Here is the bulletin insert I included with the sermon following it:
Gethsemane and The Cup of Wrath
It is interesting that Jesus went to the “Garden of Gethsemane” on the Mount of Olives. The garden still exists today, including a number of olive trees which may date back to the time of Jesus. “Gethsemane” comes to us from the Hebrew into the Greek and then the English. Originally, the name meant, “oil press,” and could have originally been an area designated for pressing olive oil.
In a sense, the two greatest “battles” of history were fought in gardens. In the Garden of Eden, Adam chose to disobey God, bringing sin to the human race. He did not resist temptation, but chose his will over the Father’s.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, chose the Father’s will over His own (human) will. Although the pain and spiritual misery of the cross awaited Jesus, it seems as though the internal battle was fought in the Garden. Just as Adam’s decision in Eden affected all who are related to Adam, so Christ’s decision in Gethsemane affects all who are related to Him by faith. Jesus, as both God and man, had a sinless human nature and a divine nature. He had a human will and a divine will that worked in harmony. In Gethsemane, we get the clearest picture of how He submitted His human will to the Father.
Since Jesus was to bear our sins on the cross, He had to experience the wrath of God the Father. The figure of “this cup” builds upon the foundation of Old Testament usage (and is also used later in Revelation). The Scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ experienced the wrath of God on our behalf while He suffered on the cross. Here are a few Old Testament verses that demonstrate the “cup” Jesus had to drink was the wrath of God:
Psalms 75:8, “In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.”
Isaiah 51:17, “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.”
Jeremiah 25:15-16, “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. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.’"
Isaiah 53:6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:10-11, “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”
****the sermon********
Gethsemane
(Matt. 26:42-50; Mark 14:50-51; Luke 22:40-46, 51-53; John 18:2-11)
1.How have your friends helped you through difficult times in your life?
(1) I can remember when our church went through difficult times a few fellas stopping by the office to see how I was doing…it meant a lot to me
(2) Indeed, it would take me a long time to list all the acts of kindnesses done for me over the years…
(3) when my mom died, it helped to see friends at the funeral home
(4) sometimes you want to be with those you love; sometimes you want to be alone; sometimes you want to be alone with the people you love (as here)
2. Jesus was going through the ultimate difficulty—ready to serve as the final sin offering for all mankind for all time….
(1) He wanted His friends to share this time with Him; He wanted to be near His Three Closest disciples, yet alone with the Father at the same time: “Watch and Pray”
(2) He could not impress upon them the nearness of the trauma awaiting them…they were fatigued because of emotional stress (read Luke 22:45)—another “hidden verse” of Scripture…
(3) Why were they so stressed? (going away/betray/ Jesus acting in ways they had not experienced)
3. This is the struggle of “the second garden.” Mt. Olives/Gethsemane
4. First AdamEden Second AdamGethsemane; battles for the human race won or lost in these gardens…
Main Idea: We Need To Fight Some Battles on Our Knees and Then Translate Them Into Behavior
I. The Battle in Gethsemane
1. Jesus finds a place to pray and tells the disciples to sit down (look at stained glass)
2. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”---Jesus had always been a giver, now the disciples need to give support to Him…very different…..He is asking for their help….STAY HERE AND KEEP WATCH WITH ME
3. Jesus falls on His face and prays, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will…
(1) The cup = cup of God’s wrath that Jesus had to drink for us
(2) It was the Father’s will that Jesus suffer for us
(3) Isaiah 53:6, 10
(4) Praying for GOD’s WILL is not a cop-out
(5) Here you see the human nature of Christ submitting…
4. God sends strength to Jesus
(1) an angel comes to strengthen Him (Lk. 22:43); like at temptation
(2) then He sweat drops of blood….
(3) The issue was not just the physical suffering, but the spiritual
(4) Isaiah 53:11---His soul
(5) “My God, my God…..”
5. All this stress made the disciples more weary, “Simon could you not…”Watch and pray that…”
6. Jesus prayed the same prayer again and again they were asleep; then a third time. “Enough; the Son of man is betrayed…..”
Application:
1. How do you think God wants you to respond to overwhelming experiences in your life?
2. What role could prayer play in times of trial?
3. In what areas do you need to say to God, "Not my will, but yours be done"?
Main Idea: We Need To Fight Some Battles on Our Knees and Then Translate Them Into Behavior
II. Jesus Arrest and Follow Through
1. Why makes someone betray a cause he had once embraced?
2. Judas knew about the place where Jesus and His disciples had gone because they frequently went there for prayer (18:2)
3. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss as the crowd of Temple guards and others carried torches and clubs….
(1) Why did Jesus have to be identified this way?
4. Jesus shows concern for protecting His disciples: Who do you want?
(1) Jesus of Nazareth
(2) I AM—drew back (I AM = Yahweh; "he" added by translaters)
6. “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”
(1) Did you ever ask the question, “Why did the disciples have swords?”
(2) They knew something was up…but what?
7. Simon Peter did not wait for an answer
(1) Strike the high priest’s servant ear….Jesus heals
(2) Put your sword back…I could call 12 legions (72,000) angels
(3) Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? Follow thru
---decision already made in Gethsemane….
(4) Because the fight had been won in Gethsemane, the temptation to call the whole thing off was now lessened…
healed the servant’s ear
(5) Why did you come at night with clubs? Any day….
(6) Young man with nothing on but a sheet….disciples fled…
Application: The disciples were willing to practice FIGHT OR FLIGHT; sometimes it is God’s will for us to do neither….that’s tough. To keep sitting in the hot seat without running away or destroying the seat takes a chunk out of our innermost being… Jesus had to go through with the beatings and the mockery and the crucifixion so that You and I could be free from the wrath of God…It was not accident or chance event….
Main Idea: We Need To Fight Some Battles on Our Knees and Then Translate Them Into Behavior
CONCLUSION
1. What about you? Have you appreciated what Jesus did for you? How should one respond….have you? Or are you like a spoiled, bratty kid who takes the sacrifices of others lightly?
2. You will never be called upon to bear the sin of the World…but you will be called upon to suffer for Jesus Christ and to make some tough decisions…will you struggle in prayer? Will you submit to God’s will, or will you rationalize a compromise of God’s plan?
3. Do you accept the reality that God’s will for you is not all roses? Sometimes God wants you to be in the hot seat---and to stay there. Is this the God you worship, or have you created a false god according to your preferences?
4. If the cross or Gethsemane was where matters end, that would be tragic indeed. But Easter Sunday came after Good Friday. So the Bible promises us great reward if we endure for Jesus Christ. Let’s not forget! After the Tribulation comes the Millennium!
