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Substitution

Substitution
Words of Faith 3-6-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 18
[1] When 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.
[2] Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. [3] So 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.
[4] Jesus, 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.) [6] When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
[7] Again 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." [9] This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

Jesus and the disciples left the room where they had been for several hours. They crossed the Kidron Valley to the east and made their way up onto the slopes of the Mount of Olives. It is likely that this was the place where the disciples had camped during the week of Passover.
There are several caves in the area and many believe it was in such a cave that Jesus was arrested. The place is called Gethsemane, which means “oil press”. There were several oil presses on the mountain for the production of olive oil. The other Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed here for some time, as the disciples became drowsy. It was a time of “pressing” as Jesus agonized over the painful passion that ahead.
When Judas arrived he was with several Temple officials and a detachment of soldiers. A normal detachment was about 600 men. It is likely that since Jesus had eluded the Temple guard on several occasions, a larger than normal force was called out from fortress of Antonio. It would require such a force to search the entire Mount of Olives if Jesus and the disciples had attempted to elude them.
Jesus was not taken unwillingly or by surprise. For quite some time Jesus had been aware of the plot against Him. If He wished, He certainly could have escaped again. Instead, Jesus had chosen the most obvious place to “hide”. In fact, He was not hidden at all. Now "the time" had come (17:1). He did not wait to be apprehended but voluntarily confronted his enemies. Jesus even initiated His surrender by asking whom it was they were seeking.
The one thing Jesus sought was the safety of the disciples. "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." John comments that this happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me." The substitutionary nature of Jesus’ suffering began at this point. He gave Himself up in such a startling way that the others were permitted to go free.
Substitution of life is a powerful and mysterious thing. The substitution of an innocent is always startling. The surrender of oneself for the benefit of others always causes awe. Any time that a person gives their life for another, we are brought to a sort of reverent silence.
One of the most powerful images that emerged from the tragedy of September 11 were the photos of firefighters going up the stairs into burning buildings that were soon to collapse. That is image we see in Gethsemane yet multiplied infinitely in significance. Jesus calmly surrendered, asked for the others to go free and then headed “up the stairs” toward the cross. What He won at the top was nothing less than eternal salvation for all who would believe.
Paul described this awesome moment in this way: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).

Lord, Jesus. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. For calmly surrendering Your innocent life and taking my place among the guilty, I thank You. For winning me life that is eternal, I am eternally grateful. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2017
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.