John 18:1-9
Jesus Arrested
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4Jesus, 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.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
7Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?"
And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
8"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." 9This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."
John 19:8-11
Jesus Did Not Resist Arrest
8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"
11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
Isaiah 53:1-12
The Suffering Servant
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
The Prophet Isaiah writes hundreds of years before Jesus was born that a Suffering Servant, a Messiah would grow up, be rejected by man, and would not open His mouth at His trial...This Servant would be like a lamb led to a slaughter...The Servant would not defend Himself among His accusers...Whether it was when He was in front of the Sanhedrin, or Herod, or Pilate, He did not defend Himself...For this Servant bore the sin of many, and has made intercession for the transgressors...
Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him all along, and maybe His entire life...He certainly knew about His going to the cross because He mentions it often to His Disciples...He knew He would die on the cross...He told the Pharisees and His disciples that they would see the sign of Jonah...This was the sign that He would be gone for three days, like Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days...He would then resurrect...
Jesus at anytime could have done a miracle to save Himself...He could at anytime prevented His arrest...Yet, He was passive and intentionally walks right into the kiss of Judas and His arrest...He let His betrayer come to the garden with Roman officials and be arrested for no crime...An arrest for no reason, at all...Instead of leaving before the detachment of Roman soldiers come, He walks to them without any resistance, knowing soon He will be tortured and hung on a cross...He was like a Lamb being led to a slaughter...
Jesus did not even defend Himself in the trial before Pilate...He is quiet at first, and then tells Pilate that he has no power over Him, if it were not given to him from above...Therefore, the one who handed Him over to Pilate is guilty of a greater sin...Jesus, allowed His own death, and if He didn't then His Father did (allows His Son's death)...Because at anytime before His crucifixion, He could with any small miracle at all stopped the torturing and the crucifying...Plus in all that is being done to Him, He is innocent...He would not defend Himself among His accusers...
Why would a Son and His Father allow Him to die innocently on a cross?...He was not guilty of sin, any sin -we are...When He was hanging and being tortured and dying on the cross, I think this is what my sins did to Him...We sinned against God, His own Son did not sin...He came to earth to save the sinner...He came to earth to save me, and all who sin...When we think about why He did it, it comes down to one thing...It comes down to Love...Even in His death, He is teaching us what Love is really about, and why our world needs Love...