The Messiah and Facing Crisis
Text: Matt. 26:36-46
Introduction
1. Illustration: This week I officially started my new business as an Aflac insurance agent. One of the most important things that Aflac programs do is to assist people when they are going through a crisis situation like an accident or a serious illness. This is important for two reasons: 1) we will all face a crisis of some kind in our lives, and 2) we have no idea when they will happen!
2. The question is not, "Will I ever face a crisis in my life," but rather, "what will I do when it happens?"
3. Having financial insurance during a crisis is very important, however, having spiritual insurance during a crisis situation is even more important. We all have spiritual insurance in time of crisis, and it is called prayer!
4. There are three kinds of prayer that help us in a crisis situation...
a. United Prayer
b. Obedient Prayer
c. Whole-Hearted Prayer
1. Let's all stand as we read together Matt. 26:36-46.
Proposition: God is our ever-present help in time of need, and prayer is His hot line.
Transition: The first type of prayer we need in times of crisis is...
I. United Prayer (36-38).
A. Keep Watch With Me
1. Jesus and his disciples have now left the room where they had celebrated the Passover meal, and head towards a familiar place.
2. Matthew tells us that "Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane...”
a. On their way out of Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples stop at a place called Gethsemane, which John calls a "garden."
b. This word comes from the Hebrew/Aramaic gat šemanim, which most likely means "oil-press."
c. Putting the accounts together suggests that Gethsemane was a garden area among the olive tree groves on the Mount of Olives that had a place for the preparation of olive oil. Jesus and his disciples often frequented the place (Wilkins).
3. Once there, Jesus says to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed."
a. On the way it was good to stop at this lovely garden with its ancient olive trees.
b. While the disciples were bragging on themselves, Jesus felt the incredible pressure of bringing salvation to the whole world.
c. So, as he always did when he needed strength, he slipped away by himself to pray. It is interesting that Jesus indicated to them that it was his expressed purpose to go and pray (Horton, 585).
d. Some scholars suggest that the disciples go to the cultivated garden area to sleep in the cave that they frequented on other occasions.
e. Once at Gethsemane, Jesus directs the larger group of disciples to stay in the cave, but he asks the inner group of three disciples to stay awake with him while he prays.
f. Jesus took his three closest disciples with him to pray. They had been witnesses of his greatest glories, now they would experience his greatest agony.
g. The word that is used here is a very powerful one in the Greek language, and it implies great mental stress and anguish, even fear.
h. The understanding of what was about to take place hit Jesus like a ton of bricks. We cannot even begin to understand what Jesus was experiencing that night.
i. He was not only experiencing the fear of death, but also the weight of humanity's sin. It was almost more than Jesus' human body could take (Horton, 585).
4. Matthew then tells us, "He told them, 'My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'”
a. Jesus wants them to share with him this overwhelming time of sorrow and trouble as he faces the cross: "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
b. Jesus goes away from the trio of disciples to be alone, because he must plead with his Father privately, although having his closest followers near provides necessary human support.
c. In times of crisis we not only need the power of prayer, but we also need to support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters.
B. Prayers of the Saints
1. Illustration: "Can the humble request of believing lips restrain, accelerate, change the settled order of events? Can prayer make things that are not to be as though they were? Yes, a thousand times yes Intercession is the mother tongue of the whole family of Christ."
2. In times of crisis we need the prayer support of our Church family.
a. James 5:16 (NLT)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
b. All too often we feel like we are alone on an island in times of crisis, but most of the time it is of our own doing.
c. Instead of reaching out to our Christian family we would rather deal with it ourselves.
d. But the Bible tells us to pray for one another in times of need, and it also says to be prayed for in time of need.
e. There is great power when we pray with and for one another, and we forfeit that power when we don't ask for prayer.
f. You have not because you ask not.
3. In times of crisis we need to be willing to stand with one another in prayer.
a. Galatians 6:2 (NLT)
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
b. We all have at least two ministries: 1) the ministry of prayer, and 2) the ministry of encouragement.
c. We need to pray for one another in times of crisis.
d. We need to encourage one another in times of crisis.
e. We are not in this alone.
f. We are not a hodge-podge of individuals; we are a family.
g. We are God's family; and God's family is praying family!
Transition: The second kind of prayer we need in times of crisis is...
II. Obedient Prayer (39-43).
A. Your Will Be Done
1. Now Jesus separates Himself from His friends to be alone with the Father.
2. Matthew tells us, "He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, 'My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.'”
a. There alone, "he fell with his face to the ground and prayed."
b. To bow with ones face to the ground is a position of great humbleness and submission.
c. In this posture of abject humility, Jesus lays his life before his Father in utter honesty and trust.
d. Matthew reveals one of the most profound insights into the intimacy between Father and Son.
e. With harmless urgency and trustfulness, Jesus lays his life in his Father's safe-keeping as he calls out with tender intimacy, "My Father."
f. This continues Matthew's unique insight into the special relationship of Son and Father in this Gospel.
