Sermon on trust in Jesus versus self-reliance, from John chapter 18
A sermon delivered at Latimer Church, Christchurch, drawing on the arrest of Jesus in John 18 to contrast Christ's sovereignty with Peter's self-reliance.
Summary
This is a solo sermon delivered at Latimer Church as part of the Unite 2026 series, with the year's theme being trust. James de Costobadie (Costa) works through John chapter 18 — the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane — to argue that the only reliable object of trust is Jesus Christ himself, and that placing trust in oneself, one's resources, or one's institutions leads to failure. The sermon draws a sustained contrast between Jesus, who is portrayed as completely sovereign, utterly self-sacrificing, and strikingly courageous, and the apostle Peter, who is shown to be misguided, self-interested, and cowardly. James de Costobadie (Costa) applies this directly to the congregation's situation as they prepare to move into a new church building, warning that the building itself cannot be the answer to the church's needs. A fragment of a hymn sheet recovered from the rubble of the original Latimer Church building after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake — bearing the words "On Christ, the solid rock, all other ground is sinking sand" — is presented as a fitting emblem of the sermon's central message.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Introduction and the year's theme
James de Costobadie (Costa): The theme for the year is the theme of trust. On the inside of the card you'll have received on the way in, you'll see there's a verse printed there that we had in the kids' slot. "Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." And today we're going to begin the pick-up in the series of John that we started last year, and this will take us up to just past Easter, thinking about where is our trust. So I'm going to say a prayer, and then let's have a look at this passage together.
Our gracious God, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your living word given to us out of love, that we might know you and honour you. So please, we pray this morning — would you give us eyes to see Jesus? Give us ears to hear Jesus. Give us hearts to be changed, to become more like Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen.
The cultural problem: trust in self
James de Costobadie (Costa) wants the congregation to see today, this morning, that our trust — individually and as a church — should be in Jesus Christ and nowhere else. Typically for us humans, our default is to have trust in ourselves in some way, shape or form: in what we can do, in our strength, in our energy, in our resources. The culture, of course, leans into that even more — that you are the person who is best placed to sort out your issues, or you have to sort them out because no one else will do that for you. And if you can just alter your breathing, or your sugar intake, or your mindset, or alter your friendships, cut out negative people from your life, or if you can just sort out this or that, then you'll come back stronger and more resilient, and on and on it goes.
James de Costobadie (Costa) was actually sent a link yesterday from someone he was at college with decades ago, who is into all this kind of stuff, has made a big business out of it, and has given a new set of tips and tricks for how to be stronger in life. Absolutely full of this. Nothing wrong with taking responsibility in life, of course, but combined together, it tells us exactly what we want to hear: that we are the masters of our own destiny, and our main hindrance in life is lack of trust in ourselves. In fact, your biggest problem in life is you don't believe in yourself enough. That's what we're told. Believe and you can do anything.
James de Costobadie (Costa) always thinks it's exemplified by those singing programmes where people come on — there's a panel of judges and that. How did these people get on there? The reason they got on was because along the way, people only ever encouraged them. No one told them the truth. And they've been told, you can do anything if you believe in yourself. And they end up on national TV singing in front of the whole nation.
Well, it's easy for churches too to fall into the same trap — to believe that the answer to our challenges, the answer to our mission, or the answer to our issues is ourselves: our history, our reputation, our resources, our size, our programmes, our facilities. In the end, ourselves.
John's Gospel: life flows from Jesus
The Apostle John wrote his gospel to persuade us — to persuade people to switch our trust away from ourselves to the one who can do what we cannot do. One of the main distinguishing features of God in the Bible is that he is the creator, not the created, and therefore is able to give life. And that is what John's gospel is about: helping us understand what this life is. Life — a living relationship with the living God, a relationship that begins now and carries on through all eternity. A life that brings joy, the joy of knowing God our creator personally. A life that brings security, the security that flows out from being adopted as the children of God. And a life that brings hope, the sure and solid hope that stems from the resurrection of Jesus himself, who guarantees us that hope.
But John would tell us that that life only comes by looking away from ourselves to Jesus. Life flows from him. James de Costobadie (Costa) loves that picture in the book of Revelation, also written by the Apostle John, towards the end of the book, where the river flows from the throne of God — reminding us that all life flows from God himself. He is the creator and the redeemer, so our spiritual life can only flow from him. And as a church, we need to remember — remind ourselves every day, every week, every month, every year — that our life together and our effectiveness in mission can only flow from the same source, from God himself.
