Would you turn back to Luke chapter
22? Tom Fitzpatrick is in rehab right
now over on Versailles Road. He had a couple of toes amputated
because of his diabetes, but he'll be there for three or four
weeks. So let's everybody remember him, and if you can, go to see
him. I'm sure he would appreciate that. Pray for me. I don't believe
I've ever felt more unqualified or more reluctant to deal with
the passage of Scripture that must be dealt with because it's
in the Bible. I want to attempt to preach upon
Gethsemane, and I'll be declaring things that you and I most certainly
will not be able to comprehend. but things which we must believe. I'm going to repeat that. I'm
going to be declaring things that you and I cannot possibly
comprehend, grasp, or understand, but things which we must believe. We have recorded in the Word
of God on at least two different occasions where the Pharisees
tried to have the Lord arrested, but they could not because the
scripture says His hour had not yet come. There was a special hour that
the Lord had lived 33 years waiting for this hour to come. He said in Luke chapter 12 verse
50, I have a baptism to be baptized with Now he'd already gone through
water baptism. That's not what he was talking
about. He was talking about being baptized, immersed in the wrath
of God. He said, I have a baptism to
be baptized with, and how is my soul straightened until it
be accomplished? When he was anticipating this
hour in John chapter 12 verse 27, he said, now is my soul troubled. Now we're talking about the son
of God. We're talking about the beloved one of the father. He said, now is my soul troubled. That's a whole lot different
from me or you saying, now is my soul troubled. He said, now
is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour? But for this cause came I into
this hour. Shortly before the hour began,
he prayed to his father, Father, the hour is come. thy son. That which was to be
the most horrible hour for him was
the hour that he achieved his greatest glory and glorified
his father. The hour has come. Glorify thy
son that thy son also might glorify thee. I look back in our text in verse
39 of Luke 22, and he came out and went as he
was want, as he was accustomed to. This is a place the Lord
frequented with his disciples, to the Mount of Olives and his
disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place,
and we know from the other writers that this was Gethsemane's garden. Gethsemane means olive press. It's a place where olives was
crushed and their precious oil was gathered. Gethsemane's garden,
the place he often went to with his disciples. And when he was
at the place, he said unto them, pray that you enter not into
temptation. What's going to happen to you
if you enter into temptation? Can you stand before it? Pray
that you enter not into temptation. Isn't that a prayer you and I
should always be praying? The Lord taught us to pray that
daily, didn't he? Lead us not into temptation. And the Lord says to his disciples
at this time who he brought with him to this hour, pray that you
enter not into temptation. Verse 41, and he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast. And we know from Matthew's account
and Mark's account that he brought three disciples with him at this
time. The other eight were left at
the gate. Why did he choose these three? I don't know. Were the other
eight jealous? I suppose they probably were.
We read in this very chapter where they were having an argument
over which of them would be the greatest. All were involved in
this. And so, yes, I would say they
probably were jealous. It's called a wicked human nature
that they still possessed. wanting the glory to themselves. But the Lord was withdrawn about
the stones cast. In Matthew's account, he'd said
to his disciples, tarry ye here and watch with me. And the scripture
says he began to be sorrowful and sore amazed. That word means
terrified. The Son of God was terrified. He was very heavy, the strongest
word for depression. Now, like I said, this is not
me or you getting that way. This is he who is the brightness
of God's glory and the express image of his person. He was terrified. He was sore amazed and he said,
my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Christ is saying
at this time, I could die right now. What was going on? Mark's account struck with sorrow
and he wanted the company of these men at this time. He wanted
them to be with him. Now look in verse 41 of our text. And he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast. He was by himself at this time.
He'd left the other three behind after telling them to pray. And
he kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven strengthening him. Now evidently he was about
to die right there on the spot when he looked into that cup.