3. Jesus is facing a real temptation, the most severe of his life. He started his earthly ministry by being tempted by the devil in the desert, and he was also tempted by satanic devices at other points in his ministry.
a. The significant feature of the earlier temptations was the satanic attempt to deter Jesus from the cross. Now, at the moment when he is ready to accomplish his life's mission, the temptation is intensified to the max.
b. This is the devil's last-ditch effort to attempt to convince Jesus that the cross is unnecessary.
c. Jesus lays the temptation out to his Father, but he does not ask to shirk his destiny. He wants only to obey his Father's will (Wilkins).
d. To bow with ones face to the ground is a position of great humbleness and submission.
e. "Cup" is a figurative expression used in the OT to indicate judgment and suffering at the hand of God.
f. Asking for the cup to pass from him was not a wavering in doing the Father's will, but rather a last ditch effort indicating "if there is any other way to accomplish this."
g. Sometimes in Scripture you will find that some times the shortest words carry the most weight and significance.
h. That is the case with the word "Yet," as even though Jesus didn't relish the task before him, the Father's will was always the determining factor (Horton, 587).
4. Now Matthew shows us that even heroes in the Bible are human, and furthermore, shows contrast between obedience and disobedience. He says that when Jesus, "returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, 'Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?"
a. After intensely wrestling in prayer, Jesus returns to find the trio of disciples sleeping.
b. He addresses Peter as the leader of the disciples. Peter must continue to be receptive to the leading of God if he is to become stronger personally as well as be a future leader in the church.
c. Matthew does not mince words in his appreciation for Peter's leadership role or in his recounting of Peter's failure to provide proper leadership.
d. However, here is something important not to miss, though addressed to Peter, Jesus also rebukes the trio (the verbs in vv. 41-42 are plural so he is not just criticizing Peter) for not watching with him while he prayed.
5. Jesus goes on to admonish them, "Keep watch and pray so that you will not give into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
a. Jesus called them to watch with him so that they could support his prayer to the Father.
b. They have failed that charge, but he calls them to continue; yet now they must also pray about their own temptation.
c. In the immediate context, the temptation is to succumb to physical sleep at this late hour when they are being asked to watch with Jesus.
d. It points to the temptation to fail in their responsibility to support Jesus in his great hour of need.
e. It may point even more deeply to the temptation that they themselves will face as Jesus is led away to the cross - a temptation to deny Jesus, as he has predicted (Wilkins).
6. Watching and praying are now mentioned together. In a very real sense they are one and the same.
a. It doesn't simply mean stay awake, but carries with it the meaning of being watchful.
b. Watch and pray is a single concept; to watch is to pray, and he who prays is watchful.
c. They must watch and pray that they will not fall away when temptation comes, and the answer that Jesus gives to combat temptation is prayer (Horton, 587).
7. After this, "Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”
a. Jesus goes away to pray a second and third time, he prays the same thing.
b. It is very likely that the repeated prayers are due to repeated attacks from the devil.
c. They represent the intensity of the struggle and Jesus determination to overcome them.
d. Half-hearten prayers will never win the battle. Jesus prayed with all of his heart and soul. He prayed so hard that blood started coming out of his pores (Horton, 589).
e. However, in the second prayer there is a slight but significant variation.
f. Now there is the conscious recognition that it is not possible for the cup to be taken away and that Jesus must drink its wrathful onslaught.
g. He consciously submits to that destiny in the words, "May your will be done."
h. This is probably what the writer of Hebrews understood when he wrote that Jesus "learned obedience from what he suffered" Heb. 5:8).
8. Once again Matthew shows the contrast between Jesus' obedience and the disciples' disobedience. He says, "When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open."
a. They have not learned the discipline of spirit over flesh.
b. They have not learned just how tenacious the devil can be.
c. He is never going to quit, and so neither can we.
d. We must continue to press through, even when we are so tired and weary all we want to do is sleep.
B. I am Willing
1. Illustration: "Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late - and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience." (Tozer, A.W.)
2. Prayer can never be a substitute for obedience.
a. Joshua 1:8 (NLT)
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
b. All to often we pray and ask God to bless us, but we don't want to do what God has already told us to do in order to receive His blessings.
c. I hear people claiming to be followers of Jesus say, "Oh I don't need to come to church Pastor because I can pray and read my Bible at home!"
d. There words condemn them because if they were really reading their Bible and praying at home they would know that the Word of God says, "do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together."
e. You cannot complain that God hasn't healed you when you have not come and asked the elders of the church to anoint you with oil and pray for you.
f. You cannot continually disobey God and expect Him to bail you out of trouble when your life falls apart.
g. You have got to do some of the do's!
