The Verdict Is In
Series: [RE]UNION
Text: John 18:33-40
Speaker: Pastors Ryan Paulson & Esteban Tapia
March 24, 2024: On Sunday, Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia completed the latest season of messages (part 5) from our ongoing Gospel of John series, [RE]UNION. This last message is entitled "The Verdict Is In." We hope you enjoyed studying this section of the Scriptures with us.
Experiencing the God of Peace
Most people, at one time or another, experience loneliness, betrayal, or denial. With each sharp sting comes an even deeper wound. These wounds are difficult to heal from because they attack the core of who we are and what we stand for. If we are not careful, they can claim our identity, speak lies to our souls, and set us on a path of destruction rather than forgiveness.
In John 18, Jesus experienced betrayal and denial from his closest friends. Judas handed him over to the Roman soldiers and Peter denied the fact that he even knew Jesus not once, but three times! And can you imagine the loneliness Jesus felt all the way to the cross; albeit surrounded by crowds of people. Yet Jesus knew what the path to the cross would eventually accomplish. He knew that his Father’s plan would ultimately end in peace.
Years ago, I experienced a situation that doesn’t come close to the above but was nonetheless devastating for an 18-year-old girl. A friend, that I thought was close, betrayed my trust and created a gossip storm that hurt me to my core. I felt confusion, sadness, loneliness, and anger. I shared my bitterness with my mentor, expecting her to sympathize with me. She was kind enough and did show some empathy, but did not let me off the hook to either retaliate or pout. Instead, she guided me through an exercise that would care for my heart and attitude, yet didn’t require immediate restoration of the relationship. She introduced a practice that I have used over and over again; a practice that shifted my focus off of my own pain and started me on the journey towards forgiveness. The practice was simply to follow Paul’s directives in Philippians 4:8-9.
It says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
The practice? — do what the verse says. My mentor asked me to name something true about the friend who had hurt me… to name something noble, right, and so on. I’d like to say that it was quick and easy — but it wasn’t. It took me three weeks! But at the end of those three weeks, my heart was softened toward my friend as I experienced the God of peace comforting my soul. Forgiveness is not instant, let alone restoring a relationship, but when we take the time to fill our thoughts with the mind of Christ, forgiveness becomes more about loving someone who has hurt us in the way that Jesus loves them, than wallowing in our own pain or trying to get even.
Have you been betrayed, abandoned, or denied the closeness of a relationship that you thought was strong? Where are you on the journey toward forgiveness? Can you “think about” the words of Philippians 4:8 regarding the person who hurt you? Give it a try — the God of peace will be with you.
Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director
Now That’s Awesome…
In John 18, we approach the end of Jesus’ life and ministry here on Earth. Let’s rewind the tape. His ministry began when he came to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John. Heaven opened, the Spirit of God descended and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” After that, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Weakened and hungry from fasting 40 days, Spirit-filled Jesus resisted the enemy’s temptation with the almighty Word of God:
“Man does not live on Bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
"Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
Later, the devil left Jesus, and angels came and attended him. God in the flesh needed the gentle restorative care of angels. And they showed up, without delay.
Back in John 18, difficult scenes begin to unfold: Jesus’ betrayal by a beloved friend, hundreds of soldiers arrest him in an olive garden, the hiccup of his fear-filled fisherman friend with a sword, followed by abuse and insults from High Priests' whose very job description was to worship God.
In a heartbeat, he could have called the angels. They were waiting in the wings, at his beck and call, ready to rescue the one they adore. With a word, Jesus could have stopped it. He could have easily said, “I’m the Great I AM and frankly, I’ve had enough!”
In Matthew’s account of this dreaded night, Jesus rebukes Peter—“Put your sword back in its place… Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
Picture a 70,000-count, highly disciplined, well-trained, heavily armed angel army. It would be so awesome to watch Jesus flex and fight. But what’s even more awesome, what makes my head spin, is that he didn’t. He had all the authority to call in angel reinforcements by the tens of thousands.
