Gethsemane

[0:00] Back in 1995, that sounds like another century, a millennium.

[0:11] And back in 1995, I had the privilege to go to Israel. It was a great dream of my life, even at that younger age.

[0:23] I got to see Capernaum, where Jesus lived, the house of Peter. It's hard to see the house of Peter, because there's a huge Catholic church built over the top of it, but nonetheless, it's there.

[0:38] I got in a boat about the same size as the fishing boats that Jesus fished in, and rode out into the middle of the Sea of Galilee and turned the engine off and read the Gospels.

[0:54] I got to visit Bethlehem down into the cave where he was born. I was able to walk through the streets and marketplace of Jerusalem.

[1:05] I saw the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, where it sat on Mount Moriah in the Holy of Holies.

[1:17] You can see where it rests if you go into the mosque there on Mount Moriah. It's the only level place in the rock.

[1:31] The exact measurements of the Ark. I saw that. And the hair in the back of my neck stood up. I saw Golgotha, the place of the skull, the mountain on which Jesus was crucified.

[1:45] I saw the garden where the tomb was, where they laid him, and the huge stone that was rolled away, where you enter the tomb and you walk out, and on the door it says, he's not here.

[2:02] He's not here. Before I went, though, I had subscribed to this biblical archaeology review, which gives you all this archaeological data and studies that they have done.

[2:23] There were two in particular that were really interesting to me that I had read before I went there. So one was about where the Ark sat, and that's how I knew where to look, because the archaeologists had been allowed to go into that dome of the rock and actually measure and take pictures, and they were allowed to do that.

[2:44] The other was, I had read an article on Gethsemane. See, Gethsemane is not the garden. We often call it the Garden of Gethsemane, but that's not what Mark says.

[2:56] He says they went to a place called Gethsemane. Now, there's a garden nearby there where Jesus prayed, but the Gethsemane is actually an underground oil press there on the Mount of Olives at the foot of the mountain.

[3:15] It's an oil press. It's one of the most authentic sites you can go in Israel where we know for a fact that Jesus stayed and was there, and there's not a church built over it.

[3:31] You can actually see it. You can go there and sit there and sit on the same stone bench where he sat and slept during that last week. Few know about it.

[3:44] Few have seen it. Yet the oldest, oldest descriptions from the pilgrims back in the second century describe this place.

[3:56] I asked our tour guide if he knew anything about it, a Jewish man, to give it to us. No, there's a garden. He said, no, not the garden. So we had a free day when I was there.

[4:11] My brother and I had a free day. We were in Jerusalem, so we walked through Jerusalem. We walked through the marketplace. We walked into some of the ruins and things like that. And then I said to him, let's go across the valley there and go up to the Mount of Olives.

[4:27] I want to see if I can find this Gethsemane. Because you can find the garden, and there's a huge church built over the place where he prayed and where he bled.

[4:39] That's just a stone's throw away from where this Gethsemane is. So we went over there, and I asked the locals there, where's the Gethsemane? And they said, oh, the garden's over there.

[4:51] I said, no, not the garden. The Gethsemane. Oh. Oh, yeah, you have to go down here. There's a bunch of churches there. Go down, down, down, down into the cave.

[5:03] Oh. So we found all the churches, Church of Mary, Church of Mary, Magdalene, and all this. And down kind of around the corner, there's a little known stairway down underground where you will find the Gethsemane.

[5:19] It's a room. Probably the size of these pews here. You can see where the beam came out of the wall that was used to press the olives from the olive orchard.

[5:34] And it had benches, stone benches, carved benches around where people could sit or sleep.

[5:47] It would have easily held the 12 apostles, and possibly if there were more people with him, to stay there during the week. I remember going out there, and we found it, and then I came out of that, and we're reading, my brother and I were reading the Gospels, and then, okay.

[6:04] It says he came here, he told them to stay, he told the eight, you know, the eight that are left without Judas to stay here, and then he takes Peter, James, and John, a stone's throw, and about a stone's throw from where that Gethsemane is, is the garden.

[6:20] And you go over there, and so we're kind of, we're reading, we're working it out, we're kind of walking over there, okay, he's praying over here, and then, this is where he's arrested, just between the Gethsemane and the garden.

[6:37] It's all right there. It was just like, cool, we're just kind of sitting there, this was our day off, we're just kind of meditating and looking at this, and thinking it through, wow, it's just like it says. They stayed here, stone's throw over, okay, there it is.

[6:51] And here from Jerusalem comes the mob, with Judas at the head, to arrest them. This was the holy ground, where Jesus prayed.

[7:04] And as Luke said, his sweat became like drops of blood, which is a medical, physical condition of extreme stress, where your corpuscles, whatever it is, your blood vessels kind of burst, and come with your sweat, and it's extreme stress.

[7:30] This is holy ground. This is where Jesus is meeting with his Father. It's one of the few instances we see that. We're told in the Gospels that Jesus often went away to pray.

[7:43] He went off by himself to pray. He'd get up early morning, go to a lonely place to pray, or he'd go up on a mountain and pray by himself. This is the first time we kind of get to hear.

[7:55] What did he pray? And we don't get to hear at all because the disciples fell asleep. But before they dosed, they heard some of the prayer. And this is our window into that precious moment.

