All right, let's look at Matthew
26, beginning at verse 36. As we've seen how the Lord instituted
the supper with His disciples, how He revealed to Peter and
to the rest, you know, how weak and sinful we are, even as sinners
saved by grace. And the main issue of that is
to understand that throughout our lives as believers, having
been given the gift of spiritual life and the gift of faith, that
we're just as much totally dependent upon God's grace and power in
Christ as we always were, even from the beginning. We never
get to a point. We want to grow in grace and
in knowledge of Christ. And we need to be diligent in
that way. We need to be good stewards of
that grace. But we'll never come to a point
where we can say, well, I don't need Christ as much. Or I don't
need God's grace as much. I need it more, I feel like,
as I grow older. I see in my frame, you know,
and a lot of that has to do with physical problems. We all have
physical problems as we grow older. But we see in our spirits,
you know, just like here, we're going to see where the Lord about
his disciples. Read verse 36. He says, 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's going into Gethsemane, and he tells them to stay with him. And of course, he goes a little
further. He gets off by himself, individually. but you know he
comes to the point he comes back he finds him sleeping they couldn't
handle it and he makes this statement we make it all the time we see
it in ourselves the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
and how weak we are weakness is is part of our whole being
and I love that passage, I think it's in 2nd Corinthians, it might
be 1st Corinthians, or 2nd, where Paul said, when I'm weak, I'm
strong. And he's not just talking in
platitudes there, and just not, it's not contradiction. What
he's saying is, in my weakness, that's what causes me to turn
to Christ even more. To see that he is my strength.
He is my righteousness, he's everything. And that's what I
tried to, and Randy and Jim and Mark, all of us, when we preach
the gospel and teach, that's what we're trying, Robert, what
we're trying to do. We're trying to focus our attentions
on Christ and to point you that way, because he is our strength. But here in these verses, Matthew,
I wanna make this point, I've got this written, and I don't
just read the lesson, but I wanna make sure we don't miss these
things. But I said Matthew was inspired by the Holy Spirit here
to give an account of the awesome and the terrible agony and sorrow
that Christ went through in the Garden of Gethsemane. He experienced
this as he was coming closer to his suffering under death
on the cross. Now his suffering didn't begin
when they nailed his hands and feet to the cross. His suffering's
already begun. You could say that in many ways
he suffered throughout his life. But here we're coming to the the nth degree of his suffering,
which will be finalized in his death on the cross. So you could
say, in a sense, he's beginning to experience things he had never
experienced before. And I want to talk about that
a little bit. There's several things. This passage is a little
bit difficult, I say a little bit difficult, it's difficult
to understand, but there's several things we need to keep in mind
as we look through these. And one of the things that helps
us to understand what he's going through and the statements that
he makes, especially when he comes to that statement he makes
twice, when he said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me, nevertheless, thy will be done. And a lot of people say,
well, he was a weak human and he sinned there, he doubted and
all that, and that's not happening. Then no way. But one of the main
things that we need to keep in mind as we read these verses
is number one is the constitution of his person. The makeup of
Christ's person as the savior of his people. And that constitution
is that he is both God and man without sin. So keep that in
mind. He is very God of very God. Every bit God, every bit deity
in his person. The second person of the Trinity,
we know. Everlasting, the Alpha and the
Omega, no beginning, no end, no mother, no father. I mean,
He had a Heavenly Father, but not in the sense of our having
fathers through procreation and all that. He is God. But He is also man, and I always
add, without sin. And that's really important for
these verses here. He is every bit human in every
way except without sin. Now what that means, you know,
his humanity had a beginning. It was conceived in the womb
of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit and without the aid of
man. So he was born of the Spirit,
born of the Virgin, and that humanity He united his deity
with his humanity. The old theologians called that
the hypostatic union of Christ. And that's a little bit difficult
to understand, but what it means is this. There was no mixture
of the two natures, God and man. There was a union of the two
natures, but there's no mixture. And I caution, you know, the
way the scripture puts it is the right way. But, you know,
some people say, well, I heard a preacher say this one time
years ago. He said, God changed into a man and man changed into
God. No, that's a bad way to put it. And I know, you know, we're not
all, you know, deep theologians and all that stuff like it. But
no, there was no mixture. He's God and he's man. Now, as
man, he was subject to all the infirmities, not sins now, but
weaknesses of a created being, human flesh. And I put in there, all of this, he sorrowed, he
cried, Jesus wept, he got hungry. I often say on the Mount of Temptation,
when Satan tempted him with bread, After having not eaten for 40
days and 40 nights, Christ was just as hungry in His humanity
as you and I would be. The only difference between Him
and us is He had absolutely no thoughts of denying or disobeying
His Father in order to relieve that hunger. Now we'd have those
kind of thoughts. So His was a sinless infirmity. over in the book of Hebrews,
if I can find it here, Hebrews chapter four, where it talks