And so John, as we come into this series and back to his gospel, writes to persuade his readers to pivot away from themselves and to put their trust elsewhere. These words are written, he says, that you may believe or trust that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing or trusting you may have life in his name.
John 18: the arrest in the garden
And so no surprise, as James de Costobadie (Costa) comes to chapter 18, that the passage confronts us with this same question. Where is our trust? Where is your trust — individually? And where is our trust today? What we see here is there are only two options. As Jesus is contrasted with the apostle Peter, we see a choice. And the choice is either you will trust in the person that God has provided for you, or you will be like Peter, who trusted in himself, which so nearly led to personal catastrophe.
James de Costobadie (Costa) invites the congregation to look at this together. We read in verse 1 that Jesus finished praying with his disciples and left and crossed the Kidron Valley. We're told there was an olive grove on the other side of it, and he went into it. This was the Garden of Gethsemane — not spoken of by name here, but by some of the other gospel writers. Very likely there was a walled enclosure around it, which is why they went into it. We're told in verse 2 that Judas knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. And so the time of day — this being nighttime — and the location — being private and away from the city — provided an excellent opportunity for the betrayer to do his work.
And Judas, we're told in verse 3, now guided a detachment of soldiers there. Very likely these were extra soldiers who had been drafted into the city at the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the population of Jerusalem could swell up to ten times its normal amount and the authorities were keen to prevent any kind of mob violence. I think it's probably likely that that's what these soldiers thought they were doing here — in addition to arresting this potential troublemaker, making sure that no sort of mob crowd formed as a result. We're told that alongside them, in verse 3, were some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees — officials, probably the Jewish temple police, alongside these Gentiles. Amazing who becomes friends when Jesus is involved. So it's a very intimidating scene.
Jesus: completely sovereign
And in the light of that, James de Costobadie (Costa) notes it's quite remarkable how Jesus responds, highlighting three things about Jesus in these verses. First of all, completely sovereign.
The first hint of this comes in verse 4, when we're told, "knowing all that was about to happen to him, Jesus went out." There was nothing here that would take Jesus by surprise. He knew exactly what he was getting himself in for that fateful night. Jesus wasn't walking into a trap here. He was entering that garden with his eyes wide open — wide open not only to the people who'd be following him, but wide open to the plan of God which was unfolding before his eyes.
Jesus then asked them in verse 4, "Who is it you want?" And they say, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus has over 200 different titles given to him, but they don't use any of that. They just put him on a par with anyone else who lived in Nazareth — oh, it's Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, he's just like any other man. To which he replies, "I am he" — verse 5. Words taken from the Old Testament, from the self-description of God in the book of Exodus, where God describes himself as "I am, I am who I am." And in Isaiah, many times in that last third of Isaiah, between chapters 40 and 55, where he says "I am" and then gives a description afterwards. And here the same God is speaking. The sovereign God of the Old Testament is making himself known. And perhaps they were shocked at this, or perhaps even believed it to some extent, for they drew back. We're told that they fell to the ground.
And when this is repeated, Jesus goes on in verse 8: "I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened, we're told in verse 9, so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those that you gave me." It had to happen because here is the plan of God, unfolding before the eyes of those who were there — and at the centre of the plan is Jesus, completely sovereign.
James de Costobadie (Costa) reflects on how different we are to that. How something happens which is a bit intimidating in life, or something happens that's a bit surprising, and we're completely bowled over — our trust is exposed. The unwanted phone call, the shock discovery, the sudden diagnosis, and our world falls apart. The bottom drops out of our world. But Jesus is never exposed in that way, never surprised even. He knows everything. He's operating to a plan — God's plan. So the sort of person you can trust: everything is in his control. There is nothing too big in our lives that is outside of his control.
Jesus: utterly self-sacrificing
Then secondly, James de Costobadie (Costa) notes that he is utterly self-sacrificing. Completely sovereign, utterly self-sacrificing. Jesus knows what is happening here, and he knows that it will only end one way. And yet the remarkable thing is, even with that kind of knowledge, he is still willing to do it. And every part of this narrative in John chapter 18 bleeds with the beautiful self-sacrificing nature of Jesus.
