Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away 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 am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!”

And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping.

And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.

See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Two weeks ago we walked through the Passover meal with Jesus and his disciples inside Jerusalem.

Jesus had instructed his disciples to find a man in the city that would lead them to a house where they would celebrate the Passover together.

And as they celebrated the over a meal Jesus imparted new meaning to the elements.

He held up the unleavened bread and said, “Take and eat, this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured our for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus was teaching his disciples that he was the fulfillment of the feast, or as the Apostle Paul would later describe him, as our Passover lamb.

That like the blood of the lambs in Exodus which protected the Israelites from God’s judgement upon the Egyptians, Jesus would shield the people from God’s righteous judgement against them and their own sin.

That in that upper room Jesus had inaugurated a better covenant, not a covenant of works, but a covenant of grace.

A covenant that would not be dependent upon our ability to live by the law, but by Jesus’ ability to fulfill the law perfectly, and to bear the guilt of our sin upon himself.

Many have pointed to that moment in history as the birthday of the church, the birth of God’s new covenant people, who are sealed by the blood of the Lamb, and that was poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

But while we look back at that evening with hope and great joy, for the disciples it was a dreadful evening that hung over their heads.

First, because Jesus reminded them that his death was imminent, and second because Jesus had indicated that one of them would betray him, that of those who had dipped their hand in the dish one of them would turn him over to the authorities to be killed.

The dread intensifies

And then here in our text this morning that dread only intensifies.

We read there, starting in verse 30,

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night.

For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

So, not only will Jesus be killed at the hands of those in Jerusalem, and betrayed by one of his own disciples, but he says that all of them (all twelve of his disciples) will fall away on account of him that night, they’ll be scattered.

So, not only would there have been a deep sense of dread and fear, but Jesus tells them that these events are going to take place that very night.

And I can only imagine how inescapable that moment probably felt, that there was no opportunity to run and hide, that the time had come.

And the disciples could not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Went out to the Mount of Olives

Matthew also tells us there in verse 30 that immediately after the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples leave the city and head back to the Mount of Olives, and here Matthew indicates that their conversation continued through the night, because Jesus intended to spend his last hours preparing them for the events of his death.

But Matthew only records a small fraction of that conversation that we’re going to look at this morning.

For instance, in Luke’s account, he tells us that they began to argue again about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and that Jesus again had to admonish them to become like servants.

That they must become like him, the Son of Man, who had come to serve them.

Overview and timeline of events

And John has an even larger record of this dialogue that spans some four chapters of his Gospel, chapters 14-17.

Now it’s hard to tell how much of this conversation took place while they were still in Jerusalem and while they were making their way out to the Mount of Olives, but to just give you an overview of how this conversation played out I want to summarize it as is plays out over all four Gospels, because I think that’ll help us get a broader context for what Matthew records here for us.

Now, the Apostle John appears to record what Jesus says at the outset of their discussion, that he is going to go where they cannot follow (John 13:36).

Which then prompts Peter to ask him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now?

I will lay down my life for you.”

(John 13:37)

Then Matthew records here in verse 31 that Jesus told them that they would all fall away because of him that night, and that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled, saying, “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But that after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

But Peter immediately objects saying there in verse 32, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

Then in Luke’s account, chapter 22, verse 31, Jesus goes on to say, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

And then here in verse 34, he goes on, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

But Peter and the disciples remain adamant, and Peter says again there in verse 35 that, “even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!”

And all the disciples said the same.

Then it’s at that point in the discussion that Matthew transports us to the Garden of Gethsemane starting there in verse 36, but Luke and John record far more.

Luke tells us that Jesus reminded them of their training that we read about back in Matthew chapter 10, when Jesus had first prepared them to take the gospel of the kingdom to all of Judea, healing the sick and casting out demons.

He also tells them that he must be numbered among the transgressors, quoting Isaiah 53:12 about the suffering servant.

And, like I said earlier, John spends four chapters recording Jesus’ final words to his disciples, most of which I imagine we’re all familiar with.

In John, after they leave the upper room in Jerusalem and make their way to the Mount of Olives Jesus teaches them that he’s going away to prepare a place for them, that he’s the way, the truth and the life, that he has not left them as orphans, but when he is gone that he will send the Holy Spirit to them, that he is the true vine and to abide in him, that the world will hate them, but that he has overcome the world, and that not long after he is gone that their sorrow will be turned to joy, and, finally, Jesus concludes, in John, with his famous high priestly prayer where he prays for himself and his disciples, looking forward to returning to his Father in heaven while asking that his disciples would be kept from the evil one and sanctified in the truth.

And, again, all of this takes place between the upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane.

And while Matthew only records a snippet of these interactions after the upper room, it’s these circumstances and it’s this context that we find verses 30-46 here in Matthew.

Jesus is preparing his disciples for what’s about to take place, and despite the difficult circumstances that are about to befall them, that he will not leave them as orphans, but, for now, the disciples are going to find it impossible to see a way through these circumstances.

Zechariah prophecy

But their inability to understand doesn’t deter Jesus, he keeps connecting his ministry to the OT, and he continues to prophesy of his death and his resurrection, because he knows that after these events take place, that everything he’s taught them will become clear.

And this is why he quotes, for instance, the prophet Zechariah here in verse 31, when he says,

“You will all fall away 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 am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Jesus has been laboring the point that his death is imminent, but here he connects it to OT prophecy, he connects it to something Zechariah had said hundreds of years earlier.

He quotes Zechariah 13:7.

Now, Zechariah chapters 9-14 repeatedly portray a messianic figure who is rejected, wounded, and killed, so Jesus intends to show his disciples that his ministry is the fulfillment of these prophesies.

That his impending death is not outside the scope of what they should expect.

That he is why Zechariah wrote all those years ago that God would strike his shepherd, and that in doing so all the sheep of his flock wold be scattered.

He tells them that it’s prophecies like these that are the grounds for his death, and the reason that they will fall away.

And likewise, so often our circumstances are out of our control, and it’s easy to think that our circumstances are purposeless, as though we were subject to a cosmic role of the dice.

And so it will be for the disciples, the circumstances of Jesus’ death will seem hopelessly tragic.

Therefore, Jesus prepares them for these circumstances so that they might not be caught unaware.

Prophecy, in many respects, is intended to have a stabilizing affect on the Christian life.

As we see prophecy fulfilled we’re given a glimpse into the purposeful providence of God.

In other words, fulfilled prophecy demonstrates to our finite brains that God is indeed in control, and whenever we see prophecy fulfilled we’re given a glimpse of our Father in heaven at the helm of history.

And we constantly have to be reminded that there isn’t an ounce of purposelessness in our circumstances.

We need to hear that and Jesus knows that the disciples will need to see that, so he’s going to demonstrate to them ahead of time that while the circumstances of his death will seem hopelessly tragic, that rather these circumstances are going precisely according to God’s plan and hand.

A haughty spirit before a fall

But obviously the disciples won’t make that connection until much later and so Peter immediately responds in haste there in verse 33 and says,

“Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

So in typical fashion, what Peter says makes you wince.

He’s willing to grant that everyone else might fall away, but he of course will never fall away.

What’s obvious about Peter is that he tends to be very rash, and even foolhardy.

He’s arrogant and rarely thinks before he speaks.

No wonder they’re constantly arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven when they think so highly of themselves.