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!