Betrayed, Arrested, Abandoned, Denied and Abused —John 18

Goal:

To truly hear what God is saying to us in this passage
and respond to it

Plan for today

1. The story of betrayal, arrest, abandonment & abuse in John 18
2. Four Questions
3. The core message of the passage, and our response

Structure of John

John 13–21 “Book of Glory”

13 A meal with the disciples

21 A meal with the disciples

Our Destiny

1. Simply receive and believe his love
2. Having taken in this love, give it out in God’s name

• We are a gift from the Father to Jesus: beloved companions for him
• He gives our love back to the Father as a gift:
  to be revealers of God’s self-giving love to the world (and universe)
• This is the highest expression of the Christian faith you will ever hear.
• More than that, it is the highest point of human existence

Questions

1. Should we be passive and not defend ourselves like Jesus?
2. What should the disciples have done?
3. What does John want us to learn? The core message?
4. How can we respond to in in our current situation?

Jesus’ Response Isaiah 53

7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
   yet he opened not his mouth;
   like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
   and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
   so he opened not his mouth.

• How to behave when treated unfairly by authorities
  • Is this really the lesson?

What it was like for Jesus

• Betrayal
• His care for disciples
• Abandonment
• Unfair trial
• Brutality
• Yet these were the very people
• “He came to his own, yet his own people did not receive him.
• And now he was going to die for them!!

Romans 5

6. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8. but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Takeaway

1. Appreciate what it was like for Jesus to love at this moment
2. The core of following Jesus is to show this kind of love

• Get into a quiet place and ask Jesus what it was like for him at this point
• Ask him to bring to your mind how his love could flow out of you in your life situation right now
• Take a step in faith, even though you don’f feel like loving -story of Corrie Ten Boom