The King Who Steps Forward: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

You can take a seat if you brought your Bible today. We're getting into God's word. I want you to take it out and wave it in the air like you care and keep it up there. All right, this is your sword today. I want you to hold this up there and everyone can participate with me. I'm going to count to three and I just want you to shout word when we get to three. Here we go. 1 2 3. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us. You know, when you think about Christmas time, we often think this is this is a gentle time. Christmas is gentle. But I I really want us to see today that Christmas is actually intentional. So many times Christmas is not filled with silent nights and nor do many people have joy in their hearts as we sing joy to the world. But it's it's often a time surrounded with with chaos, with confusion, with hurt for many different reasons. I don't know what you're going through right now, but but not everybody's going through an easy time or a simple time.

Some people are hurting because of the loss of loved ones. Uh some people are hurting because of the loss of work right now. Uh there are are so many different things going on as I just even mentioned to you about the riches on. Is there any worse time to be sick than at Christmas time especially with the stomach bug? That's directly from Satan. You know that's true. Nothing's worse than throwing up. And as you just you think about the chaos and the confusion that can come at Christmas. And today I want to point you to Jesus who whom the story of Christmas tells us came to this world. And Jesus he wasn't just born as an ordinary man. This is God's plan. But he's not an ordinary man. He's King Jesus. And I want you to see today that King Jesus doesn't step away when times get tough.

Too many times we think during difficult the question we ask. Why would God let me go through what he he he's allowed me to go through? And I want you to know that you don't you don't have a distant deity that's just out there. You've got a real God that wants to step towards you. And what you're going to see today is that you've got to actually step towards God. And when you step towards him, you're going to meet with a God that can absolutely do anything. We find ourselves in the book of John. If you got a Bible, you could turn to John 18. We're looking at the life of Jesus. As we look at the life of Jesus, there's no one like him. At this point of the story, we're going to pick up in chapter 18. But at the end of chapter 18, we see Jesus is being interrogated. He's been arrested and and he's being asked by Pilate who he is and why he's being arrested. And Pilate simply asks him this question, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

And Pilate responds in John 18:37 and said said to Jesus, "So you are a king? Are are you implying you're you're a king?" And Jesus answered him, "You say that I'm a king." Now listen carefully. Jesus word because he doesn't answer as a man. He answers with the authority as God. He says for this purpose. For this purpose. What purpose? To be the king, the king of all kings. For this purpose I was born. What's Christmas about? It's not about the nostalgia of traditions or trading gifts. It's not about Caesar. Says, "And for this purpose, I've come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Now, here's my prayer for you today. That you would listen to the voice of Jesus. No matter who you are, no matter where you've come from, no matter what your background is, it doesn't matter what family you were born into. It doesn't matter how much money you have or you don't have. What matters most today is that you know the truth of about Jesus. He is the king of all kings. In fact, Paul writes in the book of Philippians chapter 2 that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. So today I don't want you to wait till that one day. I want you to

see who Jesus is today. If you're taking notes, the title of today's sermon is the king who steps forward. The king who steps forward. Come on. If you knew the power of what that means, you would have shout amen right there. All right. He is the king that steps forward. So, you could write this down or you could just hide this in your heart because there's going to come a point that you have to realize Jesus is is nearer than you think. Jesus is actually willing to step into your story. When times are tough, when there's chaos, and when there's confusion, King Jesus is going to step forward no matter what happens in our lives. At a time at Christmas when too many times our bank accounts go down and uh frustrations and tensions go up and families get together and it seems like there's more families divided over politics today than ever before. This is a time of tension for for so many

people. I want you to see that at Christmas we can understand that Jesus is the one that stepped into our story. If you realize who he is and what he's done. See, here's the shocking thing about Jesus. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, but he's not a baby anymore. This baby that was born in Bethlehem actually was born to step into danger. Could you imagine someone having a child and simply saying over that child, "One day you're going to be crucified. One day this is your destiny. That you'll step into the fulfillment of all that God has planned for you. That you would be beaten. That you would be whipped. That you would have a crown of

thorns thrust upon your head. That you would be nailed to a wooden beam for the world to see." Could you imagine prophesying that over a child? And that's exactly what was prophesied over Jesus. That he would be the Messiah that stepped into our story. That he who was without sin, who did not deserve death would willingly step into our story. Now Jesus, the good news of Jesus is he didn't avoid suffering. He he didn't escape evil. He actually defeated it. He defeated the devil. He defeated death. And Christmas is not about God hiding from darkness. Christmas is about Jesus, the light of the world, stepping into darkness. Jesus always steps towards the problem.

