Top 10 Lessons From Gethsemane

INTRO:The story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane gives us in my opinion, a look into the beautiful heart of our beloved savior, where the fate of the “Human Race” hung in the balance..

Not on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup presented; the act is easy after the choice. The real battlefield is in the silence of the spirit. Conquer there, and thou art crowned.

Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)

PLEASE STAND FOR THE READING OF GOD’S WORD

The New King James Version Chapter 26

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

PRAY!!!

The Top 10 Lessons From Gethsemane.

10. Prayer Should Be The First Thing We Do When Trouble Comes

Garden of Gethsemane under the shadow of the cross that the Tempter came to offer the Lord once again the crown without the cross.

J. Vernon McGee

Matthew 26:36 “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”

9. Jesus Knows How It Feels

Do not forget this one thing about Jesus..He was fully God, but also fully a man

Matthew 26:37 “And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.”

I believe it was more so the “God-forsakeness than the physical suffering that Jesus dreaded in Gethsamane, that caused Him to beg for “The cup” to be taken away

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory”

Hurt? He knows how it feels “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18

Fearful? He knows how it feels

Depressed? He knows how it feels. “Jesus Wept.”

In physical pain? He knows how it feels

Anxiety to the point of sweating blood (Hematidrosis) is a rare, but very real, medical condition that causes one’s sweat to contain blood. ? He knows how it feels

You have to remember folks, Jesus felt the pain! He had a human body with all the same organs and nerve endings that we have

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Col 2:9

“Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” – Philippians 2:7

Not only does He Know, He cares!

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

8. Be A Good Friend

Sadly, Jesus’s friends let Him down this night...

His best friend in the world, Peter, James and John didn’t understand why Jesus was so distraught. Jesus just needed them to be there with Him, so what did they do? WENT TO SLEEP! Then while Jesus in agony prayed there alone was sent an angel from God to give strength and comfort

Matthew 26:38 “Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

Then 3x He came to find them sleeping. Before the night was through, they all would leave Him

Matthew 26:56 “Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.”

So what was it that you did that was any worse?

Jesus didn't hold this against them, because of one word...Love

7. Jesus Shows Us The Way To Pray

The way Jesus prayed, was textbook on how we should pray too

Matthew 26:39 “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

This should always be in our prayers to God

6. People Will Let You Down, But God Does Not

Matthew 26:40 “Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?”

Matthew 26:41 “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

You may find in life that your closest friends and family will let you down. They won’t be of any use when you need them the most. Jesus knows exactly how you feel.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

5. When You Pray, Help Is On The Way!

God Always answers.

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

John 12:27–28 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”

God’s Grace Is More Than Enough For Everything We Face

4. There are better ways than violence

‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’” (Matthew 26:52-54). 

in fact were told Peter drew his sword and aiming for

Jesus’s nonviolent reaction when the armed and angry crowd came to arrest Him underscores His message of peace and love, which He spent a great deal of time teaching His followers during His time on earth. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered wisdom such as turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39), loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us (5:44), giving to the needy (6:1-4), serving God and not money or other temporary things of the earth (6:19-24), etc. He exemplified that message in the final moments in the garden as He was confronted with His arrest, both sides brandishing swords.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

3. Go Forward And Face It!

There comes a point when it’s “Go Time.”

Be willing to face adversity, knowing your heavenly father “Has you.”

John 18:4 “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

2. The Tale Of Two Gardens

The Garden of Eden when Adam handed over control to the devil and The Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus took it back!

The Garden of Gethsemane is the reversal of the Garden of Eden.

In the first garden “Not your will but mine” changed Paradise to desert and brought man from Eden to Gethsemane. Now “Not my will but yours” brings anguish to the man who prays it but transforms the desert into the kingdom and brings man from Gethsemane to the gates of glory.

D. A. Carson

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

Romans 5:15 “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

1. The Fate Of The Human Race Was Determined At Gethsemane

the most important impact of this night was the willingness of our Savior to die on the cross in our place in order to pay the penalty for our sins. God “made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Gethsemane, in that moment is where Jesus sealed the deal.

The Garden of Gethsemane is where He submitted to his Father’s will and accepted the suffering and death on the cross

There he repeated in human form what he had already done in heaven—.

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IN CLOSING:

Aren’t we told that our Lord went into the Garden of Gethsemane and fell on His face? I think it would be proper for us if we would get down on our faces before God.

J. Vernon McGee

PRAY!!