Pathway To The Passion
Part Two-The Garden
The Garden At Gethsemane
(Luke 22:39-53)
-About 1 mile from Jerusalem at The Mount of Olives
-This area was familiar to Jesus and the disciples. They had rested and prayed there before.
-Probably one of Jesus’ favorite spots.
-Biblical scholars estimate they arrived there between midnight and 1 a.m.
-Jesus’ real trial was here as he consents to the sacrifice of his life. This was his most crushing struggle in his life.
Jesus asked his disciple to sit and wait while he prayed. Perhaps they were to guard against interruption while he prayed. He took 3 of his other disciples with him.
Mark 14:32-36
32 And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.” 35 He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
Never before had Jesus struggled with anything God had asked of him
The Gospel of Luke records Jesus’ agony that night.
Luke 22:44
44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
Imagine the feelings that he wrestled with that night. Foreseeing his own pain and suffering yet still wanting to please God.
The closest word to “Abba” in English is “Daddy”
Every parent knows that something is really wrong when a child cries “Daddy”
Could Jesus have really sweated blood?
Yes-The medical word “Hematidrosis”. The body at times of great stress, can so break down that it can ooze blood, capillaries can burst.
Jesus wanted his disciples to stay with him during this trial. Most people would retreat to be alone with such emotions.
Jesus did not hide his fear or emotions this night. He was modeling a realistic view of what life would be like for them in the future after he was gone and they carried on with the mission.
When Jesus came back from praying he found his disciples sleeping.
This troubled him greatly because he knew this would be their last moments with him and they choose to sleep.
How many of us have fallen asleep on Jesus in a mission he asked of us?
(Witnessing, Tithing, Family)
Jesus told the disciples to stay awake and pray for strength against temptation.
Luke 22:46
46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked. “Get up and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you.”
What temptation?
Temptation to desert him. Temptation to be fearful. Temptation to doubt who he was.
Temptation to forget the signs and wonders they had seen.
Whenever you get weak, spiritually or physically, don’t be tempted to doubt God.
Use the moments of peace and serenity in your life(your quiet time with God) to prepare you for when you will need faith that will withstand the fire that is upon you.
Jesus prayed for another way if it was at all possible. It was not. Jesus accepted that the only way was by the cross that awaited him.
This was Gods plan and Jesus willingly accepted it.
When we face a betrayal or a test, we don’t have to stand alone if we have Jesus walking beside us in it. With him, we are walking with the one who obeyed God even when it meant his own comfort, his own will, and his own life.
A poem by Pastor Clinton Meininger from his book "Springs of Living Waters" tells us about God walking with us during troubled times.
"All around me, Lord of life,
My world is tumbling in.
There’s nothing sure and nothing safe
From gossip, greed and sin:
And yet, I know Thy pardon, Lord,
and thy forgiving power;
And through the storms of life each day
Thy truth sustains each hour.
Oh, help me climb above the storms’
That beat men down each day,
And glimpse a bit of heaven on earth
Along life’s burdened way.
Help me to know Thy nearness, Lord.
I cannot walk alone!
So let me feel Thy guiding hand
Through every path unknown.
I do not want to know the goal
Of what tomorrow bring;
One step, one hour, one gleam of light
To make my spirit sing.
Jesus was about to obey Gods plan that would ultimately lead to his death.
In one of his sermons, John Brevere talked about what it means to obey God.
“Obey when it involves risk”
“Obey when is hurts”
“Obey when it doesn’t make sense”
“Obey to completion”
Jesus obeyed fully
In the next walk of his pathway, he would stand silently before his accusers.
Abandoned by his followers, Jesus would ultimately walk alone to the completion of Gods plan for him. We do not need to walk alone in Gods plan for us. He is always with us.
Joan of Arc said, when she was abandoned by those who should have stood by her, “It is better to be alone with God. His friendship will not fail me nor His counsel nor His love. In His strength I will dare and dare and dare until I die.”
Whenever your closest friends abandon you
When family abandon you
God is still with you
No matter what we go through in life, God is with us.
We simply must find him in the darkness of night, in the midst of the trees, in our own Gethsemane. In our own quiet, special place.
Whenever you face trying times in your life, go to that quiet, special place.
God is already waiting for you there and he knows the trouble you face.
He will give you courage to face the road that lay ahead of you.
The entire purpose of Jesus going to Gethsemane was to be alone with his
Father when he needed him the most.
The size of your God,
Determines the size of your prayer request.
The size of your prayer request,
Determines the size of your answers
Jerry Falwell
If anyone needs an answer to a prayer, let them ask now.
God is waiting to hear you ask.
