Back to Basics
The Passion Narratives – No 2 10/03/2021
Derrick Harrison 10/03/2021
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane (Matt.26:36-46; Mk.14:32-42; Lk.22:39-46) This is one of a several talks leading up to Easter. The first talk was Jesus at Caesarea Philippi where He first spoke of His death and resurrection. This is the second talk which about Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane.
“Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto you, pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually” (Lev.24:2). “Jesus was in a garden, not of delights as the first Adam, in which he destroyed himself and the whole human race, but in one Prayer of agony, in which he saved himself and the whole human race” (Blaise Pascal: 1623-1662). “Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Heb.5:7). New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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Alexander Maclaren, a famous Scottish preacher, and commentator, believed that the above Scripture from Hebrews referred to Gethsemane, he says: “We may take these great and solemn words as a commentary on the gospel narrative of Gethsemane.” He then referred to the three Synoptic Gospels, “all the three evangelists who are our source of knowledge of that scene in the garden of Gethsemane employ strange, and all but unexampled, words in order to express the condition of our Saviour’s spirit then. Matthew, for instance, uses a word which, in our Bible, is translated ‘He began to be very heavy.’ Only once besides, as far as I know, is it employed in scripture, and it seems to mean something like ‘On the very verge of despair.’ And then Mark gives us the same singular expression, adding to it another one which is translated, ‘sore amazed.’ It has been suggested that a more adequate rendering would be ‘began to be appalled,’ and another suggestion has been, that it might be adequately rendered with the phrase ‘that He began to be out of Himself.’ Then comes Luke, with his word, which we have translated into English as ‘agony.’ And then there come Christ’s own strange words, ‘My soul is encompassed with sorrow almost up to the point of death.’ That is not a proverb; I take that to be a literal fact that one more pang and the physical frame would have given way. Now, I do not point to these things in any spirit of curious investigation. I feel, I hope, ‘Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground.” You will see from my own comments on each Gospel that I have already emphasised the importance of these three words.
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Jesus invited three of his disciples to join Him, "Stay here and watch with Me" (Mat.26:38; cf. Lk.22:40). Nothing in their experience prepared them for Gethsemane or helped them to understand the meaning of it. My intention is to look at Gethsemane 1 from the viewpoint of prayer, 2 - agonised cries would have been heard from Jesus’ lips. The significant meaning of Gethsemane, “oil-press” does not escape us, as Jesus was going to be pressed down just like the crushed olives, the heavy weight of the olive-press produces pure oil, which was a vital ingredient in His meal offering, the flour for the offering was produced from the single seed of grain that went into the ground and died. The finely ground spices produced the beautiful fragrance which permeated the tabernacle, which also was part of the meal offering. The sin offering was offered on the altar of sacrifice and was often accompanied by the meal offering which was eaten. Christ’s sacrifice was a sin offering and the offering up of Himself to Father was a meal offering, on the one hand Christ’s offering caused Father great distress and anguish, but on the other hand it brought great satisfaction and pleasure to Him due to Christ’s willingness to obey Him and endure pain for our salvation, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand” (Isa.53:10).
1
The name Gethsemane (Hebrew gat shemanim, “oil press”) suggests that the garden was a grove of olive trees in which was located an oil press 2 This material has been taken from my document, The Prayer Life of Jesus: narrated by Luke.
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Jesus did not only choose Gethsemane because of the meaning of its name, but because this location was associated with prayer. It was His private place, made holy by His previous meetings with His Father there. The second choice Jesus made was to surround Himself with human companionship in such a dark hour. He wanted trusted friends around Him to give Him needed support and encouragement in His ordeal. Luke’s emphasis on prayer is shared with the other Synoptic Gospels when we come to Gethsemane; in actual fact, it is necessary to draw on each of these three Gospels to complete our understanding of Jesus’ prayers in the Gethsemane. This section begins with an exhortation to His disciples to pray (Lk.22:40) and concludes with a similar exhortation (v46). Jesus’ travail in prayer is presented by Luke as the watershed in His account of the Passion narrative. Strenuous prayer enables Jesus to be faithful to His Father by embracing His will. It is important to note that Jesus, throughout his ordeal engages in PRAYER as the means whereby He expresses His own soul’s anguish and comes to clarity and decision regarding Father’s will. Having travailed in prayer and prevailed He was then able to proceed to the cross, to encounter the miscarriage of justice, the physical and mental abuse, and the horrors of the crucifixion. However, the greatest victory He had gained through prayer was to will Father’s will with crystal clear clarity and thus go forth in the authority of God, assured of His agreement with Father. This was unshakeable, but the humanity of
New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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Jesus meant that the cross would test and try Him beyond His own human resources. There is a Christological dimension to Christ’s accomplishing salvation which roots in the incarnation (the miraculous conception of Jesus) and the fact that He is constituted as possessing two natures in one person – He is the eternal Son of God and the human son of Mary. To understand that Jesus Christ is one person yet has two natures is the key to everything about Him – His person, His behaviour, and His ministry. When we approach the cross and the events which lead up to the cross, we come face to face with His humanity and His deity. Oswald Chambers has grasped this point clearly, he writes about Gethsemane, “It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin.” The fact that Jesus is fully human and also God’s eternal Son is the crucial factor which makes salvation possible. If Jesus was not God then His sufferings, His shed blood and His death are not efficacious. Oswald Chambers comments further, “It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of God. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Saviour (Hebrews 9:11-15).” When Oswald Chambers uses the title “Son of Man” he is referring to Jesus’ humanity in contrast to “Son of God” referring to His eternal sonship as God. Gethsemane and Calvary reveal the humanity of Jesus as in no other situations.
