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I want to share Exodus 33:23, “I will take away My hand,” this is when Moses was put in the cleft of the rock, “and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” A couple of thoughts about that passage: #1 We’re not going to see the Lord until He removes His hand. He covered up the cave, and Moses was in darkness, and until He removes His hand, we’re in darkness but we can trust God to move His hand, and then it says that we’ll “see My back”, and in this life, the most we’ll ever have is a partial view of the Lord. We’ll see His back. The day is coming when we’ll see Him face to face, but for now it’s a partial view. With that in mind, let’s ask the Lord to remove His hand and unveil the Lord Jesus to our hearts.
Our Father, thank You again for Your precious word and for the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts and whoever turns our eyes toward our Lord Jesus. We pray again this morning that we might have good fellowship in You and that we might hear as You speak to our hearts. Protect Your people, I pray, from anything that might be flesh and blood and just human wisdom. You be the teacher. We thank You that we can trust You for this because we claim it in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Welcome again to our meditation on our Lord Jesus. We’re looking at the Holy Spirit’s revelation of our Lord through His servant, the Apostle John. We’re in an awesome section of the gospel of John. We’re coming toward the end, but we’re in chapters 18 & 19. Those chapters begin with the arrest of our Lord Jesus in Gethsemane, and it ends with His burial. The next chapter will take us to the resurrection, but 18 & 19 is with His burial. In our discussion of those two chapters, we didn’t begin with verse 1 and let’s look at one to five, and then six to eight and all that. What we did, we stood back and looked at the two chapters, the passion of our Lord Jesus as a whole.
We made general observations. For example, I showed you from those two chapters that Jesus was not a victim; He was the Victor and was in charge of every detail, even though they tied Him up and spit in His face and treated Him terrible. He was in control. And then the second observation was that I tried to show you there was a scene that you could see with the natural eye, and then there was a behind the scenes, and then there was a behind the scene behind the scene. With the natural eye you could see man, in his malice, in his sinfulness, in his depravity and how he treated the Lord Jesus. But even then, our Lord was in control. John 10:17, “For this reason, the Father loves Me because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me. I lay it down on My own initiative.” Nobody killed Jesus without His permission.
Then, we looked behind the scenes, and we saw there was an instigator. Yes, man did it, but behind the scenes there was an enemy; there was Satan, and he was instigating and working through men. Once again, the Lord Jesus is not a victim. In that connection, Colossians 2:14&15, “Having cancelled out the certificate of debt, consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, He’s taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” It’s a very graphic picture. Satan thought he won, and the demons are cheering at the cross; they’re dancing. And yet, the Lord turned it around, and it was His triumph.
Finally, we looked behind the scenes behind the scenes, and we saw it was not man, and it wasn’t even Satan instigating man, John 18:11, “Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it.’” Behind man and behind Satan there’s God the Father. We say that Jesus died for sinners. That’s true; He did, thank God. But He also died for His Father God. He died for God. Isaiah 53:4, “We ourselves esteemed to Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:10, “The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief.” In the whole transaction, Jesus was not a victim, not to man, not to Satan, and in fact, He was acting in obedience to His Father. Philippians 2:8, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.” So, He did it willingly because He loved us, He loved you and He loved His church. Ephesians 5:25, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” You would think that He’s a man acquainted with grief and affliction, but when it comes to the cross, it’s almost the opposite of that. Hebrews 12:2, “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He joyfully obeyed His Father, joyfully gave His life for the church, joyfully He went to the cross to suffer for us. All of that is recorded in these two chapters.
In our last lesson, we made another observation. While Satan was inspiring wicked men to do the worst at Jesus, Jesus is going to the cross to bring redemption to the world. But He’s redeeming on the way to the cross, and we tried to develop that a little. I want to spend a little more time this morning on that. So many people are mentioned in chapters 18 & 19, but the Holy Spirit puts the focus on three of the many that are mentioned. He puts the focus on Judas, on Pilate and He gives sixty verses to Pilate, and to the Apostle Peter. So, I want to review a little further and develop that principle a little further. It comes from Acts 17:26, “He made from one man,” that’s Adam, “every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” Those two expressions, “their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation”. It’s important for us to see with our hearts, and not just our minds, that He has determined appointed times. That’s true for nations, it’s true for families, it’s true for ministries, it’s true for churches, it’s true for individuals; He always determines our appointed times and the boundaries of our habitation.
