In the 26th chapter of Matthew's
Gospel we read of the account of the Passover and of Christ
with the disciples. Of him taking bread and blessing
it. Take eat, this is my body. he
took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink
ye all of it for this is the blood this is my blood of the
new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins
we read how he speaks of that which is to come in terms of
the smiting of the shepherd and also his warning under Peter
that he would deny him thrice before the cock crows that night. And Peter with the other disciples
denies this. He says, though I should die
with thee, yet will I not deny thee. And all the other disciples
said the same. And then in verse 36 we read
this. Then come if 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 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 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 I will. And he cometh unto the disciples
and findeth them asleep. And saith unto Peter, what, could
you 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. 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. 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. Rise,
let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth
betray me. Verse 13, nine, 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 wilt. Let this cup pass from me. We see in this passage the great
travail, the great sorrow that comes upon Christ as the heaviness,
the gravity, the sorrow, the torment of what is to come when
he offers himself at the cross for sinners comes upon him. The passage is of course well
known as that which precedes the crucifixion of Christ. And we know the account and what came to pass. But there's
more in this passage than simply the fact that it proceeds and
leads up to the final hour. There is, as throughout the scriptures,
as throughout the Gospels, and as indeed throughout this particular
chapter, there is in here much that depicts the cross itself. Repeatedly, the Gospels lead
us in type and figure, in picture, in imagery, repeatedly to see
what Christ would do what he would do upon the cross what
he would do in those three days when he was crucified he died
when he was laid in the grave and buried and when he rose again
victorious with his people and what he would do in those three
hours in the darkness upon the cross as he bore the sins of
his people as he was made sin as the skies darkened as the
light of the sun was taken away as the wrath of God came down
as fires upon him what he would do in the darkness what he would
do in the night what he would do as it were when his people
slept as he suffered and died on their behalf, in their place,
taking the judgment which was theirs, drinking the cup of God's
wrath which they deserved to drink. O child of God, believer,
here we see what Christ drank for you, that you deserved to
drink. verse 17 we read now the first
day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to jesus
saying unto him where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat
the passover and he said go into the city to such a man and say
unto him the master saith my time is at hand i will keep the
passover at thy house with my disciples. Simple words, but
even in that one sentence, there's a whole weight of truth. My time
is at hand. I will keep the Passover at thy
house with my disciples. Christ would enter in with his
disciples, his people, into a house and keep the Passover. This is
a picture of the cross. When Christ was hung upon the
cross, he kept the Passover. In the house of God, with his
disciples, as the avenging angel came down with judgment, destroying
all. except where there was blood
daubed over the lintel of the door. We're taken back to that
time in Exodus when the Hebrews were in their houses having slain
the Passover lamb and having daubed its blood on their door
and having eaten all of that lamb that the angel of death
that came and judged the Egyptians, that came and judged the sin
of men, should pass them by. A picture of what would happen
at the cross. And here Christ comes to the
city with his disciples and says, my time is at hand. I will keep
the Passover at thy house with my disciples. We read on. of how Christ kept the physical
Passover with the disciples. As they were eating, Jesus took
bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples
and said, take eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and
gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it. For
this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many. for the
remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when
I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. This is my
blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins. So here again, in the Passover,
he shows what he will do. He says, this is my body. Take,
eat. He says, this is my blood. Takes the cup, he gave thanks,
he gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it. This is my blood
of the New Testament. He was about to shed his blood
in death. He was about to give his body
as an offering and a sacrifice for sin. He was about to be slain
as the Passover lamb on behalf of his people. He was about to
keep the Passover in the house with his disciples. He was about
