Prayer and the Cross

Introduction

Our world—our community—each one of us need the hear and understand the message of Jesus.

Nothing the world offers provides lasting hope—sustained peace—true victory over the pains of life. Only Jesus can bring to you the transformation you need to experience joy. Only Jesus!

That is way I preach about Jesus—about His teachings—and about His life—and the way He modeled life for us to see and imitate.

In the Gospels, we are given accounts of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem—which would lead to His death and resurrection.

After He and His disciples ate a meal—during which Jesus initiated the first communion—and after one of His disciples, Judas, left to betray Jesus—Jesus led His disciples out of the city.

Text

Matthew 26:36 ESV

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”

When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, we experiences several powerful principles that can change and empower our prayer life.

Most people pray. Most prayers have become ineffective. Our prayers have often become focused on pleading with God for us to escape our problems, rather than to discover God’s will and asking God to help us fulfill His purpose in our life.

But when we see Jesus, we see a way through that leads to genuine victory, fulfillment, and joy!

Point 1

We See Jesus in Sorrow

At this point, the Bible says "He began to be sorrowful and troubled." (v.37). And He said to His 3 disciples - Peter, James and John - "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” NLT: “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.”

Here is an echo of the refrain in Psalm 42-43 - “Why are you cast down, O my soul...” The lament of a righteous sufferer who know his hope in God will ultimately be vindicated.

We’re not used to seeing this side of Jesus. He was so sorrowful that He asked the disciples to "Stay here and keep watch with Me." (v.38). Stay with Me and pray with Me.

Why was Jesus so distressed? Because He understood what was about to happen to Him. It was really a sad night for Jesus:

· Earlier on, while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will BETRAY me..." (26:21). One of the 12, who have been with Him for 3 years, would deliberately turn his back on Him and betray Him for money.

· And then when they went out to the Mount of Olives, Jesus said to his disciples, "This very night you will all fall away..." (26:31). In order words, "ALL of you will ABANDON me..." Jesus knew they would turn and run - all of them, fearing for their own lives and leaving Jesus to face death on His own. All of them - after 3 years of living & working together with Jesus.

It was extremely sad for Jesus, not simply because His disciples failed Him but that He knows what is before Him. Just two days ago (26:1-2) Jesus said to his disciples, 2"As you know, the Passover is two days away - and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." Not only did Jesus know He was going to die, He knew HOW He would be dying - by crucifixion, which was the cruelest, most torturous way for a person to die.

Death by Crucifixion was designed to produce the greatest degree of SHAME, and to inflict the maximum amount of PAIN, for the longest possible period of TIME. Jesus knew what was about to happen.

No wonder He "fell with His face to the ground and prayed..." (v.39). According to Luke, Jesus was in such an anguish that "his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." (Lk 22:44).

What does this mean for us?

It was the sin of humanity that brought Jesus to this point.

The only hope for people was for Jesus to take the sin (OUR SIN), and suffer the consequences.

We need to appreciate what Jesus was doing for us.

We are called to live sacrificially—and that may bring sorrow, from time to time.

Living for God will invite sorrow (crushing grief).

You will be misunderstood for aligning your life with God and His purpose.

You will, from time to time, be rejected, be mischaracterized, and be falsely accused.

You will be tempted to quit—to focus on your own wellbeing. But don’t lose heart—your experience of sorrow will not last forever. Keep you eyes on God.

We See Jesus in Struggle

Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me..." (26:39).

We see Jesus’ struggle. The humanity part of Him will cry out against such a pain. Yet His spirit longs to obey His Father’s will. The flesh does not want to go to the cross, but His spirit wants to accomplish the Father’s plan to save the world.

Jesus experienced such a struggle. And He was honest to the Father. There was no covering up or acting tough. What we see in Jesus was total honesty. He shares what is really on His heart! So don’t act tough... Jesus didn’t. Share our struggles with God.

To stand strong, we need to pray. That’s why Jesus said to Peter, "You have to watch and pray... because the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (v.41). Very often, the flesh (the old self) will tells us to do things our own way, against God’s will. But our spirit knows the will of God and we want to do it right. Jesus says, "Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation." (v.41). That’s the formula - watch and pray, and we will not gratify the desires of our flesh.

THIS WAS MORE THAN JUST A PHYSICAL STRUGGLE, it was a spiritual struggle. Jesus wasn’t thinking just about the nails piercing through His hands and feet. Because in His death, He would be taking on the sin of all humanity.

Isaiah 53:5–6 ESV

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The weight upon His shoulders wasn’t physical weight - it was the weight of your sins and mine! In plain words, it’s your fault! Our sins sent Him up the cross!

How did Jesus respond to the sorrow and struggle?

We See Jesus in Submission

The first time Jesus said, "...Yet not as I will, but as You will." (v.39). Then He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (v.42).

In Luke’s account, it says "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." (Luke 22:43). Isn’t that beautiful? He obeys the Father... to do what the Father says, and the Father provides what he needs most - strength! What Jesus needed, He received graciously from the Father. Today, you can experience the same. When you do His will, God will give you the strength needed to complete it. "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you."

After the time of prayer, what did Jesus do?

Matthew 26:45–46 ESV

45 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. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

These are words of determination. He is now very sure. He is going to face the cross and walk towards it.

What happened next? Judas came straight to Jesus, and gave Him the kiss... The officers grabbed Jesus and arrested Him. One of the men with Jesus pulled out a sword and slashed off the ear of the high priest’s servant. "Put away your sword," Jesus told him. "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?" (Matt 26:53-54)

"I can call for legions of angels to come... but if I do that, how can the Scriptures be fulfilled; how can the Father’s will be done?" These are words of submission.

Jesus was not some poor, helpless victim, caught up in circumstances beyond his control. Jesus freely, willingly, deliberately took the journey to the cross. He was not forced into it by His Father, and of course, not by Jewish leaders or the Roman government.

Jesus said in John 10:17-18 "... I lay down my life... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again..."

Heb 5:8 "Although He was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered..."

Conclusion

Jesus went through a great sorrow, a great struggle but triumphed through total submission to the Father... all because of YOU. We can respond in these ways today:

(1) Understand that your life has been bought with a very high price, treasure it. Offer it to God and serve Him with all you’ve got. Consider what you can do FOR Him today.

(2) Jesus set us a very good example - watch and pray. You want to stay strong and live a victorious life? PRAY. The Lord will come to you and strengthens you.

(3) For some, you need to accept Jesus as your Saviour. Look closely at the life of Jesus and all that He has said, and you’d realize that He came only for one purpose - to seek you, and save you. How? By dying on your behalf, to pay the penalty for our sin (rebellion against God). Believe Jesus today and you’ll be reconciled with God and receive a new life.

Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Discussion

Why do you think prayer is important in the believer’s life?

What can we learn from Jesus about prayer?

How do we know whether to pray for relief from a problem or pray for the ability to go through a problem?

How can the prayer of Jesus at Gethsemane change our prayer life?