Christ, Calvary, and the Sanctuary

Garden of Gethsemane

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Series Code: 16SCM

Program Code: 16SCM000013A


00:51 Welcome to 3ABN's Spring Camp Meeting:
00:57 Live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
01:02 Hello and welcome to 3ABN's 2016 Spring Camp Meeting.
01:08 We have a lot of people from around the world
01:10 that want to welcome you with a hearty Amen.
01:11 Can we all say Amen? Amen!
01:13 They have been blessed; we have been at the fountain;
01:15 we've been at the table of grace; we've been at the
01:18 sanctuary. We've been in the outer court, the inner court,
01:20 the Most Holy Place. We've been walking with Jesus
01:23 through His plan of salvation
01:25 through a number of topics. And the overall theme is
01:27 Christ... What else? Calvary, and the Sanctuary.
01:33 Christ, Calvary, and the Sanctuary.
01:35 And our presenter for this por- tion of the numbers of sermons
01:39 is none other than Sister Shelley Quinn...
01:42 who is - I would use the word - a giant among all.
01:45 But I don't want to use that term thinking about her height.
01:48 This is not about her height. She wears so many hats
01:52 here at 3ABN. And she is a person of the Word.
01:55 She's an author; she's a writer. She also directs new programming
01:59 and a number of other things. But she is a very important
02:02 staple here at the ministry of 3ABN. And she will be presenting
02:05 a message entitled The Garden of Gethsemane.
02:09 What a topic to be able to handle today.
02:12 Before she comes I've been designated.
02:16 I'm going to give her the opportunity to pray
02:18 but I've been designated also to lay the foundation
02:20 by singing a song. And I've chosen one that really
02:25 speaks of the goodness of the Lord.
02:27 Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.
03:04 Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
03:11 Hear my humble cry;
03:18 While on others
03:21 Thou art calling,
03:25 Do not pass me by.
03:30 Can I get a choir on the chorus?
03:32 Savior,
03:36 Savior,
03:40 hear my humble cry,
03:47 While on others
03:50 Thou art calling,
03:54 Do not pass me by.
04:06 Let me at Thy throne of mercy
04:13 Find a sweet relief;
04:20 Kneeling there in deep contrition,
04:27 Lord, help my unbelief.
04:34 While I'm trusting only in
04:38 Thy merit,
04:41 Would I seek
04:45 Thy face;
04:49 Heal my wounded, broken spirit
04:56 and then save me by Thy grace.
05:02 And we're crying Savior,
05:07 oh my Savior,
05:10 Hear my humble cry.
05:17 Lord, while on others
05:21 Thou art calling
05:25 just do not pass me by.
05:37 You're the spring of all my comfort
05:42 and You are more
05:45 than life to me;
05:51 Whom have I on earth
05:55 beside Thee? And whom in heaven
06:01 but Thee?
06:04 And we're singing Savior,
06:08 oh my Savior,
06:12 just hear my humble cry,
06:19 Lord, while on others
06:23 Thou art calling
06:27 just do not pass me by.
06:33 And we're crying Savior,
06:38 oh my Savior,
06:42 Hear my humble cry.
06:48 Lord, while on others
06:52 Thou art calling
06:56 just do not pass
06:59 me by.
07:08 Oh...
07:15 do not
07:18 pass me
07:21 by.
07:34 Thank you, John. That was beautiful!
07:37 Well hello. I just want to tell you
07:40 I've been watching the audience as much as I've been watching
07:44 the programs. And you all are a wonderful audience!
07:49 Very responsive. We're very glad to have you here.
07:52 We want to thank those who are watching by television
07:54 and/or listening by radio.
07:57 What we've been doing thus far is walking through the
08:00 sanctuary. Right now we're going to start
08:03 walking the path of Christ's passion.
08:07 And this is the hour of the power of darkness,
08:10 but it's the greatest love story that was ever told.
08:13 So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come
08:16 in the name of Jesus. And Father, as we read Your Word
08:20 we ask that You will send Your Holy Spirit
08:23 and that, Father, this Word will do a sanctifying work
08:27 in our heart. We thank you, Lord,
08:30 for Your Son Jesus Christ,
08:33 for the Holy Spirit, and for Your Word:
08:36 Your three greatest gifts of grace.
08:39 And we thank you for the power of Your Word.
08:41 In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen!
08:44 Let me just kind of establish the setting here.
08:47 During the last week of Jesus' life
08:50 He went down to Jerusalem for the final time
08:53 to minister there.
08:55 And He received this royal welcome at the Triumphal Entry.
08:59 He taught every day in the temple.
09:03 But the 70 prophetic weeks that Daniel 9 talks about
09:07 that God had carved out for His people
09:10 were coming to a quick conclusion.
09:13 So transgression had to be finished, reconciliation made.
09:18 The everlasting righteousness had to be brought in
09:21 by the cutting off of Messiah, the Prince.
09:25 It was a time for the Savior to walk His lonely path of passion.
09:31 And as He moved to the cross
09:35 this was the climactic demonstration of God's love.
09:40 Jesus shared His last Passover meal with His disciples
09:44 then He took His last walk with them to a place of prayer.
09:50 And we're going to take a new look at this familiar story
09:55 of the Savior's visit to the Garden of Gethsemane
09:57 where He desired to pray the night before He died.
10:01 Do you know what Gethsemane means?
10:04 Gethsemane means olive press, and actually a gethsemane
10:10 is a piece of equipment that they use to crush the olives.
