A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 62
When Trouble Comes
Luke 22:39-46
After finishing the Passover meal, Jesus left the upper room and led his disciples to the Mount of Olives where they had been spending the last few nights. As Jesus entered the garden it was the end of a long and difficult day, at the end of a long and difficult week. Probably most of us can identify with that description.
Luke in his usual abbreviated fashion describes for us what occurs on the Mount of Olives. He makes no mention of the eight disciples who were left at the garden gate (Matt 26:36), nor of the three (John, James and Peter) who accompanied Jesus into the grove (Matt 26:37). Nor does he mention that three separate times during the evening that Jesus comes and find his disciples sleeping. On the other hand Luke alone tells us of the sweat that drops like blood from Jesus as he prayed and he alone tells us that Jesus told this disciples to pray so that they would not enter into temptation. It is also true that Luke more than any of the other accounts rivets our attention to the soul-piercing anguish that Jesus experienced in the garden.
We find the story in Luke 22, beginning in verse thirty-nine, “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. (40) When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’(41) And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw and He knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done.’ (43) Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. (44) And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) When He rose up in prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. (46) Then He said to them, ‘Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
There are lessons here about dealing with times of great trouble if we wish to see them. For we can see in this passage an example of what believer’s should do in times of trouble.
I think that first we need to get a feel for the circumstances that Jesus was in. Mark in his parallel report (14:33) states that it was at this time that Jesus “began to be troubled and deeply distressed.” Jesus’ statement to his disciples recorded in Matthew (26:38) helps us to see just how serious this situation was when he said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” When Jesus said his “soul was sorrowful even unto death,” this is not merely an overstatement for effect. Jesus was literally near death. Did you know that a person can actually die from grief and sorrow?
Jesus is in deep agony. What is the cause of this agony? How can we account for the deep agony that the Lord underwent in the garden? What reason can we give for the intense suffering, both mental and physical, which he endured? There is only one satisfactory answer. The cause of his agony was our sin. The depth of his agony should give us some idea of our debt to Christ.
Jesus was facing a fear that not only made Him sweat but his sweat actually turned to blood. In verse forty-four we read, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” They call this condition Hematridrosis.
This is a rare physical phenomenon in which under great emotional stress, the tiny blood vessels rupture in the sweat glands and produce a mixture of blood and sweat. [Warren Wiersbe. Be Courageous. (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1989). p. 119]
Now having seen how severe the trial that faced Jesus I want us to see how he handled those pressures.
First, When Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus He – Didn’t Shut Others Out.
When life get really tough we as humans often resort to isolating ourselves, cutting ourselves off from all human contact. But that is not what we see in the example of Jesus. Jesus didn’t go it alone, and if Jesus needed others around how much more is that true of you and I. Jesus knew what he was up against and he took the three people who were closest to him to pray. When the going gets tough it may be time to get others to help us. There is power in partnership. They hold us up in battle. The hold us up when we are weak. So when things get tough, don’t shut everyone out. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote in Eccles. 4:12, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
So when Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus – He Didn’t Shut Others Out. But also realize
Secondly, When Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus – He Didn’t Shut His Feelings Up.
Remember that when Jesus said in Matthew (26:38), “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” that this was something he said to his disciples. Jesus was honest about what He was struggling with. Jesus knew what he was facing and made the decision to share it with those who were closest to Him.
We have to take the risk of asking someone to share our sorrow and pain. We need to identify someone or a small group of people, that we can invite into our garden of Gethsemane, the time of our deepest sorrow. That does not mean that you should tell everyone you run into your problems. Be prayerful and ask God to show you some one that can be a mentor in your life.
In Galatian’s 6:2 the Apostle Paul reminds us as believers that we have a duty to “Bear one another’s burden’s and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Christians are to continually (present tense) bear each other’s burdens. The word “burden” (baros) refers to heavy loads that are difficult to lift and carry. As it is used here it represents any difficulty or trial a person has trouble coping with. Just remember it is not spirituality but pride that make a person want to “go it alone.”
