John 18:1-11, The Arrest of Jesus


The Arrest of Jesus
Text:  John 18:1-11

There are three lessons we learned in this first sermon series.  (1)  Jesus loves the world; (2) Jesus protects the church; (3)  Jesus blesses His enemies. 

Jesus knew about his coming death.  He didn't hide it nor run away from it.  This is a good lesson to learn that no matter how much difficulty we face, we push through, and God allows us to persevere.   Look at these verses on how Jesus contemplated on his death:  

·       Mark 9:30-32 - He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

·       Matthew 20:17-19 - Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"

No matter how diffficult the road maybe, we can still love others and bless our enemies.  

Discussion Questions

  • In what way have you felt the love, protecting and the blessing of God lately? 
  • How would you respond to God’s affection to you? 
  • Would you continue to pray for those God have put in your path?  Pray for the four individuals and this week, extend an invitation for them to come for the April 4th event.  





Did you know? Here are some facts to ponder upon.

  •  According to the BBC: “No trial or execution in history has had such a momentous outcome as that of Jesus in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, 2000 years ago. But was it an execution or a judicial murder; and who was responsible? The story begins when the Galilean rebel Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling a prophecy in the Hebrew Bible about the coming of the Messiah. He's mobbed by an adoring crowd. [Source: BBC, September 18, 2009 |::|]
  •  “The next day Jesus raids the Temple, the heart of the Jewish religion, and attacks money-changers for defiling a holy place. The leaders of the Jewish establishment realise that he threatens their power, and so do the Romans, who fear that Jesus has the charisma to lead a guerrilla uprising against Imperial Rome. |::|
  •  “Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, tried by Caiaphas and then by the Roman Governor. He's sentenced to death and executed. Caiaphas Caiaphas had a privileged position Caiaphas was a supreme political operator and one of the most influential men in Jerusalem. He'd already survived 18 years as High Priest of the Temple (most High Priests only lasted 4), and had built a strong alliance with the occupying Roman power. Caiaphas knew everybody who mattered. He was the de-facto ruler of the worldwide Jewish community at that time, and he planned to keep it that way. |::|
  • “The case against Caiaphas is that he arrested Jesus, tried him in a kangaroo court and convicted him on a religious charge that carried the death penalty. What were Caiaphas' motives? Jesus threatened Caiaphas's authority. Caiaphas could not afford to allow any upstart preacher to get away with challenging his authority; especially not at Passover time. This was the biggest Jewish festival and scholars estimate that around two and half million Jews would have been in Jerusalem to take part. Caiaphas did not want to lose face. |::|




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