Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.onetwentysixfive.com/sermons/71591/matthew-2636-46/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to stand.

[0:11] ! I've seen Brother Noah grow very much in the Lord over the years.! I'm very proud of the young man that he's become. And y'all have got a fine pasture.

[0:24] There are people out there I'm sure would argue this and argue that about him, but I can assure you, you'd be hard-pressed to find a man who loves the Lord as much as Noah Simpson does. And I admire that about Brother Noah.

[0:38] I was telling Missy about that just a couple of nights ago, actually. But happy Resurrection Day to you. I'm glad that we can celebrate the resurrection. As has already been said, if not for the resurrection, there would be no point in us being here this morning.

[0:55] I'm thankful for the songs. I'm thankful for the invitation to come preach. I'm thankful for the Word of God. I don't really have what you might call an Easter sermon.

[1:06] This happens just before Easter or the resurrection. Where we'll be in the Scripture this morning. In Matthew chapter 26. I love and Noah will testify.

[1:19] I love preaching from the Old Testament. And there's very few, if any, places in the Old Testament that you cannot preach Jesus from. And that's what I like about it.

[1:31] I like going to the Old Testament and seeing exactly where Jesus is at in those Scriptures and bringing Jesus out of those Scriptures. But we'll be in the New Testament this morning.

[1:42] And that's fine. The whole book's about Jesus. From Genesis 1-1 to Revelation 22-21. It is all about the man, Jesus Christ. And I'm thankful for Jesus Christ.

[1:54] I'm thankful that I'm saved. I'm thankful that the good Lord saw fit. Didn't see it fit in me. But He saw fit to reach down and save my soul.

[2:08] There was nothing in me worth saving. And there was nothing in you worth saving. God simply looked down and He said, I can redeem that. And I'm thankful that He done so.

[2:20] But again, I'd like to extend my appreciation for the opportunity to come this morning. And I would like to commend you all on being one of only a handful of churches left that sing every verse in the hymnal when there are four verses.

[2:34] Praise God. Y'all sing four verses. I say hallelujah for that. Because a lot of times if there's four verses and they skip the third one, that's where the best stuff's at.

[2:45] Is there in the third verse? If there's five verses and they skip number three or number four, a lot of times that's where the best stuff's at in that hymn. So I do, I commend you all on that.

[2:56] And I appreciate that. Keep that up. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. But in Matthew 26, Jesus Christ's earthly ministry has come to an end here. His earthly ministry has come to an end.

[3:08] He's been born. We've had the Christmas account at the beginning of Matthew. He has begun His ministry. We read about that in Luke. In Luke 3, it says that Jesus Christ began to be about 30 years of age.

[3:21] And when His ministry began, we've, you know, in John's account, we have His first miracle, the turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana. All these things have happened.

[3:32] Jesus has spent three plus years with the disciples. And He has been ministering the entire time that He is in that three plus years.

[3:44] But His ministry is coming to an end right here where we will be in Matthew 26. At the beginning of the 26th chapter of Matthew up to verse 35.

[3:55] We'll be picking up in verse 36 here momentarily. But up to verse 35, again, we see this woman that anoints Jesus Christ.

[4:06] We see Judas has betrayed Jesus Christ. We see the last supper that Jesus Christ has had. We don't read about it in Matthew's Gospel, but in John's Gospel, you read about the farewell discourse that Jesus Christ gives His disciples at the Last Supper.

[4:23] All these things have already taken place. And the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ is coming to an end. Calvary is just over the hill from where they are in this account.

[4:34] He stopped here in Bethany at this garden called Gethsemane. And He begins to pray here. And that's what we're going to be reading here in just a few moments.

[4:46] But folks, Jerusalem and Calvary is literally right over the hill from where He is at. And He knows that's where He's going. But I praise God. My Bible teaches that Jesus Christ set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem.

[5:00] He never backed down. He never cowered. He was never scared of Jerusalem. He was never scared of Calvary. And He was never scared of the cross.

[5:12] And I want you to think about that as we're reading these few verses here now. Because there are people out there that will teach you that. They will teach you that Christ was scared of Calvary.

[5:23] They will teach you that He was scared of the scourge. They will teach you that He was scared of the crucifixion, folks. My Jesus. My Jesus is stronger than any of us could ever dream of being.

