Jesus Christ Leads History (Jn. 18:1-11)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” May you have the unprecedented and never-repeated answers through today’s worship. The title of today’s message is, “Jesus Christ Leads History.” The scripture passage we read today in God’s Word is when Jesus Christ is dragged off to be crucified, and I hope your eyes will be opened to see what God is trying to tells us through today’s passage. There’s a difference between people who live their walk of faith, between those who have their eyes opened and those who do not have their eyes opened. Most people live their lives with the eyes of the world; however, the Christians who belong to the Kingdom of God have a different set of eyes, and those eyes must be opened, because if you’re able to see what the Lord wants you to see, you’re able to recognize that the Lord is alive and working right now, but if you’re not able to see the works and guidance of God, there’s nothing you can do. So, this worship is a time for your eyes to be opened by God’s grace. Then, your eyes will be opened to see God, which is different from the eyes you’ve used to see everything you’ve experienced yourself.
1. Gethsemane (Jn. 18:1, Mt. 26:36)
1) Mount of Olives (Lk. 22:39)
(1) Other side of Kidron Valley (Jn. 18:1, 2 Sam. 15:23)
Right before today’s scripture passage in John 18, there’s Jesus’ intercessory prayer for Himself and others. So, after Jesus prays that prayer, He goes with His disciples to the Kidron Valley. On the other side of Kidron Valley, there is a garden, and that garden is sometimes called the Garden of Gethsemane, or the Mount of Olives. The geography has Jerusalem, the Kidron Valley, and the Mount of Olives is next to it.
(2) Kidron – Valley of death
The Kidron Valley has significant meaning from the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel 15:23, King David is being chased to death and he takes off his shoes to cross the Kidron Valley, and it says here that the Kidron Valley is the valley of death, so he is crossing through death. Because Absalom is trying to kill him, David has to cross through the valley of death, and It’s the same for Jesus Christ, He crosses through the valley of death, then on the other side, there is the Mount of Olives, and even in the Old Testament, people regarded the Mount of Olives as the place of resurrection. There are many nobilities or royalty who would be buried in the valley of Kidron, and they would look forward to the resurrection on the Mount of Olives.
2) Gathering with disciples (Jn. 18:2)
In today’s scripture, John 18:2, it says Jesus would often meet His disciples here on the Mount of Olives, in other words, this was Jesus’ location of prayer.
(1) Jesus – Where he prayed (Lk. 22:39)
This was His location of prayer where He would always pray with His disciples. It would be best if we prayed 24 hours a day, but Jesus also had a location designated for prayer. It is a location where you can communicate with God. It is the location where you can receive the answers to all of your problems, it is the location where you can be with God, and with the power of God, overcome everything. For the people who have that prayer location or place of prayer, they will never fall, because you and I can pray in the name of Jesus Christ with the power of the Throne of Heaven.
Before Jesus Christ went into His public ministry, He spent 40 days praying and fasting for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Before the Early Church began, they had concentrated prayer for 10 days in Mark’s Upper Room. Before the Apostle Paul went out to missions, he began with fasting prayer. Why do we have to pray? Because this is the work of God, we must do it only by God’s answers, guidance, and strength.
But why do we not pray? We don’t pray because we can eat and make a living with our own strength. But we were not called to just eat and make a living. We were called from this earth and sent back into this earth to save it, so in our job, we need to have a prayer place. You need to have something that allows you to communicate with God. For Jesus Christ, He woke up early in the morning and prayed to the Father God. In the daytime, He was always with God in prayer during His ministries. Even in the late evening time, He would take everything that happened to him that day and take it to the Father in prayer. So, with His everyday life, He showed His disciples what prayer is.
(2) Judas – Knew the place (Jn. 18:2)
Judas Iscariot, seeing Jesus pray there many times, brings up soldiers to capture Jesus.
3) Judas
In order for this one incident where Jesus Christ is about to be captured, many different entities had to work together.