about our high priest in verse 14, Hebrews four, seeing then
that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. And
then it makes this statement, for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
And of course, the main thing there is his death. God cannot
die, but this person who is God did die. And he says, the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin. I'll never forget when I first
became pastor here, there was a man teaching Sunday school,
and he's not here now, so don't look around. But he got up and
made this statement. And he said for us, talking about
us being tempted, he said it's not a sin for us to be tempted,
but it's a sin for us to give in to it. Wrong. It's a sin for us to even be
tempted. Because in our temptation, we do, because of the sinfulness
of our remaining flesh, we do consider denying the Lord in
order to get relief. Now we do that, and we're tempted
to do evil. But Christ, he was just as hungry
as you and I would be, but he had no thoughts of denying his
father. He said, man doesn't live by
bread alone, but by every word of God. So understand that. So he says, yet without sin,
So the constitution of his person, as we read these. The second
thing that we need to understand is that all that he's going through
in his suffering was based upon the sins of God's elect imputed
to him. Charged to him. Not sin within
him. And that's the third thing. At no time did he ever sin. or become a sinner, or even was
made sin in the sense of being corrupted. Now he was made sin,
as per 2 Corinthians 5.21, but how was he made sin? By the imputation,
the legal debt of our sin, the account being charged to him.
But he didn't become corrupted. He had no thoughts of sin. So
as we read these, understand that. He was never contaminated
with our sins. And so, as he's going through
here, we see the infirmities of the flesh. He hungered, he
grew tired, he sorrowed, he wept, he suffered pain and agony, and
finally he died. So when we read the history of
Christ in his public ministry here on the earth, there are
things that he did that can only be attributed to his deity. Like, for example, He calmed
the storm. He healed the sick. He raised
the dead, all of that. But it was an act of his entire
person. But man cannot do that, must
be God. then there are certain things
that he went through that can only be attributed to his humanity
such as what I've listed there. Mainly he died, God cannot die
but this person who is God did die and it was an act of his
entire person. Now there's a point on all of
this that we got to stop and just be amazed and that's it
and go no further. So here he tells his disciples,
he says, sit ye here while I go and pray. And look at verse 37,
he says, and he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
that's James and John, and he began to be sorrowful and very
heavy. Now what that tells us that his
suffering was not only physical, but his suffering was within
his own mind and soul, soul suffering. And he says in verse 38, then
saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death. Now, a lot of people say, well,
he thought he was gonna die right then. I don't think so. I don't
believe that's true. But he was facing the impending
death that was coming and it was heavy and it was hurtful. And you remember, I've got this
somewhere in your lesson here. He did this before in John 12
27 it mentioned but we understand he's beginning here to experience
suffering and pain that he had never experienced in his human
body and soul before this. Now he'd suffered some pain and
some sorrow but here it's coming to its climax and it's hard. And so he says, watch with me.
And then in verse 39, he went a little further and fell on
his face and prayed saying, oh my father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou will. Fell on his face and prayed.
And I put in your lesson, it's impossible for us to know the
intense agony as he was going under the actual experience of
his father's wrath pouring down upon him. That's the cup he was
drinking, the cup of his father's wrath. I heard a preacher say
one time that he was drinking the cup of our sin, as if he'd
become contaminated. No, he's drinking the cup of
his father's wrath. Let this cup pass from me, if
it be possible. And so, as he was praying, sorrowing,
suffering, my soul's exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, fell
on his face and prayed. He's bearing, Isaiah said it,
Isaiah 53, that's a good description of him. He's bearing our griefs. He's carrying our sorrows, being
oppressed and afflicted, pouring out his soul
even unto death. The chastisement of our peace,
the punishment that brings peace between God and his people, he's
bearing that and in the book of Luke, It's Luke 22, 44. Remember
what Luke said, I've got it here in your lesson. It says, being
in an agony, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly and
his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to
the ground. Can you imagine sweating your
own blood out? Wow. This is what he's going
through. And that's why the doctrine of
imputation is so important and vital to an understanding of
substitution. And you all have heard that perverted,
probably more than any group I've ever known. You know, people
saying, well, that he became a sinner, and he didn't become
a sinner. But all this being poured out on him to the point
where he said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as that will. And here's what I put in your
lesson. You can read it, but just to emphasize. Many people
misunderstand this and portray it as if the Savior had a moment
of sinful doubt. But I don't believe that's so.
That cup is the cup of His Father's wrath given to Him by His Father
which he willingly took upon himself to drink it in his suffering
unto death. And he said that many times through
his ministry. He told the disciples, he said,
this is the very reason I came. I've got to go and I've got to
suffer. I've got to die and be raised again. Or there'll be
no salvation, there'll be no forgiveness, there'll be no righteousness.
