John 12 Through John 18
"The Journey" we are walking with Jesus in this lesson is one filled withy UPS AND DOWNS!
1.
The Journey to Jerusalem
a.
This last leg begins in Bethany at the Home of
Lazarus, Mary and Martha
b.
The Crowds are already beginning to assemble
2.
Weeping over a City
a.
He saw the DEEPER issue… the Lost Condition of
Souls… He saw sin
3.
The Triumphant Entry
a.
City filled with people from all over who want
to see more MIRACLES
b.
Since He was doing the MIRACLES… He had to have
POWER… So they thought!
c.
2 Processions that day… a Roman one on the one
end of town and the one of the Loving King on the other… one a show of power
and the other a show of humility
One a show of MAN’S WAY… another a show of God’s Way
A
Day of Two Processions
You
might not know that Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem was not the only
procession the city saw that day. In the year 30 AD, Roman historians
record that the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, led a procession of Roman
cavalry and centurions into the city of Jerusalem. (The Last Week, Marcus Borg and John
Dominic Crossan, p.1)
Imagine
the spectacle of that entry. From the western side of the city, the
opposite side from which Jesus enters, Pontius Pilate leads Roman soldiers on
horseback and on foot. Each soldier was clad in leather armor polished to a
high gloss. On each centurion’s head, hammered helmets gleamed in the
bright sunlight. At their sides, sheathed in their scabbards, were swords
crafted from the hardest steel; and, in their hands, each centurion carried a
spear; or if he was an archer, a bow with a sling of arrows across his back.
Drummers
beat out the cadence of march for this was no ordinary entry into
Jerusalem. Pilate, as governor of the region which included not only
Judea, but Samaria, and Idumea, knew it was standard practice for the Roman
governor of a foreign territory to be in its capital for religious
celebrations. It was the beginning of Passover, a strange Jewish festival
that the Romans allowed. However, the Romans must have been aware that
this festival celebrated the liberation of the Jews from another empire, the
empire of Egypt.
So,
Pilate had to be in Jerusalem. Since the Romans had occupied this land by
defeating the Jews and deposing their king about 80 years before, uprisings
were always in the air. The last major uprising, long before Pilate’s
time, had been after the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC.
The
uprising started in Sepphoris, about 5 miles from Jesus’ boyhood home of
Nazareth. Before it was over the city of Sepphoris, the capital of
Galilee, and the town of Emmaus had been destroyed by the Roman army.
After
putting down the rebellion there, the Romans marched on Jerusalem. After
pacifying the city, they crucified over 2,000 Jews who were accused of being
part of the rebellion. The Romans had made their intolerance for
rebellion well-known. And so on this occasion, Pilate had traveled with a
contingent of Rome’s finest from his preferred headquarters in
Caesarea-by-the-Sea, to the stuffy, crowded, provincial capital of the Jews,
Jerusalem.
The
Temple would be the center of Passover activity. Antonia’s Fortress, the
Roman garrison built adjacent to the Temple compound, would serve as a good
vantage point from which to keep an eye on the Jews. Pilate’s entry into
Jerusalem was meant to send a message to the Jews, and to those who might be
plotting against the empire of Rome. The spectacle was meant to remind
the Jews of what had happened the last time of a wide-scale uprising.
And, it was meant to intimidate the citizens of Jerusalem themselves, who might
think twice about joining such a rebellion if it was slated to fail.
The
two processions could not be more different in the messages they convey.
Pilate, leading Roman centurions, asserts the power and might of the empire of
Rome which crushes all who oppose it.
Jesus,
riding on a young donkey, embodies the peace and tranquility that the shalom
that God brings to His people.
Those
who watch that day will make a choice. They will either serve the god of
this world, might and power; or they will choose to serve the king of a very
different kind of kingdom, the kingdom of God.
.
The Week before the End
a.
He predicts His death to the Disciples
b.
Some Jews believe and some don’t
c.
He teaches the opposite of what people imagine a
leader to be
d.
Jesus predicts His betrayal
e.
Jesus predicts Peter’s denial
f.
