Good Friday, March 29th, 2024
From The Series: The
Providence of God
Part #3 Providence
and The Cross
John 18:1-14
Mountain View
Evangelical Missionary Church
Good morning, once again. This morning,
we continue with the third part of our mini-series on The Providence of God.
This morning, it is only fitting to examine Providence and The Cross. But
before we get to today’s lesson, I left you with an assignment to complete for
this morning. I asked you to meditate on the question, “Who initiated the
Law?”
It may seem like a simple
question, but I have heard more than one answer. I have heard some claim that
Moses was the one to initiate the Law. After all, it is called the Mosaic Law
by Jewish teachers. Other biblical scholars have claimed that it was the author
or authors of the Pentateuch who initiated the Law. Most biblical scholars
agree that Moses was the author of the first five books of the Bible, while
other biblical scholars claim that there were multiple authors and many
revisions of the Pentateuch.
A word of warning regarding
biblical scholars. Not all scholars believe the Bible. Not all biblical scholars
believe in the inspired and inerrant authorship of the Bible. I think I have
mentioned this before, I have an excellent commentary on the Book of
Ecclesiastes in my library that is ranked as the #1 commentary on Ecclesiastes,
written by a brilliant scholar who is an expert in ancient Near Eastern
languages and cultures. It became evident to me after reading about two or
three chapters of his book, that he was not a believer in God and I don’t just
mean a believer in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, but I don’t think that he
believes in the existence of any god.
I say this because I have another
commentary in my library, the # 3 commentary on Ecclesiastes which is very
definitely written by a believer in Jesus Christ, and you can tell in the
difference between the way that each book is written. The unbeliever
keeps referring to another older civilization as the source of the wisdom for
Ecclesiastes and the Believer talks about Yahweh and Jesus Christ
as the authority for the wisdom that is taught in the Biblical book. Not all
biblical scholars believe the Bible!
With that, I just wanted to emphasize
that God is the initiator of the Law. God, not Moses or any other
man, but God, and God alone is the initiator of the Law. It is
His teachings, His Torah that we are to live our lives by.
We discovered last week that the
Law was not set forth by God to be a burden on mankind, that was a result of
the misinterpretation over the years of man trying to use the observance of the
Law as a means of earning salvation. The Law is a blessing because it reveals
the character of God in the manner of the teachings. The Torah reveals the Holy
nature and attributes of the one true God. The Law not only helps us to live a
life set apart from the world, but we find that because God is Holy, we are to
be holy. When we love Jesus Christ and experience the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit in our lives, we find that we can follow the Law out of love for the
Lord, not out of a sense of obligation in an attempt to earn something.
When we know Christ in a personal
and intimate fashion, we no longer look at the Law as a burden, but rather as a
blessing, because the Law brings us closer to Jesus. Christians are not to
think that we are free from the Law, we are free in the sense that we
are not obligated to follow the Law in an attempt to earn favor with God,
rather, we follow the Law from a sense of gratitude and desire to
develop holiness in our lives.
So that was last Sunday’s message
and challenge. This morning, as we gather to commemorate the crucifixion of our
Lord and Savior, I want us to examine the role that God’s Providence played in
the events surrounding the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. I have had
some interesting discussions over the past several months with several
different people in the church.
Some people seem to have
confusion about the role of God’s Sovereignty in the day-to-day living of
mankind. When I speak to people about the Sovereignty of God, we are not too
sure exactly how that looks for us. Do we have free will and God must be
subservient to our will? Does God have total control over us and are we just
automatons, or meat-puppets acting out this giant play for God? Neither of
those two extremes is biblical. For that truly is what is important here, what
does the Bible say about these matters?
That means, this morning we are
going to do things a little differently, we are going to examine God’s Providence
through the actions of one man: Judas Iscariot. We will see that God’s
Providence was at work, even through the actions of Judas.
As a reminder, let’s begin with a definition of the word Providence when
we use it concerning the actions of God. Again, this is from Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary: “PROVIDENCE
is the continuous activity of God in His creation by which He preserves and
governs. The doctrine of providence affirms God’s absolute lordship
over His creation and confirms the dependence of all creation on the
Creator. It denies the idea that the universe is governed by chance or fate.”
In part one of this series, we examined that
Yahweh was the Creator God of our Universe and existence. We acknowledged that
He is more than just the Creator. Yahweh is also the sustainer, and all of
creation depends on God to continue to function as it does. We saw in Genesis
how the creation account was recorded for all that came after the first man and
first woman so that we would know our history. But the New Testament reveals
even more knowledge for us. Colossians 1:15-17 tells us this:
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him
and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things
hold together.” Colossians goes one step further than Genesis
because Colossians names exactly who in the Trinity is responsible for
Creation.
The Son is the one… who… in Him all things were created.