[5:36] And this Scripture here, as He was truly man and truly God, and even now, He is stronger than any of us could ever imagine ourselves to be. He was not scared of the cross.

[5:49] And I want you to keep that in mind as we pick up here in Matthew 26 beginning at verse 36. It says, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Say ye here while I go and pray yonder.

[6:04] And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.

[6:17] Tarry ye here and watch with Me. And He went a little further, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.

[6:28] Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What could you not watch with Me one hour?

[6:41] Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thou wilt be done.

[6:57] And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest.

[7:12] Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. Behold, He is at hand that doth betray Me.

[7:24] Back to verse 36, in Matthew 26, says, Then cometh Jesus with them into a place called Gethsemane, and He saith unto the disciples, See ye here while I go, and pray.

[7:37] Now, again, this is the very end of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. And this is just after, just after the new covenant was made, and the blood of Jesus Christ, according to what He told the disciples at the Last Supper.

[7:56] All these things have been announced. Peter has already announced his unfailing allegiance to Jesus Christ, which we'll get to here in just a little while. All these things have happened.

[8:07] It says, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, See ye here while I go, and pray yonder. So He comes with what remains of the disciples.

[8:19] Remember, according to John's Gospel, Judas has already disappeared out into the darkness of night in order to conspire to betray the Son of Man and to betray the Son of God.

[8:31] So, this leaves eleven disciples, and Jesus takes these eleven disciples out unto Gethsemane, and He says that He goes out here with them, and He says to the disciples, See ye here while I go and pray yonder.

[8:45] Folks, it is amazing to me that Jesus Christ, again, knowing what lies on the other side of that hill, knowing what's going to happen here in just a few hours, knowing what turmoil there is going to be, knowing what pain there is going to be, knowing what suffering there is going to be, Jesus Christ desires, and He wants the fellowship of His creation.

[9:10] He wants the fellowship of His disciples. He wants the fellowship of those that have not gone off to betray Him. He wants the fellowship of those that have remained somewhat faithful over the past three years of His ministry.

[9:24] Jesus Christ brings them to Gethsemane, and it says in the next verse, and He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy, so He leaves eight of them there at the edge of the Garden of Gethsemane, but He takes Peter, He takes James, and He takes John with Him.

[9:45] He takes Peter, the one that He has surnamed the Rock, and He takes James and John, the ones that He surnamed the Sons of Thunder with Him. These were Jesus Christ, three closest companions that He had here while He was on planet Earth doing His ministry.

[10:02] He takes them a little deeper into the garden with Him. He takes them a little further. These are the same three that saw His glory upon the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew chapter 17.

[10:17] These are the same ones that saw His power when He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. According to the Gospel of Luke, they were the only three disciples that were in there with Him.

[10:29] And now, these same three are about to see the sorrow of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Folks, Christ desires fellowship with His people.

[10:42] That's right. He desires fellowship. Folks, that's the whole reason God came down. You read about it in the book of Exodus. You read about it. God came down to do what? To tabernacle among His people.

[10:54] Not to tabernacle with the tribes of the other lands. Not to tabernacle with the pagans. Not to tabernacle with the Gentiles. He came here to tabernacle with His people.

[11:07] Hallelujah! And now, He tabernacles not only among us, but within us. In form of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, He tabernacles with His people.

[11:18] The folks, it is amazing that He even desired to come here and be amongst sinful men and women. It is amazing that He desired to come here and live not only amongst us, but to live within us.

[11:32] He Himself lives within each one who has repented of their sins and believed upon the most powerful thing on the face of the planet, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

[11:45] Anyone who has repented and believed on this Gospel, they are saved and they are God's and they do belong to Him and He does tabernacle and live within them.

[11:57] Praise God for the perfect way of God. Praise God for the perfect plan of God. I'm glad that it's not by anything that I've done. I'm glad that it's not by my works.

[12:09] I'm glad it's not according to how much money I put in the copper or how many hungry mouths I feed or how many naked bodies I might clothe or how good I might be to my neighbor or how I do this or how I do that.

[12:21] Folks, it is not in my works. It is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on a cross on a hill called Calvary. That is why I'm going to heaven. That is why you are going to heaven.

