Well, I’m finally done with braces. After 8 years of being called “metal-mouth, Dr. Rusty,” and having little kids say, “Hey mommy, what’s that thingy on his face (referring to headgear)”, I’ve got Liberty!!!
In His Steps,
Theo:)
Few Christians in today’s world realize their calling. Sure they might say things like, “I need to live my life in a manner worthy of God.” or, “I have to do good to other people and love people and pray and that’s my calling.” or the infamous, “I need to reach out to a hurting world, the way Jesus did. I mean, that was Jesus’ focus on earth, so it should be mine.”
But was Jesus’ focus when he walked this earth to “reach out to a hurting world”? We learn in Luke 19:10 that:
“…the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
First, we must define lost. In the dictionary, lost is defined as: “becoming unable to find”. If I am lost, I must be found by something or someone, without which I will not be found. I am helpless, in essence like a boy in the woods, unable to do anything to help myself.
But from this arises a new question. What was “lost”? If Jesus came to seek out and rescue the lost, who or what are the lost?
The answer is MAN. Now this may seem obvious considering the gospel message, but don’t believe for a moment that any man thinks he is lost, and this keeps them from wishing to be found. Consider Jesus words in Mark 2:17:
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Here is the answer. The “lost” that Jesus came to save are “sinners”. And that word sums up the human race as a whole. Romans 3:10 states clearly:
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
But as I said, the sinner who doesn’t know he is a sinner will not want a Savior.
Compare this to a person with a terminal illness, who has not been diagnosed yet, and who does not know that they have six weeks to live. You would not tell that person that you had the cure for cancer and that it was there for the taking. It would make no sense to them! You must first diagnose the patient, proving to them that they were ill. Then the cure will mean oh so much more to them!
In the same way, Christians cannot present a cure to the sinner before they know that they have sinned.
Well, how does a Christian do that? Let’s look at the way Jesus did it. In John 4, he speaks to the woman at the well, a total stranger. Rather than chatting forever about nothing, he switched it to a spiritual conversation using a natural substance: water. He promised the woman that if she asked him, he would give her living water that would give her no cause for thirst again. She was emphatic, and asked Jesus to give her some. Jesus didn’t give her the “living water”. Instead he told the woman to call her husband and come back. She replied that she had no husband, to which Jesus probed into her past life, bringing to light that she had previously had five husbands, and that her current lover was not married to her! This brought apparent surprise and probable guilt to the Samaritan woman, and she rushed into the city to tell the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did!”
Now we can’t tell anyone everything they ever did, but we have the next best thing! The Ten Commandments, the Law of God. This set of Judaic rules has been called “a schoolmaster to bring you to Christ” and in Galatians it is shown that: “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
So the law convicts everyone of their guilt, showing them their sin. This gives the sinner a reason to be concerned about their eternal destiny. If they die without Christ, they’ll end up in Hell? Yeah. This breaks down the pride that was there before. Until the lost person realizes their sin, they will have no concern for Hell! That is the reality, not from reading or studying or talking about it but actually from experience.
This was shown by Jesus with the Rich Young Ruler. When the young man asked Jesus if he could follow him, the Master asked him if he knew [reality check!] The Ten Commandments! After going through them, the man told Jesus he had kept all the Commandments since his youth. Jesus knew that even though the Law had been shown to this man, his pride kept him from humbling himself before it. So Jesus, knowing his heart, told him that the only way that he could follow Him was if he would sell his “great” possessions, and give the proceeds to the poor. The man went away sad, for his possessions were many and his love of them great.
So, the Law is not a cure-all, as many would suppose, but it is our schoolmaster and it will humble. Watch this short clip to see how God’s Moral standard breaks down pride and apathy.
The Law of God is truly the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We cannot tell people that God will save them unless they know that they must be saved! Be encouraged in this as you live your daily life.
Until next time, Speak the Truth!
In His Steps,
Theo:)
If you haven’t heard about the tragic loss in the Chapman family, I hope that you will pray for them when you finish reading this post. The Chapman’s youngest daughter was recently killed in a car accident at their home. Click on the picture to read the full story…
WITH HOPE
From the Album Speechless by Steven Curtis Chapman
This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you’ve gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but …
We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again
And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God’s plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father’s smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
‘Cause now you’re home
And now you’re free, and …
We have this hope as an anchor
‘Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so …
We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
‘Cause we believe with hope
(There’s a place by God’s grace)
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We’ll see your face again
We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Adam and Eve: the classic Sunday School story, the favorite argument of intellectuals, the beginning of all time as man knew it.
