THE GARDEN & THE PRAYER
Notes
Transcript
The Garden & The Prayer
The Garden & The Prayer
What a great morning it has been!
AMEN
Please turn in your bibles to the
Gospel of Luke Chapter 22:39-46
We are also going to get some assistance
from the Matthew and Marks gospel
this same account is found in Matthew 26:36-46.
and in Mark it is found in Mark 14:32-42.
This morning we are picking back up on
the “Road to the Cross”
For part 2 of this 5 part series
As we follow Jesus on His
Path to the cross
and our path to the
forgiveness of sins
for those who believe in him
Last week we covered
His triumphant entry
Where we learned
of his humble and peaceful
entry to Jerusalem
during the passover festival
we learned that peace is in fact a
person
and that person’s name is Jesus Christ
well that was the “Sunday / Monday”
we are going to fast forward
to Thursday which is sometimes
labeled as Maudy Thursday
And just a quick recap of what happened
between his Triumphal entry
and today
we say Jesus doing a lot of teaching on Monday
and Tuesday
and
On Wednesday he and his disciples rested
and idle hands made of the devils workshop
as we learn that
Satan entered Judas on
that Wednesday
and that he agreed to betray Jesus
for 30 pieces of silver
or about $350 today
well it didn’t take Judas
long to find an opportunity
as he knew Jesus’ schedule
which leads us to “today” if you
will
“today” is Thursday
and “today” we will see
the preparation for the passover
we will see that last supper
we will see Jesus’
rejected, betrayed, tempted, abandoned
pray in the garden
so please stand with me
as we read the word of God
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Luke 22:39–46 “He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.””
Pray
Illustration
Illustration
Who here is fearless?
(respond according to what the congregation says)
To be completely honest we all have fears
What do you suppose is the 2nd biggest
fear for humans
for the general population I should say
I will give you a hint #1 is failure
but #2
#2 is the fear of rejection
some would even argue that
the fear of death
is lower on the list than
than that of failure and rejection
let think for a moment of people like
Vincent Van Gogh
while he was alive he only sold 1 painting
out of 900 paintings
he was rejected by everyone
only to become one of the most
influential painters of all time
but he died a rejected artist
or Galileo
He invented the telescope
he was a christian man who believed
that God and science were intertwined
but was
criticized, ridiculed,
his findings were rejected
by those in science at that time
only to be wildly accepted some
300 years later as brilliant
he died a rejected scientist
Or Edgar Allen Poe
He lived a miserable life
he could barely afford to eat
he was rejected
by his peers
but is now considered
a pillar in the literary world
he died a rejected author
Jesus Christ
came as the son of God
and was rejected by his own people
and even put to death by them
only to rise again 3 days later
proving that he was in fact the messiah
It is unfortunate isn’t it
that each of those listed above were rejected
only to later be received for how they truly were
Lets bring that a little closer to home
Rejection by our peers is one
Rejection by employers
by colleges
by girlfriends
that’s one thing right
but how about rejection by the
very people we love the most
the people we have trusted for years
the very people that we have given
so much of ourselves to
our children
our spouses
our parents
when we are rejected by those we love the
most
it hurts
emotionally and it can
even hurt physically
it’s probably happened to every
single one of us in here this morning
at some point
and it may be happening right now
now lets put that feeling of rejection
that feeling of remorse
that feeling of grief
and just plain hurt
and lets multiply it
by the thousands
now, I dont want to downplay what you are going through
but I want you to a glimpse of
the rejection Jesus felt
there are a countless number of people
walking the earth right now
just as there were countless
men and women walking the earth in
Jesus’ day
any many of them
then and now
reject Jesus
reject Him as savior
and reject Him as king
Even the disciples would reject
and abandon him this very night
that peter would soon deny him
the others would flee
and that John would be the only
one at the foot of that cross
on that fateful day of the crucifixion
Jesus knew all of this would occur
now imagine the weight of all that rejection
by those you came to save
and by those you loved
and by those you knew the best
then place on top of that
the weight of all of our sins
the weight of the sins from all of
us that would believe upon the name of Jesus
all of the sins we have freely committed
all of the sins we have even thought in our
heads
all of them
and not only now
but all the sins of the past
and future
imagine them weighted on the shoulders of
Jesus as well
As he made that faithful walk to the Garden to pray
see when we are faced with times of great
struggle
times of great trials
what do we typically do
we try to fix them ourselves
which unfortunately doesn’t usually work so well
see the thing with rejection
the thing with feeling like your all alone
like no one is there with you
is the fact that it ultimately it leads to temptation
Satan knows that we are the most vulnerable when we
are alone
when we are distracted
when we are feeling down
and that my friends is when he
attacks
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”
Genesis 4:7 “ sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.””