to die. He was about to drink the cup
of God's wrath. He took the cup. and gave facts
and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it they were to drink
as a picture of that cup that he was to drink that they could
not drink as a memory, a reminder, a memorial of what he would drink
for them in drinking the wrath of God against their sins. This is my blood of the New Testament
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Following
this, Peter is warned that that night, that night, he would deny
Christ thrice. Three times. Christ was about
to enter three days in which he would be slain, buried and
rise again. At the cross he would enter into
three hours of darkness as Father, Son and Holy Ghost wrought salvation
on the path of sinners. And that night Peter the disciple
for whom Christ would suffer as with all others disciples denied him thrice so complete
was the denial so total was the depravity in the sin of man So
total was the depravity of Christ's disciples that it had to be displayed
at that very time in order to see and to demonstrate just what
Christ was doing for such a people. So vividly these things are contrasted. His disciples, not just those
around who had rejected Him, who had wandered off, but His
disciples, who proclaimed to love Him, who said they'd never
leave Him, would deny Him. They would deny Him. When the
shepherd was smitten, the sheep would be scattered. When Christ
suffered, the disciples slept. When Christ entered the travail
and torment of Gethsemane, none of them could keep their eyes
open. Because so great is the sin in man, so great was the
sin in Peter, so great was the sin in all these disciples and
all of Christ's disciples for at all time, even you and I if
we believe. So great is the sin in man that
we cannot prevent ourselves from sinning. and we cannot prevent
ourselves from denying Christ except he change our heart except
he take our sin away except he make us new except he wash us
in his blood this is my blood of the new testament which is
shed for many for the remission of sins Peter answered and said
unto him, though all men shall be offended because of thee,
yet will I never be offended. Peter said unto him, though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also
said all the disciples. And yet then at the end of the
chapter we read, The damsel comes to Peter, thou also was with
Jesus of Galilee, but he denied before them all, saying, I know
not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into
the porch, another maid saw him and said unto them that were
there, this fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again
he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a
while came unto him they that stood by and said to Peter, surely
thou art also one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then
began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the word
of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice. and he went out and wept bitterly
now what happened there to peter could have happened to any of
the disciples and any disciple of christ any believer you and
i included When he warns us of what we are, we say, we will
never be offended of thee. We love thee. This is a man who'd
walked with Christ, who'd lived with Christ, who'd heard his
words, who'd promised so many things. He thought he would stand. He thought he'd be able to stand
at that hour. He thought he'd never deny Christ.
And yet, put into the right circumstance, he crumbled because he couldn't
help himself. Such was the sin in him, such
was the depravity, so total. was the fall of man exhibited
in Peter and in all the disciples that despite their affirmation
that they would not deny Christ likewise also said all the disciples
though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee despite
all that he said and all that they said such was the depravity
in his heart that in that circumstance he could not stop himself saying
of Christ, I do not know the man and the cock crew and he went
out and wept bitterly and just as he did three times regarding
that saviour who would spend three days saving his soul and
three hours in the darkness bearing his sin and the wrath of God
against it. Just as it was with Peter then,
so when Christ was at Gethsemane and he told the disciples to
sit and to watch, they all slept. they all slept. The depravity of sin in Peter
meant that despite all his best intention, despite the fact that
the Spirit was willing, his flesh was weak and he could not stop
himself. denying Christ. He could not
stop those words coming forth from his lips, I do not know
the man. And likewise such was the depravity
within all these men that when Christ at Gethsemane prayed under
his father and knew that the hour was approaching when he
would be betrayed, when he needed them They all slept. They couldn't help themselves. They slept. And Christ prayed. And he prayed again. And he prayed
the third time. And they slept throughout. He had said unto them, Sit ye
here. Tarry ye here. Watch with me. And in the darkness, in the night
when he prayed, when he was with his father, when he cried unto
his father, as he was sorrowful, as his heart was heavy, as he
travailed in prayer, as Christ by faith threw himself upon his
