Jesus’ Prayer Place

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn to the gospel of John, even if briefly. John
chapter 18. I say that cryptically, we will
be in John 18, but not for very long this morning. John 18, Jesus has finished his
high priestly prayer. As you know that he is literally
on the way to the cross, and he makes a brief stop in the
Garden of Gethsemane. And we get a glimpse of that
in the Gospel of John, but John gives the lightest treatment
to the Garden of Gethsemane of any of the four Gospels. You have just a brief mention
of it in verse one, and then John takes a new tack. John chapter 18, beginning in
verse one, and will course all the way through verse 11 this
morning. When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the ravine of the Kidron
where there was a garden in which he entered with his disciples.
Now Judas also, who was betraying him, knew the place, for Jesus
had often met there with his disciples. Judas then, having
received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests
and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and
weapons So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon
him, went forth and said to them, whom do you seek? They answered
him, Jesus, the Nazarene. He said to them, I am he. Judas also, who was betraying
him, was standing with them. So when he said to them, I am
he, they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore he said
again, he again asked them, whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus,
the Nazarene. Jesus answered, I told you that
I am he. If you seek me, let these go
their way. To fulfill the word which he
spoke, of those whom you have given me, I lost not one. Simon Peter then, having a sword,
drew it and struck the high priest slave and cut off his right ear. And the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put the
sword into the sheath, the cup, which the father has given me.
Shall I not drink it? Now, as I suggested to you, Matthew’s
gospel offers us really the the lightest briefest treatment of
the garden of Gethsemane of all of the gospel writers and So
I would have you keep a finger in John. We’re gonna bounce back
there just once more this morning but I want to go to Matthew’s
gospel and I want to consider that which basically is inserted
between verses 1 and 2 of John 18. What takes place in the Garden
of Gethsemane? John just mentions it, but I
think it’s important given the context in what we’ve considered
by way of John’s prayer that he recorded in John 17, Christ’s
prayer. his high priestly prayer, I think
it’s important that we maybe glean some lessons that we learn
from Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And for that,
if you would turn to Matthew chapter 26, keep your finger
in John, Matthew chapter 26, and I want to look at just a
handful of verses here, beginning in verse 36. Then Jesus came with them to
a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples, sit
here while I go over there and pray. And he took with him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and distressed. Then he said to them, my soul
is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep
watch with me. And he went a little beyond and
fell on his face and prayed saying, my father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples
and found them sleeping and said to Peter, so you men could not
keep watch with me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that
you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing. but the
flesh is weak. He went away again a second time
and prayed, saying, My father, if this cannot pass away unless
I drink it, your will be done. Again he came and found them
sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them again
and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once
more. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still
sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand,
and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get
up. Let us be going. Behold, the
one who betrays me is at hand.” John’s very brief treatment of
the Garden of Gethsemane was by design. John has his own purpose
in the gospel and he is moving directly to the cross. But I
thought it would be appropriate to pause and look at that intense
passage of scripture following on the heels of the high priestly
prayer. One described this section of
scripture as the very inner sanctuary of gospel history. When we started
John 17, you might recall that I mentioned that this was almost
a review of a contract. And I mentioned the covenant
of grace. Theologians for centuries have
referred to what was quite evidently a meeting, if you will, of the
Godhead, the communion of the Godhead in laying out the plan
of redemption, what they agreed to, what they set forth in the
plan to save humanity. They call it the covenant of
grace. Of course, no one was there. This meeting took place
in eternity past. It was between the members of
the Godhead. There were no, at least that
we know of, recording devices there. And so John 17 offers us this
incredible perspective of the communion between God and God. And John 18 just mentions the
continuance of that communion as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. But what it points to is this
holy of holies, this inner sanctuary where God is communing with God. J.C. Ryle said of this incredible
section, let us take care that we use our master’s remedy. If
we want comfort in affliction, whatever other means of relief
we use, let us pray. The first friend we should turn
to ought to be God. The first message we should send
ought to be to the throne of grace. No depression of spirits
must prevent us. No crushing weight of sorrow
must make us dumb. It is a prime device of Satan
to supply the afflicted man with false reasons for keeping silence
before God. I’ve said it before. during communion,
if there was ever a case, an occasion where someone didn’t
need to give thanks for bread, it was Jesus who made the bread.
