The LORD, Our Shepherd

Sermon Introduction

Last week, we spoke on Jesus as the Good Shepherd and how He illustrated that in the Gospel of John. This is what it means to be a Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ time, the Judeans and Galileans were steeped in Old Testament imagery. Everything related back to Scripture for them. Children from a young age would be taught Scripture by their father, because it was seen as a special blessing for a young man to learn his first verse from his father.

Now, we have our obsessions and things we focus on. It’s no surprise to hear people of my generation sit and talk about movie series they have enjoyed in such minute detail you wonder if the writer intended for those connections to be made.

In Jesus’ day, the three most quoted books of Scripture were Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Proverbs. If anyone made a reference to them, the average mind would make the connection. When Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd, the listener would immediately think of Psalm 23.

The Bible makes many references to believers being like a flock of sheep. “All we like sheep have gone astray,” Isaiah tells us in 53:6. These are not compliments. Jesus warns that people will come in like wolves among the flock.

If we are like sheep, then what is our leader like? To what does the thing compare?

Scripture Introduction

As you turn to Psalm 23, let’s talk briefly about that the book of Psalms is. It’s poetry. Every chapter is a poem. Hebrew poetry functions in images and symbols instead of rhyming. Rhyming is actually too simple in Hebrew for it to be considered an art form. Instead, they paint pictures with their words directly into the reader’s mind.

The collection of Psalms functions like a hymnal. It has praise songs and teaching songs. It has songs of deep feeling of thanksgiving. The Psalms are also very personal and introspective. The poets have no fear of pouring themselves out to God. They record their deepest sorrows here, though the psalm we will look at today is a psalm of gratitude.

Psalm 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³ He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This is why we love the Lord. He gave so much for us in the first place by freeing us from our sins, and He continues to give throughout our walk with Him.

Point 1:

Psalm 23:1-3 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³ He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

David wrote more psalms than any other writer. Out of the 150 psalms in our Bible, David gave us 73, almost half. The second place writer of the psalms is Asaph with only twelve. Many of the Psalms have no author listed so we simply cannot say if David wrote others.

Art comes out of what the artist has experienced or can deeply imagine. With Psalm 23, David drew up on his life as a shepherd boy, tending the flocks of his family. As a shepherd himself, David knew what it took to be a good one. The shepherd protected the flock from predators. David tells in another place how he fought off a lion and a bear that came for the flock. Jacob, who spent two decades as an under shepherd for Laban in Genesis, tells how he bore the cost of any losses to predators himself though custom said the under shepherd could not be charged for loss if he had done everything possible to prevent the loss. The shepherd takes care of the sheep.

In the days with open grazing, the shepherd would lead his flock from one place to another. The flock became accustomed to him and followed his leadership. The flock looked to him for protection because he had already led them well.

In this Psalm, David does something that his descendant Jesus would later do. Jesus several times made comparisons between men and God, saying, “if you, being evil, do this, how much more so will God do?” That’s the kind of imagery David calls on here. “If we, being evil, still know how to care for sheep, how much more so will God care for us?”

When Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23 came to mind for many hearers. Jesus is the one who provides for the flock and takes them to the best pastures. Jesus leads the flock beside still waters and gives them rest of the soul. As Jesus said in Matthew, “Come unto me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” That’s a wonderful promise. Rest. The wonderful rest of God.

David also tells us that the Lord guides believers in the paths of righteousness. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” No, good works will not save you, but if you are saved you will do good works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we were created to do good works. James says that faith without works is dead. But those who are saved will actively seek out good to do. They won’t simply avoid evil. They will actively do good.

Why are we to do good works and walk in the paths of righteousness? To glorify Him. We don’t do these things for ourselves but for His name’s sake. Every Christian leader that falters and falls into sin is a black eye to God’s kingdom. We know the names of many who started out following God and doing well but stumbled and abandoned the faith. Worse are those who continue acting as if they are in the faith but are really ravenous wolves, tearing apart the flock and preventing people from getting closer to God. In Matthew 7, Jesus warns of wolves in sheep’s clothing, these are those who works are only skin deep. They intend to destroy the flock and give a bad name to God’s people.

Other New Testament authors further describe Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Hebrews 13:20 and 21 tells us that the shepherd equips the saints. In 1 Peter 5:4, Peter calls Jesus the chief shepherd who comes in glory to reward the undershepherds.

