68 26.31

INTRODUCTION

Finish this sentence: “I’m never going to church because the church is full of . . . hypocrites.”

SERMON

SLIDE 1 We are in Matthew 26 this evening. After eating the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples went out the Garden of Gethsemane. They were in Jerusalem because God required the Passover meal to be eaten in Jerusalem. They then leave the city and walk to this garden, less than half a mile away.

You may remember that the word “Gethsemane” means “olive press.” This garden contained a press for olives to squeeze out the oil from it.

The garden was located on the Mount of Olives. That would be a good place for an olive press, on the side of hill known for its olive trees. Evidently Jesus went here often when he was in Jerusalem because Judas is going to know exactly where to take the guards when they come to arrest Jesus.

Before we watch the video I thought I’d show you some pictures of the process. These pictures are from the olive press in Jerusalem today. While some of the utensils are modern, the process has changed very little since before the time of Jesus.

SLIDE 2 First, the olives are washed and rinsed. This blue tub appears to be made out of fiberglass. I don’t think they had fiberglass tubs two-thousand years ago.

SLIDE 3 Next, the olives are crushed. They are placed in a large trough and a heavy stone rolls over them crushing them. SLIDE 4 It looks like they’re having a fun time. SLIDE 5 This is what they look like crushed. – a thick paste. SLIDE 6 The crushed olives are then placed in baskets. SLIDE 7

The baskets with the olive paste are then stacked up and placed under a weight. SLIDE 8 The oil squeezed out ran down the sides of the baskets SLIDE 9 and into a collection trough SLIDE 10 where it would be gathered into bottle. SLIDE 11 This process would be repeated several times. Each squeezing requires more weight, but also results in less pure oil. The more weight that’s applied the more water that comes with it from the olive. So the purest oil was the first press and it was reserved for use at the temple.

This is a fitting place for Jesus because by now he was feeling the pressure of the coming events.

Let’s watch the video.

Video

SLIDE 1

We’ve been counting down the number of days before the crucifixion. We saw the last Sunday when Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem to the praise of the people on the back of a donkey. We saw the last Monday when Jesus visited the temple mount and threw out those changing money and selling things. The last Tuesday was a long day of teaching at the temple then a long evening as Jesus told the disciples about the last days as they walked back to Bethany. The gospel writers seem to skip over Wednesday. Then last week we came to Thursday when Jesus ate the Passover mean with his disciples. It is still that evening as Jesus makes his way to the Garden of Gethsemane for a time of prayer. John includes a much longer version of the events at the garden. They begin in John 13:31. Mathew tells us the conversation that starts there began after they left the upper room. In the gospel of John, Jesus is not arrested until chapter 18. That’s four chapters of talking and praying while the other gospels have only a few sentences about the prayers of Jesus.

As they walk to the Mount of Olives Matthew says they sang a hymn. That’s an interesting detail. In our culture most men won’t sing in public. That’s not true everywhere, but it’s true in America. I’ve heard that in Great Britain men will sing in pubs. I’m assuming that’s before they get drunk and don’t know what they’re doing. The point is that in many places singing is a natural part of people gathering together – even when it’s only men. And this should be especially true of Christians. We should be a singing people.

I remember freshman orientation at Johnson. All new students were required to arrive on Friday before registration that began on Monday. We had several students who could play the piano and did. With not a lot to do in our free time, many would stand around the piano and sing hymns. That’s one thing we can be certain we’ll do in heaven – we’ll sing praise to God. And that’s what Jesus did with the disciples as they walked to the garden.

On the way there Jesus also began to warn them about what they would do once he was arrested – they would fall away. Jesus was quoting from an Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 13:7. Jesus says his own disciples, these men with whom he desired to eat his last meal, were going to desert him. These men with whom Jesus had given three years of his life would turn their backs on him. You would think that would be the last straw. Jesus has already sent Judas off to betray him. Jesus knows that three times Peter will deny even knowing him. After all he’s been through with them and all that he’s facing in the next several hours we could understand if Jesus just threw up his hands and gave up on them. But that’s not what Jesus does. Jesus tells them that he will meet them in Galilee.

When I’m arrested you’ll all run away like you didn’t know me, but that’s OK. I’ll see you in Galilee.