Yet he rendered up thanks to God, not just as an example. But here, if there was ever a
moment where perhaps someone would be excused for not falling
on knees of prayer, it would be Christ in this moment. eager
to go to the cross, willing to go to the cross, knowing full
well this was the very reason for which he had come, and yet,
Jesus pauses and it says at least three times he went before his
father in prayer. And so for us, taking J.C. Ryle’s admonition here, that
there should be no place that we turn more readily than to
prayer, to God in prayer, What lessons can we learn from the
Garden of Gethsemane? What lessons can we learn from
Christ in prayer, even as we’ve already begun from the high priestly
prayer? Well, the first thing that I
notice from these short passages, even from John’s gospel, if you
have your thumb still in John 18, turn there just briefly.
The first lesson that we learn from Christ in communion with
his father in the Garden of Gethsemane is that there is to be a regularity
to prayer. Look at John 18, verses 1. When
Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples
over the ravine of the Kidron where there was a garden in which
he entered with his disciples. Brace yourself, though, for verse
2. Now Judas also who was betraying him knew the place. For Jesus had often met there
with his disciples. This was a regular place. This
was a recurring place to which they would go. This was, you
might even call it their place. This was the place of communion
with God. This was the place where they
often retreated Turn, if you will, back to Matthew’s
gospel, and probably here for the remainder of our time this
morning. Look at verse 30, if you would,
where Matthew just records that after singing a hymn, they went
out to the Mount of Olives. That’s a little detail that only
Matthew adds, and it really is, exquisite and comforting to us,
isn’t it? That hymns, singing, singing
praise to God, it’s a comfort to our soul, isn’t it? And the
fact that Jesus led this particular little worship service in preparation
for his passion, what a poignant moment. What a poignant moment
for us to be led in, that Jesus took his disciples to the throne
of grace and praised Almighty God in song. Then Jesus said
to them, you will all fall away from me because of me this night,
for it is written, I will strike down the shepherd and the sheep
of the flock will be scattered, but after I have been raised,
I will go ahead of you to Galilee. But Peter said to him, even though
all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away.
Jesus said to him, truly, I say to you that this very night before
a rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to
him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. All
the disciples said the same thing too. Peter started a movement,
right? This blind enthusiasm. Then Jesus
came with him to a place called Gethsemane. And we see that Peter
didn’t last very long and neither did the rest of the disciples.
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to
the disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. Luke adds a little detail that it was his custom to go here. He says essentially the same
thing that Judas’s knowledge of this place tells it. This
was a regular place. This was a recurring retreat. It was his custom to come to
the Mount of Olives and the disciples followed him there. It was his
habit. It was a regular meeting place,
a recurring feature in their life in Jerusalem. To slip away
to the Mount of Olives Obviously, one prominent reason we know
from this very discourse that the mountain that bears the name,
the Olivet Discourse, it was valued almost as a hiding
place. It was a forest, if you will,
of olive trees. But it wasn’t just a retreat
center. A lot of times we use the mountains
for such. We like to get away. We like
the solace. We like the peace and quiet.
But for Jesus, and I believe also for his followers, not only
could they slip away from the noise and from the bustle of
the city, from the persecution, from the harassment, from the
demands, from the expectations, all of it, they could slip away
and get away from all of it. And I would believe that the
disciples probably longed for that much more than Christ did.
