“Accepting God’s Will” (John 18:1-11)

Acceptance

The main theme of today’s passage is “acceptance.” When I think of the word “acceptance,” one particular story always comes to my mind. There was a Korean couple who lived together for 30 years. As they celebrated their 30^th anniversary, the husband wanted to give his wife a meaningful gift. After much thoughts, he made a certificate – “certificate of acceptance” – saying, “From now on, you are free to be late.” For the last 30 years it had been a real struggle for the wife to be ready on time. She was always late. And it was really stressful for her and her husband. So when she received this gift, she said, “It was the best gift that I ever received!”

Accepting God’s Will

Acceptance. But today’s passage teaches us more than just a moral lesson – accepting others just as they are. It tells us about accepting God’s will. Christ serves as a perfect example for us. John 18 shows a clear contrast between Jesus and Peter. Jesus has confidence in accepting God’s will as soldiers and police come to arrest him; Peter denies Jesus. Jesus has confidence in accepting God’s will as the high priest interrogates him. Peter denies Jesus again. Jesus has full confidence in accepting God’s will as he stands before Pilate for trial; Peter is not there anymore.

Why wasn’t Peter able to accept God’s will? Because he didn’t know God. He didn’t know God’s character, God’s power, God’s love, God’s plans, God’s purposes. He had his own concept of God and His Messiah. One time Jesus asked this question to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Perfect answer! From that time on, Jesus began to tell them plainly that it was necessary for him to greatly suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and then to be killed, and on the third he would be raised (Matt 16:21). Then, something happened. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you!” He said this because that was not the God he wanted to know. He didn’t know God. Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. Why? Because you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts. You have no idea how God works!” Now the hour has come. The religious leaders and soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Still, Peter couldn’t accept God’s will. He drew a sword and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. He was not prepared to accept God’s will. So he resisted, denied Jesus and ran away.

Jesus prepared his heart to accept God’s will by prayer in the Garden. He said to Peter, “Am I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (v. 11) Here the cup from the Father refers to the cup of God’s wrath, the Cross. Crucifixion is considered the most cruel method of execution in human history, because it deliberately delayed death until maximum torture had been inflicted. The victim could suffer for days before dying. So Roman citizens were exempt from crucifixion, except in extreme cases of treason. Cicero declared in one of his speeches: “To bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him is an abomination, to kill him is almost an act of murder: to crucify him is – What? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe so horrible a deed.”[1] So the Jews, including Jesus’ disciples, could not even think that God’s Messiah (Anointed One, Blessed One) would die on the cross. But in fact, crucifixion of Jesus was God’s plan for our salvation! Isaiah 53:10 declares this mystery of God’s plan: “But it was the Lord’s will (NIV; “the Lord’s good plan” NLT) to crush him and cause him suffer” (v. 10). Why? “But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (vv. 5-6). So Jesus, for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God! (Heb 12:2b) Jesus loved the Father. He knew God – his character, his plan, his will, his purpose. So he had confidence in accepting God’s will, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39).

The Story of Job

Perhaps you think and say, “I am not Jesus.” But accepting God’s will is a God-given gift for everyone who knows him, loves him, and trusts him. It’s a gift for God’s friends. We see many examples in the Bible. Job was one of them. He was a friend of God. He was blameless and upright. He feared God and turned away from evil (Job 1:1). He was blessed and prosperous in every way. But then, all of sudden he was afflicted in every way. He lost his possessions, his family, and his health. He lost everything. God had his purposes and his plans in all these afflictions. Yes, Job’s pain and suffering was real. He struggled, struggled so much. He even cursed the day he was born, but he was not crushed. He questioned God, but not in despair. This past week I read the Book of Job. I had to read it to make sense of the coronavirus crisis among us. And I was greatly encouraged by Job’s attitude, his willingness to accept God’s will no matter what, in the midst of all his troubles:

 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (1:21)

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.” (13:15)

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.” (19:25-26)

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold!” (23:8-10)

Although Job didn’t fully understand why, he still trusted God. He trusted that God had His plans and His purposes in all this. Accepting God’s will and trusting God always go hand in hand.

Trust, Trust, Trust  

Accepting God’s will, or trusting God can be scary, because it takes us out of our comfort zone. It’s uncomfortable, disturbing. But it’s the only way to a free and full life. Let me tell you my favorite story from Henri Nouwen about trusting God. Henri Nouwen loved flying trapeze. He always believed that a flyer is the star of the show. One day he had a chance to talk with a flyer. The flyer said, “As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think that I am the great star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split-second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump.” “How does it work?” Henri asked. The man said, “The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When I fly to Joe, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely over the apron behind the catchbar.” He continued, “A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.”[2]

On the cross Jesus stretched out his arms and hands and said, “Father into your hands I commend my Spirit.” God is the Catcher; we are the flyers. It is wonderful to fly in the air, but at the same time, it’s scary. It’s wonderful to follow Jesus, but it can be scary to drink the cup assigned to us by God. It can be scary to bear our cross – our burden and our calling. What is the Father’s cup for you to drink today? What is your cross? What is your calling? Let us not run away. Let us not give in to fear. The Great Catcher is here already, waiting for us to make a long jump. He is so wise, so good, so loving, so compassionate, so powerful. When we make a long jump, He will be there in the right place, in the right time. Let us open our hearts to God. Let us stretch out our arms and hands and trust, trust, trust the Catcher. Amen.

  

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[1] John Stott. The Cross of Christ (Kindle Locations 420-422). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

[2] “Henri Nouwen’s Story about the Flyer and the Catcher,” https://healthyspirituality.org/henri-nouwens-story-about-the-flyer-and-the-catcher/