John 13 ,1 (It’s All About Jesus)

Hold Fast – part 1
Hebrews 3:7-4:2
June 28, 2015

As you know we are studying through the book of Hebrews.
You are aware by now that the only author we are aware of is the Holy Spirit,
And that it is written to people who aren’t taking Jesus as serious as they should.

Last week we actually identified three groups
Who are being confronted in this letter.

1) Unbelieving Jews who want no part of Jesus
2) Jews who know Jesus is the Messiah, but refuse to confess Him
3) Jews who have confessed Jesus, but contemplate returning to Judaism

Throughout this letter you will see
Each of these different groups of people being addressed.
But in chapters 3 and 4 we are dealing with that third group.

We are dealing with Jews who have publicly confessed Jesus
They have said they would submit their lives to Him.

And according to chapter 10 of this letter
That initial response was met with hardships and persecutions.

Hebrews 10:32-34 “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.”

The writer mentioned how they suffered.
• They were reproached and mocked
• They had their property seized
• Some were thrown in prison

These new believer faced hardship right out of the gate
And they handled that initial wave of hatred beautifully.

And for this reason, the writer has not hesitated
To identify this group as genuine Christians.

We saw it last week at the beginning of chapter 3 how the writer referred to them as “holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling”

The point being that this group of followers
Has done nothing since their confession but demonstrate faithfulness to Christ even in the midst of persecution.

SO WHY ALL THE CONCERN?
Because apparently, for the first time,
These followers are debating returning to Judaism.
They are debating forsaking Jesus,
And returning to Moses and the Law and the synagogue.

And the writer of this letter couldn’t have been bolder
To them in the first 6 verses of this chapter.
DON’T DO IT
• Moses was not the Messiah.
• Moses was indeed a faithful servant,
• But even Moses’ goal was to push you to Jesus.

If you reject Jesus, you are not only missing God’s only means of salvation,
But you are also missing the entire point of what Moses desired to teach you.
DO NOT DEFECT!

And that was stated clearly in verse 6
Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house — whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

The obvious point was that these Jews who had claimed to believe in Jesus needed to hold fast to Jesus “firm until the end.”

It was important that they understood the danger of defection.

What we are talking about here is the sin of APOSTASY
Apostasy is when a person who claims to believe in Jesus then turns away and denies Him.

And you need to know that this is no minor issue.

2 Peter 2:20-22 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

Jesus Himself said:
John 15:4-6 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

You get the idea.
It is not a wise move to confess Jesus and then turn away from Him.
Now again, this DOES NOT indicate a person who is saved and then loses their salvation.
What it indicates is a person who was never genuinely saved
But who masqueraded among God’s people for a time.

They were very literally phonies dwelling among the body.
They were wolves dwelling among the sheep.

Jude 3-7 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

Jude spoke about those phonies who wormed their way in to the church.
They were imposters

And Jude promised severe punishment of people like that.
In fact he gave three examples of punishment on people like that.

1) Sodom and Gomorrah and men who abandoned what was proper and went after “strange flesh” and God judged them severely.

2) Angels in the days of Noah who also abandoned their proper abode and went after strange flesh God continues to judge.

3) The phonies who came out of Egypt behind Moses. Those who abandoned their faithfulness to God and God killed them in the wilderness.

The point being is that defecting from your allegiance to God
Is a horrific crime that God punishes severely.

And the writer wants these Jews who are contemplating doing just that
To understand the foolishness of such a decision.

So, all of Hebrews 3 and 4 is dedicated then to 1 purpose.
The writer is imploring them to HOLD FAST TO JESUS

And if you were to outline both chapters you’d get three clear points.
You’d get three clear reasons why they should hold on to Jesus.

1) Punishment of Defection
2) Possibility of Rest
3) Promise of Grace

This morning we want to begin looking at his first point…
His first reason for why you should hold fast to Jesus.

#1 THE PUNISHMENT OF DEFECTION
Hebrews 3:7-4:2

Now I understand this is a big thought,
So we most certainly need to break this down a little further.
The writer gives three distinct warnings regarding defection

1) SCRIPTURAL WARNING (7-11)
“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'”

Here we find that the author has decided to preach a sermon to us.
His text is Psalms 95:7b-11
TURN TO: PSALMS 95

You quickly recognize that the writer omitted the first 6 ½ verses.
The reason is because he really wanted to focus in on three words.

“Today”, “Provoked”, and “Rest”
And that is why he began in verse 7.

But let’s look at the Psalm as a whole and see if
We can wrap our minds around what David was saying.

David is calling Israel to worship and totally submit themselves to God.
(READ 1-6a)

And then in order to emphasize the importance
David calls upon an Old Testament illustration.
(READ 7b-11)

David reminds his people of the catastrophic failure of their forefathers.
• People whom God delivered from Egypt.
• People who saw the 10 plagues on Egypt
• People who passed through the Red Sea
• People who ate the manna from heaven
• People who drank water from a rock
• People who saw a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night
• People who heard God’s voice on the holy mountain
• People who saw God’s glory radiate off of Moses’ face
In short, we are talking about a congregation
That had more reason to believe in God
Than any other congregation in the history of the world.

And yet David reminded his people that
THIS CONGREGATION HARDENED THEIR HEARTS TOWARD GOD.
David said they tested God
David said they tried God
But the real problem is that they provoked God to anger.

In fact God’s response was:
(10) “For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and the do not know My ways.”

SO DID YOU CATCH THE POINT?
There was nothing wrong with their confession…
There was something wrong with their heart.