Point 2:

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The whole psalm focuses on the Lord being the Good Shepherd and how the sheep respond to Him. The shepherd desires to take the sheep along pathways of righteousness, but that isn’t always the route we travel. There are times when the shepherd has to take the flock through dangerous territory to get to the good pastures. At these times, the sheep must trust the shepherd. The shepherd has brought them through tough times before. He has guided them in the little struggles of the home pastures; now they must trust in the dark times.

I had an experience like this with my first sheep. One evening, during her regular exercise, a dog barked and then began chasing her. I was not prepared for the sudden jerk on the rope, and seventh-grade me fell hard on the ground. I expected Baby to run on back to her shelter. However, she did not. As soon as she sensed I had dropped the rope, she stopped and came back to me.

Understand, she didn’t care if I was hurt or not. That was not her concern. After sniffing to see if I was still alive, she stood near me, tensed to run if needed. She trusted me to protect her from predators. She stayed near the closest source of protection she knew. She feared no dog, for her master’s walking stick comforted her.

Shepherds, famously, have carried crooked staffs for centuries. The hook on the end serves as weight if they need to strike out at a predator while also serving to catch lambs that are straying off. In Judea and Galilee, a lamb could easily get stuck on the side of a hill or cliff and need to be “hooked” up.

The Good Shepherd also provides a table in the presence of the sheep’s enemies. Even though we are surrounded by such a great number of evils, God assures us that no temptation can come upon us except ones we have the strength to overcome.

The Good Shepherd also anoints the sheep. Biting flies and parasites are the bane of a shepherd’s work. The wolf and bear might be a bigger threat but only on an occasional basis. Biting flies bother sheep throughout the season. The oil on the sheep’s head keeps the flies away from the face. The wool protects the body, but the face needs the oil.

Jesus gives so much that our cup overflows. He is great and His gifts are abundant.

The final thing David talks about with the Lord being his shepherd is that for those sheep who stay with the shepherd, goodness and mercy will pursue them. Some Bibles say “lovingkindness.” This is not just a word for forgiving someone. This mercy is covenant love. God shows kindness to us because we took on the covenant. Just as a shepherd takes care of his sheep because they trust his care, God takes care of those who have entered the covenant with Him. And those sheep will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Isn’t that good news? Isn’t that the kind of thing we need to hear?

For all the times we try to get away and run outside the pasture land, God graciously keeps us within it so that we may dwell with Him forever.

Conclusion

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but I ask is He your shepherd? We all make choices every day that determine if He is or is not. One of the things about sheep is how they get lost but don’t realize they are lost until you find them. That’s like us. Sometimes, we choose to leave God but other times we just sorta wander away.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The rules the Father gave us are for our own good. They enhance life not limit it. Jesus said that He came to give us life abundant. That means we will experience peaks and valleys. But just as He is with us on the highest peak, He is with us in the lowest valley. Even through the valley of the shadow of death, He remains with us.

Have you come to the shepherd to become part of His flock?

Are you a sheep that has wandered away?

Are you a sheep in the flock that just wants to draw closer to the shepherd?

Whichever way, let Jesus be your Good Shepherd.

Jesus, Our Good Shepherd

Sermon Introduction

Years ago, I used to raise sheep for my FFA project. Before I started that, I knew they were white, wool producers. It didn’t take me long to figure out they were also incredibly dumb. Some of them had walking around sense and that was where it stopped. These things worked hard at finding ways out of the pasture. We had one whom I would have named Houdini if I hadn’t already named him something else. He was incredibly gifted at finding the slightest loose spot in the barbed wire. He had scars all over his back because he didn’t care about the pain as long as he got out. And the worst part was, none of them knew when they were lost until I found them! Then it was like, “Oh, sorry, boss. Did we go into the neighbor’s pasture… again? So silly!”

You get one screwball in the lead, and they all follow. Somehow, the screwballs always wind up in the lead. Can’t have the one-in-a-thousand level headed ram leading the flock. Nope, the mean-girl ewe Mel bullied him until he let her lead.

Scripture Introduction

As you turn to John 10, think about this. John was the last of the four gospels, and differs greatly from the others. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very similar in the stories they tell, but each has a particular view of Jesus in mind. So, does John, yet many of the stories he selects are not found in the others. John knew that Matthew, Mark, and Luke had done as the Spirit led them. The Spirit led John to other stories to provide a view of Jesus needed in John’s time and place.