10:14 What they would do is they would take the whole olives.
10:17 They would pour them into a basin that had a millstone,
10:20 harnass an animal to the millstone,
10:22 and the animal would go round and round the circular basin.
10:26 And as the millstone rolled over the olives
10:29 it cracked the olives. Then they would scoop them up
10:33 into burlap bags. And they would take them
10:36 and they would put them under this large stone column.
10:42 And this stone column was called a gethsemane.
10:47 And as the enormous weight of this large stone column
10:52 came down on these cracked olives
10:54 it would crush them and force their precious oil
10:59 to drip down into a groove and then into the basin
11:04 where it would be collected.
11:07 So gethsemane means olive press.
11:11 And what it symbolizes here
11:14 is the crushing weight of the sins of the world
11:17 that Jesus carried as He went to the cross.
11:20 If we establish the scene before He got to the garden,
11:26 He was sharing His last Passover meal with His disciples -
11:30 the Last Supper. And at this Passover meal
11:33 what happened? The disciples started arguing
11:37 "Who's going to be the greatest? "
11:39 And how did Jesus handle this?
11:41 He just simply got up and then He got down
11:45 and He washed their feet to demonstrate to them
11:49 how servant/leadership should be.
11:53 And He foretold of His betrayal
11:56 and He identified His betrayer.
11:59 He said: "He who dips his hand in this cup with Me..."
12:04 And you know, Judas - as we all know -
12:08 was kind of a miserly person.
12:11 He used to dip into the treasury.
12:13 He was the treasurer for Jesus' ministry.
12:15 But six days earlier in Bethany Judas had become enraged
12:21 when Mary came in and anointed the feet of Jesus
12:27 and she broke her alabaster box
12:29 to anoint His feet and His head
12:32 with this great, expensive ointment.
12:35 So what happened is: Judas then went to the high priest
12:38 and he said to the chief priest, he said:
12:41 "What will you give me if I'll deliver Him to you? "
12:45 And they counted him out 30 pieces of silver.
12:50 Thirty shekels... which was the common price
12:54 for a slave... was counted out.
12:56 So now at the Last Supper Satan entered into Judas' heart.
13:01 And Jesus looked at him - and I know He looked at him
13:04 with love - and He said: "What you do, do quickly. "
13:08 So Judas slinked out into the night.
13:11 Now Jesus also foretold of the denial
13:16 that His disciples would go through...
13:19 especially Peter. And He prayed for Peter
13:22 and He prayed for His disciples.
13:24 And the entire discourse of John chapter 14...
13:29 You remember John chapter 14? "In My Father's house are many
13:33 mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
13:36 I go to prepare a place for you. "
13:37 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. "
13:40 And the promise of the Holy Spirit. This all took -
13:43 this whole discourse - took place at the Last Supper.
13:47 They were still in the upper room.
13:50 Then in the gospels of Matthew and Mark
13:54 it says they sung a hymn and John records, saying that
13:58 Jesus said: "Arise, and let us go from here. "
14:02 So knowing that He was about to die
14:05 Jesus went forth with His little band of 11 disciples
14:09 into the moonlit night.
14:12 It was a full moon because Passover is always
14:15 held at full moon. And Jesus took every opportunity
14:20 to teach them as they walked along.
14:23 John 14... excuse me, John 15
14:27 and John 16- those entire chapters -
14:30 happened as Jesus was walking along.
14:33 I can just see Him. He saw a vine
14:35 and He looked at them and He said: "I am the Vine;
14:38 you are the branches. Apart from Me you can do nothing. "
14:42 And He taught them about the work of the Holy Spirit.
14:45 He tenderly counseled them about the problems that were
14:49 ahead of them... the dangers that were coming.
14:52 But He spoke words of peace to them
14:55 saying that their sorrow would turn to joy
14:57 and saying: "In the world you will have tribulation, but
15:01 be of good cheer: I have overcome the world. "
15:04 Then John chapter 17, if you have a red-letter edition,
15:07 John chapter 17 is all in red. This is Jesus' prayer.
15:12 And this probably happened on the slopes of
15:16 the mountain - right before He entered into the garden -
15:20 on the slopes of the Mount of Olives
15:23 where He prayed for the protection and the blessing
15:26 of God over the people. And He asked God to sanctify them
15:29 by His truth. He asked Him to unite them as one
15:34 and to guide them through the up-coming tribulation.
15:37 He prayed for His disciples and for all of us, didn't He?
15:41 Now we've set the scene. Open your Bibles
15:43 to Mark chapter 14. And I hope you have your Bibles
15:48 with you today. We are going to read this story...
15:50 as much as we can get into this next forty minutes.
15:54 We're going to read the story in Mark chapter 14.
15:58 All of the four gospels contain the story of the
16:04 Garden of Gethsemane, but Mark's is the most complete.
16:07 So what we'll do is as we go through reading
16:10 if there's something that's pertinent from another gospel
16:15 that adds a little more flavor to it, I'll add that.
16:19 So Mark 14... let's begin in verse 32.
16:23 Mark 14:32.
16:27 "Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane
16:30 and He said to His disciples: 'Sit here while I pray. ' "
16:34 Luke identifies this as the Mount of Olives,
16:37 and John adds that Judas who betrayed Him was very
16:41 familiar with this place because Jesus often went there
16:45 with His disciples. You know gardens were not allowed within
16:50 the walls of the city of Jerusalem because there was
16:52 no space. So what the wealthy did was
16:55 they would secure a garden outside the walls.
