The Arrest
In "The Arrest," Pastor Dave Gustavsen asks a practical question: How should we respond when we face opposition because of our faith? As we look at Peter's responses and Jesus' example, we learn that the way of Christ is neither attacking or hiding, but trusting God and standing firm in our faith. We're also reminded that Jesus not only shows us how to face opposition - He walks with us through it and holds us fast.
Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group.
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 27-34)
If you’d like to follow along with us using the Gospel of John Scripture Journal, you’re welcome to purchase a copy here
Good morning Chapel family. We’re continuing our verse-by-verse study in the Gospel of John, and I’m just going to jump right into today’s Scripture: John 18, the first 27 verses. This is God’s Word for us today…
1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. This is the Word of the Lord.
Leading up to this moment, Jesus had warned his disciples: things are going to get tough. He specifically predicted his arrest and crucifixion, and he told his disciples: look, if you’re associated with me, they’re coming after you, too. But it’s one thing to be warned of something; it’s another thing to actually see it happening. And this was the night when it began to happen. Persecution was no longer just a concept; it was a reality. And they had to decide how to respond.
What does this have to do with us? Well, if you choose to follow Jesus, you will encounter some level of opposition. In our country right now, thankfully that doesn’t usually mean imprisonment or losing your job. But opposition comes in lots of different forms. Sometimes it means being ridiculed or belittled for your beliefs: Don’t tell me you honestly believe everything in the Bible! Or when you’re with your family and you bring up Jesus, they quickly become offended and defensive. Sometimes it means people make wrong assumptions about you—like if you’re a Christian you must be anti-science, or you must have certain political affiliations. Sometimes it means when you’re at work or school, you’re pressured to support certain things that violate your conscience. And sometimes it means being rejected or excluded by your friends, which is a lonely place to be.
So even though the opposition we experience might not be the same as the disciples started experiencing that night, if we follow Jesus we will experience pushback, which means the question that faced them is the same one that faces us: How should I respond when I experience opposition to my faith? And in this passage we see three different options.
Option one: Attack. This is the option Peter chooses. He pulls out his sword, swings it at the servant of the high priest, probably aiming for his neck, but winds up slicing off his right ear. So in the face of threat, Peter’s instinctive response is to attack.
Can you relate to that? When you come up against opposition, do you find yourself responding aggressively? For some people, this just comes naturally. You enjoy confrontation. You love a good argument. In fact, if there’s no conflict, you get bored! Maybe you have someone like this in your family, and it keeps things really interesting.
That was definitely Peter’s temperament. Back in chapter 13, Jesus tells his disciples he’s about to go away and he says, “Where I’m going, you can’t follow.” And Peter says, “Why can’t I follow you? I’ll lay down my life for you!” Remember what Jesus says? “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
But that is classic Peter: impulsive, emotional, big talker, and if necessary, violent.
To be fair, it wasn’t just Peter. Look with me at Luke 9, starting in verse 51: 51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. Now look at this: 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” Well that’s a little violent, wouldn’t you say? That’s kind of Peter-esque. “Lord, these people don’t want to give you a hotel room for the night, so let’s fry ‘em! Can we, please?”
So it’s not just Peter; it was a common attitude among the disciples. It’s a reflexive desire to obliterate anyone who stands in your way. And given the right circumstances, all of us can find ourselves thinking that way.
That mindset fit really well in Rome. Because the Roman Empire operated by force and intimidation and overpowering their opponents. And you know what? It worked! For several centuries, Rome was the dominant power in the world—nothing could stand in their way. So a violent, attacking approach can actually be very effective.
But it says Jesus turned and rebuked them. And in the garden, when they come to arrest Jesus, and Peter cuts off the guy’s ear, Jesus rebukes Peter: “Put away your sword.” Why? Why the rebuke? Because Jesus was bringing a kingdom that was very different from Rome. Which kingdom has your heart today?
In 1 Timothy chapter 3, Paul lays out qualifications for elders in the church. Listen to what he says in 1 Timothy 3:3: elders must be not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome. In other words, the kind of person Jesus wants leading his church is someone who doesn’t respond to opposition by attacking. When people get nasty with them, they carry themselves with self-control and gentleness, which does not mean weakness. Because they’re following the way of Jesus and his kingdom, and not the way of Rome.
So take a minute to examine yourself. Are you an attacker? When somebody opposes your faith, are you quick to pull out your sword? Verbal attacks? Social media insults? Have you pushed away family members, or maybe ruined friendships because of your aggressiveness? It’s time to own it…repent of it…and ask Jesus to show you his better way.
Here’s the next one—Option two: Hide. So Peter puts away his sword, and the soldiers arrest Jesus. They bring him first to Annas, who’s the former High Priest and the father of the current High Priest. Even though he’s retired, he’s still highly influential. They bring Jesus to the home of Annas, and it says Peter and “another disciple” followed Jesus. That “other disciple” is almost certainly John, who’s just being modest and not mentioning himself by name.
So when John and Peter come to the High Priest’s home, John has connections, so they let him in, and then he talks to the servant girl guarding the door, and she lets Peter in. She looks at Peter and says “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” Peter says, “No—not me.” Denial number 1. As Jesus is being interrogated inside, Peter joins a group of people warming themselves by a fire in the courtyard. And one of the people standing around the fire says, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” Peter says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Denial number 2. And then a third person—who’s actually a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, gets a little more assertive: “Wait—didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Peter says, “No!” Matthew and Mark tell us that at this point, Peter called down curses on himself: “As God is my witness, I swear to you—I don’t know the man!” Denial number 3. And the rooster crows.