And an angel came down from heaven at that time and strengthened
him and preserved him from dying right then so he could be prepared
for his suffering on the cross. And this is his soul suffering. He said, My soul. This is not talking about his
physical sufferings at this time. He said, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death. and being in an agony. He prayed more earnestly. Now
how could the Son of God pray more earnestly? I don't know
how to answer that question, but he did. Turn with me for
a moment to Hebrews chapter 5. Verse 7, Hebrews chapter 5, verse
7, speaking of the Lord Jesus, who in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
cryings and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death,
and was hold in that He feared, though He were a Son, yet learned
He obedience by the things which He suffered. Back to our text. And being in agony, he prayed
more earnestly, and his sweat, his sweat, the stress he was
under, he was sweating, and his sweat was as it were great drops
of blood falling down to the ground. He was under such stress
that he sweat blood and the drops of bloody sweat fell to the ground. Now I've read and heard physical
explanations as to how this can be, how you can actually sweat
blood, and I believe it, and it happened to him at this time.
He was under such Stress. Verse 45, And when he rose up
from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. That seems appropriate that the
disciples sleep through this. Seems appropriate. Disciples
are so weak. But you see, he was to do this
work alone. No help, no aid from any man
or any disciple. He was to do this work alone. Turn with me to Mark chapter
14 for a moment. This is Mark's account. Verse 32, ìAnd they came to a place which was
named Gethsemane.î And he saith to his disciples,
Seek ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter
and James and John, the elect of the elect, and began to be
so amazed, terrified. and to be very heavy, and saith
unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. Tarry ye
here, and watch. He wanted his disciples to be
with him at this time. And he went forward a little,
and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the
hour the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father,
all things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from
me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt. And he cometh and findeth him
sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst
not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter
into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but
the flesh is weak. And again he went, and prayed,
and spake the same words, Abba, Father, all things are possible
unto thee. If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. Verse 39, And he returned, he
found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Neither
wished they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time.
He prayed that prayer for the third time and saith unto them,
Sleep on now and take your rest. It's enough. The hour is come. We have in church history many
examples of men who died as martyrs, who, while they were in the flames,
sang the praises of God, having such assurance, such joy, knowing
by God's grace they were given grace to die for the cause of
Christ, and they counted it a great I remember reading where one
said to die for Christ. It is an honor. I do not deserve. But this death, this death, this hour was not
like that hour or their hours at all. Three times He asked
that this cup might be removed. Now, here's my question. What was in the cup? The wrath of God? The torments
of hell? Yes, I wouldn't deny that. But what is behind the wrath
of God and the torments of hell? One answer, sin. The sins of all of God's elect,
my sins, the sins of all who believe, the sins of all for
whom he died, the sins of all of God's elect were in that cup. And he took a look at it, his
father gave him a look at it, and it almost killed him right
there. And the reason you and I don't
understand that is because sin doesn't much bother us. We're
used to it. Oh, we pray for deliverance. It does bother us. But we don't
have any concept of how evil sin really is. You see, I'm so hardened. so desensitized towards sin. Scripture talks about man drinking
iniquity like water. It's water to us. We're used
to it. But here is the one human being,
the Lord Jesus Christ was man, the only man to ever see sin
as God sees it. Me and you don't have that capability. But He did and He does. He is the one, Jesus of Nazareth
is the only man to ever live who sees sin as God sees it.
He sees it, it's against God. You know that sin you committed
yesterday that you've already forgotten about? It has sufficient evil to make
Christ die. Sin is against God. All sin is
against God. All sin has as its root hatred
of the living God. And the thought of the Lord Jesus
Christ drinking this cup and burying our sins in His own body
on the tree, He was completely overcome. He knew he would no longer have
his father's favor. Oh, how he loved his father.