father, in that darkness of the night they all slept. They all slept. And in this account
of Gethsemane, again like the Passover, we see a picture of
the cross itself. And the hours in the darkness
at the cross. At the cross, they all slept. At the cross, Christ could but
cry out in faith under his father, fall upon his father as all men
deserted him. And yet at the cross, it was
the father's will that Christ took that he should drink that
cup. Gethsemane. sit ye here while
I go and pray yonder then saith he unto them my soul
is exceeding sorrowful even unto death tarry ye here and watch
with me and yet they slept what follows
are three prayers three prayers of faith Free prayers
of trust and free prayers of submission unto the will of God. Free prayers which point to the
triune God. Free hours upon the cross and
free days of death, burial and resurrection. The travail, the
suffering of Christ leading to the day of resurrection. Free
prayers. Then saith he unto them, my soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here and
watch with me. What do we know of this sorrow? What do you know of this sorrow? You may read of it. You may hear
of it. You may know that Christ felt
it as a fact, but what do you know of it? The sorrow he felt
was because of the sins of his people. The sins that he would
bear, the sins for which he would suffer, the estrangement from
his father that he would endure, the cup that he must drink, the
smiting of the shepherd at his father's hand that he would feel
though he'd always been one with him, though he'd always loved
him, that he'd never done any wrong. He'd never taken one step
away from his father, he'd never gone against the father's will
and yet in this hour, As he approached the hour upon the cross, at the
cross he must feel the Father's wrath as though he is the greatest
sinner of all. Oh what sorrow and travail he
passed through. But what do you know of it? What do you know of it even regarding
your sin? He felt this because of the sins
of his people. But O sinner, O child of God,
how sorrowful have you ever been over your sin? Do you treat it
as a light thing? Every day we sin. Even as believers,
every day we sin. But do you treat it lightly?
Don't you know what the Son of God felt and suffered because
of the sin? don't you know something of what
he felt and suffered because of sin? well in this chapter
you're given a glimpse you're given a glimpse he sayeth unto
the disciples sit ye here while I go and pray yonder and they
sat and they slept and he suffered and he prayed by faith unto his
father regarding that cup that he must drink. Later in Matthew
27, when Christ was taken and taken to the cross and nailed
to the cross and crucified, we read of the people there that
they sat down and watched and sitting down they watched him
there and set up over his head his accusation written this is
Jesus the King of the Jews they sat down and they watched as
he suffered upon the cross three hours in the light and three
hours in the darkness. Now from the sixth hour, there
was darkness over all the land, until the ninth hour. And about
the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli,
Lama Sabaqfani. That is to say, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? and sitting down they watched
him there. In Gethsemane he instructs the
disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. You cannot enter in to what Christ
must endure. You can know of it, you can sit
and behold But as they sat, and as he said, Tarry ye here and
watch with me, they slept. Such is sin within us that we
cannot even look. We know the words, we know the
account, but sin would shut our eyes. sin would shut our ears,
sin would take away our understanding and sin would cause us to sleep
and not see one thing of that which matters most to our souls. of anything that we might behold
in time and history of any event that we should be aware of that
we should be alert to that we should be in need of that we
should do everything we can to learn about and to behold and
to understand something of it's these hours this account in Gethsemane
those hours upon the cross if there's anything that we should
be able to see give me some sight of the Lamb of God give me some
understanding of what He endured for sinners what He endured for
me if I'm His if there's anything that we should see it's this
and yet such is sin we sleep The disciples slept. They slept,
they could not help it. They slept. Sit ye here while
I go and pray yonder. Now see what happens in Gethsemane. In these three prayers, in this
short account as the disciples slept as Christ travailed and
was sorrowful. He prays, sit ye here while I
go and pray yonder. Now what is prayer? Prayer is
to come before the Father and to commune with God the Father,
and to cry out unto God the Father, is an act of faith. And here
Christ is throughout this account in Gethsemane, praying unto the
Father. Man slept. The disciples slept. Because without faith, it is
impossible to please God. And without faith, you sleep,
you're dead. Without faith you can see nothing. Without faith you're as a dead
man. But Christ prayed. He was with
God. He was with his Father. He cried