Brothers and sisters we can easily be led into temptation
when we do not take our troubles to the father
Even Jesus, was temped
we know that Jesus was tempted 3 times
in the wilderness
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.”
If Jesus can be tempted by the devil
we better believe we can be also
so when we are temped
we can try and cope with it ourselves
or we can do as Jesus taught us
and is going to teach us today
that is to go to the scriptures
and go to the Lord in prayer
and ask the master of universe
to strengthen us
and to guide us
because that is exactly what Jesus did
our text this morning is outlined in
3 ways
as we see how Jesus went to His father in prayer
in order to get him through this tremendous time
we will see Jesus’
Attention towards prayer in V39-41
His Attitude towards prayer in 42-43
and His Anguish in prayer in 44-46
So let us begin with our first point
His Attention
His Attention
Luke 22:39–41 “He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives,
So they have finished the passover meal
and at this time of the year it is warm
enough to sleep outside
it feels great out
so lying under the stars
observing his and his fathers work
was something that brought him comfort
and remember the mount of Olives from last week
this is where Jesus rode over and down into before his entry into Jerusalem
so this is an important place for him
Matthew and Marks tell us there is a garden
here on this mount of olives
the garden of Gethsemenie
This was most likely a private garden
so Jesus and his 11 disciples went there
it was a place of peace for them
a place of comfort
a place that they had frequented often
as our text says, as usual
see it was usual for Jesus to go and to pray
This was his habit
part of his routine
and that is most likely
how Judas knew the very place to
lead the mob to
Our text continues with
and the disciples followed him.
again drawing further details from the gospel of
Matthew and Mark we learn
that Jesus left 8 disciples at the gate
and took his inner 3 even closer
those inner 3 consisted of
Peter, and the sons of Zebedee
or James and John
and
When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.”
There is no doubt in my mind that
the disciples were not the only ones
in the midst of temptation
this very night
In fact Jesus was fighting his own inner battle as well
see there is this supernatural conflict going on
that we see in the way that Jesus prays
See
Satan was tempting Jesus
at this very moment as well
Satan, knowing that Jesus is fully God
as well as fully Man
is taking this advantage
to temp Jesus into staying off of the cross
I mean that is satan’s ultimate goal right
to drag as many to hell as possible
and if Jesus doesn’t make it to that
cross then it cannot be finished
we are doomed
so satan, sensing this,
satan full of his own pride
is telling Jesus
you are holy, you are righteous
you are perfect
and you are pure
everything about you is motivated
by perfection righteousness
and if you bear the sin of all these
people
who will reject you
and curse you
then you will no longer be holy
and you will no longer be righteous
for you will bear their sin
and to quote John Macaurther here
“Jesus struggled to set aside His holiness and embrace sin-bearing. He was not fighting against sinful impulses to become holy, but against holy impulses to allow Himself to be made sin for believers”
See while satan temps us to sin
he was tempting Jesus to remain holy
and Christ knew this was going to happen
which is why in his
personal prayer in John 17:5 he says “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.”
Jesus knew this was going to be a battle
He knew the devil and death would not go down without
a fight
So Jesus, takes this rejection and this temptation
to the father
and although Jesus was fully drenched in this spiritual battle
for eternity
he still knew that His disciples
would struggle with temptation
in the coming hours and days as well
he has already taught them to pray
specifically about temptation
we see that in Matthew 6:13 as well as Luke 11:4
But just before this when Jesus predicted
Peters denial
he says in
Luke 22:31–32 ““Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.””
