The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Playing, with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, pastor Tony is teaching in the book of John. Please open your Bible to John chapter 18 verses 12 through 27.

Tony Clark: We left off in verse 11 last week, and guess what we picking it up today? In verse 12. That's just how we do it. John chapter 18 looking at verses 12 to 27. And Father, thank you so much for this opportunity to teach your word to your precious people here. And Lord, you brought them here to hear this word. And so Lord, I pray that nothing or no one would distract the word of God from going forth today in Jesus name. Amen. John 18 looking at verses 12 to 27. The title of this message is betrayed part two.

Betrayed part two. Now, in part one of this study, we saw the person who betrayed Jesus identify for us in verse two as Judas, one of the 12 disciples. And and we talked about how betrayal cuts the deepest when it comes from someone close to us. In verse three, we see Judas brings a detachment of troops and officers to arrest Jesus. And when they came to the Garden of Gethsemane looking for Jesus, he comes out in verse four and says, whom are you seeking? And when they said Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus responded in verse five by saying, I am.

And when he said this, they all drew back and fell to the ground according to verse six. Then Peter gets excited in verse 10 and draws his sword and cuts off the high priest servant's ear. And Jesus tells him in verse 11 to put his sword back in his sheath. He says, shall I not drink the cup with my father has given me? And now we pick up the story in verses 12 through 14. Look what it says there. Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

And they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now, it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And in these verses, we see in verse 12 that the detachment of troops, which were identified in verse three as a Roman cohort, which consisted of 600 to 1,000 soldiers. They came with the officers, which were also identified in verse three as the temple police, came and arrested Jesus. And according to the end of verse 12, and they bound him.

Now, we are not certain whether Jesus was bound with ropes or chains. You realize that it it wasn't neither of these things that bound him, but it was love. It was love for you and love for me. He went willingly because we will later find out Jesus will say, no man take my life. He said, I lay it down. He already demonstrated his power of who he is by just saying his name, I am. And they fell to the ground. They had to collect themselves. So Jesus is saying, you you really not taking me. I'm allowing you to do this to me.

And we see in verse 13 that the temple police led Jesus to Annas first, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. Now, Annas was the high priest from AD 6 to AD 15. And he was removed from office by Valerius Gratus, who was the Roman governor of Judea before Pontius Pilate. And so when Annas was removed by Rome and replaced with Caiaphas, all this angered the Jews for them interfering in the religious affairs of the Jewish people. And so when Jesus was arrested and brought to Annas, uh this wasn't unusual because the Jews still looked to Annas as the true high priest.

Because according to Numbers chapter 35 and verse 25, the high priest served in that office for life. And Annas had a special hatred for Jesus because on two occasions Jesus cleansed the temple by going in and overturning the tables of the money changers and chasing the folks out. You see, you have to understand when you came to the temple with your animal sacrifice, your animal sacrifice had to be examined by one of the priests. And and it had to be without blemish. Let's say you bought a uh a lamb out in town for a nickel.

As you brought it to the temple to offer it as a sacrifice, they would examine that particular lamb and they will always find some microscopic kind of blemish. And they said, no, this is not going to do. But we happen to have some pre-approved lambs here for $5. And was ripping the people off. Caused the people to despise the offering of the Lord. So Jesus on two occasions went in and overturned the tables and chased them out. On the last occasion, the Bible says he made a whip and thrashed them out and said, get out of my father's house.

My father's house is to be a house of prayer, but you've turned it into a den of thieves. And we see this in John chapter two and verse 13 through 16 and Matthew 21 verses 12 and 13. Jesus did this because Annas was a greedy businessman who ripped the people off and charged them great amounts of money for their animal sacrifices, as I just mentioned. And it is believed that Annas was a multi- billionaire at this time because of his crooked business practices. So he didn't really care about being removed from office by Rome because it gave him more time to focus on his business.

