Text: Mark 14:32-42
Date: 3/9/08 a.m.
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
My father’s parents lived in a small farmhouse in a little community in Southern Illinois. One fo the things that I remember about their home, is a painting. It was an artists depiction of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane. Jesus is pictured kneeling in prayer, as the rays of the moon shine through the olive trees and illuminate Him. What a night that must have been for Jesus. This morning, I want us to spend a few minutes talking about that night, and the events that surrounded it.
Jesus and His disciples had just finished sharing the Passover meal together. However, the celebration quickly turned to confusion. As Jesus revealed that one of his own disciples would betray him. The disciples looked at one another suspiciously, and each ask Jesus? "Is it I?" When Judas was exposed, he got up from the table and ran out into the darkness, looking for the Chief Priests and the Romans, because he knew the time was near. Judas had been around Jesus long enough to know where He would go after He finished eating the Passover meal with the other disciples. He knew that it was just a matter of time before Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsamane to pray.
And of course we know Judas was right. After Jesus and his disciples finished their meal, Jesus made a New Covenant with His disciples and instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper. Then they sang the traditional Jewish hymn and made their way toward the Mount of Olives.
At the foot of the Mount of Olives was a garden named Gethsemane.
Gethsemane is a Hebrew word that means "Olive press." Biblical Scholars believe that at some time in the past an olive press had actually been located in the garden. Olive presses were used to crush the olives and squeeze the oil out of them. Some people have speculated that Gethsemane may have been owned by one of Jesus’ wealthy friends. We don’t know that for sure, but we do know that Jesus often used the garden as a sort of prayer retreat. It was a place that allowed Jesus to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. A place He could go to get away from the crowds of people who always seemed to be following him. It was a Sanctuary, A place where He could go and be alone with His Heavenly Father.
You know we all need a place like Gethsamane, place where we can get away from the Television, and the Telephone. A place to get away from everyone, including our spouse, and children. A place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, and spend some quality time alone with our Heavenly Father.
illustration: Eric Liddell, was an Olympic Champion, and the hero of the movie "Chariots of fire." But, He was also a dedicated Christian who knew how important it was to find a place to spend some time alone with God in prayer. During World War II, Lidell was captured and spent some time as a prisoner of war in China. Every morning about 6:00 a.m. Lidell would get out of bed, and with the curtains drawn in his prison cell, he would light a lamp and sit down at a small Chinese table and spend some time reading God’s Word and praying.
We all need to find a Gethsamane. It might be a prayer closet, or a specific room in your house. It might be on the floor next to your bed, or in a shed out behind your house. It might be in the woods, or in your flower garden. It really doesn’t matter where it is, as long as you use it on a regular basis. Jesus knew how important prayer was. I’m sure that He spent a lot of time on his knees underneath the olive tree’s in the Garden of Gethsamane.
As I shared with you earlier, Gethsamane was a place where olives had been crushed and pressed. Isn’t it kind of ironic that it is here in Gethsamane that Jesus felt the crushing weight of His impending death on the cross. That here in Gethsamane the sins of the whole world seemed to be pressing in on him from all sides.
I’m sure one of the reasons Jesus liked to go to Gethsamane was because it was quiet. On most occasions, I’m sure it was very peaceful and relaxing for Him to sit under those Olive tree’s and communicate with His Heavenly Father. But this night was different. It wasn’t peaceful, it wasn’t relaxing, and it really wasn’t all that quiet. There were some troubling sounds that Jesus may have heard while he was praying.
No doubt one of the things Jesus heard that night was the persistent snoring of his disciples, who had fallen asleep. Another troubling sound that Jesus heard that night, was the distant murmurings of a bloodthirsty mob that was coming to arrest Him. One of the other sounds that could be heard that night in the Garden of Gethsamane was the heart-wrenching cries of a Man wrestling with the Will of God?
Before leaving Peter, James, and John, the first time, Jesus told them that His "soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." Then he ask them to stay where they were and keep watch, while He went a little farther into the Garden to pray. Peter, James and John were part of the inner circle. Jesus was closer to them than He was to any of the other disciples. They had been with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter had been the first of the disciples to realize that Jesus was the Son of God. And later, before Jesus died on the cross, he looked at the Apostle John and told him to take care of His mother Mary.
You know we all need people we can count on. We all need someone that we know we can depend on when the going gets tough.
illustration: A couple of years ago we received a call one night from Karen McDonald a friend of ours who lives in Stafford, Virginia. She told us that the father of one of the young people that we worked with there at Mt. Arrarat Baptist Church, had been killed in an automobile accident. His name was Jack Tuckwiller, and he had a wife and three children. While living in Virginia, Mary Anne and I developed a close relationship with his daughter Gina, who was a member of our youth group. When she found out her father had died, she made a special request that we be contacted. She knew that she could count on us to pray for her during the most difficult time of her life. We called the night we found out and were able to talk with Gina and her mother. We assured her that we loved her and were praying for her, and her family.
We all need friends we can count on, but sometimes even our closest friends will let us down. That’s what happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane.
Jesus needed somebody to pray with him, and for him during the most difficult time of his life. He asked the disciples to pray for him, but instead they went to sleep. But before we get hard on them, I wonder if they really understood the situation? I don’t think they realized what was about to take place. Sure they had heard Jesus tell them about being arrested, and suffering at the hands of the Chief Priests, but they didn’t really expect it to happen. And of course there was no way that any of them could have felt the weight of the sins of the world, that were closing in on Jesus that night.
Verse 33 tells us that Jesus was "deeply distressed and troubled." Listen to what Jesus said to His Father. He said, "You can do anything and everything. There isn’t anything that you can’t do." Then Jesus was brutally honest with God, He said, "Take this cup from me." Which was His way of saying, "I don’t want to do this." "I don’t want to suffer." "I don’t want to die." "I don’t want to be separated from you." "Isn’t there some other way."
