Gethsemane
Text: Luke 22:39-46
I. The Garden
v.39 "And he came out, and went, as He was wont, to the Mt. of Olives . . . .
v.40 "And when He was at the place . . . .
Q) Where is "the place" Luke is talking about here?
A) Matt. 26:36 & Mark 14:32 , tell us that "the place" is the Garden of Gethsemane.
Q) Why were Jesus and the disciples going to the Garden?
Hold your place in Luke, and turn to John 18:1,2
2 Reasons for going to the Garden:
1) Jesus needed to get away, to a private place, and seek the will of the Father.
2) The Garden is where Judas would look for him! (v.2)
2 Samuel 15:23-ff foreshadows this event of Jesus crossing the Brook Kidron and going to the Mt. of Olives.
In the Bible Exposition Commentary, by Warren Wiersbe, he writes:
"John may have had in mind King David's experience when he left Jerusalem and fled from his son Absalom. Both David and Jesus were throneless kings, accompanied by their closest friends and rejected by their own people. The name "Kidron" means "murky, dark," and "Gethsemane" means "oil press." Surely these names are significant."
In Matt. 26:38 Jesus says, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death . . . ."
v.37 says, He became "sorrowful, and very heavy . . . ."
On this dark and murky night, Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to an end. He had little time left to spend with his disciples. In a matter of hours, Judas would betray Jesus with a kiss, and hand him over to an angry mob. Under the stress, pressure, and temptations of this fateful hour, Jesus needed to get away and seek the Will of the Father.
WE ALL NEED A PLACE OF RETREAT TO GET ALONE WITH GOD.
When the pressures of the day seem too much to bear, we know we can always go to the Lord in prayer. That is just what Jesus did!
WE ALL NEED A GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE: PRIVATE & QUIET
II. The Inner Circle
Luke mentions the disciples as a whole but he doesn't go into more detail.
Matt 26:37 says, "And He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee . . . ."
Mark 14:33 says, "And He taketh with him Peter and James and John . . . ."
Jesus gave the disciples directions to sit and pray; He then took His "inner circle" further into the garden with him. This inner circle being Peter, James and John.
Jesus has a twofold purpose here:
1) SUPPORT Jesus wanted the support of these three friends in a time of anguish. We must note that Jesus did not need them for support, but He wanted them for support!
Prov. 18:2 says, ". . . there is a friend who sticks
closer than a brother.
In your time of need, how important is having a close friend around to support you? We all need friends, but more importantly, we must have close friends. Friends that can share burdens.
2) TEACHING/ DISCIPLING Jesus wanted this "inner circle" with Him, for their benefit. He wanted them to see how to deal with temptation!
READ: LUKE 22:41
"about a stone's cast"- John MacArthur says this means within earshot of the inner three.
Jesus wanted the disciples close enough to Him, so they could
witness his agony, and see Him come through this time of trial and temptation victoriously.
READ: V.45 Jesus found his disciples sleeping?!!!
Did they not know what was about to happen?
TURN & READ: MATT 26: 38-45
3 times Jesus returned to this inner circle of disciples and He found them sleeping every time!
Jesus told Peter, " the spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak."
Q) How many Christians today, like these three disciples, are sound asleep, spirtitually?
Turn back to Luke 22:40,
Jesus says, "Pray that ye enter not into temptation."
Christian, we need to heed the Lord's command here:
Pray that ye enter not into temptation!
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. . . .
Q) Are you spiritually asleep this morning;
Or, are you in the game?
Q) Are you satisfied sitting on the sidelines, or do you want in?
III. SUBMISSION TO THE FATHER'S WILL
READ: Luke 22:42 again
Q) What is "the cup" Jesus is referring to here?
Jeremiah 25:15 "For thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel unto me. Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it."
Rev. 14:10 "the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of His indignation.
Romans 6:23 begins, "for the wages of sin is death . . .
Jesus was about to receive this "cup of divine wrath"
to pay for the wages of our sin!
John MacArthur writes,
"Divine wrath is not an impulsive outburst of anger aimed capriciously at people God does not like. It is the settled, steady, merciless, graceless, and compasionless response of a righteous God against sin."
This was "the cup" Jesus Christ was to drink. Is it any wonder why He was going through such agony and sorrow?
In Matt 26:38, Jesus says, "my soul is exceedingly sorrowful,
even unto death."
THIS IS NOT A FIGURE OF SPEECH!
Jesus was literally near death!
Mark 14:35 says, " . . . and he fell on the ground and prayed ."
Jesus was physically weak, to the point of death!
READ: LUKE 22:43 & 44 again
Q) How could an angel (a created being), strengthen the Son of God?
A) The angel was not there to spiritually strengthen the Son of God; the angel was there to physically strengthen
Jesus!
*Remember: After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After 40 days and nights of fasting, the devil came to Jesus and tempted him three times.
From Matt. and Mark's account we know that Jesus prayed the same prayer three times:
"Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
Three times Jesus was tempted in the desert, and now, three times, Jesus was being tempted in the garden!
Can't you here Satan himself tempting the Lord not to give up His life on the Cross?
V.44 says, " his sweat was as it were great drops of blood."
Habakkuk 1:13 says, speaking of God the Father:
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. . . "
Jesus becoming sin for us, meant separation from the Father.
Jesus could see the following day when he would say,
"Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani"
which means
"My God, my god, why hast thou foresaken me?"
But,
Through all of the emotion, turmoil and temptation Jesus was dealing with, He was still willing to say,
"NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE!"
Stress, anguish, sorrow, distress, emotion, and physical weakness are not sins!
Heb 4:15 says, "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."
Jesus was tempted in every way, but he still submitted to the will of the Father. We as Christians must also be submissive to God's will when we seek Him in prayer!
Q) Have you seen the bumper sticker that says,
Prayer changes things?
Well I am here to tell you, that prayer doesn't change things!
Prayer changes the prayee!
C. S. Lewis said this:
"Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of men? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it."
James 4:3 begins, " When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives . . . "
V.15 says, " Instead, you ought to say, ‘if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
Being submissive to God's will is the key to effective prayer.
1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
We must be ready for battle!
Eph. 6:12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
The battle we are fighting is a spiritual battle.
And prayer is a mighty weapon.
#1 We all need a Gethsemane. A place of retreat, to get alone
with God to pray.
Mark 1:35 says, "very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
#2 We all need an "inner circle" of friends to support us.
Prov.27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
We need accountability partners!
#3 We must always submit to God's will!
James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Pray
