I AM is Arrested

WEBVTT 1 00:01:14.989 --> 00:01:18.109 Well, let's take a break from sitting for a moment. Why don't you 2 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:22.260 stand with me and let's hear God's Word this morning from John Chapter Eighteen, 3 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:27.379 verses one through twelve. You can turn there if you like, and I'll 4 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:32.659 give you time to do that, or you can just listen. John Eighteen, 5 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:41.090 verses one through twelve. After Jesus is teaching in the upper room and 6 00:01:41.650 --> 00:01:47.640 his teaching to his disciples, we now see him move into a garden. 7 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:53.519 He moves into this garden and it's here that he will be arrested and then 8 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:00.159 later taken to the cross. So let's hear God's word now, John Eighteen. 9 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:07.069 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across 10 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:12.509 the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. 11 00:02:13.509 --> 00:02:15.979 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus 12 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:22.099 often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of 13 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:27.939 soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with 14 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:32.490 lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to 15 00:02:32.569 --> 00:02:38.409 him, came forward and said to them. Whom do you seek? They 16 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:46.080 answered him. Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am Judas, 17 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:50.599 who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesu, Jesus said 18 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.680 to them, I am or, I am he he. They drew back 19 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:58.789 and fell to the ground. And so he asked them again, whom do 20 00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:01.949 you seek, and they said Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus to answered, I 21 00:03:02.069 --> 00:03:06.990 told you that I am he. So if you seek me, let these 22 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:12.069 men go. If you seek me, let these men go. This was 23 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:15.659 to fulfill the word that he had spoken of those with whom are, of 24 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:21.500 those whom you have, whom you gave me. I have not lost one. 25 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:24.699 Then Simon, Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the 26 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:30.569 high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servants name was Malchus. 27 00:03:30.250 --> 00:03:35.370 So Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into its Sheaf. Shall 28 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:39.530 I not drink the cup that the father has given me? You may be 29 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:51.960 seated. God bless his word to us. So, kids, today we 30 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:59.949 are going to hear and pay attention to the greatness of Jesus, the greatness 31 00:04:00.030 --> 00:04:03.710 of Jesus, but you will probably only notice that if you pay attention, 32 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:09.990 because if you only listen to the surface, details are your only check in. 33 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:15.060 Every now and then, what you will hear is about Jesus getting arrest 34 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:19.660 did even though we didn't do anything wrong. But if you listen carefully, 35 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:27.569 if you listen carefully to the details, you will hear something else. You'll 36 00:04:27.649 --> 00:04:31.490 hear about an ear being cut off, you'll hear about a name being said 37 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:35.129 and a very dramatic thing happening, and what you'll see is that, even 38 00:04:35.170 --> 00:04:43.279 though Jesus is being arrested, even though Jesus is being betrayed by his friend, 39 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:48.040 by his disciple, Jesus is very great, the hero, we might 40 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:54.069 say, the kind of hero that you should trust, the kind of hero 41 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:59.310 that you should even worship. So, as we turn to this passage, 42 00:04:59.310 --> 00:05:02.990 let's talk about heroes for just a second. When people put their lives on 43 00:05:03.069 --> 00:05:09.139 the line we for other people, we think of them like heroes. When 44 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:13.420 a police officer chases down a bad guy to protect our community, we call 45 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:16.660 him a hero. When a firefighter runs into a fire in order to save, 46 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.420 let's say, a child burning in a building, and he risks his 47 00:05:20.529 --> 00:05:26.449 own life to do that, we call him a hero. We consider them 48 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:31.689 heroes, great people or great people, because they risk so much and they 49 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:38.279 give so much, even our own lives, and that's why this passage today 