They claimed to know God, but they clearly didn’t.

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

They were a worthless group of people.
1 Corinthians 10:1-12 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

(Read Psalm 78 for additional insight)

But the point to be seen is that
• These were a people who claimed to believe in God.
• These were a people who followed God for a while.
• These were a people who saw plenty of evidence that God was real.

But when the going got hard they revealed that they had a heart problem.
They turned away from God, and God was angry.

In fact God made a promise.
(11) “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
WHAT WAS THIS REST HE SPOKE OF?
• In a temporal sense it was the Promised Land.
• In a spiritual sense it was the fullness of salvation.

What happened to this generation?
• God killed them in the wilderness.

Israel actually wondered 40 years in the wilderness
Just waiting for them to die off before God would let them take the land.

If the writer of Hebrews did nothing but read that passage to you,
You would be fully aware of the Scriptural Warning.

David warned his people not to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, The writer of Hebrews is warning his congregation about the same thing.

You ought to learn a lesson from unbelieving Israel.
• It is not enough to confess Christ once
• It is not enough to have seen Christ work
• It is not enough to have followed Christ briefly
• YOUR FAITH MUST THE GENUINE KIND THAT ENDURES

Otherwise you fall into the category of unbelieving Israel.

So there is a scriptural warning about the punishment of defection.

Let’s look at the second warning.
2) A SIMPLE WARNING (12-15)
“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.”

We call this a simple warning because it is simple to understand.

After reading about that group of unbelievers in Israel that God destroyed
The writer is very clear.

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

That was precisely the type of heart that Israel had.
It was “evil” and it was “unbelieving”

It was never redeemed – It was never righteous – It was never faithful
And we know that because they fell away
See we aren’t talking about genuine believers
Who somehow lost their salvation,
We are talking about phony believers
Who finally showed their true colors.

Perhaps you the parable of the sower and the 4 types of soils.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

That is the danger here.
And the writer wants you to make sure that isn’t you.

WHAT DOES HE MEAN THEN?
• Be real with yourself
• Be honest with yourself
• Are you genuinely in love with Jesus, or are you just trying to
identify with God’s people for some other reason?

Those Israelites that were destroyed didn’t genuinely love God,
They just pretended for a while because it was a way out of Egypt.

They showed their true colors when things got a little tough.
• When they got a little thirsty
• When they got tired of manna
• When Moses delayed on the mountain
• When the inhabitants of Canaan appeared to be giants

And because they didn’t really love God,
They were quick to turn away from Him and seek to return to Egypt.

The writer is saying, “MAKE SURE THAT ISN’T YOU!”
Make sure your love for Jesus is sincere
Make sure your faith in Jesus is genuine

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”

You must examine yourself to make sure your faith is real.

Incidentally this is why God allows us to endure trials.
• This is why God allowed those Israelites to experience thirst or hunger
• This is why God specifically told them to spy out the land, knowing they would encounter giants

God allows these trials as a means to reveal what type of faith you have.
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
Trials prove your faith

AND SO IT IS SIMPLE.
When you face trials or persecutions or moments of suffering, do you get mad at Jesus and want to leave, or does your love for Him endure?

Make sure to see what kind of heart you have.

AND NOT ONLY THAT
(13) “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

I told you one of the big words that the writer likes from Psalm 95
Is the word “Today”

“Today” is the day of salvation
“Today” is the day of trial in which you can prove your faith genuine
“Today” is the call of God to be devoted to Him

In short it is your time of opportunity.

And the writer says as long as it is “Today” not only should you examine yourself, but you should “encourage one another”

You should grab your brother and encourage him in regard to his faith.

We have done a great disservice to the church of God over the last many years in which it became off limits to question a person’s salvation.

The writer of Hebrews commands exactly the opposite.
• You grab your brother and you make sure his faith is real.
• You grab your brother and you force him to examine himself

The temptation to defect is real, head it off at the pass.

You must examine yourself and encourage your brother
(14-15) “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.”

Only those who “hold fast”
Are those who have really “become partakers of Christ”
So the writer wants you to know about the punishment for defection.
• He gives a Scriptural Warning
• He gives a Simple Warning

3) A SOLEMN WARNING (16 – 4:2)
“For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

Just in case you have failed to grasp the seriousness of the writer,
He now moves to his most serious and pointed warning yet.

He just keyed off on the word “Today”
Now he keys off on the word “PROVOKED”

He wants to make sure that you and I understand that
All of what unbelieving Israel did provoked God to anger.

This was not minor
What they did angered God severely

If something provokes God to anger, you need to know what it is.
Well, look at it here.

The writer is going to ask some questions that he wants us to answer.

We saw that God was provoked because when He spoke
They apparently hardened their heart to Him.

And the writer wants to know:
(16) “For who provoked Him when they had heard?

He wants you to pay special attention to the people who provoked Him.
• Was it the godless Egyptians?
• Was it the pagan Midianites?

No
“Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?”

It was the people He had delivered.
It was the people who claimed to love Him.
It was the people who claimed to follow Him.
(17) “And with whom was he angry for forty years?”
Here he is asking why He was angry.
• Was it because God is fickle?
• Did God get angry because He is impatient and selfish?

“Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?”
• He was angry at the people who defected from Him.
• He was angry at the people who disobeyed Him.
• He was angry at the people who grumbled against Him.

These were people He delivered who turned their back on Him,
And they provoked Him to anger and He stayed angry for forty years.

One final question:
(18) “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?”