[12:33] And that is the only thing that will ever get us there. Hallelujah! That's my Savior. Hallelujah! He came here or He came to the garden with eight disciples or with eleven disciples.

[12:48] He left eight of them there at the edge and took three of them a little deeper with them. It says, He took with them Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

[12:59] Again, they would have witnessed the power of Jesus Christ. They would have witnessed the glory of Jesus Christ. They've witnessed His miracles.

[13:12] They've witnessed the grace in His teachings. They were there when the Sermon on the Mount was preached. They were there when the man at the Pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5 when He was healed.

[13:23] They were there when the man in John chapter 9 was healed of His blindness. They were there when the deaf ears were unstucked. They were there when the lame were made to walk. They were there when Jesus Christ wasn't a bit afraid to place His hand upon a leper and say that He was healed.

[13:40] Jesus Christ defied all of these things. He defied death. He showed His strength to these disciples. And Peter, James, and John would have known that better than any of them.

[13:52] But here they get to see His sorrow. Why is that? Why do you think Jesus would even want that? When you think of Jesus, what do you think of? What do I think of? I think of strength.

[14:04] I think of a mighty tower. I think of a strong fortress. I think of the beginning and the end. I think of the Alpha and the Omega. I think of the One that spoke the entire cosmos. into existence.

[14:15] That's what I think of Jesus Christ. But here, it says He began to He began to be heavy. He began to be very sorrowful amongst these three disciples.

[14:27] Why was that, folks? They would need that in their future ministry. They would need that not only to fall witness to Him, so that they realize that He was truly man and truly God.

[14:39] and He was. This account that we have read here this morning, these few verses in Matthew 26, this shows the humanity of Jesus Christ. It shows Him getting heavy.

[14:50] It shows Him getting sorrowful. It shows Him being sad. It shows all of these things about Jesus Christ. It shows His humanity. They would need that for their future ministry.

[15:02] not only for them to reflect upon, but also so that they could tell others about the sorrowfulness of Jesus Christ.

[15:13] Did Isaiah not describe Him as a man of sorrows? Folks, this is a beautiful portrait of that man of sorrows that we read about in the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament.

[15:24] Verse 38, Then saith He unto them, unto whom now? Unto these three. Remember, the other eight are over at the edge of the garden. They're not here at this point.

[15:35] Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with Me. Folks, this is a beautiful invitation that Christ is giving to them.

[15:47] It's not that He needed those disciples. It is not that He needed their companionship. It's not that He needed their fellowship. Folks, He didn't need Peter, James, and John any more than He needs me or any more than He needs you.

[16:03] He is Almighty God. He has been there from the beginning. He will be there in the end. He is completely self-sufficient and has need of nothing.

[16:13] He wanted to save us. He wanted to do this. And He wanted these disciples to tarry with Him and to watch with Him.

[16:24] What is it to watch when we're talking spiritually? It is to remain alert. To remain spiritually alert. And to stay alert. Stay focused on whatever situation might be at hand.

[16:38] This is what it is to watch. And He tells them here, He says, tarry ye here and watch with Me. Watch with Me. And folks, it is not watch for Me.

[16:49] And that's how a lot of people interpret this Scripture. It's watch for Me. Watch because there may be some Roman guards coming down the way. Judas might make his way here while I'm praying. That's not what Jesus Christ is saying here.

[17:02] He is saying, watch with Me. Stay alert with Me. Pray with Me. Seek the Father with Me. That's what He is inviting the disciples to do.

[17:13] Verse 39, and He went a little further and fell on His face. Folks, verse 39 in Matthew 26, this is one of the holiest verses in all of Scripture.

[17:26] Certainly in all of the New Testament. It says, He went a little further and fell on His face. I just got through talking about the power and the strength of Jesus Christ and the glory of Jesus Christ.

[17:38] And here is the very Maker and Master of everything that we know. here is the one that hung the stars Himself and knows them by name. This is the same one that spoke the earth into existence and called the land out of the sea and created the fowls of the air.

[17:55] He created the fish of the sea. He brought up the clay and He formed Adam and He breathed into Adam the breath of life. It's the same one that we are talking about here and in His strength and in His power and in His glory.