Matthew emphasized Jesus as the Lion of Judah, the fulfillment of prophecy. Mark emphasized his suffering and status as the suffering servant. For Luke, it was important to remember that Jesus was the Son of Man, the savior for all mankind. John, however, focused more on Jesus being the second person of the trinity. Now, the others portray Jesus that same way, but for John, it was the focus.

John’s gospel also differs from the other three gospels in that it has no stories that begin with the standard parable introductions like, “To what does the thing compare?” or “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” John records exactly seven miracles of Jesus in the first half of the book, which is often called the Book of Signs, because that’s the term John uses for the miracles. “This was the first sign Jesus gave…”

Along with the seven signs, Jesus gives us seven “I am” statements. This is one of them in John 10:7-18.

John 10:7-18 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Point 1: The Door to the Sheepfold (7-10)

Sheep have been tamed and raised for millenia. That’s why Jesus and the prophets before him use them as symbols so often. Everyone from the smallest village to the largest city knew something about them. They knew what Jesus meant when He said:

Jesus therefore said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

Twice in these verses Jesus points out that He is the door to the sheepfold. That makes us scratch our head. Is He made of wood? Ah, I say, do we not also make doors out of stone? We might be thinking this is metaphor, but for shepherds in Judea, it was not. As they went with the flock, some of the shepherds would make a temporary enclosure for each night. If they were near a hill or mountain, they would use that for one wall and make a fence out of stones for the other. If they had no hill, they would make a ring of stones. This allowed the shepherds to sleep part of the night. But where does the door come in?

The shepherds would leave a small part of the wall open so that the sheep could be brought out in an emergency. The chief shepherd of each group would lie in that opening, forming a human door that thieves would have to go over to get into the sheep and sheep would have to go over if trying to run away. The next morning, the shepherd would rise from the opening and pull down part of the wall.

The sheep, anxious from being kept up all night, would push and break through the wall. Only the shepherd can allow sheep in—sheep from another flock are not allowed. Those inside may go out and find pasture when the shepherd allows them. This is the job of the shepherd, and our Good Shepherd does it.

Jesus makes one final comparison to a thief here. The thief comes only to destroy. Whatever of your property he cannot use he will simply break. But Jesus, as the shepherd, gives the sheep abundant life. Remember in Psalm 23 where the shepherd allows the sheep to graze in the best valleys and with the best before him. There, the Lord removes the destroyers from the sheep’s pasture. Jesus is here connecting Himself with God. The Jews knew God as their loving shepherd; Jesus said He was that shepherd.

Point 2: He is Good (11-14)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ¹² “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

We’ve all heard the story of the boy who cried wolf. The boy was watching sheep for someone in the village. We get the story. Now, the boy is not a good shepherd, he’s a hired hand and does badly.

Jesus first compares the good shepherd to a hired hand. The hired hand does not do well. The hired hand does not own the sheep, so feels no compulsion to stay and fight off the wolf. He will flee as soon as he sees the wolf coming. This is contrary to David, long recognized as a good shepherd in Israel’s history. When the lion and the bear came, David fought each one off because the sheep were his father’s. The hired hand is not concerned about the sheep and lets the wolf have them. The surviving sheep—being stupid—are now going to distrust any human because of how one let them down.

What makes a good shepherd? According to Luke 15, a good shepherd goes to look for the one lost sheep out of a hundred. He doesn’t say, “well, that’s an acceptable loss.” He goes looking for what is lost. All of the gospel writers use sheep and shepherd imagery to describe Jesus and believers. An old Christian statue portrays Jesus as a shepherd lad, carrying a young lamb on his shoulders. One of the first Christian books outside the New Testament is “The Shepherd of Hermas,” which portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

It’s a very comforting image. Jesus as the Good Shepherd makes sure that no harm comes to us. He knows his sheep. My grandfather and uncle raised horses long ago. Preparing for my grandfather’s funeral, we found a black-and-white photo of Papa on a horse. The scenery behind him was nondescript. Nobody could identify it. My uncle took one look at the photo and said, “that was taken before we left West Texas. We sold that horse before moving.”

Some four decades later, from a black and white photo, my uncle could recognize a horse his father had owned. How much more so do you think Christ will recognize His own sheep?