• God was provoked
• God was angry
• God judged them in in His anger
• God refused to let them enter the Promised Land.

Who were the recipients of that anger?
Those He had previously delivered, who claimed to love and trust Him.
WHEN THEY DEFECTED AND BEGAN TO GRUMBLE GOD WAS ANGRY.

AND THEN THE WRITER SUMS IT ALL UP FOR YOU.

(19) “So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”

AND THERE IS THE ISSUE.

What was their problem? THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE

You mean they quit believing?
No – They never believed.

But they left Egypt, they participated in the Passover, they walked through the Red Sea…

Yes, but you can go through religious ritual and still not believe.
That is what these people did and when God saw that,
He was angry and He killed them in the wilderness.

Now, here comes the SOLEMN WARNING

(1-2) “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

“Let us…” what?
“FEAR”

PHOBOS in the Greek
It’s where we get our word for phobia
It is a fear that dictates action

And that is the type of “fear” the writer wants.

“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”

And immediately people say,
“Not me! I was baptized. I was in church. I ….”

And the writer cuts them off mid-sentence and says,
“SO DID THEY!”

“For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

They heard it and saw it just like you
BUT THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE
And they fell away.
And because of that, they never entered the rest that God intended.

YOU BE AFRAID THAT IT COULD BE YOU
• You be afraid enough that you will examine yourself
• You be afraid enough that you will encourage your brother

The greatest fear any religious person should have
Is that they have religion and no relationship.

Remember what Jesus said:
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

What a horrible day Jesus spoke of.
They were people content in their religion
And they never once questioned the validity of their faith
UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE.
DON’T LET THAT BE YOU.
• Make sure your faith is genuine.
• Make sure your love for Christ is sincere.

And above all, no matter what you face, do not run from Jesus HOLD FAST TO HIM

If for no other reason than because of a fear of the punishment
That comes on defecting from Him.
Now, over the next couple of weeks I’ll show you a couple more reasons for holding fast to Jesus, but this one alone should be enough.
If God was angry enough to destroy Israel in the wilderness,
(A nation He had already gone to great lengths to deliver)
Then we should learn from their example and not fall away.
After talking about unbelieving Israel, Paul said:
1 Corinthians 10:11-12 “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

That is good advice.

NOTES: 2 Peter 3 ,3-10 (It’s All About Jesus)

Consider Jesus
Hebrews 3:1-6
June 21, 2015

As you know we are studying the book of Hebrews.

I have told you several times that we don’t know who wrote it
Or who the writer wrote it to.

And so we just maintain the obvious.
THIS LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

That is certainly true of Hebrews.

Furthermore, we are convinced that this letter was written by the Holy Spirit because we know the Holy Spirit’s favorite subject.

John 16:12-15 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

The Holy Spirit most definitely has a favorite subject,
And that subject is Jesus.

One of the ways you know the Holy Spirit is involved
Is that the message of Jesus is clearly proclaimed.
The Holy Spirit absolutely loves to talk about Him.

That reality helps us to understand the main point of this letter.

We said that the problem with those who are receiving this letter
Is that they were not taking Jesus as serious as they should have.
(Obviously that does not sit well with the Holy Spirit)

HE WROTE TO ADDRESS THAT.

One thing we have not talked about up until this point
Is what we mean by people not taking Jesus seriously.

This letter (as derived from the context)
Is clearly written to three different groups of people.

SOME TO BE SURE WERE BLATANT NON-BELIEVERS.
They loved Judaism, they loved the ritual, they had no interest in placing their faith in Jesus Christ or seeking redemption through Him.

And to them the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel,
Reminding these blatant non-believers that there is no other sacrifice for sin and if you reject this great salvation there is no way you will escape.

OTHERS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE INTELLECTUALLY COME TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST, BUT WHO HAVE YET TO PLACE THEIR TRUST IN HIM.

They know Jesus is the Christ. They know Jesus is the Savior,
But knowing the facts and trusting them are two very different things.

These people are afraid of the consequences and persecution
That will come if they trust Jesus.

They are those we dealt with in chapter 2
Who are “drifting” and neglecting this great salvation.

And to them the Holy Spirit repeatedly pleads for them to
Get off of the fence, to embrace adversity, and trust Christ anyway.

Namely because only in Christ do we have anything that truly lasts.

And then there is a third group that the Holy Spirit seems to continually be addressing in this letter, and that group are
THOSE WHO HAVE MADE A CONFESSION THAT THEY WILL FOLLOW CHRIST.

They claim to believe, and because of those claims
Have already endured great suffering.

And the problem is now that following Jesus is so hard,
THEY ARE TEMPTED TO RETREAT back to the comforts of ritualistic religion, namely Judaism.

They are contemplating giving Jesus up
And returning to their former way of life.

And the Holy Spirit is adamantly imploring them not to do this,
For rejecting Christ in this way will only lead to destruction.

And I want to clarify this here because
It is this third group that we are dealing with this morning.

You will notice that the writer identifies them in verse 1

(1) “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling…”
Then at the end of the verse he mentions their “confession”

So obviously we are dealing with people that have made an outward confession of Christ and now identify themselves as Christians.

• Only Christians are considered “holy brethren”
And this because Christ has sanctified them and made them holy.

• Only Christians are “partakers of a heavenly calling”

So we are dealing here with those who have claimed to believe in Christ, and who claim to be Christians.

The part that makes this chapter tricky then
Is the warnings that are given later.

For example.
(6) “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house – whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

That almost sounds like these true believers might lose their salvation.

