The Betrayal and Arrest Part 1

About the Series

Students are starting the beginning of the Crucifixion story, told through the Gospel of John. Aaron opened by asking students to imagine knowing the exact day they would die. Jesus lived with that reality. He knew not just that He would die, but when, and how brutally.

The goal for this study is to see how Jesus faced that reality: with confidence and clarity, not panic. Part one covers His betrayal by Judas, His arrest, and the first of Peter's denials.

Passages: John 18:1-18

What Was Taught

Jesus knew what was coming, and went anyway

Jesus led His disciples to a garden that Judas, His betrayer, already knew well. Aaron pointed out that Jesus wasn't hiding. He went to a place He knew Judas could find Him, because Jesus knew His mission and knew the cost of it: His death was the only way humanity could be saved.

When soldiers arrived to arrest Him, Jesus asked who they were looking for, already knowing the answer, and stepped forward instead of running. Aaron's challenge to students: where is God calling you to be on mission, and are you being obedient to that call even when it's uncomfortable? It's okay to feel scared. Jesus likely did too. But He didn't quit when obedience got hard, and neither should we.

Jesus stayed in control, even in chains

When Jesus said "I am he," the soldiers arresting Him fell backward, apparently thrown off by His calm. Jesus then asked that His disciples be let go, a moment John ties back to Jesus's earlier promise that He would lose none of those the Father gave Him. Even at His own arrest, Jesus was protecting His people.

Aaron drew out the bigger point: God's followers aren't promised long or comfortable lives, but they are protected for God's purposes until He calls them home. If God still has work for you to do, nothing can stop you. When that work is finished, nothing can keep you here either. Death, for a believer, isn't a loss. It's being called home.

Peter tried to help. Jesus didn't need it.

When Peter drew a sword and struck a servant's ear, Jesus told him to put it away, asking, "shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" That phrase, "the cup," echoes Jesus's own prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, where He asked the Father if there was another way, then submitted to His will anyway.

Aaron compared Peter to a time he ignored his GPS because he was sure he knew a faster route, then hit construction and was late for work. Peter thought he understood the situation better than Jesus did. He didn't. Aaron asked students where in their own lives they might be trying to avoid or fix something God has actually placed them in.

Jesus was then brought before Annas, a former high priest still pulling strings behind the scenes, before being sent to Caiaphas, the current high priest. Aaron compared Annas to a retired coach the new coach still keeps around for advice. The religious leaders thought they finally had control over Jesus. John's point is that they never did. Jesus was in chains, and still in control of the story.

Peter denied Him

Peter followed Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, and when a servant girl asked if he was one of Jesus's disciples, Peter said no. It's the first of three denials Peter will make before a rooster crows, just as Jesus predicted.

Aaron drew two points from this. First, Jesus was completely alone. Even His closest disciple abandoned Him. Second, fear can push faithful believers into compromise. Aaron compared it to wearing your favorite team's jersey into a room full of rival fans and quietly zipping up your hoodie. You don't stop being a fan. You just don't want anyone to know. Peter still loved Jesus. He just didn't want anyone to know it in that moment, because it had become dangerous.

Aaron's challenge: the biggest threat to our faith usually isn't people who hate Jesus. It's our own fear of what people will think of us for following Him. Christians are called to be unashamed, echoing Paul's words in Romans that he was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Aaron closed by restating the gospel plainly: humanity is sinful and deserving of death, but God sent His Son to live a sinless life and take our punishment anyway, so that we could be reconciled, or restored to a right relationship, with God.

Talk About It at Home

These are the questions the group discussed:

1. Jesus knew He was walking towards suffering. Why didn't he run away?
2. What's something God calls Christians to do that feels scary? Why?
3. When have you felt pressure to hide your faith so you'd fit in?
4. What's one practical way you can be unashamed of Jesus this week?

A few easier openers if you want to start smaller:

• If you knew you only had a limited amount of time left, what would you want to do differently?
• Has a friend or teammate ever let you down when you needed them? What was that like?
• Is there a time you went along with the crowd instead of saying what you actually believed?
• Who's someone you know who isn't afraid to talk about their faith? What's that like to watch?

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