In the beginning of Genesis 3 we see the unfolding of a plot against all creation. In Genesis 1, it was told in true summary form how God created the earth. Next, in Genesis 2, we see the detailed process of creation. Then Genesis 3. The Great Mistake. As Nichole Nordeman put it:
One choice
One tree
One fall for humanity
One lie
One liar
One bite is all death required
One great regret
One squandered chance*
As the story plays out, we see the craftiness of sin incarnate in “the serpent”. Satan wasted no time with introduction or salutation. Just a question for the naive Eve. The “mother of all living” was rather naive, more so than any human being alive today, as she had no sin to worry about and did not know right from wrong.
(Apparently, animals speaking in the garden was a regular occurrence, seeing how Eve spoke back to the serpent without hesitation. Much argument can be made on this subject, so I’ll not spend time on it.)
So out comes the question that brought the first lie:
“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Tempting questions are peppered throughout the Bible, and this one is one of the worst. Why? Because it came from the tempter himself! (Remember that temptation is not sin.) “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.” Eve was trapped by a question that made her doubt. God’s perfect law had been compromised by the thief.
But Eve’s mind had not been divided between choices yet. She only knew how to do good. As hard as it is to understand heaven, if you have any idea of what it will be like for humans to live there, that’s what it was like for Adam and Eve. Their lives were like Jesus. Sin-free. So, Eve’s first answer is fine, right? NO. Read carefully:
“We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “
Eve, probably with a little grin, thought she would give this “talking snake” an extra shove of her own, getting him away from the tree and away from her mind. A perfect defense? NO. She added to the already clear law from God’s mouth. Without need. “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden…or you will die.” would have been sufficient enough. Though it may seem hard to understand, it was because of this additive to the law that Eve began to doubt. The crafty serpent saw this open loophole and went on.
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
This is the first time that Satan lies. He brings a contradiction against God’s words that leaves Eve wondering. Yet his lies are peppered with truth. It is the same as someone saying, ” (truth) You are able to go and look at pornography, (lie) and it is good to look at.” or “(truth) You have the ability to gossip all you want, (lie) and it is a good thing to do.” The serpent’s truth is in saying that when you eat the fruit, you will know good and evil. His lie is that you will not surely die. See the comparison?
Eve’s heart jumps and she realizes that she can know good and evil. Is it desirable? For her naturally, maybe not. But the serpent has made it desirable in her eyes by poking holes in her perfection. Note the next verse:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
There is the flaw the first sin ever committed by mankind. Sin took over the world. As Relient K puts it:
People make mistakes
We took the apple from the snake**
It all comes down to this. We can blame Adam and Eve for cursing the world with sin, but what would we have done? Exactly the same thing!
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—”
Looks hopeless. And yet…
One hope
One day
One name above all other names
One bridge between then and now
One way to discover how
One price
One tree
One drop of crimson covers me*
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
*Crimson from Brave/Nichole Nordeman
**Maybe It’s Maybeline from The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek/Relient K
Part four of the QUESTIONS Series comes from 1 Samuel 15:10-29. The text covers the story of Saul going out to fight and only partially carrying out God’s judgment on the Amalekites. Though Saul did destroy many things of the Amalekites, he didn’t totally destroy them, as God had commanded. He brought back all livestock that was fat and good (plus the king), but killed the gaunt and sickly.
One thing we must understand is that throughout Israel’s history, God has ordered judgment on other nations. Sometimes, God let the Israelites take anything they wanted. Sometimes, God told them to obliterate everything. This was an example of the second case (obviously).
The text goes on from this point as follows:
Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.
Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
“Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD ?”
“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
But Samuel replied:
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king.”Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.”
But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”
As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
God tells Samuel that Saul has done this thing, and Samuel sleeps on it. The next morning, the old prophet takes off in search of Saul. One thing we notice about Saul is that he had a lot of pride: immediately after his partial victory over the Amalekites, he sets up a monument for himself. From Carmel, he heads toward Gilgal.
As soon as Saul saw Samuel, he immediately tries to cover his obvious sin. “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
Samuel replies with the first two questions: “What then is the bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle I hear?”