You look at verse 12
(12) “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

And again
(14) “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”

And so when you take this chapter as a whole,
It sounds like the Holy Spirit is addressing Christians
Who are in danger of losing their salvation.

But do not fall into that trap.
SALVATION IS SECURE.

You could do nothing to save yourself
And you can do nothing to secure your salvation.

The security of salvation has always depended on
The strength of the Shepherd, not the strength of the sheep.

John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Even Hebrews says:
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Jesus doesn’t lose His sheep,
And that is a topic we’ll talk about even more later in the book of Hebrews
As it pertains to His role as our High Priest.

We are not dealing with the threat that some genuine believer in Christ
Might lose their salvation.

So what are we dealing with?
That someone who claims to be a Christian
Might prove that they are phony by falling away from Jesus.

1 John 2:18-19 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

John was clear about the people who abandoned Christ.
They weren’t genuine believers who lost their salvation,
They were phonies who were proven phony when they left.

John said, “if they had been of us, they would have remained with us”
It they had been real, they would not have left.

Listen to Jesus speaking to some who claim to believe:
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Jesus knew a true disciple was one that stuck with Him.
One who didn’t stick with Him was never a true disciple.

So hopefully then the next point of the Holy Spirit in this letter to the Hebrews is becoming clear.
• There are people, sitting in the pews,
• Who have publicly confessed Christ,
• But they are drifting a little in their faith,
• They are not taking Jesus as serious as they should,
• The writer is afraid that they may fall away and prove their faith was never really genuine.

And to further understand where the writer is coming from
You need to understand why they might be ok with abandoning Jesus.
Any time a person abandons what they already have for something else,
There are always two main factors involved.

1) They devalue what they have
2) They overvalue what they pursue

It’s the old “The grasses is greener on the other side” issue.

And the writer of Hebrews can see this
Beginning to emerge in some of their lives.

He can see that they are beginning to devalue Jesus.
And he can see that they are beginning to overvalue the religion they once left, namely Judaism.

SO THE GOAL OF THE LETTER?
To show the value of Jesus,
That His value is so much greater than their former religion,
And that placing Judaism on the same level as Him would be a huge mistake.

And isn’t that what we’ve seen taking place?
• Chapter 1:1-2 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN THE PROPHETS
• Chapter 1:5-14 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN THE ANGELS
• Chapter 3:1-6 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN MOSES
• Chapter 4 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN JOSHUA
• Chapter 5 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN AARON
• Chapter 9 – JESUS IS GREATER THAN THE SACRIFICES

And on and on and on and on

And this is just as important for believers as it is for non-believers.

It is a constant temptation even to believers
To find their peace, security, and comfort in their religious ritual.

So long as they remain moral
So long as they stay in church
So long as they read the Bible regularly
(THEY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE GOOD)

And it doesn’t matter so much that
Their relationship with Jesus is sorely deficient.

The problem is that their comfort in tradition and ordinance
Sort of numbs them to their lack of a genuine spiritual relationship.

And that is precisely the problem here with the Hebrews.
They were so comfortable with historic Judaism
And its feasts and ordinances and sacrificial systems
That it didn’t seem to bother them
That they weren’t walking very close to Jesus.

To them Jesus was a good plan, but He wasn’t their only hope.
They always had a comfortable “Plan B”

So the command at the outset of chapter 3 couldn’t be clearer.

“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus…”

And incidentally the word there for “consider” in the Greek
Translates KATANOEO (kat-u-ni-a-o)

NOEO (ni-a-o) means to “perceive with the mind, to think about; to ponder”
KATA in front of it intensifies it.

It means to really ponder this.
To really gaze on something.

Not to just let it escape your grasp, but to study it, dwell on it,
And to do so intensely with the aim of understanding.

And the Holy Spirit wants you to do that with Jesus.
“consider Jesus”

And it doesn’t matter if you are an avid non-believer,
Or a faithful Christian, or somewhere in between,
The command is the same. “consider Jesus”

Perceive Him, Ponder on Him, Think about Him, Dwell on Him,
Look Closely at Him, Study Him

And the reason is so that you will see that
He has more value than any other religious system,
And so that you will see the danger of falling away from Him.

SO THIS MORNING we begin looking at this very penetrating chapter,
Where the Holy Spirit asks even those who have claimed to believe,
To consider Jesus one more time in order that
They make sure they don’t fall away from Him.

And as I told you a moment ago,
The first 6 verses are dedicated to one thought.
JESUS IS GREATER THAN MOSES
Now, before we (as Gentiles) can fully grasp the weight of this argument,
You first need to understand what a delicate debate this is.

You can talk about Abraham or David all you want,
But in Jewish history the pinnacle Jew isn’t even a debate.
To the Jew no one even comes remotely close to Moses.

There are some Jewish Rabbis that even teach that Moses ranked higher than the angels.
• Moses was divinely protected by God at his birth
• Moses was privately buried by God at his death
• Moses was the savior of Israel from Egypt

And beyond any of that,
Moses enjoyed privileges that no other Jew ever enjoyed.

Exodus 33:11 “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

You may even remember that God showed more of Himself to Moses
Than any other human…ever.

Exodus 33:17-19 “The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, ” I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

It was Moses who used to go and speak to God “face to face”
To such an extent that Moses face even radiated the glory of God.

Beyond that, when God gave the Law to Israel, He gave it to Moses.
And by the time of Jesus, the Law and Moses were absolutely synonymous.