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Each of the three Synoptic Gospels gives a primary place to Gethsemane, but John does not mention it, 3 despite the fact that he was there with his brother James and Peter. He gave his unique account of events in the Upper Room prior to Gethsemane (Jn.13) followed by the teaching about the Holy Spirit and concluding with the “High-Priestly Prayer” of Jesus (Jn.17). Jesus did not die as other martyrs have died because he was not a martyr. His struggles in the Garden and on the Cross, which indicate much more than martyrdom, He died as the Lamb of God bearing the penalty for the sins of all the world. He was the scapegoat on whom the wrath of God was poured out in full. He was shocked by its ferocity and fierceness. Only this facing up to sin’s judgment can adequately account for what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane and Golgotha’s Hill. At this point it is necessary to read each account so that we can piece together a complete picture. The burden fell upon Jesus and forced Him to the ground where He lay prostrate in agony. He felt the weight and horror of sin in the Garden and on the cross, He paid the price for sin, giving His body to pain and death.
3
Jn.12:27
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Matthew’s account (Mat.26:36-46) “And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 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” (26:37-39). “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (Ps.42:11a; 43:5). “My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me” (Ps.55:4-5). V37, 38 Immediately, he entered Gethsemane the burden of sorrow suddenly came upon Jesus, “He began to be sorrowful and very heavy” (Mt.26:37-KJV; and Mk.14:33). The word translated “very heavy” is ἀδημονέω is also used by Mark, and can be translated, ‘On the very verge of despair.’ In one sentence Matthew says how Jesus took the three inner disciples and said to them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, 4 even unto death” – note that these are Jesus’ words and not those of the three evangelists.
4
As Mark 14:34; cf. Ps.42:6a, 12.
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In His deep anguish He instructs the three chosen disciples, “Stay here and watch with Me” (v38). Only Matthew adds the personal note, “with Me.” Twice Jesus refers to sorrow; the second time to overwhelming sorrow. The sorrows of humankind fell suddenly and heavily upon Him in the Garden, - He fell to the ground. Mark says He, “was sore amazed.” Do not pass by the extent of this overwhelming sorrow and anguish because it brought Him to the point of death, - the utmost limit of His endurance, so quickly He is faced with His own death!5 Notice that Jesus refers to My soul (ψυχη), - the only other reference is in Jn.12:27; “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” Dean Alford says, “It is the human soul, the seat of the affections and passions, which is troubled by the anguish of the body; and it is distinguished from the spirit (πνϵυμα), the higher spiritual being. Our Lord’s soul was crushed down even to death by the weight of that anguish which lay upon Him – and that literally, He would have died, had not the strength (bodily strength, upholding His human frame)) had been ministered on high by the angel (Lk.22:43)” (p273).6 Jesus’ awareness of death’s proximity points to the fact that His death was for sinners and thus it was a particular kind of death. Later Matthew will record Jesus’ cry from the cross that declares His forsakenness by Father at the point of death.