They needed it more. They needed the seclusion of
these olive groves. And on this occasion, perhaps
illuminated only by the moon, that Jesus made. Luke in his
gospel goes on in verse 40 to refer to the spot as the place. It was the place. Matthew and
Mark tells us that it was a specific garden called Gethsemane. Perhaps
the owner of this olive vineyard had designed and built kind of
a place of respite, a place of comfort, a place designed for
those weary from the world to come and have a Sabbath rest. Maybe the place was developed
all on its own, a little glade in the midst of a forest, we
don’t know. We don’t know if there were places to sit, The
word Gethsemane means olive press. And perhaps if it were in the
midst of this olive vineyard, there were indeed places to sit
and gather, places where the olives were processed. But the
verse doesn’t tell us explicitly. The context of the passage makes
it clear it wasn’t just a place of peace and quiet. Jesus loved
this place. Jesus loved this garden, this
garden of Gethsemane, nestled in the midst of the orchards
that bears the name because for Jesus it was a place of prayer.
It was a place of communion with God, and it was a regular place
of prayer. If you’re a Christian, you know
that there is just something conducive, something really necessary
about peace and quiet for the sake of prayer. It’s something
that helps cultivate regularity. For some, it’s early morning,
that seclusion, that special place, perhaps a special time
where the buzz of the household or the din of activity in whatever
place we find ourselves. Prayer was a regular feature
in Christ’s life. Do you understand that? Matthew 14 records that after
Jesus sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself
to pray. We need to do more of that. If
Jesus desired the communion that he had with his heavenly father,
if Jesus desired peace and quiet for the purpose of prayer, then
prayer needs to be a more regular part of our life, doesn’t it?
We certainly need it more than Jesus did. Mark 1.35, in the
morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house,
went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. This is
a recurring theme throughout all the synoptic gospels, that
Jesus would regularly steal away to pray. But it’s a particular
focus of Luke’s gospel. Just listen for a moment. Luke
15, pardon me, 515. The news about him was spreading
even farther. Large crowds were gathering to
hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus himself
would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. Luke 612. just prior to the naming of the
12 apostles. It was at this time he went off
to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer
to God. It was a moment of crisis. He
was picking 12 men, and I take it to mean that he was communing
with God for this very purpose, praying for each of these men,
Judas included, Luke 9. 18 it happened that while he
was praying alone the disciples were with him and he questioned
them saying who do the people Say that I am he’s praying By
himself alone. There’s nothing wrong with group
prayer and this doesn’t Poke any holes in that but there’s
also nothing like Having the ability to just be yourself and
to say whatever you choose before one who will not question your
grammar. Jesus went alone to be with his
heavenly father and to pray. We need to do more of that. It
needs to be a regular feature of our life. There was another
crisis. Not a crisis per se in that bad
things were going to happen, but a very significant moment
in the life of Christ, the transfiguration. Luke 9, eight days after these
sayings, he took Peter and John and James and went up on the
mountain to pray. And we know the rest of what
happened there on the Mount of Transfiguration. While he was
praying, the appearance of his face became different, his clothing
became white and gleaming. Luke chapter 11, Jesus steeled
away to pray again. It happened that while Jesus
was praying in a certain place, after he had finished, one of
his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. They began
to see the significance, the importance of prayer in Christ’s
life, so much so that they asked him to teach them how to pray. One last occasion, Luke 18.1. He was telling them a parable
to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart.
Jesus was with men, mere men. He was with men that had on many
occasions shown their human weakness, on many occasion had manifested
their fear. And so Jesus reminds them to
pray. And prayer in this particular
place, in the Garden of Gethsemane, was a regular feature. It was
his custom. And in Colorado, we see it. Sometimes
the beauty of the mountains, God’s creation, prompts us to
make an impromptu prayer to God for his awesome power. But that
wasn’t Jesus’ purpose here. Jesus wasn’t looking down on
nature and immediately impelled to offer up a prayer of praise
because he witnessed God’s handiwork and creation. This wasn’t just
a hike. That’s what so often happens.
We went for a hike and then we happened to pray. Jesus went
for the purpose of prayer. The first time that we learn
of this in the synoptics, he doesn’t tell us explicitly that
Jesus was withdrawing for the purpose of prayer. But the more
we learn about Christ, the more we learn about his ways, the
more we can be assured that the very purpose of his withdrawing
here on this occasion was for the purpose of communing with
his heavenly Father. Jesus just didn’t happen to have
a quiet time. Have you ever had one of those?
