"The Passion - Part II" Matthew 26c May 04 2025

Intro & Scripture

Good morning

We’re continuing in Matt 26

Sermon: The Passion - Part II

Here is an outline of what we’ll look at today in Matt 26

30-35 Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

36-46 Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

47-56 Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

This morning, I want to focus on Jesus in the garden

It is a significant event - and I think is often skimmed over

I want us to dive deeper into what happened

Let me start off skipping down to that part

And reading an excerpt from Jesus that scene

Starting verse 40 -

Matthew 26:40–46 ESV

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

(Pray...)

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

If you remember from last week

Judas plans his betrayal

Jesus and his disciples have Passover together

Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper

And - we all took communion together

And now we’ve come to the part in the chapter where Jesus predicts Peter’s denial of him three times

Verse 30 tells us that they all sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus had earlier given us his discourse

Here’s verses 31-33 -

Matthew 26:31–33 ESV

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

Verse 34 -

Matthew 26:34–35 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

We touched on this last week - but I want you to notice how the disciples are beginning to distance themselves from Jesus

Even though they are vowing to always be by his side

This is a major theme that is emerging during the passion of Jesus Christ

It all really begins with Judas

And now Jesus is saying that all of them will fall away from him - Jesus says they will do this “because of me”

I’m certainly not saying that the betrayal from Judas is the same as to how the other disciples fell away for awhile

What Judas did was in a different league - he was a pawn for the devil

What the rest of the disciples did was temporary - they were later restored

But Jesus is about to be tried, tortured, and executed on a Roman cross

And the eleven disciples had no comprehension what this all meant

Then Peter sticks his foot in his mouth and says, “I don’t care about the others - they can all fall away because of you, but I will never fall away.”

Have you ever made vows to the Lord - only to fail in your mission?

Jesus says: “You know what, Peter? Before the rooster crows, you’re gonna deny me not just once, or twice - you’re gonna deny me three times!”

And then Peter says: “I will die with you before that happens.”

And the rest of the disciples agreed - but every one of them was wrong - they all left Jesus

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

And now we come to the garden

I want to draw out the heavy drama of this passage, so we can begin to feel what Christ felt in the garden

As one commentator put it:

“But Jesus went to his death knowing that it was his Father’s will that he face death completely alone (27:46) as the sacrificial, wrath-averting Passover Lamb. As his death was unique, so also his anguish; and our best response to it is hushed worship.”

[D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 543.]

To make my point of the severity and sheer drama the Garden provides, allow me to give various words and phrases that describe this situation from Mt, Mk, and Lk:

Matthew: “he began to be sorrowful and troubled”

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death”

“he fell on his face and prayed”

Mark: “[he] began to be greatly distressed and troubled”

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death”

“he fell on the ground and prayed”

“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me.”

Luke: “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

I’m not making this up, nor am I trying to be dramatic so I can make a great speech

I’ve gone my whole life, never giving much thought to it

I’ve always thought it is what it is

“Oh yeah, this is where Jesus sweats blood, and the disciples fall asleep”

As I was preparing for today’s message, and as I was studying this passage, I was struck by the significance of it - and I am convinced I’ve only scratched the surface

Starting in verse 36, Jesus leads them all to a place called Gethsemane - presumably with eleven disciples since Judas comes later

Jesus tells them: “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

Then the Bible says he took Peter, James, and John with him a little farther -

The same three he took with him at the Transfiguration

It was important to Jesus that they be there with him - this is their last chance to be faithful - and simply stay awake - but in their weakness, they failed

Isn’t that the essence of the Gospel?

Jesus did it all for us - and we did nothing

We are always weak - he is always strong

Rom 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While we were still sinners

Not when we were righteous

Not when we finally got our act together

While we were still sinners

And the Scripture says, “but God shows his love”

That verb “shows,” [or synistēmi] in the Greek is present, active, indicative

God is actively and continuously demonstrating something - in this case, his love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ

He continues to show his love for us by the fact that Christ died for us as sinners

The demonstration that God loves us through Jesus dying on a cross, is active today - for all the world to see

Today, when we look at the cross, we see God’s love for us

Nothing earns our way to heaven -

Certainly not all the great things we’ve done to impress God

We’ve done nothing to achieve that

Jesus did it all and paid it all

When Jesus prays here in the garden, he prays, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me...”