50 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:42.560 should make a big impression upon us, because Jeez here is exactly that hero, 51 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.120 and really the greatest hero the world has ever known. For the number 52 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:51.509 of people he saved, for how much he gave up, for the dangers 53 00:05:51.550 --> 00:05:57.750 he faced, for the boldness and purity of his heart. For these things 54 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:02.389 and even more, we we don't just honor his sacrifice, we owe him 55 00:06:02.430 --> 00:06:09.300 our lives. And in our passage today, we see Jesus running into the 56 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.980 fire, so to speak. He gathers himself and he goes into this scary, 57 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:23.410 dangerous situation and nevertheless, he he does it. He doesn't turn back, 58 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:27.329 he doesn't lose hope, he doesn't give up and he fulfills his mission 59 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:31.170 perfectly. Why? Well, as we said earlier in the Nicecene, creed 60 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:38.759 for US men and for our salvation. So what Jesus wants you to see 61 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:42.240 today is his greatness. He wants you to see his greatness so that you 62 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:45.519 will worship him, so that you will trust him, and you will do 63 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:53.629 so even in your darkest hours a May surprised you to hear me talk about 64 00:06:53.670 --> 00:06:59.709 Jesus's greatness, because it's as greatness that's precisely under attack in this passage. 65 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:04.060 Jesus is being arrested, he's being betrayed. It seems, as in so 66 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:10.019 much of this story, Jesus is not very great. If you look, 67 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:15.379 for example, at the lights of the mob coming close to the coming close 68 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:21.649 to the garden, a crowd of soldiers and leaders with lanterns and weapons, 69 00:07:23.370 --> 00:07:27.449 if you look at the swords and you hear them whispering, and that the 70 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:31.439 anxiety in the air, when you see Judas one of his own besought disciples 71 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:45.670 betraying him claim betraying him for claiming that he is God, we wonder about 72 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:48.389 the greatness of Jesus. We say maybe Jesus isn't so great here, where 73 00:07:48.589 --> 00:07:53.709 his angels, where his disciples? If you look at these things, if 74 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:57.709 you look at this mob rushing towards Jesus, or Jesus betrayed or arrested, 75 00:07:58.269 --> 00:08:03.019 Jesus will seem small. His death will seem inevitable and no doubt that night, 76 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:07.339 from the perspective of Judas, from the perspective of the Jewish leaders. 77 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:13.129 Jesus was walking into a trap. What a fool, going to a place 78 00:08:13.170 --> 00:08:20.209 where everybody knows he hangs out regularly with his disciples. Some God, they 79 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:26.089 might have said. But as it always is with Jesus, with our Lord, 80 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:31.200 things are not what they seem. If you pay attention to the details 81 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.519 of story, the story, we see that Jesus is very great. So 82 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:41.950 first to notice the place where Jesus is arrested. I'm going to begin reading 83 00:08:41.990 --> 00:08:46.309 in Verse One and end with the words went there. So listen to this. 84 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:52.029 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across 85 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:56.899 the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. 86 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:03.179 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus 87 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:07.980 often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of 88 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:13.049 soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there. 89 00:09:15.370 --> 00:09:20.129 So Judas went there. where the place that he often went, the place 90 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:24.679 that he knew. You see what's going on here. This is not a 91 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.960 surprise attack. Judas might think of it that way, but Jesus is not. 92 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:35.840 Jesus is not walking down his road one day with his disciples and then 93 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.190 all of a sudden, oh no, what's happening Jesus? Nor Neither did 94 00:09:39.230 --> 00:09:43.789 Jesus Dismiss Judas from the room they were in so that he could then run 95 00:09:43.830 --> 00:09:48.909 away with his disciples and hide in a safe place. He could have do 96 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:52.860 done that right. He knew that Judas was going to betray him. He 97 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:56.820 dismissed Judas have told him to go ahead and do what you're going to do. 98 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.779 