Something happens, something really good or something really
difficult, and the next thing you know, you’re praying and
praying for a lengthy season, and maybe you turn to God’s word,
and at the end of it, you realize that you’ve just had a quiet
time. Jesus didn’t just happen to have
a quiet time, he purposed to have a quiet time. He purposed
to pull aside for it. He planned for it. He accommodated
it. He made it happen. Luke 22, same occasion. This word is so graphic. It says
that he withdrew from them, pulled aside from his friends about
a stone’s throw, knelt down and began to pray. Part of the difficulty
of our own feeble prayer lives is an unwillingness to withdraw,
right? We wake up to our phones. We
wake up to our laptops. We wake up to conversation. We wake up to breakfast. We almost
never want to be alone. We never want solitude. We never
want to just get away to be with God. But Jesus did. For us, I would
suggest to you that if we don’t plan it, it won’t happen. We schedule in everything else.
Do you realize that in our lives we’ll schedule in our favorite
show or game? We’ll schedule lunch with our
friends. We’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment. And if we don’t keep it, we get
charged money. So we’re really good about those.
which is absurd because everyone knows that doctors don’t keep
their own appointments. We schedule our meals, we schedule
our haircuts, we schedule everything but our time with God. I want to point out how Jesus
points out his his intention in Mark’s gospel, just listen
briefly, in Mark’s gospel it says, after bidding them farewell,
I’ll see you later, I’m going over here to pray. He puts them
on notice. He left them, the bulk of them,
and that really is part of our problem, isn’t it? We don’t know
how to say goodbye, we don’t know how to say no, we don’t
know how to pull away, We don’t even think of it as the idea
that we have an appointment to keep. This is a phrase that unfortunately
over the course of 25 years fell by the wayside, but when I was
in seminary and the door was closed, I just had an agreement
with Barbara that if the phone rang, and back then it was the
phone that hung on the wall, if the phone rang, She would
say, he’s with the king of the universe right now, would you
like me to disturb him? We need that, don’t we? We need
to reinsert that protection around that meeting with the king of
the universe. There’s another lesson that we
learn from Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not only is there
supposed to be a regularity to our prayer, there is supposed
to be an intentionality to it, and you’ve seen some of that
already. In Matthew’s gospel, look at verse 37. He took with
him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, that is James and John,
and began to be grieved and distressed. Then he said to them, my soul
is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep
watch with me. Luke tells us that he explicitly
tells James and John that they pray, pray that they may not
enter into temptation. And it seems clear from this
context, from the synthesis of the gospel accounts, that Jesus
leaves eight disciples at one location, remember we’re down
to 11, and takes three a little further along with him. As both
Matthew and Mark indicate, There’s some question as to whether these
words were spoken to all 11, or to the first eight only, or
to the three privileged apostles. Only you three get to come with
me. I personally feel that the words were spoken to the entire
group. Look, I want you eight to take a knee, stay here, and
pray. I don’t think the question could
be answered with any degree of certainty, but it’s the content
of his command that we want consider here, the imperative, pray that. In the case of these disciples,
it was an intentional prayer that they not enter into temptation,
a very specific prayer. We’ve seen in the past few weeks
that we don’t just pray these prayers, God bless the whole
wide world. God bless all the missionaries in the whole wide
world. In the case of these particular disciples, Jesus insisted that
an intentional, specific prayer be made that they not enter into
temptation. And that’s what we want to consider,
is the intentionality of our prayer. Sometimes our prayers
are so general, you know, we’d almost make God himself scratch
his head, what is it that they want? there should be a thatness to
our prayer. We should know what we mean by
our prayer. We should know what we are asking
God to do. And sometimes we can’t even identify
a thatness to our prayer. We pray but sometimes so vaguely,
so blandly that there is no thatness, no specificity, nothing distinctive
or clear about our prayer at all. This prayer though, the prayer
that Jesus called them to, is what we were reminded of this
morning. It’s prayer that has God as its object. We sang about
Him. We read the Psalm about that
God. How many of us, I don’t want
to take a show of hands, but you’ve been in these prayer meetings,
or you’ve heard people pray before, you can tell that you are in
the crosshairs of the prayer. They’re preaching a prayer. Someone else is praying, and
they’re really not so much talking to God, they’re really talking
to us, and they’re really letting us have it. You’ve been in those
prayer meetings. And how many of us have let our minds wander
during prayer, regardless of who’s praying, it’s even worse
if we’re praying, But we’re praying along, or maybe someone else
is praying, and we let our minds slip into this kind of dull,
mindless drivel, aimless words. When Jesus Christ here prayed,
he had before him that his object was none other than his heavenly
beloved Father. One pastor said, how much of
our prayer is not prayer to God at all? We must direct our prayers
to God and maintain soul fellowship with him or our devotion will
become empty. I remember seeing the images,
the video of the first Gulf War when American planes flew over
Iraq, and I remember seeing the anti-aircraft guns just spraying
the sky indiscriminately. That’s how a lot of us pray.