For example, have a look at verse 10. Then Simon Peter, who had a sword — more likely a kind of dagger — drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. And straightaway Jesus rebukes him: "Put your sword away. Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given to me?"
And the cup he speaks of here is an Old Testament reference appearing, for example, in Jeremiah 25:15, finding its fulfilment in the ultimate judgment of God in the book of Revelation. And it refers not just to the cup of suffering, which sometimes people suggest, but a specific suffering — the suffering that comes from drinking of the judgment of Almighty God. And to drink the cup therefore means that Jesus will drink of the wrath of God which is due for the sins of the people. In other words, this is what he knows he's going to have to do in the next 24 hours.
James de Costobadie (Costa) recalls those accounts of the Garden of Gethsemane — it's always very striking how Jesus, who was really composed, we might even say as cool as a cucumber in every other situation of life, in that garden begins to be so distressed. And the reason is because he knows what is in this cup. He knows that within a day he will be drinking this down to the dregs, that on the cross he will undergo the pains of hell itself. And yet he would drink it — the cup that belongs to us — willingly, obediently, lovingly. He would empty it down to the last drop. He wouldn't just take a drop and spit it out in disgust. He would empty that cup down to the dregs so that there would be nothing left for us to drink.
And this explains the irony in verse 14, when we read that Caiaphas, the high priest, was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people. Caiaphas here is thinking that it would be politically expedient to get rid of one person if it meant keeping peace for all. What he didn't realise was the truth of which he was speaking. For Jesus would be that man who would die for the nation — that is, for the people of God — and in so doing would pay every cent of the debt that we owe to God. And the point is he would do it by sacrificing himself.
You know how we can find it so hard to do things for other people. We can find it hard to move from one side of the room to the other sometimes for someone else. We can find it hard to alter our plans for someone else — something else comes in, and we think, what? I've got to change my plans on a Saturday for this? Sometimes we find it hard to change habits for someone else. We need to see here that Jesus changed the course of everything for us. The sort of person you can trust: the one who sacrifices everything for you and so proves that he has your best interests at heart, now, today, forever and always.
Jesus: strikingly courageous
And then James de Costobadie (Costa) notes that he is strikingly courageous. I think Jesus' courage in these verses is very striking. Verse 8, he says those words we read before: "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." Most people would appreciate some company at this time, but Jesus wants to do what is best for the others. Get them out of here and let me stand alone with you.
And then this courage becomes even more clear once he starts to be questioned. Have a look forward, for example, to verse 19. Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching, and Jesus replied: "I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues or at the temple where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret." Here is Jesus who is so courageous, so open, who doesn't hide what he thinks, but stands boldly unafraid, who puts a flag in the ground, always unashamed of his Father, and amazingly unashamed of us as well. Strikingly courageous.
And so it's this Jesus whom James de Costobadie (Costa) says John is calling on us to believe, to trust with all that we have — everything in our lives. The details, which he sees because he's sovereign, right through to the big things of life, which he is in control of. There is nothing in our lives that is insignificant to him or which is beyond him. We are to trust him.
Peter: misguided, self-interested, cowardly
James de Costobadie (Costa) contrasts Jesus briefly with Peter, asking the congregation to think for a moment who Simon Peter is — the one we're told about here. Simon Peter, the one who was in that inner circle of three out of the twelve disciples, along with James and John, present with them when others weren't. In other words, he was the one who we could say knew the most about Jesus, or knew Jesus the best. And also the one who undoubtedly spoke the most — remember how often he would blurt something out. So he was the one who knew the most and seemed to be the most confident. You might say he was the one who had the best possibility of someone who could make it on their own. He has those qualities which so many people would love to have: knowledge on the one hand and confidence on the other.
But of course he doesn't. Because in this passage, James de Costobadie (Costa) reads of how Peter falls flat on his face, and he urges the congregation to see that to understand why trusting in ourselves will never work.
First of all, James de Costobadie (Costa) notes how misguided Peter was. Back to verse 10: Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. And Jesus says, "Put your sword away." Because for all his confidence, Peter is simply misguided. Jesus had not come to set up a kingdom by force. He hadn't come to build a kingdom on earth. His was a spiritual kingdom. It's a classic case of misunderstanding by Peter.