This would have been the time to rule and hide, right, to 99 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:05.659 run away, to go into the mountains something, but that's not what he 100 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:11.610 does. Instead, he goes directly to the place where Judas would find him. 101 00:10:13.450 --> 00:10:18.450 So what do we see? Jesus is not hiding. Jesus is great, 102 00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:26.200 because Jesus is in control. Jesus is confident. We see this also 103 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:30.480 in verse four. Notice what the Bible says in verse for it says Jesus, 104 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:37.629 knowing all that would happen, came forward again. The Bible emphasizes that 105 00:10:37.669 --> 00:10:41.110 Jesus was not surprised by this. He didn't hide, but he came forward 106 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:48.470 knowing what would happen. And remember, Jesus isn't just reading the situation at 107 00:10:48.509 --> 00:10:56.139 the moment. He has four known this moment from before all eternity, if 108 00:10:56.179 --> 00:11:01.820 we could speak of time in that way. Remember that at the very beginning 109 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:07.769 of this Gospel, the gospel of John, John told us this. In 110 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:11.169 the beginning was the word, and the word was God, was with God 111 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:16.970 and the word was God. John also tells us this in him was life, 112 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:20.519 and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the 113 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:26.600 darkness and the darkness does not overcome it with this means that when Jesus came 114 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.639 into the world, he came into the world with a mission in mind. 115 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.389 He came into the world to bring life. He came into the world to 116 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:41.389 bring light and to not be overcome by the darkness. And so that's why 117 00:11:41.389 --> 00:11:46.269 John the Baptizer, or John The baptist, John The prophet, says at 118 00:11:46.309 --> 00:11:50.779 the very beginning of Jesus Ministry, behold the lamb of God, who takes 119 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:56.419 away the sins of the world. You See, the point is is that 120 00:11:56.500 --> 00:12:03.250 Jesus was here for a purpose and he knew that. The situation that he's 121 00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:09.570 in is not an accident. He didn't just find himself in it. This 122 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:13.809 is the mission that he's on, that he is on. He's not hiding, 123 00:12:13.850 --> 00:12:18.080 he's not running away, he's doing what he's doing because it's all a 124 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:24.679 part of his great plan for saving the world. Finally, notice a few 125 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:30.309 more, just a I'll smatter you of a few more details here. Notice 126 00:12:30.629 --> 00:12:35.389 when Jesus, when they ask who Jesus is, he he tells them. 127 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:41.750 He says Jesus of Nazareth. He says, whom do you seek? They 128 00:12:41.789 --> 00:12:46.100 answered Jesus of Nazareth. He says, I am he, or it could 129 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:50.580 be translated simply I am. And then it says that when he says this 130 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:58.769 as verse six, they drew back and fell to the ground. In case 131 00:12:58.809 --> 00:13:05.129 you don't know, this is not what mobs do, this is not what 132 00:13:05.289 --> 00:13:09.210 attackers do. Well, I was on vacation. I had a chance to 133 00:13:09.610 --> 00:13:16.919 play a game in a self defense class where two people were to run at 134 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:20.399 me and it was my goal to stay away. That was it. It's 135 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:26.080 really, really hard, it turns out, and my cardio is bad and 136 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:35.309 even in the setting of a game I found my adrenaline gets got going really 137 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:41.350 fast. It was very, very difficult just to people. So here we 138 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:48.580 have this crowd of people, including well trained soldiers, coming at Jesus. 139 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:54.620 They're standing there, there's energy there, and they say he says, who 140 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.970 are you looking for? Jesus of Nazareth, I am he, and they 141 00:13:56.009 --> 00:14:03.330 all fall backwards and fall on the ground. This is not what happens when 142 00:14:03.370 --> 00:14:13.200 people are coming to attack someone else. And, instead of this, or 143 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.240 instead of them staying in control of the solution, situation knows that, he 144 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.759 starts giving them commands. He says, I told you that I am he, 145 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:26.230 so if you seek me, let these men go. This, the 146 00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:31.509 Bible tells us, fulfills prophetic promise that he had previously sproken, yet more 147 00:14:31.750 --> 00:14:35.830 proof of who he is. Let these men go, and they did. 148 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:41.740 Finally, he continues