16:58 They would secure a beautiful place.
17:01 And the Garden of Gethsemane was most likely a walled garden.
17:04 It talks about Jesus going in and going out.
17:07 It was there on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.
17:10 And Jesus visited there often for prayer and rest
17:14 and fellowship with His disciples.
17:16 He spent every night there
17:19 during the last week of His life, praying...
17:24 so this night was no different.
17:26 He takes His disciples there.
17:28 And it's around midnight when He returns to His favorite
17:31 setting. So Gethsemane was about to become
17:35 the conflict of the world's greatest drama
17:40 It was the beginning... At the beginning of Christ's
17:43 ministry remember when He was the 40 days in the wilderness?
17:46 What happened in those 40 days?
17:49 Satan did everything he could
17:52 to prevent Jesus from going to the cross.
17:56 And that was at the beginning of His ministry.
17:59 Can you imagine now at the end of His ministry
18:03 Satan is prepared for his final onslaught against Jesus.
18:08 And that's why Jesus calls it the hour and the power of
18:11 darkness. So verse 33 says:
18:15 "And He took Peter, James, and John with Him
18:18 and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. "
18:22 He left 8 of His disciples just inside the gate
18:26 of the garden. Then He takes His 3 closest friends
18:29 with Him and He goes a little further into a corner of the
18:32 garden. But He needed them for... He wanted their
18:36 companionship and their prayer support.
18:39 You know, these three had the privilege of witnessing
18:42 His glory when He was transfigured
18:46 on the mount near Caesarea Philippi.
18:49 But now this night they were to witness His agony
18:54 as Jesus in His humanity
18:58 struggled with the events that were about to transpire.
19:02 Look at verse 34.
19:05 "Then He said to them:
19:07 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.
19:14 Stay here and watch. ' " Luke says at this point
19:19 He also added: "Pray that you may not enter
19:22 into temptation. " The divine Christ -
19:26 the Man of Sorrows - was be- ginning to feel an indescribable
19:31 grief. It was beyond all imagination.
19:35 But God was laying the weight of our sins upon Him:
19:40 the curse and the penalty of transgression.
19:44 And Jesus already felt it was unbearable.
19:47 The crushing weight of His sorrow was actually
19:52 life threatening. Do you realize that?
19:55 He said: "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful...
19:59 even to the point of death. "
20:02 This is the deepest overwhelming grief
20:05 that has ever been experienced on earth.
20:08 And it wasn't just the horrifying heartache
20:11 caused by the thought of the upcoming cruelty
20:14 in His mock trial and the shame of the cross.
20:18 What was getting to Jesus right now was what Isaiah
20:22 said in chapter 53 verses 10-12.
20:25 His soul was to be made an offering for sin.
20:31 He began to taste the judgment of the second death
20:36 that is due to all men apart from redemption
20:39 through His blood.
20:41 He was to be cut off, separated
20:45 from God His Father for the first time
20:49 in His eternal existence
20:52 and left all alone to bear the sins and the judgment of men.
20:57 So darkness began to settle over His soul like a heavy cloud
21:02 because Satan's final onslaught had already begun.
21:06 And you know something? As He was there, immersed in
21:11 grief, He was tempted to feel that in His humanity
21:17 He did not have the strength to endure.
21:20 He was tempted to feel that His Father
21:24 was going to forsake Him. So He makes this agonizing appeal
21:28 to Peter, James, and John - His three closest friends.
21:33 He says: "Watch with Me" while He went to pray alone.
21:38 I want you as we are talking today
21:40 pay attention to what Jesus did
21:43 because He set an example for us.
21:46 He knew... He didn't want to discuss His problems
21:49 with His friends. He wanted their prayer support.
21:52 But He knew that He required time alone -
21:56 uninterrupted time - alone with His Father
21:58 who was the only One who could solve His problem.
22:03 Sometimes I think we talk too much about our problems.
22:05 We just need to ask our friends to pray and we take our problem
22:10 to the Lord. Amen! But being fully divine
22:14 yet fully a man He understood the weakness
22:18 of the flesh. So He tells them: "Pray that you will not enter
22:23 into temptation. " A great trial was ahead of them
22:26 and they didn't recognize it. You know, the disciples
22:28 could sense that this was a critical hour
22:31 because there in the beautiful garden there was just a...
22:37 it was charged... the atmosphere was charged
22:41 with anxiety. But only Jesus recognized that
22:45 Satan was lurking in the darkness, seeking
22:48 whom he could devour.
22:50 The closer He came to His victory on the cross
22:52 the more desperate Satan became.
22:55 And Jesus knew that the temptation was coming upon
22:58 His followers, and He bore the weight of their trial, too.
23:02 So He was worried that they would feel too guilty
23:05 and under condemnation. That they would feel too guilty
23:08 to repent. So He withdraws a distance
23:12 and now He is wrestling with a foe that is unseen
23:17 to His disciples. Verse 35:
23:21 "He went a little further and He fell on the ground
23:27 and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass
23:31 from Him. Matthew says He fell "on His face. "
23:34 And he actually records the words of Jesus
23:38 and He said: "Oh My Father, if it is possible
23:43 let this cup pass from Me. "
23:45 He was beginning to experience the crushing weight
23:48 of the sins of the world and it was overcoming.
23:53 He lost His bodily strength; He sank to His knees.