We read that in the book of John. We we see it right away in John chapter 2 when Jesus steps into a wedding at Kaa. A a wedding that that could have been described by all accounts as humiliating, something that could have been catastrophic for this couple. Yeah. He steps into it and he changes everything. When when you don't have anything, he he can change it and transform it in just a moment. He's the one that steps into the story of the sick. When all others want to stay away from those who are sick at a time when it was considered unclean, he not only stepped into their stories, he he was willing to heal them. He was willing to touch them. He was willing to give them life. He was the one that was willing to step into Samaria when Jews

would walk around Samaria. John tells us that he he had to go through Samaria because it's there that he met with a woman that by all accounts was an outcast except for to Jesus. [snorts] Jesus doesn't step away from the storm. He steps into the storm. See, what you see with Jesus is he's continually stepping into this because he's not afraid. He's supreme over all. And today you're going to see clearly that Jesus steps into even the hardest of things. He steps into them. King Jesus steps in to accomplish his mission. Today we pick up in John 18:es 1-1. John 18:es 1-11. Jesus is going to step towards the cross. If you would stand for the reading of God's word. I would like to read you the text and then

we'll break down the application for our lives. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas who betrayed him also knew the place for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus knowing all that would happen to him came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

When Jesus said to them, "I am he." They drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the words that he had spoken of those whom you gave me. I have lost not one. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it and struck the high high priest's servants drew it and struck the high priest servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me?" This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

Kara, could I trouble you to grab me a water? Oh, it's right there. Come on. Best wife ever, somebody. Hey, thank you. I want to just make sure. My whistle is wet because this is some good text and I don't want you to miss this. At this point, Jesus, according to his prayer in the previous chapter, he's accomplished what he's come to do. He didn't come to establish a religion. He's come to save the world. He He is the coming Christ, which means the Messiah. And now John comes to a pivotal

point in his life in John chapter 18 where he's spent time in the upper room. this this this discourse where he he gave us his last teaching. He's gone to the garden of Gethsemane that you could visit to this very day in Jerusalem. It's just across this valley, this brook kiddra on that you can literally visit today. I've been there. We're going there next year. Journey church, if you want to come with us to Jerusalem, it it's right there out outside of what today is called Old Jerusalem. And you can actually go to the same garden that Jesus was in right here where he gets arrested. And there are olive trees that are over 2,000 years old. And you can see the very place that Jesus loved to go to this particular garden to spend time with the father.

It's where he loved to pray. Judas, who was one of the disciples, left in the middle of the night to go get this band of soldiers. It was here that John tells us in chapter 8:18:es 1 2 and 3 Jesus had spoken these words and when he went out with his disciples he went to the garden. This is where he prayed father if you will let this cup pass. You ever had to go through something so difficult you're like God I just rather not go through it. I don't want to talk to this person. I want to I don't want to do that hard thing. I don't want to have to go through this pain. But then Jesus teaches us that sometimes there's purpose in the pain. And he prays, "But not my will be done, but yours be done." There's no greater prayer. Say, "God, it's not what I want.

I I want what you want in my life." And here he is in that garden. He's prayed the prayer, but Judas shows up. This is why nobody names their kids Judas anymore. Judas the betrayer. He He's the dark one who was willing to allow Satan to influence his life. Judas shows up and we're told in verse three, he procured uh that's a good word to use, isn't it? He procured he he got together a band of soldiers. Another translation says a cohort of soldiers. A band of soldiers in this day was between 300 to 600 soldiers. So despite what you may have seen in the in the in the Passion film or some other rendition of of Jesus life, this was not like a dozen or two dozen soldiers.

