembered God and acted in behalf of us.

What did Jesus do? First, he raised up the fallen, paralyzed authorities. He permitted them to arrest, bind, and lead him down the Kidron Valley and up to Jerusalem where he would face phony criminal authorities. He submitted himself to mocking, beating, and death on the cross. He knew all this must happen because it was decreed by God from all eternity for our salvation.

Are You Born Again?

I challenge you to think about these things. Have you committed your whole life to Jesus, or are you still looking to see what the world might offer you? Think about it. When you follow Christ, all must go–money, power, position, fame and approval of the world. That is a high price, and that is why some people do not want to have anything to do with Jesus Christ. But if you have committed your whole life to Jesus, you are born of God and Christ died for your sins. You have been justified forever and clothed with a designer garment, designed by Jesus Christ, consisting of his perfect righteousness, so that you can stand before God and enjoy his benediction and communion forever.

No person can be born again or repent or believe or be justified unless God chooses that person from all eternity and effectually calls that person internally by the mighty, irresistible power of the Holy Spirit. Then he or she will be born again and have faith to believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who died in our place. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He became curse so that we can be blessed. If we are born again, we will proclaim the substitutionary, vicarious death of Jesus Christ for our salvation, and glory in it. This gospel is foolishness to the Greeks–to the sophisticated, mighty philosophers of this world–and a stumbling block to unbelieving Jewish people, but to everyone, Jew or Gentile, who believes, it is the power of God unto salvation.

May God save his people, and enable us not to be careless. May we watch and pray, that we may know the will of God, and be victorious. Amen.