Peter flatly refuses to believe that he would do anything of the sort. The others might fear for their lives, but he’s Peter, the Rock. Jesus himself named Peter this. He would remain loyal to the end. But Jesus has to break it to him. Peter would act worse than any – with the exception of Judas. Peter would deny him. Again Peter protests that he alone will remain faith, even if it meant death. Peter meant well, but he simple wasn’t able to live up to all that he wanted to do for Jesus.

How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation? I have to wonder if we don’t if we are really trying.

This promise Jesus gives to the disciples should have been a point of reassurance to them and to us as well. When the disciples were at their lowest, Jesus still showed them love. And the same is true for us. As John Courson writes:

You see, even when we are flaky, even when we flee, even when we are fickle, Jesus the Good Shepherd never leaves or forsakes us. Instead, He says, “I will search you out. When I rise again, I will see you and go before you into Galilee.”

Then they arrive at the Garden of Gethsemane. As I mentioned, it was only a short walk from Jerusalem. Depending on where they were in the city, it wouldn’t have been much further than walking over to Kay’s house on Pine Hill.

And, as I mentioned, the place was known for making olive oil. In press press olives were crushed, broken, and ground up so that oil might be produced. In the Bible oil is often symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Here the picture is clear: before the Holy Spirit could be given, someone had to be crushed and broken. And that someone was Jesus Christ. It is not coincidental that it was in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus felt the crushing, the heaviness, and the burden of what was about to happen. On the cross Jesus, who knew no sin, would become sin for us. Nor is it coincidental that this happened in a garden. As it has been pointed out:

In the Garden of Eden, man’s relationship with the Father was broken because of rebellion. In the Garden of Gethsemane, man’s relationship with the Father was restored through submission.

In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam tried to hide from God. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the last Adam bared his soul to God.

In the Garden of Eden, a sword was unsheathed and man was driven out. In the Garden of Gethsemane, a sword was put away and a man was healed.

So Jesus and the disciples arrive in the garden where Jesus instructs them to sit while he took the inner three – Peter, James, and John – with him a little further into the garden. He now instructs them to sit and keep watch with him. Why did he take these three with him? It’s the same three he took with him when he raised the girl back to life. And it was the same three that accompanied him on the mount where Moses and Elijah appeared and Jesus was transfigured. Jesus must have had a special relationship with the three, but it’s strange that he took them this time since they don’t hear or see anything the others didn’t. Jesus doesn’t invite them to pray with him, but instructs them to sit and pray while he goes further still to pray alone.

What is clear is stress Jesus was under. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he tells them. Jesus knew what he was about to face and found difficulty with it.

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.

How much easier it would have to have just kept walking. Walk in one side of the garden and out the other leaving all of this behind. No arrest, not fake trial, no beating, and no crucifixion. But that’s not what Jesus did.

Yet not as I will, but as you will.

If there was any other way Jesus would gladly have done it, but there was no other way so Jesus submitted to his Father’s will. People still try to find another way. They’ll say they don’t need someone dying for them. They think they’ve been good enough to deserve heaven. They believe their sins aren’t bad enough to send them to hell. They look for any way to God other than through Jesus who died on the cross for their sins. But no amount of good deeds, no amount of church services attended, no amount of money given will ever be enough to earn our salvation. Speaking the Jewish leaders, Peter said: SLIDE 2

11 Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:11-12)

Three times Jesus goes off to pray leaving the three to watch with him and three times he returns to find them sleeping. They couldn’t have understood what was about to happen. If they did there’s no way they would have been able to fall asleep. Each time Jesus wakes them and encourages them to pray.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

So often we want to do more for God than we do. We want to do better than we do. And like Paul we find ourselves doing the very things we don’t want to and not doing the want to do. SLIDE 3

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 18b For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15, 18b-19)

We want to live lives pleasing to God even as the disciples wanted to please Jesus. But Jesus says that while the spirit is willing the flesh is weak. Therefore, we should pray. Watch and pray. Are you watching? Are you praying? SLIDE 4

Three times Jesus goes off to pray alone. Three times Jesus asks if there was any way he could get out of what he was about to face. And three times he resolved, “But I will do what you want, not what I want.” Three times Jesus said he wanted God’s will for his life more than he wanted his own will even if it meant suffering. How could he say this? He could say it because he trusted God. He trusted that his Father would take care of the outcome. It wasn’t going to be comfortable or pleasant, but he knew that in the end God would work things out for the good.

