Closing in on the Cross of Jesus Christ

Part 3: How to Triumph over Our Troubles

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 26:30-35

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared March 31, 2023)

BACKGROUND:

*Today in Matthew 26 we are closing in on the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus and His disciples had just finished their last Passover meal together, and the Lord had led them through the very first Lord's Supper.

*In those dark hours, Jesus had the weight of the whole world on His mind. But the Lord was just as concerned about His disciples. Jesus knew that they were as troubled as they could possibly be. He knew that they were confused about the horrible turn of events.

*The Lord also knew that His disciples were about to stumble in a huge way, -- especially Peter, so Jesus talked to them about these things. And in today's Scripture, Jesus shows us how to triumph over our own troubles. Please think about this as we read Matthew 26:30-35.

MESSAGE:

*Jesus never promised Christians a trouble-free life. On this same night, in John 16:33 Jesus told His disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'' The original word for "tribulation" there is also translated in our Bibles as "affliction," "persecution," "burdened," or "anguish," as when a pregnant woman is in labor.

*The original word carries the idea of being pressed hard, and everyone will find out what it's like to be under pressure. Everyone will go through troubles in life. And no doubt, every time we have church there are some troubled people here. Some are having huge problems with their spouse or their children. Some have lost loved ones to death or divorce. Some have been hurt by their friends, and they don't know why. Some are dealing with the failing health of mom or dad. Some are dealing with their own health problems. Some don't know how they are going to pay the bills next week. On top of that, all of us struggle with temptation on some level. And today's Scripture shows us that even the people closest to the Lord can stumble.

*Life can bring all kinds of trouble, but there is victory in Jesus! And this most troubling night shows us how to overcome our own troubles.

1. FIRST: WE HAVE TO WAKE-UP TO OUR SHORTCOMINGS.

*Wake-up to our own shortcomings. That's hard to do when we are never wrong. Right? And that's part of the problem. In vs. 31, Jesus tried to tell His disciples that they were all going to be made to stumble. That's what "be offended" in the KJV means. It's the idea of being tripped, or trapped, or lured into sin.

*But in vs. 33, Peter just didn't get it, and told Jesus, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.'' In vs. 34, Jesus tried again to get Peter to wake up. There Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.'' Here the Lord was crystal clear. Not "you might stumble sometime down the road." But "this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.''

*Jesus Christ can write our life story before it happens! But even that wasn't enough for Peter and the other disciples. So in vs. 35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!'' And so said all the disciples.

*The disciples would not wake-up to their shortcomings, and it's hard for us too. This problem started all the way back in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they tried to hide, because they realized they were naked.

*And in Genesis 3, the LORD said:

11. . . "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

12. Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

13. And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

*Adam blamed Eve. But Adam was also trying to blame God, when he said, "It was the woman You gave me, LORD." That was the last thing Adam should have done. We must not try to blame God for our sins. Eve was more on target when she blamed the devil, because he and his servants try to tempt us many ways. But ultimately, we are responsible for our own sin. And it's hard for us to admit our shortcomings.

*Of course, just because we're having trouble doesn't mean we've done something wrong. John 9 tells the story of a man who was born blind. There in vs. 1-3 the Word of God says:

1. Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

2. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?''

3. Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."

*Just because someone is having trouble doesn't mean they've done something wrong, so we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions. A lot of people in this world are having troubles because they've done the right thing.

2. BUT WAKING-UP TO OUR SHORTCOMINGS CAN HELP US TRIUMPH OVER OUR TROUBLES. ALSO KEEP WORSHIPING THE LORD.

*When you are in the middle of struggles and troubles, keep worshiping the Lord, because this will surely help us. Verse 30 reminds us of this truth because it says, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

*Singing is not worship, but singing has always been an important part of worship, both in the Old Testament and in the New. During the Passover meal that Jesus and His disciples ate that night, the Jews sang the "Hallel" Psalms. These were the Hallelujah or "Praise the Lord!" Psalms. And they included Psalms 113-118, and possibly Psalm 136.