his command of his disciples when he tells Peter to put 149 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:46.740 away his sword and, as we know from the other Gospels, even heals 150 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:52.740 the Yep, you're the right ear of Malchus. He'll right there heels, 151 00:14:52.450 --> 00:14:58.409 heels the ear of this one who is coming to attack him. Jesus is 152 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:05.049 not running, Jesus is not hiding, Jesus is not surprised, Jesus is 153 00:15:05.169 --> 00:15:09.960 not fighting back. The Jewish leaders, the Roman leaders, even a member 154 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:15.320 of his own close disciples think for some reason that Jesus is some kind of 155 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:20.360 half baked loon, or perhaps some kind of charismatic leader who threatens to undo 156 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:24.309 their power. He claims to be the son of God, he claims to 157 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:31.070 be from the eternal father, but they don't believe him. And yet this 158 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:35.620 is, of course, exactly who he is. He is I am, 159 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:43.259 he is Yachtway, he is that great God who has always been and who 160 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:50.610 always will be. He is eternal, he is divine, he is all 161 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:58.889 powerful, all knowing. He is also incarnate. He has become man to 162 00:16:00.129 --> 00:16:07.080 save us and to save us from our sins. Satan would, of course, 163 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:14.240 have you believe otherwise, that great murderer and liar who is behind the 164 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.830 evil of this cursed Knight. He notice, is trying to use the same 165 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:23.909 trick that he did in the very first garden in the garden of Eden. 166 00:16:26.590 --> 00:16:30.429 Do you remember how in the first garden in the Garden of Eden, the 167 00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:33.820 first garden in the Bible, Satan comes into the garden. He asks this 168 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:40.340 question, did God really say? And by saying that he asks a whole 169 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:45.100 bunch of questions. In that one question he's asking things like, is God 170 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:49.769 who he says he is? Is His word really true? It seems not, 171 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:56.850 says the serpent. It seems not. And here we find him doing 172 00:16:56.889 --> 00:17:03.440 the exact same thing in this garden, Jesus as the new atom, the 173 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:10.839 new representative of mankind, and we hear Satan's question post a little bit to 174 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:14.960 Jesus and, of course, pose to all of us. Did God really 175 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.710 say? Is this really the word of God? Is it is he who 176 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:26.430 he says he is? Are The commands that Jesus Commands really that important? 177 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:32.220 Are the promises that he promises really that true? Is He really the word 178 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:37.460 that is from the beginning and with God and was God? It seems not, 179 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:45.569 says the serpent. It seems not, and yet it is true. 180 00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:52.609 I am Jesus, says and you see that, don't you? You see 181 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:57.250 it in the mob falling down, you see it in the non surprise attack, 182 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:03.960 you see it in the willingness of Peter, the willingness of Peter, 183 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:08.680 in a way, to undo the Gospel by protecting it by force. And 184 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:18.309 yet the Lord Keeping Peter from doing that and even blessing his enemies. The 185 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:22.829 Lord is going to go to the cross and he's even going to protect us 186 00:18:23.589 --> 00:18:30.859 from avoiding it. Jesus is who he says he is. He's on a 187 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:34.740 mission. It is going to be accomplished. So Jesus is being arrested, 188 00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:41.099 Jesus is being portrayed. Soon Jesus will be tortured and killed. But, 189 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:45.210 beloved, we must all remember that this is part of his plan, the 190 00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:48.250 part of the plan that was from the very beginning for the lamb to come 191 00:18:48.329 --> 00:18:53.569 into the world and save you from your sins, as he says in the 192 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:59.240 last verse of this passage. Shall I not drink the cup that the father 193 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:07.920 has given me? He shall, he shall, and he will drink that 194 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:14.470 cup, because the word of God is true, and he is and he 195 00:19:14.630 --> 00:19:19.990 did come and even now reigns shining in the darkness. He came to drink 196 00:19:21.109 --> 00:19:25.940 the wrath of God, to take on our sins and not be snuffed out 197 