Faithful Till The End (1989, Good Friday)

FAITHFUL TILL THE END (Good Friday, 1989).

Text: Matthew 26:39-42

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There is truly no spot more interesting---more intriguing to the Christian than the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ went to pray in His final hours before His crucifixion. This scripture is very educational in helping us to understand the internal struggle that Christ had within.

Have you ever heard the expression "It is easier said than done"? Of course you have at some time or another. We as Christians talk about having faith that we carry with us wherever we go. But, it is during the tough times when we have to walk on the faith that we have. It is easy to trust God when we do not feel threatened. But, it seems difficult to trust God when our physical, or emotional or spiritual well being is threatened because we are not the ones in control. And almost any major crisis that we face reminds us of that fact.

We usually have two choices in dealing with those tough times. We either contemplate the thoughts of taking action, or we take part in the action of relying on our faith in God. There is an old saying "When the going gets tough, the tough get going". But, is our "going" within the will of God? Or, is our "going" contrary to the will of God?

God‘s own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior followed the will of His Father. In doing so, He was making it possible for us to be set free from the slavery and power of sin. Now this was not an easy thing to do by any means. In order for that mission of that act of atonement to be completed, Christ had to endure crucifixion on the cross as the payment for the sins of humanity from that time up to this present time. We cannot even begin to comprehend the intensity of His suffering as He paid the price for our sins on the cross. In His last hours, Christ struggled with God's will, His own flesh and acquiesced to God’s will.

CHRIST STRUGGLING WITH GOD'S WILL

Jesus began his ministry at the age of thirty (Luke 3:23) . All of the time that preceded the beginning of His ministry was spent in preparation. At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness which made Him terribly hungry. At the end of that fort day period, Satan appeared in Jesus's presence and tried to persuade Him with three temptations. First, to satisfy His hunger by turning stones to bread. Secondly, Satan wanted Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of a temple, reminding Him that angels would not let any harm come to Him. And the third temptation was the biggest of all. Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world, if only He would fall down and worship him, and Jesus refused all three of these (Matthew 4:1-11). At first Jesus's ministry was easy because He was popular. But, as time went on, there was a strong and growing opposition to Him and His ministry.

Christ was born to die, which was His greatest purpose. He had foreknowledge of His fate in the prophesies that were being fulfilled throughout the course of His ministry. All along Jesus knew that the day was coming when He would die a sinner's death, even though He was without sin. Furthermore, Christ also reminded His disciples at the Last Supper of what His death would mean. In His own words breaking the bread, He said "This is my body given for you? do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19 NIV) . "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20 NIV).

JESUS'S STRUGGLE WITH HIS OWN FLESHED

Following the Last Supper, Christ faced His biggest struggle of all---the struggle with His own flesh. Christ was both fully human and fully divine. But, his humanity was in great tension with His divinity. three times Jesus prayed asking that this cup to be taken away (Matthew 26:39). But, Jesus also said, "nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). What Jesus was asking God to do was to let His will be achieved but by some other way. After His disciples failed to watch and pray with Him, Jesus said that His hour had come. By the word "hour" Jesus did not mean sixty minutes. What Jesus meant by "hour" which is hora in Greek, was that the definite point of time for His suffering had come (Vine's Expository Words On The New Testament, McLean: MacDonald Publishing Company, p. 575). Though Jesus wanted the cup of suffering to pass, it did not pass because there was no other way that God’s will could be fulfilled.