23:57 And in the fervency of His prayer He prostrated Himself
24:00 on the ground with His face to the ground.
24:03 The ache of betrayal, the concern for His followers
24:07 that He would leave behind,
24:08 the anticipation of unbearable torture,
24:11 the shame of the impending crucifixion,
24:13 the weight of the world's sins, the thought of separation
24:16 from His Father and fighting the prince of evil:
24:19 all this emotional and mental stress
24:23 culminated into an agonizing moment
24:26 when Jesus in His humanity
24:31 cried out with a true human heart a humble cry:
24:37 "Oh Lord, if it is possible...
24:41 if You, God, can be glorified
24:44 and if man can be saved without Me drinking this
24:48 bitter cup, then let it be done. "
24:51 What was this cup that Jesus was worried of drinking?
24:57 Often in the Old Testament a cup is judgment
25:02 at the hand of God.
25:04 Isaiah 51:17 refers to it as "the cup of the Lord's fury"
25:10 associated with suffering and God's wrath.
25:14 But Christ's cup was far more than the excruciating pain
25:17 and shame of the crucifixion.
25:20 It was that He who knew no sin
25:23 was about to become sin for us
25:26 and to be separated from His Father.
25:29 You know, in Matthew 20 Jesus had referred to believers
25:33 drinking the cup that He was about to drink...
25:36 and He was referring to His suffering at the hands of men,
25:40 which to some extent we all do.
25:42 But let me tell you something:
25:44 if you are in Jesus Christ you will never
25:49 ever drink the cup of the wrath of God.
25:54 That was forever settled at the cross for true believers.
25:58 Revelation 14:9-10 says
26:02 that cup is reserved for those who worship the beast
26:05 and his image who receive his mark.
26:07 They're the ones that shall drink the cup of God's wrath.
26:10 And Revelation 16:19 says that the cup of the fierceness of
26:14 God's wrath will be drunk by mystery Babylon.
26:19 Verse 36: now Jesus says:
26:24 "Abba Father, all things are possible for You.
26:28 Take this cup from Me.
26:31 Nevertheless, not what I will
26:34 but Your will be done. "
26:36 He's weighed down; He's prostrated on the ground.
26:40 He cries out "Abba... " that Aramaic phrase that means
26:45 Papa. Abba... "Abba Father.
26:50 Take it from Me, but not My will... Yours be done. "
26:54 With child-like faith and dependency He calls
26:58 upon His Father because He knows that God would hear and help.
27:02 And He begs the Lord to choose another way if possible.
27:06 His human impulse was to escape this bitter cup.
27:11 But notice His humility in prayer.
27:14 What does He say? In perfect submission
27:17 He prays for God's will to be done.
27:20 All things are possible for God.
27:25 Why did God not choose another way
27:29 when His Son was asking for it?
27:32 Well, because the eternal council of God
27:35 had been settled. God had spoken it.
27:38 He prophesied it, and God always fulfills His Word.
27:41 The penalty for the disobedience to the Ten Commandment law
27:45 of love was death: the second death
27:48 that Revelation mentions four different times.
27:50 We cannot pay that penalty
27:52 because we all have sinned. All have sinned
27:57 and fallen short of the glory of God.
27:59 It took a perfect Man, a sinless Man,
28:03 OUR CREATOR, to stand in as our substitute.
28:08 This is the reason for the incarnation.
28:12 This is the reason Jesus became a human being:
28:16 so that He could be our substitute.
28:18 To demonstrate His love and righteousness God did not
28:23 cancel His Ten Commandment law.
28:26 He did not waive the penalty.
28:28 He sent His Son to die for us in our place!
28:34 Just think of the Father's excruciating sorrow
28:39 as in heaven He's watching His Son
28:43 who is one with Him. He's watching Him in the agony
28:47 of His humanity. And God knows that... I mean,
28:53 He loved His Son. How He must have suffered
28:57 as He watched Jesus suffer.
28:59 But He also loves us, and He knew that we would be doomed
29:03 for destruction if Jesus didn't go through and drink
29:07 this cup. To be a just God He had to become the justifier.
29:12 So God had to suffer with His Son
29:15 as His Son is suffering in agony.
29:18 So look at verse 37.
29:21 Jesus is going to return to His three friends after His
29:24 first time of prayer. "Then He came and found them
29:29 sleeping. And He said to Peter:
29:32 'Simon, are you sleeping?
29:34 Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray lest you
29:37 enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing
29:40 but the flesh is weak. ' "
29:42 These three had fallen asleep before.
29:44 Where? On the Mount of Transfiguration.
29:47 But now in falling asleep again
29:49 they're adding grief to His sorrow.
29:52 He's in agony; He is sorrowful.
29:55 He's heavy hearted; He's sweating.
29:58 He's praying and wrestling in prayer, and they were so
30:01 little concerned that they couldn't even stay awake.
30:04 And you know, their failure to pray is probably the reason
30:07 they failed to stand with Him later.
30:10 The flesh is weak. In His humanity
30:14 Jesus identified with this
30:17 given His suffering and His reluctance to drink the cup.
30:20 He's speaking to all three but He addresses Simon
30:24 personally because Simon at the Last Supper...
30:28 He had brash zeal, didn't he? Simon.
30:31 And he had said: "Oh Lord, even if all deny You
30:34 I will not deny You. Even if I have to die with You
30:37 I will not deny You. " But He now, did you notice,
30:41 He didn't call him Peter, He called him Simon
30:43 because he knew the flesh had ahold of him and He wanted
30:46 Peter to recognize this.