out unto him. And he cried out, Oh my Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. He cries out. free prayers we see here, free
prayers of faith, free prayers of trust in God, free prayers
of total submission to the will of God even though it meant the
death of God's Son in the place of sinners. The price that Christ
had to pay here was greater than any price, greater than anything. The suffering which he had to
endure is incomprehensible. And yet throughout it he prays,
his faith holds strong. If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. Throughout this account in Gethsemane
the drinking of the cup is the theme. Each prayer is to do with
the cup he must drink. If it be possible let this cup
pass from me. Secondly, He went away again
the second time and prayed saying, oh my father, if this cup may
not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. The cup. Let this cup pass from
me. He cries. But continues with,
thy will be done. Thy will be done. Oh the faith
we see here. He knew what the cup would do
unto him. He knew the horror of drinking
that cup. He knew what the wrath of God
was. He knew the impact that the righteousness
of God would have when it meets with the sin of mankind. For
that's the cup. It's the pure, perfect, glorious
light and righteousness of God meeting the darkness and sin
and depravity of man and when that glowing righteousness comes
upon the darkness and depravity of man's sin, it burns it. it sears it, it destroys it,
it judges it. That's the cup that Christ drank. He bore the sins of his people,
he was made sin in their stead and he drank this cup which judged
it with fire. And he knew what it would do
to him. He knew what it would feel like. He knew the horrors
that he would endure. He knew the sorrow. He knew the
forsaken state into which he would be plunged. My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? He knew the darkness which he
must endure. He who was light. He who was
God. He who came from light. itself
must go into the darkness. The sun must endure. The light of the sun must be
taken away. He must drink the cup. Let this cup pass from me, he
prays. Nevertheless, thy will be done. This is a glowing example of
his faith. If any should question or doubt
the faith that Christ displayed, here it is. This is faith in
this prayer. This is the faith that took him
through the hours of darkness at the cross. This is how he
endured it. all the while that he must drink
that cup that separated him from his father that brought him such
sorrow he could say thy will be done and all the while the
disciples slept why? because this is a picture of
his death and their death in him their death in him as sinners
they are dead as sinners they must die the second death as
sinners their sin must be judged and their sin must be taken away
as sinners they must die so they slept as he endured the wrath
of god on their behalf until that moment when he said rise
when he said rise we see in this account in Gethsemane he prays
the first time he finds them sleeping he prays the second
time oh my father if this cup may not pass away from me except
I drink it thy will be done 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. And
then he says, rise, let us be going. Rise. let us be going. Three prayers,
the drinking of the cup, the disciples slept, and at the end,
when the travel was over, when the work was done, Christ comes
unto them and says, rise, let us be going. Yes, this accounting Gethsemane,
as we know, precedes the betrayal of Christ. the trial of Christ
and the crucifixion of Christ. It's that which comes to pass
before the final hour. and it's that in which we see
the onset of the horror of what's to come coming upon Christ in
His experience as He sees that cup before Him that He must drink. But it's far more than just an
account that precedes the death of Christ. It's far more than
just an account that tells us that Christ knew the hour was
nearly there and knew what He would endure and how sorrowful
He was. It's also a depiction of what
would happen upon the cross in itself. As with so many of these
passages in scripture, as with the account of the Passover and
the Last Supper itself, as with so many things, there's so much
more in it. And in the actual account of
his prayers in Gethsemane is a picture and a figure of his
actual suffering upon the cross. he prays three times every prayer
is with regard to the cup that he drinks and throughout each
prayer the disciples slept firstly the first prayer and he went
to little father and fell on his face and prayed saying oh
my father if it be possible let this cut pass from me nevertheless
not as i will but as thou wilt he prayed oh the faith we see
in his prayer he prayed now when you're brought to times of trial
when you're brought to times of suffering when things don't
go your way What do you do? Do you run to your friends for
help? Well, Christ's friends were no help. They all slept. Do you run to man for assistance? Well, if Christ had gone to man
for assistance here, he'd have found none. What do you pray? Christ went to the only one who
was worth going to. to the only one he could, to
the only one he truly wanted to. He was one with his father,
and yet the one that he prayed unto, the God that he fell upon
his face before, was the very God who was bringing this trouble