[18:09] Folks, He has fallen upon His face. Hallelujah. What does that tell me? No stronger than I am and no more glory than I have and no more significant than I am.

[18:24] I should happily fall on my face before Almighty God. I should happily fall on my face before God the Father. Why did He fall on His face?

[18:35] Yes, it's because He was sorrowful. And yes, it's because He was heavy. Yes, it's because, folks, the cup was there. The cup was, He could already see the cup.

[18:47] He could already see the cup that He knew that He must drink. He could already smell the contents of that cup. He could already smell your rotten sin and He could smell my rotten sin and He knew what was in that cup and He knew that He had to drink it.

[19:02] But He goes to the Father. Folks, that tells me in my trials and in my tribulations and in whatever comes my way, I shouldn't strategize.

[19:15] I shouldn't try and figure out what I should do. I shouldn't do any of these things before I go to the Father in prayer. Jesus Christ Himself models that for us right here.

[19:27] Jesus Christ being sorrowful. Jesus Christ being heavy in His Spirit goes to the Father. He doesn't try and figure it out on His own, folks. He was there with the Father from the beginning of time.

[19:39] The Holy Spirit has been there with the Father since the beginning of time. He already knew how this was going to play out. Psalm 119 says the Word of God is forever settled in heaven.

[19:51] Jesus already knew what was going on. But nevertheless, in His sorrow, Luke says when He prays this prayer, His sweat became as great drops of blood in Luke 22.

[20:04] Folks, He was sorrowful. He was mournful. He was stressed because of this. But again, folks, it wasn't because of the crucifixion.

[20:14] It wasn't because of the pain that He knew. Let's read on. And He went a little further and fell on His face and prayed saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.

[20:28] Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. What cup? The cup was not the crucifixion. The cup was not the suffering, folks.

[20:39] It was the cup of the fury and the anger and the wrath of the Father. It was the cup of the wrath of Almighty God. That's what He feared.

[20:49] Hey folks, if that's not what Jesus Christ was referring to here in the cup, then Jesus Christ told the disciples wrong when He said to fear not man who could destroy body, but to fear God who could destroy both body and soul in hell.

[21:06] He didn't fear man. He didn't fear man one bit. This was the cup of the wrath of Almighty God. And that's what He knew He was going to have to face.

[21:19] And this is where He began to drink that cup. Maybe not physically like He did on the cross. He didn't have our sins on Him just yet, but He was still in the weight of all of that against Himself.

[21:32] Gethsemane itself. The word Gethsemane means the old press. And He was being pressed here. He was being pressed beyond anything you or I, either one, could take.

[21:45] His sweat became great drops of blood again as Luke says in his Gospel, folks. That means that the stress of the situation, not the crucifixion, but of taking the wrath of God upon Himself, that stress almost killed Him before He even made it to the cross.

[22:02] But He had to go to the cross. He had to go. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that that's the way that it would be. And it had to be fulfilled. If God says it's going to happen, I can assure you that it will happen.

[22:15] If it hasn't already happened, if there is one prophecy in the Scriptures that has not happened yet, I promise you that it will come to pass. And the Scriptures say in the Old Testament, there will be a suffering servant.

[22:30] It teaches that there will be a suffering servant. It teaches that He would suffer greatly. It teaches many of the things that we find in the crucifixion account as far as them casting lots for His garments, as far as them being sold for the silver that Judas sold Him for.

[22:43] Many things are found in the Old Testament concerning the crucifixion account. Many things were prophesied. But here, Christ says, if, first He begins, Oh my Father, how endearing.

[23:00] According to Mark's Gospel, He uses the term Abba, which is a childlike term for calling Him Father. And if you say, Daddy God, when you pray, shame on you.

[23:12] Shame on you. If you use that terminology, if you're that irreverent of Almighty God. I've heard people say that. That is very irreverent. But here He says, Oh, my Father, if it be possible, He doesn't say, He doesn't say, I quit.

[23:32] He doesn't say, I've changed my mind. None of those things. He says, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. But folks, where it was sealed, and where the resolution begins, where we see Christ become completely resolved to the Father's will, is when He says, Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.

