The Garden & The Prayer

What a great morning it has been!

AMEN

Please turn in your bibles to the

Gospel of Luke Chapter 22:39-46

We are also going to get some assistance

from the Matthew and Marks gospel

this same account is found in Matthew 26:36-46.

and in Mark it is found in Mark 14:32-42.

This morning we are picking back up on

the “Road to the Cross”

For part 2 of this 5 part series

As we follow Jesus on His

Path to the cross

and our path to the

forgiveness of sins

for those who believe in him

Last week we covered

His triumphant entry

Where we learned

of his humble and peaceful

entry to Jerusalem

during the passover festival

we learned that peace is in fact a

person

and that person’s name is Jesus Christ

well that was the “Sunday / Monday”

we are going to fast forward

to Thursday which is sometimes

labeled as Maudy Thursday

And just a quick recap of what happened

between his Triumphal entry

and today

we say Jesus doing a lot of teaching on Monday

and Tuesday

and

On Wednesday he and his disciples rested

and idle hands made of the devils workshop

as we learn that

Satan entered Judas on

that Wednesday

and that he agreed to betray Jesus

for 30 pieces of silver

or about $350 today

well it didn’t take Judas

long to find an opportunity

as he knew Jesus’ schedule

which leads us to “today” if you

will

“today” is Thursday

and “today” we will see

the preparation for the passover

we will see that last supper

we will see Jesus’

rejected, betrayed, tempted, abandoned

pray in the garden

so please stand with me

as we read the word of God

Scripture Reading

Luke 22:39–46 “He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.””

Pray

Illustration

Who here is fearless?

(respond according to what the congregation says)

To be completely honest we all have fears

What do you suppose is the 2nd biggest

fear for humans

for the general population I should say

I will give you a hint #1 is failure

but #2

#2 is the fear of rejection

some would even argue that

the fear of death

is lower on the list than

than that of failure and rejection

let think for a moment of people like

Vincent Van Gogh

while he was alive he only sold 1 painting

out of 900 paintings

he was rejected by everyone

only to become one of the most

influential painters of all time

but he died a rejected artist

or Galileo

He invented the telescope

he was a christian man who believed

that God and science were intertwined

but was

criticized, ridiculed,

his findings were rejected

by those in science at that time

only to be wildly accepted some

300 years later as brilliant

he died a rejected scientist

Or Edgar Allen Poe

He lived a miserable life

he could barely afford to eat

he was rejected

by his peers

but is now considered

a pillar in the literary world

he died a rejected author

Jesus Christ

came as the son of God

and was rejected by his own people

and even put to death by them

only to rise again 3 days later

proving that he was in fact the messiah

It is unfortunate isn’t it

that each of those listed above were rejected

only to later be received for how they truly were

Lets bring that a little closer to home

Rejection by our peers is one

Rejection by employers

by colleges

by girlfriends

that’s one thing right

but how about rejection by the

very people we love the most

the people we have trusted for years

the very people that we have given

so much of ourselves to

our children

our spouses

our parents

when we are rejected by those we love the

most

it hurts

emotionally and it can

even hurt physically

it’s probably happened to every

single one of us in here this morning

at some point

and it may be happening right now

now lets put that feeling of rejection

that feeling of remorse

that feeling of grief

and just plain hurt

and lets multiply it

by the thousands

now, I dont want to downplay what you are going through

but I want you to a glimpse of

the rejection Jesus felt

there are a countless number of people

walking the earth right now

just as there were countless

men and women walking the earth in

Jesus’ day

any many of them

then and now

reject Jesus

reject Him as savior

and reject Him as king

Even the disciples would reject

and abandon him this very night

that peter would soon deny him

the others would flee

and that John would be the only

one at the foot of that cross

on that fateful day of the crucifixion

Jesus knew all of this would occur

now imagine the weight of all that rejection

by those you came to save

and by those you loved

and by those you knew the best

then place on top of that

the weight of all of our sins

the weight of the sins from all of

us that would believe upon the name of Jesus

all of the sins we have freely committed

all of the sins we have even thought in our

heads

all of them

and not only now

but all the sins of the past

and future

imagine them weighted on the shoulders of

Jesus as well

As he made that faithful walk to the Garden to pray

see when we are faced with times of great

struggle

times of great trials

what do we typically do

we try to fix them ourselves

which unfortunately doesn’t usually work so well

see the thing with rejection

the thing with feeling like your all alone

like no one is there with you

is the fact that it ultimately it leads to temptation

Satan knows that we are the most vulnerable when we

are alone

when we are distracted

when we are feeling down

and that my friends is when he

attacks

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”

