Mark 14:32-38 In the upper room on the night that our Lord Jesus Christ was
betrayed into death, after he and the disciples had finished their meal and
Judas had left the room, Jesus predicted that Peter would disown him before the
morning came.
But Peter insisted
that was not true, that even if he had to die with him, he would never disown
him. And all the others said the same.
From the disciples,
even in that late hour, there was lots of talk about how strong they were—how
faithful they were—how different they were from everyone else.
If they had just
been the tiniest bit reflective about who they really were, they would have
seen a different picture.
None of them had
enough faith to accomplish the mission Jesus gave them. James and John argued about who was going to
get the places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom.
Peter tried to turn Jesus away from the cross, denying its
necessity.
And yet, in just a
few hours, every one of them would prove that very thing by betraying the Lord-
and denying the Lord- and by abandoning the Lord in his time of need. Jesus knew just how necessary the cross was because of the weakness of those closest to
him.
What about us? How many times in our lives have we resolved
in our hearts—with real sincerity-- to be done with some sin? To make a real change? To go in a new direction?
Things are fine for
a while; things really are different; we really are closer to the Lord. And yet, slowly but surely things begin to
return to the sad “normal” of people that are buffeted and beaten constantly by
the devil, the world, and even their own flesh.
And our firm
commitment to do better- and our sincere amendment of life- and our promise
that even if all others disown the Lord, we never will do so, gets cast back
into our teeth.
It is in the Garden
of Gethsemane that the disciples of Jesus have to learn this lesson for
themselves, that when we face temptation we must not look to ourselves and our
own puny resources-- but instead must repent of our weakness and turn to the
Lord—for it is his faithfulness in the hour of trial, and it is his commitment
to our salvation, that is our strength and hope. The
Bible says that:
They went to a place called
Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
This was not the first time that
Jesus and the disciples had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a special place for them of solitude
and prayer. But it was not a fortress
against temptation or a place of spiritual safety. There are no places like that on earth.
This is the mistake of
monasticism—the idea that if we can just separate ourselves from the world then
we will be spiritually safe from temptation.
But the highest walls and the most rigorous restrictions against interacting
with those who do not share our faith and morals cannot provide our spiritual
safety.
The devil and his demonic angels are
not kept out just because we shut ourselves in.
We have not removed ourselves from temptation just by removing ourselves
from others because our own flesh goes with us wherever we go.
The cure for temptation is not found
in safe places and it is not found in the safe people who share our faith for
they too share in our weakness. The
Bible says:
Jesus took Peter, James and
John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
I have absolutely no doubt that when
the disciples, in the safety of the upper room, said in unison that they would
never disown the Lord, they meant exactly what they said. I believe that in that moment, standing with
one another, they were firmly resolved to die with the Lord if need be. Especially so for Peter, James, and John!
They had seen Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration and
they knew that death was not the end.
They had seen the glory of the living God of the universe shine from the
flesh of Jesus and they knew there was no limit to what he could do.
If you were facing temptation, if you were struggling spiritually
there is no one that you would rather have around you than these three men to
encourage you and assure you and strengthen you. And yet, Jesus said to them:
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the
point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Keep watch. There is no one
who has ever lived who has seen what Peter, James, and John saw: the fullness of God in the flesh of
Jesus. There is no one who has ever
lived who heard what they heard: the
very voice of the living God. There is
no one who has ever lived that has been granted the spiritual blessings given
to those three men.
If there was any hope for human beings getting it right- and standing
firm in their faith- and remaining steadfast in their devotion to Jesus, surely
it was them. And yet we know they
didn’t.
And so did Jesus. Here in
these three men is what sin has done to all of us without exception. Here in these three men is how far and deep
and wide are the effects of sin. And
here in these three men is the complete lack of hope of mankind ever getting it
right on their own. And knowing this, Jesus was overwhelmed with
sorrow.
His command was simple: stay
here and keep watch. God himself has
provided them with spiritual resources like no other men who had ever lived,
spiritual resources to accomplish his will:
Stay here and keep watch.