Point 3: He Lays Down His Life (15-18)

¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. ¹⁷ “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Matthew and Mark both remind us that if the shepherd is stricken, the sheep will scatter. Jesus was stricken and the sheep scattered. Our Good Shepherd lay down His life for the sheep. He made the way that we could not. To prevent us all from being taken by the destroyer, Jesus lay down His life. No man took it from Him. He lay it down, for us.

The last thing Jesus says here is that He has other sheep in another fold. This would be a reference to gentiles. During Jesus’ life, only Jews believed in Him as the Messiah. They were His flock. Only sometime after Pentecost would gentiles become believers. I am sure that these words from Jesus scandalized some of His critics. But Jesus knew you can’t make the critics happy, so He never tried. He always stuck to His guns. In John 8, when the Pharisees accused Him of blasphemy by making Himself equal to God, they gave Him a chance to take it back. Jesus doubled down and made sure they understood He knew Himself to be divine the same way the Father is divine. When the high priest questioned Him in Luke, Jesus again made sure they understood He was claiming to be equal in power with God.

This amazing offer of salvation—of becoming part of the Good Shepherd’s flock—being made available to gentiles was quite surprising. Oh, gentiles could become God-fearers and eventually converts if they acted completely like Jews, but not many did because of the rigors associated with the Jewish life, such as being of restricted diet.

But Jesus said others outside the flock would come in. In Acts 15, the Holy Spirit would move the church to realize that gentiles did not have to bind themselves under all the Law to become part of the Good Shepherd’s flock.

Conclusion

We need a good shepherd because we fall so far from God’s standard. We are not good. Yet, He loves us and cares enough to send the Son for us. Jesus, the One who is Good, and Beautiful, and True, was struck for us. The Good Shepherd lay down His life to make a way for the sheep to come in. He guards us. Do you need to become one of His sheep today?

The Garden of Glory

Sermon Introduction:

This being Palm Sunday, we will be reading about the Triumphal Entry and what happened right after that. The Triumphal Entry kicks off Holy Week, the last days of Jesus’ earthly ministry and ending with His time in the grave on Saturday. We’ve just seen the entry, and next week we will celebrate the resurrection, so let’s spend time at an event between those two: the Garden of Gethsemane.

Scripture Introduction:

As you turn to John 18, remember that the Gospel of John divides easily into two, major parts—the book of signs, which records seven miracles of Jesus, and the book of Glory, where Jesus prepares for His glorification. The book of signs is the first 11 chapters with the book of Glory taking chapters 12 through 21. Chapters 12 through 19 deal with the week of Jesus’ triumphal entry to His time in the tomb.

Why the book of Glory? What glory do we find in Jesus dying on the cross like a criminal? It doesn’t seem glorified. Rightly, to our eyes, it is the worst death we can think of. Today, we will be spending time in the garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prays and is betrayed. Surely, this isn’t glory. How can the arrest be glorification? The Resurrection surely shows Jesus’ glory.

John speaks of “glory” many times in his gospel. In John 1:14, he writes, “and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus will remind us several times in John that the glory for Him comes from God not men.

But back to chapter 18 to begin Holy Week.

John 18:1-12 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. ² Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. ³ Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶ So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” ¹⁰ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 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?” ¹² So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,

1) The Glory Challenged (1-3)

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. ² Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. ³ Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Paul called Jesus the Second Adam and wrote how where the first failed, the second succeeded. In fact, many events in Jesus’ life have similarities to events in Israel’s history and Adam. Today’s passage has one of those similarities. Adam failed the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Jesus would face His last temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane. Where Adam faltered and fell, Jesus overcame the temptation to leave us to our deserved fate and drank from the cup of suffering. We know this was not easy. The gospels tell how Jesus spent hours weeping in prayer, begging the Father to take the cup of suffering from Him, yet always saying, ‘your will be done.’

When Jesus went into the Garden, He knew that Judas would come for Him there. This was no surprise. Many times they entered this garden over the Kidron valley for teaching. This was the betrayal that Jesus knew was coming. At the Last Supper, he had said one would betray Him then told Judas to go and do it quickly. The others did not know what Jesus meant by that.

