To get into John chapter 18 as we come to this incredible chapter, we have to have a shift

to heart a little bit tonight, because we're rolling in on a normal Sunday and we're

coming to a passage of Scripture that's so full of emotion and consequence.

Just to catch us up a little bit last week, we're in the upper room again, John chapter

17, and at the end of this meal that the disciples had together, Jesus prays a prayer.

And if you remember from last week, he prayed for himself.

He prayed for his closest followers, and then he prayed for you on the last night of Jesus

life.

He prayed for all the believers who would put their faith in him.

And then everything changes in a hurry because it says in the very opening verse of John

chapter 18, and when he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples.

And so they leave this upper room setting that we all sort of can picture in our minds

this table where together they're talking about the most important things of life.

And as soon as Jesus finishes the prayer, they leave that room and what's going to happen

in the next few hours in Jesus' life is the most critical thing that's ever happened

on planet earth.

So they're in and up a room, they're sharing a meal, they're having prayer together,

and within just a few hours, Jesus is dead.

And so for us, we've got to sort of shift into that moment as we come to this passage,

and we've got to get our hearts around what Jesus was carrying and what he was walking

through.

And we've got to sort of detach from our normal, oh, we're reading a story in scripture

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