Unless he did this. And you can read it over and
over again. He willingly did it. He told him, he said, nobody's
taking my life from me, I'm giving it. And you remember when they
came after this, we're gonna come to a point in the next lessons,
when they came to arrest him. He said, whom do you seek? And they said, we seek Jesus.
And he said, I am. And they fell back. They couldn't
have touched him unless he willingly allowed it. But why was he doing
that? for the glory of his father and
the salvation of his people. Herein is love. Not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. The sin-bearing sacrifice that
brought satisfaction. All of that. So this cup is the
cup of his father's wrath, which he willingly took upon himself
to drink in his suffering under death. And this cup, represents
the love of God towards his people for which he made his son to
be the propitiation for our sins. And in this cup, God is shown
to be both a just God and a savior, just and justified. So when he
says, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, was that
an expression of sinful doubt or even cowardice? Absolutely
not, no. And as I said, he's already said
that he came into the world to this very thing. But here's what,
what the way that I believe that it's to be portrayed. This is
a statement intended to make the point that there is no other
way possible. And that's what he's doing. And
it's intended for us. It's true that Christ was here
by himself, because he brought James and John and Peter, but
he left them and he went a little further by himself. So they couldn't
hear him, all right? But I believe he knew these words
were gonna be recorded in the Holy Scriptures. How do I know
that? Because he's the author of it. And he knew that this experience
was so important that he's making the point for his people, there
is no other way. I heard a preacher say one time
that God didn't have to send his son to die on the cross,
he could have just snapped his finger and redeemed us. No, sir. Sin demands death. Righteousness
demands life. God must be just when he justifies. He couldn't just snap his fingers
and honor his glory. Christ had to die. This is the
only way. And Christ said it here, if it
be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, thy will
but mine. The father's will and the son's
will are one and the same, but the son submitted himself to
the father for the purpose of redeeming us from our sins. He's
the servant of the covenant, the servant of the father. So
when he said, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will,
he's showing forth his willingness to bow to his father's will for
the salvation of his people. And you can read about that in
several passages. The Lord's Prayer is one of them.
And when I say the Lord's Prayer, you know I'm not talking about
Matthew 6. I'm talking about John 17. He
said, I finished the work that you gave me to do. So all of
that is willingness. Well, look at verse 40. He says,
And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep, and
saith unto Peter, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch
and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak. Who are these disciples? You know, if you listen to a
lot of false Christianity, they almost prepare portray these
men as almost impeccable. But they're not. They're like
us, weak, sinful human beings, saved by the grace, goodness,
and power of God. And that's what they were. And
I thank God for them, don't you? Thank God for men like the Apostle
Paul and the Apostle Peter, all of them, especially those who
were used of God to write the scriptures. And they were examples,
but sometimes they failed, as we all do. God has truly given
us a willing spirit. Me, you, every one of his people,
he's given us a willing spirit. but we're too weak in our flesh
to stand the temptations that we face in this world. So what
happens? He preserves us. So we can talk
about perseverance of the saints. That's okay, that's the truth.
God's people will persevere. But always remember this, it's
only because He preserves. He keeps us. I know whom I have
believed, and I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which
I've committed unto Him against that day. And what have I committed
unto Christ? My whole salvation. Every bit
of it. Well, look at verse 42. He says,
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. There's no, there's only one
way of salvation. I'm the way, the truth, the life,
no man cometh unto the Father but by me. There's no two ways,
there's no three ways, there's no four ways. People tell you
there are many ways to God, but we all end up at the same place.
No. Here it is. It's the way of the cross. We
sing a hymn, the way of the cross leads home. And that's it. Through
his death. I went to a seminary where I
was told by many of the professors that all this was really unnecessary,
but God wanted to show us how much he loved us. And that's
not true. Now God does in this show his people how much he loves
them. Christ loved us unto the end,
the scripture says. He loved us unto the finishing
of the work. But what is shown here is the
glory of God as both a just God and a Savior. And so he says
in verse 43, and he came and he 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. So he
emphasizes this three times. Only one way. Only one way. And it says then, verse 45, then
cometh he to his disciples and he 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. Rise, then
he tells them, rise, there's some time here now in between.
Rise, let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth
betray me. So as he returned, found them
asleep, let them sleep, Be careful, he says, be on watch. You're
gonna be facing some hard things here. He tells his disciples
that. You're gonna be going through
some hard tests, but it's of the Lord, and here he's coming,
who's going to betray me, that's Judas, as he brings those to
arrest him. And we'll pick up there, Lord
willing, next week. Okay.