Imagine that. Walking with Jesus for three years, seeing the miracles and hearing the teaching, yet betraying Him. I think, from what we see of Judas, that Judas did not intend for Jesus to be killed by the betrayal. From what we see of him, Judas was a zealot, a rebel against Rome. They believed the Messiah was coming in power and glory to drive out the Romans and “restore the Kingdom to Israel.” I believe Judas intended to push Jesus into revealing Himself as Messiah. That was not the glory that Christ came to provide the first time. The first time, the sun of righteousness rises with healing in his rays; the second time, He will come in power and glory.

Look at it through a zealot’s eyes. You want Rome out of the territory. You believe this man is the Messiah. He’s not moving fast enough for you. How can you push him to proclaim independence? Back Him into a corner! With your information, the Romans send a cohort along with officers from the Sanhedrin against Jesus. Jesus calls ten thousand angels to prevent the arrest. The angels don’t stop there, but push out the entire Roman army from Judea and Galilee (and from Samaria, why not?). They overthrow the corrupt Sanhedrin, and stretch the borders back to the extent of David and Solomon’s kingdom!

That’s a swing and a miss. All those years with Jesus, and Judas missed when Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Maybe Judas was busy stealing from the bag when Jesus said that?

But here’s a question. Jesus was in the Garden with the Apostles and maybe a few others from the Upper Room event. Why bring a cohort and officers from the Sanhedrin? A cohort was typically 480 soldiers, but any part of a cohort larger than a century (100) could be called that. Why so many? Two reasons. 1) In case the crowd rioted (as Judeans often did when Rome got too pushy) and 2) To prevent escape.

The soldiers came from Jerusalem to the garden. They would have been visible and audible for some time. Sneaking in armor is very difficult. The garden is next to several mountains (like the Mount of Olives) which are deeply forested. If Jesus wanted to escape, He could have. Get a hundred yards into the trees, and no one is catching you. In fact, notice that when the Apostles fled, they got away cleanly.

2) The Gory Claimed (4-9)

⁴ So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶ So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹ to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

John reminds us that Jesus knows all things before asking the questions of them. Only John does not record Judas’ kiss of Jesus (Matt 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:47-48). This is a turning point. Lives are about to change. Judas openly betrays Jesus; whatever his motivation, he betrayed his Lord. He did wrong. He will regret his wrong doing, but only to kill himself after seeing what his actions brought. He returns the money but cannot return Jesus to life. Could Jesus have forgiven Judas? Yes, had Judas repented to God, the man could have found forgiveness. He did not; he chose death instead of finding peace with God.

The Apostles likewise do wrong. In minutes, they will flee from the garden. You wouldn’t expect the men who fled like this to turn into the strong, vocal proponents of the Resurrection. This is part of their testing. Unlike Jesus, who succeeded against His final temptation, they failed here, but will later persevere until the end. Of these men, all but one will die for preaching the Gospel. That last one, John, will die after being exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Tradition says they left him there to die because their attempts to execute him all failed.

When the soldiers and officers say they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, He answers, “I am.” They fall back. Why do they fall? Are they simply surprised that someone admitted to being the man they are looking for? Uh. Unlikely. These are soldiers and guards who came ready for a fight.

More likely, especially with John’s theme of the Glory of Christ in these chapters, His statement of power, I AM, struck them. Just as His statement of I AM in John 8:58, He was making clear He knew who He was. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, lay claim to it by invoking the personal name of God, a word that observant Jews of that time went out of their way to avoid saying. In John 8, they called it blasphemy and prepared to stone Him. Here, the arrest will follow because the time has come.

Jesus also says to let the others go. He has just prayed for them, and His concern was now for them. They will have ministry to do after the Resurrection and glorification of Jesus.

3) The Glory Revealed (10-12)

¹⁰ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. 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?” ¹² So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,

Peter, as so many of us try to do, then intervenes. We are often our own biggest obstacle. We can’t help but get in our own way or in the way of those we love. Peter has good intentions here. He tries to help his Lord. But the time of Christ’s glorifying had come! An ugly step on the way to glory was the cross. He had said in John 12 “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” By this, He signified His death on the cross.

Peter cuts off a slave’s ear. Jesus heals the man and tells Peter to sheath the sword. In the other Gospels, Jesus had prayed that the cup of suffering be taken away, nevertheless, “not my will be done, but yours.” In John, He references those prayers by saying “the cup my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?”

The healing of the ear revealed that He could do miracles. It revealed a foretaste of the glory He was about to enter into.

