John 18:1-11

1. We should notice the exceeding hardness of heart to which a backslider may attain.
2. We should notice the entire voluntariness of Christ’s sufferings.
3. We should notice our Lord’s tender care for His disciples’ safety.

"Let us beware of resting our hopes of salvation on knowledge however great or Christian advantages however many. We may know all doctrinal truth and be able to teach others and yet prove rotten at heart and go down to the pit with Judas."

"Let us carefully remember that our blessed Lord suffered and died of His own free will. He did not die because He could not help it. He did not suffer because He could not escape. All the soldiers of Pilate’s army could not have taken Him if He had not been willing to be taken. They could not have hurt a hair of His head if He had not given them permission."

"He watches tenderly over every one of His children and like a wise physician measures out the right quantity of their trials with unerring skill: “They shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28)."

"Determination to have our own way and do only what we like is one great source of unhappiness in the world. The habit of laying all our matters before God in prayer and asking Him to choose our portion is one chief secret of peace."

Questions:

1. We see an account of Judas, a disciple of Christ, standing with the enemies of Christ. Ryle uses this account to highlight the danger of having many spiritual privileges and yet bearing no fruit and proving to be more like Judas than we ever could have imagined. He warns against any secret sin that harbors in our souls, knowing that such a one can be the downfall of anyone. Are there any known secret sins we are harboring that we need to confess and bring to the light?
2. We see that when Jesus speaks, these armed soldiers fall back, a miracle for eyes to see it. Ryle points out that Jesus could not have been touched by these soldiers, and not even a hair of his head could be touched, without his permission. Jesus willingly suffered and died out of love for His Father and to accomplish the redemption of His people. It was for the joy that was set before him that he endured the cross! What does this glorious truth do to encourage you today?
3. We see even at the moment Jesus is to be taken away that he shows concern for and protects his disciples. Ryle draws from this a precious truth that Jesus still watches tenderly over his people and "like a wise physician measures out the right quantity of their trials with unerring skill." Do we believe that? Have we found comfort in this truth in times of trial? If not, how will we cling to this truth for tomorrow?
4. We hear Jesus declare his desire to do the will of the Father as he prepares to take the cup of suffering. Ryle draws out the point that determination to have our own way and do only what we like is one great source of unhappiness in the world. On the contrary, laying our matters before God in prayer and asking him to choose our portion is one chief secret of peace. We naturally want to go our own way, and yet Jesus, in love, gave his life so we could be saved. How many times today have we demanded our own way? this week? Would we start laying ourselves down for the good of our King and his Kingdom and say 'your will be done?'