In fact many Jews didn’t even refer to it as “The Law of God” but as what?
“The Law of Moses”

And even when Jesus was here, the religious elite were quick to let the world know that Jesus ranked nowhere near the level of Moses.

John 9:29 “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”

The point is, to a Jew, there was no greater human than Moses.
• No one ranked higher
• No one accomplished more
• No one came closer to God
• No one brought more of God’s word
• No one better typified what a Jew should be
Moses was the best.

And that is part of the problem.
The Jews were not too concerned about rather or not they had Jesus. Why? Because they had Moses.

Moses brought them the Law of God
And in this they boasted and in this they were content.

But the writer of Hebrews is seeking to show these Jews
• That Jesus brought a new covenant
• That was better than the old one that Moses brought,
• And so he is charged with the delicate task of proving that Jesus is greater than Moses.

It may not seem like a difficult argument to you,
But I promise you it was to those whom it was written.

And so this morning it is why Jesus is greater than Moses.

AND HERE IS THE WHOLE ARGUMENT
Moses was faithful as a servant in the house.
Jesus was faithful as a Son over the house.

(1) “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.”

Now, there is the first indicator.
He gives you the dual role; the dual office of Jesus.

Jesus was both “Apostle” and “High Priest”

And “Apostle” is a “sent one”.
It is one who goes on the authority of the One who sent him, and with the purpose of delivering the message or carrying out the mission.

A “High Priest” is one who communicates to God on behalf of men.

Now Moses may have certainly been considered an “Apostle” of God,
But he most certainly was not a “High Priest”.

Who was the high priest in Moses day?
That was Aaron.

Jesus however perfectly filled both roles.
And it’s not the first time the author has told you that.
He told us in Hebrews 1:2 that God “has spoken to us in His Son”
And he told us in Hebrews 1:3 “He made purification of sins…[and] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”
Jesus spoke from God to man
And Jesus speaks from man to God
He is both “Apostle” and “High Priest”

This Moses never was.

It is important to note that the goal here is NOT TO BELITTLE MOSES.
In fact, the author is very careful not to do that.

(2) “He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.”

The writer is not out to belittle Moses.
If he had wanted to, he might have mentioned Moses murder of the Egyptian,
Or Moses striking of the rock, but that isn’t the goal.

The goal is simply to acknowledge that while Moses was great,
Jesus is greater.

Moses was faithful.
Numbers 12:7 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household;”

Moses was faithful, but so was Jesus.
The difference is that they were faithful to different roles,
And Jesus’ role was greater.

Look at what I mean.
(3-4) “For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”

Moses and Jesus may have both been faithful,
But Jesus gets more glory, Why?

Because “the builder of the house has more honor than the house”

First, let me ask, WHO IS THE HOUSE?
When you read the Old Testament you read about “the household of David” or you read about “the household of Israel”

And so when we are talking about “the house”
We are talking about God’s people.

This is made clear again down in verse 6.
“But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house – whose house we are…”

Now here is the fact about Moses.
Moses was a part of that house and Moses was a servant to that house.

Isn’t that true?
Sure.

Moses was one of God’s children,
And Moses was a faithful servant to God’s children.
In fact, Moses may have been the most faithful ever of all time.

I mean look again at what verse 2 said.
“He (Jesus) was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in His house.”

The Holy Spirit compared the faithfulness of Moses to that of Jesus.
That’s pretty faithful!

Imagine if at your funeral someone said,
“He was faithful to God like Jesus was faithful to God”

Seems far-fetched doesn’t it?
And yet that is what is said about Moses.

Moses was faithful
He was faithful as part of God’s household
And faithful to serve God’s household.

But Jesus gets more glory because Jesus wasn’t a part of the household, Jesus was “the builder of the house”

And “the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”

And so you can see the argument.
It isn’t that Moses wasn’t faithful,
It’s just that he didn’t occupy the same position.

Let’s go one further:
(5-6a) “Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony to those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house…”

Now we even learn in what way Moses was faithful.

Moses was a faithful servant and that “for a testimony to those things which were to be spoken later”

And this is a very important point.
If you are going to esteem Moses
Then make sure you understand Moses purpose
Moses was a servant to the house
To make sure the house recognized what was coming later.

Moses pointed to Jesus.
John 5:45-46 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.”

Moses’ goal as a servant to the house
Was to make sure the house recognized its builder.

And so the writer of Hebrews is making a very bold statement.
You honor and esteem and follow Moses,
But if you aren’t seeing the One Moses testified about,
Then you are missing the point of Moses all together.

Moses was a servant to the house,
But the One you really need to see is Christ.

WHY?
“Christ was faithful as a Son over His house”

Do you see that Christ is more important?
• Moses was faithful, but only as a servant to the house
• Christ was faithful as a Son and the builder of the house

You can go to the White House
And there are several people who have jobs in the Oval Office

One sits behind the desk and makes the decisions
One cleans behind the desk and takes out the trash

Now it is important that both be faithful to their job,
And both are rewarded based on their faithfulness,
BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE JOBS ARE NOT EQUAL.

No one here is slighting Moses, he was faithful as can be,
But do not assume he was on the same level as Christ.

In fact Moses tried to point the household of God to Christ.

WHICH IS WHY THE WRITER OF HEBREWS SAYS THIS:
“whose hose we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

If you claim to be part of God’s household,
Then you will hold to the builder of that house firm until the end.
If you reject the builder of the house
And go back to following the servant of the house,
Then you have missed the point of the servant
And you have missed the glory of the builder.