First, the Roman soldiers also came along because they didn’t want Israel to have chaos because of Jesus. The second group of people are the Jewish people. Jesus Christ came to Israel and said, “You do not receive salvation by obeying the actions of the law but only receive salvation by faith,” and that turned everything the Israelites believed in, upside down. Because of all of this turmoil Jesus was causing, one Chief Priest recommended, “Let’s kill Jesus, and that would solve all of our problems.”
(1) The devil had already prompted Judas (Jn. 13:2)
(2) Satan entered into him (Jn. 13:27)
Third, Judas Iscariot also was part of the plan. But internally, there’s always something that happens. People on the outside may not be able to recognize, but we know what’s going on inside, and Judas Iscariot was someone who was always coveting money. When we’re always coveting money, what happens? John 13:2, it says Satan went into Judas’ thoughts. So, the devil places thoughts into our minds, so you shouldn’t follow your thoughts, you shouldn’t follow your emotions. But because Judas did not stop His thinking and let them continue, in John 13:27, Satan goes in and makes a home in Judas’ head, and Satan begins to do his work.
If you are living your walk of faith but you don’t understand spiritual things, you will be at a great loss. Your thoughts are not your thoughts. If you’re always obsessed with money, Satan goes in, and then he gives you scars. Then, Satan uses those scars to control you even more, and Satan makes it so that people are enslaved to him their whole lives. So, the visible scene we see is there is a huge group of people to capture Jesus, but behind them is the tremendous spiritual work of Satan taking place.
(3) Brought a detachment of Roman soldiers and officials (Jn. 18:3)
(4) Carrying torches, lanterns and weapons (Jn. 18:3)
However, our eyes must be opened to see how this situation is happening. The Roman soldiers, it says “a detachment” here, which is typically 6000 soldiers. So, thousands of people, officials and soldiers and guards, about 10,000 people, came to capture Jesus. It’s an unbelievable event but why is this happening? “This person is not a benefit to us, this person is shaking the land of Judea, this person is causing chaos in Rome,” and Judas was seized by Satan with his greed for money. All of this is happening. In this world, there are wars and so many things happening, but if you dig inside, it is because of people’s greed. However, God even uses these situations to fulfill His work.
2. Jesus Christ
1) Knowing all that was going to happen (Jn. 18:4)
(1) Who is it you want? (Jn. 18:4)
Then Jesus, knowing what was going to happen, went to them in Jn. 18:4 and asked, “Who is it you want?” Jesus knew this would happen. There’s a difference between going in, knowing what will happen, and being blindsided by it. In your walk of faith, you should walk in knowing in advance, otherwise it is suffering. But the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is going to reveal to us what is happening because this is the work God is carrying out.
When Joseph was sent into Egypt, God already told him what would happen in advance. Most people live their lives wondering, “How shall I live in this new country? How shall I work?” Because they are not able to see, it’s so frustrating. Can you possibly know the future with the things you’ve learned in school? For the things you’ve learned in school, the best you can do is be like the Roman soldiers or the Israelite crowds. But you need to know that you will face these things. The reason God gives you His Word in advance is so you may know the things that will happen before they happen. Later on, when the disciples are going through their own persecution, they remembered the words Jesus gave them in advance and went forward. Jesus already told them before it happened that Rome would be destroyed and Israel would fall, but you must never shake; this gospel must be proclaimed to all nations, to all people.
We must hold onto this as we go. God told Joshua, “Do not look to the left or the right; go forward. I have already given you the land of Canaan.” After Jesus resurrected, He said to make disciples of all nations, “I have prepared everything for you, go heal those who are demon-possessed. I will give you that power.” You must be someone who lives their walk of faith knowing this. But if you live your walk of faith so diligently without knowing this, you’re going in the wrong direction. David knew that he would become the king so he faced torture by being chased to death by King Saul. But he knew that he would become the king in the future, so all the torment he went through was training. God has given the covenant of world evangelization to the church. In everything that happens in the future, we must know what will happen as we go. How will God work in America moving forward? You will know what will happen when you look at the superpower nations in the Bible. God used Rome so that the gospel would be spread throughout the entire world through Rome. For people whose eyes are not opened to see this, they have no choice but to kneel and surrender before physical strength; in other words, it’s like people who surrender because they’re so bound by money. But, for the people whose eyes are opened to see this, the power and strength of Rome becomes a tool to proclaim the gospel.