[23:54] And folks, that was Jesus Christ's main purpose for coming here to earth. I understand, and I appreciate, that the Gospel accounts say He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

[24:05] I understand that Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy in the first chapter, in verse 15, he says, This is the faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

[24:19] I appreciate that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And I greatly, and I greatly appreciate that about Christ. But He came to do the Father's will.

[24:31] And what was the Father's will? That man would be reconciled back to Him. Man was cast off in the garden. Man was placed under a curse in the garden.

[24:42] And Christ came to make a way that we could be lifted up from underneath that curse. You've got the Garden of Eden. What a contrast that is to the garden here in Gethsemane.

[24:54] Folks, everything, everything that Adam messed up, everything that was lost in the garden, Christ is going to regain. Christ regains it all.

[25:07] Adam sinned by doing what? By disobeying God. God said, you can have of any of these things that you want within the garden. Any of these plants, you can eat from any tree that you want, but you stay away from the One that is in the midst of the garden.

[25:22] You stay away from the One that has the knowledge of good and evil. And he disobeyed God. But by Christ's perfect obedience, Christ undoes everything that Adam did.

[25:38] He undoes it. He has undone it all in His own actions and in His own perfect obedience to the Father. He says, nevertheless, not what I will, but what you want, Father.

[25:53] Let that be done. That's the prayer that we need to pray. That's what the church needs to get a hold of. Too many times we go to God making our petitions and we make our supplications to Him and we go to God and we say, give me, give me, give me, give me.

[26:10] We say, heal, heal, heal, heal. We say, I need this and I need that in my life. We need to look to God and say, whatever your will is for my life, whatever glorifies you, Lord, that's what I want.

[26:25] That's exactly what Jesus Christ wants. And He accomplished it. My goodness, through the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, how much was God glorified in that?

[26:37] And how much has God, even 2,000 years later, right now in 2025, God is still glorified in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of His darling Son.

[26:47] Christ says, nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt. Let that be done. Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Verse 40, as He cometh unto the disciples, and He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What?

[27:04] Could you not watch with me one hour? Folks, there's something peculiar here. It says, He cometh to the disciples, plural, the three that were there. But He singles out Peter.

[27:16] All of them were evidently asleep. According to what I'm reading here, and He cometh to the disciples, plural, and findeth them, plural, asleep. But He singles out Peter, and saith unto Peter, What?

[27:29] Could you not watch with me one hour? Why would He have done that? If you back up in this same chapter, up to verse 33, it says, Peter answered and said unto Him, said unto Jesus, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

[27:50] He says, I'll go with you all the way, Christ. I'm ready to die for you, Jesus. He says that in the Gospel accounts. Peter does. He says, I'm ready to do whatever it takes.

[28:03] And Christ here comes and finds three disciples sleeping. And He singles out Peter, and He says, What? You couldn't watch? And again, this watching, this means having spiritual discernment.

[28:14] And it means standing by and praying and seeking the Father. It means all these things. He says, You couldn't watch one hour? And in parentheses, we could just about put, And you say, You'll go with Me even unto death?

[28:29] That's why He singled out Peter. I guarantee you. So the disciples were asleep, folks. How many times have we been in this boat? How many times has Christ invited us to watch?

[28:42] How many times has He nudged us with warning? How many times has He called us unto watching and unto praying? And all we can give Him is sleep.

[28:55] We're like a kid. Time to get up for school. Give me ten more minutes. We're like that with God, are we not? God says, Hey, you need to pray. You need to pray about something right now.

[29:06] The very next verse, verse 41, Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. Folks, He gives them what He needs to do. Watch and pray. And He tells them why.

[29:17] That ye enter not into temptation. And folks, this isn't what Christ says. This is very significant. That ye enter not into temptation. He doesn't say that temptation doesn't land upon you.

[29:31] He says that you enter not into temptation. Temptation is set out there in this world as an open door. Peter, you don't need to enter into it. You need to spend your time in prayer.

[29:43] You need to seek the Father. You need to seek guidance. You need to seek holiness. Am I it? And we need to do the same thing as the New Testament church.

[29:53] We need to do the same thing for the same reasons. That we enter not into temptation. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.

[30:05] The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. That inner man, that inner man, the one on the inside, the one that's saved, the one that God has cleansed and made whole, I praise God I ain't taking this flesh right here to heaven with me.