Things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. All
things have been created through Him and for Him. Let me stop you
right there and ask you if you believe that statement right there in
Colossians. Do you believe that all things have been created for Jesus
Christ? Why? Why would all things be created for Jesus Christ?
Scripture tells us. Look at what Romans 11:36 says, “36 For from him and through him and for him
are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans makes
this point clear for us, all things are created for Jesus to bring Him
the Glory! All of Creation cries out the glory, not just of Yahweh, but of the
Son, Jesus Christ. This is exactly why there is so much power in the name of
Jesus. “He is before all things” both in the existence of time and Jesus is
before all of creation holding it all together.
With that in mind… The Son is the one… who… in Him all
things were created. Things in Heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible. All things have been created through Him and for
Him. He is before all things, and in Him… all things hold
together. With all that in mind, how can we look at the events of the crucifixion
and think that God was not in control of all of it?
We have seen from Scripture over the last two messages that God is not a
cold and distant deity. We do not live in a Universe ruled by chance or happenstance.
Yahweh and His Son are interested in a personal relationship with each of us.
So interested in fact, that God has deemed that we are to be the means through
which He carries out His ends. Keep that in mind and we will come back to that
in a bit. We are the means through which God carries out His ends. God
not only determines the ends, but He also determines the means, methods, and
tools that He will use!
This morning, on Good Friday, we will examine the deeds of one man
responsible for the arrest of Jesus, and we will see how the Father would use
this man as the means to His desired end which was the crucifixion of His Son. Judas
did not work alone, but God did work through him and his actions. We will see
the Providence of God in action and examine more deeply this doctrine concerning
the greatest sacrifice ever made for another.
READ JOHN 18:1-14
We see in this passage that Jesus had just
finished praying that fabulous prayer in the Garden at Gethsemane. If you ever
question how deep the love of Jesus is, or if you ever need encouragement in
times of trouble, read John chapter 17 and let the words of Jesus’ prayer wash
over you and feel the love that the Son has for each of you.
Look at verse two, and we will examine the man
that the Father worked through to accomplish the goal determined by the Trinity.
Judas Iscariot was one of the means that God used to carry out the Divine Plan
of the crucifixion. “2 Now
Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with
his disciples.” Sometime after the Last Supper and before they
arrive at Gethsemane, Judas slips away from the group to carry out his
dastardly deed.
It is doubtful that he would meet with the High Priest that evening, I
doubt Caiaphas would want to take that risk so soon before the arrest, likely,
Judas slipped away to the Praetorium. This was the garrison where the Roman
Soldiers were housed and stationed in Jerusalem. This is the place that Jesus
is taken to and scourged after He is forced to appear before numerous leaders the
next day, after His arrest.
So, Judas slips away to gather a large contingent of soldiers, the Greek
word used is translated as cohort in English. A cohort could refer to a large
group of varying numbers, but a standard cohort in the Roman Army was 480
soldiers. That means that this armed group of men who came to arrest Jesus
could have been as many as 480 men. 480 armed men came in the heart of the
night carrying torches, swords, and shields to arrest one lonely carpenter.
Remember, they were only interested in Jesus, although the remaining 11
were in the Garden with Jesus, the authorities left with only Jesus. Jesus was
indeed the real threat to the religious establishment, and in verse 8, after
asking the Romans “Who is it that you want?” Jesus
responds to their answer of “Jesus of Nazareth”, with
“I told you that I am he, if you are looking for me,
then let these men go”.
OK, let’s back up a bit and look at the Providence of God at work in
this passage. We will get to Judas in a moment but look where God was also at
work here. Verse 4, “Jesus, knowing all that was going
to happen to him, went out” to meet them. Jesus knew exactly what
was going to happen on this night.
In Matthew’s account, in Chapter 26, verse 50, Matthew adds the detail, “50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.””
I imagine that Jesus whispered this as Judas leaned in to give Jesus
that famous kiss of betrayal. Perhaps, Jesus had the hand of Judas in a grip of
a handshake, or the beloved rabbi that the betrayer had spent most of the last
three years with gripped the shoulders of this man and looked him in the eye to
say, “I know what you are doing here”.
But Jesus’ foreknowledge of this moment extended far back into the
relationship with Judas. Very early on in their relationship Jesus spoke these
words over the twelve as recorded in John 6, verses 64 to 65 which say, “64 Yet there are some of you who do not
believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe
and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told
you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
Here we see that not only did Jesus know from the beginning that He
would be betrayed and who would do it, but the additional evidence of the
Providence of God in the Cross is that Jesus tells us that Judas would not have
been drawn to Jesus unless the Father “enabled them”. The same holds true for
each of us. The Bible tells us numerous times that we are “drawn” to the Father,
or “chosen” by the Father.
