Jesus' Agony in Gethsemane

 

                                                       Scripture Text

    Matthew 26:36-46

Intro: In two weeks we celebrate Easter. As we celebrate Christs' resurrection, we also want to remember the agony Jesus went through for each one of us as He went to the cross and shed His precious blood to purchase our salvation and give us eternal life.

1  Christ entered the garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:36-37 (NKJV)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. After the Passover meal, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. He then went with His disciples to Gethsemane for the purpose of praying. He got alone with three of His disciples, Peter, James and John. Jesus was facing death. His death was different than death for all other men. In death Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself. He stood before God the Judge and accepted the verdict of guilty for every man. He accepted the penalty and punishment of death for every man. His death meant separation from God, and this makes Christ's death different from the death of other men. Jesus did not want to face having to be cut off from His Father. He did not experience death for His sins; He had never sinned. He experienced death for all of mankind's sins. If there was any other way to save man, He wanted it. This shows His human nature.

2  He suffered—agonizing grief and pain (v.38)Matthew 26:38 (NKJV) ³⁸  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." Jesus felt pain unto death. He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Christ felt so much sorrow and heaviness, so much inner pain that it almost killed Him. Note His words in the verse 38: "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." Christ was suffering so much agonizing grief and pain that He requested the presence of close friends. (v:38b). He needed them to pray for Him and be a comfort to Him. This is seen in His words, "Watch with me." Christ needed to be alone with God, but He also needed friends close by who were also praying for Him. Just knowing that they were close by praying and feeling for Him would be a strong encouragement. Luke 22:43 says God the Father had to send an angel to strengthen Him. Apparently all that Christ had been through and was about to go through was opened up to His mind. His whole being was now focusing in upon the suffering He had to experience as the sin-bearer for the world. The Father would withdraw and leave Him as He bore our sins. The mental vision literally compressed His physical body, almost to the point of crushing Him. V:44 The pain and agony were so intense that His sweat became like great drops of blood.

3  He turned to God—praying. Matthew 26:39 (NKJV) 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." Jesus fell on His face before God and prayed. He needed to be alone with God—He was desperate. He fell on His face—the pressure and weight were unbearable. Christ was broken, weighed down, fallen. He prostrated Himself on the ground. In desperation He cried out "O my Father." He cried out to His Father in brokenness and dependency; He knew that His Father would hear and turn to help Him. He is our example of what we should do when overwhelmed by a situation or circumstance.

4  He stood alone—neglected by His closest friends. Matthew 26:40-41 (NKJV) ⁴⁰  Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, 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." He arose from prayer and went to the three who were supposed to be praying with Him. They were asleep. The companionship, the spirit of prayer and comfort He had sought, was not there. All were asleep. He had been left alone to wrestle with God by Himself. Christ warned His disciples of temptation. The disciples had failed to pray for Him, but they must not fail to pray for themselves. May we watch and pray to overcome temptation.

5  He continued to pray—agonizing for release. Matthew 26:42-44 (NKJV)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. He asked His Father to remove the cup a second time. (v.42) He found the disciples asleep a second time (v.43) He prayed a third time—the same words. (v.44) Jesus was struggling in the same agonizing spirit, struggling to be released from the life-threatening pressure. Three times He came before God pouring out His soul, with "strong tears," begging for release. Why did Jesus pray three times? He prayed three times in order to secure the peace of soul He needed to continue on with the Fathers plan. In so doing He has demonstrated for us the necessity of persevering in prayer in order to secure release from agonizing pressure. God answers persevering prayer.

6  He received release. Matthew 26:45-46 (NKJV) 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." Christ's agony, His desperate need for friends to "watch" with Him was now gone. God had given Him great relief and peace of soul. The very tone of His words to His disciples revealed a calmness of spirit, a peace of mind, a relief of the physical and emotional strain that was about to kill Him. God had met His need in a most wonderful way. 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.

Conclusion: As we approach Easter, let us remember the great price that Jesus paid for the souls of mankind. He suffered like no other has ever suffered and it was all for you and me and all who will call on His name for salvation. There is no excuse for anyone going to hell. Jesus suffered through Gethsemane and the cross so all mankind could be saved.

Invitation: Jesus suffered all that pain and agony for you. He shed His blood on the cross to wash away your sins. Have you confessed your sins to Jesus and asked Him to forgive you and save your soul from hell? If you have not, now is the time. Don't put it off!