5
Actually, both meet together in the cross. His own death is tied up with His death for sin. 6 Dean Alford, The Greek Testament, Vol.1, The Four Gospels, (Moody Press, Chicago 1968). 9 New Life Radio – Talk No 22 Derrick Harrison 10/03/2021
Jesus had no way of knowing the extent of the sufferings that awaited Him, nor did He know how it would affect Him. He had never had to handle pain like He would suffer on the cross. The sufferings of Jesus in the Garden are in the realm of His soul, - but they profoundly engage his body. His physical sufferings on the cross impact His soul. Jesus’ sufferings on the cross lead inevitably to His death, but the fact that He bore our sin has an even more devasting effect on Him that His horrendous physical sufferings. Isaiah’s attention was rivetted on His disfigured and bloody face, but the disfigurement which distorted His face, making it unrecognisable, took place in the darkness as Jesus bore away our sins. The bearing away took place as life inexorably sapped away from Him. His resolve, His immovability, His indestructible faith was the direct result of the transaction made between Father and Son in Gethsemane. The outcome of Christ’s death was decided here in the Garden. He is bowed down with sorrow so intense that He says that it brings Him to the edge of death. He prays with agonized intercessions. None but Christ could bear in Himself the burden of sin and the judgment of God on sin. Sorrow follows on the heels of sin, sorrow is the direct result of sin’s price tag, - the exploited, abused, trafficked, and tortured souls of lost men and women! Jesus “the man of sorrows” suffered the anguish of their pain, it was like the high voltage current of an electric power cable searing through Him, tearing His body apart. The Suffering Servant of Isaiah ch.53 7 is given the title: “The Man of Sorrows” (v3). This is because He has identified Himself with our sin (vv4-5) and born the pain and anguish of our sorrows. He is conversant with every aspect and dimension of suffering that humankind has 7
See my exposition of this Servant Song. 10 New Life Radio – Talk No 22 Derrick Harrison
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suffered from the beginning of time as a direct consequence of sin. His empathy with us as humans is the result of His own humanity. The writer to the Hebrews makes the point that it is because of His humanity that He can truly intercede for us (Heb.2:14, 17; 4:15). Jesus declared His mission in the synagogue at Nazareth in the words of Isaiah: “He (Father) has sent Me to heal the broken hearted” (Lk.4:16; Isa.61:1, 2). A line from an old hymn says: “He took my sins and my sorrows and made them His very own.” The physical crucifixion is the outworking of that which He embraced and resolved to do in Gethsemane. In the Garden He faces the ultimate issues for which He is about to die. His agonies of travailing prayer resulted in the Father hearing and answering His prayers. Much is made of the words: “O My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (v39; Mk.14:36), suggesting that this verse shows a conflict between the will of Jesus and the will of His Father. Needless to say, the Gospel’s make it very clear that Jesus had embraced the necessity of the cross long before He began His journey to Jerusalem in order to die. This repeated prayer of Jesus is central to Gethsemane. What the verse shows is the final agreement of Jesus to take “the cup” from the hand of Father and submit to the judgment and wrath of God against sin. Vv39, 42, 43 Jesus prayed three times, for Father to remove the cup from Him.8 The cup is the same one Jesus referred to in vv38-39 – the cup of the wrath of God. In the OT it was used as a metaphor for judgement. The issue here was the revulsion of Jesus to drinking the cup. The cup represents two things: (1) the poison of sin, and (2) the 8
Paul also prayed three times to have the thorn removed, (2Cor.12:8). The Lord did not answer his prayer (v9).
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wrath of God against sin. I believe both may be seen as the bitter cup from which He shrinks. Adam Clarke, Wesley’s theologian and commentator on Scripture points to the death of Socrates at Athens, who was forced to drink a cup of the juice of hemlock. Before he could drink the last dregs of the death cup, his body lay crumpled on the floor. Jesus, asked to be spared the cup, which contained the juice of satan’s hemlock, sins so vile and depraved, beyond our comprehension. Jesus took all of our sins, – from Adam and Eve to the last person who will ever live on the earth. The weight of sin bore down heavy on Jesus, He fell to the ground groaning under its unbearable heavy load. In the OT we read of the genocide of entire nations due to their rebellion and witchcraft. Sin brings conflict to God’s heart and here in the Garden the Godhead encounters intense conflict due to the humanity of Jesus. Paul says that our God is a consuming fire. The judgment of God against sin falls on Jesus as He places Himself under God’s curse for sin. Sin in its entirety is judged in Jesus Christ. His vicarious sacrifice for sin is sufficient to justify all humankind, but only those who submit themselves to Jesus Christ and confess Him as their personal Saviour will be saved from the wrath of Almighty God. Take for yourself the provision of salvation in Jesus Christ or suffer the eternal consequences of your sinful rebellion. At funerals men and women are wooed by the minister to believe that God is a benevolent kindly God who turns a blind eye to how people have lived. Go to Gethsemane and Calvary to see if your preaching is up to the mark or not. The prophet Ezekiel was on one occasion commanded by God to prepare barley cakes to eat as part of a prophetic act to show Israel that in the land of exile they will eat defiled bread. The LORD gave to
