In The Garden

Did you know that there are some days that I would rather go to work than stay home. Sometimes I look forward to what is going on at work and I am excited to see it through. Did you know that there are a lot more days where I would just as soon stay home. Now I don’t hate my job and I am not miserable at work but if I didn’t need the money I probably wouldn’t do it as much as I do now.

There was a time in my life when I hated my job. I hated going to work and dreaded Monday mornings. It lasted about three years and it was awful, but every Monday I went to work. Do you know why?

There were things that I liked more than I disliked my job. I liked having electricity and heat in the house, running water was a plus, being able to eat was great, and providing for the family I loved. Even though I hated my job I loved my family more, even though i really didn’t want to go to work I wanted to eat and have a place to live even more. I did something I didn[t want to do so that the things that were more important to me could be done.

Of course I found a way to get another job so that my life would be better but even so there are times I do things I don’t want to do because I want something else more. Sometimes I do dishes because I don’t like eating off dirty plates, sometimes I do laundry so I don’t have to wear dirty socks, sometimes I cook so that I can eat and sometimes I go to work so that I can afford to do all these things. Most of the time I don’t mind doing these things, they just have to be done. But even when I really don’t want to I do them anyway, because they allow me to do things that are important to me.

That is why I love this passage.

Luke 22:39–46 NASB95

And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Shortly after the Lord’s Supper that we talked about when we took communion Jesus went to the Garden on Gethsemane. He went there to pray, to poor his heart out to the father. He went there to prove how much he loved us.

He took his disciples into the garden to pray, so that he could pray and so that they could pray. Did you notice that before Jesus went off alone to pray he told his disciples to pray that they not enter into temptation. Out of all of the things he could have said, out of all of the prayer requests that could have been made, I would have expected something like pray for me in my trial that is to come, or pray that my fathers will is accomplished but instead Jesus told them to pray that they not enter into temptation. What kind of temptation, temptation over what?

It is very tempting to do the easy thing, to take the path of least resistance. It is tempting to do what we want to do instead of what we know we should do. It is tempting to not do the things that need to be done but that we don’t really enjoy doing, to let them go until another time, to put them off, its so easy, its so tempting.

Jesus was about to pour out his heart to the Father about a plan that they had made together long, long ago. Jesus knew the plan by heart, he knew why he was there, he knew what was coming, he knew why it was important, he knew what it would accomplish. Jesus understood every facet of the plan and he had committed to it. He was willing and able to go through with the plan, he proved that he was. He did it by his own choice, he could have stopped it, he said so himself, he could have backed out but he went through with it. But he didn’t like it.

What do you mean he didn’t like it you ask, where do you get that? I get it from this passage. Father if you are willing remove this cup from me, in other words I really don’t want to do this, I am not looking forward to it, I would rather avoid it, I would just rather not. Jesus was greatly troubled, in fact he was in so much distress that he sweated drops of blood.

There is a condition that today we call Hematridosis. It is a combination of the two ancient Greek words for sweat and blood, it literally means blood sweat. It has been known to occur in soldiers before a battle and in criminals awaiting execution, it was observed once on ship during a great storm. What happens is that the capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture allowing blood to leak into the sweat glands and be sweated out of the pores of the skin. It is caused by extreme physical or emotional stress. Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen and he was extremely stressed out about it.

Does that surprise you, that Jesus was extremely stressed? It shouldn’t, the scripture says that Jesus was in agony and he was praying fervently. All this is to say that he really, really, really didn’t want to do it. And then we find out that while Jesus was in this agony, this turmoil,bearing this terrible stress his closest friends and supporters were sleeping off the effects of a full dinner. Not only was he agonizing but he was agonizing alone. How easy it would have been to quit, to pass this by, to do something else. How hard it must have been to go through with it.

The very pain and agony and emotional strain that he knew would happen did happen, the very thing he dreaded occured. All of his worst imaginings happened just like he imagined that they would and the whole time he knew that he could have stopped it at any point.

Jesus dreaded the cross, he agonized over the crucifixion so much that his blood vessels burst and he sweated blood, he really, really, really didn’t want to do it. But he did.

You know if Jesus had been complacent about the whole thing, if he had said pain don’t hurt, or he had said hey don’t worry about it, I am God and I can take it. If Jesus had endured the cross with a smile and never seemed to be inconvenienced by pain or never seemed to worry about what was coming I would have still loved him for what he gave to me, I would have still been grateful for my salvation. I would still have owed Jesus just as much, my debt would have been as great but something would have changed.