He knew this would happen
which is why he told them to pray as well
because they were all in a fight
we are all in a fight
See Jesus is warning them
and us
that when temptation hits
we better not be caught
prayer-less
because prayer
is the antidote,
its the formula
if you will
that turns temptations
from a trial
to a test
because let us remember
temptations and trials
are not in themselves sinful
it is how we react to them
that can lead to sin
temptations only become sin
when we act them out
when we go against that lump in our gut
or when we go against our better “conscience”
and do that thing that make
us temporarily feel better
but makes us feel weak
and defeated later
so Jesus is telling us
that the best way to defeat that
is to turn to Him
and the Father in prayer
our text continues with
Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,”
Notice Jesus’ attention to prayer
He knew he needed it
everyday
even though Him and the Father
were one
He needed prayer
it was His custom
He also knew he must also pray for others
and advise them to pray as well
and when he went to pray
in this most troubling and distressing time
he fell to his knees
then as Matthew and Mark note
he fell on the ground and onto his face
see the normal or customary
posture for praying at this time was
standing
Yet Jesus,
with all of this weight on his shoulders
fell facedown to - the - ground
now
that we know Jesus’
attention to prayer
and how he holds
it in such high regards
lets see exactly how He prays to the father
Lets see his attitude towards prayer
as we hear the words he prayed during this
trying time in our second point
His Attitude
His Attitude
Luke 22:42 ““Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Jesus attitude towards prayers reflects his submission to the father
where as as he is on his knees,
praying in this time of grief
he does’t say
Father if you are willing to take this cup
I will start going to church
every sunday
he doesn’t say
father if you are willing to take this cup
I will not talk bad about the people I don’t like
he doesn’t say father if you are willing to take this cup
I will...fill in the blank
Jesus didn’t negotiate with the Father when
he prayed
yet all too often we do that very thing
we go to the lord in prayer as if he is some type
of magical genie in a bottle
looking to fulfill our every want and desire
yet that should not be our attitude towards prayer
we see Jesus here recognizing
that what really matters is the desire of
the father
not His personal desire
And that should be the same for us
when we pray of course we pray for our
needs our wants, but also that
they align with the needs and wants of the father
Because what we are about to see unfold here
is the fact that Jesus prayed for God
to take this cup away from him
And this cup Jesus is referring to
is nothing other than
the the cup of God’s of wrath
see the punishment due to us
for our sin
for our rejection
for our transgressions
are all going to be transferred
to Jesus
it is what is called the substitutionary atonement
where his life was substituted for ours
on that cross
where he is going to bear the weight of
all of that punishment that we deserve
And he knows this will happen
and during this time
when this occurs on that cross
Jesus also knows that it will be first
time in all of eternity
that he will be separated from His father
And here, we get to see the human side of
Jesus
remember Jesus is fully God
and fully man
so of course the weight of all of this
is causing him great agony
Mark describes Jesus
as deeply grieved, to the point of death
Matthew describes him as being
sorrowful and troubled
and he is on his hands and knees
pleading with the father
let there be some other way!
of course the human side of
Jesus would prefer not to
go through the horrific things
he is about to go through
yet, we see one word here
in the middle of v 42
that swings the pendalum
Nevertheless..
Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
And with those 8 words
the power of satan over sin, death
and over this world was defeated
because it was at that moment
that he submitted to the fathers will
2 Corinthians 5:21 and “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
see God did not say yes to Jesus’ prayer here
but it does say that he strengthened him
Luke 22:43 “Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.”