It’s not focused. There’s no thatness. There’s
no intentionality to it. Is God, as our Heavenly Father
before us when we pray, is He our object? Are we calling out
to Him Are we just spraying words into
the sky? I love Spurgeon here. He said,
our God is no God who sits. in one perpetual dream, nor does
he clothe himself with such thick darkness that he cannot see.
He is not like Baal who does not hear. But whenever there
is a heart big with sorrow, whenever there is an eye filled with tears,
whenever there is a lip quivering with agony, wherever there is
a deep groan or a sorrowful sigh, the ear of Jehovah is wide open.”
Now, every one of us would agree with the idea of taking the Lord’s
name in vain, using some form of the Lord’s name as a curse
word, and that it is. But I wonder, right, I wonder
that if we just get into this mindless drivel, just kind of
yammering on, isn’t that taking the Lord’s name in vain as well?
To call out to God with no intentionality at all, but just to go through
the motion? And the sooner that we get away from the idea that
prayer is drudgery, the better off we’ll be. That it’s duty
and toil. If we get back to the idea that
it’s relational communion with our loving Heavenly Father, who
has offered us a restored relationship through Jesus Christ, our Savior,
then our prayer life begins to take on new meaning. Then it
begins to take on new life. We have new energy, new zeal,
new purpose. Thomas Watson spoke of this relationship, preaching on Psalm 53, 28, it
is good for me to draw near to God. Watson said this, to draw
near to God is our honor. It is counted an honor to converse
with noble personages. In other words, he says, look,
if you met the president of the United States, regardless of whether
you voted for him, Right, you would be, there would be decorum,
you would be dressed for the occasion. What high dignity is
it that the great God will allow sinful dust to draw near to Him? That the King of kings will hold
forth a golden scepter to us, invite and welcome us into His
presence, and bid us draw near. This is no small favor. It is
a wonder God does not kick us out of His presence, but that
we should be admitted to see the King’s face and that He should
send us deities from His own table is an honor more fit for
angels than men. We have the privilege to come
into Almighty God’s presence. Let’s not take His name in vain. There’s a third lesson we learn
from Christ in prayer. Not only is there to be a regularity
to our prayer and an intentionality to our prayer, but there is to
be a yieldedness to our prayer. In Matthew’s gospel, look at
verse 39. He went a little beyond them
and fell on his face and he prayed. Jump down to verse 41. This is where Luke
records that he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw. And
it really is an amazing word here in Luke’s gospel, that he
was literally torn, he was torn away, or I think quite literally,
he tore himself away from them. This wasn’t easy for him to do,
but he had a priority, and his priority relationship was Almighty
God, and sometimes we have to tear ourselves away. Matthew and Mark are less defined. Both of them simply indicate
that Jesus went a little beyond the disciples. But he knelt down
and began to pray. And at this point, there’s an
interesting difference in what the gospel writers record. Matthew
says that Jesus fell on his face to prayer. Mark says that Jesus
fell to the ground to pray. and there’s really no cause for
concern or suggestion that one of the gospel writers is inaccurate
here. There’s a very simple and plausible
explanation to these differences. When Mark says that Jesus fell
to the ground, he simply omitted the fact that he fell to his
knees. Jesus intensified his prayer
ultimately. As that prayer intensifies, Matthew