But instead, he chose to love me, to obey His Father, to die. Awesome love.
I’ll close with lyrics from a hymn that came to mind as I pondered John 18.
“They bound the hands of Jesus
In the garden where He prayed
They led Him thru the streets in shame
They spat upon the Savior
So pure and free from sin
They said crucify Him
He's to blame
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But He died alone for you and me”
Donielle Winter
EFCC Member
A Perfect Incognito!
I recently attended a conference. As I approached the entrance and scrambled to find my ticket, the woman at the door said, “I know you! Come on in!” I graciously laughed and thanked her while walking in. Did she know me? Honestly, I thought about her comment several times that day. Not necessarily whether she knew me, but how she welcomed me.
Later that day, several school-aged kids were positioned at the doorway handing out a conference survey. As I walked past them, one youngster asked, “Do you need one of these?” I said, “No.” ( I truly didn’t.) He asked, “Did you fill one out already?” I paused. I confess that my “yes” was on my tongue. Knowing that would be untruthful, I turned and said, “No, I didn’t, but I can fill one out.” Then I took the form. This time the doorkeeper provided a moment of wrestling, conviction and confession. What a difference a doorkeeper makes! In either case, both were doing their jobs.
John 18:16-17 (NLT) states, “Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked Peter, ‘You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘I am not.’” This was Peter’s first denial as Jesus had earlier predicted. In Mark 14:68, when the woman asks if Peter was one of those with Jesus the Nazarene, he responds by saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The Pulpit Commentary described this as “he thought to have established for himself a perfect incognito.”
I had not ever been challenged by who had questioned Peter in these denials until this week. My NIV Study Bible references this woman at the door as “the most unimportant person imaginable.” And “Peter took the easy way out.”
What do you think Peter was thinking as he gave his reply? Was the “gatekeeper” unimportant to Peter? Or was he battling fear? Pride? A lack of understanding of what was happening? Could it be some part of all of these? Peter’s character is one that many of us can relate to. He was quick to act or speak without thinking. A deep feeler who often runs ahead of others. Peter was an incredible leader, a problem-solver and Jesus’ dear friend. We know he loved Jesus immensely, yet he denied his relationship with Jesus.
While this can seem shocking, we all have this capability within us. Whether it is who we are talking to or what we are talking about, may our words be loving and truthful. Let our answer be a reflection of Whose we are.
Tammy De Armas
EFCC Member
Swords & Prayer
John 18:9-11
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how much I can relate to the Apostle Peter. I’m not talking about post-resurrection, bold, Spirit-filled Peter; I’m talking about pre-resurrection, foot-in-the-mouth, charting my own course Peter. One of my favorite stories about Peter was when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” After some discussion, Peter boldly answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). However, in the story following that bold and faithful declaration, Jesus told Peter he was going to die, and Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him and said, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22). It was in response to that statement that Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23). There are so many times when Peter gets it so right, and then there are times when he gets it so wrong.
I think Jesus absolutely nailed what was going on in Peter’s heart. He didn’t have in mind the things of God but of man. That was the core issue. That was the same core issue that Peter faced on the night Jesus was betrayed. Jesus knew the plan was that he would die for the sins of the world, but Peter still wanted to put up a fight. In fact, he drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. I can relate to Peter’s plight. It’s hard to surrender control to God. It’s hard to trust God. It’s hard to drop our defenses, especially when we’re not sure if we like the story God is writing. It’s hard to remember the things of God, rather than the things that benefit me.
Maybe there’s a connection between Peter resisting the plan of God and taking action into his own hands, and his inability to stay awake to pray. Remember, Peter fell asleep when Jesus asked him to stay awake and pray for him. I have to wonder, if Peter had stayed awake in prayer, would he have been more awake to the story God was telling? Would he have had the ability to put his sword away if he had bowed his knee and come before the throne? See, prayer is one of the practices that helps open our hearts to trust God with our deepest pain. It helps align our hearts with the will and plan of God. It gives us the Spirit-driven ability to have in mind the things of God, rather than the things of men. We don’t feel like we have to solve it if we know that God rules over it.
