Jesus in the garden

Jesus in the garden

Introduction:

Whenever praying, have you ever thought to yourself:

“What’s the point”, Even if Jesus can hear me, He has no idea what I am going through!

We all realise that one time or another, that life is hard.  Even here, in such a beautiful country, a country that’s been so blessed. A country where most of us live with so much . Even here, we see that life can be so hard.

Statistics tell us that in Norway 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriages; almost 50% of marriages end up in divorce. On top of that, up to 33% of Norwegians have suffered from some kind of mental disorder last year.

We can only ask ourselves;

Where does Jesus fit into the suffering and struggle in Norway?

Do we write Him off as silly folklore, or as the opium of the masses? Do we write Him off, because He doesn’t fix the world, the way we want him to.

Do we say to Him “Jesus if you don’t answer my prayer, I’m going to stop believing in you”

As we know honest questions demand honest answers, so we are going to look at what the bible says about suffering and about Jesus. I have three points and they are: He was a man of Sorrow, He was alone, and He had a choice.

1. He was a man of sorrow. (He knew what suffering was)

So to my first point. Jesus was a man of Sorrow.

1.State the point:

When we look at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we see that He was familiar with sorrow, and suffering!

2.Show it in the text:

Have a look at Matthew 26:37-38

³⁷ He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed

.³⁸ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

3.Explain the point:

Jesus wasn’t a stranger to being tested.

He was man anguished and distressed. A man whose soul was crushed with grief to the point of death.  

We always speak about Jesus being 100% man and 100% God. But do we remember it? Jesus experienced terrible anxiety and sorrow, to the point where it almost killed Him.

Jesus fell to the ground in the garden while praying, crying out;

“Abba, Father,” “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:35-36

Jesus prayed intensely being in such agony that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood Luke 22:44.

Sweating blood is a real thing. Observed in people experiencing extreme physical, mental, and emotional pressure. Like Jesus who was carrying the sin of the whole world on and in his own body.

4.Illustrate the point:

Our sin caused Him great physical and mental suffering. Our sin caused Him intense sorrow and grief Matt 26:37-38

5.Apply the point:

Throughout the Gospels we most of the time see Jesus from His “godly” side. We forget that He was also fully human. Jesus the 100% God and 100% man, is the one sitting by God’s right hand in Heaven interceding for us. He does not have a theoretical understanding of sorrow and suffering. He has an intimate and personal understanding; Since He alone died, and lived through sorrow and suffering, for your sin and mine!!!

This gets us to my second point. He (Jesus) was alone.

2. He was alone

1.State the point:

Though He had a crowd of followers, He had to carry His grief and agony alone in the garden.

2.Show it in the text:

Let’s have another look at Matthew 26:37-38.

³⁷ He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.³⁸ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Now have a look at verse 40

⁴⁰ Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?

3.Explain the point:

Peter, James and John seemed unaware of Jesus’s agony. And the spiritual battle, being fought in the garden that night.

While Jesus was praying:

“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”.

His closest friends were far, far away in the land of dreams. They were not praying that He might be given strength. Nor making sure that no one disturbed Him, in His intense prayers. They weren’t thinking of Him at all, but catching up on their sleep. Already here, we hear the echoes of verse 31, where Jesus told His disciples.

“Tonight all of you will desert me”.

The first leader of the Christian church, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and his brother, had left Jesus alone, with His thoughts and fears, while carrying the sins of humanity. Later that night, Jesus’s prophecy in verse 31 came true in verse 56

At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

4.Illustrate the point:

Peter, James and John did not keep watch with Jesus, although that was all He asked them to do.

All the disciples swore to Jesus:

“Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you” Matthew 26:35

The same night after making this promise they all failed Him. There’s no doubt that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak! The disciples intentions were honourable, but they failed miserably.

5.Apply the point:

They all ran away from Jesus. He was alone, while carrying the sins of the world. Why did this happen, why did Jesus accept this, cause that is what He did. Well… My third point is that Jesus had a choice.

3. He had a choice. (but He desired to do His Fathers will)

Well… My third point is that Jesus had a choice.

1.State the point:

It’s easy to forget that, He had a real choice that night in the garden. The choice to save us or to let us fend for ourselves.

2.Show it in the text:

Have a look at verses 46-54. This is right after Jesus came back from praying a third time.

⁴⁶Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

⁴⁷ And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” ⁴⁹ So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”

Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴ But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

We are going to have a look at why Jesus did that, starting with the beginning.

3.Explain the point:

Have a look at verse 36:

⁶ Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane

Why is this significant? Well… in John’s Gospel we read that Judas knew Gethsemane, and that Jesus had often gone there with the disciples John 18:1-2 Judas also knew that it was a quiet place far away from crowds; and the chances of an uproar from His followers were small. Well aware of Judas’s plans Jesus didn’t change His. Knowing that Judas was coming He told His disciples:

“Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” Matt 26:46

Jesus could probably see and hear Judas’s band of merry men, long before they entered the garden. It might have been quite dark, so they probably carried torches. The chances of such a big group having ninja like skills, is quite slim. They were probably all rallied up, carrying their torches and pitchforks, ready to have themselves a good old-fashioned lynching. A Lynching is, when a group of people (a mob) capture and execute someone.