Jesus was arrested. The Apostles fled. The soldiers would take Jesus to begin the trials. Some of the Apostles would sneak back to see what was going on, but Peter’s betrayal was still to come. The man who promised to always be with Jesus was one of them who ran. Peter would later deny knowing Jesus three times.

This was all necessary for Jesus to be glorified. Jesus, the Lamb of God, had been slain from before the foundation of the world. The parts these men played had been necessary from them. Part of Jesus’ prayer for the Apostles was that they would see the glory that God had given Him. Soon, they would. But you have to go through the garden and the cross to get to the empty tomb.

Conclusion

Glory. It is truly an important part of Jesus’ ministry. So important, that John devoted half his Gospel to speaking about Jesus’ glory. In John’s eyes, that week of glory was as important as the ministry with signs and wonders. You see, both the signs and glory showed He was God come to minister to man, but the glory shows how man can be saved. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. The glory of the cross made that possible. The cross couldn’t happen without the Garden. There, He was lifted up.

For Such a Time as This

Focus: We must be ready for that special moment God has planned for us.

Sermon Introduction

When most people hear the title, they think of Esther, but Esther is not the only person placed on earth for a specific time. Another person was the father of John the Baptist. John had to be born at a specific time, so his father had to be prepared for that time.

Scripture Introduction

Turn to Luke chapter 1. As you turn, let’s talk a bit about the Gospel of Luke. Luke was a ministerial companion of Paul, and the only gentile writer of Scripture. Luke gave us two books of the Bible, his Gospel and Acts. Acts was history of the early church, and if you read it closely, you can tell when Luke got saved. In Acts 16, Paul and company enter the city of Troas, but while there, Paul has the vision of the Macedonian man and Luke writes “we sought to go into Macedonia.” Acts and Luke account for the largest block of Scripture written by a single author.

But before Luke wrote Acts, he wrote an account of the Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. We can see reading it that Luke became very familiar with the Old Testament scriptures. He uses the same words and phrases they do so that his readers will catch the fulfillment of prophecy.

The first prophecy he chooses to write about is the fulfillment of the Messiah’s forerunner coming. That was John the Baptist.

Luke 1:5-23 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. ⁸ Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. ¹⁴ “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” ²¹ The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³ When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

Usually, we spend time looking at the announcement of Gabriel to Mary that Jesus was coming and how Mary visited Elizabeth afterwards. Two women with miraculous children. Elizabeth beyond child-bearing age and Mary unmarried. He goes on to write about John’s birth, but I want us to look at the announcement of John’s birth.

Point 1: Zacharias the Man 5-7

Luke begins in a very formal and contemporary style, telling the reader why the book was written. Then it shifts, becoming very reminiscent of the Old Testament. You might imagine that you are suddenly reading Shakespeare. Luke does this to transport us into the Old Testament. He doesn’t spend time telling us what we should already be familiar with from the Old Testament. Instead, he expects us to know that Zacharias and Elizabeth are models of piety, awaiting the Messiah and faithful to Torah. Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, all of them are devoted to God await the promises God made their ancestors.

Luke starts at the Temple, during the reign of a bloodthirsty tyrant who killed all who were rumored to be a threat to his rule, the angel Gabriel appears to a priest serving in his rotation. Zacharias is a Levite priest of the division of Abijah. What is that? The descendants of Aaron were arranged in 24 divisions, and in the first century lived throughout Judea and Galilee. Most of the Abijahites lived in the far north part of the Land. They served in the Temple and courtyard twice a year for one week at a time. The Abijahites were the eighth and served the week after Pentecost and again in December. The change of divisions would occur at midday on the Sabbath. The outgoing shift would perform the morning sacrifice while the incoming would perform the evening.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were faithful followers of God. Luke says they were righteous and blameless. They observed the law as well as any human being could. They followed the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

While Luke doesn’t tell us Zacharias’ exact age, we know he was advanced in years and his wife was past child bearing. I imagine this would put him in his late 40s, because priests served from age 20 to 50, then they were to retire.

This reminds us of Genesis and how Sarah was barren into her old age. We might also remember Rachel, Jacob’s wife who waited so long for children. Children were a sign of God’s blessing, and not having children meant He had not blessed your marriage. When David’s wife Michal tried to humiliate him, she was cursed to have no children.

