“Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound Him, and led Him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year…” John 18:12-13 (Read John 18:12-24)

After Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was taken to the home of the high priests — first to Annas, who had been the high priest but was deposed by the Romans. Before Annas, Jesus was questioned regarding His disciples and His teaching and then sent to Caiaphas, the current high priest and a son-in-law to Annas.

Before Caiaphas and the Jewish council (Matt. 26:57-68), witnesses were sought against Jesus so that they might have grounds to condemn Him. When they could not even find two or three witnesses whose testimony agreed, Caiaphas placed Jesus under oath, saying, “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God” (Matt. 26:63).

Jesus answered, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64; cf. Mark 14:62; Dan. 7:13-14). The high priest then tore his clothes and said Jesus had committed blasphemy because He was claiming to be the Messiah and God Himself. The Jewish Council said Jesus was guilty of death and then mocked and abused Him.

In the morning, because it was not legitimate for them to conduct a trial and convict a person at night, the Jewish Council met again, this time to officially try Jesus and find Him guilty of death (Matt. 27:1; Luke 22:66-71). Again, Jesus was asked if He was the Christ, the Son of God. When Jesus told them that He was, they found Him guilty and led Him off to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, to attain the death penalty for Jesus since they, themselves, were not permitted by the Romans to put any man to death (cf. John 18:31).

Why did the Jewish rulers so hate Jesus, and why was He condemned for telling and teaching the truth about Himself and the sinful world in which He lived? Because the truth hurt — it revealed their sinfulness and the shortcomings of their religious system!

Who wants to hear that they are sinners who need to repent? Who wants to hear that good works, sacrifices, and observances of certain religious rites won’t make them right with God or save them? Who wants to hear that apart from saving faith in Jesus, God’s own Son, and His blood, shed upon the cross for the sins of the world, there is no forgiveness, no salvation, no true religion, and no hope?

Even today, religious leaders and religious people don’t like to hear these things, but they are true! If you hold to your own righteousness and your own religious works, you will join in condemning the Jesus of the Bible. If you believe the truth and acknowledge that it was because of your sins that Jesus died, if you trust in Christ Jesus, God’s own dear Son, as your Savior, you will have life in His name!

Dear Jesus, Son of God and our Savior, grant that we not reject and condemn You for speaking the truth about our sins or about You and Your redemptive work. Through the Scriptures, reveal to us our utter sinfulness before God and graciously grant us faith to trust in You and Your blood shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken

1 O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession—
What dark transgression?

2 They crown Thy head with thorns, they smite, they scourge Thee;
With cruel mockings to the cross they urge Thee;
They give Thee gall to drink, they still decry Thee;
They crucify Thee.

3 Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.

4 What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.

5 The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted—
God is committed.

6 There was no spot in me by sin untainted;
Sick with sin’s poison, all my heart had fainted;
My heavy guilt to hell had well-nigh brought me,
Such woe it wrought me.

7 O wondrous love, whose depth no heart hath sounded,
That brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded!
All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying
While Thou wert dying.

8 O mighty King, no time can dim Thy glory!
How shall I spread abroad Thy wondrous story?
How shall I find some worthy gifts to proffer?
What dare I offer?

9 For vainly doth our human wisdom ponder—
Thy woes, Thy mercy, still transcend our wonder.
Oh, how should I do aught that could delight Thee!
Can I requite Thee?

10 Yet unrequited, Lord, I would not leave Thee;
I will renounce whate’er doth vex or grieve Thee
And quench with thoughts of Thee and prayers most lowly
All fires unholy.

11 But since my strength will nevermore suffice me
To crucify desires that still entice me,
To all good deeds, O let Thy Spirit win me
And reign within me!

12 I’ll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,
That earth’s vain joys to me no more be pleasing;
To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor
Henceforth forever.

13 Whate’er of earthly good this life may grant me,
I’ll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me.
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me
Nor death alarm me.

14 But worthless is my sacrifice, I own it;
Yet, Lord, for love’s sake, Thou wilt not disown it;
Thou wilt accept my gift in Thy great meekness
Nor shame my weakness.