James de Costobadie (Costa) reflects on how easily people can be like that, how easily we can be like that — so sure of our ground that we're no longer open to receiving what the word of God tells us. Peter had simply misunderstood God and the Scriptures. And truth be told, sometimes there are Christians who are like Peter in that — either on the narrow level, also looking for a kingdom on earth through some political entity or set of Christian values, or also on a wider lens where it doesn't occur to some Christians that they might be mistaken, might be misguided. And ministers, let it be noted, can be the worst of all, riding their own hobby horses into the sunset. So there is a warning here not to trust our own theology, our own understanding, but rather to come to Jesus and to the words of Jesus in Scripture, to sit under him, to learn from him, to be changed by him. Misguided.
Then secondly, self-interested. In the other Gospels, we read of what happened this night in the Garden of Gethsemane when all the disciples fell asleep, even after Jesus had told them to stay awake. In other words, the spirit may have been willing, but the flesh was weak. And Peter here displays a similar weakness, giving himself what was needed, even though it was really the time for a different approach.
Have a look, for example, at verse 18. It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. It's an interesting little detail. You might think it's just conveying what's happening in the narrative. But you then notice a little bit later on in verse 25, it's repeated: "As Simon Peter stood, warming himself." Jesus was left out in the cold. But Peter was looking after himself. That was true in the denials as well, of course. He was protecting himself, his own reputation and his own safety.
And so quickly we can do the same, can't we? Looking after our own comforts in life rather than sacrificing those in our efforts to stand with Jesus. Self-preference so easily drives our choices in life — having an easier life, or what we think is a more enjoyable life. It affects people in their decisions about travel, about their use of time, about lots of things in this materialistic world. And self-interest can very easily lead us to protect our own reputations — at work, for example, never being known as a Christian, keeping our heads down, or denying through what we don't say as much as what we do say. It's very easy to protect our own interests in life, our own reputations, our own prospects, our own safety. Peter really does all of those here.
And so alongside it, thirdly, there is a cowardice to Peter. In his time with the disciples, Jesus had warned them that if they disowned him, one day the angels of his Father would disown them. It was a warning not to deny him. But Peter falls into the trap straight away. There's really no other way to describe this than cowardice.
The first time he's asked — in the first denial here, you see that in verse 15 — Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. And because this disciple, likely the apostle John, was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back and spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. So the first time Peter is asked whether he knows Jesus, the question comes from a girl. And I think that's not insignificant in first-century Middle Eastern culture — this girl who is on door duty. In other words, this is not the Grand Inquisition, with Peter standing before a judge with his life on the line. This person, as she's conveyed to us, is the lowest-ranking person around, a girl who's on door duty. And shamefully, in front of this girl, he can't even bring himself to admit his allegiance to Jesus. He replied, "I am not."
In verse 25, he then doubles down and gives the same answer again. And the third time, when he's asked, "Didn't I see you with him?" Peter denies it flat out. It's the most pathetic capitulation. The disciple who previously had said the most now denies the most.
But how easy it is to be the same. How often silence can seem to be the most expedient way forward for us — not feeling able to stick our head above the parapet as Christians, as followers of Jesus. Not wanting to say anything at work, or with family, or with extended family, or with friends. That's what Peter found in himself here. And not much has changed over the centuries. The cowardice that so quickly overtakes us.
The contrast and its application
And so James de Costobadie (Costa) draws out what a contrast we have here. We have Jesus on the one hand, completely sovereign over all. There is nothing he did not know about his own life. And there's nothing that Jesus doesn't know about our lives as well. Jesus knew in his time on earth what it is to live under pressure in this world. He can appreciate economic pressure. He can appreciate relationship pressure. He can appreciate time pressure — Jesus had come to save the world, and it's not easy to do that in 33 short years. He can understand spiritual pressure, temptation. And that's why Jesus can understand you and your life, maybe in a way that no one else can. It's very hard to understand someone else's life from the inside. But Jesus can understand us in a way that no one else can. He is able to. He is sovereign over all of these areas and every other as well.
So will you trust him? Because he understands you and knows what he is doing — he is completely sovereign. He was utterly sacrificial. He sacrificed his own interests for you because he loves you. So will you trust him, that he has your best interests at heart? And he is strikingly courageous, never ashamed to stand with his people, to protect his people. He will never deny you. He will never slink away from you. He will never let you down. So will you trust him — and ultimately trust him to be the one who will advocate for you when you stand before the throne of God above?
As opposed to Peter: misguided, self-protective, cowardly, as so often we find ourselves to be as well. Who will you trust?