(2) I am he (Jn. 18:5)
The Lord knew this and asked, “Who are you looking for?” They responded, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and only Judas knows what He looks like, but He says, “I am He.” In the original text, it says, “I Am the I Am,” which means He is God. Only God alone can exist independently on His own. The Name, Jehovah God, means, “I AM WHO I AM.” When God was telling Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses said, “Who am I, and whom shall I say is sending me?” God said, “I AM WHO I AM.” We live on earth needing sunlight, we humans need air to live. We need food to live. That means that we are a creation that cannot survive without these things, but God does not receive anything from anybody; He is the One who gives, He is the One Who creates power, He is the One Who knows everything and is the One, I am He.
(3) They fell to the ground (Jn. 18:6)
As soon as Jesus confessed this, everybody fell to the ground and drew back. This is what happens when God reveals who He is. Jesus is saying, “I can kill you all with one word.” So He asks them again, “Who are you looking for?” They respond, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and again He says, “I am He.” Why does John go into such detail? Because He had the ability to flee but did not use that power. Are we fleeing from our situation or are we going towards it? Depending on how you see this, your walk of faith will be different. Was Joseph sent as a slave or was he sent to Egypt? Did I get a disease or what does God want through this disease that He has allowed? If you don’t know this, you pray to God, “Take away my problem,” but if that’s all we need, then why would Jesus go and be crucified? Jesus voluntarily went into the world, however, the people of the world look at the situation and say, “Look, He was making such a loud racket; now he’s being dragged off to be killed.” Those are the words of those who study diligently in the world. Depending on your eyes, your interpretation will change. Elites have the eyes to see the world, if someone is a scientific elite, it means they have the eyes to see science; however, the Kingdom of God is talking about the spiritual elite who is able to see God’s Kingdom. You must become the spiritual elite to see the spiritual works that God is doing. If you come to church and you’re not a spiritual elite, instead, you’re spiritually powerless, then you just live like the people in the world. Just like Judas Iscariot who sold Jesus to make money, he ended up killing himself without spending that money. If you don’t know the meaning of money, your life will be like that. Money is money but the eyes to see money must be opened; your eyes must be opened to see what we are spending on. God will say, “With the eyes you see with right now, I have to stop your finances, but actually, God allowed that to happen to open up a different door for you. Today’s scripture is talking about those eyes to see. But what happens if you’re facing a situation and your eyes are not opened and you pray to God to take it away? Then you’ll never receive the answers. The Lord God has finished everything including your financial problems.
The elites are able to force their thoughts to the very end, but the spiritual elites are different. The Kingdom of God cannot be carried out by your stubbornness. The spiritual elite is the person who looks at what God is doing until the very end. But if you’re an elite, you’re somebody who succeeded with your grit and effort, then your walk of faith will never work out. We must seek and look for the work God is doing until the very, very end. That’s why Jesus Christ says, “If you want to follow Me, you must deny yourself.” But based on your experiences in the world, when you carry out your own will, you encounter success, it doesn’t make sense. Jesus is saying, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me,” but we want to avoid that suffering. So, we are not aligned with Jesus.
Why is it hard to live your walk of faith in America? Because everyone is living for themselves. That’s individualism. Personal freedom, personal rights, everyone needs them, but all of our rights and freedoms should come from within the gospel. But if not, if something is hard, I start crying about it. Their standard for living their walk of faith is, “I will only believe if this improves my life,” and their standard of what makes live better is physical. That’s the reason why American ideology is destroying the churches. The churches that have great revival are the ones that talk about physical blessings, and people will flock to those churches. They may have a cross outside, but they are following their own desires, not God’s Word. That is a church that gathers together so people can get what they want, but it is idol worship, so you can never be happy because without a doubt, idol worship brings about demonic forces.
