(Matthew 26:36-46)…..36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are youstill sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
The night of Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gathsemane was a time of great agony for the Lord. But what was causing Jesus so much agony? Was it the defection of Judas? Was it the betrayal of the eleven that was about to happen? Was it the injustice of those mocked trials to come later in the morning? Was it the mockery? Was it the spitting? Was it the punchings in the face that was coming? Was it the scourging? Was it the crucifixion? Or was as it dying? What was it that caused these feelings of anguish? Well it was something more than these things. Those things caused Him a great amount of sorrow, but the anguish and amazement that captures Him now is something beyond that. I believe it is the anticipation of experiencing the Father’s will and embracing the role of becoming a sacrifice for sin, to become the sin’s bearer (Isaiah 53:1-11) (Matthew 27:46).
He is facing something completely alien to Himself. You see, Jesus has never known sin, He has never known alienation from the Father.
- As God – He is not temptable – (James 1:13) says, “God can’t be tempted.” – or tempt anyone
- As God – He is not temptable – not able to sin
- As man – He is temptable – He was tempted in all points like as we are – yet without sin
- Read: (Hebrews 4:15)
- So as God He is not able to sin – but as man He is able to be tempted
- His struggle is not like ours – we are tempted by the lust of the flesh – the lust of the eyes – and the pride of life – (1 John 2:16)
- He had none of those – He had no human sinfulness – He was fully man but had no human sinfulness – nothing in His nature could ever allow for that
What God was asking Him to do was to embrace sin as a sin bearer, not as a sinner, but to take the wrath of God for sin upon Himself and to receive divine punishment because of our sin
- Every sinner for whom He died – He took that sinner’s eternal wrath
- For the millions of sinners for whom He died – He took a million eternities full of wrath
- Read: (John 10:17-18) (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- And He was holy – harmless – undefiled – separate from sinners
- How can a holy – righteous – sinless bear my sin?
- His anguish is so immense that – (Luke 22:43) – says, “God sent an angel to strengthen Him.”
- A mighty angel came to save Him when He came to the point of death.
We don’t have a perfect hatred for sin – He did!
- Everything in His being is repulsed by the thought of iniquity
- He’s too pure to look on things that are sinful – He can’t even behold them
- Read: (Habakkuk 1:13)
- No wonder He came almost to the point of death in the Garden of Gethsemane
There is nothing that God doesn’t have the power, privilege, or prerogative to do. He can do whatever He wants, in any way He wants
- However – God couldn’t allow Jesus to miss the cross
- When Jesus said remove this cup from Me – it wasn’t going to happen
- If He doesn’t go to the cross – heaven is empty – hell is full – the bible isn’t true – the promises of God are lies – there is no salvation
- God put Himself on record that salvation will come through blood sacrifice of His Son
- He is never inconsistent with His promises
He did it willingly! He did it so that we might have a way to be saved. He did it so that when a lost soul cries out to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, there would be salvation available
- He did it because He loved us – (John 3:16) (Romans 5:8) (Revelation 1:5)
- I am thankful that He endured the pain and paid the price so that we might be saved
- Have you repented as a sinner and turned to God by believing on His Son Jesus?
- Are you saved by His grace? Has His death become your death?
- Has His blood washed away your sins?
- Do you know Him as your Savior?