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him the exact ingredients which included “dung that comes out of man” (Ezek.4:12). Ezekiel pleads with God to change the recipe, and instead of human dung he is given cow’s dung to eat. He says: “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed, I have never defiled my soul from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth” (Ezek.4:14). Dare we make a comparison and say that sin was doubly revolting to Jesus? God hates sin and the Bible says that: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Hab.1:13). Sin and wrath mingle together in this poisonous cocktail of death. John the Baptist’s understanding of the wrathful vengeance of God, which was so prominent in his own preaching, led him to questioned Jesus’ Messiahship because vengeance and judgment, according to his perception, did not figure in His preaching. This was purposeful on the part of Jesus. When He proclaimed His manifesto in the synagogue at Nazareth, He omitted a vital part of the concluding sentence in Isaiah’s prophecy: “and the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa.61:2). Jesus spoke forgiveness to men and women but that was based upon the fact that He will take upon Himself our sin and suffer the wrath of God for our sin. We are now in the Garden of Gethsemane. This day and this hour of vengeance and wrath of God is now on Him. He had averted, until now, the judgment of God from men and He has proclaimed good news to the meek, and liberty to the captives. Jesus freely forgave those who repented of their sin, in anticipation of the full price He would pay on the cross for their redemption (Rom.6:23). The tone and content of Jesus’ words changed after Caesarea Philippi; following Peter’s confession He speaks about the cross, but He also speaks of
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judgement, as He relentlessly upbraids religious leaders. If John Baptist had lived, he would have heard Jesus declaring the judgment of God against sin and hypocrisy which for John was a core value in his preaching and part of his commission from God. Jesus’ approach to Israel had been like a mother hen who repeatedly longed to gather Israel under her wings as little chicks. Israel had wilfully and knowingly rejected Jesus’ overtures of tender love. These facts are revealed in Jesus’ broken lament over Jerusalem and reveal that His heart was not for vengeance and judgement. Nevertheless, if His tender and loving approaches are rejected the inevitable consequence is the judgement of God. This is what Gethsemane is all about. Jesus’ relationship to His Father was characterized by responsive and reciprocating love and joyful obedience and He came to earth declaring joyfully His intent to do the will of God on earth: “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come - In the volume of the book it is written of Me - To do Your will, O God” (Heb.10:6). Jesus said to Father again: “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second” (Heb.10:7-9). As a man, He lived in continual obedience to the will of God, and now by submitting to suffering and death for us, He was completing His obedience to Father. We noted above how it began with exuberant joy, but it is now ending in indescribable sorrow and suffering. Thus, according to the Hebrews writer He was perfected in His humanity: “to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Heb.2:10; 5:9). Father and Son “went both of them together” to the
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cross (Gen.22:8). Paul writes that: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2Cor.5:19). Vv40-41 Jesus returns to His disciples and warns them to, “watch and pray” that they may not be led into temptation. Jesus had already told them (v31) that they would betray him. On the first occasion He had told them to watch, now he urges them also to pray. Vv42-44 Jesus’ repeated prayer, this second time Jesus now says, “if this cannot pass away unless I drink it. YOUR WILL BE DONE” - He recognises that drinking “this cup” is Father’s will. In v43 we read that Jesus came again to His sleeping disciples. Jesus left them and prayed the third time, praying the same words, expressing, and confirming His total submission to Father’s will. Vv45-46 There is irony in Jesus’ words, “Sleep on now and take your rest.” It has past the hour for prayer and the sound of a large group of men can be heard, - Jesus is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. The disciples rise without being strengthened and they are unprepared for the trials ahead, whereas Jesus rises ready and prepared to face His oncoming captors, “Look, he who betrays me is close.”
Mark’s account (14:32-42) “And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
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He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (vv33-38). Vv33-34 Matthew has described the sudden and heavy weight that fell on Jesus as He entered the Garden and Mark also says that “He began to be sore amazed and very heavy” (v33; cf. Mat.26:37). The NKJV reads, “And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.” The two verbs put together describe “an extremely acute emotion, a compound of bewilderment, fear, uncertainty and anxiety, nowhere else portrayed in such vivid terms as here.”9 The first word is “troubled” ἀδημονέω, this word can be translated as, “to be troubled, great distress or anguish.” The second word is the one that grips our attention. Mark uses a rare word, “sore amazed”- ἐκθαμβέω,10 The word can be translated, struck with terror or to throw into terror, amazement, or thoroughly astounded. Krummacher says, “the original of which implies a sudden and horrifying alarm at a terrible object.11 The cause of Jesus’ trembling was, “in appearances from without which forced themselves upon Him; something approached Him which threatened to rend his 9
Bratcher, R G; Nida, E A; Translator’s Handbook on Mark (E J Brill, Leiden, 1961). 10 See also Mk.9:15; 14:33; 16:5 (“alarmed” KJV); Acts 3:11. 11 E W Krummacher, The Suffering Saviour (Moody Press, Chicago 1966), p99 16 New Life Radio – Talk No 22 Derrick Harrison 10/03/2021
nerves, and the sight of it freeze the blood in His veins (Krummacher p99). Another translation says that He wrestled with death and entered into direct contact with the last enemy. He desperately sought the companionship of His disciples but found no support there. The Hebrews writer refers to Christ’s taking on our humanity in order that He might die to destroy the devil. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb.2:14). At this moment Jesus as a human person has been approached by the one who has the power of death, - and Jesus is suddenly facing the devil. In dying, He will destroy satan’s power over death, He will break death’s power because He will deal with the fundamental issue of sin, with its consequent fear of death and judgement. In Gethsemane Jesus confronted the last enemy of humankind face to face. V35 leaving the disciples He fell to the ground and lying prone before His Father He prayed in agony. V36 Unique to Mark’s account is His address to Father as “abba.” Jesus turns from His disciples and goes from them, sinks down on to the ground face downwards, and His supplicating cry can be heard, “Abba Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mk.14:36). This is the first time “Abba” has been found on the lips of Jesus. Abba addressed to the Father expresses the most intimate and unique