30:49 So earlier Jesus had prayed for Peter and his disciples
30:53 but now there was no reciprocity.
30:55 He had to pray all on His own.
30:58 "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. "
31:01 And the disciples would succumb to their natural weakness.
31:04 And we need to remember that physical weakness
31:07 can lead to spiritual weakness.
31:09 When we are exhausted and tired and hungry
31:12 help us to remember that we need to be watchful.
31:16 So Christ says to them: "Watch! Be on guard!
31:20 Greater trials are coming. You believe Me to be the Messiah
31:24 but you don't understand the necessity of My death
31:27 and your faith is going to be tried. So pray and seek strength
31:31 from God so that you don't lose faith and deny Me. "
31:34 Because the weakness of their human nature would not
31:36 sustain them in their hour.
31:38 Now He's going to go pray to His Father a second time.
31:41 Verse 39: "Again He went away and prayed and spoke the same
31:45 words. " Matthew records those words: "Oh, My Father,
31:48 if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it,
31:51 Your will be done. " Then an angel appeared to Him
31:55 from heaven strengthening Him.
31:57 Jesus... Let me remind you again: He's not shrinking
32:01 from death. He's shrinking from drinking the cup of God's wrath
32:04 and being separated from His Father.
32:06 And perhaps Jesus prayed and said: "Lord send an angel
32:09 to strengthen Me. " But perhaps He just expressed
32:14 that sentiment in His groans.
32:18 Let me tell you something: as we sigh and groan
32:21 in prayer God understands the language of a broken heart.
32:26 So God knew that Christ was sinking in His human nature
32:31 because... Do you realize Jesus, the whole time He was on earth,
32:35 He never once did anything
32:40 except to submit to His human limitations.
32:43 He never called on His own divine power
32:45 to rescue Him... He always called on His Father.
32:48 So just as the Father sent the angels during the 40 days
32:51 He sends an angel now to strengthen Him.
32:53 And I wonder what that angel did.
32:55 How did the angel minister to Him?
32:57 Did he wipe the sweat from Jesus' brow
33:00 or the tears from His cheeks?
33:02 Or did he just embrace Him tightly and remind Him how much
33:04 the Father loved Him? I don't know, but the angel
33:08 did a good work. Christ's absolute dependence upon God
33:13 demonstrates how we must confront the terrible trials
33:17 of our lives. Now let's look at verse 40.
33:20 He returns to them a second time. "And when He returned
33:23 He found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy
33:27 and they did not know what to answer. " Matthew says
33:32 that He then went away again and prayed the third time
33:35 saying the same words.
33:37 But Luke adds something that's interesting.
33:41 First he says their eyes "were heavy from sorrow"
33:45 but then he says: "Being in agony He prayed more earnestly.
33:48 Then His sweat became like great drops of blood
33:53 falling down to the ground. "
33:55 So Jesus spends time in prayer then He comes and He checks on
33:58 His disciples to show His deep interest in their...
34:03 their welfare and also probably so that they could witness
34:07 His sufferings. He finds them asleep a second time
34:10 instead of watching and praying.
34:12 They slept not understanding His sufferings
34:14 but I guarantee you one thing: His enemies weren't asleep.
34:17 His enemies were awake and watching for an opportunity
34:20 to get Him... yet His closest friends
34:24 could not struggle to stay awake to pray one hour.
34:27 So the second time He comes and He finds them sleeping.
34:30 Despite their earlier professions of loyalty unto
34:34 death, and they knew they were guilty of disappointing Him.
34:38 And so they were speechless.
34:40 They didn't know what to say.
34:42 When Luke talks about the heavy eyelids
34:46 Luke, being a doctor, he says it's from sorrow.
34:49 This is probably around 1 AM now. It was well past
34:52 their bedtime. But being a doctor, Luke knew
34:55 that one of the symptoms of sorrow is extreme
35:01 drowsiness. Why were they sorrowful?
35:04 Well, although Jesus foretold His suffering and death
35:07 multiple times, they had not ever... it had not registered
35:11 with them. They couldn't accept it because
35:13 they expected a militant Messiah...
35:17 not the portrait of the suffer- ing servant that Isaiah 53
35:22 had portrayed. And so I've heard it said -
35:27 and I love this - "preconceived opinions
35:31 effectively insulate the mind against truth. "
35:37 So their minds... they had a preconceived opinion;
35:40 they couldn't soak it in. But on the way to the garden
35:43 in John 16... As He was teaching them, He mentioned He was
35:47 leaving the world and going to the Father, and for the first
35:49 time it was beginning to sink in that He was going away.
35:52 So the events of the evening had been shocking.
35:54 They were emotionally distressed. He'd taken the bread
35:58 and cup at the Passover and said: "This is My body;
36:01 this is My blood which will be shed for you. "
36:03 And it was beginning to register with them that He was going
36:06 away. And they were pre- occupied with their own feelings
36:09 because they had not yet learned total dependence upon God.
36:11 They could not shake off their physical drowsiness,
36:15 their spiritual blindness, and their presumption.
36:21 They presumed God would hold them up.
36:25 See, we take God for granted, don't we? These three things:
36:28 spiritual blindness and the... I forgot what I'm saying.
36:32 Spiritual blindness, physical drowsiness, and presumption
36:36 are great enemies to persevering prayer.
