Jesus' Arrest: In Control When Life Feels Out of Control
Two Rivers Church · 1:01:15
This teaching explores John 18:1-11, focusing on Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. The speaker uses the Star Wars trilogy, specifically *The Empire Strikes Back*, as an analogy for moments when life feels out of control. He emphasizes that while we desire to be the hero of our own story, scripture shows we are reliant on another hero. The core principle is that followers of Jesus can be confident in Him even when their world is spinning out of control.
The sermon highlights that Jesus knows all that will happen because He is God, connecting this to the sovereignty of God. When Jesus says "I am he" in John 18:5-6, the soldiers fall to the ground, which the speaker interprets as an encounter with the power of God, linking it to the covenant name of God, Yahweh, from the Old Testament. He references John 8:57-58 where Jesus also uses "I am" in relation to Abraham, causing the Jewish leaders to pick up stones.
The speaker asserts that Jesus is in control of the seemingly out-of-control situation, not a victim. He refers to Jesus' prayer in John 17:12, where Jesus states He has lost none of those given to Him except the son of destruction, fulfilling scripture. Peter's action of cutting off Malchus's ear is presented as Jesus directing the action, telling Peter to put his sword away and asking if He should not drink the cup the Father has given Him. The teaching concludes by encouraging listeners to identify what feels out of control in their lives and to bring truth to their world by seeing that Jesus is with them.