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relationship between Father and Son and implies that in the distress and anguish of His soul He cries out loud His full obedience to the will of Father. Jesus’ obedience means being willing to drink the cup of suffering and death on the cross emptying it of its terrors for us. He was “obedient to death - even death on a cross” (Phil.2:8). This obedience springs from Jesus’ knowledge of Father’s love; it is based on trust and resulted in His final act of yielding and giving up Himself: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk.23:46). It is also based on His knowledge of Father’s will, that salvation can be gained in no other way. Abba is not Hebrew, but Aramaic, the language of Jesus’ childhood and home. It was the common everyday language of the people around Him. Never before has God been addressed as Abba! It has been retained in the Aramaic and found its way into the Greek speaking churches of the apostle Paul (Gal.4:6; Rom.8:15). In Aramaic it is the child’s word for daddy; but in the context of Gethsemane Jesus is not speaking baby language, but He is speaking to His Father with deep intimacy and personal distress. The prospect of the cross has drawn from the depths of Christ’s soul an exceptional intimacy that results in Him using Abba to cry out to His Father and to give Him obedient heart as He lies prone and yielded to God. Probably the best translation of Abba is: “Dear Father.” Matthew has the words: “O My Father” (26:42). To embrace Father’s will, meant for Jesus drinking the cup of His wrath. Paul gets to the heart of the matter when he says: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2Cor.5:21).
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Closely linked with this verse is v19 of the same chapter: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2Cor.5:19). This verse destroys the lie that there was a contradiction between the Father’s will and the will of Jesus. The issue in the Garden related to the clarification of Father’s will. How could there be conflict when we are so familiar with the relationship of the Two Persons, - Father and Son who will one will? The central issue that bore down so heavily on the soul of Christ (Mat.26:37-38) was the matter of taking upon Himself our sin, - He who was the eternally Holy One. This is the truth Paul presents to us when He views the death of Jesus as a sin offering (2Cor.5:21 see also Isa.53:10). Vv37-38 He rose and resorted again to His disciples whom He found sleeping. He personally addressed Peter, telling him “to watch and pray so that you will, not fall into temptation.” Both words “watch” and “pray” are imperatives and apply to each one of those men present with Jesus.
Luke’s account (22:39-47) “When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (22:40-46). Luke’s account does not include as much of the narrative material found in Matthew and Mark. He does not mention the word “Gethsemane” but refers to the Mount of Olives. Jesus chose to go “to the place” as usual, knowing that Judas would eventually come here, because he knew that Jesus often came here with His disciples. Vv39-42 Luke alone includes an exhortation at the beginning for each of the disciples to continue praying, thus avoiding temptation (cf. 11:4). Jesus then tore Himself away from them about a stone’s throw and continued praying. Luke does not mention the inner three disciples who were only a few (μικρόν) paces away from Jesus. Having emphasised Luke’s interest in the prayer-life of Jesus, this first verse brings no surprises, but what it points to is the fact that Jesus was the one who primarily had an interest in prayer. Luke recognised this and therefore carefully examined the narrative of Jesus’ life to affirm the truth of it. Luke repeats this in v46, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Mat.26:41; Mk.14:38 are parallel). Jesus cries with distress and pain to “Father.” I repeat a point which I made earlier that the ordeal Jesus encountered and endured points to His real humanity as the Son of man. Luke particularly emphasises Jesus’ continued concern in prayer for total submission to Father’s will, “if you are willing” (ei boulei, v42). Luke also uses the cup as a metaphor of Jesus’ drinking the bitter and deadly poison of God’s wrath, taking New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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into His own soul its poison.12 As a man he suffered in his human nature and in His physical body and as a man he endured the ordeal. The mystery of Christ’s person is the mystery of the two natures united in one Person. Jesus in His human nature was sinless and holy, but He willed to die for our sins, He died, being made sin for us. Jesus embraced this poisonous cup as He continued in prayer because He embraced it as Father’s will. He laid aside His own will for Father’s will. V43 Matthew Henry, the Biblical commentator who Whitefield constantly read on his knees alongside his Bible, notes that there are three things found in this passage that are unique to Luke: (1) As Christ was bowed down in agonizing prayer “an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (v43). It has been suggested that Jesus as a human person could have collapsed and died in the Garden and I think few would doubt that. We have already shown that this was the case from the actual meaning of the key words of Scripture in Matthew’s and Mark’s account of Jesus’ suffering in Gethsemane. In Hebrews we read that angels are ministering spirits, helping those who are heirs of salvation. Angel’s minister help to those who are burdened intercessors. Christ drew on their resources to help Him through His sufferings. The angel Gabriel came three times to Daniel in his prolonged intercessions (Dan.8:15-27; 9:21; 10:10-21). He came each time as God’s messenger and prophet and on both occasions touched Daniel, ministering to him strength from God (8:18; 10:10). Thus, we see a three-fold angelic ministry: (a) to bring encouragement from God, (b) to impart strength by his touch when the prophet had no remaining strength (10:8), and (c) to impart strength by prophetic words. Gabriel brought clarity to Daniel’s visions 12
Ps.11:6; 75:8; Isa.51:17; Jer.25:15-17.
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by interpretation and revelation. No doubt Gabriel, at the crucial moment of need brought to Jesus words of strength and enablement as God’s messenger, speaking to Him words of Messianic prophecy, and thus, strengthening Him in His hour of greatest need and imparting to Him God’s strength by his touch. Satan has his own angelic messengers (they are fallen angels). Paul knew this when he described his thorn in the flesh as “the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2Cor.12:7). God’s messengers are sent to strengthen the exhausted body of Jesus in response to His powerful intercessions enabling Him to take and to drink the cup of Father’s wrath. It may perhaps seem strange to us that an angel should minister to Jesus: surely, He is the Son of God, why should He be ministered to by an angel? Recall the words of the Hebrews writer, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (Heb.2:9 see also v7; Ps.8:5). V44 This verse graphically conveys the fact the demands of the cross stretched Him beyond His capacities to endure, and we put the word ἀγωνία alongside our key words from Matthew and Mark. (2) Another unique piece of information refers to further agonizing intercession: “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (v44). We recognise the Greek word immediately as “agony” which represents severe mental struggles and emotional stress, agony, New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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anguish. It can be translated as wrestling, reminiscent of Jacob’s wrestling for victory with the angel of the Lord. Now strengthened by the angel the agony intensifies as Jesus embraces the horror of the cup and the curse He has willed to accept. These agonies are the unutterable groanings of the Spirit described by Paul (Rom.8:26). They are unutterable apart from the groanings of the Spirit in intercession. “Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom.8:26). Only Christ experienced the agonies resulting from bearing our sin. Only He is utterly holy and thus hates sin with a perfect hatred. Because He is holy, He alone was able to atone for sin, He willed to embrace our sin and thus He suffered God’s wrath against sin and paid its price and penalty. Also, because He is holy, He could destroy sin’s power and triumph over death and Satan. Death and the curse are the consequence of sin (Rom.6:23; Gal.3:13). These agonized intercessory prayers of Jesus are described in Hebrews, “Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Heb.5:7-8). These verses describe Jesus’ life of prayer, but they particularly apply to Gethsemane. Thus, we see that Jesus travailed in prayer and that He
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prevailed in prayer, in that God answered His specific prayer. We must see that agony in prayer, burden in prayer, tears in prayer, are not an end in themselves but they do show to us that prayer demands total engagement, - the intercessor intercedes with his whole heart activated by the Holy Spirit. Note what Jesus says, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful …” and then note how His physical body is also engaged in His agony, “then His sweat became like great drops of blood,” the total person engages in travailing prayer. These are the evidences in our flesh and soul of the Spirit’s travailing. Prayer is not an end in itself it is the exercise and means whereby we come to faith and victory and thus believe and embrace the will of Father. Accomplishment and victory are the outcome of persevering prayer. We read that Jacob “prevailed with God” (Gen.32:28). He attained the objective of his intercessions. We see the result the next day in his meeting with his estranged brother, - instead of hostility he is greeted with warmth and affection (Gen.33:4). V44 (3) The third statement of information follows directly from the agony that Luke has just described, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Lk.22:44)13.
13
Bloody sweating is called hematohidrosis; It is a rare physiological phenomenon which may occur in individuals suffering from extreme levels of stress. Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form, which constrict under the pressure of great stress. Then as the anxiety passes “the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands.” As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.
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This intensity of intercessory prayer14 gives to us an insight into the real issues for which Christ was giving his life, never before has so much been at stake from God’s perspective. The salvation of the world hangs on Jesus’ travail in prayer. His praying is costly to Himself, and He is paying a price incomprehensible to man. And yet He is a man, vulnerable and limited in His human resources, needing desperately and urgently the enablement of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is on Him still; no longer to perform miracles, but to strength and enable Him to endure the cross. He, the Holy Spirit is on Him now to intercede through Him in prayer for our salvation. The intense pressure on Jesus precipitates sweat and blood pouring out of His veins, “sweat mingled with blood.” These were Gethsemane’s prayer intercessions. Matthias Grünewald, The Crucifixion, (see NOTE at the end of my essay). The real “shedding of blood” (Heb.9:22) began in the Judgment Hall of Pilate with the scourging of Jesus’ body by the Roman soldiers. His brow was then pierced with a crown of thorns which was beaten into His forehead. His body was torn and no doubt in shock as He attempted to carry the heavy cross along the Dolorosa street to His crucifixion where He will be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet. His death is inevitable because He has drunk the cup of the wrath of God, which is the poison of our sin. Jesus’ death can be explained as a physical crucifixion as I 14
Charles G Finney refers to some of the physical and mental anguish of prayer, Revival Lectures, (Kindle edition). See ch.4, Prevailing Prayer, ch.5 The Prayer of Faith, Ch.6, The Spirit of Prayer. I strongly recommend this book.