[30:22] But that inward man, that's the Spirit. And it's willing. Folks, our flesh is ever in a wrestling match with our spirit. It didn't just disappear the day that we got saved.

[30:35] We are forever warring against the flesh. Why would we be told in the New Testament Scriptures, why would Paul have written to the churches to crucify the flesh, to mortify the deeds of the flesh?

[30:49] Why would he have said that if it just ended the day that we got saved? And there's people out there that will teach you right now, no, once you get saved, you never commit another sin. Folks, that is contrary to what my Bible says.

[31:02] In fact, Paul said himself in the book of Romans, he said, which in man that I am, who shall save me from this body of death? Paul, in the present tense, calls himself wretched.

[31:13] Paul, a man who wrote half of the New Testament, called himself wretched. How much more should we be called wretched? How much more?

[31:24] Folks, we sin daily. We need to repent daily. We need to seek God daily. We need to watch daily. We need to pray daily. Just as Christ is instructing Peter to do here in this Scripture.

[31:36] Scripture. The Spirit is willing. And praise God for that. But the flesh is weak. The flesh wants to go contrary to the things of God. Just like it did before I was saved, folks.

[31:48] My sin didn't bother me before I was saved. It didn't bother me to go out here and do this or that. What was in my personal life is none of your all's business. No more than your personal life is any of my business.

[32:00] But the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I know that you were a sinner. I know that I was a sinner. And I know that God reached down and saved unworthy sinners from His own wrath.

[32:13] Hallelujah. He went away. Verse 42. He went away again. The second time and prayed. Saying, Oh my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, I will be done.

[32:26] The wording's changed a little bit here. Remember the first time He prayed. Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou will.

[32:38] Here He says, He went away again the second time and prayed. Say, Oh my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done.

[32:52] If it should not pass away, if it will not pass away, except I drink of it. If that's what it takes. Folks, this is the shepherd. This is the shepherd telling the Father, I will do whatever it takes to save my sheep.

[33:09] I will do whatever it takes to bring them into my fold. I will do anything that it takes. If it takes drinking of this cup, for that cup to finally pass, so be it.

[33:22] As long as my sheep are with me. That's what Jesus Christ is saying here. Just in a lot fewer words than what I just said. If this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.

[33:36] You do what you've got to, Father, and I'm going to follow right on through with it. I submit to Your will. I submit to what You want. I submit to everything that You have sent me here to do.

[33:46] Folks, He submitted from the time He was born up until this very time and He was still in submission, in perfect submission to the will of Almighty God.

[33:57] Verse 43, And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Why were their eyes so heavy? People will say, well, it's because they were up all night with Jesus.

[34:08] They were doing the Last Supper. They were eating the Passover together. But that's not what Luke's Gospel tells us. Luke's Gospel in Luke 22 says, they were weary for sorrow.

[34:22] They were sorrowful. Why? Because at that Last Supper, according to John's Gospel, Christ reminded them, as He had for three years, several times over in the Gospel of Christ, He reminded them that He must be handed over into the hands of sinners.

[34:38] He reminded them that He must be crucified. He reminded them, hey, I'm going away, folks, that farewell discourse, that's where we find John 14. And what does He say in John 14?

[34:50] He says, if I go away to prepare a place for you, and if I go away, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am, there you may be.

[35:00] Also, He has told the disciples, He's going away. He has told them, I'm leaving you here. He's also told them, I'm going to pray the Father and He will send you another comforter.

[35:11] He's told them all of these things. But all they've got in their mind is Christ is going away. That's right. And they were sorrowful. They were sorrowful because of that.

[35:25] Praise God. When the Spirit came, in Acts 2, when the Spirit was poured out, and everyone that has been saved ever since has received the Holy Spirit of God.

[35:40] Hallelujah. Folks, when Jesus Christ walked this earth, when He walked this earth, He could only be with the disciples or His mother.

[35:51] He could only be with His mother or with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He could only be on one side of the Sea of Galilee or the other side. Now folks, now that the Spirit has come, now that the Spirit dwells within me and dwells within you, He can go home with me and my wife to Bluff City, Tennessee.

[36:11] He can stay right here in Greenville, Tennessee with each and every one of you because He dwells within each and every believer separately. But it's the same God. And it's the same power.