As a faithful couple, they had longed for years to have a child of their own! One to hold and cherish, to raise and teach. That child had not come. The Bible says they were advanced in years. We can only assume that Elizabeth had reached menopause. They knew what that meant. The hope of a child died within them.

I imagine the tears they shed when Elizabeth went beyond the age of child bearing. I imagine the disappointment they felt. Oh, the questions they must have asked of God and each other! What did I do wrong, Lord? Where did I fail you? But the time simply wasn’t right. John needed to be born just before the Messiah.

Point 2: Zacharias the Priest 8-17

Even though he was greatly disappointed with having no child, the priest Zacharias continued his duty at the Temple. His personal disappointment had no impact on his service to God! In his yearly rotation, he served faithfully, eagerly awaiting the times when he would be called upon for greater service. Like the others, he helped with the sacrifices and spoke to the adherents. Two weeks a year, he came with his rotation. During the feasts of Passover and Succoth, he came with all the priests to stand in the Temple for a week.

At the time of the daily incense burning (once in the morning, once in the evening), the priests would line up. Each hopeful that he would be chosen to offer the incense. With the number of priests available, he would likely only do it once in his life. The eligible priests would line up and a number would be drawn. The priests would count off and the priest of that number would make the offering and then never stand for the counting again unless all present had also offered.

Zacharias’ time in Luke 1 was likely the only time he was blessed to offer the incense. Priests waited their entire lives to be chosen by the lot. It was a sign of God’s blessing on them. I am sure that Zacharias prayed many times before he went in that this day he would receive the blessing.

Put yourself in Zacharias’ shoes and imagine hoping that this is the day you would be selected to serve by offering incense before the Lord. The makeup of the incense was kept a closely-guarded secret by the priests of the division of Avtinas, who twice a year made the incense for all the divisions to use. It was not permitted for any except a priest to make the incense, and it was said that when the Avtinas made the incense, it could be smelled as far across the Jordan river and the other side of the Dead Sea and the fortress Machaerus 28 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies, where John the Baptist was held in prison for two years and executed.

Zacharias began the incense offering filled with joy at having been chosen by God to make the offering. But God had a greater surprise in store for the old priest. God sent an angel to deliver a special message.

Unfortunately, Zacharias was frightened by Gabriel’s appearance. I’m sure we would be, too. Every appearance of an angel to a man results in the man being afraid. Some angels are described with multiple wings and faces or many eyes. Some are described in battle armor, ready to fight for God. However Gabriel looks, it terrified Zacharias.

Gabriel tells him not to be afraid and that his prayer has been heard by God! Zacharias and Elizabeth will have a son! With more Old Testament imagery, Gabriel says that this son, John, is to be a Nazarene from birth and never drink alcohol or spirits. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth.

Zacharias that his wife would bear the forerunner of the Messiah! The prophet who was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah! Elijah, one of the greatest Old Testament prophets. The prophet who refused to bow to Ba’al and stood before King Ahab. The prophet who brought about a great revival of true worship in the kingdom! Zacharias’s son would serve God in that same manner!

At this point, Zacharias was floored! Not only a son but a prophet!

Point 3: Zacharias the Man (part 2) 18-23

Unfortunately, Zacharias did what so many of us in his shoes would do—he doubted. In the flesh, it’s easy to see why. He is old. Elizabeth is past the age to have children. Considering how young most people in Judea were when they had children, John’s first word to Zacharias was likely to be “grandpa!”

Just as the man asked, Gabriel gives Zacharias a sign—he will be mute until after the child is born. Specifically, Zacharias will be mute until the son is named John. Even after the birth, Zacharias will remain mute until the naming ceremony. Because it isn’t just the birth that the angel foretold but the name and occupation of the lad.

The people standing outside the Temple wonder what is taking Zacharias so long. The incense offering should have been concluded by now. Obviously, he went in alone. When he comes out unable to speak, they realize immediately that he had a vision in the Temple! I’m sure they pressed him with questions but he was unable to answer.

And at the end of his service in the Temple, Zacharias returned home to Elizabeth. Together, they would await the forerunner of the Messiah!

Conclusion

Have you given up on something important to you like Zacharias and Elizabeth had? The sorrow of seeing more years behind you than in front of you can be overwhelming at times. Remembering how you were once so young and full of dreams that never quite came true is a heavy cross to bear.

However, the important thing is to remember that God can still use you. That time of waiting may be just what God wants to shape you.