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have done, and this is how Grunewald painted it. It is difficult to tell whether Jesus is dead or alive in His painting. Truly as Jesus’ physical and soul sufferings are clearly presented to us in the cross and in the Garden, so Scripture will also explain to us that His death is His victory over sin, death and satan. The apostles filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost rise up in joyful triumph and proclaim to the world: JESUS IS RISEN! However, we are jumping ahead of the Scriptures because Jesus is still praying in Gethsemane. Paul says: “Jesus was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.” This is my Jesus who suffered and died for me. Paul says: “The Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). Gethsemane was the antechamber to the cross. He prayed privately in the company of His chosen companions, but He died publicly in the company of a hostile crowd who jeered and mocked Him. From the betrayal of Jesus to His death He was separated from His disciples. He was totally alone and exposed to His enemies, He was a prisoner of Rome the imperial power. Everything that happened to Him was in public view, except for those three hours when He was hidden by darkness from their gaze. He was a prisoner, tortured, whipped, and abused by Roman soldiers. He suffered injustice both from Pilate and the Jewish authorities who were intent on His crucifixion. He was helpless to move independently, or to defend Himself - which He chose not to do. He was completely in the hands of His captors. A crucifixion was no place for anyone to be, make a note of those whom Jesus loved who were with Him in those dark hours of suffering. Have you noticed how many times it is recorded that He was “crucified”? Hebrews 5:7-9 shows Jesus in prevailing prayer,
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“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb.5:7-9). This passage describes His Gethsemane praying. Father answered the prayers and supplications that Jesus offered up to Him “with strong crying and tears.” What exactly was the focus of Jesus’ prayer? Specific prayer is necessary to be effective prayer. When we discussed the night of prayer prior to appointing the twelve disciples, we said that Jesus spent this time in prayer to focus His mind on the men of God’s choice. There is a specific petition in these verses in Hebrews that Father will deliver Him “from death.” The King James translation is unhelpful here. Father did not save Him from death! The Greek preposition “ek” which means “out of” holds the key that unlocks the meaning. Did God deliver Jesus “out of” death? Yes, of course He did! He raised Him out of death - out of the tomb, but Jesus had first to go into death - He died. His body was taken down from the cross and put into a tomb. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1Cor.15:3). Prevailing prayer, by its very definition is prayer that God answers. It has also been called the “prayer of faith” and may be illustrated from the lives of Charles Finney, Rosalind Goforth, George Muller, Hudson Taylor, Fraser of Lisuland and many others.15 I recommend Finney’s 15
Charles Finney, Lectures on Revival: https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/books/Lectures_on_Revival-Finney.pdf 27 New Life Radio – Talk No 22 Derrick Harrison 10/03/2021
“Lectures on Revival” chapters 4-6. Before the outbreak of revival intercessors have prevailed in earnest prayer and prayed the “prayer of faith” resulting in a strong assurance that God has answered their prayers for revival. Gethsemane provides a pattern for prevailing prayer. For prayer to be answered it must have a clear objective. What was the future prize that brought such joy to Jesus? It was the salvation of precious men and women; the souls for whom He was willing to die. It was for the Bride of Christ, the church, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph.5:25). Note the order here; He loved her before He died for her. She is the focus of His intercessions. True prayer is born in the heart. It was for love’s sake that He endured and despised the shame. It was because of love that He gave His life to redeem His Bride. The prize was of such infinite worth to Him that God was prepared to redeem us at the cost of His Son’s life. We have been redeemed with His own precious blood (Eph.2:13; 1Pet.1:18-19). Prayer played a vital part in that redemption. God does not save souls apart from prayer. Mission without prayer will be fruitless. Prayer and preaching are the hands and feet which provide the means of fulfilling our desires for the salvation of souls. The immense fruitfulness of Jesus’ mission was the
Rosalind Goforth, How I Know God Answers Prayer: https://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Promises/I_Know_God_Answers.ht ml George Muller, Answers to Prayer: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25891/25891-h/25891-h.htm Hudson Taylor & James O Fraser: https://omf.org/us/hudson-taylor-j-ofraser-prayer https://missiology.org.uk/pdf/e-books/taylor-mrs-howard/behind-theranges_taylor.pdf 28 New Life Radio – Talk No 22 Derrick Harrison 10/03/2021