says it accurately that he literally fell on his face. Standing was
a very common posture, even for the Lord to pray. There’s no
one posture that is advanced in scripture. Kneeling was certainly
appropriate. 1 Kings, Solomon kneeled. 1 Kings 8.54, Ezra kneeled. Ezra 9.5, Daniel kneeled. But there isn’t any one position
of prayer. It’s the heart that matters in
prayer, not the physical position. Luke records that Jesus just
issues forth this simple request. Father, if you are willing, if
you are willing, remove this cup from me. Mark even adds that, you know,
the acknowledgement of Almighty God that all things are possible
for you. You can do anything. It is entirely
within the realm of possibilities that you could Remove this terrible
event. If you are willing, remove this
cup from me. Let this cup pass. This cup referring, it can have
a good meaning in scripture, the cup of blessing. It can have
a very difficult meaning in scripture, the cup of wrath. It has both
meanings throughout the gospels. Jesus wasn’t going back on the
plan of redemption here. Jesus isn’t so fearful that he
can’t bear the thought of going to the cross. This was normal
human activity, and Jesus, remember, was fully man. He’s fully God,
but he’s also fully man, and the desire to preserve his life
was only natural. But you add to that the very
reality that Jesus was already fully aware as God to what He
was going to face. That not only would the wrath
of humanity be poured out, but the wrath of God would be poured
out. Not just suffering and death, but more difficult and harsh
than that, that He would literally take on the sacrifice of mankind
by bearing their sin, all of the sin of humanity was going
to be put on to Christ. He would be utterly forsaken
by God. Isaiah 53, remember? And so Christ stands before his
heavenly Father with whom he had spent already
an eternity And he had communion with him
that he longs to see restored. But before that can be restored,
he is going to bear the sin of humanity. He’s going to hang
on the cross for that sin, be sentenced for that sin, die for
that sin. And offer up a sacrifice for
humanity. And so he fell on his face and
he pleaded with God three times, Luke records. And then he comes
to this. Matthew records, my father, if
it’s possible, let this cup pass for me yet, not as I will, but
as you will. And that really ought to be the
attendant to all of our prayers, shouldn’t it? Jesus Christ came willingly,
took on human flesh, and yet throughout Matthew’s, or John’s
gospel, as we’ve coursed through it, we’ve seen Jesus repeat this
idea, I can do nothing on my own initiative. My will is so
completely the Father’s that they are one. John 6, 38, I’ve
come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will
of him who sent me. Jesus wanted what God wanted. As one pastor said, a will unsanctified
and uncontrolled is one great cause of unhappiness in life. Did you hear what he said? Because
he just rang your doorbell. A will unsanctified and uncontrolled
is one great cause of unhappiness in life. Are you unhappy or is
there an area of your life that is less than happy? Well, there’s
good reason to look for the cause in this, that your will is unsanctified,
your will is uncontrolled, you still want what you want. He
goes on and he says, it may be seen in little infants. They
want what they want, and they want what they want when they
want it, right? And if you don’t get it, they will throw a fit. And that’s just like us. A will
unsanctified and uncontrolled is one of the great cause of
unhappiness in life. It may be seen in little infants.
It is born with us. We all like our own way. We wish and want many things
and forget that we are entirely ignorant of what is for our good. And unfit to choose for ourselves.