In John 6:44 Jesus teaches us, “44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me
draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Enabled, and drawn, we also see the language of chosen being used by
Jesus to describe the process. Further down in John 6 at verse 70, again this
is early in the ministry of Jesus, He says this to the twelve, “70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen
you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant
Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to
betray him.)”. Here in the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the language of
drawing and choosing early in His ministry.
Later in His earthly ministry, Jesus is still using similar language.
John 15:16, Jesus says this, “16 You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and
bear fruit—fruit that will last—” Jesus adds the descriptor of appointing those He
chooses. We see from this passage that Jesus in His ability as sustainer of the
Universe, also sustains each of us in the appointed tasks that He gives to us.
Once again, an example of the personal relationship that Jesus desires for each
of us.
But, what about the Bible passages that refer to
“all”? Well in the parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew’s Gospel, we see a
verse that may help us to understand. By the way, this parable is included in
some of the final teachings that Jesus was giving to the Twelve during Passion
week while they were in Jerusalem. Matthew 22:14 tells us, “14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”. We see from that parable that many were invited to the wedding feast,
but few were chosen for admission to the feast. Remember the one man who
was in the Banquet, but was not dressed in wedding clothes, what happened to
him? He was bound hand and foot and thrown out. Of course, the Wedding clothes
are a metaphor for the righteousness of Christ. When we approach the Kingdom of
Heaven, unless we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we will not
gain entry. We will be thrown into the pit of hell to spend eternity apart from
God.
People say, “But I can’t worship a God who would do that.” They say, “My
god would never do such a thing” and they are right. Their version of
god would never do such a thing. Let me ask you this, “Is God not consistent
throughout the Bible?” There is no difference between the Old Testament God and
the New Testament God. Same God, He is just choosing to deal with us
differently at this time as we live under a period of Grace. But make no
mistake, this Grace period will come to an end and we will all stand before the
judgment throne of Jesus, and we will have to give an account for our lives.
Old Testament God, New Testament God… same God. The same God that wiped
out all of humanity except for 8 people in a boat, is the same God sitting in
judgment over us all. Jesus is part of the Trinity and always has been, which
means that Jesus was present when “The LORD shut him in” the Ark, and the
planet was flooded. Do not let the grace that we are experiencing right now,
lull you into a false attitude towards God. Do not make a false god or an idol
that makes you feel better.
But what about Judas you ask, what is his responsibility if he was being
used by God to carry out these plans? First, let’s look at the actions of
Judas. We have already seen that Jesus knew what Judas would do when he was
first chosen by Jesus to be one of the Twelve very early on in the earthly
ministry of Jesus. I am not going to speculate too much about the motives of
Judas for staying with Jesus, other than to say that Judas was looking for an
earthly reward.
When Jesus and the Twelve first arrived in Jerusalem, they were staying
in Bethany which was a small hamlet outside of Jerusalem, and on the first
night that they were there, Mary anointed Jesus with perfumed oil. Remember
that some were grumbling that the oil should have been sold and the money used
to help the poor. The people grumbling were not identified in the pericope, but
since Mark places the event out of chronological order in his Gospel and sandwiches
it between the account of the chief priests scheming and Judas going to the
chief priests to betray Jesus, we can infer that it was Judas who was upset
with this display of affection and the waste of such an expensive item. Judas
was also the treasurer for the group, he was the money guy.
Turn with me in your bible to this passage in Luke where Judas crosses
the Rubicon in his relationship with Jesus and decides to betray Jesus into the
hands of the religious leaders. Turn to Luke chapter 22 starting at verse 1 and
we are going to read about the worst decision that Judas ever made in his life.
READ LUKE 22:1-6
This event happens on the Tuesday of Passion Week in the afternoon.
Judas again, slips away from the group and goes and meets secretly with the
priests. Secretly that is, to everyone except for Christ. As the treasurer, I
am sure that Judas was always walking off looking for supplies, or meeting with
supporters and taking care of the logistical matters that every ministry needs
to operate. Judas slipping away for a short time would not have been noticed by
the other Apostles. But these actions speak to the duplicitous nature of Judas.
Now look at verse 3 here where it says, “Then
Satan entered Judas…”. Hang onto that thought for a couple of minutes
and we will come back to that. The Providence of God was even at work here
through Satan. We see Judas scheming with the priests to betray Jesus. Keep in mind
that Judas is doing this willingly. This idea rubs our modern sensitivities a
little because culture tells us that we are not responsible for our actions. We
are victims, cast about on the waves of the actions of others. We are victims
of history, geography, bigotry, racism, addiction, circumstances, phobias, and
the hate of others. We are just victims.
God’s Providence is at work here even in Satan’s actions with Judas.