There are only two options at the end of the day. All around us, people trust in themselves — their jobs, their status, their bank accounts, their houses, their reputation, in the end their view of themselves. They trust that they are the answer to their own problems. It's an old path to walk down, a path that humanity has been walking since the Garden of Eden. Trusting that we know what is best. Trusting that we know best how to live the Christian life. That our decision-making is the best. That we're the person best placed to know what is best for ourselves. You see it on the grand scale. You see it on the international scale. You see it on the national scale. You see it in denominations. You see it in churches. You see it in individuals. Denominations and churches have walked down this road to their peril over many, many years.
The new building and the earthquake hymn sheet
And James de Costobadie (Costa) urges the congregation not to forget this, especially in just a few months' time when they move to a new building. A big, shiny new building. And it will be — I think it'll be fantastic. People who came to the open day the other week thought universally that this will be brilliant for ministry. Not just because it's nice to be in — it will be brilliant for ministry. It will be a base for thousands of people, God willing tens of thousands of people, to hear about Jesus. It'll be a base for us to be there as a family, to enjoy each other's company and to disciple each other. And I know that some people are worried about joining what may be a larger gathering when we're there, and what that will be like. And I understand that, but we're committed to helping every person find their place in smaller groups as well as in bigger groups. It's not just for us. It's not just for now. We're doing this with eternity in mind. And as we look to plant other congregations, it's because we're thinking of that long-term view.
But if we trust in ourselves on that route — if we trust that the new building will do the work for us, if we think that will be the answer — think again. It will not be. A building cannot do anything for us by itself. It's a building. It's bricks and mortar. If we haven't learned that from the earthquakes, we've learned nothing. Only Jesus can be the answer to the needs of his people.
Speaking about the earthquakes, James de Costobadie (Costa) recalls that Latimer Church used to be down on Latimer Square, from 1864 until 2010. And in 2010, because earthquakes and old stone buildings don't go too well together, the building fell over, and for a long time it was a heap of rubble. There was a person from Latimer who was walking past one day and saw a piece of paper in the rubble. They leaned over, loosened this bit of paper, and had a look at it. It was the fragments of a hymn sheet that had found its way out from the building and was just sitting there. And the hymn sheet had words on it — which I've got here today — and the lady very kindly had them framed for us. This will go in the new building at Rosebank. And the only words you can read on this fragment are these words: "On Christ, the solid rock, all other ground is sinking sand."
Now, okay, it's an earthquake — it's literally true. But it's true in every situation in life. It's true for you individually and your family. Christ is the only solid rock. All other ground is sinking sand. And it's true for us as a church. All other ground is sinking sand. We put our trust in ourselves to our peril. Only Christ is the solid rock. And at the end of the day, Christ is all you need in life — completely sovereign, utterly self-sacrificing, strikingly courageous.
Closing call to trust and to prayer
So James de Costobadie (Costa) implores the congregation, and all together, to trust him — whatever you have going on in life at the moment. And for us as a church going forward, actively trust him, completely trust him. And am I allowed to say prayerfully trust him? How else do we show that we rely on him but by meeting to pray together?
James de Costobadie (Costa) notes they only have a whole-church prayer meeting once every term, on the first Tuesday of term, and invites the congregation to come and join in, showing that they believe this by praying with the people of God. He also mentions a prayer meeting every week, acknowledging not everyone can come to it, but encouraging those who can to attend. Friday morning, 6:30 until 7 o'clock. I know it's early, but it's not a bad time before people go off to school, before work starts. It's on Zoom, so you can be there without your face on screen — still in your pyjamas if you like. Get on there so that we pray. We only pray for about 20 minutes. It's so important for us as a church. The link is on Church Bites every week.
Trust him for your salvation and for that of those around us. We should never give up, but continue to pray for them. Trust him too for the details of life. Sometimes it's easier to trust Jesus with our eternal salvation than it is for the things of daily living. But we're to do both. The reason is because he is always the answer to his people's needs.
James de Costobadie (Costa) closes in prayer: Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that you are the refuge of your people. Lord, please, we pray, help us therefore actively to come to you, to humble ourselves before you, to trust you individually and as a church. And we do pray that you would use us to cause many, many others to put their trust in Jesus as they hear about the gospel message which is offered to them through Christ. In whose name we pray. Amen.