The cup he mentioned is his death - and it is all of our sins that filled that cup

You and I cannot understand the horror and dread Jesus was facing in that garden

He was about to become sin even though he knew no sin, as 2 Cor 5 tells us

Not a person here can comprehend that

The holy Son of God was about to become sin for us - so that we could be made right with God

The Bible says he “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” [Gal 3:13]

God dealt with our sin at the cross, because we were incapable of dealing with it ourselves

He did this alone on the cross, after his friends left him

The human side of Jesus was facing the worst torture imaginable -

On the cross, he was about to endure the exquisite pain from a Roman execution

But I believe what was worse, was that he was about to be separated from the Father

Even more terrifying than the physical pain was the spiritual separation as the Father poured his wrath on him as he literally became sin

He was truly alone in this

We were the ones who deserved that wrath, not him

I deserved that wrath, not Jesus

But Jesus alone, took that wrath

I don’t think we’ll ever fully comprehend what happened on that cross - I believe that he was separated from the Father

All I can say is this: All that Jesus chose to accept on the cross, is incomprehensible to you and I

But I believe, as he prayed in that garden, he fully comprehended all of what he was about to encounter

He knew the horror and the anguish he would face

And even though he knew everything - He. Was. Willing! Amen?

I think Jesus knew he had to pray to the Father in the garden - as one final act before being taken away

Jesus was ushering in the new covenant - and all that was needed was Jesus’ “signature,” if you will, on the “contract” between him and the Father

It’s as if the Father was saying, “I will forgive them, and restore them, and reconcile them to myself - but first, I need your blood and your broken body. Sign right here.”

And Jesus consented to this covenant when he prayed in the garden, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

His prayer was his acknowledgement and willingness to this new contract - this new covenant

Obviously, Jesus didn’t actually sign a contract - I’m using a metaphor

But in a real sense - he did sign a contract for this new covenant - which he wrote in his own blood

As Jesus said, in his own words - in verse 28, “for this is my blood of the covenant.”

Jesus dying on the cross made this covenant legally binding

The thing that’s amazing is that this covenant was between the Father and the Son, but we are the beneficiaries

The Father gave up his Son - there’s a great loss there - and the Son paid the price

It was a great cost to God to go to the cross

And we receive the inheritance

It’s the greatest deal in the universe

He didn’t just take away our sins -

He gave us his righteousness

Greatest deal ever

All of this because in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was willing

He had the power to save us through his blood

The Father gave him the authority to save us

And finally - he was willing to save us

In the garden, Jesus told the Father that he was willing

He had the power, authority, and the willingness to save us

In order to be our Redeemer, he had to have all three

Everything was set - since the day he was born in a manger, Jesus had done everything perfectly up to this very moment

He lived the perfect life of righteousness

And now, here he is, right before his sacrifice, he is in the garden, praying to the Father

And the implications to him personally, that he was giving his final consent to this covenant, was enormous

He even said to his disciples, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death...”

Do you recall ever hearing Jesus sounding this troubled before?

When we think the suffering was only at the cross, we’re ignoring a lot

It can be easy to gloss over this part of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

But don’t ignore the drama and agony Jesus went through

Don’t ignore this profound act

This was his final act before he allowed men to take control of him and lead him to horrible things

He’s come to the part of his life where he’s completed his ministry of healing

He’s completed his ministry of telling parables

He’s done teaching the Beatitudes

He’s done challenging the Pharisees

He is no longer sending out his disciples

He’s already been baptized

No more walking on water

He has accomplished almost everything why he came to earth

His time is at hand - his prayer time with the Father in the garden is his one final act before his death and resurrection

Jesus praying in the garden is his last act before being taken away

And right before he’s was taken away by the authorities - he completes this final agreement with the Father in the garden - and submits to his Father’s will

Please don’t miss the significance, and the weightiness of what’s going on here

He did all of this so he could submit himself to be tried, tortured, and crucified

When they came to take Jesus away, satan thought he was in control - that is the farthest thing from truth

God was, and is, in complete control

And when he’s done praying, he tells his disciples that the hour is at hand

And then he said that the “Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners”

And just as they were coming for him, Jesus tells his disciples, “Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

This is it

We now come to the actual betrayal and arrest of Jesus

I want to close by reading verses 47-56

I want the Word of God to speak right now -

Matthew 26:47–56 ESV

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

And Matthew ends this scene with this chilling sentence:

Then all the disciples left him and fled.

And that’s it - Jesus is now on his own

He’s agreed to carry out this covenant by himself

And no man or woman wants to be with him at this point

Even God the Father will turn his back on him while he is on the cross

Jesus did it all

He did it for sinners like you and I - and he did it alone

Close

I want to close with a prayer

Obviously, I want you to see the significance of this passage

But the truth is - it’s completely meaningless to you, if you are outside of Christ

If you are outside Christ, believe in him today - and begin trusting him

(Pray...)

Communion

(Pick one…)

Matthew 26:26–29 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.