The Hour Has Come!

 

Scripture Text John 17:1-8

Intro: Jesus declares in this scripture before us that His hour had come. "His hour" refers to His death on the cross for all mankind. Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and called on God the "Father." He was asking God the Father to glorify Him in this hour so He could bring glory to the Father.

1.  It was the hour of glory. John 17:1 (NKJV) Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, Jesus began to pray as He was facing the cross. The first thing Jesus asked was, "Father...glorify Your Son." But note why: "That Your Son also may glorify You." The whole purpose for God sending Jesus to earth was to give eternal life to men; so in asking the two questions, "How is God glorified?" and "How is Jesus glorified?" the answer is simply: "by men receiving eternal life." Both God's glory and Jesus' glory are found in the completion of the great work of salvation that Jesus provided by His perfect life, death, and resurrection.

2.  It was the hour of power. John 17:2 (NKJV) as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. Jesus would be glorified by God giving Him the power and authority over all flesh. The reason Jesus was exalted to be the Sovereign Majesty of the universe is one-fold, and it is the most wonderful news in all the universe. The Father had given him authority over everyone in all the earth so that he could give eternal life to each one the Father had given him. Jesus' power was made known on the cross when He defeated the devil. Colossians 2:15 (NKJV) Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through the cross. He now has all authority over all principalities and powers!

3.  It was the hour of eternal life. John 17:3 (NKJV) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. The hour for Jesus to bring eternal life to mankind had come. Jesus would be glorified in that He would give eternal life to all that would believe in Him. Jesus would soon give His life on the cross. He would pay the price for mankind's sin. Jesus defines eternal life as knowing by experience the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One He sent to earth. Because Christ went to the cross to pay for our sins, the hour of salvation has come.                     2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV) For God says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Eternal life comes by confessing your sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you.

4.  It was the hour of a finished work. John 17:4 (NKJV) I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. Jesus affirmed that he had brought glory to the Father on earth by doing everything God wanted him to do. The last phase of Jesus’ redeeming work was about to be accomplished through his death on the cross. Jesus spoke of his work as though it had already happened—his obedience to death on the cross was a certainty. Jesus finished His work as He died on the cross. In John 19:30 Jesus' last three words were “It is finished.” All that was needed for mankind to be saved was complete. Nothing can be added to Jesus' finished work!

5.  It was the hour of restored glory. John 17:5 (NKJV) And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. Looking beyond the Cross to his resurrection and ascension, Jesus asked the Father to restore the glory He had shared with Him before the world began. In saying this, Jesus gives us a glimpse of His relationship with the Father before the beginning of time in John 1:1-2 (NKJV) ¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²  He was in the beginning with God. Jesus wanted to return to the glory he had with the Father before the world was created. Jesus is now exalted in all His glory as He sits at the right hand of God the Father there in Heaven till the Father makes all His enemies His footstool. [Lk. 20:43]

6. It was the hour of a mission accomplished. John 17:6-8 (NKJV) ⁶  "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. After praying for his own glorification, Jesus turned the direction of his petition to his disciples. These were the men God had selected to give to Jesus as his disciples in verse 6. To these men Jesus had revealed the reality of the Father’s person to them. And they had kept his word. Their faith wasn’t perfect, and they would fail their Savior in the coming hours; but their commitment was in the right place, and they would return to their faith in Jesus and obedience to God. They had received Jesus’ words as coming from God. Once His disciples believed Jesus had been sent from God, they were ready to learn that God had sent him to die as the payment for mankind's sin. Jesus was declaring that the disciples were ready for the next lesson, as difficult as it might be. The apostles, having received this knowledge from Christ, were to spread it through the whole world. His mission of preparing His disciples to carry on His work had been accomplished.

Conclusion: Jesus faced His last hours on earth calling on the Father for the courage and boldness He needed as He faced the most difficult hour of His life. Jesus would face this hour sacrificing His precious life on the cross to pay for the sins of all mankind and then He would be resurrected from the dead to enter into His glory He had with the Father before the world was created. As we enter Easter season may we not forget all that Jesus accomplished for us in His final hour on earth.

Invitation: if you have not taken advantage of what Jesus accomplished for you, now is the time to confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. Invite Him into your life to take charge of you and your destiny. Then be baptized as a public witness of your faith in Him as your personal Savior and Lord.