15 And when, dear Lord, before Thy throne in heaven
To me the crown of joy at last is given,
Where sweetest hymns Thy saints forever raise Thee,
I, too, shall praise Thee.

Title: O Dearest Jesus
German Title: Herzliebster Jesu
Author: J. Heermann, 1585-1647
Translator: C. Winkworth, 1827-78 (alt.)

“Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth…” John 18:4 Read John 18:1-11

Jesus, after He had taught and comforted His disciples and then prayed for them, went forth over the Brook Cedron to the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed to His Father in agony over the cup of suffering for the sins of the world which He was about to bear, saying: “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22:42; cf. 22:39ff.).

Judas knew the place because Jesus often went there with His disciples, so Judas came, bringing with him a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, with lanterns and torches and weapons, to arrest Jesus. What did Jesus do? He knew what would happen to Him. He knew He would be arrested, tried, mistreated, and crucified. Yet the Scriptures tell us: “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?” (v. 4).

And when they told Him that they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth, He did not hide His identity, but said, “I am He” (v. 5). [Literally, Jesus said, “I am.” Cf. Ex. 3:13-14] When Jesus said this, they drew back and fell to the ground (v. 6). When Jesus again asked them who they were seeking, He told them that He was the one they were looking for and asked them to let His disciples go.

When Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus said to Peter: “Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (v. 11). Luke tells us that Jesus touched this man’s ear and healed him (22:51). Matthew tells us that Jesus also said: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (26:53-54).

The point we should undoubtedly see here is that Jesus willingly obeyed the Father and went the way to the cross to redeem us. Jesus went forth to meet those who sought to arrest Him. Though His enemies and their soldiers had no power over the almighty Son of God and fell backward to the ground at His presence, He permitted them to take Him.

Though Peter was ready to fight for Jesus, Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, telling him that He could call for more than 12 legions of angels, but to do so would not fulfill the Scriptures, which told of the Messiah’s sufferings and death for the sins of the world and also of His glorious resurrection (cf. Isaiah 53 & Psalm 22).

Jesus Christ, “being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6-8; cf. Heb. 2:14-17).

Why? That He might redeem you and me! That He might suffer and die for our sins and win for us forgiveness and life everlasting so that we might look to Him in faith and be pardoned and reconciled to God! It is as the Scriptures say, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them…For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:19, 21).

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for willingly going forth to suffer and die for our sins and redeem us unto God. Graciously grant us faith to trust in You for forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth”
by Paul Gerhardt, 1607-1676

1. A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
And laden with the sins of earth,
None else the burden sharing!
Goes patient on, grow weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
That spotless life to offer;
Bears shame and stripes, and wounds and death,
Anguish and mockery, and saith,
“Willing all this I suffer.”

2. This Lamb is Christ, the soul’s great Friend,
The Lamb of God, our Savior;
Him God the Father chose to send
To gain for us His favor.
“Go forth, My Son,” the Father saith,
“And free men from the fear of death,
From guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
But by Thy Passion men shall share
The fruit of Thy salvation.”

3. “Yea, Father, yea, most willingly
I’ll bear what Thou commandest;
My will conforms to Thy decree,
I do what Thou demandest.”
O wondrous Love, what hast Thou done!
The Father offers up His Son!
The Son, content, descendeth!
O Love, how strong Thou art to save!
Thou beddest Him within the grave
Whose word the mountains rendeth.

4. From morn till eve my theme shall be
Thy mercy’s wondrous measure;
To sacrifice myself for Thee
Shall be my aim and pleasure.
My stream of life shall ever be
A current flowing ceaselessly,
Thy constant praise outpouring.
I’ll treasure in my memory,
O Lord, all Thou hast done for me,
Thy gracious love adoring.

5. Of death I am no more afraid,
New life from Thee is flowing;
Thy cross affords me cooling shade
When noonday’s sun is glowing.
When by my grief I am opprest,
On Thee my weary soul shall rest
Serenely as on pillows.
Thou art my Anchor when by woe
My bark is driven to and fro
On trouble’s surging billows.