DO YOU SEE WHAT THE WRITER IS SAYING?
YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON TO JESUS, NOT MOSES.

There is no retreating here back to the comforts of Judaism.
There is no retreating here back to the comfort of ordinances and traditions.

And that is what I hope you will realize this morning.

It is real easy to just get comfortable in the routine.
• Get up go to church
• Deliver Meals on Wheels
• Serve on a committee

You know the routine, and there can be a lot of comfort
And affirmation in doing that sort of thing

And while those things can have some value in and of themselves,
They are a pitiful substitute for an intimate relationship with Jesus.

SO WE MUST CONSIDER JESUS

We must “hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”

Don’t substitute religious involvement for a relationship with Jesus.
Don’t substitute bible knowledge for a relationship with Jesus.
Don’t substitute ordinance and tradition for a relationship with Jesus.

All of those things are the symbol – Christ is the substance.

And if you try to involve yourself in those things without Christ,
You have nothing but empty religion.

YOU NEED JESUS
HE IS GREATER THAN EVERYTHING ELSE
And if we can fast forward in the chapter a moment:
READ HEBREWS 3:12-14

Don’t feel so secure in your religion
That you are ok with letting go of Jesus.
IT WON’T WORK

The Gentleness of Jesus
John 18:1-14
June 14, 2015

As you know we are in the middle of a study called: “It’s All About Jesus”

It was a study that began as a reminder that
Everything in life is indeed to be all about Him.
He is our purpose
He is our pattern

Our goal is to give Him first place in everything
And ultimately to be conformed into His image.

And since our goal is to look like Christ, it is only fitting
That we take the time to examine what He looked like.

Several years ago there 4 little letters that took the Christian community by storm, they were WWJD (What would Jesus do?)

The idea was that a Christian should ask Himself in every situation
What Jesus would do if He were there?

I certainly don’t have a problem with that idea, but the purpose of our study is more accurately to ask What DID Jesus do?

We are seeking to examine Him in various situations to learn how He operated and responded and then we seek to apply that to our lives.

As a guideline for this we have been following the list
Paul provided in Colossians 3:12-14

Colossians 3:12-14 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

Each of those qualities were qualities of Jesus
And we are called to put them on.

We looked at the compassion of Jesus.
It was a time when He was tired and He and the disciples decided to get away for a retreat and a time of rest, but the crowd spotted Him.

And instead of sending them away
The Bible says that Jesus “felt compassion” for them.

In His heart, He hurt more for the people than He did for Himself.
Their grief was more painful to Him than His own fatigue.
It was compassion.
We saw then Jesus feed those 5,000 that day.
Next we looked at the Kindness of Jesus.
As He passed through Samaria He came to a well at noon and encountered an interesting woman.

• She was a different race
• She was a different gender
• She was a different religion
• She had a different moral code

And by John’s own admittance Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
And yet Jesus not only talked with this woman,
But He ultimately offered and gave her salvation.

Jesus was kind to wicked and ungrateful people.

Then last week we looked at the Humility of Jesus
We studied Philippians 2 and took a look at the incarnation of Jesus.

Humility means “lowliness of mind” and this is certainly what Jesus exhibited when He left the glory of heaven to become a servant and die on a cross.

No person ever existed higher and no person ever descended lower than Jesus.
His expression of humility cannot be equaled.

We then learned what Paul taught us that each of us should consider one another as more important than ourselves.

And that we should do nothing from selfishness of empty conceit.

Well tonight we move on to the next attributed on Paul’s list
And that is the attribute of GENTLENESS

“Put on a heart of…gentleness”
PRAUTES (prow-tace) in the Greek

And ordinarily I would just give you a short definition,
But this time I want to read you the definition from Vine’s Greek Dictionary.

“…it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; it is closely linked with the word [humility]…it is only the humble heart which is also the meek, and which, as such, does not fight against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him. This meekness, however, being first of all a meekness before God, is also such in the face of men, even of evil men, out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may inflict, are permitted and employed by [God] for the chastening and purifying of His elect”
(Vine, W.E. [An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN] pg. 727-728)

We are talking here about an amazing attribute.

It is also translated as “meekness” which I have told you many times means “strength under control” or “submission”
(My dad would call a horse “broke” – not necessarily gentle)
It is the attribute that must be employed for you to apply a verse like:
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

It is the attribute that most clearly comes forth in the life of Joseph.
That trust or confidence that God is in control,
That nothing happens outside of His will,
And that it is not wise to resist what He is doing.

It believes that God knows best at all times
Therefore it not only trusts God’s wisdom, but obeys God’s voice.

In fact, all genuine obedience must come from this mentality.
• Since God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.
• Since God’s ways are not our ways
• Since God’s Spirit always wars with our natural flesh

We can’t obey any of His commands
Without first exercising at least a degree of “gentleness” or “meekness”
Whereby we submit to His will even though we don’t understand
And trust His hand even though we don’t see it.

This meekness or gentleness is best seen
Any time we resist the natural inclinations and desires of the flesh
In favor of obedience to God’s commands.

If you will remember when we studied the rest of that passage in Colossians 3 where Paul told us what a Jesus focused life practically looks like.

We looked at
• Wives submitting to their husbands
• Husbands loving their wives
• Children obeying their parents
• Parents not exasperating their children
• Slaves obeying their masters
• And masters not taking advantage of their slaves

Obeying commands like that requires this attribute.

• How else can a woman submit to a disobedient husband?
• How else can a man love a disrespectful wife?
• How else can a child obey a hateful parent?
• How else can a parent patiently teach an insubordinate child?
• How else can a slave serve a brutal master?
• How else can a master be fair to a lazy slave?