And I have seen this at church as well where people have stopped serving and turned their positions over to other people so like Annas they can focus on their money-making business. And I have seen these multi-level marketing businesses destroying many many people, many many people of God caught up in getting rich and getting so many people under them where they had to turn their religious duties at the church over to someone else like Annas did. So they can focus more time on going to conferences where their directors are speaking that's over them and going to show them how to get more people under them and push them up the ladder.

Oh, no longer do they have time for church because now they have to go to this conference because the next director is speaking and I want to get to his position. And no longer can they get caught up with what happened at church and watching service online because they too busy watching and listening to other conferences of the people who are over them and they giving them ways of how they can get other people under you to push you up the ladder. And I've seen this so many times this kind of stuff ruin believers. Believers on fire who sharing their faith and they want to share their faith.

All of a sudden no longer are they sharing their faith. Now, they talking to people with a motive, a motive of hopefully getting them under them and pushing them up the ladder. I've seen this. And now no longer do we have time to serve at church. So they turn their religious duties over to someone else so they can focus more time on getting rich. Oh, I've seen this happen. The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun and we see it here. And in verse 14, Caiaphas didn't know that he was speaking prophetically because Jesus died for the sins of the nation of Israel.

And not only for the nation, but for the sins of mankind. Do you realize that Jesus came to die for you? Well, see it is so easy for us to say that Jesus died for the sins of the world. Yeah, collectively. But can you say that Jesus died for my sin personally? Or can you look in the mirror and say Jesus died for my mess? See it's easy to say, oh Jesus died for their sin over there and definitely theirs over there. But can you look in the mirror and say Jesus died for my mess?

Jesus died for my lust and my envy and my jealousy. And he died for my anger and my secret faults and secret sins that I have when my wife is going to bed and the things I do and the locks I have on my phone so nobody can get in it and see my secret faults. Can you say Jesus died for me individually, personally, intimately? Or are you too busy saying Jesus definitely died for their sins over there and them over there? I know he died for their sins over there. Oh, so often we make light of what we are doing and we make light of the mess in our own lives.

Even Davis said, God cleanse me from secret faults. Those faults and sins that no one know that I'm doing, but you see. So we need to look in the mirror and say Jesus died for me personally. Look what it says there in verses 15 through 18. And Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. Now, that disciple was known to the high priest and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to her who kept the door and broke Peter in.

Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, you are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not. Now, the servants and the officers who uh had made a fire of coal stood there for it was cold and they warmed themselves and Peter stood with them and warmed himself. Now, in these in these verses should I say, and down to verse 27 we will see how someone like Peter would even deny the Lord. How could Peter do this? Deny him to the point where in another gospel it says that he will curse and swear that he even knew the Lord.

Oh, I've heard many misguided preachers say, yeah, Peter Peter got the cussing. He was cussing up in there. Peter was not cussing. Those words were not even made back then. It was worse than that. It means that he swore with an oath. It it it means he said he this is what he says in essence, may I be eternally condemned if I know that man? Or let's bring it closer to home for us. He says, may I go to hell if I know that man? Oh, that's worse than any four-letter word that you can ever come up with.

And this is this is where Peter found himself. But how could Peter, the leader of the disciples, do such a thing? Or it's the same way we can find ourselves in the same position. In verse 15 it says that Simon Peter followed Jesus. Or I love what Matthew says in Matthew 26 in verse 58. He said that Peter followed Jesus from a distance. Oh, this is key here. And maybe this describes you. Lately, you've been following Jesus, but it's been from a distance. How close are you with Jesus today? I love what Oswald Sanders, that great Christian author had to say on this subject.

He says, you are as intimate with God today only as you choose to be. Oh, just think of where you are right now. Look at where you are right now with the Lord. Look how close you are with the Lord. You chose to be there. You chose that. That's where you chose to be. Well, I feel far away from the Lord. You chose to be there. You chose to be far away. You are as intimate with God today only as you choose to be. It's your choice. All of us have seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Well, we all have that. It's what you do with that. How close would determine how close or how far you are to God. You choose that. Well, you don't understand, you know, I get there the kids and there's the this and there you not the only one with kids. Don't tell now kids cause us to backslide. Is that what it is? I know some some parents when they tell me, yeah, you know, we're we we are pregnant. That's the term today that couples use today. Dude, stop it. Cut it out. She's pregnant. Oh, you know, I gained weight with Cut that foolishness out and get to the gym.