2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but all to come to repentance.” The Lord wants everybody to get saved, and in His sovereignty He’s giving everybody the very best opportunity, the best shot, and that means He’s going to engineer all the circumstances around every living person, lives now or lives that will ever live; He’s going to engineer their circumstances, so that when they make their choices, He will make profitable and encourage them to turn to the Lord. He appoints our times and our destinations, and He gives the reason in the next verse, Acts 17:27, “That they would seek God, and perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He’s not far from any one of us.” Every act of God has to be consistent with God. In other words, God will never deny Himself. Every time He acts, He acts in terms of who He is, in terms of all His attributes, and He will never go out of character; He will never, ever violate a human will because He said that He wouldn’t.
John 6:44, “No one comes to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” The only way a person comes to God is if God draws him, and as we read in verse 32 off chapter 12, “If I’m lifted up from the earth, I’ll draw all men to Me.” You can’t come unless you’re drawn, but He draws everybody, and He draws everybody the same way, and that is by determining their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. That’s how He draws. He didn’t create us to be animals and live by instinct or robots or some kind of machine. We’re created in the image of God, and we’ve been given the privilege that we can respond to His drawing; we can say “yes”, and we can say “no”, and He will never force us to say “yes” or “no”. That’s up to us, and God gives us that privilege; we have the ability to make moral choices.
I’m going to try to avoid it but I’m not going to succeed; I was going to try to avoid the expression “free will” because that thing has taken a beating through God’s people, but it’s exactly what I’m talking about. So, even though I’ll avoid the expression, I’m talking about the fact that God has given us a free will, not free that you can fly or breathe under water. You might say, “I have a free will, and I can do anything I want.” You can’t; there are certain things you cannot do, but you can say “yes” and you can say “no”, you can receive and you can reject, but you will not initiate, but you can respond. The Lord is consistent. He said, “If I be lifted, I’ll draw all men to Me,” and He does that by determining our appointed time in the boundaries of our habitation.
Let me try to expand on that. What that means is God is going to allow you and me and every person to make their own choices along the way. If their choices take them north, then the Lord is going north. If their choices take them west, the Lord is going west, or south or east. The Lord is following you every step of the way. He followed Moses into the land of Midian. He followed Samson to the harlot’s house. He followed King Saul to the witch’s house at Endor. He’s going to go with you every choice you make. He followed David to the rooftop, so he could lust after Bethsheba. He lets you make your choices. He followed Saul of Tarsus all the way to Damascus where he was persecuting Christians, harming them, even having some of them martyred; He follows us. He refuses to force your will; He never, ever will force your will, but as a sovereign God, as a God of Providence, He can control the circumstances when you make your choice, and He does. He controls the circumstances. He determines your times; He determines the boundaries of your habitation. He followed Moses into the wilderness. That was Moses’ choice after he murdered the Egyptian. He was there for forty years learning wilderness ways because he’s going to be more than a shepherd; he’s going to shepherd people through the same wilderness for forty years. The Lord is training him, even though he made his own choice. He gave Saul a last opportunity by calling Samuel up from the dead. Samuel was the only one Saul ever listened to, and that was his best shot. So, right at the end God gave him his best shot. It looks like he said “no”, but gave him that opportunity. That’s what He does all along the way.
He determined David’s times and the boundaries of his habitation, even after his sin with Bethsheba. He’s the One who determines when Nathan, the prophet, would come into his life, point his index finger between his eyes and say, “Thou art the man!” God is the One that arranged that, and thankfully David responded. So, that’s how He draws; He draws everybody, not by forcing their will, and not by strong arming, but by when they make their choices, He is there to arrange circumstances to give that person the best opportunity to choose the Lord and to turn to the Lord.
It’s not an accident, dear Christian friends, who you meet along the way. The Lord is in charge of who you meet along the way, and when you meet and which school you will attend, and which school rejects you. The Lord is in charge of your circumstances. If you join an athletic team, He decides what team and who is on that team and who is coaching that team, what music you listen to, when you turn the radio on, what you hear at that particular moment, circumstances that come into your life, the storm that comes into your life, the fire, the accident, the broken health; He won’t touch your will but He can touch the circumstances because He’s a sovereign God, and in His providence He can do that. He can determine your finances, whether they’re succeeding or whether they go downhill. Some violence comes into your life, God can control circumstances. You think all of a sudden you fell into who is your boss? He determines who is your boss and who is your teacher and who is your coach and who is your neighbor and who is your friend and who is your pastor and who is your priest and who is your elder, who is the One who decides your family members. He determines when you would be born and where you’d be born and who your parents would be. He won’t touch your will, but He’ll touch your circumstances. He will dictate the appointed times and the boundaries of your habitation. There is never a moment when the Lord is not drawing you to Himself. That’s why I say that your choices may take you on a long road, but that’s the shortest road; that shows how unusually stubborn we are, if we have to go all the way to the bottom and go through this and through that, and that we’re not responding along the way. The long road that you choose is the shortest road to Christ. The road that got you here is the shortest road to Christ, and He always does that.