Saul can only make faulty accusations to hide his own greed. Even in this, he still tries to highlight what he did do right. “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
Saul’s faulty excuses are ignored by Samuel. “Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
Samuel goes on to reflect on Saul’s election in 1 Samuel 10. Saul had been chosen as Israel’s first king by lot. It had also helped that he was a head and shoulders taller than any other Israelite ( 1 Samuel 10:23 ).
“Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”
Two questions tell Saul that Samuel knows exactly what he did. But Saul continues with his defense.
“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
This time Saul puts more influence on the fact that the soldiers (still blaming, huh?) had taken the animals to sacrifice to “your God” at Gilgal. Saul definitely changed his demeanor after Samuel’s last questions. But again, Samuel is not fooled by the false humility.
Now, you may say that I am judging Saul rather harshly. Well, if you look at Saul’s life you will realize that often, what he said in humility was later disregarded by him. For instance, as Saul chased David around the territory, he was sometimes surprised by David and usually promised David safety from then on. The next moment in the story Saul would be hot on David’s heels once more. The tall king couldn’t be trusted easily.
On with the article. (I must stop these rabbit trails). Samuel’s next rebuke is the one that crumbles anymore excuses from Saul:
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king.”
Now Saul acknowledges his error.
“I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.”
But even now, Saul continues to blame the people. Because of this Samuel refuses to honor his request for forgiveness.
But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”
Samuel’s last rebuke given, he starts to leave. But Saul grasps at one last straw.
As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.
Significant in all prophet’s lies, the tearing of a robe was a sign of utter defeat and surrender, but not always humility. Samuel notes this as he prophesies David’s rise to power:
Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.”
Then Samuel shows Saul that his shifting ideas are nothing in front of God Almighty.
“He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
I start this post with a slight error. “Reformation” is not really the right word to use here, but I found it better than using, “Jesus Reinstates Peter” or “Peter is Reinstated”. Yeah…
This article is the continuation of “Peter’s Denial”, my last article. The text is John 21. Let’s look at this passage of Scripture:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
In context, this story outlines a miraculous catch of fish, and the disciple’s communion with their Savior, on the shore of Galilee, after his resurrection. We won’t go through all of that. Instead, as with the previous article, we will skip directly to the first question.
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
“When they had finished eating” shows (obviously) that each of the disciples were satisfied with the food that Jesus had provided and were now listening attentively to his words. Then comes the Question. “Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” It is interesting to me that throughout the Gospel of John, Peter’s full name is used only once, except for this passage. The other time is in John 1; Jesus tells Peter his own name, before he first calls him Cephas:
“You are Simon, son of John. but you will be called Cephas” (which when translated, is Peter).
It is almost as though Jesus has found Peter back at the beginning of their relationship, slowly bringing him back to his devoted love for Christ. Peter responds without much drama: “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” Peter’s answer is a mirror of his life; he always looked at the Savior as the all-knowing Redeemer. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” To the disciples, Jesus’ answer mirrors John 10, when he spoke about the Shepherd of the flock. But to Jesus, this was confirmation that Peter’s first denial was forgiven.
But Jesus is not finished. Peter probably felt somewhat guilty around Jesus because of his recent denial. He probably didn’t think of Jesus’ first question as a “reinstatement”, until the second question was asked.
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
By this time, Peter was probably realizing that Jesus was getting at something. But in his ignorance, (just the same as us), he didn’t realize what. Peter’s answer was the same as his first. “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
Now Peter surely realized the meaning of this conversation. With every eye now intently stretched on Jesus, He asks the final question.
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter’s face falls; his soul hurt and his spirits crushed, the guilt of denial falls in on him, and his answer changes in his humility.
“Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Truly humbled, Peter audibly confirms Jesus’ Omniscient quality. Jesus’ command restates what he has already said twice, and it combines the first two commands:
“Feed my sheep.”
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
In this article we will continue our study of Questions. In John 18, three questions are asked by three different people, and three answers are given.
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.”
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Look first at the first verse of our text. “Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the High Priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard,” This is verse 15 of John 18. Jesus has just been arrested by a detachment of Roman soldiers and led off. The disciples scatter, some to their homes, some to a house where they had been earlier that day. Only one of Jesus’ follows Jesus through the door into the High Priest’s home. The other “faithful” disciple stays outside at the door, waiting. This first disciple was “known to the High Priest”, so he followed Jesus into the courtyard, and there he stayed as Jesus went inside.
This is the setup as we prepare for the first question. Note verses 16 and 17.
but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.”