Genesis 4:7 “ sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.””

Brothers and sisters we can easily be led into temptation

when we do not take our troubles to the father

Even Jesus, was temped

we know that Jesus was tempted 3 times

in the wilderness

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.”

If Jesus can be tempted by the devil

we better believe we can be also

so when we are temped

we can try and cope with it ourselves

or we can do as Jesus taught us

and is going to teach us today

that is to go to the scriptures

and go to the Lord in prayer

and ask the master of universe

to strengthen us

and to guide us

because that is exactly what Jesus did

our text this morning is outlined in

3 ways

as we see how Jesus went to His father in prayer

in order to get him through this tremendous time

we will see Jesus’

Attention towards prayer in V39-41

His Attitude towards prayer in 42-43

and His Anguish in prayer in 44-46

So let us begin with our first point

His Attention

Luke 22:39–41 “He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives,

So they have finished the passover meal

and at this time of the year it is warm

enough to sleep outside

it feels great out

so lying under the stars

observing his and his fathers work

was something that brought him comfort

and remember the mount of Olives from last week

this is where Jesus rode over and down into before his entry into Jerusalem

so this is an important place for him

Matthew and Marks tell us there is a garden

here on this mount of olives

the garden of Gethsemenie

This was most likely a private garden

so Jesus and his 11 disciples went there

it was a place of peace for them

a place of comfort

a place that they had frequented often

as our text says, as usual

see it was usual for Jesus to go and to pray

This was his habit

part of his routine

and that is most likely

how Judas knew the very place to

lead the mob to

Our text continues with

and the disciples followed him.

again drawing further details from the gospel of

Matthew and Mark we learn

that Jesus left 8 disciples at the gate

and took his inner 3 even closer

those inner 3 consisted of

Peter, and the sons of Zebedee

or James and John

and

When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.”

There is no doubt in my mind that

the disciples were not the only ones

in the midst of temptation

this very night

In fact Jesus was fighting his own inner battle as well

see there is this supernatural conflict going on

that we see in the way that Jesus prays

See

Satan was tempting Jesus

at this very moment as well

Satan, knowing that Jesus is fully God

as well as fully Man

is taking this advantage

to temp Jesus into staying off of the cross

I mean that is satan’s ultimate goal right

to drag as many to hell as possible

and if Jesus doesn’t make it to that

cross then it cannot be finished

we are doomed

so satan, sensing this,

satan full of his own pride

is telling Jesus

you are holy, you are righteous

you are perfect

and you are pure

everything about you is motivated

by perfection righteousness

and if you bear the sin of all these

people

who will reject you

and curse you

then you will no longer be holy

and you will no longer be righteous

for you will bear their sin

and to quote John Macaurther here

“Jesus struggled to set aside His holiness and embrace sin-bearing. He was not fighting against sinful impulses to become holy, but against holy impulses to allow Himself to be made sin for believers”

See while satan temps us to sin

he was tempting Jesus to remain holy

and Christ knew this was going to happen

which is why in his

personal prayer in John 17:5 he says “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.”

Jesus knew this was going to be a battle

He knew the devil and death would not go down without

a fight

So Jesus, takes this rejection and this temptation

to the father

and although Jesus was fully drenched in this spiritual battle

for eternity

he still knew that His disciples

would struggle with temptation

in the coming hours and days as well

he has already taught them to pray

specifically about temptation

we see that in Matthew 6:13 as well as Luke 11:4

But just before this when Jesus predicted

Peters denial

he says in

Luke 22:31–32 ““Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.””