just like they did when he was tempted in the wilderness
here they are again
So as these angels are strengthening him
he is simultaneously submitting to Gods will
and this cup of wrath that
is the punishment for our sins
has now become the cup of
salvation
See this prayer of Jesus as I just mentioned
was rejected, it was denied by the father
For the first time the father rejected
the son
even though we see in the other
gospels that Jesus in fact
prayed 3 times for God to
take this away
each time he received a silent No
see the prayer that saved
us sinners,
was actually a prayer denied
The Father said no to Jesus
in order to say yes to us
we tend to think that whatever we pray
for should be answered with a yes
yet, sometimes its the no’s that
are the biggest blessings
and while we may not understand them
in that very moment
we must rest assured that God’s
will is what is best for us
which leads me to my final point of the morning
which is
The Anguish
The Anguish
Luke 22:44 “Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
The strain,
the dependance
the struggle
the submission
are so prevalent with Jesus at this time
that it says he is in anguish
the definition of anguish is
a state of extreme or severe
mental, emotional, physical
pain and sorrow
and the fact that he was
fervently praying
fervently means passionately
here
so its saying that Jesus is
in so much anguish so much passion
in his prayers
that even with angels comforting him
and strengthening him
is says his
sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground
Hematohidrosis
Is a real medical condition
and of course it is recorded by Luke
the physician or doctor
see hematohidrosis is a condition in
which the capillary blood vessels
Literally under stress
start to seep into the sweat gland
thus, giving the appearance that one is sweating blood
now whether or not this is literally
happening to Jesus at this point
or the description is so that his
sweat and tears were so thick
and profound that it was like blood
or
if this was a foreshadowing to the ‘
blood he would spill on the cross
we don’t know,
but we do know
that this moment was so intense
so anxiety driven
so eternally pressured
that he literally or figuratively
sweated blood
then, as this time came to an end
and Jesus fully
committed to the fathers will
as he had just won the victory
over his own personal temptation
over the devil
and over death
He stood up, wiped his tears
wiped his sweat
probably brushed the dust from
his tunic
and walked back over to the disciples
Luke 22:45 says“When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief.”
see while Jesus was fighting the spiritual battle of his life
so were his disciples
they weren’t sleeping because they stayed up
too late watching Netflix
they were sleeping because they had too much
turkey with the passover dinner
they were sleeping because
they too were overwhelmed with sorrow
The reality of all Jesus had taught
them, all of what Jesus had predicted
was happening
they were sorrowful because they
realized that Jesus expected to die
and they realized that somehow, they too
were going to abandon him
in fact the other gospels reflect that Jesus
came to them 3 times during his prayer
and found them asleep each time
But Jesus, knowing that his time had come
warned them yet again in V46
Luke 22:46 ““Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.””
Jesus concluded his battle with satan over rejection and temptation the same way he started it
by advising his disciples that they must also pray
so that they would not fall into temptation
see without prayer, we have no possibility
of overcoming the pressures and anxieties of life
in the very next scene the disciples would prove that
see as Jesus looks out into the distance
as he is speaking he sees a mob coming
and leading that mob is the very one that would betray him with a kiss
as Mark 14:50 says “Then they all deserted him and ran away.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus fought 2 battles during this holy week
He fought the spiritual battle
right here
on his hands and knees
as he prayed for the fathers will
and the second battle
that is what sealed the war
see that battle was won on the cross
where he put on sin
and he overcame that sin
for us
Brother and sisters
the battle against temptation is won in our minds
and in our souls
its won, or lost
long before we follow through with that temptation
and if we continue to fight that temptation
with things that will only temporarily feed the
want
then we will always fall short
but we fight the temptation the way Jesus did
on his knees in prayer
with His attention, His attitude, and His
agony
then we will have victory every time
and that prayer comes through a renewal of our mind
as Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Because we are to keep watch and pray, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
but let me assure you
Just as Satan entered into that first Garden
and with temptation led adam and eve to sin for all
so in also in this Garden
a different garden but a garden none the less
He overcame that temptation
to free us from that sin
once and for all
Brothers and sisters
we don’t have to walk this earth alone
we don’t have to walk this earth
feeling tempted and rejected
because we have one that faced all of that
and overcame for us
and He is with us!
Let us pray!
Invitation
Invitation
so as we enter into a time of invitation
This is also a time of prayer and commitment
If you would like to pray with me
or one of our deacons about your salvation
or any other needs
now is the time
also, if you would like to begin the process of
becoming a member here
you can come up front as well
Let us Pray!