People go to church but they are lost in mental problems or spiritual problems, these are the works of evil spirits and can never be done without Christ. All people care about is what people want, physically. They don’t want to do anything that’s hard, then how can they possibly understand the cross? Jesus is dying on that cross, and if we want to follow Jesus, we have to deny ourselves and I don’t want to deny myself. I want to enforce my own thoughts because that’s what the nation showed me. You have your own thoughts but follow God’s Word. I’m facing hardships right now? Take up your cross and let it grow. Most people live their walk of faith thinking, “I don’t want to follow the Word of God, the hard road of the cross; I want to go the easy route.” If there are thousands of people in a church, none of them have Jesus. People who live their walk of faith for money, they will ultimately be destroyed and commit suicide because of money, because Satan uses that.
2) Disciples
(1) Let these men go (Jn. 18:8)
(2) Fulfill the words: “I have not lost one of those you gave me” (18:9)
(3) Peter cut off Malchus’s right ear (18:10)
Then Jesus says, “I told you, I AM He,” in other words, this was the moment that fulfilled the Word of God that Jesus has protected those to the very end. Then, Peter cuts off the right ear of Malthus, the servant of the High Priest. “Aren’t I protecting my teacher and mentor right now?” But what does Jesus say? The things we’re diligently doing have nothing to do with the ways of the world. Jesus said, “I will die soon and one of you will betray me.” If that word of the Lord has gone into the disciples, they should be able to realize, “Oh, this is the Word of God being fulfilled and Judas will betray Him.” But those who live by the sword will die by the sword. That sword must be used by Christ, Your business must be used for Christ, but if it blocks the gospel, it’s finished. Maybe you can make a living but because the word of God is not working in your job or field, your walk of faith is about your eyes opened to see God’s work.
If you cannot see God working, you are spiritually blind. They received the Word about what will happen in the future from Jesus in advance. Even in Matt. 24, Jesus Christ says these things will happen in the end times, but do not be afraid, so the reason Jesus is being dragged away so quietly, but he’s choosing to do so. There is poverty because of our powerlessness, and there is poverty for the gospel. Apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content in wealth and in poverty for the sake of the gospel. The standard is not whether I have money or not, or whether it’s hard for me or not, but this happens when we complete an order. Moses lived in the wilderness for 40 years. When he turned 80, that’s when God began to use Moses. So we have time when God will call us, a time to born and a time to die. You must know all of this.
3) Jesus Christ
(1) Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? (11)
(2) The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29)
(3) Led like a lamb to the slaughter (Is. 53:7)
As Jesus is being taken away right now, John 1:29, John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ and said, “This is the lamb of God who looks to take off who takes away the sins of the world, and the reason is because in the Old Testament, the way that the Israelites atoned for their sins, is by taking a perfect lamb to a priest to slaughter for the price of their sins. Then when the Priest proclaims God’s Word and says, “You are without sin,” the Israelites are without sin. However, when John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ, Who came to earth as a human, he said, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Isaiah 53 says Jesus Christ was dragged away like a lamb to slaughter.
(4) Fulfill God’s good will (Is. 53:10)
Later on it says, “The will of God will prosper in His hand.” The reason Jesus Christ is being led away right now, this is a situation that fulfills the joy of God. Jesus Christ had to die on the cross to solve all the problems of sin and curses on earth. And this situation was fulfilling the original covenant given, in Genesis 3:15, the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The people of the world who don’t know about this mystery think that Jesus Christ died on the cross because He was powerless to stop it. But for the people who do know the Bible, they know that Jesus Chris voluntarily chose to die on the cross for the plan of God that pleases Him. In Genesis 12:1-3, God tells Abraham, “Through your seed, all peoples on earth will be blessed,” and that word is fulfilled after Jesus Christ, Who is the seed of Abraham, dies on the cross.”