[36:22] And it's the same blood. And it's the same resurrection that saved each one of us. But God can dwell with each one of us individually. And He can go everywhere we can go. Whereas while Christ was here, that was an impossibility.

[36:36] While He was truly man and truly God. Hallelujah. But here it says, He came and found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy.

[36:47] They were heavy because they were sorrowful. You read that in Luke's account, Luke 22. And He left them and went away again and prayed the third time saying the same words. Folks, Jesus Himself spoke in Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount.

[37:03] Spoke against vain repetition. Is that what He's doing here? Is He going against His own words? No! But there's folks out there, there are so-called preachers and teachers of the Bible that will try and tell you that.

[37:16] They'll try and teach you that. Folks, He is showing fervency in His prayer. He is showing persistence in His prayer. And He is showing the inner struggle that is going on with Him.

[37:27] He is showing the inner turmoil that is going on there. That is going on. He is showing the sorrow that is within Himself. Continually going to the Father and continually saying, if this cup can pass, so be it.

[37:41] But if not, Your will be done! And He does it three times. Many times in Scripture when three requests or three things are done that is significant and symbolic of completion.

[37:56] Paul prayed three times that God would remove a thorn from His flesh. God didn't do it. But we read nothing else about another petition of Paul after that, do we? Three times he prayed God would remove that thorn.

[38:10] But God said, My grace is sufficient for Thee. And we read nothing else about that. Peter denied Christ three times. But we don't read about a fourth denial. It was complete.

[38:22] It was complete. Christ here prays three times. His resolve was complete. His resolve with God was complete. Not that he was doubting God.

[38:34] Not that he ever doubted the plan of God. Not that any of those things happen. They cannot disagree, folks. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are always in agreement.

[38:46] You cannot separate the three of them. It is three separate persons that make up one glorious Godhead according to what I read in the Scriptures. They have always been. They are right now.

[38:58] They always will be. You cannot separate them and you cannot make them disagree with one another. One has never disagreed with the other two and two have never disagreed with one.

[39:09] He left them and went away and prayed the third time saying, The same words then cometh he to his disciples and saith unto them, Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed in the hands of sinners.

[39:23] Is Christ being sarcastic here when He says that? I believe He kind of is. He says, Sleep on now. Sleep on. Why would He say this?

[39:34] He comes back. He goes and He prays three times. He comes back the third time and they're doing the exact same thing that they were the previous two times. And He says, Sleep on now.

[39:45] He says, Sleep on now and take your rest. Why? He tells them why. Now, behold, the hour is at hand. The hour is at hand.

[39:57] In other words, you've had three chances. You've had three chances to pray and to draw strength from God through your prayer.

[40:08] You've had three opportunities and I invited you to watch with me. I invited you to pray with me. And you've blown. And now, the hour is at hand.

[40:23] The time for prayer has ceased. The time to be prepared has ceased because the hour is at hand. Folks, how many hours have we lost in Gethsemane?

[40:35] How many hours have you lost in Gethsemane? How many have I lost in Gethsemane? Because I would rather sleep and I would rather slumber and I would rather be lazy in my Christian walk as to do what God has called me to do.

[40:50] Shame on me. And shame on you all too. Ain't none of us perfect. All of us have done it. Every one of us have done it. Shame on us. Behold, the hour is at hand.

[41:03] The time for prayer is gone. Out the window. They had their opportunity. So yeah, when He says sleep, sleep on, rest.

[41:15] Eat it up while you can. Because the strength that you're going to need in a few hours, the strength that you're going to need when you see me nailed to that tree, the strength that you're going to need when you think that they're coming after you next, when you all are all hit up in that upper room, the strength that you could have gotten from just watching and praying for a little while.

[41:42] Your time for prayer has ended because the hour is at hand. The man that betrays me is at the door. He is coming! The time for preparation is finished.

[41:55] It's time to get this show on the road, basically, is what Jesus was saying. It's time for this thing to start. The hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed in the hands of sinners.

[42:06] This is significant. He was betrayed in the hands of sinners and everybody says He was betrayed into those evil chief priests and their officers and the Pharisees and the Roman soldiers and blah, blah, blah.

[42:21] The Bible says He was betrayed into the hands of sinners. He was betrayed into your hands and He was betrayed into my hands. All of us are guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ.

