Sunday sermon October 26 the last sermon before revival

God’s Glory Displayed To Sleeping Eyes

The secret to watching and praying.

Matthew 26: 33-46

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…Dancing David, Sleeping Jonah promising Peter… praying Jesus

I. Peter had good intentions …good intentions are not watching and praying

Mat 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Mat 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Mat 26:35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Peter was not the only one that said he would die with Jesus he was just the most vocal.

The most obvious people who need the Lord in our searches for “prospects” are not always the most obvious. Everybody is not saved on the Eastern Shore!

The purpose of the Christian faith is not to learn how to die but to learn how to live!!!

We don’t need to learn how to die with dignity but we need to learn how to live with victory

There was a seminar to let the individual “experience what it is like for people who are terminally ill. I don’t want to practice that. I need to learn how to live and move in authority.

Peter’s goal was defending Jesus from the wicked men

Jesus does not need defending

II. People can refuse personal ministry but they cannot refuse intercession…but there are some prayers only Jesus can pray…Father forgive them…groanings

Mat 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

Mat 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Mat 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Mat 26:43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

Mat 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Did their lack of focus hinder Jesus from praying?

The holy spirit leads us to worship in the same way a mother leads her child to greet people…come on darling shake hands give them a hug say hello! This love that is lovingly and gently directed from the father has always been there we just haven’t been aware of it.

The Bible calls it steadfast love

III. Rise let us be going

Mat 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Just like Jonah sleeping in the hold of the ship a couple of weeks ago.

Mat 26:46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

Directional love is hard to escape

1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Who do you want to aim God’s love at today?

Intentional love is hard to deflect

Peter’s intentions did’nt last one day

God’s love lasts for a long time

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The world didn’t ask for it

Romans 5:8 while we were yet sinners Christ died for us

Good intentions are wonderful but to receive Jesus’ intentional transformational love is vision setting and motive shifting

Peter’s goal was defending Jesus from the wicked men

Jesus does not need defending

Is there anyone worth introducing to the love of God?

Who do you want to aim God’s love at today?

Genuine/precise love is hard to counterfeit

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world

Who do want God to tap on the shoulder and say “wake, arise now!”?

Peter's answer suggested that he did not trust the other disciples either but that the Lord could sure depend upon him! Peter's problem was that he didn't know himself, and that is the problem many of us have today.

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples [Matt. 26:34-35].

It was early in the evening that Peter said he would not deny our Lord. Yes, he was even ready to die with the Lord. That same night before the cock crowed Peter denied Him, not once, but three times.

Gethsemane (26:36-56)

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt [Matt. 26:36-39].

We need to pay attention to the prayer that our Lord is praying here. "This cup" evidently represents His cross and the contents are the sins of the whole world. More than the death itself and the terrible suffering of crucifixion is something else that we do not seem to realize. It is this: Jesus, holy, harmless, and separate from sinners, was made sin for us. There on the Cross the sin of humanity was put on Him -- not in some forensic or academic manner, but in reality. We cannot even imagine the horror He felt when that sin was placed upon Him. It was a horrendous experience for this One who was holy. Notice that He was not asking to escape the Cross, but He was praying that God's will be done. It is impossible for you and me to enter into the full significance of Gethsemane, but I think it was there that He won the victory of Calvary. Undoubtedly, He was tempted by Satan in Gethsemane as truly as He was in the wilderness. Notice verse 42: "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." He was accepting it. To say that our Lord was trying to avoid going to the Cross is not exactly true. In His humanity He felt a repugnance and the awful horror of having the sins of the world placed upon Himself, and He recoiled for a moment from it. But He committed Himself to the Father. He came to do the Father's will.

Now let's look at the disciples who were in the garden with Him -- Peter, James, and John. After His first prayer, He came back to them and found them sleeping --

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak [Matt. 26:40-41].

"Watch" -- stay awake, be alert -- "and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." What was the temptation? Who was going to tempt them? Satan was there. Jesus wrestled with an unseen foe -- that is obvious. He overcame the enemy there in Gethsemane. The victory of Calvary was won in Gethsemane.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done [Matt. 26:42].

He commits Himself to the Father's will.

And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners [Matt. 26:43-45].

"Sleep on now and take your rest." Obviously, there is an interval of time between this and the next verse. He didn't tell them to go to sleep and in the next breath tell them to get up. There was time for their nap, and they needed this rest. Notice how our Lord pays attention to the needs of their bodies. After they had slept awhile, He said --

—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible26:33-35 Although all the disciples protested Jesus’ words (26:35), Peter, always ready to speak up, declared that his allegiance to Jesus would prove to be much stronger than that of all the other disciples. He knew that Jesus had said to him, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (16:18), and may have assumed that he would be immune to such faithlessness.

Jesus’ words to Peter were solemn. Instead of being the only loyal disciple, Peter would in fact prove to be more disloyal than the other ten. Not only would he desert Jesus, but he would also deny him three times before the night was over, that is before the rooster crowed at dawn’s first light.

Peter did not think it possible for him to actually deny any relationship with Jesus. Not only Peter, but all the disciples, declared that they would die before denying Jesus. A few hours later, however, they all would scatter.