upon him. It's not as if Christ was about
to be betrayed into the hands of the Jews and the Romans and
he went to his father to pray unto him that he would deliver
him from them or he would help him in that circumstance. It's not as though the father
was the one that was looking alongside and could help him
on his side whilst man came on the other side. It's not just
as though the devil was going to come upon Christ and do all
that he could in this hour to destroy him. So he prays to his
father to help him in this battle. But what Christ must suffer would
come from his father's hand. The only way he could deliver
his people from their sin was to die in their place. The only
way he could save his disciples was to be made what his disciples
were, sin. Was to bear what they had done,
their sins. Was to endure what they should
suffer, the judgment and wrath of God. Was to drink the cup
that they should drink. But those sins were laid upon
him. by his father in a mysterious
transaction. He was made to be there at his
father's command. He bore the wrath of God that
his father's righteousness sent out in judgment against their
sins. He drunk the cup that the father
ordered him to drink. let this cup pass from me he
prays but he knows the father's will is that he must drink it
nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt I don't think here
that the son's will was against the father's as God he was God
one with God the father and he'd entered into a covenant before
the foundation of this world to save his people and they'd
agreed that he would go to this place and they'd agreed that
he would drink this cup and as God this is him doing this but
as a man we see the horror of what he must endure as a man
he would recoil from it, as a man you would recoil from it and
as a man we see the man Christ Jesus here saying if it be possible
let this cut pass from me, if I could avoid it I would. We
see his humanity and we see his faith as a man coming through
here. When he prays under God, praying
that he'd be delivered from it, but knowing that he must take
it. He knew it wasn't possible. He
says, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But he
knows it's not possible. If it was passed from him, if
he didn't drink it, he wouldn't have saved those disciples. He
wouldn't save his people. Oh child of God, he'd have never
have saved you. He knew it wasn't possible to
save them. Except he drank this cup. Yet
as a man he prays. And we see the sorrow and the
travail of the man Christ Jesus. Yet as the son of God, he was
one with God the Father. And he says, in that faith, that
submits to the Father, that submits to the will of God, that submits
to the covenant of God, that agrees with all that God says
and does and wills, we see in his faith he says, nevertheless
not as I will, but as thou wilt. Thy will be done. The will of
God be done. That my love might be set upon
these disciples, these men whom I love. That their sins might
be taken away. That they might be brought from
death unto life. And he cometh unto the disciples
and findeth them asleep. and sayeth unto Peter what could
you 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 yes indeed the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
Peter had said I'll never deny thee all the disciples likewise
had said the same we will not deny thee we won't be offended
at thee yet when the hour came when the temptation came Peter
could not help himself saying I do not know the man the spirit
was willing but the flesh in him was so weak, the sin was
so great, the darkness so total, that he could not help saying,
I do not know the man. And here, as Christ prays, he
finds them asleep. Could you not watch with me one
hour? No, not one hour. They were dead. They slept. They were in the
darkness. And you, O sinner, are just the
same. To you, the gospel is like something
you cannot see. The gospel is like something
you cannot see. Every day, as it were, Christ
is in Gethsemane. Every day, as it were, Christ
prays. And every day he says to this
world, watch. And every day the world sleeps. And you, O sinner, every day
there is Christ in the Gospel. There is the message of his grace
being preached from on high. There is the account of Gethsemane
broadcast across this world. There is the account of the cross,
the grave, the resurrection made known throughout history. Every
day it's preached, every day it's made known, every day it
sits on the pages of scriptures ready to be read by you and every
day you sleep. Could ye not watch one hour Could
you not spend one hour reading this? Could you not spend one
hour listening to this? Could you not listen to one message
of the Gospel without sleeping through it? No, you couldn't. No, you couldn't. Though a multitude
of preachers come with this message, though you sit and listen with
the outward ear, inwardly you're asleep. and you cannot help it. You sleep, though Christ prays
unto the Father. You sleep, though he's drinking
the cup of God's wrath. You sleep, though he endures
great sorrow to save his people from their sins. Could you not
watch one hour? No, you sleep. You sleep. You're in darkness. You're dead. You sleep. Only Christ could
go to this place. Only Christ could endure this.