00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:32.180 forever, but instead rise from the dead having paid for our sins, defeated 198 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:40.289 the devil and lead us into heavenly life and resurrection, life forever. If 199 00:19:40.369 --> 00:19:45.490 we only look at the externals in life, if we don't pay attention and 200 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:51.569 listen to what God is saying and how God is telling us how things are, 201 00:19:52.009 --> 00:19:56.960 we will fall for Satan's trick. But if we listen to what Jesus 202 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:03.000 says, if we watch what he does, if we believe him, the 203 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:07.109 Scriptures promise that we will never fall the he will protect us, that he 204 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:12.589 will keep us, that he will accomplish his mission for us and even through 205 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:18.269 us. And so John Records all of these events for this purpose, to 206 00:20:18.430 --> 00:20:25.259 give us a perspective, not just about this arrest, but about all that 207 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:30.059 is coming. It's kind of like looking at a map the right way before 208 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:33.299 you get going on a on a journey. The map is upside down. 209 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:38.769 If the map is missing pieces, it's not going to go well. John 210 00:20:40.089 --> 00:20:44.450 is giving us the map. Jesus is giving us this map to help us 211 00:20:44.450 --> 00:20:51.440 to understand of the cross. This passage helps set our expectations for how we 212 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:56.400 understand the coming events, the false trials, the crucifixion and his death. 213 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:02.759 And what does Jesus want you to know? To summarize, he wants you 214 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.109 to know that in the midst of his trials, in the midst of his 215 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:11.069 darkness, there is mission and purpose, in the midst of strung weakness, 216 00:21:11.150 --> 00:21:15.069 there is strength, in the midst of death there is life, and he 217 00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:18.900 wants you to know that so that you'll trust him. Remember, Jesus is 218 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:25.500 doing this for us. He's enduring these things not because he's done something wrong, 219 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:29.660 or because he's done or he has something to prove, or because he's 220 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:33.930 crazy. He's doing them because he is the great I am and he has 221 00:21:34.049 --> 00:21:41.849 chosen you before the beginning of time to save you from your sins. So 222 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:48.799 let your confidence in him grow, let your faith in him be sure. 223 00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:55.480 Don't be ashamed of Jesus, embarrassed by Jesus, turn away from Jesus and, 224 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.359 of course, never turn against Jesus, because he's the great I am 225 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.390 who died on a cross to save us. And, if I may add 226 00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:11.750 just one last thing, let the power of his greatness, in the midst 227 00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:15.220 of all this weakness, also remind you of the greatness of his love. 228 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.900 This great I am, and Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, 229 00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:29.700 became man to save people who were his enemies. You and I may not 230 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:34.049 have been in the mob that day, but it was for your sins against 231 00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:41.930 him, my sins against him, that Jesus allowed him himself to be mailed 232 00:22:41.970 --> 00:22:47.400 to a cross. It was for our sins that he suffered physical pain, 233 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:59.630 even death, because of us, but beloved also for us. Nothing required 234 00:22:59.670 --> 00:23:06.789 him to do that except the love that he has for you. Now how 235 00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:10.789 that applies exactly to your life, I can't say. I don't know for 236 00:23:10.950 --> 00:23:15.460 sure, but I doubt there's not a single person here who doesn't need to 237 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:21.420 be reminded of these things, that God is truly great, that he's truly 238 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:26.410 strong. The heat has come to accomplish his mission, and he has accomplished 239 00:23:26.490 --> 00:23:33.730 it. And then he does it because he loves US so much. And 240 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:37.450 so's your reminded of these things today. It's God's Gospel gift to you. 241 00:23:38.490 --> 00:23:45.720 Treasure it, remember it. Outwardly, this world seems so completely full of 242 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.240 evil and out of control. God seems weak, but those who pay attention 243 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:56.710 know the truth that God is not weak, God is at work, that 244 00:23:56.829 --> 00:24:00.589 the cross is the way to salvation, and when we know that, we 245 00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:04.789 can know victory and we can know love. Amen.