*They did not sing all of these Psalms at once, but at different points during the meal. Just before the drinking of the second cup and eating of the lamb, they sang Psalms 113-114. Then, on mixing the fourth and last cup, they sang the rest.

*Here are just some of the wonderful words from the Psalms they sang that night:

-From Psalm 113:1-4, "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD'S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, And His glory above the heavens."

-From Psalm 116:1-2, "I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live."

-From Psalm 117:1-2, "Oh, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!"

-Then Psalm 118:22-29 speaks directly about the future Savior, and says this about Jesus Christ:

22. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

23. This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

24. This is the day which the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25. Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.

26. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

27. God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

28. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.

29. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

*Those final words led naturally into Psalm 136 with this great assurance of the LORD's mercy repeated 26 times: "For his mercy endures forever." (1)

*What great words of worship! But what is worship? There are many definitions, but it helps to know that the Old English word was "worth-ship," so our heartfelt worship should certainly express the infinite greatness and goodness of our merciful God! He alone is worthy! God is worthy of our highest worship! (2)

*And please notice that just before Jesus went out to His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and His suffering on the cross, He sang a hymn. He sang this hymn. He sang, "This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

*Church: On our best days, and on our worst days we should seek to follow the Lord’s example by rejoicing in the day that He has made. Rejoice in all the good things He has made. Rejoice in His grace of letting us be part of His creation. Rejoice in the salvation He provided for us by dying on the cross for our sins. Rejoice in the Lord!

*God is worthy of our highest worship, and our worship is a blessing to our Lord. But on top of that, worship is also a great blessing for us. It strengthens our faith by reminding us how great and good God really is. Worship also lifts our spirits, and gives us peace when we are going through troubles. That's why Isaiah 26:3 gives this prayer to the LORD: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Then Isaiah 26:4 gives this great advice to us: "Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength."

3. HOW CAN WE TRIUMPH OVER OUR TROUBLES? KEEP WORSHIPING THE LORD, AND KEEP TRUSTING IN GOD'S WORD.

*This is another great key to victory, and vs. 31 reminds us that we can always trust in God's Word. Here Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'"

*Jesus was quoting Zechariah 13:7, and that Old Testament verse says, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,'' says the Lord of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones."

*The sword He talks about there is the sword of justice. And that sword fell on Jesus Christ, so that it would not have to fall on us! Jesus took our punishment. So in Zechariah 12:10 the Lord also said, "I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. . ." And Zechariah 13:6 says, "Someone will say to him, 'What are these wounds in your hands?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'"

*These prophecies were written over 500 years before the Lord was born. And they prove that we can always count on the Bible because it is the true Word of God. And God's Word has the divine power to change our lives forever, because it tells us about the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ who was nailed to the cross for our sins.

*The Word of God also has the power to help us no matter what we are going through. In his book HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN, Billy Graham told the story of a lady missionary who was captured by the Japanese in China during World War II.

*At this concentration camp the penalty for owning Scripture was death. But hidden in a winter coat, someone smuggled a small Gospel of John to this lady. At night she would pull the covers over her head, read a verse, and then put herself to sleep memorizing that verse. After a long time, she was able to memorize the entire Gospel of John.

*When the war had been won, this missionary was interviewed by a Time Magazine reporter just before the prisoners were released. Then he happened to be standing at the gates when the prisoners came out. Most of them shuffled along, with their eyes on the ground, almost like zombies.

*But when the missionary came out, she had a radiant look on her face. She looked so out of place that one of the other reporters said, "I wonder if they managed to brainwash her." The Time reporter heard that remark and said, "God washed her brain." Yes He did, Church! And He did it with His Word. (3)

4. SO WHEN YOU ARE GOING THROUGH TROUBLES, KEEP TRUSTING IN GOD'S WORD, AND KEEP WAITING ON THE LORD.

*Verses 31-32 remind us that many times we have to wait on the Lord.

31. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

32. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.''

*The disciples were in a time of terrible trouble. And we know it was going to get worse before it got better. They were going to have to wait on the Lord. But three days after Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He rose again from the dead, just as He said He would! And thank God, our living Lord is here with us right now!