Here is the first question: “You are not one of His disciples, are you?” This question was probably asked with the emphasis on the word, “His”, and Peter, though usually a bold and impetuous man, replies with an almost feeble sentence: “I am not.”
Before we go on, we need to look at two prophecies made by Jesus earlier in his life. First John 16:32-
“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”
This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was abandoned by all of his disciples (none actually went with Him, only the two that followed.)
Next in John 13:38- Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
With this second prophecy in mind, we move on to the second question:
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
John does not say who asked Peter this second question, but Peter evidently flared up at this proposal that he was Jesus’ disciple, although it was the exact same question that had just been asked him by the servant girl at the door. This time Peter denies it, replying with a powerful, “I am not”.
Now you may ask me, “How do you draw that Peter was angry from the word, “denied”. Look with me in Luke’s gospel:
A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied. Luke 22:58
This Question was in the same context as the passage in John.
So now Peter was angry. A little, at least. Angry that he could seemingly do nothing to help Jesus, he now poured out his frustration on the people around him. In the olive grove across the Kidron Valley (the place of Jesus’ arrest), Jesus had told Peter to sheath his sword when the impulsive fishermen had struck out at one of those among Jesus captors. Fighting, though probably not his favorite thing, was what Peter most likely would have turned to in this position. But now, the one for whom he had said he would die for had told him not to fight, and he couldn’t understand.
Then came the last straw; a third question. Someone who had seen him in the grove. A relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off. Watch what happens:
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
John does not recount Peter’s words at this challenge, but we know from Matthew’s gospel that: “he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’”
“and at that moment a rooster began to crow.”
Continued in Questions: Part 3- Peter’s Reformation, Coming Soon.
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
Though I am not a vlogger (video blogger), I occasionally find a good YouTube video that I will post. This is one of those videos. BTW: Not for the weak of heart.
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps.”
There are many questions in the Bible. Many of those questions are hard to understand, because of the nature of that time’s language. In this article, I hope to outline one of those questions for you.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
This question was asked to the detachment of soldiers along with the Jewish officials sent to arrest Jesus. You can see from verses 2 and 3 that there were many soldiers present and that Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, was leading the party:
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Let’s analyze the question:
“Who is it you are looking for?”
Jesus asks this almost as though he didn’t know why they were there. As if the Son of Man, the Creator and Savior of the world, didn’t know why they had come and that he was being betrayed as he spoke. It is clear however, that he did know. Note John 13:18-28:
“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’
“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
“What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
Just like late in the 6th chapter of John, these verses are clear evidence that Jesus knew that he would be betrayed by his “friend”. He no doubt added some look or inflection to this question that asked Judas, “Why are you here?” Yet he knew why, and that is what puzzles us. Why would he ask? The answer lies in His answer. Let’s look at verse 5a of John 18:
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
This answer was somewhat like a question because, though “they” probably knew what Jesus looked like, they wanted to make sure they had the right man. Jesus’ answer in verses 5b and 6 brings spectacular results.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
How stunning is that!
Imagine, if you will, standing in a company of troops that has been sent to arrest an apparent lawbreaker. Your views on this man are that of the others with you. Why the big deal? you think to yourself. Oh well, I guess that the guys running this show know better than me. But it’s still just one guy and a tiny group of fishermen followers… Your opinion is one of apathy, because you couldn’t care less about the man in question. Your commander asks him an ordinary question, but his answer is no ordinary answer! At once you and your comrades are thrown violently to the ground, simply at the words emitting from his mouth! What manner of man is this?
Pretty amazing, huh? The fact that three words which Jesus says send an entire detachment of soldiers and officials to the ground.
Jesus’ answer sums up our question about His question. It was for his glory that he asked the obvious question, “Who are you looking for?” As he was led off to be questioned, I am sure that those same soldiers were melting with fright in the presence of the Almighty God in human form!
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
Today I heard a refreshing sermon from my Pastor, David Prince. The text was Proverbs 7 and outlined the seductive woman and the sin of following her. It showed how an ox will willingly destroy himself by following the path to the slaughter house. To read the text, click here.
I was encouraged by the way my pastor presented this portion of Scripture so vividly and effectively. I can tell you, it is not an easy passage to preach from.
Here is the sermon audio:
By The Way: Kentucky Wildcats fans will definitely find this sermon to their liking, while those who follow the Tennessee Volunteers may be somewhat offended. 
In His Steps,
Theo
1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, so that you should follow in His steps.”