Can you believe this is the same guy? The same guy who brashly pulled out his sword to stand up for Jesus is now so afraid to be associated with Jesus that he lies to a servant girl. Within probably one hour, the Peter pendulum swings from attacking to hiding. I don’t know what that says about Peter’s psychology, but here’s what I do know: hiding is just as unhealthy, and just as out of step with God’s Kingdom as attacking is.
Can you relate to that? When you come up against opposition, do you find yourself easily intimidated and shrinking back? For some people, that’s their natural wiring. They are conflict averse. They’re like Rex the dinosaur from Toy Story: “I don’t like confrontation!” (That’s Toy Story 1, not Toy Story 17, or whatever they’re on now).
In the New Testament, Timothy stands out as somebody who had this temperament. Listen to what Paul wrote to him in 2 Timothy 1:7— 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. And then in the next verse he says: 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. So Timothy, by nature, seems to have been a timid and shy person, and Paul exhorts him to resist that tendency. He doesn’t tell him to start swinging his sword, but he reminds him that the Holy Spirit enables us to walk in power.
Jesus had some strong words about people who are ashamed to identify with him. In Luke 9:26, he says Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. So Jesus warns us that if we go through life denying him like Peter—which means we’re too timid or embarrassed or ashamed to identify ourselves with him, we’re in spiritual danger. So if you find yourself with that timid tendency, how can you grow out of that?
Well, first let me tell you something that doesn’t work. Sometimes, people with this kind of personality become disgusted with themselves. They wish they were more courageous and confident to speak about their beliefs, but when the moment comes they seem to always shrink back and clam up. They fantasize about being able to win the argument or put that person in their place. And sometimes they become so disgusted with themselves that they are drawn to loud, aggressive voices that they can sort of hide behind to give them a sense of power. They spend hours listening to AM talk show hosts or podcast hosts or even pastors who brashly mock their opponents. Unfortunately listening to those voices doesn’t help people grow in Christian character; it usually just makes them more angry and self-righteous. So please be careful. The answer to timidity is not to hide behind a bully; the answer is to let Jesus change you at a deep level.
So in the face of opposition, some people’s tendency is to attack; some people’s tendency is to hide. You know what both of those responses have in common? Both of them reflect a failure to trust God. And that’s why we need this third option:
Option three: Trust God and Stand Firm. If you think Peter had a hard night, think about Jesus! If Jesus were filling out one of those stress inventories where you assign points to different life events, his stress level would break the scale. Think about it: the threat of the soldiers who came to arrest him; the heartbreak of seeing Judas follow through on his betrayal; alarm when Peter lashed out with his sword; interrogation from Annas the former High Priest; violence from official who slapped him in the face; and disappointment when Peter denied him. It was like a lifetime of trauma packed into one hour. If ever there were a time for the fight or flight response to kick in, this was it!
And yet, look at verse 4: Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” Jesus went out. He didn’t attack. And he didn’t hide. He walked directly up to his enemies and faced them. “Who is it you want?” They say, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and he says, “I am he,” which could also be translated “I am.” And this is amazing—verse 6: When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. The sheer force of his presence—of a man who refuses to attack and refuses to hide and displays this level of self-control in the face of threat—is so unexpected, that at least for a moment, these men are undone. Their knees buckle and they fall to the ground in the presence of Jesus.
And then, instead of being focused on his own safety, he shows concern for his disciples: If you are looking for me, then let these men go.
But I think the most instructive part of Jesus’ response to opposition happens in the home of Annas. Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to them the other also?” Here’s our chance to find out. A guard slaps him in the face for supposedly disrespecting the high priest. And Jesus says: “If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” This is so important: he doesn’t strike back—physically or verbally. He doesn’t shrink back and disengage. What does he do? He maintains his composure and forces his opponent to think about what he’s doing.
Guys, this is so helpful. When someone mocks you for believing the Bible, don’t attack them and don’t hide from them; stand in it and engage them: “Have you actually read the Bible? What are the parts you struggle to believe?” Respectfully turn it back on them. When you bring up Jesus with your family and they become offended and defensive, ask them, “Why is this such a trigger for you? I really want to understand: have you had bad experiences with hypocritical Christians?” Or, “Can I tell you why Jesus means so much to me?” Don’t attack them, and don’t retreat from them. Stand in it and respectfully engage them in conversation.
So if your natural tendency is to attack, resist that tendency by the power of the Spirit. If your natural tendency is to hide and retreat resist that by the Spirit’s power. Take a deep breath and choose to stand firm and trust God. That’s the way of Jesus—which is so different from the way of the world.
Napoleon Bonaparte—a very worldly leader—once spoke these words:
“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”
This is the king we follow. And here’s the most important part: when you experience any level of persecution, remember that Jesus stands in it with you! He’s got you. He knows what it’s like to be mocked and belittled. And he will not let you go. Listen to these words we sang a few moments ago: When I fear my faith will fail/Christ will hold me fast/When the tempter would prevail/He will hold me fast/I could never keep my hold/Through life's fearful path/For my love is often cold/He must hold me fast.
Jesus is the only one who’s handled opposition perfectly. So keep your eyes fixed on him. Trust him. And when you get it wrong—when you find yourself attacking or hiding—don’t beat yourself up. Confess it and ask Jesus for the strength to do better the next time. He’s with you, he’s for you, and he’s not giving up on you.
Let’s prepare our hearts for communion. Worship team, come on up.
