John
17:1-26 - Jesus prays for you. Jesus prays for me. We
have come to faith in Him through the written Word of His apostles (20).
The story of the Cross (1-5), the story of the first disciples (6-19)
is an ongoing story. It continues in us. The saving effects of Christ’s
death are still being felt today. The written Word of His apostles is
still exerting its powerful influence on today’s world. Jesus is still
praying for us (Hebrews 7:25). He prayed for His first disciples – ‘that
they may be one’ (11). He prays the same prayer for us (20-23). Among
His first disciples, there was Judas Iscariot, ‘the one who chose to be
lost’ (12). If we are to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit’, we must
take account of ‘the Judas factor’ – ‘take notice of those who create
dissensions… avoid them’ (Ephesians 4:3; Jude 4; 1 John 2:18-19; Romans
16:17-18).
18:1-27 - The story continues. Jesus is betrayed.
Jesus is arrested (1-11). He stands before the Jewish authorities
(12-14,19-24). Jesus is ‘drinking from the cup which the Father has
given Him’ – He drinks from the cup of our condemnation that we might
drink from the cup of His salvation (11; Matthew 26:38-39; 2 Corinthians
5:21; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Jesus’ death was not only ‘expedient’.
It was ‘necessary’ – for our salvation (14; Luke 24:26). Alongside the
story of Jesus was the story of Peter (15-18,25-27). Jesus’ death was
not the end of His story – He rose from the dead (Luke 24:5-6; Acts
2:23-24). Peter denied the Lord three times. This was not the end of his
story. For each denial, there was a new commitment (21:15-17). For each
denial, there were, on the Day of Pentecost, 1,000 people brought to
Christ (Acts 2:38,41).
18:28-19:16 – ‘Barabbas was a robber’. He
was released (39-40). There was ‘no crime’ in Jesus. He was ‘crucified’
(38,4,6,16). Was Jesus no more than the innocent victim of a shameful
and tragic miscarriage of justice? No! Jesus, the King of kings, chose
to die. Looking ahead to the Cross, He said, ‘For this I was born…’
(36-37). In love, He chose death on the Cross. As truly as Barabbas,
each of us can say, ‘He took my place and died for me’. In His death,
Jesus did not only take the place of one sinner, Barabbas – ‘He took the
place of many sinners’. He did not simply bear the punishment deserved
by one sinner, Barabbas – ‘The Lord made the punishment fall on Him, the
punishment all of us deserved’ (Isaiah 53:12,6).
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