But to their surprise, Jesus came to meet the angry mob, on their way to arrest Him.

Why didn’t Jesus hide? Why did He tell Judas to do what he came for? Simply because Jesus chose to give himself up, He had decided to come quietly. Something that Peter made quite difficult, trying to slash of Malchus’s head. He missed and chopped of his ear instead.

You can just picture how: a quiet surrender could have turned into a massacre, 12 people against, an angry mob armed with clubs and swords. In Luke’s Gospel we get a deeper glance into the story.

⁴⁹ When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!” Luke 22:49

Jesus made it clear that He chooses to surrender when He says:

“Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

Another translation says in verse 53

⁵³ Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels. ESV

I can’t stress it enough! Jesus’s gave himself up freely. A legion is 6000, so 12 legions of angels would be roughly 72 000 angels. If Jesus wanted to He could have asked God to send 72 000 angels to free Him from his captors, but Jesus chose not to. Jesus fixed Malchus’s ear, and came with them quietly.

Why did Jesus come quietly? We know that He could have could have called for 72 000 angels and left a trail of dead bodies from Gethsemane to Jerusalem. We find the answer in verses 39, 42 and 44 where He prayed “yet I want Your will to be done, not mine”.

We also see it in verse 54 where Jesus says to His disciples;

^“But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

Although Jesus had an actual choice. He loved His Father. Therefor His desire was to do the will of His Father, as we saw earlier as He prayed sincerely:

“yet I want Your will to be done, not mine”.

4.Illustrate the point:

Is there any Grey’s anatomy fans here today? Well if there is, you might remember when Denny say’s to Izzie;

“I chose you Izzie Stevens”, “I’ve been given a choice, and I chose you”!

Looking back into the garden that is what Jesus did.

HE CHOSE YOU! HE WAS GIVEN A CHOICE. HE LOVED HIS FATHER SO MUCH, THAT HE CHOSE TO GO THORUGH ALL THAT PAIN AND SUFFERING FOR YOU. HE CHOSE DEATH, SO THAT YOU MAY LIVE.

5.Apply the point:

After hours of agony, intense prayer and sorrow, Jesus gave himself up willingly. He came quietly, and He did not resist. The desire to do His Father’s will, was greater than His desire to survive.

Conclusion:

To sum it up.

He was man of sorrow. (He knew what suffering was)

He was alone.

He had a choice. (But He desired to do His Father’s will)

Jesus has endured, a great deal of suffering and agony for us. He has felt it all on His own body. He endured it even though He had the choice not to.

(EMPHASISE THIS NEXT POINT A LITTLE CHRIS, SLOW YOUR DELIVERY AND RYTHEM DOWN...)

HE – CHOSE - IT!

He knows what’s going on in YOUR  life,  FROM THE TIME YOU WERE CREATED IN YOUR MOTHERS WOMB, THROUGH YOUR TEENAGE YEARS, RIGHT UP TO THIS DAY IN YOUR HISTORY, AND EVEN NOW.....

(SLOW RYTHEM DOWN EVEN MORE LEAN ON THE PULPIT AND SAY )

He- sits- beside- His- Father- in- Heaven- praying- for... FOR YOU. That’s our Jesus, that’s our Lord and Saviour. He chose you!

(LEAN FROM THE PULPIT)

THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE READ HEBREWS 4:15 AND WITH THIS I’LL FINISH!

YOU CAN FOLLOW IT IN YOUR BIBLE IF YOU LIKE BUT I WILL PARAPHRASE THE VERSE, THAT MEANS MAKE THE VERSE SIMPLER FOR US TO UNDERSTAND AS YOU FOLLOW...

Vs15.  WE DON’T HAVE JUST ANY HIGH PRIEST WHO COULD BE DISCONNECTED FROM US AND THEREFORE UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND OUR WEAKNESSES, BUT ONE WHO KNOWS US VERY WELL (INSIDE and OUT) AND HAS BEEN TEMPTED JUST LIKE YOU AND ME...YET HE HAS DONE IT WITHOUT ANY SIN WHAT ‘SO EVER...

THAT’S THE PERSON OF Jesus INTERCEDING, MEDIATING, PLEADING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.

AS WE GO INTO COMMUNION, TALK TO HIM...CONFESS TO HIM.... THANK HIM.... INVITE HIM TO BE PART OF YOUR LIFE AND THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE DAILY ....WHY? BECAUSE YOU WERE THE REASON FOR WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. LET US PRAY .