Daily Bread John 18
Daily Bread John 18
Jesus Arrested
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So 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.
4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am He," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
7Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
Observation:
There are times that not being able to read the Greek translation can cause us to miss something of importance. This is the case in 18:5, when Jesus says, “I am He”. The Greek for this phrase is “ego eimi”, which is the way the Greek Septuagint translates the Hebrew words, “I AM” in the Old Testament. This was the name that God (“Yahweh”) gave when Moses asked, “Who should I say is sending me?”.
Throughout John’s gospel, the author makes frequent use of “I AM” statements as Jesus reveals who He is to this mainly Jewish audience that John is writing to. They would not miss the connection to Jesus claiming to be the Messiah that they had hoped for. This is ultimately why Jesus was sent to the cross for claiming to be like God.
When Jesus goes to Pilate, he doesn’t know what to do with him because he doesn’t understand why the Jews are so mad at Jesus and want him killed. He doesn’t understand the importance of Jesus saying “I am He”. But those who came to get him did as it says they drew back and fell to the ground. Again this is easy to miss, but it shows these guys got a glimpse of the glory of God and had similar reactions as others had when they came in God’s presence.
Application:
Jesus ultimately was sent to the cross for testifying the truth of who He was. He did not shrink from revealing to the world, His person and His purpose. When Pilate examined he scoffed, “What is Truth?”
When we testify to the Truth it will certainly bring a reaction from people. Today it is not politically correct to stand up for the Truth. We are tolerant of everything except for when someone states if they think something is right and wrong. Tolerance used to mean we could disagree on something but respect each other. Now tolerance means agreeing that all ideas are equally valid and if we are sincere enough it is unquestionable. The problem is as Chuck Colson has so eloquently put it, “If everything is true, nothing is true.”
Jesus came to testify to the Truth. Truth is needed in our society badly. And it starts in the house of the Lord with each Christian being truthful before God and others. We see this with all the recent baseball star steroid mess. When people lie people get really upset, if it means they can’t play baseball anymore. But in other situations lying is okay because it doesn’t get you suspended from a league leading baseball team, which causes quite ruckus.
As you seek to follow Jesus, be a person of the Truth at all costs. Be a person of integrity (meaning your life matches your belief system). As Christians live with integrity in our daily lives in the world, we can be example of Truth to a society which is saying, “What is Truth?”
Prayer: Jesus thank you for being the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we seek the Truth at all possible cost. May we each be truthful with you about who we are and seek forgiveness and transformation so that we can become people who correctly handle and live out the Truth in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus Arrested
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So 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.
4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am He," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
7Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
Observation:
There are times that not being able to read the Greek translation can cause us to miss something of importance. This is the case in 18:5, when Jesus says, “I am He”. The Greek for this phrase is “ego eimi”, which is the way the Greek Septuagint translates the Hebrew words, “I AM” in the Old Testament. This was the name that God (“Yahweh”) gave when Moses asked, “Who should I say is sending me?”.
Throughout John’s gospel, the author makes frequent use of “I AM” statements as Jesus reveals who He is to this mainly Jewish audience that John is writing to. They would not miss the connection to Jesus claiming to be the Messiah that they had hoped for. This is ultimately why Jesus was sent to the cross for claiming to be like God.
When Jesus goes to Pilate, he doesn’t know what to do with him because he doesn’t understand why the Jews are so mad at Jesus and want him killed. He doesn’t understand the importance of Jesus saying “I am He”. But those who came to get him did as it says they drew back and fell to the ground. Again this is easy to miss, but it shows these guys got a glimpse of the glory of God and had similar reactions as others had when they came in God’s presence.
Application:
Jesus ultimately was sent to the cross for testifying the truth of who He was. He did not shrink from revealing to the world, His person and His purpose. When Pilate examined he scoffed, “What is Truth?”
When we testify to the Truth it will certainly bring a reaction from people. Today it is not politically correct to stand up for the Truth. We are tolerant of everything except for when someone states if they think something is right and wrong. Tolerance used to mean we could disagree on something but respect each other. Now tolerance means agreeing that all ideas are equally valid and if we are sincere enough it is unquestionable. The problem is as Chuck Colson has so eloquently put it, “If everything is true, nothing is true.”
Jesus came to testify to the Truth. Truth is needed in our society badly. And it starts in the house of the Lord with each Christian being truthful before God and others. We see this with all the recent baseball star steroid mess. When people lie people get really upset, if it means they can’t play baseball anymore. But in other situations lying is okay because it doesn’t get you suspended from a league leading baseball team, which causes quite ruckus.
As you seek to follow Jesus, be a person of the Truth at all costs. Be a person of integrity (meaning your life matches your belief system). As Christians live with integrity in our daily lives in the world, we can be example of Truth to a society which is saying, “What is Truth?”
Prayer: Jesus thank you for being the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we seek the Truth at all possible cost. May we each be truthful with you about who we are and seek forgiveness and transformation so that we can become people who correctly handle and live out the Truth in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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