So when Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus – He Didn’t Shut Others Out. And He Didn’t Shut His Feeling Up. But also realize
Third, When Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus He – He Didn’t Try To Do It His Way.
Many years ago Elvis Presley recorded a song entitled “I Did It May Way,” considering how his life ended, in pill induced stupor, alone on a bathroom floor, I find that song immensely sad.
Yet many people today still try to escape from their fears in such ways. Some seek it at a bar or in a bottle, where they can drown their fear in a mind-numbing drink but their fear is only put on hold. Some go to a secular counselor but find that they can only give them earthly solutions. Some read a self-help book but find that what has helped others does not drive the fear out of their lives. Some people look to other people to solve their fear only to find that they may have the same fear or a worse one in their lives. But there is another possibility.
The Psalmist says (50:15) “Call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you.” The apostle James says (5:13), “Is any of you in trouble? He should pray.”
In today’s text we see an individual who faces trials by turning to God. We see a person who reveals his intense emotions to God in prayer. All of his emotional distress was laid before the Father on the altar of prayer. Jesus did what we all must do whenever we are faced with great pain or great trials, we must pray. Whether we find ourselves in a hospital room, the courtroom, or the funeral home, these are moments for prayer.
They may be prayers of agony and despair, but your heavenly Father will hear you. Jesus takes his pain and his need to God in prayer. We must beware of the danger of brooding sullenly over our wounds.
When we are caught up in the busyness of life we neglect to take time to go to God in prayer, but when trials are severe they force us to our knees. In verse forty-four we are told, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.” The Greek word is agonia means intense anguish. He was in agony, “the Greek word is used of someone who is fighting a battle with sheer fear.” [Willian Barclay. The Gospel of Luke. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956) p. 283]
I want you to notice that the Lord received an immediate answer to his prayer, but in a somewhat unexpected way. He did not remove the “cup” but he sent an angel to minister to his son. Rather than telling Him how he could avoid the cross, God sent an angel to feed and encourage Him. Jesus is not spared the trial, but what is supplied is the strength to face it. He is not lifted out the trial but given the strength and encourage-ment to go through it.
So when Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus – He Didn’t Shut Others Out. He Didn’t Shut His Feeling Up. He Didn’t Try To Do It His Way. And finally
Fourth, When Trials Threatened to Squeeze the Life Out of Jesus He – He Didn’t Decide To Be Disobedient.
In second half of verse forty-two we read, “… nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done.”
Jesus had prayed that if there was any other way, that mankind could be saved from their sins, that was his desire, but only if it is within His father’s will. But greater than his fear, greater than his loathing for the task ahead, was his over riding desire to please God the Father. The greatest possible good is to do God’s will whatever the cost!
If you are in a crisis of obedience it is all right to tell God of your reluctance, it is not as if He doesn’t already know. Just make sure that to do what he tells you to do in spite of your reluctance.
It’s a terrible to thing to find out the people that you counted on disappointed you. Verse forty-five tells that at last Jesus got up from praying – how long He struggled in prayer is unknown, but it was late. When he went out to his disciples he found them sleeping, again. The gospel accounts in Matthew and Mark tell us he did so three times during the evening of prayer (Matt 26:40,42,45). Only Luke tells us that the disciples were “sleeping from sorrow.” It would seem that the disciples have begun to understand what lay ahead for Jesus and they were overcome with sorrow. Anyone who has suffered deep depression knows that with that depression comes an inordinate desire to just “sleep their problems away.”
The Lord’s final admonition to His disciples to pray (v. 46) in the original Greek is present tense, in this context he is suggesting that their prayer is to be an ongoing commitment to pray as opposed to a single moment of prayer. “Then He said to them, ‘Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Closing Thoughts
For those of you who may at this moment be in the most difficult trial of your life, I want to ask:
Have you brought loved ones and trusted friends in to help or have you isolated yourself?
Have you honestly expressed your feelings or do you believe that you have put on a false front?
Have you taken you problems to God and have you asked others to pray for you as well?
Finally, are you being obedient to God’s leading in your life or you using the difficulties in your life as an excuse to run from God?