Take some time today and try to identify places in your life that you relate to Peter. What are some of the places you want to fight for your own way rather than surrendering to his will? How might you have in mind the things of men and not the things of God? Then, take some time and surrender those places to God in prayer.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Lanterns, Torches, and Weapons; No Problem
The betrayer makes certain he is backed by a formidable squad. Mark and Luke’s gospel says he comes with a “crowd,” Matthew says a “great crowd,” and here in John’s gospel it reads a “band of soldiers.” They approach carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons, including clubs and swords. Judas feels safe enough amongst this group to stride right up to Jesus with a customary kiss hello. As the torch and lantern light of the betrayer approach, Jesus speaks from the darkness, “Whom do you seek?” Someone in their group yells back, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Then Jesus replies, “I AM!” And the whole great crowd supporting the betrayer steps backward and falls to the ground. Here is the text.
So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests 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. (John 18:3-6)
Many English translations write Jesus’ response as “I am he,” but the Greek phrase, egō eimi, is usually translated “I am.” I’m not sure why “I am he” is often used here. Also, I don’t know if Jesus spoke those words in Aramaic, Greek, or Hebrew. My personal hunch is that he said it in Hebrew and that he spoke the same name God used of himself to Moses at the burning bush (I AM). But that is personal speculation and not something the text reveals.
Whatever phrase Jesus spoke, that moment made the great crowd of soldiers back up and fall over. It was powerful, and for the betrayer and the soldiers, frightening. Jesus stood up to and confronted his accusers and his betrayer. This empowered Peter to begin to fight. Then, in the very next moment, Jesus no longer confronts them, instead, he goes right along with them, allowing the accusations and betrayal to commence. He had a greater purpose and a cup to bear. Jesus knows firsthand the pain of betrayal and he shows us that God can use that pain for kingdom work. There is a time and place to speak up and confront as well as a trust that believers can patiently wait for... even when being betrayed.
Pastor John Riley
It Was Not a Good Day
Series: [RE]UNION
Text: John 18:1-32
Speaker: Pastor Esteban Tapia
March 17, 2024: On Sunday, Teaching Pastor Esteban Tapia continued the latest season of messages (part 5) from our ongoing Gospel of John series, [RE]UNION. This message is entitled "It Was Not a Good Day."
All Good Things Never End
There’s a despicable principle of our lives woven inextricably into the very fabric of reality as we know it: all good things must come to an end. Time brings changes, which naturally brings ends. There is something fundamentally wrong about good things ending, no matter how well-adjusted you are. It is almost like we weren’t designed to be in a world like this. God made it impossible for humans to be totally satisfied with the way our reality works.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV).
Personally, I felt relieved, even validated, when I read this passage for the first time. We all have “eternity” In our hearts, which guarantees some dissonance in this finite world. We will all come to long for something more. Jesus modeled life lived with an eternal perspective; everything he did was for his grand purpose.
In the last few weeks, we have seen Jesus carry on a conversation with his Father. He said many wonderful things but frequently spoke from the perspective of having done things we know he hasn’t done yet. We understand that the Bible claims that the Father operates in and outside of time, knowing the beginning from the end. Jesus converses with his Father, fully taking on timeless perspectives, baffling anyone who reads it.
We also know that we will see our King when we die and experience becoming like him. For heaven to truly be heaven, we will have a radically different relationship with eternity, and therefore, time itself. If our experience of time is different, maybe the truism that all good things must end will be barred from ever being true again! I haven’t a clue what that means, but it is a spring of joy to ponder.