All of those incidents require a person
To disregard the natural inclination of the flesh
And submit to the revealed will and command of God.
Doing so is “gentleness” or “meekness”

And that attribute is even more seen
When obeying those commands of God
Does not initially have the desired effect.

When the wife submits, but the husband doesn’t seem to get it.
When the husband loves, but the wife remains ungrateful.
When the child obeys, but the parent never recognizes it.

True meekness continues to obey and trust the commands of God
With the understanding that at the very least
God is allowing the trial to continue for the sake of sanctifying you.

So if I can say it bluntly – “gentleness” or “meekness”
IS A HARD ATTRIBUTE TO APPLY IN YOUR LIFE

However, it was a constant attribute of Jesus.
And if we long to be like Him, we must see what it looked like,
And then apply it in our lives.

As is commonly the case, this attribute overlaps previous ones as well.
We actually saw it on display last week, though we didn’t comment on it.

Paul said:
Philippians 2:8 “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

That phrase “obedient to the point of death” was the epitome
Of Jesus being “gentle” or “meek” or “submissive”

And it is that reality we want to examine tonight.
We want to look at the very moment where Jesus
Took that step of obedience to submit Himself to the plan of the cross.

And that decision was made in a place called
“The Garden of Gethsemane”

Now before we dive into John’s narrative about what took place in the garden, I first want to make sure we recognize something that John did not include.

I want to make sure you are fully aware of the internal struggle
That Jesus had going on inside His heart and in His own human will.

Matthew 26:36-44 “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.”

Have you ever found yourself in a position
Where God asked something of you that your flesh didn’t want to give?
Well Jesus understands how you feel.

• Did He come to die? Yes
• Was His plan to die? Yes
• Was He willing to die? Yes
• Did He look forward to it? Absolutely not

Listen to Him in the garden,
Three times asking the Father for a different plan of salvation.
Three times asking the Father to not have to fight this particular battle.

And if you are familiar with Jesus at all,
Then you know that this is shocking.

Here we have the Son of God in a way we never see Him anywhere else.
• We saw Him stare down the crowds that wanted to throw Him off a cliff…
• We saw Him clear a temple with a whip…
• We saw Him attend feasts where they wanted to kill Him…
• We saw Him stand toe to toe with Pharisees and chief priests…
• We saw Him go to Lazarus when the disciples were sure it meant death…
• We saw Him stand up for a woman in adultery…
• We saw Him talk publicly to a Samaritan woman…

I mean we’ve seen Him boldly do so much,
And He never even seemed to flinch.

And then we get this scene.

Please understand how hard it will be for Him
To submit to what He is about to submit to in John’s gospel.

In this passage the “gentleness” or “meekness” or “submission” of Jesus
Is about to be put to the test.

So let’s look at John 18.

What I want you to see first is how much power Jesus had.
Submission isn’t as impressive if it is forced.

If I only do what you say because you bend my arm behind my back and I have no other choice, it is submission, but it isn’t quite “meekness”.
However, if I have every ability NOT to do what you request
And yet choose to submit to your will and do it anyway,
Then we are talking about a Christ-like attitude.

So let’s look at this scene from the perspective of who has the power.

#1 ASSUMED POWER
John 18:1-3

John records here that after Jesus finished in the upper room,
• He did not run off to hide,
• He did not go to a new place,
• He did not seek to conceal Himself.

Instead He willingly went to the place
Where Judas and his soldiers could easily find Him.

It is amazing to me the willingness of Jesus.
Matthew Henry wrote,
“When the people would have forced him to a crown, he withdrew, and hid himself (ch. vi 15); but when they came to force him to a cross, he offered himself; for he came to this world to suffer and went to the other world to reign.”
(Matthew Henry commentary, pg. 1611)

He is not running from duty at all, instead He seems eager to face it.
For as you know, His hour was now at hand.

And so John says, “He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.”

“Kidron” – “black brook” – the drain for the blood of the Passover Lambs
30 years after Jesus they counted 256,000.

He then enters the place that the other gospels tell us
Is called Gethsemane and there He begins to pray.

He is literally here a sitting duck.

(Vs. 3-4) “Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.”

And what a picture we have painted for us.
Here John tells us who comes to arrest Jesus.

(Look at them)
1) Judas, the traitor, and I’ll tell you why they brought him along. First to locate Jesus, but also to identify Him in case one of the disciples tried to pretend to be Him and die in His stead. Judas came to kiss the One they were to arrest.

2) officers from the chief priests were no doubt brought as the authority to arrest Jesus, since He would be taken to trial in front of the Sanhedrin first.

3) the Pharisees were no doubt there to mock, but also to substantiate the warrant for His arrest in case Jesus tried to argue His way out of it.

4) the Roman cohort we brought in case there was a struggle. A Roman cohort at full strength was 1,000 men strong. It consisted of 760 infantry and 240 cavalry and one was always in Jerusalem to control the peace. Commonly a cohort was simply 600 mean and the smallest record of any Roman cohort was 200 men.

And if you were to look at the scene as this army approached the garden, they must have had the very display of power.

They certainly looked powerful, but you will quickly see that
They weren’t even close to the most powerful in the garden.

#2 ACTUAL POWER
John 18:4-6

Here John allows us to see who really had the power.

“It seemed like the guards had the power,
But it only seemed that way.”

For as Jesus goes out to meet His accusers, He had a point to make.