A simple command like the command to Adam and Eve to forgo only one
tree in an entire world full of plenty:
“Do not eat of it” spoken to people who literally had everything.
And yet, Adam and Eve ate of the tree-- and Peter, James and John
could not keep watch-- and you and I (after all these years of being Christians)
still can’t get it right.
And there in the garden—both Eden and Gethsemane—we see the truth
about ourselves and so did Jesus. And he
was overwhelmed with sorrow like he was just days before standing before the
tomb of Lazarus.
This is what sin has done—this disobedience again and again. This is what sin has done—this death for
those we love and for us. This is what
sin requires, the wrath of a holy, righteous God and the sorrow and suffering
of his own Son who bears it. The Bible
says that:
Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the
ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.
Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Under the WEIGHT of our sin our Lord
Jesus Christ falls to the ground in Gethsemane and in just a few short hours it
would drag him under the earth into a cold, dark grave.
Under the WRATH of his heavenly Father our Lord Jesus Christ falls to
the ground and in just a few short hours it would drag him under the earth into
a cold, dark grave.
That is the cup of which our Lord speaks, the cup that he would avoid
if there was any other way for us to be saved from sin and death.
I want you to just reflect on that for a moment—that such is the
greatness of our sin and such is the power of God’s wrath on account of that
sin-- that it causes Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, to beg his heavenly
Father to take it away and not make him drink of it.
This cup of God’s wrath is spoken of throughout salvation
history. It is filled with God’s wrath
over sin; filled with God’s wrath for every time we have given into temptation,
filled with God’s wrath when we have thought more highly of ourselves than
others; filled with God’s wrath over all our sins of thought, word and deed.
That cup would be filled to overflowing if it were only filled by
us—but in that cup is God’s wrath earned by every sin of every person who has
ever lived.
There in that cup is God’s wrath over Adam and Eve’s sin of weakness
and Noah’s sin of drunkenness and Abraham’s sin of fear and Moses’ sin of anger
and David’s sin of lust. There in that
cup of God’s wrath is Peter’s pride and Thomas’ doubt and Judas’ betrayal. And there in that cup is the one hour of
weakness that keeps Peter James and John from doing what the Lord asks of
them. Can you imagine the horrors found
in that cup?
The wrath of God over every sin of every sinner is found there and
Jesus must take it in his hands and drain every last drop. Is it any wonder that even in that late hour,
he falls to the ground under that terrible burden and begs his Father for
another way to be found?
And yet, bearing that burden and taking that cup in his hands, he
submitted his will to that of his heavenly Father.
What no other human being had ever done before—what no other human
being would ever do afterwards—Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane and
submitted his will to that of his Father in an act of perfect obedience that is
the salvation of the world. The Bible
says that:
Jesus returned to his disciples and found
them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you
keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit
is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
To Adam and Eve he said, “Where are
you?” And then their answer and
ours: we have wandered away from and are
hiding in guilt and shame.
To Simon the Pharisee he said, “Do you see this woman?” And his answer and ours: yes, Lord, I see my lack of love and humility
and my need for your great forgiveness.
To Peter the Apostle, he said:
“Are you sleeping?” And his
answer and ours: yes Lord, my best
intentions and sincere resolutions have failed me again.
These are questions that provide us with opportunities to come to
grips with our sin. They are God-given
opportunities to realize our weakness and our wandering—opportunities to
confess our pride and our prejudice—opportunities to learn again and again the
truth of what Jesus says: The Spirit is willing but the flesh is
weak.
And so it is. We are children
of God. We are disciples of Jesus
Christ. By God’s grace and the help of
the Holy Spirit we do have willing spirits.
But we also have to contend with a flesh that is broken by sin. That is why Jesus tells us that we must watch
and pray. He means that we are to keep
watch over our souls and guard ourselves from the hour of trial and pray for
his help, realizing our weakness and then look to him and know that his
faithfulness and his obedience is our salvation. Amen.
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