He knew this would happen

which is why he told them to pray as well

because they were all in a fight

we are all in a fight

See Jesus is warning them

and us

that when temptation hits

we better not be caught

prayer-less

because prayer

is the antidote,

its the formula

if you will

that turns temptations

from a trial

to a test

because let us remember

temptations and trials

are not in themselves sinful

it is how we react to them

that can lead to sin

temptations only become sin

when we act them out

when we go against that lump in our gut

or when we go against our better “conscience”

and do that thing that make

us temporarily feel better

but makes us feel weak

and defeated later

so Jesus is telling us

that the best way to defeat that

is to turn to Him

and the Father in prayer

our text continues with

Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,”

Notice Jesus’ attention to prayer

He knew he needed it

everyday

even though Him and the Father

were one

He needed prayer

it was His custom

He also knew he must also pray for others

and advise them to pray as well

and when he went to pray

in this most troubling and distressing time

he fell to his knees

then as Matthew and Mark note

he fell on the ground and onto his face

see the normal or customary

posture for praying at this time was

standing

Yet Jesus,

with all of this weight on his shoulders

fell facedown to - the - ground

now

that we know Jesus’

attention to prayer

and how he holds

it in such high regards

lets see exactly how He prays to the father

Lets see his attitude towards prayer

as we hear the words he prayed during this

trying time in our second point

His Attitude

Luke 22:42 ““Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Jesus attitude towards prayers reflects his submission to the father

where as as he is on his knees,

praying in this time of grief

he does’t say

Father if you are willing to take this cup

I will start going to church

every sunday

he doesn’t say

father if you are willing to take this cup

I will not talk bad about the people I don’t like

he doesn’t say father if you are willing to take this cup

I will...fill in the blank

Jesus didn’t negotiate with the Father when

he prayed

yet all too often we do that very thing

we go to the lord in prayer as if he is some type

of magical genie in a bottle

looking to fulfill our every want and desire

yet that should not be our attitude towards prayer

we see Jesus here recognizing

that what really matters is the desire of

the father

not His personal desire

And that should be the same for us

when we pray of course we pray for our

needs our wants, but also that

they align with the needs and wants of the father

Because what we are about to see unfold here

is the fact that Jesus prayed for God

to take this cup away from him

And this cup Jesus is referring to

is nothing other than

the the cup of God’s of wrath

see the punishment due to us

for our sin

for our rejection

for our transgressions

are all going to be transferred

to Jesus

it is what is called the substitutionary atonement

where his life was substituted for ours

on that cross

where he is going to bear the weight of

all of that punishment that we deserve

And he knows this will happen

and during this time

when this occurs on that cross

Jesus also knows that it will be first

time in all of eternity

that he will be separated from His father

And here, we get to see the human side of

Jesus

remember Jesus is fully God

and fully man

so of course the weight of all of this

is causing him great agony

Mark describes Jesus

as deeply grieved, to the point of death

Matthew describes him as being

sorrowful and troubled

and he is on his hands and knees

pleading with the father

let there be some other way!

of course the human side of

Jesus would prefer not to

go through the horrific things

he is about to go through

yet, we see one word here

in the middle of v 42

that swings the pendalum

Nevertheless..

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.

And with those 8 words

the power of satan over sin, death

and over this world was defeated

because it was at that moment

that he submitted to the fathers will

2 Corinthians 5:21 and “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

see God did not say yes to Jesus’ prayer here

but it does say that he strengthened him

Luke 22:43 “Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.”

