A Little Further

Matthew 26:39 KJV And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luke 22:41 KJV And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

I. INTRODUCTION—THE UPPER ROOM PRINCIPLES

-The two passages that we have read is activity that follows the Last Supper which took place in the Upper Room. If you were to read John 13-16 you would be able to hear the words of the Lord and to observe some of His actions there. I have referred to that particular passage of Scripture in the past as the Upper Room Principles.

• The understanding that death has an appointment with all—13:1

• The prevalence of evil to be among the good—13:2

• There is a will of God that we cannot escape—13:3

• You find there a principle of servanthood—13:4

• The blessing of the basin and the towel—13:5

• The hindrance of personal pride—13:8

• The cry for cleansing—13:9

• The need for brothers to serve each other—13:14

• The greatest example set by the Lord—13:15

• The gift of fellowship opens the door to betrayal—13:21

• The troubling presence of a devil among disciples (Tares/Wheat)—13:23-27

• The new commandment of love—13:34

• The hope of Heaven—14:1-4

• The true identity of Jesus, He is the Father—14:5-14

• The connection between love and obedience—14:15-21

• The promise of the Holy Ghost—14:26

• The Vine and the Branches—15:1-8

• The evidence of the greatest love is laying down your life for another—15:14-17

• The men the world will love to hate—15:18-19; 22-27

• The anointing of God does not exalt a servant but the Master—15:20-21

• There is no place that sin can hide—15:22

• Be careful not to allow the persecutions of life to offend and embitter you—16:1-4

• There are penalties that will come from associations with Jesus Christ—16:3-4

• The works of the Holy Ghost—16:7-16

• There is pain that takes place before the joy of birth—16:19-22

• The principle of prayer—16:23-28

• Before peace comes tribulation—16:29-33

-This is just a quick summary of the principles that Jesus gave to His disciples that last night before the Crucifixion.

-Despite the actions of Judas, prior all of the trouble that was to befall Jesus on that night, the disciples appeared to have been enjoying a time of closeness and camaraderie.

II. THE GARDEN SCENE

-After the Jesus and the remaining disciples had ate and sang a hymn they left the Upper Room to go to the Mount of Olives. He had spent every night of the Passover week there (Luke 21:37; 22:39).

-It was here that the Lord would spend a night of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane among the olive trees. He was moving in this direction for privacy and prayer to be ready for what was to come to Him.

-The place was just a short distance from the bridge that crossed the brook Kidron at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

A. The Disciples

-Jesus leaves eight of the disciples at the gate of the garden. This is grace in action. The Lord knew that these men, in their present state of faith and love were not able to handle the strain that was about to come to the Lord.

-We ought to thank God for His grace when He allows us to stay behind and not have to contend with some of the challenges of life that would be detrimental to us. Throughout the Bible there are similar situations when this took place.

• Abraham telling the servants to remain at the foothills of Moriah so that he and Isaac could go and worship. He was going to sacrifice but called it worship—Gen. 22:5

• Moses left Joshua before going into the mountain to receive the Law—Exo. 24:13

-There are times when we may feel as if we are being left alone but it is the grace of God in action that is shaping us into what God desires to bring out of our life.

-But just as there were the eight who were handled carefully by the grace of God, there were three—Peter, James, and John who had the same measure of grace. They weren’t any better than the other eight but God chose to pull them on with Him.

-They had experienced the Mount of Transfiguration with Him and now they were about to accompany Him to the place where they were needed the most.

-They were now about to watch a soul experience a storm.

George Dawson—Great characters and great souls are like mountains—they always attract storms; upon their heads break the thunders, and around their bare tops flash the lightning and the seeming wrath of God. Nevertheless they form a shelter for the plains beneath them. . . Higher than all men, around His head seemed to beat the very storms of sin; yet beneath the shelter of His great, consoling, sustaining spirit, what lowly people, what humble souls. . . have gained their life in this world and eternal rest in God.