This wasn’t a prayer that Jesus prayed every day. He wasn’t just repeating meaningless words. Instead this was a prayer that came straight from His heart. And it was a prayer that Jesus prayed over and over that night, as He wrestled with the Will of God for His life.
Can you picture Jesus underneath those Olive Tree’s. He wasn’t sitting in a comfortable recliner, or mumbling a few shallow words before falling asleep. Verse 35 says that Jesus "Fell to the ground and prayed."
Some people picture Jesus calmly kneeling down on his knee’s, bowing His head reverently, and quietly praying, "Father, take this cup away from me." But that’s not the picture I see. I see Jesus throwing himself on the ground, and I see Jesus pounding his fists into the dirt, as he cries out, "Father" isn’t there any other way."
Our text tells us that this happened at least three times. But something happened during that the third extended period of prayer. The first two times Jesus came back and found the disciples asleep, He rebuked them. But after spending time alone with the Father for the 3rd time that night, a noticeable change had taken place. Before he had been troubled and distressed. Now He seemed calm and collected. Why? What had happened to him, that could have made such a dramatic change in His disposition. Well, Jesus had spent several hours communicating with The Father, and even though He knew what the next couple of days would entail, He was ready. There underneath the Olive Tree’s God had given Him the Strength and courage to submit to The Father’s Will, and face the cross of Calvary.
Now, What does all of this mean for us?
I. Well, I think it helps us understand the enormous amount of love that Jesus has for us, in that He willingly sacrificed himself on the cross of Calvary.
illustrations: On May 21, 1946, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a young scientist was carrying out an experiment in preparation for the testing of the Atomic Bomb, which later took place in the waters of the South Pacific. It was a very important experiment, and one that he had successfully conducted numerous times. In an attempt to determine the amount of U-235 that was necessary to produce a chain reaction, he would push two hemispheres of Uranium together. Then, just as the mass became critical, he would push the two hemispheres apart with his screwdriver, which would instantly stop the chain reaction.
But that day, just as the material became critical, the screwdriver slipped out of his hand. The hemispheres of uranium came too close together. And instantly the room was filled with a dazzling bluish haze. But instead of trying to save himself, Young Louis Slotin, tore the two hemispheres apart with his bare hands and stopped the chain reaction.
By His selfless act of bravery, he managed to save the lives of the seven other people in the room. As they waited for the car that would take them to the hospital, Louis quietly told one of his coworkers, "You’ll come through this all right. But I haven’t got a chance....". Louis was right, only Nine days later he died an agonizing death.
2000 years ago, the Son of the Living God surrendered himself to the chief priests and Roman officials, and without saying a word in His own defense, He humbly walked up Mount Calvary and allowed the sins of the world to be thrust upon His shoulders. In the ultimate act of bravery and sacrifice, He gave His life on Calvary’s cross which immediately broke the chain reaction, and instantly destroyed the power of sin. That’s how much He loves us.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."
II. I think we can also learn how to face the difficulties that come our way in life.
Jesus didn’t run away from His difficulties. When He told His disciples that they were going back to Jerusalem, and that He was going to suffer at the hands of the chief priests, they probably tried to talk him out of going. Most people would have gone in the other direction. But Jesus wasn’t just anybody, He was the Son of the Living God. He rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, knowing all along, what the outcome would be.
He didn’t run away, and He didn’t pretend that his difficulties would go away. Sometimes we are guilty of doing that. I have an aunt who put up with a terrible amount of pain in her hip for about 2 months, thinking all along that the pain would eventually go away. Of course it didn’t, because she had 2 vertebrae in her back that were pinched and causing the pain.
Jesus didn’t run away from trouble, and he didn’t pretend it would go away. Instead, He prayed. He was open and honest with God about his feelings. He didn’t question His Father’s love, for Him. And eventually, God gave him the strength and courage to face the difficult days which lay ahead of him.
So when we face difficulties in our lives, we shouldn’t try to run away from them, or pretend they don’t exist. We should take them to the Lord in prayer.
Joseph Scriven knew this, and He wrote the words to this beautiful hymn:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere
We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness, Take it to the Lord in Prayer.
III. Finally, I believe we can learn A few lessons about God’s will
1. Submitting to God’s Will is not always easy, in fact it usually isn’t.
Jesus agonized over this for several hours. He knew God’s Will is always Best, but it was still a difficult decision for him to make.
2. But we can be assured that if we do submit to God’s will, then He will give us the strength and power that we need to accomplish the task at hand.
That night in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus humbly submitted His life to the Will of God. He said, "Yet not what I will, but what you will." When He did that, God gave Him enough strength and courage to face His enemies and the cross of Calvary.
Conclusion: Perhaps you are facing a serious crisis in your life this morning? Are you trying to run away from it? Are you pretending it will go away, or have you taken it to God in prayer?
Or perhaps you are wrestling with God’s will? You know God wants you to do something, you just haven’t agreed to do it yet? Letting God have His way in our lives is never easy. But His Will is Always Best, and what He asks of us, comes from His Great love for us, and His knowledge of what I call "the Big picture."
Or perhaps you have some things pressing in on you this morning? Demands, Expectations? Doubts? Feelings of failure? Loneliness? Damaged relationships?
Are you feeling distressed and troubled? Are you overwhelmed with sorrow? Jesus knows how you feel.
illustration: During the 4 years that I served as the Associate Pastor of High Point Baptist Church in Mayfield, our music director’s favorite Invitation Hymn was "No not one."
It goes like this, "Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done; There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, No, not one! No, not one."
Jesus cares for us, why don’t you turn your life completely over to him this morning and say, "Lord, Not my will, but your will be done."