If it had all been easy for Jesus I don’t think it would have surprised me, after all he is God. If Easter had been easy for Jesus I would still need a savior, I still could not do it myself, I still would be helpless without him. If dying on the cross was just another simple exercise for Jesus it would not have made any difference in how much I needed Jesus to die for me and it would not have made his death any less effective for my sins. From a purely practical standpoint nothing would have changed. Everything would still work the same.

But it is not the same. Somehow, knowing that Jesus suffered, knowing that he had to go through some really, really bad stuff to do what he did for me makes it mean more to me. Knowing that Jesus did not want to be crucified, that he agonized over it, that he dreaded it, knowing that Jesus wanted so badly to avoid the whole think lets me know how important we are to him.

If I was at a restaurant and realized I didn’t have enough money to buy a meal and the richest man in town said he would pay for it I would be grateful, I would eat the meal and I would be filled, I would get all the calories and my body would function just fine on that fuel. I would appreciate it, but it would not change my life.

On the other hand if someone paid for my meal and when I looked at them they were obviously poor, and their clothes were old and worn, and I noticed that after they paid for my meal they did not have enough left to purchase a meal of their own, and then I noticed that they looked like they had missed a lot of meals, something would be different.

The price of the meal would be the same, the number of calories would be the same, the same cook would prepare it, and it would look the same when I received it, but I would be different. I would feel different. I would be more grateful.

Maybe I would chase them down and try to give the meal back, maybe I would try to find a way to repay them, maybe I would be too ashamed to eat the food or maybe I would relish every bite like it was the best meal I ever had. I am not sure exactly what I would do but I know this, If someone who needed a meal worse than a fat man like me gave up their meal for me, If I knew they would go hungry and cold so that I could be comfortable I would be touched, something inside me would respond to their sacrifice. I am not sure exactly how I would react but the reaction I had would be powerful. Maybe it would even change my life.

Knowing that Jesus paid for my sins when I could not pay for them myself makes me grateful, knowing that I don’t have to be punished because Jesus paid for my sins makes me feel like I dodged a bullet, like I am blessed. If it had cost Jesus no more than a hamburger costs the richest man in town I would still be grateful and I would still feel fortunate, but I would soon forget it and move on.

Knowing that what Jesus did for me cost him a lot means something else entirely. Knowing that Jesus dreaded the cross, knowing that he sweated blood over what was coming, knowing that he agonized over what he was going to do for me puts everything in a new light. It means more, it effects me more deeply, my debt is greater somehow, my gratitude is deeper somehow.

Knowing that Jesus suffered dread, agony, pain, and distress even before his ordeal began, knowing that he knew he didn’t have to, that he could have stopped it at any time, knowing that Jesus suffered, and that he didn’t want to suffer, that he dreaded it, as much as he agonized over what was coming and as much as he would rather have skipped the whole thing something drove him on, something drove him to go ahead, for forge on directly into the fact of pain, agony and certain death.

Somehow, looking ahead and knowing exactly what would happen and exactly how much it would hurt, how much physical pain he would suffer and how much emotional agony would befall him on that cross, knowing exactly what it would cost him something was so much more important to him than his own pain, his own suffering, something was more important to Jesus that his own life. That’s is incredible.

Knowing that the something that was so important to Jesus was you and me is more than I can understand. How do you love someone so much that your own pain and suffering is OK with you as long as they are protected, as long as they benefit. How do you respond to someone who loves you enough to endure more pain than you could endure, Someone who loves you so much that they put your needs and your benefit ahead of their own pain and even their own life. What can you do to repay someone like that, what else can you do but love them.

Jesus didn’t want to suffer, he dreaded suffering just like any reasonable person would, but even more than he wanted to avoid pain, even more than he wanted to avoid dying in agony he wanted to save you. Given a choice between saving you and saving himself, he chose you not once, but he must have chosen us thousands of time while he was on that cross. Every new moment, every new pain he had the opportunity to quit, to give up, to come down from the cross and end the suffering, and every time one thing held him on that cross, one thing caused the most powerful being in the universe to put up with all of that pain and all of that suffering, that one thing was you.

He offered you everything he has, It cost him a lot, his very life. Will you value his gift, will you accept what he offers, will you honor the love of Jesus, the love that allowed him to suffer so much for you, will you return his love, will you accept the sacrifice of Jesus today and make him your Lord and Saviour. Or will you turn your back on the greatest gift, the most expensive gift ever given in the history of mankind. Will you come to Jesus today.