Don’t just say, “Things worked out.” Romans 8:28, “God causes all things to work out.” Don’t forget that God causes. It’s that God causes all things to work together. Acts 17, “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, and perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He’s not far from any one of us.” So, we can say “yes” and we can say “no”. Receiving is not a work; receiving is a response to a work; it’s a response to His work.
Let me see if I can find a path out of that rambling to get back to John 18 & 19. I told you that the Holy Spirit focused on three people—Judas, Pilate and the Apostle Peter. I tried to show you in a previous lesson how God gave Judas every possible opportunity to say “yes”. He appointed his times and the boundaries of his habitation. That’s why Jesus chose him to be an apostle; that was his best shot. He didn’t take it, but that was his best opportunity. He could witness the teaching of Jesus and the miracles of our Lord Jesus. God gave him that and even exalted him to be the treasurer. He knew he was a thief and that he was pilfering the bank, and God did that because, since he was born God knew his choices and he was making it as clear as possible. He wouldn’t force him, but Judas had every opportunity. As far as the record goes, it looks like Judas did not choose right. Expressions like “he’s not clean”, and Jesus said, “I lost none but one,” and, “It was better if he was never born,” and, “he’s the son of perdition, and, “Satan entered him,” those expressions don’t give me a lot of hope for Judas. But even so, I can’t see the heart, and you can’t see the heart. 2 Timothy 2:19 is always true, “A firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, the Lord knows those that are His.” He knows; I don’t. He knows; you don’t. We don’t. We can guess. He said that by their fruits you’ll have some indication, but you’re never certain. The best thing we can do is leave all the judgment to the Lord and not try to determine someone’s destiny and look into their heart. We can’t do that.
What was true of Judas was true of Pilate, and we traced out how God sovereignly set him up. Pilate took great pride in his political position, and he told the Lord Jesus, “Don’t you know that I have the ability to have you crucified?” Jesus just said, “You don’t have any authority at all except my Father has given it to you.” God arranged him to have that opportunity to stand before Jesus. God is the one who did the circumstances; He appointed his times and appointed the boundaries of his habitation. Pilate is standing right in front of Jesus, the Truth, and he says, “What is truth?” He turns and walks away.
There comes a time in life when God keeps doing that with circumstances. There comes a time in life when suddenly it dawns on a person, and they say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa; that must be the Lord. I could have been killed. I could have died. Why did I escape. I think I better start being serious about the Lord.” Once He works the circumstances, and then you get the doctor’s report, and you go, “Oh, boy,” it makes you attentive and you begin to look toward the Lord. Some of you, perhaps, are thankful you have never been exposed, and it’s still your secret. You know how terrible it would be and embarrassing if it was ever exposed. The Lord arranged that; He could have had that exposed. God is in charge of everything; He’s the one that sends the person, sends the book, sends the song. God is always drawing us.
When Zaccheus heard that Jesus was coming down his street, that’s when he climbed the tree. He could have climbed every tree in the world, and if Jesus wasn’t coming down the street, it would have done no good. Every once in a while, something will come into a person’s life, and they say, “That’s God. That’s a God thing. He’s coming down my street. I better start listening. I better respond.” Anyway, that’s where we left off; Jesus bringing Judas and Pilate from their birth all through their lives, and all through their history to the place where they would say “yes”.
That brings us this morning to John’s focus on Peter. Let me begin with John 18:10, “Simon Peter, then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.” John tells us that he cut off the ear, but here’s what he doesn’t tell us. Luke 22:51, “The Lord Jesus touched his ear and healed it.” John didn’t tell us that. John tells us in John 18:27, “Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.” Here’s what John doesn’t tell us, Luke 22:61, “The Lord turned and look at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, and how He had told him that before a rooster crows today you’ll deny Me three times, and he went out and wept bitterly.”