[42:33] All of us deserve the whipping that He got. All of us deserve the scourge. All of us deserve the mockery. All of us deserve to be spit upon. All of us deserve to have our feet and our hands nailed to a tree and all of us deserve to die because of our sin.

[42:53] And that isn't Spencer's interpretation of Scripture. That's what Scripture says. Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[43:03] The wages of your sin and my sin is death. It's what we've earned and it's what we deserve. But praise God that verse continues. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[43:19] Christ is betrayed in the hands of sinners. Verse 46 Rise Let us be going Behold He is at hand that doth betray me. Folks this is a manly statement that Jesus Christ has said.

[43:30] Rise He said sleep on get your rest because the hour is here the hour is at hand I'm being betrayed in the hands of sinners the one that's betraying me is coming right up the path and He says Rise Rise to the occasion.

[43:50] Jesus didn't flee Jesus didn't run and hide Jesus didn't do any of these things. Folks the cup the cup that was filled that He asked the Father if there is any other way the cup of the wrath of God that Christ said if there is any other way let it pass from me it wasn't filled by Satan it wasn't filled by the Romans it wasn't filled by you or it wasn't filled by me it was filled by God Himself in His righteous anger but it was righteous nonetheless Christ here says rise rise telling His disciples that we're asleep rise let us be going going where?

[44:36] I'm going to meet Judas He didn't run from Judas He knew that Judas would betray Him Jesus Christ run toward the kiss He run toward His betrayer He walked towards Calvary He walked towards the cross and He did it all for you and me Hallelujah that's my Savior He said rise let us be going what does that teach us?

[45:04] it teaches me rise rise rise from my spiritual laziness rise from my spiritual slumber rise and do what what God calls me to do through His Scripture rise and tell the world about Jesus Christ rise and tell them about the Gospel rise and tell man that although He is a sinner God is a wonderful perfect marvelous able and willing Savior rise and do these things Christ says rise let us be going He wasn't going back the other way He wasn't going away from Jerusalem He trucked towards Jerusalem He trucked toward the cross He trucked toward Pilate trucked toward the trial He trucked toward the everything that happened to Him in the Scriptural account rise let us be going behold He is a hand that doth betray me He is a hand that doth betray me folks betrayal is an awful thing if you're anything like me you've been betrayed by somebody you cannot be betrayed by an enemy it's impossible you're betrayed by people you trust you're betrayed by your friends you're betrayed by your family you're betrayed by children you're betrayed by parents you're betrayed by people who are close to you

[46:34] Judas Iscariot hung out with Jesus Christ for three plus years he saw the same miracles that the other eleven disciples saw he heard the same sermons preached that the other disciples heard he slept out underneath the same stars he ate of the same bread ate from the same table he was at the last supper according to John's account he was right there with them Christ washed the feet of Judas Iscariot the one that he knew would betray him John's Gospel in John chapter 12 says that Christ went to them and washed their feet the disciples all of them that were there and there were twelve of them there at that time in John's Gospel he washed the feet of the one that would betray him but nevertheless Judas betrayed him Judas went backward why was that?

[47:29] Judas never truly repented Judas had a love of money and the Bible talks about that as well he held the bag when that woman actually at the beginning of in verses 6-13 of this same chapter in Matthew's Gospel it says the disciples there it says the disciples said what waste is this that this woman took this she could have sold this for money and we could have given it to the poor you find all that in John's Gospel and John's Gospel specifies that it was Judas Iscariot that said that could have sold this for 300 pence and given the proceeds to the poor but the Bible also says in John 12 that Judas was a thief and he had the bag and he wanted the money for himself he was betrayed or he betrayed Jesus Christ folks how many times have we done it?

[48:23]  we look down at our pharisaical noses all the time at Peter and say he denied the Lord three times I wish I could say I only denied him three times we got three times in Scripture that Peter denied Christ three times are recorded how many times in your life I'm talking about your Christian life how many times have you denied Christ by the way you act by the way you haven't act by the things that you've said by the things that you haven't said how many times have you denied Christ how many times have I denied Christ folks be careful what you think of Judas because you you are just as susceptible as falling into that same that same trap that he did God bless you all that's the message for this morning I