[snorts] Hundreds and hundreds of Roman soldiers. Not only that, we're told there are are temple officers. This would be our equivalent of a police officers to there to enforce the law. So you've got military men and you've got police officers there. And not just a few of them. They're all here with with with one mission to get Jesus. And and they come, we're told, with lanterns, torches, and weapons. This is the middle of the night. Now, by all accounts, it looks like Jesus is cornered. But Jesus isn't cornered. You need to know this. He's in control. that when it looks like times are dark, when it looks like your days are difficult, when it looks like the enemy is coming up against you, when it looks

like you've been cornered, come on, somebody, Jesus is in control. So John notes these things to let us know that this has been his plan from the beginning. This is not by accident. He went to this garden. He could have hidden out like a CIA spy and gone to some other place. He could have left town. He knew exactly what was happening. This is not an ambush. This is not a mistake. This is not Jesus getting caught off guard. Verse four tells us Jesus knowing all that would happen to him. Jesus knew this would happen. He knew about the betrayal. He called it out before it even happened. He knew they were coming. He He knows what's happening because he's the God that knows it all. He's omnisient.

He knows everything about you. He knows more about you than you know about yourself. He knows these soldiers are coming. And what does he do? He still came forward. And John tells us, even though Jesus knows all these things, he knows they're coming for him, but he asks a question. And when God asks the question, I propose to you, he's not asking the question because he doesn't know the answer. He's asking the question for your sake. When he asks Adam in the garden where he is, God didn't lose the first man. Adam, where'd you go? He's doing a self-reflection of our hearts. And the question Jesus asked, and I believe is still a question he's asking our own hearts today. Whom do you seek?

Whom do you seek? It's similar to the question he asked his disciples in John 18, excuse me, in John chapter 1 when he was gathering together his students to follow him. He says, "What are you seeking?" Because what you seek, whom you seek is what you get. So what are you going after with your life? What matters most in your life? What's your identity? Whom do you seek? At Christmas, we often celebrate that God has come near, but now we're going to see how far God was willing to go. When he asked the question, whom do you seek? He's asking us in in our heart of hearts, what are we going after? They answered him in verse 5, Jesus of

Nazareth. That that's how a person would be identified, either by where they came from or whom their father was. And they're very specific here. Not Jesus of Jerusalem. We want the Jesus of Nazareth. The guy that was raised out of Nazareth. Can anything good come out of that particular place? We're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said to them, I am he. Now, before we get to that phrase, I am he. John really wants us to know, by the way, Judas is right there. This is Judas who's walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, took care of the money with Jesus. Jesus knows who Judas knows who Jesus is. Come on. Would you we agree with that?

So why do they even have to ask the question or why do they even have to state the name Jesus of of Nazareth when Judas is right there? Now John does note what the other gospel accounts note which is Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. What should be intimate? What should be foretelling of a of a of a friend? This was his betrayal was with a kiss. And Jesus answered I am he. The the Greek phrase here I am he is actually just two words is ego. Ego just simply means I am. We have translated here I am he. But ego is I am. It's the exact same phrase that God gave to Moses in Exodus chapter 3 when Moses is being told by God, "You're going to be the one to

deliver my people." And Moses starts to argue with God. Not always a good idea. And he's trying to tell God all the reasons why he he can't be the one that delivers the Israelites from the Egyptians. There's no way that this is the right one. That he's not eloquent in speech. He's not the right one. And finally he gets to this place. Who do I actually say sent me? Because the Israelites had been under oppression and slavery for hundreds of years in Egypt. And in Egypt there were all these false gods. And each of them had a name. So how is he supposed to show up and say, "Actually, there's only one true God." Well, what's his name? I don't know. And God speaks to Moses from the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3 and says, "I am who I am. I am.

That's my name. The allencompassing God. And this would be preserved as God's great sacred holy name. That even to this day, Jewish religious people, they won't even say that name. They say Hashem. Hashem is Hebrew, which just means the name. That name is so revered and so reverent and so holy and sacred to the Jewish people that they won't even say I am. They'll say, "Hashem, the name I am." And in in Hebrew, it would be Yave. In Latin, Jehovah. In English, it's is so poorly translated as just Lord. But it actually means I am the all-encompassing God eternally who was and is and will forever be God. And Jesus says, I am.