I attempted to show you last time how Judas and Peter were given every possible opportunity to say “yes” to the Lord. God engineered all of their circumstances so that they could come to the Lord. As far as the record goes, with all the opportunities they had, it looks like Judas said “no”. From the record, it looks like Pilate also said “no”. But unlike Judas and Pilate, now the Lord is going to give us a positive illustration with the Apostle Peter. Peter said “yes”; he repented and he received God’s forgiveness.
I want to show you how the sovereignty of God and the providence of God controls all of the details in Peter’s response, without forcing his will and without strong arming him. Let me begin with the denial. I want to remind you that the entire passion of Christ, everything He is about to go through, He already knew it in advance. Luke 18:33, “He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we’re going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. He’ll be handed over to the gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they’ve scourged Him, they’ll kill Him, and on the third day He’ll rise again.” When God determines the times and the boundaries, it’s because He knows in advance what you are going to do. He knows your circumstances. I remember when I first came to the Lord, I was trying to trick God, and I’d walk down the street and I’d just go, “Whoop…,” and I wondered if He knew I was going to do that. He knows everything, foreknowledge. He knows everything actual and He knows everything possible. How many possibilities have taken place since you got up this morning? You could have brushed your teeth at a different time, and you could have eaten something different, you could have walked faster. God knows everything actual and every possibility for every person on the whole globe. You have no idea about this foreknowledge.
There’s a lot of confusion about the word “election”. Who are the elect? Did God determine from eternity past? Did He make a choice—he’s elect and he’s not, he is and he is not? The reason He could predict who the elect is, not because He determined it, but because He knew in advance, His foreknowledge. Foreknowledge is the master key to this whole problem of elect. 1 Peter 1:1&2, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Capadocia, Asia, Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God.” If you have the KJV it says, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God.” I tried to illustrate this to my second son, Daniel. One of his hobbies, and he’s good at it, is chess. He likes to play chess. So, I decided to illustrate this whole truth by using the chess game. I said, “Dan, let’s say we’re going to play chess, and I knew in advance every move you were going to make, if somehow, I had foreknowledge and knew every single move that you are going to make. Could you win?” He said, “Yes.” Well, that’s true because it’s me, but if it were some master chess player or the Lord and He knows in advance, He won’t touch your will, you can make any move you want, but if He knows in advance, He can control the circumstances. That was a bad illustration for me to use with him.
You are a Christian today, and you are saved today because the Lord drew you. He determined your time, He determined the boundaries of your habitation and brought the most promising circumstances into your life and you responded. One more passage and we’ll get back to Peter. Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is like the channels of water in the hands of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. Every man’s way is right in his own eyes; the Lord weighs the heart.” How does God determine the channels of the President or the king? He says that it’s the same as the channels of water, the channels of a river. How does He determine the channels of a river? The answer is by erosion. A river changes direction by erosion; the river meanders and it wipes away the shoreline and that’s weak, and then it goes to the other side and wipes that away. God directs a river by erosion, by decaying, by corruption. How does He guide the government? It’s erosion. It’s the same way He does the rivers. He uses their corruption; He uses their terrible decisions, but He controls the circumstances along the way.
Let’s go back to John and talk about Peter. All four gospels give the prediction of Peter’s denial. One of the predictions was the very day that he denied. Luke 22:31, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. I’ve prayed for you that your faith would not fail, and once you’ve turned again, strengthen your brothers.” He knew he would turn again. He said, “Lord, with You I’m ready to go both to prison and to death.” He said, “Peter the rooster will not crow today until you’ve denied three times that you know me.” This prediction was just before Peter betrayed the Lord. Matthew, Mark and John record the prediction the same day of the trial; Matthew 26:31-35, Mark 14:27-31, and John 13 we actually read it, “Jesus said, ‘Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, I say to you a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.’” Some people say those are warnings, that Jesus was warning Peter. Those were not warnings; those were predictions because He knew in advance what Peter would do. If it was a warning, Peter could have made a different decision, but Jesus knew what he was going to do, and he would deny Him in the courtyard. Jesus already knew that, and He saw in advance. Although He didn’t dictate the path, He knew what Peter was going to do. Of course, Peter denied it, but he hadn’t yet seen the possibilities of his own natural heart, but he’s going to see it.
Jesus knew at the denial that it would take place in the courtyard. In the Garden Peter pulled out a sword and cut a man’s ear off. Now hold that, he’s in the Garden and he cuts a man’s ear off, Jesus knows he’s going to get to the courtyard and deny Him, we’ve got a problem. So, the Lord is going to have to engineer circumstances so that Peter can escape. Peter drew first blood. There’s a lot of soldiers there, hundreds of soldiers, and what do you think if a disciple draws a sword and cuts somebody’s ear off; he’s a dead man; he’s not going to get out of the Garden alive. So, Jesus picks up the ear and heals Malchus. All the attention is now turned to Malchus and the healing, and the Bible says that Peter escaped and scattered. That’s how he got out of there because God knows he’s going to deny Him in the courtyard, but He’s determining his times and the boundaries of his habitation. The Lord has control over that.