result of prayer and was blessed because He embraced the cross at the beginning of His ministry in the anticipation of His death on the cross. He forgave sins with authority because He was later to give His life for the sins of the world. Many Christians do not know how to pray effectively, and so gain answers to their prayers. Many do not seem to be disturbed when there are no answers to prayer - they are content just to have prayed and reminded God of what He already knows! How much time is wasted by people in prayer meetings, going over endless information that God knows already. Why do we tell Him about all these things? We do it because God is our Father and He delights to hear us and to answer our prayers. Many Christians do not know what to do when they are burdened by the Holy Spirit. There seem to be too few of God’s children who relish prayer. Prayer is addictive. The more you engage in prayer the more you will receive of the Spirit of grace and supplication, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech.12:10). God sees our future clearly marked out for us because He sees who we are and knows our priorities and core values. We need God to change us, but Jesus did not need such fundamental change. When we are truly engaged in prayer and the Spirit is upon us, we are changed! We often find that God has to change us to answer our prayers! But this is not the objective of prayer. The objective of prayer is to pray the prayers of God and to receive answers to our prayers. Before we can pray the prayer of faith, we have to know God’s will and God’s promises in the context of each situation. This is what Jesus is doing here in Gethsemane, He is seeking Father’s will. The promises of God
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sustained Him through His ordeal of suffering. Assurance of Father’s will enabled Jesus to wield the sword of the Spirit who cuts through the intense darkness of Satan’s kingdom. Jesus fought and won the battle against satan in Gethsemane! Hallelujah. V45-46 “When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” These two verses conclude Luke’s account of Jesus’ ordeal on the Mount of Olives, “the place” where Jesus frequented with His disciples when He sought privacy with them. Jesus has finished praying. Having travailed in prayer and prevailed He is able to proceed to the cross, to encounter the miscarriage of justice, physical and verbal abuse, and the horrors the crucifixion. However, the greatest victory He had gained through prayer was to will Father’s will with crystal clear clarity and thus go forth in the authority of God, assured of His agreement with Father. This was unshakeable, but the humanity of Jesus meant that the cross would test and try Him beyond His own human resources. However, assured of Father’s will His determined path lies before Him. Jesus rebuked his sleeping disciples: “Why are you sleeping?” Earlier He had instructed them to keep praying lest they fall into temptation (v40). They now hurriedly arise because Jesus’ conversation has been rudely interrupted by a crowd of men, - the temple police and a Roman cohort of 200 men led to this secluded place by Judas “one of the twelve” who approaches his master to kiss Him. Throughout the entire crucifixion Jesus was engaged in prayer. Luke does not tell us this, but Isaiah concludes ch.53 about the Suffering Servant, with two references to prayer, v11 refers to Jesus’ prevailing prayer, “He shall see the labour (travail) of His soul, and be satisfied.” New Life Radio – Talk No 22
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He associates the travailing intercessions of the Spirit with the pains of a mother as she labours in childbirth (Isa.66:7-9). The second reference in Isaiah actually refers to Christ’s intercessions for the transgressors, “he has poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (v12). Paul speaks the same language as Isaiah, “My little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Gal.4:19). This verse implies that Paul had originally birthed these believers through travailing prayer. I have always believed that Jesus prayed throughout His crucifixion and Isaiah makes that very clear. It was not only for His own needs that He prayed but Isaiah identifies His prayers with our sins and transgressions. His prayers accomplished our salvation. Jesus is our intercessor and our model of intercession.16 Recognising the pivotal role of prayer in Gethsemane and Golgotha, you can extend your study of the cross is to reflect on the seven utterances of Jesus from the cross recorded in the four Gospels. 17 As we found it necessary to engage with the three Synoptic Gospels to get a complete picture of Gethsemane so we must do the same with the cross and include John’s Gospel alongside the Synoptics. Since the 16th century these sayings have been widely used in the preaching on Good Friday. Three of the sayings appear exclusively in Luke and three appear exclusively in John. The other saying appears both in Mark and 16
See article, “Prayer in Isaiah” and “Father’s House”- the section that deals with the theology of prayer associated with Solomon’s temple. See also, “The High-Priestly Prayer of Jesus” (Jn.ch.17).
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Matthew, where Jesus cries out to God. In Luke, He forgives His killers, reassures the repentant thief, and commends His spirit to the Father. In John He speaks to his mother, cries out with thirst, and cries out with the voice of triumph - “It is finished!”
Note: Matthias Grünewald, The Crucifixion (1512-1516). This painting is regarded as his masterpiece. It was painted for the Monastery of St. Anthony in Issenheim near Colmar, which specialized in medical work. The Antonine monks of the monastery were noted for their care of plague sufferers as well as their treatment of skin diseases, such as ergotism. Grünewald, has painted the crucified Christ who is pitted with plague-type sores, showing patients that Jesus understood and shared their afflictions. Look more closely and it appears that Christ is already dead while still hanging on the cross? This painting is totally different from the idealized paintings commissioned by the Catholic church.
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