He He's establishing the exact same phrase, the exact same name, the one John's been pointing to throughout this entire book about his life. He is the great I am. He is the one in John chapter 8, he says, "Before Abraham was, I am." He is the one that says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd." He's establishing for us who he is. And if we would see the sacredness and reverence of what Jesus is saying, we'll see what happens next. He is the I am. And when Jesus says this, John notes in verse 6, they drew back and fell to the ground.

One sentence from Jesus knocks down all these soldiers. Amen. That's the weight of the words of Jesus. Remember, this is not just a few soldiers. We we have upwards of 600 soldiers here. And when Jesus just simply says, "I am," all of a sudden, the weight of his words cause the soldiers to wobble backwards and fall to the ground. And in fact, the Greek word for felt here is pipto. Pi p. Pipto. It it means to be thrust down. It's literally the word that would be using from something that falls from a high height down. It means to fall down like a corpse. It's the same word described of John, the same author of

this book about Jesus life in the book of Revelation chapter 1. When John says, "When I saw Jesus, I pipto. I fell down as though dead." Because when you actually get a glimpse of God's glory, you fall down. When people wonder about why do these things happen, it's because God is in the flesh and he he who spoke through the burning bush just revealed who he is. I am. And when he did, they fell down as though dead. When Jesus just speaks these words, something happens. He doesn't need a weapon. He doesn't need an army of soldiers. They discovered that the mere words of Jesus were enough to overwhelm them, overpower them. And I'll tell you, he's still doing the same thing today.

There there there's a weight in his word. It's why it's so important to to get into the Bible. This is no ordinary book. This book is active and alive. And if you treat it like an ordinary book, you'll miss the active word of God. And when you receive the word of God, it can penetrate your heart like like none other. It [clears throat] goes into the caverns of your heart that that a counselor can't go to, a parent can't go to, a spouse can't go to. But God's word goes into our hearts. And I am is right there in the human flesh. Christmas is not the story of God becoming weak. It's the story of an infinite God that that chooses restraint. That's right. If he could just say, "I am," and they fall down. Just imagine what would happen if he really wanted his way. Come on.

And in fact, in in another gospel account of the same story, it says that Jesus could have said a word and a legion of angels, which is thousands and thousands of angels, soldiers in heaven could have come down and rescued him. He He could have just said the word and everything would have been okay. But what does the king do? He steps forward because according to John when he writes in 1 John chapter 4, he says, "God is love and love does not run." Too many times when we're hurt or we're facing some tough times. We've got two knee-jerk reactions. Fight or flight. But not with Jesus. Love does not run. Redemption does not retreat.

Jesus shows us the length of his love as he steps forward. He's described in this book as a a good shepherd that's willing to lay down his life for his sheep. He told us in John 10 that nobody takes his life, but rather he says in John 10:18, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord." He knows exactly what he's doing. And Jesus says, "I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. So now we have the scene. All of these soldiers are here and yet we see they have no power compared to Jesus. Do you understand? You have that same authority and power in Jesus. Here he is in front of all of these soldiers. He's in front of these temple officers and he's in front of his very betrayer. But he's not afraid.

So he asks them again. And I can imagine they're all laying down on the ground with their torches and their swords hitting the ground. And he simply asked this question once again. Whom do you seek? And they once again qualify. We're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus answered in verse 8, "I told you that I am he." If we could just pause for just like a quick praise break and understand what's happening. They had the opportunity to bow down and worship the Messiah. They just experienced the weight of God's word and instead they went back to business. Do you understand that you can come to church and you can get an encounter of God and you can leave exactly the same?

that the glory of God could be speaking to your heart today and trying to capture you the same way he did with Moses, the same way he was doing with these soldiers. And all of a sudden, you just go right back to business because you're just doing what you're told to do. You're living life ordinarily. This is what you do. You're a soldier. you came to do this. But they had the same opportunity every one of us have, and that is to bow down to Jesus Christ, the King of all kings to worship him because he's worthy. You You worship him not because you have to. You worship him because he's worthy of worship. He is Emmanuel, the God that came and is with us. But they go right back to business and well, we've been told we're here to arrest Jesus of Nazareth.