36:39 So Christ retreats to pray a third time, struggling
36:42 with the same agonizing spirit to be released from this
36:46 unbearable pressure. His emotional struggle
36:49 came as He focused on the suffering He must experience
36:52 as the sin bearer of the world
36:54 knowing that He would be separated from God.
36:56 His mental struggle was to overcome the temptation
37:00 to save the world some other way.
37:03 His spiritual struggle was encountering the powers
37:07 of darkness as Satan waged his final battle.
37:11 So in agony He's contemplating His Father's will,
37:16 consistent with the eternal council.
37:19 "If it is possible, Lord... if it's possible,
37:22 if it can be consistent with Your justice and the world
37:26 could be redeemed without what I'm about to go through,
37:30 without being separated from You, oh Lord, let it be done. "
37:33 His human nature in view of such great suffering
37:38 shrunk from the thought of it and He desired deliverance.
37:42 But still He sought the will of God.
37:45 And guess what? It was not possible.
37:52 The cup could not pass. The sinless Son of God
37:57 must be prepared to drink it.
37:59 So now the crushing emotional weight of the world's
38:03 sins and the intensity of His struggle
38:06 actually compresses His physical body.
38:09 The pressure of the inner agony was so great that His capillary
38:15 veins right under the skin burst
38:17 and His own precious blood was forced through His enlarged
38:22 pores mingled with His sweat and fell in great drops.
38:27 The weight of our sins
38:31 was just like the weight of that gethsemane column
38:35 that crushed the oil from the fruit.
38:38 So let's look at verse 41.
38:41 Third time He comes to them and finds them asleep.
38:44 "Then He came the third time and said to them:
38:47 'Are you still sleeping and resting?
38:50 It is enough! The hour has come.
38:52 Behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands
38:55 of sinners. Rise... let us be going.
38:57 See... My betrayer is at hand. ' "
39:00 Knowing it WAS the Father's will
39:02 He was determined to go forward.
39:06 He would not exercise a will independent of the Father.
39:10 As long as Jesus Christ was on earth
39:13 His will - and actually, before He ever came to earth
39:16 and always - His will perfectly lined up with His Father's.
39:21 So He relinquishes His will in favor of the Father's.
39:25 He's relieved of the emotional strain.
39:28 He is revived by God's peace, rejuvenated with great courage,
39:32 and He resigned Himself to death saying:
39:35 "Behold, the hour is come; The Son of Man is betrayed. "
39:38 "Come on, let's get on with it" is what He's saying here.
39:41 "There's no shrinking back now. "
39:43 He said: "Rise! Let us meet this mob full on. "
39:47 He chose to fulfill prophecy for you and me. Amen!
39:53 He chose to fulfill God's great love story. Yes!
39:57 On the walk to the garden that night He had said
40:00 in John 15:12-13: "This is My commandment
40:04 that you love one another as I have loved you.
40:06 Greater love has no one than this:
40:08 than to lay down one's life for his friends. "
40:11 And now He would prove it.
40:14 Compelled by love and His supreme sense of duty
40:18 and the sacredness of His Father's service
40:21 He chose to satisfy the heart of His Father,
40:24 to do what would most glorify Him.
40:26 Now I want to point something out, and don't miss this:
40:31 the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation
40:36 of the world made that choice in His divinity. Yes!
40:42 The Son of Manmade that choice
40:48 in His humanity. Yes! Amen!
40:51 Is that not powerful? I was working on this one day
40:55 and then I was at my sink and God showed me that.
40:57 And I thought: "How amazing! "
41:00 God strengthened Him with grace to go forward boldly.
41:04 He chose to submit... and in choosing to submit
41:08 to the Father's will He became a model for His disciples
41:12 and for us. He became an example for us.
41:16 When we are in grief, in pain, if we're standing alone
41:20 neglected by our closest friends
41:22 He turned to God in agonizing prayer three times
41:26 saying: If it's possible, take this. "
41:28 But He persevered in prayer, and that brought the release
41:33 that God gave Him, the great courage and the peace.
41:36 God did not remove the cup - that's right -
41:39 BUT He did answer Christ's prayer - yes He did -
41:43 because He kept Him from failing.
41:46 So what is your trial?
41:48 Just as Christ prayed I encourage you:
41:52 it's OK to pray and say "let this cup pass from me. "
41:56 But if God does not let the cup pass from you
42:00 don't lose faith.
42:02 Don't lose hope in God. Don't let your faith be shaken.
42:06 Though we might pray for God to remove it
42:09 the greatest assignment we have is just as Jesus had:
42:14 to accept the will of God
42:17 and ask that He gives us grace to bear it.
42:21 Let's look at verse 43.
42:25 "And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas -
42:29 one of the twelve - with a great multitude
42:32 with swords and clubs came from the chief priests
42:35 and the scribes and the elders. "
42:36 And John adds Judas had received a detachment of troops.
42:42 This was Roman soldiers coming with him
42:44 and also the temple police.
42:46 A detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests
42:49 and Pharisees came there with lanterns, torches,
42:53 and weapons. Well, I just got through telling you it was
42:56 a moonlit night. Why did they need lanterns, torches,
42:59 and weapons? Well, because at this time of night
43:03 in the valley of the Kidron the... Gethsemane would be
43:08 darkened by the shadow of the adjoining mountains.
43:14 So Judas knew well Christ's customary place
43:18 for prayer. And the treachery of Judas left a deep impression
43:23 on all four of the gospel writers because they all
43:25 mention this. So the multitude comes
43:29 led by Judas well supplied with lights.
