I Am He - Part 2

Bryan Chapell: This event of the severed ear is recorded in every single gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Not all of them record things like Jesus walking on the water, raising Lazarus from the dead, the feeding of the 5,000, but this one event every single gospel writer records. Why do you imagine that is? Because even they recognized how ridiculous it was and how it magnified the love of Jesus to them all.
Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel. In today's episode, pastor Brian shares the second half of a lesson from John 18. Dr. Chapel highlights the challenging final hours of Jesus's life where he, fully knowing what was to come, faced suffering on our behalf. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for pastor Brian's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Brian Chapel as he shares the second half of a lesson, I am He.
Bryan Chapell: Now let me invite you to look in your Bibles at John chapter 18. John chapter 18 is we will be looking at the first 11 verses. It is not unusual for any of us if we're facing a major challenge to be concentrated on our prayers for a while. Do you recognize we've actually spent a number of weeks looking at John 17. Jesus's longest and most detailed prayer in his earthly ministry. Why would you imagine such focus on prayer? Because he is about to face the greatest challenge of his earthly existence. Let me ask that you would stand as we read about the beginning of that challenge. John 18 verses 1 through 11. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley 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 priest 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 word 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 priest's 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? Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we read again that our Savior willingly took the cup of suffering that we deserved. And in doing so reminds us of a love beyond our fathoming, beyond our understanding, and yet so necessary for our hearts. Would you this day open our ears to the reality of the Savior who would come? And though he had to do none of it by virtue of power or knowledge, did undergo all of it because we required him to do so. He drank our cup. Thank you for him. Let us now hear from him by his spirit and word we pray in Jesus's name. Amen. Please be seated. I am ridiculous. I am ridiculous. The one who says those words is named Malchus, the same Malchus in our scripture today, in the play written by Thorton Wilder depicting this event. The time that Thorton Wilder describes is much later. Malchus is in heaven. And Malchus is pounding on the door room of the king of heaven. He is making a pest of himself because he has a request to make of the king. Finally, after all the pestering and the cajoling, he gets into the king's throne room and he speaks to the king and he says, will you please take my name out of the Bible? Because the only thing people know me for is getting my ear cut off. And everybody thinks I'm ridiculous. Lord, will you please just take my name out of the Bible? Well, the Lord Jesus agrees to do so, but pauses before doing so with a question for Malchus. He says, Malchus, don't you know that in the Bible I'm ridiculous too. Won't you stay there and be ridiculous with me? Now one little ridiculous note. Do you know what Malchus means? King. He's fallen to the ground and he loses his ear. This king of the earth by this kind of misspent action of one of the true king's disciples. Now when I say misspent action, I want you to recognize how strange this is. Now there's 200 soldiers, but as far as we know from the track of the account, they're on the ground. They've fallen down. And now Peter, seemingly always willing to take the doing of the Lord's work into his own hands, goes up to someone who's on the ground to Jesus, I'll help you. I'll help you. He's already on the ground. And while he's down, cuts his ear off. The the French artist Jacques Tissot depicts a couple of scenes of this particular account in the late 19th century. In the first scene, as he paints it, it's dominated by Simon Peter who is bent over Malchus, muscles bulging, his great strength, this Simon Peter, he's going to accomplish the will of God. And though the picture is totally dominated by Peter, you recognize the inappropriateness of it because you can barely see Jesus behind and his features are all distorted as though Peter sang, I will take the responsibility upon myself to do God's will rather than Christ has already told him repeatedly. He must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die for his sheep. That that's what Jesus but but Peter's going to do the work of God himself. He knows better than Jesus. He knows better than God. And in doing so obscures Jesus. And Jesus's features become distorted by the whole. Wonder if that has any meaning to you because I was preparing this message this week, I was thinking about various things as we move forward with the Unlimited Grace comprehensive call. And I think to myself at times what what resources do we need to bear and what do I need to do and who do I need to impress and what do I need to accomplish and and think how easy it is for me not to do this work on my knees to in my strength and my ability want to go for I think how easy it is in the life of the church to to want something to occur and so we we bring together the the people or the rumors or the words or the resources that we can make what we want to happen happen. And recognize that we serve the Savior who would not break a bruised reed. He was willing for the Holy Spirit to change people's hearts, willing to do what was right and let God take care of the rest, to be dependent more on God's working than his own working. I'm more like Peter than I want to be at times. When Jacques Tissot paints the second scene of this one event, it's that moment in which Jesus has taken the ear off the ground and he's putting the ear back on Malchus's head. Now Jesus is in the foreground. Not made so by man's might, but by divine mercy, he's there in the foreground. His features defined and refined, not by human ability, but by mercy. The compassion of God evident for one who came to arrest him.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel.
Guest (Male): It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils. At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye. In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Brian Chapel asks the question, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world. You can request your copy of the Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Brian Chapel on today's Unlimited Grace.