Stop. She's pregnant. Okay. And and then it's funny because when they tell me they think I'm excited, I am. Okay, God bless you. Got a new addition to the family. But I know I I'm not going to see you or that baby till he going to kindergarten. Cuz some of y'all Oh, y'all don't like y'all don't like that? That's okay. It's still true. I had to get I had to get on Facebook to some folks and say, you know what, is it going to be kindergarten before I see y'all again? You know, what What the babies cause us to backslide?

Is that what it is? Are we serious? You are as intimate with God as you choose to be. The choice is yours. Well, pastor, you don't understand. I I I am raising three kids. My I I'm on grandkids now. You are as intimate with God as you choose to be. Oh, I get on I get on my kids same way. Same way Nobody's exempt from this thing now. You are as intimate with God as you choose to be. And so just look at where you are with the Lord. Look at where you are. You chose to be there.

Well, see but here's the thing. You still coming to church, but it's occasionally. You read your Bible, but it's, you know, it's here or there. But it's all from a distance. Your heart is far from God. No one knows because outwardly you still doing the right things. But it's from a distance. So if you are in this condition here's the thing. There's good news. There's good news. You can draw closer to Jesus starting today. The Bible says draw near to God, he draw near to you. It's a simple thing. I'm not going to get up here and say, here it is, 30 days of how to draw close to God.

It's so You don't need a some 30 day plan. You can draw close You you doing it by being here today. You draw near to him. You draw near to you. So verse 15 says that Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple, which refers to John, the author of this gospel. Oh, this shows me that when we follow the Lord at a distance like Peter, watch this, we take other people with us. And this is why verse 15 said, and so did another disciple. Oh, it has been rightfully said, if you want to know the temperature of a home or temperature of the church, stick a thermometer in the leader's mouth.

We always take other people with us. Men, single parents if you are cold or lukewarm in your walk with the Lord, so will your family be as well. Why? Because as a leader, we take other people with us. It said Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. We take other people with us. What do you think? Uh you said you heard me say many times everything stands and falls on leadership. Why do you think every time a company goes down, when another company comes in and buys it, the first thing they do is fire the CEO?

You say, well, why do why they do that? Because they figured it's because of you. Your leadership this company went down. So you the first one to go. See you. Everything stands and falls on leadership. Man, I don't want to go home, man. My family, man. Everything stands and falls on leadership. Man, you don't know my old lady back home and you know The Bible says that the woman is the glory of the man. Meaning that the woman reflects what the man is doing to her. I can always tell when a man is treating his woman right.

I can see it on her face. I say, he's treating you right, isn't he? Oh, yes he is, pastor Tony. How you know? I can always I can always tell. And the opposite is true too. I can go up and I can see a woman and I can say, I'm praying for you guys. Thank you, pastor Tony. Thank you. Because he's treating her like mess. And it's showing. It's showing. Everything stands and falls on leadership, man. We want the leadership. We want the responsibility. What we got to take it. We got to take the responsibility.

That means the spiritual responsibility as well. Stop depending on your your wife and your woman, your girl to be the spiritual leader dragging you around to church. Stop. Be a man. If you going to be a man, be a spiritual man. Not only bringing home the bacon, but the Bible as well. Oh, some men need to hear that. That's a little too tough for you. You thought you would come to get a little resurrection message and and and and we we throw that in, but you know I I'm just And ladies, please stop settling for these guys that you know don't have a spiritual ounce in them.