Jesus Agonizes in the Garden / 26:36-46 / 223

After eating the meal, the disciples left Jerusalem and went out to a favorite meeting place (Luke 22:39; John 18:2). This gardenlike enclosure called Gethsemane, meaning “olive press,” was probably an orchard of olive trees with a press for extracting oil. The garden was in the Kidron Valley just outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem and just below the Mount of Olives.

26:36 Jesus told eight of the disciples to sit down and wait, probably near the garden’s entrance, while he went farther in to pray. The disciples must have been physically and emotionally exhausted from trying to comprehend what would transpire. Instead of watching, they gave in to their exhaustion and fell asleep.

26:37-38 Jesus then took the other three disciples, Peter, James, and John, farther into the garden with him. To these closest friends, Jesus revealed that he was filled with anguish and deep distress over his approaching death because he would be forsaken by the Father (27:46), would have to bear the sins of the world, and would face a terrible execution. The divine course was set, but Jesus, in his human nature, still struggled (Hebrews 5:7-9). As the time of this event neared, it became even more horrifying. Jesus naturally recoiled from the prospect.

Early in Jesus’ ministry Satan had tempted him to take the easy way out (4:1-11); later Peter had suggested that Jesus did not have to die (16:22). In both cases, Jesus had dealt with the temptation soundly. Now, as his horrible death and separation from the Father loomed before him, he was crushed with grief to the point of death. So he asked Peter, James, and John to stay with him and keep watch. Jesus knew Judas would soon arrive, and Jesus wanted to devote himself to prayer until that time came.

26:39 Jesus went still farther into the garden to be alone with God. He threw himself on the ground before God in deep spiritual anguish, praying that this cup of suffering might be taken away. In the Old Testament, “cup” stood for the trial of suffering and the wrath of God (Isaiah 51:17). So Jesus referred to the suffering that he must endure as the “cup” he would be required to drink. This was a bitter cup. The physical suffering would be horrible enough (Hebrews 5:7-9), but God’s Son also had to accept the cup of spiritual suffering—bearing our sin and being separated from God (27:46). Yet Jesus humbly submitted to the Father’s will. He went ahead with the mission for which he had come. Jesus expressed his true feelings as a human being, but he was not denying or rebelling against God’s will. He reaffirmed his desire to do what God wanted by saying, “Yet I want your will, not mine.” God did not take away the “cup,” for the cup was his will. Yet he did take away Jesus’ extreme fear and agitation. Jesus moved serenely through the next several hours, knowing that he was doing his Father’s will.

26:40-41 Jesus got up from his prayer to return to the three disciples. He had told them to stay and keep watch. But instead of showing support for Jesus by remaining awake with him and praying for strength in the coming hours, they had fallen asleep. Jesus addressed Peter directly. Peter had said he would never leave Jesus; yet when Jesus needed prayer and support, Peter wasn’t there for him. Thus, Jesus rebuked Peter for his failure to keep watch for even one hour.

Jesus told the disciples that this was the time to keep alert and pray, for very soon they would face difficult temptations. Jesus was not only asking that they pray for him, but also that they pray for themselves. Jesus knew that these men would need extra strength to face the temptation ahead—temptation to run away or to deny their relationship with him. The disciples were about to see Jesus die. Would they still think he was the Messiah? The disciples would soon face confusion, fear, loneliness, guilt, and the temptation to conclude that they had been deceived.

Jesus added, “For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.” Their inner desires and intentions would be, as they had previously boasted, to never deny Jesus and to die with him. Yet their human inadequacies, with all their fears and failures, would make it difficult to carry out those good intentions.

Jesus used Peter’s drowsiness to warn him to be spiritually vigilant against the temptation he would soon face. The way to overcome temptation is to stay alert and to pray. This means being aware of the possibilities of temptation, sensitive to the subtleties, and morally resolved to fight courageously. Because temptation strikes where we are most vulnerable, we can’t resist alone. Prayer is essential because God’s strength can shore up our defenses and defeat Satan.

26:42-45 Jesus left the three disciples and returned to his conversation with the Father (26:39). Jesus returned to the three disciples and found them sleeping. Despite his warning that they should be awake, alert, and praying not to fall to the coming temptations, they just couldn’t keep their eyes open. Jesus went back to pray a third time. During these times of prayer, the battle was won. Jesus still had to go to the cross, but he would humbly submit to the Father’s will and accomplish the task set before him.

After much time in prayer, Jesus was ready to face his time, which conveyed that all he had predicted about his death was about to happen (see John 12:23-24). The disciples had missed a great opportunity to talk to the Father, and there would be no more time to do so, for Jesus’ hour had come. Thus, Jesus did not again tell them to pray. Jesus had spent the last few hours with the Father, wrestling with him, and humbly submitting to him. Now he was prepared to face his betrayer and the sinners who were coming to arrest him.

26:46 Jesus roused the three sleeping disciples (and perhaps the other eight as well) and called them together. His words “Up, let’s be going” did not mean that Jesus was contemplating running away. Instead, he called the disciples to go with him to meet the betrayer, Judas, and the coming crowd. Jesus went forth of his own will, advancing to meet his accusers rather than waiting for them to come to him.

—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary