Jesus in the Garden - focus on Matthew 26:36-46
Community Good Friday Service, Annunciation RC.
April 13, 2001
The Garden of Gethsemane is the site for three important events in the life of Christ
- His agony over facing the cross
- his betrayal at the hands of Judas Iscariot
- and his arrest by the Jewish mob
We’re going to focus this morning on his agony.
The Garden of Gethsemane itself was located amongst a grove of olive trees on the slopes of the Mount of Olives - just across the Kidron Valley to the east of Jerusalem.
Gethsemane means ‘an oil press’ in Aramaic, so the location could have once been a clearing in the trees where the olives were brought for processing.
It’s possible that the clearing could have been walled off for security during the harvest, but has now been converted into a private garden for whomever owned the land at the time.
There is to this day a number of possible sites for the Garden which compete for recognition - but it’s not really the place that is significant , is it?
- It’s what happened there one long night just under 2000 years ago
The Agony
36-38 - Arrival at the garden
Jesus takes the disciples to this place soon after finishing the last supper. Judging from what happens next, it seems that Jesus has deliberately sought out a place where he knows that he and the disciples will be left alone for a while.
Two things convince me that this garden was a popular spot for Jesus and the disciples to get away to -
a) the fact that he comes straight here without any noteworthy events in-between
b) the fact that Judas is able to find him so quickly, even though he left the supper long before they were done. To lead the angry mob to Jesus he would have to know where he was going, and be able to find it quickly.
It’s even been said that this site was the campsite for the disciples when they come to Jerusalem.
Jesus’ motivation for coming here is simple - he needs to gather his strength for the coming storm.
Upon arrival at the garden, Jesus quickly takes three of the disciples - Peter, James and John, and walks deeper into the garden, leaving the others at the perimeter.
Now why these three you may ask? Well, he wasn’t picking favorites, but he did give the disciples certain roles to fill, and these three seem to be the ones whom he confided in the most.
They are also the three who had witnessed his meeting with God the previous winter, where on a high mountain he had been (Matt. 17:2) "transfigured before them - his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as snow"
So they have seen Jesus at what we might call "the peak of his power", and now they are about to see him agonize over the events he must very soon face.
His words in verse 38 surprise us
38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
"Sorrow" is a weak word to convey what Jesus is experiencing right now - we experience sorrow when we watch a sad movie or hear a sad story.
"Anguish" is closer to describing our Lord’s state of being. Anguish is what we experience when tragedy hits close to home - like when we lose a loved one - and the pain of the sadness is so intense that we can’t imagine ever coming out of it.
His words to the three men with him "Stay here and keep watch with me" is a command and a plea - he not only WANTS them there, he feels that he NEEDS them there.
It is words like this from Jesus that remind us of his true humanity - he experienced the same weaknesses and limitations as we all do as people. He lived as one of us -
- not like one of us
- not pretending to be one of us
- BUT AS ONE OF US
We know from the other gospels that he will go so deeply into anguish and distress that he will sweat drops of blood while he is in prayer. He knows the depths our spirits can plunge to, because he’s been there himself.
39-41 First prayer - hesitation
He leaves the three just a little distance away - just enough to be out of ear-shot - and falls to the ground, demonstrating his complete submission to his Father as he is about to pray.
He knows the cross is coming, and that he alone can face it. But at this moment he truly hopes that there is some other way. How else can we interpret his words -
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.
It is a brief moment, and it is quickly followed by Yet not as I will, but as you will.". Furthermore, we know that Jesus does indeed face the cross, so in the end he did not waver from the enormous burden that was set before him.
Since it is such a brief moment, we might be tempted to over look it. That would be our loss.
For in hearing these words we find that we have a Saviour who was 100% human, so much so that he even hesitates to go through with something.
We can learn from this that to face an enormous responsibility and waver, if only for a moment, is a natural reaction.
We also learn to go to our God and pray for strength to go ahead and face what we must anyway, if only because it is his will for us to do so.
And ultimately we see how very powerful and truly amazing our God is, for no where else in history do you have a God which is ready to reveal this kind of vulnerability to his followers.
Think about the situation - Jesus went off to pray, and the disciples quickly fell asleep.
Who told them what he prayed?
Who told them the words that came out of Jesus’ mouth?
Only he could Have! They were all asleep!
He must have at some point let them know what he had prayed, and why would he do this? What does he have to gain by sharing this moment of weakness?
Nothing but our deepest respect, love and worship, as we see our Saviour open himself up completely to us.
So in this quick prayer we learn much about our Saviour.
We also learn much about ourselves - as people - when we see how the disciples behave during all this.
For when Jesus comes back to check on the disciples he finds them all asleep.
They just do not have the strength to stay up to watch over him - not the three closest to him, and not the others waiting nearby.
No matter who they were or how strong their bond with Jesus, they are all sleeping like babies while he’s in such inner turmoil that he’s sweating drops of blood.
He rebukes them, saying "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
This is the biblical way of giving someone the gears for something they’ve done wrong.
He cannot help but rebuke them, for they have failed at the task given to them, and this cannot be ignored.
But in the same breath he instructs them on how to avoid a repeat performance - "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation"
These are words both for the right now and the what’s ahead - they need to be in prayer right now, and they will need to be for a while to come. The temptation to cut and run is going to be great - we know that they all give into it, if only for a while.
He also confides in them something of what he is going though "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
This is no mere platitude - he is experience this first hand right now, and he wants the disciple to know understand their need to seek help from God to bring them through what they are all about to experience.
42-43 Second Prayer - Resolve
He returns to his place of prayer, leaving the disciples to again watch out for him while he prays to his Father.
This time the words of his prayer express resolve for the task at hand -
"My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
He is acknowledging that deep within he knows that there is no other way, and that he and only he can face the task at hand.
When we use the word "if", it usually means that we’re not sure of something.
We say "If you want to go out tonight, then give me a call"
Another less used but equally acceptable way to use the word "if " is as a statement of fact.
For instance, my boys like pizza. If I said to them "If you really like pizza, then eat up", I’m not questioning that they like it - I’m stating that they do, and inviting them to eat.
In the same way. Jesus is using the word "if" as a statement of fact - When he says "if it is not possible…" he knows that it is not possible, and he affirming that he and only he can take the cup in front of him and drink of it.
The imagery of a cup, used in the first prayer and again here, is perfect for the setting. They have all just left the Last supper hours earlier, where Jesus passed out a cup representing the blood he was to shed for the sin of mankind.
To drink out of a cup one you have to choose to pick it up, bring it to your mouth , and consume the contents within.
Jesus is making a choice here - there is no element of surprise, coercion, or coincidence. He knows what is coming, and he has settled in to face it.
The contents of the cup - nothing less then God’s anger at the sin of mankind, past, present and future.
The Old Testament again and again use the imagery of "the cup of God’s wrath" to denote his judgment of sin. Those who drink of this cup are consuming their deserved punishment for their sin against God.
By picking up this cup and consuming it himself, Jesus is bringing God’s judgment for sin upon himself, even though there was no reason for him to do so. No reason, that is, except our salvation.
He returns to the disciples again, and again they are asleep at the post. Their consistent inability to even maintain watch shows us that even now, before the mob has come to take him away, Jesus is truly alone in what he is about to face.
The Gospel of Mark tells us that they are speechless before him - their are simply no excuses worth using, and their silent shame says it all anyway. They are most likely sorry, but they are unable to do anything about it.
44-46 Third Prayer and eve of Betrayal
Jesus returns to his place of prayer one last time.
Matthew tells us that Jesus says the same thing as before, but I believe he says one more thing.
In our Journey with Jesus over the course of Lent, we have been with Jesus in many places.
We have walked with him in the wilderness, climbed with him on the mountain and entered into Hell with him. We have eaten with him by the sea, spent time with him in Paradise, and watched him clear the temple.
In all these places his Father has been with him, but Jesus is about to go where his father won’t follow.
The chief judgment of God against sin is his withdrawal from those who sin. When his people failed him in Israel he simply withdraws from them, leaving them to face the world without him.
Jesus, in taking the judgment for sin upon himself, is about to be forsaken by the father he has known all his life.
Both he and The Father know this, so I believe that Jesus is taking this last chance alone to say Good bye - even if only for awhile.
We simply can’t imagine what this entails - we can only sit back and give thanks that Jesus would bring this upon himself.
When he’s ready, he comes back to the disciples, rousing them from their slumber, and preparing them to meet the angry mob, which is at the very gates of the garden.
Conclusion
When we read what happens next, we know that Jesus indeed carries out everything he has set his hear to do.
We know from the rest of the gospel of the infamous kiss of Judas, the betrayer
the futile resistance of Peter, the rock, whom will learn even more of his own weakness before God is ready to really use him,
and of the arrest of our Saviour for crimes he did not commit, and his punishment which he didn’t deserve.
We watch our Saviour allow himself to be humiliated, beaten, cursed and whipped.
We see the saviour marched to his cross like the worst of criminals, suffer a death set aside for traitors, and placed in a tomb that is not even his own.
And again, there is nothing we can do but give thanks,
that Jesus took this cup which only he could take,
and he drank it to it’s bitter dregs.
May we never, ever, take that for granted.