And it's as if Jesus is asking all hearts today. You have the opportunity to either take him seriously or or to take your life seriously. And there there are very few things in this world that count for eternity. But prayer does, worship does. Taking Jesus seriously will change your life. But most people don't because well, you could lose your job. You could lose your friends. You could lose the identity of all that you've been up to this point. But there comes a point where that just shatters and you don't care what anybody else thinks about you but Jesus. And there are very few people that take him that seriously that are that are will really willing to say, "No, no, no. This is the God that stepped forward for me. I'm stepping forward for him. I I'm going after him." And some of us, as we'll see in just a moment with Peter, we do it the wrong way.

We think we're stepping up, but we're missing who Jesus actually is and loving like Jesus. And so Jesus answered, "I told you that I'm he. So if you seek me, verse eight, let these men go. Let these guys go." And in the moment of his arrest, Jesus is still shephering his sheep. He's still protecting his people. This was to fulfill the word. Verse 9 says that he had spoken of those whom you gave me. I have lost not one. This was his prayer in John chapter 17 to the father. I I I love them. I've not lost them. He willingly gave his life for us. Christmas reminds us that he entered our story to die the death we deserve.

He He didn't want you to have to go through your own personal hell. He didn't want you to have to give one more sacrifice. Jesus came to save our souls. He came to do what needed to be done. And we've seen throughout the book of John, if you read about the life of Jesus, nothing is wasted with God. Nothing. What you saw as like something missing from your life or painful from your life, nothing's wasted with God. He He will give you purpose in your pain. He will turn your tragedies into triumph. And here he's demonstrating for us that it's often a journey. Jesus is teaching us how to surrender, how to submit, how to

be obedient. He he told us in the previous chapter, the hour has come. He's headed to the cross. And it's right here that John tells us in chapter 18:9. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it and struck the high priest servant and cut off his right ear. Can we just say he swung and he missed? Or we could say foul ball. He could have cut off his head but cut off his ear. Come on. He's cemented in history is a guy you probably don't want to be in the trenches with. He pulls out a sword and he swings. Now, we can immerse ourselves in the story here. We we could we could actually replay probably in our minds with some really dramatic Hollywood

music. All right. What's going on in Peter's mind when these things are happening? There's hundreds of soldiers. He's got one pitly sword. He's got to feel brave at this moment. He's got to feel loyal to Jesus at this moment. He's got to feel like he's the hero. He's the only one willing to step up to the place and be righteous and protect Jesus. I don't know about you, but I could at least speak for myself. Uh I've too many times in my life taken matters into my own hands where I think I'm doing the right thing, where I think God needs me to fix this, where something is wrong. So, I better step up to the plate and fix this. and I better do it quickly. Uh Peter is one of those characters that all of us ought to relate to.

He he's the one that overly promises. I I will never deny you. And Jesus, oh boy, three times before the rooster crows. Oh, Jesus, you'll never die on the cross. Get behind me, Satan. It It wasn't too much earlier that Peter actually gave the right answer to who Jesus is when he asked the question, "Who do people say that I am?" Well, some people say you're Elijah. Some people say you're you're a prophet or a teacher. And then he said, "Who do you say that I am?" And remember Peter, shoulders back, chest out, chin up. You are the son of God. And Jesus said, "Peter, you did not get that on your own." That is the right answer because God helped you. But there's going to be moments that God's not helping you and you're stepping forward and you're doing things on your own. God's not telling

you to do this, but you're whipping out your own sword. You're trying to fix things on your own. You're trying to be the protector. When in reality, if I could just tell you, if Jesus is in it, he's the only savior. He doesn't need you to step up and all of a sudden be, I'll be the junior savior. You could be the senior savior. Like, let's just do this thing together. I tell you, he's still God and you're still not. And there's times that you just got to let Jesus be Jesus. There's times that Jesus is going to work in a way that you don't fully understand. There's times that you got to say, "God, I'm going to trust you no matter what happens. Even when there's chaos, even when it seems like God's wrong in this one." Because if we get really

honest, there will be times in our lives it's like, "What are you doing, Lord? This isn't what I signed up for. This isn't what I want. This isn't what I want to experience. And there are many of us that will take matters into our own hands and whip out our swords. Now, swords in the Bible often times symbolically represent our words. The Bible tells us Jesus is coming again. And that's just not like cute and cliche to say. It's the truth. Jesus is coming again. And every generation ought to be anticipating his second coming. The first century church said he's coming soon. And guess what we should be saying? He's coming soon. And John in the book of Revelation says when he comes, he's going to be riding on a horse. And what's coming out of his mouth? A sword. A great big sword.