Keep in mind in the book of Job, we are taught how God put limits on the
actions of Satan. Yahweh told Satan that he may test Job, but he was not to
physically harm Job. There was the restraining hand of God placed on the
actions of Satan.
The Father does the same thing to mankind. We saw when we studied
Habakkuk, how God removed His restraining hand from the Babylonians and used
them to bring judgment on the kingdom of Judah.
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul explores this thought of God’s
restraining hand in a couple of verses. Romans 1:21 Paul introduces the thought
with, “21 For although they knew God,
they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking
became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” This explains
very well what we see happening in the life of Judas. Then Paul makes it clear
who decides ultimately with this passage, “24 Therefore
God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…”. The Bible
speaks in several places of God “giving over” or how He “gave over” people to
their wicked hearts.
Why must God use a restraining hand when it comes to us? Secular
Humanism tells us that we are all basically good and we are corrupted by
society or the influence of others. Scripture paints a different picture.
After the flood, Yahweh said in His heart as part of God’s promise to
never flood the earth again. “21 Never again
will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the
human heart is evil from childhood.” That was from Genesis 8:21. In the
Book of Psalms, David was aware of the natural condition of the human heart
when he wrote this, “5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.” Culture and psychology want us to
believe that we are all naturally good and in need of redemption, but the Bible
is very clear about the opposite.
The problem is, when we are left to our own devices we tend to make bad
choices, selfish choices, and we choose death rather than life.
So, what are we to make of this? How can God exercise His Providence
without turning us into little robots of His? If God is Holy and Just, as we
have shown in the last couple of messages, and He is providentially in control
of all things, then how do we avoid falling into the trap of blaming God for
all the evil in the world?
Ephesians 1:11 states the following, “11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined
according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will,”
God does not take over the creature, God works instead through
creaturely causes. Augustine wrote, “The cause that is higher than all others,
is the will of God”. Let me repeat that, “The cause that is higher than all
others, is the will of God”. Since the days of Thomas Aquinas, theologians have
made a distinction between God as the “primary cause” and creatures as
“secondary causes”.
Again, God does not take over the creature, God works instead through
creaturely causes. Theologians speak of the concurrence of God’s
providence with the actions of His creatures. It means that the two operate
together, not as equals, not like a team of horses hitched together, but the
two work together to produce an effect- literally, they “run with each other”.
God works in and through the creature so that the creature also works.
Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ have the
promptings of God living in us through the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit speaks
to us, He doesn’t take over our brains and turn us into robots. The Spirit
prompts us through our conscience so that we will respond in a fashion that is
pleasing to God.
17th-century English theologian William Ames wrote the following, “There
is nothing in the providence of God that imposes a necessity to things,
forcing them unnaturally to go in a particular direction. Rather, the
Father disposes, or arranges all things sweetly- that is, …exactly… as
it is gracious to the nature of things, as God personally imparts to those
things in creation and thus preserves and disposes by His own providence.”
CONCLUSION
I feel like I have made it clear
that as Ephesians 1:11 says, “11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the
plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his
will,” but God does so in such a way that like Judas Iscariot, we are still
responsible for the choices that we make.
Do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that Judas is solely
responsible for what happened on Good Friday 2,000 years ago. Caiaphas the High
Priest had a role. As did the council of the High Priests. The Sanhedrin,
Pontus Pilate, and the Jewish crowd, all were used by God as the means to
accomplish His end.
We have the ability to choose right or wrong, but the inclination
of our hearts is to choose evil over good. Particularly, when the Father has
removed His restraining hand from our lives. We live in an incredibly complex
Universe, and God is working through all that in a plan that conforms to His
will.
God does not take us over and compel us to do what He wants, but rather
He works all things sweetly to work with our natures. God prompts,
corrects, and encourages us to make the right choice. We are the secondary
cause to His very important first cause. We see in the Crucifixion account how
God has Providence over Creation to cause three hours of darkness to represent
His wrath being poured out on the Son. A wrath that was due to us but was
endured by the Son and ultimately caused His death on the cross. God’s wrath
was not all that the Son endured that day. He was beaten, scourged, punched,
spit upon, jeered, and mocked. Humiliated by soldiers, thieves, and commoners.
All so that we wicked, rebellious people could be drawn back into a restored
relationship with the Father.
One thing we can have confidence in… is that Jesus understands our
suffering because He entered into our world and suffered in a very real way.
I want you to think about this, “Who initiated the Crucifixion?” Was it
Judas? Was it Caiaphas the High Priest? Was it Pontus Pilate, the Roman
Governor? Or, could it have been God, Himself once again initiating the actions
that brought about the most unjust event in human history?
Today we saw how even one of His closest betrayed the Son. How many
times have we betrayed Jesus by taking this gift for granted?
Join us on Easter morning as we will conclude this series on the
Providence of God.
Go in peace!
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