Bryan Chapell: When Jacques Tissot paints the second scene of this one event, it's that moment in which Jesus has taken the ear off the ground and he is putting the ear back on Malchus's head. Now Jesus is in the foreground. Not made so by man's might, but by divine mercy, he is there in the foreground. His features defined and refined, not by human ability, but by mercy. The compassion of God evident for one who came to arrest him. It's the the statement of God that Christ is so ridiculous, he will not only provide mercy for impossible friends, but for obvious enemies. And it's there to see. There are people who question why it is that we even have the name Malchus in the Bible. I mean you have to recognize that while the other gospel writers mentioned this event, John is the only one who mentions Malchus. And John, as you may remember, is writing 50 or 60 years after the event. Now you just think about that. Can you remember people who served you in a restaurant 60 years ago? What why in the world would John remember this name? There are those who say, well perhaps Malchus became part of the church. Maybe that's how John knows. Maybe it's just the strange irony that, you know, the king is on the ground before the heavenly king. For whatever reason, John remembers the name. But I think there may be one more reason too. There are obvious enemies in this text, the soldiers and the chief priest servants, yes, yeah. One maybe more obvious because he's so close to Jesus. Do you remember that's verse five. When Jesus said, whom do you seek? They answered, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am He. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. Isn't that interesting? John only describes Judas in one attitude here. He's standing. Remember everybody else is going to fall, but Judas is only described as standing, but but there's someone else that may be John reason for remembering Malchus. Malchus is mentioned one more time in this account. I didn't read it. It's quite a bit later in the passage. If you let your eyes kind of drift through the rest of John 18 and stop right about verse 26. John 18 and verse 26. You'll recognize the new scene. One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter again denied it. And at once a rooster crowed. Why might John remember Malchus? Because it was his relative who would ask the question that would reveal Peter to be the true traitor. That same Peter, who had cut off Malchus's ear before 200 soldiers, would not even name the name of Jesus to a servant girl as he warmed himself by a fire a few hours later. This is the same traitor on whom Jesus said, on your testimony I will build my church. What's the message? But that Christ's mercy is great enough not only for impossible friends and obvious enemies, but his closest betrayers. And that's why I recognized myself to be more than the Roman soldiers or even the runaway disciples. But the one who knows everything and still at times for my own priorities and pleasures and ways is willing to say, God, I know better than you. And then I think of Malchus and the rooster and maybe John did too. Want to tell you a couple of curious facts about this particular passage of scripture. One of these is this healing of Malchus's ear, which is not recorded here, but in Luke 22 that that healing of Malchus's ear is the last public miracle of Jesus before his resurrection. Isn't that interesting? I mean if you were planning the Bible and you were saying, I want people really to understand who Jesus was, what would you make the last miracle? You know, what mountain to move, what ocean to empty, you know, how many thousands of people to heal in one switch? None of that. There's this ear on the ground and he picks it up and heals it. One more thing. This event of the severed ear is recorded in every single gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Not all of them record things like Jesus walking on the water, raising Lazarus from the dead, the feeding of the 5,000, but this one event every single gospel writer records. Why do you imagine that is? Because even they recognized how ridiculous it was and how it magnified the love of Jesus to them all. Maybe I can explain it this way. This week when the missionaries were here, there was a couple who who spoke to us and they told us about a man who worships with us Sunday by Sunday, but on TV. He can't get here anymore. The reason is because he is one of the nation's longest survivors with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. He has suffered with Lou Gehrig's disease for almost three decades. And that's a miracle in itself. Some of you recognize why? Because that disease simply takes away every human ability and functioning in us to walk, to talk, ultimately to breathe. And as that disease has moved inexorably, incredibly, unstoppably through his body. He's gotten to the point now where he can only communicate with wife and family through eye movements that a computer picks up. The love in that household, people say if you go there, is amazing. As the love between a husband and wife is still communicated in amazing ways, they say you you almost want to take off your shoes because in that home you feel as though you're on holy ground as you recognize a divine love present. But they also described the things that he holds most dear now. As the different abilities have left his body, he he keeps record and and treasures last things. The last hot dog I could eat, the last Cubs game I could attend. Why would you treasure that? I mean the last Cubs game. But most of all, the last time he could tell his wife, I love you with his own voice. Treasures it. Why do all the gospel writers record this? Because it's the last time Jesus will say through a miracle that is so incidental that it should pass our understanding, but says so clearly that he would make himself ridiculous for impossible friends and obvious enemies and the closest traitors he could know like you, like me, like these. I remember it. I remember it. And you will too. That he was willing to be ridiculous for you and for me as ridiculous as our betrayal at times. He loved us still. Years on the ground. He picks it up and says to all, my mercy is greater than your sin. That's ridiculous, but it's real. And with those with ears to hear, it's remarkably compelling. That's what he did for you and for me. Ridiculous and wonderful. Hi friend, this is pastor Brian again. Today we've considered how the Bible encourages us to trust our Savior. And if you find yourself in a situation today where you need to trust Jesus more with what's going on in your life, then I want to pray for you. Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, as we begin to grasp the power and the love of Jesus passion for us, we reach toward him and we know that's what you want. You want us to turn to our Savior with the confidence that he can and will hold us through all of life's trials and for eternity. So when we see how Jesus gave his life in order to save sinners like us, we love him, we turn to him, we trust him. Help us to do that right now. Even if our circumstances are tough and our sins are great, help us to believe that no matter how great is the difficulty or how heavy is our baggage, how deep may be our shame. There really is hope for each of us when we trust in Jesus. Your son has your heart and your power. So we ask that your son, heavenly Father, this Jesus Christ that we're turning to would pardon our sin, help us to live for you and hold us for eternity. That's a big prayer. But his grace is big enough. And so we ask that you would apply it to our lives as you know is best. For then we will be truly blessed. And so we pray in Jesus's name. Amen.
Guest (Male): That's pastor Brian Chapel and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his Unlimited Grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.