Knowing that Peter would not be admitted into the courtyard, now Jesus rescued him, so he can deny Him in the courtyard, but when he gets to the courtyard, they won’t let him in. We’ve got another problem. John 18:16, “Peter was standing outside.” He couldn’t get in; the door was locked. So, the Lord has to arrange some circumstances. Somebody has to put a good word in for Peter to get somebody to unlock the door. It’s who you know. According to John 18:15, that disciple was known to the high priest; that’s John. I want you to try to enter into this. John is a fisherman. John is not high class; he’s not up with the bigwigs. Somehow, he became friendly with Caiphas, the high priest. The fisherman doesn’t get to become friendly with the high priest. How did that work out? How unlikely a relationship was that, that Peter, the fisherman, would get to know Caiphas, the high priest?
Caiphas was no friend of Jesus. After the resurrection of Lazarus, Caiphas is the one that said, “The best thing we could do is have Jesus killed.” That’s Caiphas; he’s no friend of Jesus. That friendship didn’t last long. We see that because when Peter and John after the resurrection, the crippled man at the gate had to go before Caiphas, and Caiphas was not happy with Peter or his old friend, John, anymore. In fact, Acts 4:13, “They observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated, untrained men, and they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Though John doesn’t mention it, He then determines the time and the boundaries of the habitation and also determine the exact time that Jesus would walk by and catch the glance of Peter.
We know Jesus’s prediction that Peter would deny Him in all four gospels, with a few differences but nothing contradictory. The first denial was when he first stepped through the gate, John 18:17, “The slave girl who kept the door, said to Peter, ‘You’re not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’” John mentions her as a slave girl. Mark calls attention that it was Caiphas’ slave girl, that she worked for Caiphas. We know according to Luke that the next denial took place a short time after. It’s the same girl, but this time there’s a lot of collaborating witnesses, and said, “Yes, you’re the one.” And he denies it again. The third denial was an hour later, and now the witnesses are increasing, so you’ve got all of the witnesses, “You are one of them. We know; we recognize you.” And then along came somebody who was a relative of Malchus, the guy whose ear was cut off, and said, “For sure, you’re the one,” and that’s when he got vehement and denied it, even with an oath. John 18:27, “Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.” Here’s what John leaves out, Luke 22:59, “About an hour had passed and another man began to insist, ‘Certainly, this man was with Him. He’s a Galilean, too.’ Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ Immediately, while he was speaking a rooster crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him that before a rooster crows today, you’ll deny me three times, and he went out and he wept bitterly.”
The Lord didn’t touch Peter’s decision; He didn’t touch his will, but He determined the times and the boundaries. He determined the very moment that Jesus would be moving from the house of Annas along a walkway to the house of Caiphas where he would be tried, and Peter would be in the courtyard, and at that very moment, the rooster would crow, and Peter would look. Jesus can control that; He controls the rooster. In fact, I’m more amazed, not that the rooster crowed at the right time, but you get one rooster crowing, there were hundreds of roosters. Did He shut the mouths of all the other roosters? He controls all the circumstances. In the exact moment he looked Him in the eye, that’s all the sovereignty of God. He gave the best choice to Pilate and He gave the best choice to Judas, and now, as far as we know, they said “no”, but now without violating Peter’s volition, He’s giving him the best opportunity. Now, Peter says “yes”. Judas went out and did penance; he went and hung himself. Peter went out and repented, and he went out and wept bitterly. There’s a big difference between penance and repentance. That’s how the Lord draws sinners to Himself. He determines the appointed times and determines the boundaries of their habitation.
Let me further illustrate it. We just say, “Wow, He timed the look, He timed the rooster,” but He did more than that. The entire layout of the courtyard had to be predetermined. The buildings had to be predetermined. There had to be a walkway from one house to another house. You don’t just do that overnight. Planning takes time. Who is going to arrange the building, and who is going to make the walkway, and who is going to put it next to the courtyard? See, Jesus can control all the circumstances around. He can do the appointed time. He won’t touch your will; He’ll let you decide. You can say “yes” or you can say “no”. You can say “I accept” or “I reject” but every step along the way, He’s going to give you the best opportunity to say “yes”, and we see here that Peter did.