You must be able to see this, this is not taught to you in school; your eyes will only be opened with God’s Word. If you don’t have the eyes to see how valuable things are, you’ll have to beg for food your whole life. Because you don’t have the eyes to see what is valuable, you may trade a diamond for a cigarette. Inside of Jesus Christ is contained all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and if you cannot see that, what a waste! If your business is suffering or your body is diseased and you are not able to see the work of God, then you will fall into despair. If you’re not able to see the work of God, then you try everything you can to solve your problems yourself. The more you do that, the more you’ll be broken. From now on, see the work that God is trying to do, God will even destroy you to try and renew you.
3. Holy Spirit
1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
(1) Death, Resurrection (Gal. 2:20)
For us, this is already happening, we look at history. We know that Jesus Christ dying on the cross finished all problems, but where did these problems come from, that Jesus’ death finished those problems? The real problem is that I didn’t know God, I lived centered on myself, trapped under sin. That’s the cause of every problem. If a car is having problems because its engine is worn out, you have to change out its engine, and that’s all you have to do. If you change what’s inside of you from being centered on yourself to being centered on Jesus Christ, it is finished. So, the incident of the cross means, when Jesus died on the cross, I also died on the cross with Him, and I’ve united with Him in His resurrection, and now the Lord lives within me as my Father and Adonai. The word, “Adonai” means “Lord” or “God.”
Acts 2:36, Peter confesses, “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” Sin is everything we do that does not come from faith that Jesus is God. Because of that sin of disbelief, we commit the actions of sins. Then what is repentance? It is going back and confessing that Jesus is your true Lord. Through the actions of your life, you’re able to recognize, “I lost hold of Christ as my Lord,” on the other hand, even if your actions are very clean, if your Lord is still not Christ, you’re still sinning. Worship is the place where true repentance takes place. This means, this is the place where we get the faith that Jesus is our true and only Lord, and repentance means that you entrust all of the sovereignty of your life to your Lord. But for elites, they try to live their lives with their own strength and sovereignty until the very bitter end, so physically, maybe they are accomplishing things, but their spiritual life continues to fall. Because we must give the sovereignty or lordship to the Lord, but you hold onto it until the very end. If you can make the world or the sun, that would be fine. If you had the power to live forever without dying, you’d be fine, but you’re somebody who would die even if you didn’t have enough food. How can you exert your own stubbornness? In the world, your stubbornness works but that’s how Satan controls people, but the Kingdom of God is the opposite.
(2) With the Lord who is at the throne of heaven (Eph. 2:6)
(3) Indwelling of Holy Spirit (1Cor. 3:16)
When the people of the world look at Jesus, He appears powerless, He’s fallen over. He lost because He lacked strength, but when the spiritual elites that know God look at the situation, we realize He is fulfilling the covenant, so depending on how you know and believe in the gospel, the eyes with which you see will be completely different. Eph. 2:6 says we have been seated with Christ at the Throne of Heaven, and this means that, our background is the throne of heaven. In the past, we used to have this world as our background. But now, my background is heaven so all we have to do is pray. “Not my will but may Your Will be done, Lord,” because the Lord is my master, and God has already established His will in heaven; may that will be established in my life. God already has His plan, and God needs somebody who will fulfill His plan exactly. Pray for that, those people will continue to see the works God is doing and see the future.
2) God’s kingdom
(1) Mount of Olives – 40 days
(2) Mission – Make disciples of all nations, Healing, Future generation
(3) Concentrate on only prayer (Ac. 1:14)
After Jesus died on the cross and resurrected, He brings them back to the Mount of Olives and explains about the Kingdom of God for 40 days. He tells them, “This world is no longer your background,” meaning, money is not your background. The Kingdom of God that can give and take away money is your background. For 40 days, Jesus explained that the Lord of your life is the Lord God who can give you health, sickness, life, and death. Your eyes must be switched to this. In the past, I used to make myself as my background, my physical accomplishments, my family, but now, my background is the Kingdom of God.
