The Cup of Gethsemane
When you’re faced with a serious situation such as a family member in the hospital, what do you want? You’ll want your family and friends to be with you and comfort you during such a stressful time! You’ll want to pray and you’ll want to get very close to God. Sweet hour of prayer.
We are coming up to the time of Easter, that is, Resurrection Sunday!
And solemnly we should ponder on the tough journey that Jesus had to take on the way to the cross!
Today we will talk about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He chose to go to this olive garden to step back and pray before the events that were soon to unfold. He was very distressed (stressed) and needed to make some hard serious prayers!
In one epistle it says that He even sweat drops of blood! Imagine what He must have been going through.
Keep in mind that all of this He went through, He was going through for us! He could have just said, “Nope”, peace out, and that would have been that, we would have had no hope, but our only hope, Jesus, went all the way to Calvary just for us!
It’s said that “Gethsemane” means “Olive Press” and the stress that we will see that He is having to go through, the name is very appropriate.
Matthew 26:31-56 The Garden of Gethsemane
31 Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33 But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.
Jesus was telling them their future, and they could not accept it. They thought it was preposterous that they would turn on Jesus!
You too probably think it’s preposterous that you would turn on Jesus!
But they did just as He said they would!
Every one of them were like, oh no Jesus, we got your back! We’re your best buds!
Wouldn’t you say the same thing?
What if you met someone who could foretell the future. What would you think about that person?
The Garden of Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
Only Jesus really understood what was about to happen.
During this stressful time, He wanted to be surrounded by His friends!
39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus was wrestling with this difficult decision. It was a situation that no one not even He wanted to go through. However, it was apparently the only way to save the world. He prayed and wanted to find any other way, but ultimately there was no other way.
This verse is one of the most stressful for Jesus in almost all of the Bible.
He came to this earth just for this purpose! To take our place and accept God’s wrath for our sins. He had to go to the cross.
Hebrews 9:22 No forgiveness without the shedding of blood
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
In Jeremiah it talks about “the cup” it was the cup of God’s wrath that the nations will drink. Scholars say the cup that Jesus was asking to pass was that same cup of wrath that we are due because our sins.
Jeremiah 25:15 The cup of God’s wrath
15 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.
Jesus knew that His purpose was to be born a perfect person, the only person ever who was not doomed to a devil’s hell. Yes all have sinned and hell is what we deserve.
But God loved the world so much that He sent a sacrifice for us if we will just put our trust in Him.
This wrath no one would want to go through, not even Jesus, but He loved all mankind so much, He was willing to drink the bitter cup and go the cross and take God’s wrath for our sakes.
What love is that, that He gave His life for us? Amazing Love!
40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went back and found his friends sleeping. It wasn’t even an hour later!
Imagine going through so much stress and then your friends are all lounging and sleeping.
Did they really have His back?
We’d like to think if it were us, we would have prayed so hard with Him! Do you believe that’s true?
You know it seems like He must have been going through a feeling of total abandonment from everyone around it. It was literally Him against the world, His friends didn’t have His back, and He even was having to face the turning away of God the Father Himself. He must have felt so alone at some point!
42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.”
You hear people say sometimes that there are many ways to heaven. This verse is in strong opposition to that. There was no other way for mankind to be saved except for Jesus to take this cup of God’s wrath.
Acts 4:12 No other name
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”
Some people even think they didn’t need Christ and they could save themselves by works.
Ephesians 2:8,9 Not of works
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Some think they could be saved by just following the law!
Galatians 2:21 If could by works then Christ died needlessly
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
So these verses make it very clear that only by Jesus saving work can we be saved and that all we can do is nothing but have faith in Him!
If He could have skipped the cup and we could be saved some other way, He certainly would have. But there is no other way but this! He was willing to die, so that we could live.
43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
Sadly, His friends let Him down again. They should have been praying with Him but instead were asleep. What a sad realization.
Sadly, it’s often a picture of us too. We wish to be super christians and in our hearts maybe even we fancy ourselves secretly as super christians, but instead we often in reality we find ourselves to be not so much. I hope you always will strive to be the best you can be and not be lukewarm christians.
Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.” 49 And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.
Like one of those pennies you can’t get rid of, here comes Judas back to betray Jesus.
How sad it must have been to see Judas’s complete going to the dark side.
51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
Peter struck the servant of the high priest - his name was Malcus - and cut off his ear!
Jesus stopped the fight and went willingly. He knew that He could call thousands of angels but instead He went willingly because of His love for you and me.
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me. 56 But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.
Just as He had foretold earlier, they all had scattered.
Imagine that even though He was very sorrowful, He has made peace with what He had to do. This is the Victory in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Imagine if someone handed you a cup full of poison. But not just any poison but one where you’d die a totally horrible, gruesome, ugly, long drawn out, painful death and that you had to drink it or else everyone you held dear would die. Would you do it. Possibly. For friends? Well, maybe? Now what if they said you had to drink it for a bunch of enemies? Would you do it? There’s not a lot of people who would dare to die. But that’s just what Jesus did.
Romans 5:7-11 While we were sinners
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
He took the bitter cup of God’s wrath that no one else could take because He loved us so much.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus wishes that none should perish, but you have to make a decision to accept His free gift of salvation. He will not force you to be saved, you have to choose it. How could you say no to this man that loves you so much?