Man slept. You slept. I slept. he prays a second time he went
away again the second time and prayed saying oh my father if
this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it thy will
be done you see the prayer changes at the commencement as he's about
to go into the darkness as it were at the cross as he's about
to have the sins of his people laid upon him as he's about to
be made sin as the wrath of God is about to come down upon him
as he's about to drink the cup he cries if it be possible let
this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt
but here in the second prayer and the third prayer he's moved
on if this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it thy
will be done he knows he must drink it and here he is as it
were in figure drinking it thy will be done he drinks and he
drinks and he drinks and he dies and he suffers and the disciples
sleep And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes
were heavy. Are your eyes heavy? Are your
ears heavy? Are you weary of hearing? Are
you thinking of all that you might do in this world and run
out to do? When a damsel comes your way
and says, were you there in the meeting? Don't you go to the
meeting? Don't you go to church? Don't
you read the scriptures? When you're in the world and
you're confronted and you know that you may suffer for identifying
with the people of God, do you say, I don't know them? I don't
know Christ, I do not know this man? When you hear the gospel,
are you sleeping with it? Are your eyes heavy? The third prayer. And he left
them and went away again and prayed the third time saying
the same words. Oh how his faith endured to the
end. Once, twice, thrice. One hour
in the darkness, two hours in the darkness, three hours in
the darkness he prayed. And he drank, and he suffered,
and his faith never wavered. He went to the end. He endured to the end. Now from
the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth
hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus
cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lamas abakfenai. That is to say, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? He drunk the cup to the dregs. thy will be done. 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. Rise, let us be going. Sleep on now and take your rest.
there is in this a change they'd slept their eyes were heavy they
were dead but when Christ had endured on their behalf there
was a rest prepared for them a deliverance from that sleep
caused by sin and a rest that they would enter into a deliverance
from sin and its consequence there is that prepared for them
he travailed while they were asleep but now his travail's
at an end and you can sleep peacefully for now we are about to rise
he as it were had done his work upon the cross then he and they
went into the grave and slept together a while they rested
They rested in the grave, Christ and his disciples together. The
work was done. Salvation was wrought. The cup
had been drunk. The wrath of God had been quenched. Satisfaction had been made. Righteousness of God had been
brought in by faith, by the faith of Jesus Christ for his people. His prayers had been answered.
And then on the third day, he and they would come forth, rising,
rise, let us be going. rise let us be going the work
is done now in the historical account he's about to enter into
the reality he's about to go to the cross rise let us be going
behold he is at hand that doth betray me but in the figure of
that account which is preceded in the figure that we see here
in Gethsemane the work is done take your rest it's over now
having rested rise Let us be going. Only once the travail
is over can this be said. Only once the cup has been drunk
could this be said. Only when the darkness was passed
could this be said. But now at the end he says, with
the rising of the sun, as he gets up to go forth, as the Son
of God comes forth and his disciples with him, rise let us be going. Now you, O sinner, who've heard
the gospel but slept, have you heard the voice of Christ saying
unto you, who suffered for sinners like you, have you heard his
voice in the gospel saying unto you, rise, rise up out of your
death, rise up out of the darkness, rise up out of the Night rise
up out of your denial, rise up out of your sleep, rise up out
of your sin, rise up my disciple, my child, my friend, rise up
and come forth, let us be going. Rise up by faith, Rise up in
righteousness, rise up in new life, rise up in the light and
let us be going. Let us leave this place, let
us leave this world of sin, let us go unto the Father. Rise,
let us be going. As he said that to you, have
you heard him? Have you risen from your sleep? Have you heard the voice of the
Son of God? Rise, let us be going. Amen.