In The Garden
Matthew 26: 36-46
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
Let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
How many of you know the words of the Hymn titled “In The Garden”?
I believe that this is my Mothers favorite hymn. I know that it is one that I usually enjoy singing but there are a lot of implications in it if we really look.
For instance the second verse says: He speaks and the sound of his voice Is so sweet the birds hush their singing And the melody he gave to me within my heart is ringing.
Can you begin to wonder what it means? Then comes the chorus.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
I copied the following off a web site about Charles Austin Miles, the writer of “In The Garden “ and several other great hymns.
It was in 1912 that music publisher Dr. Adam Geibel asked author and composer C. Austin Miles to write a hymn text that would be "sympathetic in tone, breathing tenderness in every line; one that would bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying beds." Mr. Miles has left the following account of the writing of this hymn:
One day in April, 1912, I was seated in the dark room, where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter, John 20--whether by chance or inspiration let each reader decide. That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power and charm.
As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried, "Rabboni!"
My hands were resting on the Bible while I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches. A woman in white, with head bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came to the tomb, upon which she placed her hand, she bent over to look in, and hurried away.
John, in flowing robe, appeared, looking at the tomb; then came Peter, who enetered the tomb, followed slowly by John.
As they departed, Mary reappeared; leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing, so did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched and looking into His face cried, "Rabboni!" I awakened in sun light, gripping the Bible, with muscles tense and nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it has since appeared. That same evening I wrote the music.
C. Austin Miles, as it seems he is best known, was thinking about a garden in which an empty tomb was found but as our scriptures show I was thinking about another garden a few days earlier then this one. But one compliments the other as one shows the struggle that was taking place in Jesus heart as he faced the coming death on the cross and the other shows his great victory over death and the grave because he followed the will of his Father in Heaven. He went to Gethsemane to pray and ask that this cup pass from him but notice how he asks in verse 39 “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And again in verse 42 when he says “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”
Notice that Jesus prays for what he wants! He doesn’t hesitate to ask for what he wants but he accepts what his Heavenly Father wills over any want that he may have.
He struggles with his acceptance; it’s not easy even for the Son of God! His struggle is one of great proportion, so great that it requires help.
Look at Luke’s account of it in Luke 22: 39-45.
Luke
39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow
His struggle is so strong that he is sweating blood and he receives help in the form of a ministering angel, an angel who strengthened him. Many times in ministering to some one we are better off just to be there beside them as they go through their pain and suffering. We just sit there quietly and let them draw strength from knowing there is one nearby who can and will help if they but ask. I think this is what that angel did that night. That angel just stood there and let Jesus remember that he came here willingly to accept this fate, that he gave up all his former glory to become human and walk among us that he might accept this fate for all of us. He came here to do the will of God. So he prays “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
So he struggles with his humanity, his human desire to live struggling against his devine will to accept Gods will and accept it he does!
Some would at this point ask Is Gods will always done. Well I want you to hear what Tommy Mills wrote. Listen as I quote him,
“Is God’s will always done? No, because God does not will for us to sin. As a parent I want my children to be successful and to be a productive member of society. Doesn’t every parent want that? Then why are our prisons full to over flowing? Every coach wants every shot to go through the hoop, every free throw to score. What happens? The human factor enters the equation, and we all fall short of the glory of God.”
This human factor is also shown in the garden at Gethsemane. Notice what it says in verse 40 of our text. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? An again in verse 43. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy
The three disciples that he had chose to be with him at different times as amazing things happened couldn’t stay awake and pray with him for one hour because of their human short comings!
You see there are many things that we need to do to serve GOD and be truly faithful Christians. But Jesus as he always does gives us another perfect example of what we should do. You see he was and is the one true Son Of GOD and yet he was always seeking GOD in prayer. He prayed daily, He prayed when he wanted us to know that GOD always hears us, He prays here when he faces his greatest challenge, when he is truly in need of help.
You see Jesus knew what was coming and he knew that we would all need help, so he showed us how to obtain that help. He showed us that we should always trust in GOD to take care of us. No matter what we face, no matter what obstacle is in our way GOD is faithful and he will care for us.
Remember Romans 8:28 says And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
All though we may not understand it at the time and we may not ever understand why some things happen we can always trust GOD to understand.
When former President Gerald Ford visited Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma several years ago, he had breakfast with some student leaders. As one of the students stepped out of an elevator, her heel caught on the carpet and she crashed into Ford. She repeatedly apologized as he helped her to her feet, but the former president smiled sympathetically.
“Don’t worry, young lady,” he said. “I understand perfectly.”
Jesus does understand perfectly. He understands the temptations we face because he faced them himself. He understands every problem you will ever face because he faced it too. Now I know some people say today that Jesus couldn’t possibly understand today’s problems because of the modern times. But let me assure you he can and does understand. Look at poverty in today’s society. Men and women and even children are homeless but so was Jesus. Remember he said he didn’t even have a place to lay his head. And talk about poor he had to send Peter to catch a fish and find a gold coin in the fish’s mouth to pay their taxes, and he was even buried in someone else’s tomb. Yes Jesus understands perfectly what you are going through.
His one desire is to spend eternity with you. Jesus desires to spend eternity with you so much that he went to the cross and died in your place. Jesus desires to spend eternity with you so much that he is building you a mansion in his Fathers house. All he asks in return is that you accept him as your savior and let his spirit come and live with you!
Join me in prayer!