Do we trust God to work through whatever it is we face? Do we trust that he is with us? Do we trust that he knows better than we do what is best? Do we trust God with our lives and our future?

The third time Jesus returns from praying the disciples are asleep again. It’s amazing how Jesus doesn’t give up on these guys. He could have said, “You guys are a bunch of losers. You’re not coming with Me.” However, even after his disciples failed him, he still included them.

The difference this time was not in the disciples, but in Jesus who had fully resolved to serve God and do his will. Too, Jesus could hear Judas leading the temple guards to come arrest him. John tells us that it was a cohort or six hundred soldiers that came to arrest Jesus. Do you really think it should take six hundred soldiers to arrest one man? He only had twelve men with him and many of them were fishermen. None of the were trained fighters. Jesus asks about this large number as well wondering why they thought so many was necessary. What they didn’t know is they really only needed one because Jesus was going with them willingly. He already knew they were coming. He could have run away if he had so desired. But no, this was God’s plan and he would submit to it.

We remember the sign Judas gave in order to identify Jesus. First, Judas greets him: “Greetings, Rabbi.” The word translated “greeting” actually means “to rejoice” or “be glad.” This was a cheery greeting for someone about to betray a friend. But the sign Judas would give Jesus was a kiss, a common custom of the day and still common in some cultures. That it was necessary to have a sign tells us lots. SLIDE 5-13 When you see a picture someone has painted of Jesus how hard is it for you to recognize who they portraying? It’s pretty easy. It doesn’t matter how different the pictures are we still easily recognize them as pictures of Jesus. Perhaps it’s the long hair, beard, mustache, and robe. Sometimes it’s the halo. Whatever it is we can recognize a picture of Jesus without being told it’s a picture of Jesus. However, that evening, it doesn’t appear the Jesus was so recognizable. There was nothing about him that made him stand out from the disciples. No way to know it was him. His appearance was so ordinary that he just blended in with those around him with him making it necessary for Judas to arrange for a sign to identify him. So Judas gives him a kiss. Actually, the Greek indicates that Judas gave Jesus several kisses. Perhaps that was to make the signal beyond a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps it was an effort to distract Jesus from what was really happening. And notice the response of Jesus. Jesus still refers to him as a friend. It looks like Jesus still hasn’t given up on him and is still giving him a chance to change his mind and repent. But Judas does not.

SLIDE 14 As the soldiers reach for Jesus at least one of the disciples, John tells us it was Peter, immediately reacts and draws a sword. Peter, a better fisherman than a soldier, merely lops off the ear of one of the guards. Luke tells us how Jesus reattaches the ear as he tells Peter to put the sword away.

Jesus then chastises them for bringing so many men when they could have easily arrested him all that week as he taught openly in the temple courts. Of course we know why that didn’t happen. The religious leaders were afraid of the people revolting if they had Jesus arrested, so they arranged to have him arrested away from the crowds.

Lastly, we read that as the guards took Jesus away the disciples fled. I think the video makes the disciples look much braver than Matthew describes it. The video shows Jesus being led away and the disciples, now left alone, just wandering off. But Matthew clearly states that they deserted Jesus and fled. In order to desert Jesus he would still have to be present. They were doing just what Jesus said they would do. It’s not the reaction they thought they would have. Like Peter, they thought they would be brave and stand by him, but it didn’t turn out that way. Their spirits were willing, but their flesh was weak.

And it’s that true for us as well. We want to do so much better than we actually do.

SLIDE 15 Turn with me to twelfth chapter Hebrews.

On the way to the garden Jesus warns the disciples how they would desert him. In the garden he gives them a chance to pray and strengthen themselves spiritually, but they sleep instead. And then, when Jesus finishes praying and is arrested the disciples do exactly like Jesus said they would. Yet Jesus doesn’t give up on them and he doesn’t give up on us. So we shouldn’t give up either. Instead, we should keep pressing on, using Jesus as our example – which is what the this passage from Hebrews tells us as well.

The writer of this letter encouraged his readers to follow after Jesus. After a long chapter listing and describing the heroes of the faith in the Old Testament, he writes:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin [that is, in your struggle against sins against you because of your faith, persecution], you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood [like Jesus did who sweat drops of blood as he prayed in the garden that night]. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined – and everyone undergoes discipline – then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:1-11)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

In the light of His glory and grace.