Because we see the weight of his words. If I am causes soldiers to fall to the ground. Just imagine. All he has to is is to do is to say a word and it happens. If you can create the heavens and the earth, if you could create the stars in the sky, if you can create the the beasts of the field and the birds of the air with your words, just imagine what he's going to do when he comes again. So, our words are often described as a sword. In fact, in the book of Ephesians, we're told that there's a real enemy against your soul, and it's not flesh and blood. It's not another person. There's a real enemy, and you need to you need to go to war with this enemy. Don't retreat. Don't run. But the Bible says when you fight this fight, not against other people, you need to stand firm. And it will be a battle and when you've done everything, the Bible continues in Ephesians 6 and says, "When

you've done everything, stand." And you don't do this on your own strength. The writer, his name is Paul, in Ephesians 6, he says, "You do it with Jesus." He says, "You got the belt of truth. You got your feet fitted with the gospel of peace. You got a breastplate of righteousness. You have the helmet of salvation." What do all those things point to? Jesus, you take out your shield of faith to protect you from the arrows of the enemy. That's the lies of Satan. But then you have one weapon. What is it? The sword of the spirit. It's really important to clarify. It's got to be the Holy Spirit. It's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Now, in the Greek, the use of that word is ruach, which means the spoken word. So,

so it's not you take out your Bible and you use this as a sword. All right? You you don't need to beat anybody down with this book. You need to use your words as a weapon against the enemy. Are you still tracking with me? But it's really important that you see your words can be a weapon that actually hurts people and doesn't help them. Because in the wisdom of God's word in Proverbs 18:21, death and life are in the power of the tongue and th those who love it will eat its fruits. Here's what the Bible is saying. Your words will either build people up or they will bring people down. You will either speak life over people or speak death over people. And if that sounds exaggerating, there's no exaggeration. Your words are like a sword.

So you will either use it as a weapon against the enemy or in the case of Peter, if we look at this symbolically, you'll cut off the ears of the people in front of you. What are ears for? To hear. Jesus said frequently, "Let he who has ears, let him hear." This is metaphoric to something in our hearts. your words, even if you're a disciple of Jesus, could hinder someone else from hearing about Jesus. They won't hear the love of Jesus. They They won't hear the heart of Jesus. They won't hear the grace of Jesus because you whipped out your words and you said something that had to be said. Come on, don't leave me hanging here.

I can't be the only one that's like Peter sometimes where you say something so stupid you realize that you didn't even kill the person. You just hurt the opportunity for them to hear the real Jesus who's right in front of them. But you took out your sword and look how high and mighty you are. Amen. Do you know all four of the gospels tell us this story? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All four of them, all four of them decided to tell us about Peter whipping out a sword. Now, it's very rarely that they all four say the exact same thing, but they all said, some of them don't tell us his name. They say there's this guy that took out a sword and we all know who that guy is. Now, of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, only Luke tells us what happens next. Because even if you do the damage on somebody, let me just tell you who Jesus is. He's the healer.

In Luke chap 22:51, Jesus touched his ear and healed him. So even when you've done the damage, Jesus can still heal. And for some of you, you've been here today and you've been hurt by the church, you've been hurt by somebody. Your parents, a teacher, a pastor, a friend, an ex. But I'm here to tell you, Jesus doesn't leave you the victim. He heals you. He's [snorts] King Jesus who steps forward in your hurt, and he wants to heal you. He wants to take everything that's ever been said about you, everything that's ever been done about you. And King Jesus wants to heal you today. He steps forward and he says, here's where we end today. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath.

Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me?" What is the cup? It's the cup that he just prayed about in the garden just a little bit earlier. Father, if it's okay, I don't want to drink this cup. This is the wrath of God's judgment upon the sin of every single human. That's the cup he's about to drink. And you're not going to take care of this with one little peddly sword, Peter. I have to take care of it with my life. He He wasn't born just to be born in a manger. He was born to be crucified on the cross. That's the cup that he took for you. The wrath of your sin. Peter wanted a fight. Jesus wanted a sacrifice.

Peter thinks the enemy is is right in front of him. Jesus knows the real enemy is Satan and the enemy is sin. Peter wants victory now. Jesus wants victory for eternity. Amen. And there are some things you have to do now that just don't make sense that will make sense later. And Christmas is the beginning of that story of Jesus saying, "I'm going to drink this cup." He did not come to this world to to found a religion. He didn't come to this world to be a good teacher or even just a good guy. The manger always points us to the cross. Christmas means that the king has come to choose to step forward to the cross. He [snorts] wasn't arrested because he was powerless. He wasn't killed because he was weak. He willingly laid down his life. And when we sing songs around Christmas times about peace on earth, which is what the angels projected, they're talking about the prince of peace.

And we live in a great nation. I I love America. God bless the nation that we live in. What a great nation. But I tell you, peace comes at a price. It doesn't just happen when we all just get along. The [snorts] prince of peace laid down his life so that we can live. He was born in Bethlehem. He was raised in Nazareth, but he ended up in a garden in Gethsemane. Now, what's interesting about this is sin started in a garden. And here Jesus steps forward in the garden to take care of sin. Once again, I can hear the question from Jesus speaking to every one of us today. Whom do you seek? You know Jesus, he spent his life teaching us that there is one that's worth seeking.

He said in Matthew 6:33, if there's one thing that you should go after, he says, go after the kingdom. Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness. All the things you want in your life to be loved, your identity, all all the physical possessions that you think you might want, if you if you seek King Jesus first, he's enough. He's still the provider. He's still the healer. He's still supreme overall. Jesus teaches us when we pray, he says in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it'll be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it'll be open to you." So I say, "Are you seeking Jesus?" In John 18, everyone else steps back.

Jesus steps forward. So there's the question for you today. in chaos and in confusion at Christmas Time.

come so that you can have eternal life. Would you just raise your hand [music] nice and high and keep it up? That's you today. You say, you say, "Yes, I I want to be saved of my [music] sins. I want to be forgiven today. I want the hope of eternal life. I will not be ashamed. I will not step back. I will not shrink back. I'm going to step forward today." That's you. Just raise your hand nice and high. This is your day of salvation. [music] The Bible says, "Praise God." Yes. Praise God. Hallelujah. Amen. Praise God. Anybody else? Praise God. Raise your hand. [music] Praise God. Let's go. Amen. See, there's no greater joy than what you're doing right now because this is the beginning of the greatest journey of all.

The Bible says there's more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 who need no repentance. Who else over here? Praise God. Hey, praise God. Amen. This is the day of salvation because you can be confident from this day forward. If you die, you don't actually die. [music] Jesus says you start living. There's no fear of death, no fear of the devil, no fear of anything you're going to go go through because God [music] is greater. You you can have the peace Jesus gives you. He says, "My peace today [music] I give to you. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart." Jesus said, "I have overcome the world." There's no one greater than Jesus. No one. Every other human religious figure has [music] died and stayed dead. Jesus is alive forever more.

King over all. I'm so proud of those who raised their hands today. And I want to just walk with you on this journey. [music] It starts with prayer. You can pray anytime, anywhere. Prayer is not the right words or eloquent words. It's getting real with God. It's talking to [music] God. It's listening to God. And today, I want to just pray a short prayer with you. I'm going to say some short phrases. I just want you to repeat after me for all those who have ever believed in Jesus. Let's all pray this together. We could be confident [music] today in our salvation in Jesus that he is the king that steps forward. Let's pray together. King Jesus, I believe in you. I confess [music] my sins. I repent today and I come to you because you came to this earth.

I receive the [music] Holy Spirit. I receive the gift of grace. I am [music] a child of God in Jesus name. Amen. and amen.