Gethsemane Series

Here is the bulletin insert I included with the sermon following it:

Gethsemane and The Cup of Wrath

It is interesting that Jesus went to the “Garden of Gethsemane” on the Mount of Olives. The garden still exists today, including a number of olive trees which may date back to the time of Jesus. “Gethsemane” comes to us from the Hebrew into the Greek and then the English. Originally, the name meant, “oil press,” and could have originally been an area designated for pressing olive oil.

In a sense, the two greatest “battles” of history were fought in gardens. In the Garden of Eden, Adam chose to disobey God, bringing sin to the human race. He did not resist temptation, but chose his will over the Father’s.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, chose the Father’s will over His own (human) will. Although the pain and spiritual misery of the cross awaited Jesus, it seems as though the internal battle was fought in the Garden. Just as Adam’s decision in Eden affected all who are related to Adam, so Christ’s decision in Gethsemane affects all who are related to Him by faith. Jesus, as both God and man, had a sinless human nature and a divine nature. He had a human will and a divine will that worked in harmony. In Gethsemane, we get the clearest picture of how He submitted His human will to the Father.

Since Jesus was to bear our sins on the cross, He had to experience the wrath of God the Father. The figure of “this cup” builds upon the foundation of Old Testament usage (and is also used later in Revelation). The Scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ experienced the wrath of God on our behalf while He suffered on the cross. Here are a few Old Testament verses that demonstrate the “cup” Jesus had to drink was the wrath of God:

Psalms 75:8, “In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.”

Isaiah 51:17, “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.”

Jeremiah 25:15-16, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.’"

Isaiah 53:6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:10-11, “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

****the sermon********

Gethsemane

(Matt. 26:42-50; Mark 14:50-51; Luke 22:40-46, 51-53; John 18:2-11)

1.How have your friends helped you through difficult times in your life?

(1) I can remember when our church went through difficult times a few fellas stopping by the office to see how I was doing…it meant a lot to me

(2) Indeed, it would take me a long time to list all the acts of kindnesses done for me over the years…

(3) when my mom died, it helped to see friends at the funeral home

(4) sometimes you want to be with those you love; sometimes you want to be alone; sometimes you want to be alone with the people you love (as here)

2. Jesus was going through the ultimate difficulty—ready to serve as the final sin offering for all mankind for all time….

(1) He wanted His friends to share this time with Him; He wanted to be near His Three Closest disciples, yet alone with the Father at the same time: “Watch and Pray”

(2) He could not impress upon them the nearness of the trauma awaiting them…they were fatigued because of emotional stress (read Luke 22:45)—another “hidden verse” of Scripture…

(3) Why were they so stressed? (going away/betray/ Jesus acting in ways they had not experienced)

3. This is the struggle of “the second garden.” Mt. Olives/Gethsemane

4. First AdamEden Second AdamGethsemane; battles for the human race won or lost in these gardens…