Now, we must go into the world to testify about this Kingdom of God to all the people. How is God’s Kingdom established on earth? By the Holy Spirit whom He will send. How is God’s Kingdom established in your workplace? If the Holy Spirit works to drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has been established. Matthew 12:28, so that’s why first and foremost, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. You must pray to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit and the power of the kingdom of God. Once you receive that spiritual power, you will receive God’s wisdom. When you receive that mental wisdom, your physical life will be revived, and then you will receive economy and finances, too.
Of course, if the wisdom of God is now going upon the work we are doing, then nobody else can compete, and I’ll have money and people will flock to me. Look at David, God’s Spirit was upon him as he was anointed as the future King of Israel. Every time he prayed, He received the guidance of God’s wisdom. Of course, His physical body was revived. Then, all the finances were gathered to David, and many people were attached to David. But the beginning of that is spiritual strength. There is no reason for you to rely on people, and you can’t, even if you want to. You can’t even rely on yourself because you’re dead. Now, you must receive the strength of your background which is the power of Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Throne of Heaven.
May that power be upon me. If you only care about eating and making a living, you don’t have to do that because you can live like an unbeliever, but if you want to do the work of the Lord, you cannot do that. No matter how much you money you make, that’s just money; you cannot do the Lord’s work with that. God has to give you the grace to use it for God’s work, and if you’re really doing the Lord’s work, He’s bound to work like that. Because God is the spirit of Truth, He is not the spirit of lies, so when you really agree with the Word of God, He begins to work. If you don’t agree with God, of course He won’t work because you have no choice but to continue going in the wrong direction.
3) Holy Spirit
(1) Filling (Ac. 2:4)
(2) Meeting of businesspeople (Ac. 2:9-11)
When the power of God and the Holy Spirit comes upon the members of the Early Church, immediately in Acts 2:9-11, members of other nations come to hearth gospel. All the people who gathered had their own businesses and jobs, and because they had the money, they could stay in Jerusalem and travel for a month, and when these people go back to their own homes after hearing the gospel, they will spread the Word through their jobs. So, no matter how much you try to run your business or live well, you’re limited to your own thoughts, so everyone you meet will also be self-centered, and that’s why when two people no longer get along or agree, they have to split up. But if you really live, following God’s Word, living for the Lord, He will attach other people living for the Lord to you. That is how God begins His work.
(3) Works of salvation (Ac. 2:41)
Every other business is unnecessary because the best result is you can eat 3 meals a day and then die. You think things are coming and going and things are happening, but ultimately it is so that you can eat three meals a day. It has nothing to do with the spiritual things, but if you know the meaning of today’s Word, and begin to pray about it, God will begin to work immediately on the work you are doing. Why does He work? God begins to work upon your job because you need to use this to influence other people, and that’s all the evidence in the Bible. Joseph, David, Daniel, all of their evidence show how this happened. Then, just as Jesus Christ saved all the people through the cross, the Holy Spirit lives with us and saves people through us.
Conclusion
1. Sunday message – Prayer (Ac. 2:42)
In conclusion, take hold of and meditate on the Word you received from the Sunday message so that this Word doesn’t leave you.
2. Everyday – Word, Prayer (Ac. 2:46)
3. Person who receives salvation every day (Ac. 2:47)
Starting Monday, devote your strength to receive the guidance of His Word through your business. It says in Acts 2:46 that they met day after day. May your eyes be opened to see that Jesus Christ leads History this week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word that we have received..
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We confess that everything is from the Lord. We have returned Your materials as offering. We pray that this offering will be used to testify of the gospel of Christ that saves. May this be the offering for temple construction for the gospel. May this be the offering to save the missions and future generations. We believe You will carry out the work of the economy of light to save the world, upon the hands and businesses that have given this offering. May this offering of faith be used to heal people. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. Hollywood camp – Temple
3. 4/7 (Mon.) West Coast Synod, church sanctuary, 10:00 am
4. Children’s Spirituality Camp, 4/7-9
5. Communion, Baptism (4/13), Easter Service (4/20)
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, guidance, fellowship, and filling of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to acknowledge the sovereignty of Jesus Christ who leads history, upon all the people who are diseased, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.