He knew he would no longer have his father's presence. He knew
he would no longer have his father's smile. And as he contemplated
that, he about died. He sweat drops of blood and an
angel came down from heaven and strengthened him for the greater
sufferings he was to experience. We're talking about the passion
of Christ. The suffering of Christ. I feel like an idiot talking
about it. I know so little of it. You know, they made that
movie a few years ago, The Passion of Christ, and they depicted
his physical sufferings, and no doubt, I wouldn't go to it
just because of that, because his physical sufferings were
horrible, no doubt, but what were they in comparison to his
soul sufferings? Knowing he was going to be made
sin, all this was going on before the physical sufferings. When
he was sweating these great drops of blood, he had not yet gone
to the cross. This was talking about his soul
sufferings. Yes, the physical sufferings
were great, but nothing like his soul sufferings. Bearing
my sin, being made sin. Now listen real carefully. Christ,
Jesus the Lord, never committed a sin. He knew no sin. He didn't understand sin the
way you and I do. It's part of us. It's our nature. You see, we don't become sinners
when we sin. We sin because we are sinners. It's our nature. But not Him. He knew no sin and the thought,
oh, I feel like a beast trying to talk about something I don't
know anything about. But the thought of him being
made sin. He sweat drops of blood. Turn with me for a moment to
Lamentations chapter 1. Right after the book of Jeremiah.
Lamentations chapter 1. Verse 11. Let's look at the last
phrase of verse 11. See, O Lord, and consider, for
I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the
Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From
above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against
him. He hath spread a net for my feet,
he hath turned my back, he hath made me desolate and faint all
the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed and come upon
my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. The Lord hath delivered
me into their hands, from whom I am not able to raise up. The
Lord hath trodden underfoot all my mighty men in the midst of
me. He hath called an assembly against me to crush my young
men. The Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah,
as in a winepress." You say, those are the words of Jeremiah.
Are they? are they? Who is the only one who could
say, I am become vile? I was born that way. I didn't become vile. But when
Christ was These are his words, not mine. Is there any doubt who is speaking
when he says, is it nothing to you all that pass by behold and
see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done
unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his
anger? Turn to Isaiah 53. Excuse me. I feel so convinced that I'm
just saying what the Word says, and I know I don't understand
it, but I believe it. Isaiah chapter 3, verse 10, Yet
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That's a strong word, isn't it?
It pleased the Lord. That doesn't mean he got some
kind of sadistic pleasure out of it. But he was guilty. And the Lord's
justice was being satisfied. When he bore my iniquity, he
didn't simply bear the punishment of it. He bore the sin itself. That's the cup that he was speaking
of. Who his own self bear our sins. in his own body on the tree. Now look, go on reading. Yet
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. Now see that word offering for
sin is one word in the Hebrew. It's not three words. It's one
word. And it's also translated sin. Guilt. Trespass. Guiltiness. It's the same thing
as 2 Corinthians 5 21. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. There's a reason that the earth
was covered with darkness while the Lord was on the cross. Because
you and I can never enter into what was going on. You know that,
don't you? You and I can never enter into
what was going on. But I do know this. The Lord
had a capacity for suffering that you and I could never have
because of His sinlessness. Oh, His Holy Soul being made
sin. I repeat, He had a capacity for
suffering that you and I know nothing about. He knew no sin,
and the thought of drinking the contents of that cup, he thought,
I'm going to die right now. And an angel had to come and
strengthen him. And when he did drink it, it
killed him. He was strengthened by that angel
for greater suffering. I think of the words of the song, Ye who look at sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great, here
may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed See him bear the awful load. Tis the word the Lord's anointed,
Son of man and Son of God. Now I want you to consider before
we move on, and this is such an encouragement to me, I don't
understand this, but the Lord prayed three times that this
cup might be removed. You know what that lets me know?