There’s another Peter story that illustrates how He draws us. I’m referring to the cutting off of the ear again, John 18. To understand the inside story, it would be helpful not only to see Peter’s self-confidence that he’s determined that it will never happen in his own strength, he made the boast several times, even just before the Garden, but just before this took place, the Lord laid down a principle, and I just want to share that principle. Luke 22:35&36, and this is just before Gethsemane, “He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?’ They said, ‘No, nothing.’ And He said to them, ‘But now, whoever has a money bag belt is to take it along, and likewise a bag. Whoever has no sword, sell his coat and buy one. Now, the sword was a picture, and protection was the reality, just as the bag was a picture – provision. See if you can get hold of this illustration. Jesus said, “I sent you out for almost a year, and you didn’t have any wallet, you didn’t have a money bag. Did you lack anything?” And they said, “No, we lacked nothing.” And He said, “That’s because I’m your provider. You didn’t have a sword. Were you safe?” They said, “Yeah.” He said, “That’s because I’m your protector. I’m the One that protects. Now, I’m going to give you back the bag, but you’ve got to remember that I’m your provider. I’m going to give you back the sword, but remember, I’m your protector.
Some people say, “Oh, it’s such a great thing to live by faith. You don’t have any income coming in.” I have more confidence in somebody that works forty hours a week and they still have the bag, and they have to work, and they work forty hours a week or more. Then they say, “God is my provider; I’m not trusting the bag.” That’s the one who is living by faith.
Anyway, the Lord Jesus then says to them, “Do you have a sword?” What He meant was that a battle was coming and you better prepare yourself; you are about ready to enter a war zone when you go into the Garden. That’s what He was saying. Peter answers in Luke 22:38, “Look, here, are two swords,” and He said to them, “It’s enough.” Here’s what you don’t have in your Bibles, and it’s probably not true, but when He said, “It’s enough,” I think He was a little sarcastic and He when He said, “Do you have a sword,” He was saying, “Are you trusting Me?” He said, “We have two swords,” and this is not in your Bible, but I think He said, “It’s enough; it’s enough.”
Anyway, Peter was looking to a sword made out of steel, and he missed the principle, that the sword is the Lord’s protection. When he drew the sword, we read in verse 10 of chapter 18, “Simon Peter, having a sword, through it struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear, and the slave’s name was Malchus.” Jesus said, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” Matthew adds, “All that take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” Jesus said when he said, “We have two swords,” Jesus said, “It’s enough.” Well, you know it’s not literal; two swords were not enough. In fact, one sword was too many, a sword made out of steel. As Christians, we know what the sword is. 2 Corinthians 10:4, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses, for destroying speculation, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; we’re taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” We have the sword of the Spirit; we have a spiritual sword. Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord, the strength of His might. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and powers, and against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness.” Once again, Peter misunderstood; he looked to the picture.
It wasn’t only Judas, Pilate and Peter. God was also working in the life of Malchus and his family, and all who saw that miracle, working in their lives, and Caiphas. I can’t believe how much God was working in Caiphas. Caiphas was at one time friendly with John. Caiphas saw the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Caiphas is the one who tried the Lord Jesus face to face. Malchus was Caiphas’ servant. He came back with a healed ear. That’s quite a testimony. Caiphas heard that. The guards who were guarding the tomb came back with an amazing story. After Pentecost, we read the healing of that man born crippled. Caiphas had a testimony then, as well.
I’m not quite finished Peter and the sword. There is one more thing we need to look at, but we’ll pick that up next time. Just know this, I hope that one principle, and this is my heart, the Lord will never force your will. You can say “yes” or you can say “no”, and you can respond or you don’t have to respond, but I promise you this, He’s going to be working around your life. He’s going to be determining your times and the boundaries of your habitation. He wants you to say “yes”. He’s going to open doors and He’s going to shut doors. He’s going to bring you high and He’s going to bring you low. He’s going to bring people into your life, and He’s going to bring you as low as you can get. All things, He’s bringing you to the impossible place where you’ll finally say, “I’m going to turn to the Lord.”
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your word, the Holy Spirit which enlightens us and turns our eyes to Jesus. We thank You for His amazing work controlling our circumstances and our times and all the details around the choices, sometimes foolishness, that we make, just to draw us to Himself. Oh Lord, thank You for who You are. Make these things real in our hearts and lives. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.