Psalm 145:1-21

1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.  2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.  4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.  5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works.  6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds.  7 They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.  10 All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.  11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.  13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.  14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.  15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.  16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.  18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.  20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.  Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

Mark 14:32-42 (NIV)

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.  “Stay here and keep watch.” 

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep?  Could you not keep watch for one hour?  38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.  40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Enough!  The hour has come!  Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  42 Rise!  Let us go!  Here comes my betrayer!”

 

Today we’re going to look at Jesus time in the Garden with the disciples.

 

I find this passage amazing and disheartening.  Jesus is in major distress, the disciples for some reason can’t see this.

1. This really happened, Jesus really lived, really was betrayed, really was executed.  The only reason we have a story like this is that it must have happened like this.

2. This passage helps us understand that we have a culture.  Up unto this point Jesus is in control.  And the reality of what is going to happen seems to crush Him down.  Jesus is struggling, we are watching His agony.

 

Here is where culture comes in, whether a society appreciates this, His vulnerability is appealing to western minded people like us.  We are ready to believe Him.

 

Other cultures find Jesus of the Bible a stumbling block.  The view of the Son of God, crying to God to not have to go through Good Friday, they don’t like it.

 

John 14:6  Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Him.

 

Modern culture wants many paths to God, we don’t want to be closed minded, people will accuse us of being elitists, there is only one true religion.

 

Christianity at some point will offend all people and most cultures.

 

People who don’t love gets angry because nothing really matters.  And you matter to God.  Psalm 145 says that God loves everything He has made, and that is the reason He is angry at what is going on down on earth.

 

What good is knowing all this?  I think it helps us deal with trouble and suffering, and where to get the power to deal with trouble.

 

The issue is what to do with the gap between the desires of our hearts and the circumstances of our lives?  We want a perfect life, we want perfect health, and we have to deal with all kinds of stuff.  The bigger the gap, the more suffering.

 

What are our options?

1. Run away from trouble.

2. Become detached and cool.

3. We try to change our circumstances.

4. We harden our hearts.

 

Jesus shows another way to deal with the gap between desires and circumstances.  He pours His heart out to His Father.  He is redirecting His desires, intensifying them and giving them over to God.

 

I know these desires of my heart; they are fine if they’re all eventually in God.  So, I have to begin to trust Him, and I have to put myself in His hands.  I think that means Jesus loves into suffering.

 

Jesus loves into suffering?  What?  He obeys for the love of the Father in the midst of suffering and then He turns the suffering into a vehicle for grace in His life and in the life of the world.  He pours out what He wants to His Father and says, “Someday, in you, all of my deepest desires will be fulfilled.  Meanwhile, I trust you with them.  Your will, not mine, be done.”  How do we do that?

 

Jonathan Edwards said this, “God brought Him to the mouth of the furnace, to his raging fire, to see where he was going so he could volunteer to enter into it and bear it for us, knowing what it was, so when he took the cup on the Cross, knowing fully what it was, so was His love to us infinitely and more wonderful and His obedience to God, infinitely more perfect.”  Remember Jesus was the substitute lamb.

 

Jesus is the second Adam; He is in a different Garden.  He is told to obey God on a different tree (the Cross).

 

Jesus was asked to perform the single greatest act of love and grace ever in the history of the world.  He knew it would cost His life.  He obeyed and went through Good Friday.  God made Him Sin who knew no sin, that we might become righteous of God in Him.

 

God has a plan for your life, and for mine.  Sometimes that will include struggles.  Hopefully the suffering will cause us to trust God, but also that others can come to faith.  God is in the business of using faithfulness, using obedience to build His Kingdom.

 

God bless.  Please think about Mark 14:32-43 this week as you prepare for Easter.