The point I want to drive home is heaven will be different, yes, but better! Literally, in every way. Life here can be broken in countless ways, but heaven will be better in every single one of those ways, and that’s low-balling it! Ultimately, we aren’t able to conceive the reality of it, but to the degree it encourages, join me in reveling in the infinite possibilities of its splendor!
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived” —
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV).
Jonathan Duncan
EFCC Member
Perfectly One
As Jesus offers these prayer requests up to the Father, he asks for something that might seem to us to be nothing short of a miracle. He asks that we, his followers… yes, that’s us… the disciples of the disciples of the disciples through the millennia… that we would be so united that the world would see our unity as a sign pointing to the reality that Jesus was sent from God. Jesus goes so far as to pray that we might become “perfectly one.” He didn’t just pray that we would be more united than others, or that we would think kindly of each other, or that we would share a room for worship once a week, or that we would pray for other Christians once in a while. No, he prayed that we would be “PERFECTLY one.”
The Greek word that is used here is a great one. It is the word, teteleiōmenoi. This word is related to the word, telos, which means “complete.” However, it is a verb in a very unique Greek tense that implies a past action in the past which has ongoing ramifications for the future. The past action was, “I [Jesus was] in them, and you [the Father was] in me.” What Jesus is saying is that because of this past action of their complete unity, the ramifications should be that we can be (or maybe should be) completely united. It was the Father’s unity with Jesus that he had with his original disciples that we are to now have with each other!
Now, I have to admit that this seems like it may just be too much to believe. In today’s world, with all the divisiveness in our culture that has made its way into the church, it would be nothing short of miraculous for Christians to have even a fraction of the oneness that Jesus had with his disciples. But Jesus seems to believe that it is possible.
However, here’s the key. Unity isn’t just going to happen to us. It is going to be something that each one of us works on individually. Then churches are going to need to work on it together. Then communities of churches need to work on it together even more. This was a priority to Jesus, so maybe it should be a priority to us. Then maybe, the world will know that the Father sent Jesus and that He loves the world the way that the Father loved Jesus.
Josh Rose
Discipleship Pastor
Jesus Loves US!
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
If I opened the Bible to look for evidence of the truth noted above, I’d go first to passages about the cross of Christ. John 3:16 predicts it well — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That’s love. He died — for me.
If I turned the pages of Scripture for additional proof that “Jesus loves me, this I know,” I’d probably turn to the text Pastor Ryan preached from last Sunday, John 17:20-26. In this part of Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, in the final hours of his earthly life, he prays for me. He prays for ME! He sees ME, he knows ME, and his mind is on ME — as some futuristic Jesus follower 20 centuries later — Jesus prays for me. And if you’re reading this and are a member of his Church, his prayer is prayed specifically with you in mind, too.
Who do you pray the most for? Maybe you, your spouse, your parents, or your children? Or maybe a few close friends come to mind when you pray. Can you imagine praying for people who won’t even be born for about 2000 years? Jesus imagined it and he did it. That’s how much he loves his church. That’s how much he loves me and you.
Listen in… as Jesus prays…
“Father I pray that all of them may be one, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know you’ve loved them as you have loved me. Just as you are in me and I am in you, may they (all those who will come to faith in the future)… may they also be in us, so that the world will believe that you have sent me.”
This oneness, this “you in me, I in you, they in us” picture of “complete unity” was the passionate pleading cry of the almost arrested, beaten, mocked, crucified Savior of the world.
How are we doing church, at honoring that prayer? Are we unified? Are we most focused on oneness and what we share in common — faith in our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus?
How do we grow unity? Where do we begin? With a solid foundation, a foundation of LOVE. It’s why Jesus humbled himself back in John chapter 13 with a towel, a water basin, and two dozen filthy feet.
Love is the foundation of unity. Love humbly serves — which grows unity. Love sincerely forgives — which restores unity. Love is intentionally kind — which inspires unity. Loving one another well, brothers and sisters will unify us as His church, His body of believers, and His beloved bride.
Donielle Winter
EFCC Member