Jesus comforts the Disciples and explains that
He is the way to the Father
g.
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit in His absence
h.
Jesus shares that He is the Vine and We are the
branches John 15
i.
The world will hate you because of me and the
Holy Spirit will be your guide
j.
The Disciples Grief will turn to JOY! Be
patient… it will get better!
k.
Jesus praying ifor Himself, for the disciples,
for ALL believers
l.
They go into the Garden and He is arrested
5.
Betrayal in the Garden
a.
Jesus is praying drops of blood
b.
Judas betrays with a kiss for 30 pieces of
silver
c.
Judas and a DETACHMENT of chief priests and
Pharisees and Roman soldiers
d.
Jesus, when asked…declares Himself to be “I AM” -
They all fall backward and down
My favorite portion of this passage is Jesus’ response to His
enemies: “I AM HE.” Once again, this is an emphatic self-proclamation of Jesus’
Deity. The literal translation in the Greek would be simply: “I AM” with the
pronoun “he” being understood. In the original, the word “he” does not appear,
and so Jesus’ reply would have been simple but staggering; He declared with all
the authority of Heaven and Earth: “I AM!”
His response perfectly agrees with all of His “I AM” statements
in the book of John. With the speaking of the name of God in our text, we are
told that the soldiers and the leaders “drew back and fell to the ground.” This
would be the normal expectation at the direct confrontation with the LORD YHWH.
This awesome display of power and His authority caused all of the soldiers, the
ones who THOUGHT THEY were powerful, to jolt backward as though they were hit
by an insurmountable force, and it forced them onto their backs, a very
vulnerable position…like turtles on their backs.
DO NOT MISTAKE the soldiers falling as “worship”. Falling
backward is not an example of worship but of betrayal: The falling back of
these men of valor (and of Judas) demonstrates the actions of the enemies of
Jesus not of believers. The normal mode of worshipers is to FALL FORWARD in adoration,
humility, and reverence. Falling forward, prostrating oneself before a Holy God
is the Old Testament model for worshiping Him. Falling backward was not a
bowing before God, but a being thrown away FROM God.
If you read the text, Judas Iscariot is leading the group: “And
Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 “Now when He (Jesus) said to
them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.” Here is the
definition for the Greek word for “drew back”: “to go away, depart, to go away
in order to follow any one, go after him, to follow his party, follow him as a
leader.” Judas had departed from Jesus, not to be a child of God, but a son of
perdition. He had changed his allegiance and joined the enemies of the Lord
Jesus. The words in this verse describe the actions, not of those who have been
filled or “slain” with the Spirit of God, but those who have become enemies of
God, betrayers of Godly faith.
There is an irony in some of Jesus’ words here, too, in verse 8:
“If you seek Me, let these go their way." It is obvious that Jesus is
forcing the hands of His accusers to let the disciples go, but that phrase “IF
YOU SEEK ME” really caught my attention. “SEEKING” is a big topic in John. The
word is used more than 32 times; Two definitions are this: “to seek in order to
find,” and “to seek, for example, require, demand”. People had been seeking to
seize and kill Jesus. People were seeking Jesus for healing. Jesus always was
seeking to do the Father’s will.
In John 4:23 Jesus had said: "But an hour is coming, and
now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Listen to David’s
instruction to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9: "As for you, my son Solomon,
know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing
mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the
thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He
will reject you forever.” Those who sought to kill Jesus followed their own
wicked and willful hearts of unbelief. They refused to seek Jesus on His terms,
as Savior, and the mention of God’s name pushed them back and away, and did not
change their hearts.
6.
The Questioning and Sentencing of Jesus
a.
First to Annas – Former respected and well known
High Priest
b.
Next to Caiaphas the Son in law of Annas and
current High Priest
c.
Next to Pilate
d.
Next to Herod
e.
Back to Pilate
f.
Pilate’s wife says… don’t do it
g.
Pilate offers them the chance to release Him
h.
Jewish leaders and people choose Barabbas
instead and want Jesus Crucified
i.
Pilate washes his hands of the whole thing and
hands Jesus over to the Roman guards to be crucified.
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