I can continue to pray about the same thing. The Lord did. He prayed three
times. If it be possible, if you're
willing, and that's the way we pray, isn't it? We're allowed
to pray. over and over again. But we also say with him, nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be done. Lord, I'm sick. Would you heal
me? Lord, I'm sick. Would you heal me? Lord, I'm
overcome with sin. Will you deliver me? But we pray
this prayer over and over again. And yet we say, nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be done. Here's something that you and
I cannot possibly understand. The Lord had two wills, a human
will and a divine will. If I understand that, I don't. And the human will shrank at
the thought of the divine will being done because he knew it
was his father's will for him to come and drink that cup and
be nailed to a cross. And the human will at this time
shrank at the thought of being made sin, drinking that cup and
bearing the wrath of God. The only way that I can even have a hint at
the evil of sin is right here. The Lord's view of sin in Gethsemane's
garden. Now would you turn with me to
John chapter 18. This is John's account of what took place. Somebody's going to ask me tomorrow,
how'd you get along Sunday? Didn't. Dealing with the subject
that's so far above me and beyond me that I can't possibly feel
anything but failure. But yet I'm hoping that the Lord
takes his word and causes us to penetrate our hearts and causes
everybody in here to look to Christ only. John chapter 18, when Jesus had
spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook
Kidron, which was a garden, into the which he entered and his
disciples. And we just read about everything
that took place in that garden. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted thither with
his disciples. Judas then, having received a
band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth. And said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. Notice the he is in italics if
you have a King James version. The he was never in the original. He's saying what he said to Moses
1,200 years before. I am that I am. Tell them I am,
hath sent thee. And what happened? And as soon, verse 6, as soon
as he had said unto them, I am, what did they do? They went backwards. And they fell to the ground by
an invincible and irresistible force. And the Lord is letting
them know at this time, I'm no victim. I'm in control of everything
that's taking place. I suppose they were held by the
force until the force was released and they get back up. Then asked he them again, Whom
seek ye? I can imagine how they said it
this time. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am. If therefore ye seek me, let these
go their way. This wasn't a request. This was a command of him who
spake the world into existence. Verse 9, that the saying might
be fulfilled which he spake of them which thou gavest me. I've
lost none. This is speaking of His success
as Savior. This was quoted from both John
6 and John 17. This is the will of Him that
sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should lose
nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. Now, Christ's
work in behalf of His people was successful. Verse 10, Then Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right
ear. Now you know he was aiming to cut off his head. He ducked
and the ear went off. The servant's name was Malchus.
I'm going to try to preach on Christ's last miracle next week,
Lord willing, where The Lord touched this man's ear and healed
him. That was his last miracle. But
now look at the words of the Lord. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put
up thy sword into thy sheath, the cup which my father hath given me. Shall I not drink it? No more, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. It was not possible. Never have
truer words been spoken by His enemies as they made fun of Him
on the cross. He saved others Himself. He cannot save. For me or you to be saved? He could not be saved. He had
to drink the contents of this cup. And this scripture is so
important. Who his own self bear our what? Sins. Where? In his own body
on the tree. When he drank the contents of
that cup, the content was my sin. He drank the cup dry. Look into that cup. What's in
it? My sins are gone. They're no more. He put them
away by the sacrifice of himself. And because he was sinless, he could take those sins in and
satisfy God's wrath against sin where God says, enough. I can ask for no more. And I can accept no less. By drinking that cup, the contents
are no more. Sin has been put away. God has
been glorified. Every attribute of God is in
full display in the sufferings of the Lord Jesus
Christ. In him drinking that cup, he
made a way for God to be just and to completely justify me. You know, I think of what Paul
said in Galatians 2.21, this was the thought that I was left
with in considering this, if righteousness came by the law, if righteousness comes by what
you do, that's what that means, then Christ died in vain. But thank God Righteousness doesn't
come by the law. It comes by the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And He did not die in vain. He
put away the sin of everybody He died for. It's gone. Well,
did He put away my sin? Do you look to Him only as your
only way into the presence of the Father? You look nowhere
else? If you look nowhere else, beloved, your sin's gone. You stand before God without
guilt. Oh, may I never view sin lightly. May God give me the grace to
say, Lord, my sin cost Your Son infinite wrath. Keep me from sin against You. Let me not even enter into temptation. Let's pray. Lord, we truly feel such things
are high, we can't attain to them. But Lord, we do believe,
we do believe that all that is needed is what thy son has done. And we give thanks. In Christ's
name we pray. Amen.