We want what we want, but we don’t even know what’s good and
what’s right. God does. And so when we come to him in
prayer and we lay it before him and pray, not my will, but thine
be done, you know what’s best for me, God. And that enables us to receive
disappointment from the hand of the Lord, to bear up in trials,
to put up with difficulty and challenging and even calamity. J.C. Ryle said there are things
that prove whether we have the mind of Christ. Warm feelings
and joyful frames are not the truest evidences of grace. A mortified will is a far more
valuable possession. Not my will, but thine be done. There’s a fourth thing that we
learn from Christ’s prayer. not only regularity and intentionality
and a yieldedness in our prayer, but fourthly, the thing that
I observe here is a fervency to our prayer. And only Luke’s
gospel records the following, just listen. An angel from heaven
appeared to him, strengthening him. And being in agony, he was
praying very fervently. and his sweat became like drops
of blood falling down upon the ground. Do you know what? For
the first several hundred years, that first verse, verse 43, about
the angel coming and attending to Christ, there were a lot of
copyists that removed that verse. It made them uncomfortable. Early
in the church, they set that verse aside, crossed it out,
refused to copy it, because it made the Lord seem weak, which
is precisely the point of this passage. Jesus was fully human
and Jesus in his humanness was falling on his knees in prayer
and there was an intensity to this prayer like none other.
Some of us have had great seasons of prayer. Some of us had a great
prayer meeting occasionally. Some of us have had a good quiet
time now and then. Nobody’s ever had a prayer meeting
like this. Nobody’s ever had a time of communion before Almighty
God like this drops of blood. He was in agony, it says. Word. This form of the word occurs
only here in all of Scripture. Matthew says that he was grieved
and distressed. The way it’s translated in Mark’s
gospel, distressed and troubled. He was in absolute agony over
what was going to transpire. It was to be forsaken by his
own heavenly father while he was on the cross bearing the
sin of humanity. It wasn’t just that he would
die. It wasn’t just that he would die a horrible, gruesome, cruel,
painful death. It’s that Jesus was going to
take on sin, and because he took on sin, he was going to be forsaken
of God. Hebrews 5. Verse 7 says, in the
days of his flesh he offered up both prayers and supplications
with loud crying and tears to the one who is able to save him
from death. And he was heard because of his
piety. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the
things which he suffered. Jesus went to the Father legitimately,
intentionally, purposefully, But He submitted His will to
the Heavenly Father even in the midst of this intense and passionate
prayer. He really meant it. But He knew. He knew that our
sins were being imputed to Him. He knew that He was going to
die for our sins, that He was going to be a substitute for
us, and that He was going to pay for our sin on the cross. Nevertheless, this intense prayer. And this is just one of many
such episodes recorded in the Gospels. As I mentioned a moment
ago, he prayed like this before his baptism. He prayed, he communed
with the Father before As his popularity began to swell, he
prayed before he chose his apostles. He prayed before he asked his
disciples their perspective on who he was. He prayed before
the transfiguration. He prayed before he offered the
disciples a lesson in prayer. And he prays here in Gethsemane
before he goes to the cross. This prayer is what Spurgeon
called a liquid petition. No prayer, Spurgeon said, will
ever prevail with God more surely than a liquid petition, which
being distilled from the heart, trickles from the eye and waters
the cheek. Then is God one when he hears
the voice of your weeping. If you want to win in prayer,
you must weep in prayer. Your soul arouse itself to eager
desire and trouble itself to anguish. Then you will prevail. There was an intensity to Jesus’
prayer, and I wonder for most of us, has there ever been a
fervency to our prayer? even held to the standard of
what Christ exhibited here, weeping, pleading with the Heavenly Father
in agony, sweating drops of blood. Maybe not that fervent, but has
there ever really, on a human level, is there often in your
prayer a fervency, an intensity, to your prayer. Let’s examine
our hearts before the one who teaches us to pray and models
for us prayer. Our merciful God, we thank you
for our Savior. We thank you for his regular
place of prayer. And we thank you, Father, that
he had a very specific purpose in going there It wasn’t just
a retreat. It wasn’t just a cool mountain
getaway. It wasn’t to go sit by a quiet
brook and to calm his soul. It was to go and commune with
Almighty God. And Lord, we thank you that even
as we pour out our requests before you, we thank you that Jesus
also modeled a yieldedness, a willingness to do what you would do. Not what we would do. Lord. We pray that you would stir in
our hearts. Not only a regularity, not only
an intentionality. We pray that you would stir our
hearts to a passion. To a fervency in prayer. Lord,
we thank you. For the lesson that Christ gives
us. here in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And we pray that you would use it for your glory in our hearts
and lives. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.
Amen.