just like they did when he was tempted in the wilderness

here they are again

So as these angels are strengthening him

he is simultaneously submitting to Gods will

and this cup of wrath that

is the punishment for our sins

has now become the cup of

salvation

See this prayer of Jesus as I just mentioned

was rejected, it was denied by the father

For the first time the father rejected

the son

even though we see in the other

gospels that Jesus in fact

prayed 3 times for God to

take this away

each time he received a silent No

see the prayer that saved

us sinners,

was actually a prayer denied

The Father said no to Jesus

in order to say yes to us

we tend to think that whatever we pray

for should be answered with a yes

yet, sometimes its the no’s that

are the biggest blessings

and while we may not understand them

in that very moment

we must rest assured that God’s

will is what is best for us

which leads me to my final point of the morning

which is

The Anguish

Luke 22:44 “Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

The strain,

the dependance

the struggle

the submission

are so prevalent with Jesus at this time

that it says he is in anguish

the definition of anguish is

a state of extreme or severe

mental, emotional, physical

pain and sorrow

and the fact that he was

fervently praying

fervently means passionately

here

so its saying that Jesus is

in so much anguish so much passion

in his prayers

that even with angels comforting him

and strengthening him

is says his

sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground

Hematohidrosis

Is a real medical condition

and of course it is recorded by Luke

the physician or doctor

see hematohidrosis is a condition in

which the capillary blood vessels

Literally under stress

start to seep into the sweat gland

thus, giving the appearance that one is sweating blood

now whether or not this is literally

happening to Jesus at this point

or the description is so that his

sweat and tears were so thick

and profound that it was like blood

or

if this was a foreshadowing to the ‘

blood he would spill on the cross

we don’t know,

but we do know

that this moment was so intense

so anxiety driven

so eternally pressured

that he literally or figuratively

sweated blood

then, as this time came to an end

and Jesus fully

committed to the fathers will

as he had just won the victory

over his own personal temptation

over the devil

and over death

He stood up, wiped his tears

wiped his sweat

probably brushed the dust from

his tunic

and walked back over to the disciples

Luke 22:45 says“When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief.”

see while Jesus was fighting the spiritual battle of his life

so were his disciples

they weren’t sleeping because they stayed up

too late watching Netflix

they were sleeping because they had too much

turkey with the passover dinner

they were sleeping because

they too were overwhelmed with sorrow

The reality of all Jesus had taught

them, all of what Jesus had predicted

was happening

they were sorrowful because they

realized that Jesus expected to die

and they realized that somehow, they too

were going to abandon him

in fact the other gospels reflect that Jesus

came to them 3 times during his prayer

and found them asleep each time

But Jesus, knowing that his time had come

warned them yet again in V46

Luke 22:46 ““Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.””

Jesus concluded his battle with satan over rejection and temptation the same way he started it

by advising his disciples that they must also pray

so that they would not fall into temptation

see without prayer, we have no possibility

of overcoming the pressures and anxieties of life

in the very next scene the disciples would prove that

see as Jesus looks out into the distance

as he is speaking he sees a mob coming

and leading that mob is the very one that would betray him with a kiss

as Mark 14:50 says “Then they all deserted him and ran away.”

Conclusion

Jesus fought 2 battles during this holy week

He fought the spiritual battle

right here

on his hands and knees

as he prayed for the fathers will

and the second battle

that is what sealed the war

see that battle was won on the cross

where he put on sin

and he overcame that sin

for us

Brother and sisters

the battle against temptation is won in our minds

and in our souls

its won, or lost

long before we follow through with that temptation

and if we continue to fight that temptation

with things that will only temporarily feed the

want

then we will always fall short

but we fight the temptation the way Jesus did

on his knees in prayer

with His attention, His attitude, and His

agony

then we will have victory every time

and that prayer comes through a renewal of our mind

as Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Because we are to keep watch and pray, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

but let me assure you

Just as Satan entered into that first Garden

and with temptation led adam and eve to sin for all

so in also in this Garden

a different garden but a garden none the less

He overcame that temptation

to free us from that sin

once and for all

Brothers and sisters

we don’t have to walk this earth alone

we don’t have to walk this earth

feeling tempted and rejected

because we have one that faced all of that

and overcame for us

and He is with us!

Let us pray!

Invitation

so as we enter into a time of invitation

This is also a time of prayer and commitment

If you would like to pray with me

or one of our deacons about your salvation

or any other needs

now is the time

also, if you would like to begin the process of

becoming a member here

you can come up front as well

Let us Pray!