6. And when Thy glory I shall see
And taste Thy kingdom’s pleasure,
Thy blood my royal robe shall be,
My joy beyond all measure.
When I appear before Thy throne,
Thy righteousness shall be my crown,-
With these I need not hide me.
And there, in garments richly wrought
As Thine own bride, I shall be brought
To stand in joy beside Thee.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #142
Text: Is. 53: 7
Author: Paul Gerhardt, 1648, cento
Translated by: composite
Titled: Ein Laemmlein geht
Tune: An Wasserfluessen Babylon
1st Published in: “Deutsch Kirchenamt”
Town: Strassburg, 1525

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:20-21 (Read John 17:20-26)

Not only did Jesus pray for His disciples who traveled with Him and heard His words and doctrine. On the eve of His sufferings and death, He prayed for those who would (in the days and years following Christ’s death and resurrection) come to believe in Him through the word of these first believers and disciples — the word recorded for us in the pages of the Bible.

Jesus prayed that those who would yet come to believe in Him through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word would also be one in the Father and the Son, and, so also, one with each other.

John also speaks of this in his first epistle when he writes: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

Through the hearing of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit graciously calls God’s elect to faith in God the Son as Savior and Redeemer and grants to them the forgiveness that Christ won for all upon the cross, thus bringing them into fellowship with God the Father, with Christ Jesus His Son, and with all other believers of all time who trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

Jesus even gives to them to partake of the glory that He received from the Father so that those who trust in Jesus are changed into His image and carry on the work that Jesus started by suffering and dying for the sins of the world (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18; 5:15-17; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 4:11-16, 20-24; Mat. 28:16-20; Acts 1:8). In fact, the closer we walk with our Lord Jesus by continuing in His Word and holding fast to Him by faith, the closer and more perfect in one we become with Christ and all others who trust in Him.

Many seek unity among Christians and churches without regard for the doctrine of God’s Word. True unity, on the other hand, is given to us as we hear and believe all that God’s Word teaches!

Jesus prayed that all whom the Father has given Him may one day be with Him in heaven and behold Jesus’ glory which the Father has given Him, for the Father loved the Son even before the creation of the world. Thus, Jesus prays for our eternal salvation and glorification with Him in heaven.

The apostle John writes in his first epistle: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Jesus concluded His prayer with some remarkable words to consider: “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:25-26).

The world of humanity has not known God the Father. Contrary to what many think and even though people may speak of God and use His name, they do not know God (cf. Rom. 3:10ff.). But Jesus knows God the Father, and His disciples know that Jesus was sent into the world by the Father to be our Savior. Jesus has and continues to declare the Father’s name among us so that we too might know Him and His great love for us, which is ours in His Son, Christ Jesus!

Dear Lord Jesus, keep us trusting in You and Your cross for the forgiveness of our sins and draw us ever closer to You so that we may be one with You, the Father, and with all who trust in Your holy name. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” John 17:9-11

Jesus spoke to His disciples of many things before going to the cross to suffer and die for the sins of the world and then rise again and ascend to the right hand of God the Father in heaven. He told them what would happen to Him, how He would be betrayed and crucified, rise again, and ascend to the Father. He spoke to them of heaven, of the Holy Spirit (the Comforter), and of the persecution and suffering they would face in this world. He urged them to continue in His Word and abide in Him so that they might produce much fruit and glorify God the Father.

After His words of comfort, counsel, and encouragement to His disciples, Jesus turned to His Father in prayer, first for Himself as He finished the work which the Father had given Him to do in this world, but then for His disciples. Notice that Jesus is not here praying for the whole world of men, but for those whom God the Father had given Him — those graciously chosen before of God and now brought to faith in Jesus through the hearing of God’s Word, which Jesus spoke to them.