43:31 Look at verse 44.
43:32 "Now his betrayer had given them a signal saying:
43:35 'Whomever I kiss, He is the One. Seize Him and lead Him away
43:40 safely. ' " Interesting. "As soon as he had come
43:44 immediately He went up to Him and said to Him:
43:47 'Rabbi; rabbi... ' and he kissed Him. "
43:51 Matthew adds: "But Jesus said to him:
43:54 'Friend, why have you come? ' "
43:56 Jesus wanted him to examine his heart.
43:59 Luke says that He also said: "Judas, are you betraying
44:03 the Son of Man with a kiss? "
44:06 And then John adds this:
44:08 "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him,
44:11 went forward and said to them: 'Whom are you seeking? ' "
44:15 And they said: "Jesus of Nazareth. "
44:16 And then He said: "I am... " The scripture says: "I am He. "
44:21 But if you'll notice, it's italics; it's an added word.
44:24 What He actually said was: "I AM. "
44:27 And then: "Judas who betrayed Him also stood with Him
44:31 and now when He said to them: 'I AM'
44:34 they drew back and they fell to the ground.
44:38 Then He asked them again: 'Whom are you seeking? '
44:41 And they said: 'Jesus of Nazareth. '
44:44 Jesus said: 'I have told you that I AM.
44:47 I am the Man. Therefore, if you seek Me
44:50 let these others go their way'
44:52 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke:
44:55 'Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none. ' "
44:58 The kiss on the cheek was a common greeting
45:01 in the Jewish society. Men would only do this in public
45:05 if it were some kind of a festival or a formal occasion.
45:11 So this was to show respect and affection.
45:15 Judas was shamefully hypocritical
45:20 when he kissed Jesus. But the soldiers expected
45:24 to arrest a peasant who was going to resist them.
45:30 But when He says "I AM" that's a claim of divinity,
45:34 isn't it? And did you know what?
45:37 At least the scripture doesn't say there was a flash of light.
45:40 It was just His authoritative announcement
45:46 that as He declared this divinity they all fell back.
45:51 And I wonder if Jesus fell back as well.
45:53 I mean Judas fell back as well.
45:56 So Christ steps forward to protect His disciples.
45:58 And look at verse 46:
46:01 "Then they laid their hands on Him
46:03 and they took Him. And when those around Him
46:06 saw what was going to happen... "
46:08 Oh, excuse me. Let me read it first to you from Mark.
46:11 "Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.
46:13 And one of those who stood by drew his sword
46:16 and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his ear. "
46:22 Luke says: "When those around them saw what was going to
46:25 happen they said: 'Lord, shall we strike with the sword? ' "
46:28 And John identifies the servant as Malchus.
46:31 Matthew says that Jesus said: "Put your sword in its place
46:34 for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
46:38 Or do you not think that I can now pray to My Father
46:40 and He will provide Me more than 12 legions of angels? "
46:45 Do you realize that a legion was 6,000 soldiers?
46:49 So twelve legions would be 72,000 angels.
46:54 But everything Christ did was to fulfill prophecy.
46:58 And then he goes on... Luke... excuse me, in John...
47:01 in Matthew it says Jesus said:
47:04 "How then could the scriptures be fulfilled
47:07 that this must happen? "
47:09 And Luke mentions... I love Luke 'cause he's a doctor
47:12 so he's always putting in these little details
47:14 other people leave out.
47:15 He says that He touched the ear of this servant
47:19 and He healed it. But isn't it interesting that
47:22 even that miracle had no effect on their unresponsive
47:26 hard hearts. Mark... 48... "Then Jesus answered
47:31 and said to them: 'Have you come out
47:35 as against a robber with swords and clubs to take Me?
47:38 I was daily with you in the temple teaching...
47:41 in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.
47:45 But the scriptures must be fulfilled. ' "
47:49 Luke says He's speaking to the chief priests, captain's
47:52 of the temple, and the elders who had all come out.
47:55 So they're all out there... this is a mob!
47:57 There's servants; there's Roman soldiers;
48:00 the temple police... all the "uppity-ups. "
48:03 There's everybody who is there.
48:05 And this is where Luke says that He says
48:09 "But this is your hour and the power of darkness. "
48:14 Our human minds cannot grasp
48:18 the horrific horrors of the hour of that power of darkness.
48:23 You know, the reason that they came at this hour...
48:28 This was all calculated
48:30 because the chief priests, the elders, everybody knew
48:34 that if they tried to arrest Jesus during the day
48:37 that there would be an uproar. So they were waiting till His...
48:40 His supporters were asleep.
48:43 So look at verse 50:
48:45 "Then they all forsook Him and fled.
48:48 Now a certain young man followed Him... "
48:50 This is most likely Mark, the author...
48:52 "having a linen cloth thrown around His naked body.
48:55 And the young men laid hold of Him
48:57 and He left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
49:01 And they led Jesus away to the high priest.
49:04 And with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders,
49:07 and the scribes. " This marks the moment
49:13 that the Son of God was delivered into the hands
49:17 of sinful men. In Matthew 26:31 Jesus had said this
49:22 just before they had arrived at the Garden:
49:25 "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night
49:28 for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd
49:30 and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. ' "
49:34 This was the fulfilling of Zechariah 13:7.
49:37 So as the eleven looked on at this great multitude,
49:43 this mob, they saw their Master was actually being taken.
49:48 They forgot their promises not to forsake Him.