(4) “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

It wasn’t because He did not know.
John makes that point obvious.
He knew what was going on.

He was about to bring their pride and faulty assumptions
Down a notch.

(Vs. 5-6) “They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He.” They drew back and fell to the ground.”

When Jesus introduces Himself we get a glimpse of His glory
All of a sudden we see who really has the power.
For not only could Jesus have put them on their knees,
He had the power to keep them there.

Remember this Old Testament story?
The King of Israel sends servants to seek foreign gods and Elijah catches them and sends them home. It angers the King and so he is going to go get Elijah.

2 Kings 1:9-14 “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.'” Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.'” Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. “Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

I want you to know Jesus could have easily done the same,
But His purpose was not escape, but to show where the power really was.

In case they thought they were in charge,
Jesus gives us a glimpse of the future.

Isaiah 11:4 “But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”

Philippians 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”

Jeremiah 16:21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know — This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.”
That day is a certain day that is coming
And Jesus here gives His arrestors just a glimpse.

It is Jesus here who truly is strong.

Now you are already catching my point.
We would have said that the army was pretty powerful,
And yet Jesus just showed us He is more powerful than them.

Assumed Power Actual Power
#3 AUTHORITATIVE POWER
John 18:7-9
It first begins in tragedy as these hard hearted men fail to acknowledge the power that Jesus has, as they arrogantly rise to ask for Jesus again.

But then comes a very humorous incident.

(Vs. 8-9) “Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

DID YOU CATCH WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
Did you catch who is giving the orders?

THE ACTUAL POWER OF GOD TRUMPS
THE ASSUMED POWER OF THE WORLD EVERY TIME.

• See Pharaoh’s army who couldn’t stop a rabble of Hebrew slaves.
• Just look at the impenetrable walls of Jericho…
• Just look at a Giant about to fight a shepherd boy…
• Just look at Nazarene holding a donkey’s jawbone about to fight 1,000 Philistines…
• Just look at Gideon scaling down his army to a mere 300 men…

And the list goes on and on.
Remember when Paul was loaded on a boat to sail to Rome?

THE ACTUAL POWER OF GOD TRUMPS
THE ASSUMED POWER OF THE WORLD EVERY TIME

We have talked recently in our Sunday morning study how Satan is the god of this world, and how the current world lies in His power.

And it does.
But that does not mean that God is not still the ultimate authority.
Here God flexed His muscle.

Jesus is God and He can do whatever He wants.

That is why when Jesus would later stand before Pilate He would say:
John 19:10-11 “So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

And that is the point.
No one could do anything to Jesus that He didn’t allow them to.
• If He didn’t want the soldiers to find Him, He wouldn’t be found.
• If He didn’t want Judas to kiss Him, He wouldn’t be kissed.
• If He didn’t want to be arrested He wouldn’t be arrested.

You get the point?
Jesus is hands down the most powerful force in the garden.
He doesn’t have to do anything He doesn’t want to do.

So now let’s look at His “gentleness” or “meekness” or “submission”

#4 APPLIED POWER
John 18:10-14

Now in these 5 verses we see two examples of power.
One is wrong, and one is right.

Obviously you know which is wrong.
(Vs. 10) “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slaves name was Malchus.”

I couldn’t have been anyone but Peter,
And don’t go off here bragging about Peter’s courage.

Misguided zeal is very dangerous.
A zealot without knowledge only causes trouble
And hinders the true work of God.

If it had been left up to Peter, Jesus would have never died on that cross,

What Peter had looked like strength.
BUT IT WAS REALLY ZEALOUS ARROGANCE

John Calvin wrote “Let us be warned by this striking example to moderate our zeal; and as our unrestrained sinful nature is always eager to attempt more than God commands, let us learn that our zeal will turn out badly whenever we try and do anything contrary to God’s Word. Sometimes the beginning promises much, but in the end we shall be punished for our rashness. Let obedience be the basis for everything we undertake.”

And as Peter was swiping for this man’s head (only getting an ear)
We see what strength is not.

Peter was not applying the power of God.
Peter was trying to use the power of the world.
Peter was the opposite of “gentle” or “meek” or “submissive”

This is not how the church fights.
Zechariah 4:6 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
We do not apply God’s power by trying to prove our strength.

And so next we see how true power is applied.
(Vs. 11) “So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

NOW THAT IS POWER
We do not see the power of Jesus in His victory,
We see the power of Jesus in His submission.

We call it meekness
“Strength under control”

That is THE GENTLENESS OF JESUS
He did not have to do what He did, but He submitted Himself to God’s will.

You’re familiar with the song:
“No one took His life, with love He gave it. He was crucified on a tree that He created.”

And look at the degree of His submission.
(12-14) “So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.”

They arrested Him…
They bound Him…
They led Him…

What did they think they were really accomplishing?

THE PICTURE IS THAT JESUS
HAD ALL THE POWER OF GOD AT HIS FINGERTIPS
(as evidenced when He said, “I am He”)
BUT INSTEAD HE CHOSE TO OBEY HIS FATHER.

THAT WAS THE GENTLENESS OF JESUS.

NOW – WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
As I mentioned at the beginning,
That mentality is the very heart of obedience.

Listen to what Peter had to say about our obedience
In light of Jesus’ meekness.

TURN TO: 1 Peter 2:13-3:17
NOTE: 1 Peter 3:15-17

That is what it means to live this life with the gentleness of Jesus.

It is to do God’s will even when you have the power to do your own.
Jesus always did this.
And it is our calling to be like Him.