*They only had to wait for 3 days, but those must have been the worst days of their lives. Now, when we go through troubles, we may have to wait for 3 decades, but in the scope of eternity, that's not even the blink of an eye. And our God is ever faithful to see us through, so we must learn to wait on the Lord.

*Generally speaking, we don't like to wait. Ask an 8-year-old four weeks before Christmas. Ask a mom-to-be when she's about 8 months pregnant. Ask somebody stuck in traffic for more than a few minutes. Ask someone in the long line at McDonald's.

*We generally don't like to wait, and waiting can be hard, but there are some things that we can't do, or we can't do yet, so we have to wait on the Lord. The Bible clearly teaches this truth in both the Old Testament and the New.

*For example, in Psalm 27:13-14 King David gave this testimony: "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. WAIT on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; WAIT, I say, on the Lord!"

*The original word for "wait" there has the idea of patiently and eagerly looking for, hoping in, and expecting God. It's trusting in the Lord God to show up, help us, strengthen us, save us, and give us everything we need. We have to learn to wait on the Lord.

*Psalm 33:18-20 says:

18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,

19. To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

20. Our soul WAITS for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

21. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

*And in Isaiah 40:29-31, God's Word says:

29. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,

31. But those who WAIT on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

*We must learn to wait on the Lord. A New Testament example is in Acts 1:4. There our Risen Savior was with the Apostles. And as He talked to them about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus "commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to WAIT for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me.'" All of God's people must learn to wait on the Lord.

*Ellen Layfield was a tremendous Christian lady from Jonesboro, Louisiana. She was a devoted wife, mother, teacher, and friend. In April 2007, at the age of 49, Ellen was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. She went home to be with the Lord on May 30, 2008. Here is part of a testimony her daughter, Cathy put on the Caring Bridge website a few months before her mother passed away:

*"I wish I could tell you that last night was better, but I don't really think it was. Mom seemed to feel better yesterday evening than she did on Monday evening, but she couldn't sleep last night. The pain keeps her awake, because she can't get comfortable, and if you never get comfortable, then you never fall asleep. So she was awake most of the night. Please continue to pray for Mom.

*I want to share this with you. Aunt Karen sent this devotion to me, and I have relied on these words a great deal this week. I hope you find insight in them as well: Psalm 27:14, 'Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!'

*Devotional thought from Adrian Rogers: 'Do you know the story of Joshua and how the wall of Jericho fell down after the Israelites marched around it once a day for six days, then 7 times on the seventh day? Why not just walk around Jericho one time?

*I think it was because God was testing their faith. God was teaching them that WAITING TIME IS NOT WASTED TIME. Isaiah 28:16 says, 'He that believes shall not make haste.'

*God is never in a hurry like we are. We get upset when we miss a section in a revolving door! God is also never late. He knows what He is doing. Do you know what our problem is? We've been around Jericho six times and we're ready to quit.

*Say what King David said in Psalm 62:5: 'My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.' WAITING TIME IS NOT WASTED TIME." (4)

CONCLUSION:

*Everybody is going to have troubles in life. Troubles will come, but we can overcome! -- If we will wake-up to our short-comings, keep worshiping the Lord, keep trusting in God's Word, and keep waiting on the Lord. Keep waiting on the Lord Jesus Christ, because He will always be faithful to you.

*And if you have never received the crucified and risen Christ, put your trust in the Lord today. Call on Jesus to save you as we go back to God in prayer, and always take your troubles to the Lord.

(1) Sources:

-Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "A Final Hymn" - Matthew 26:30 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc."

(3) Billy Graham, HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN - Waco, TX: Word Publishing, 1977 - pp. 44-45 - Source: NELSON’S COMPLETE BOOK OF STORIES, ILLUSTRATIONS & QUOTES by Robert J. Morgan - Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers 2000

(4) Adapted from http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ellenlayfield - Devotion from "Love Worth Finding" with Adrian Rogers - Daily Devotional: "Are you tired of waiting on God?" - June 29, 2019 - https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotions/are-you-tired-of-waiting-on-god

Closing in on the Cross of Jesus Christ - Part 3: How to Triumph over Our Troubles