3. God wants our love, effort, and sacrifice, but He demands our obedience!
a. 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NLT)
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
b. God loves it when you pray, but He gets angry when we don't do what He speaks to our hearts in prayer.
c. God loves it when we read and study His Word, but He is greatly disappointed when we don't do what it says.
d. God loves it when we serve Him and sacrifice for Him, but He would rather we obey Him.
e. To disobey God's commands is the same as worshiping the golden calf, and our God is a jealous God that will not tolerate idol worship.
4. But...our God is a forgiving God that always gives us a second chance.
a. Isaiah 1:18-19 (NLT)
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. 19 If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.
b. That great thing about God is that He gets angry but doesn't stay angry.
c. He always gives us a second chance.
d. He always gives us the opportunity to repent.
e. He always says "come to me, and I will give you rest."
Transition: The third kind of prayer is...
III. Whole-Hearted Prayer (44-46).
A. Went to Pray a Third Time
1. Jesus had always taught about persistency in prayer. Now he lives it out.
2. Matthew tells us Jesus, "went to pray a third time, saying the same things again."
a. Jesus now prays for the third time.
b. As Elijah before and Paul after him, Jesus had to pray three times saying the same things.
c. It is not necessary to use flowery words or pre-formulated prayers, but only to pray earnestly from the heart.
3. After He finished praying, "he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
a. After the third time of intense prayer, Jesus returns to the trio to find them still sleeping.
b. He admonishes them for dozing when they could have supported him, and they will also find themselves asleep spiritually when the time for alertness finds them denying their Master.
c. But it is too late to get ready now. Jesus' instructions to the disciples earlier that day were driven by the recognition that his "appointed time is near" (26:18), and now the "the time has come."
d. The divine clock ticks inescapably on; the time for Jesus to accomplish his mission of salvation through the cross has arrived (Wilkins).
4. Finally, Jesus says, "Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
a. Jesus knew that His time had come, and His journey to the cross was coming to a close.
b. He knew in His spirit that Judas was coming with an armed guard to arrest Him and have Him killed.
c. However, what did He mean by, "Let's get going?" Was he saying, "let's make a run for it?"
d. No, in fact, He meant the exact opposite.
e. He was going to meet those who were coming after Him.
f. Just as the word was fulfilled that the Son of Man would be betrayed, so it is also true that He delivered Himself into their hands.
g. He had prayed, and now it was time to act.
B. With All Your Heart
1. Illustration: When I lived in Yellville, AR, there was a little old lady that I used to go and visit. By this time she was well into her 90's (I think she was 97 at this time). Her poor health prevented her from coming to church, but she could still pray, and oh my goodness she could pray! We would begin to pray and every muscle, every bone, and every ounce of energy in her body would begin to shake. Tears would stream down her face and her voice would quiver. But every time she would pray with me the glory of heaven would come down into her living room!
2. God responds to prayers of desperation.
a. There is a story in the OT about a lady name Hannah. She was childless, and she came to the Tabernacle to pray and poured out her heart before God.
b. So much so that her mouth was moving but no words were coming out. Eli, the priest thought she was drunk, but she said to him...
c. 1 Samuel 1:15-16 (NLT)
“Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
d. She had no where else to go and no one else to turn to, but she poured out her heart to God in her desperation.
e. God heard her prayer, and gave her a son named Samuel. Two books in the OT bear his name.
3. God responds to prayers of earnestness.
a. Ezra 8:23 (NLT)
So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
b. No, these are not prayers that start out "Vern, Vern, Vern, Vern, Vern!"
c. The word translated earnestly in this verse means "to beg."
d. When we beg for someone to help us we do it in a manner that is incredibly emotional and intense.
e. We don't just go up to someone and say, "Hey, I have a favor to ask of you." That's not begging.
f. Begging sounds more like, "Oh please help me!"
4. God responds to prayers of expectation.
a. James 1:6-7 (NLT)
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
b. God wants us to believe that He can deliver.
c. God wants us to know that He can deliver.
d. God wants us to pray with such expectancy that it is as if it has already happened.
e. God wants us when we pray to have expectant faith!
Transition: What are you believing God for today?
Conclusion
1. There are three kinds of prayer that help us in a crisis situation...
a. United Prayer
b. Obedient Prayer
c. Heart-Felt Prayer
2. Are you coming together with other believers and asking them to pray with you?
3. Are you putting yourself in position to have your prayers answered by obeying God?
4. Are you pouring out your heart before God?
5. If you want an answer to your crisis God's hotline is always open.