49:52 At the end of three years of the closest intimacy
49:56 with the Savior they all fled... leaving Him alone
50:00 to face His enemies. Peter learned that it was easier to
50:04 fight for Jesus than to die for Jesus.
50:07 Remember, Peter's the one who drew the sword.
50:11 And then the scriptures tell us that as they're leading him away
50:14 John and Peter followed at a distance
50:16 to the palace of the high priest.
50:19 But this scene being over the Lord was taken prisoner
50:24 for the first and the last time.
50:27 I want to share with you...
50:31 if I have it here.
50:34 No... this is it. Let's look at this...
50:39 We have looked at this scene, and I have to tell you
50:43 something. When we sent out the list of sermons
50:48 to all of our eleven speakers, or the ten other speakers,
50:53 since that was something that was my job
50:55 I decided I'm going to take whatever sermons are left over.
50:59 'Cause I didn't care which ones I preached
51:02 or taught. I shouldn't say preached but taught.
51:05 And out of the other ten not one person
51:09 chose the Garden of Gethsemane or the Trial of Trials
51:13 as even an alternate of what they would like to do.
51:19 So it was clear: these two landed to me.
51:22 But I have to tell you something:
51:24 this is God's will. Amen!
51:26 Because as I have studied this... as I have spent time
51:33 meditating on this... God has changed my heart.
51:38 And we'll talk about this more in the next hour
51:41 when we talk about the trial of trials.
51:44 I don't believe I will ever doubt God again.
51:47 Never... never.
51:51 Jesus suffered and triumphed
51:55 in Gethsemane.
51:58 In the garden Christ - the Son of Man -
52:02 accepted God's will. He accepted the weight
52:06 of humanity's sin and the penalty and punishment
52:10 of death for every man.
52:11 He who knew no sin became sin for us.
52:16 He was made sin for us.
52:19 This meant He would be cut off from His Father:
52:22 the one thing that He agonized over the most.
52:25 But Christ's voluntary submission to a death that
52:29 involved intense shame and intense suffering
52:32 for the sole purpose of serving as our substitute
52:39 was His supreme act of self-humiliation.
52:45 What is the purpose of rehearsing this event
52:50 in the life of Jesus Christ?
52:54 When we come to scripture
52:56 we should be praying for the Holy Spirit to help us
53:01 understand, and we should always pray John 17:17.
53:05 "Lord, sanctify me by Your truth;
53:10 Your Word is truth. "
53:12 So why do we rehearse this?
53:16 Well, as we contemplate the sufferings of Christ
53:20 we should be moved to re-orient our life
53:24 to line up in every way to the will of God.
53:30 We can't fathom the love of God.
53:34 The more I study it the more mysterious it is to me
53:38 because it is too great to calculate.
53:42 But in understanding the suffering of Christ
53:47 we will find emotional support
53:50 when we are suffering Christians.
53:54 The ordeal of Christ's suffering
53:58 produced empathy for us.
54:00 He had to experience our doubts, our fears,
54:05 and our torments so that He could pity us
54:09 in our existence. He was tempted by Satan...
54:14 I started to say as we are tempted. No way.
54:17 I don't think any of us have ever
54:20 ever experienced
54:24 this kind of temptation.
54:27 But all He exercised is the same power
54:31 that is available to us: the power of the Holy Spirit.
54:36 When you think about Jesus in the garden
54:40 I want to encourage you on a daily basis
54:45 to go to your own Garden of Gethsemane
54:49 and pray: "Oh, Lord... " Luke 22:42... "not my will
54:55 but Your's be done. "
54:58 "Lead me and guide me by Your good Spirit, Father. "
55:01 And pray and say: "Lord, help me
55:05 to pick up my cross. " What does that mean?
55:09 You're willing to die to self.
55:11 "Help me, Lord, to pick up my cross. As You said
55:14 in Luke 9:23 and to die daily. "
55:20 You know, we cannot crucify ourselves... even when
55:24 we pick up the cross. Roman 8:13-14
55:27 says that if we live by the flesh we will die
55:31 but if by the power of the Holy Spirit
55:36 we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh
55:39 we will live. So that is something
55:42 that we must daily do is say: "Lord,
55:45 help me cooperate with Your Holy Spirit, Lord. "
55:50 "Help me to cooperate and be willing
55:54 to allow Him to put to death the misdeeds of my flesh. "
55:59 And then what we have to do
56:02 is after that we have to pray
56:06 as Jesus said in Luke 11:9
56:09 "Seek... Ask, and it will be given to you;
56:14 seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will
56:17 be opened unto you. " And in the Greek these are
56:20 linear verbs that mean to keep on asking,
56:23 keep on seeking, keep on knocking!
56:27 And then verse 13 explains what we're asking for.
56:32 He says: "If you being evil know how
56:34 to give good gifts to your children,
56:36 how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
56:40 to those who ask and keep on asking. "
56:44 So I want to encourage you
56:47 on a daily basis think about what Jesus did in the garden.
56:53 He... what caused His inner suffering,
56:57 what caused Him to cry with such anguish,
57:01 was the thought of separation from the Father.
57:04 Let's don't let sin be a barrier between us and God.
57:08 Let us follow Christ's example.
57:13 I hope that this is something you will go home
57:17 and consider over and over again
57:21 because the more you meditate on it
57:23 I promise you, the more God will change your heart.
57:28 And it is the greatest love story ever told!


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Revised 2019-12-18