Stop doing that. Oh, somebody need to hear this today. You need to hear that's okay. It's tough, but it's still right. And the thing is that you didn't stop settling for these guys and well, you know, but he but he pastor Tony, he said he Stop. Stop. You going to kick yourself later on. Stop. Everything stands and falls on leadership. Now, notice how verse 15 also says that that disciple, referring to John, was known to the high priest. Now, it is believed that John's family had a fishing business called Zebedee's fish market. Zebedee being the dad that used to sell fish to the high priest.

And this is why John was known at the gate because he used to deliver fish there. Oh, verse 16 confirms this when it says, then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to her who kept the door and brought Peter in. So he went and just said, you know what, he's Peter he's with me. You know me. You know, I'm always delivering the fish. So he he Peter he's with me. And that's how he did that. And so as Peter is coming through the door, the servant girl just kind of staring at him.

Looked at him and said in verse 17, you are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? And he says, I am not. You know, I believe that it was the way that she said this man's disciple that put fear in Peter's heart. That he could be arrested as well. So he hurried off. Oh, no, I'm not. She probably said, you are not this man's disciple too, are you? Oh, amazing. Put fear in his heart cuz he thought he could be arrested as well. How could Peter say that he was not even a disciple of Jesus?

How how could he get to that point? Oh, I forgot to mention one of the reasons why Peter only chopped off the ear of Malchus in verse 10. I forgot to mention this last week because Matthew 26 verse 40 says Peter was sleeping when he should have been praying. And Jesus told them in Matthew 26 in verse 41, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. I just wonder if we don't find ourselves falling into temptations unnecessarily because we are sleeping rather than praying. So instead of praying, Peter was sleeping.

He wakes up and sees 600 to 1,000 soldiers and rubbing his eyes and pull out his sword and and just swung. Or I believe he was going for Malchus's head, but he happened to just get his ear. You know, I just wonder. I just wonder. I just wonder if we don't fall into temptations unnecessarily because we're sleeping instead of praying. And sleeping speaks of inactivity. It speaks of laziness. It speaks of slothfulness. And because we're too lazy to do those spiritual disciplines and we we too slothful to come to church and we we we just we just want to chill and do nothing.

And I wonder if we unnecessarily fall into temptation because we're sleeping instead of praying. I just wonder. Seems to be what Jesus is implying. Verse 18 says that the servants and officers who were the temple police brought Jesus to Annas. And as they were waiting on further instructions, some of them standing outside made a fire of coals and stood there for verse 18 says that it was cold outside and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. Oh, I have to ask us this question when you're feeling bad and and you're feeling lonely, where do you go to get warm?

If you go to the fires of this world when you're hurting, when you're lonely, when you're confused, you're going to get burned. Just ask Peter. When you're lonely, when you're confused if you go into the arms of someone not your spouse, let me tell you something, you're going to get burned. You're going to get burned. Just ask Peter. Now, the scene is about to shift back inside to Jesus. Oh, we will come back to Peter in verse 25. But as the officers and as these soldiers brought Jesus to Annas for examination, for them to talk to him now the scene is about to shift back inside in verses 19 to 24.

We will come back to Peter in verse 25 as he's warming himself by the fire. Look what it says there in verses 19 to 24. The high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine. And Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet. And in secret I've said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said. And when he had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand saying, do you answer the high priest like that?

And Jesus said to him, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why in the world did you hit me?

Guest (Male): If the Word Made Playing has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to you, why not consider becoming a Word Made Playing giving partner to keep this listener supported program on the air? As a giving partner, you join forces with Calvary Chapel Newport News's Kingdom Vision of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can make your tax-deductible gift online at calvarynn.org or send your gift of any amount to 15553 Warwick Boulevard, Newport News, Virginia 23608 and receive a gift from Calvary Chapel Newport News as our thank you. In addition to your financial support, we ask that you pray for the Word Made Playing broadcast that it touches hearts and generates change in the lives of people around the world.

We pray you've been blessed by God's word today and hope you'll tune in next time to hear the Word Made Playing.