What does Jesus pray? Not that God the Father would take them out of this sinful world, but that He would keep them in the true and saving faith and protect them from the assaults of the evil one upon their souls. Jesus prays: “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”

Jesus kept them in the true and saving faith while He was with them in the world, and none was lost but Judas, the son of perdition, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled (cf. Psalm 41:9; 69:25; 109:8). Now Jesus was coming to the Father and He prayed the Father to keep them from the evil one and sanctify them (set them apart as God’s own special people) through the truth, and Jesus says God’s Word is truth! As the Father sent Jesus into the world to redeem mankind, Jesus was sending His disciples into the world to bear witness to Him and the redemption He was providing by doing the Father’s will and going to the cross to bear the punishment for man’s sin.

What can we learn from this portion of Jesus’ high priestly prayer? First of all, we see the importance of praying for our fellow believers that God, who has graciously brought them to faith in His Son through His Word, would preserve them and keep them in the faith as they live out their lives in this world (cf. Phil. 1:6). Secondly, we see that God uses His Word to bring us to true faith and sanctify and set us apart for Him — this is all the more reason to read and study the Bible. Thirdly, we see that unity with the Father and the Son and our fellow believers comes to us from God through knowledge and belief of the truth (cf. 1 John 1:3ff.) — it is not an outward unity without regard for the doctrine of Holy Scripture. Finally, we see that, as Jesus was sent into the world and willingly went to the cross to redeem us, Jesus sends us into the world to bear witness to Him and the redemption He has accomplished for all by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross (cf. Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8).

Dear Father in heaven, graciously guard and protect us from the assaults of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh upon our faith. Sanctify us through the truth and preserve and keep us in saving faith until our lives in this world are through and we are received into Your glorious and everlasting kingdom of heaven. Enable us to bear witness to You and the salvation You have provided in Your Son, Jesus Christ, that others too might be brought to faith and be one with You, Your Son, and all others who believe the truth and trust in Your name. We ask this for the sake of Jesus and His blood shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” John 17:1-5

The hour had come. Jesus was about to go to the cross to suffer and die for the sins of the world and then rise again. On the eve of His death, He prayed that God the Father would glorify Him (the Son) so that He also might glorify the Father by giving eternal life to all that the Father had given to Him. To this end, God the Father had given Jesus authority over all flesh.

Jesus is here praying to His heavenly Father that, after He died for sin and accomplished our redemption by shedding His blood on the cross, the Father would exalt and glorify Him to His right hand so that He might also pour out the Holy Spirit and give to all God’s elect the eternal salvation which He won for us. In this way, God the Father, too, would receive glory for saving us from sin and death and giving us everlasting life.

What is eternal life? Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” To have eternal life is to know God the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent into the world to redeem us.

Notice that it does not say: “To know about God and about Jesus Christ.” It says: “That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Jesus, on another occasion, said, “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matt. 11:27).

Can anyone then know God the Father, or God the Son, if it were not given to him of God? No, it is a gracious gift of God to know Him and to know Jesus as God the Son and our Savior (cf. John 1:11-13, 18; 6:37-40, 44-47, 63, 65; Matt. 16:15-17). And to know God the Father and Christ Jesus, His Son, is to know and receive by faith the eternal salvation Jesus won for us by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross.

Do you know God and His Son, Jesus Christ? Or do you merely know about God and His Son? It is one thing to know of God and of Jesus and what He did for us and then continue on in our old ways. It is quite another to take hold of God’s mercy and grace through faith in Jesus Christ and to walk in fellowship with God (cf. 1 John 1 and 2). To have eternal life is to know and embrace God the Son as our Savior and walk with Him (cf. 1 John 5:11-13; Eph. 2:8-10).

Jesus finished the work which God the Father had sent Him into the world to do. He was on the way to the cross to pay in full for our sins and the sins of the whole world. Thus, Jesus brought glory to the Father, who had sent Him, by finishing His redemptive work. Jesus prayed that the Father would now glorify Him with the glory that He had with the Father before the world was created. This God the Father did when Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven to rule over all things and bring men into His eternal kingdom! Cf. Col. 1:12-14.

Dear Lord Jesus, graciously grant that we may truly know You and the Father and partake of Your grace and mercy through faith. We ask this for the sake of your holy and precious blood shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]