[8:12] Gethsemane means oil press, and this is a place where Jesus is pressed to. He's pressed in his soul. So here we are, verse 32.

[8:26] We have this unique look, and we see this dark path of the soul of Jesus. He talks about my soul.

[8:39] And look at the strong emotions that are described. And these are very strong words. Verse 33, He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.

[8:52] Distressed. It's a feeling. He's disturbed. There's something he dreads, something that is horrific to him. It's a strong, deep emotion of distress.

[9:03] Troubled. Anxiety. Anguish. He is struggling emotionally. And then in verse 34, he says it.

[9:17] See, verse 33, we see that they noticed he's distressed and troubled. Then in verse 34, he tells them, he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, unto death, whatever that means.

[9:38] Did he think he was going to die? Possibly. I don't know what that means. But it's extreme. Deeply sorrowful.

[9:49] He's despairing. Literally engulfed in grief. To death. Stretched to his limit. He's in agony.

[10:02] As Luke describes. Such agony and stress that his blood is bursting through his forehead. Now, this is Jesus.

[10:15] What would trouble Jesus? He has slept through storms. He has calmed storms.

[10:28] They've seen him heal the blind, raise the dead, cleanse lepers. What would trouble Jesus? He's met Satan head on.

[10:39] He's met demons one after another. He says a word and they're vanquished. What would trouble him? He's indefeatable. All through the Gospel of Mark, people are going, who is this?

[10:56] There's no one like him. And here, he seems so human. So normal.

[11:09] like us. He was stressed. He calls it in verse 35, the hour.

[11:22] Verse 35, he fell on the ground and prayed if it were possible. The hour might pass. It's an hour. A certain hour that he wants to pass away. Verse 36, remove this cup.

[11:33] He's talked about the cup before. My body, my blood, the cup, his death. He's speaking of his death.

[11:44] And his death is just hours away. As we read the rest of Mark 14, after this Gethsemane, he will be betrayed and arrested. He will then go before the council in an illegal meeting during the night in private, away from the public, away from prying eyes.

[12:04] This council is going to get him killed. So by morning, chapter 15, verse 1, it's morning. Okay? So this is all going on during the night.

[12:18] So his death is just hours away. Right? Just hours away. But this is not any death.

[12:32] His death is unique. And, you know, we think, well, you know, I read in the Fox's Book of Martyrs I've read in history about others who have gone to their death unafraid.

[12:49] Even singing. Even praising God as they're burning in the flames. Remarkable, remarkable, amazing. Right? So I personally don't believe it was the physical suffering that Jesus was distressed about.

[13:04] I don't believe that. I believe it was something else. I think it was about the kind of death he was going to die. He was going to bear our sins. He was going to suffer the wrath.

[13:19] He was going to be, for the first time ever, estranged, separated from his father. Remember, as he hung on the cross, why have you forsaken me?

[13:31] Right? This cry of abandonment. I mean, for Jesus, he'd never experienced that. Okay? We can't totally relate.

[13:43] We're just trying to grasp. certainly on his mind were the verses from Isaiah 53. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

[13:59] And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.

[14:15] But, he was pierced through for our transgression. He was crushed for our iniquities.

[14:28] That's our twisted sins. Upon him was the chastisement, the punishment that brought to us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed.

[14:39] Jesus, I believe, is feeling the weight of sin that will be upon him. We can't enter into that.

[14:49] We can't understand that except perhaps a little bit intellectually get, okay, wow. So Mark records these intimate moments of Jesus.

[15:04] We hear the distressed prayer of Jesus. in verses 33 through 36. So I want to ask the question as we look at this remarkable moment, how does Jesus handle his troubled soul?

[15:25] How does he handle those strong feelings, the intense anguish? He displays for us how he handles it. He's very open about it.

[15:37] That's what's remarkable. He's transparent about it. He doesn't dismiss or hide his feelings or pretend he's okay. He tells them. Wow.

[15:49] He tells them. Not everybody, but he's got three. He's going to tell them. So I see at least two responses here in the way Jesus handles his distressed and troubled soul.

[16:05] We see first in verse 33 and 34 through 35 that he pours out his soul. In his distress he pours out his soul to the Father.

[16:19] And then in verse 36 we see that he takes it up a notch. And by his prayer to the Father he is enabled to renew his purpose because he's enabled to say yet not what I will but what you will.

[16:37] He makes a turn. He makes a shift. How does he do that? How does he go from taking away to yet not my will? Oh, we say oh, because that's Jesus. No.

[16:49] And we're into the context. He is stressed. He is agonizing. He is, and by the way he can't deal with it in one prayer. Remember? Comes back finds him sleeping goes back and prays again.

[17:00] Comes back and finds him sleeping goes back and prays again. It's not that easy. Even for Jesus. This is heart stuff.

[17:13] This is heart. How do we handle our soul? Our soul, that's where we get affected. That's the deep affections.

[17:24] That's both positive and negative. That's where we get depressed. That's where we get despair. That's where we get troubled and anxious. It's also where we have our highs with God.

[17:35] Where we thirst and pant and bless him. It's our life force. But the soul is not in control. The soul is affected.

[17:48] So that could be low or that could be high. And so Jesus says here's where my soul is right now. It's way down. And how do I respond to that?

[18:01] So first we see in his great distress he pours out his soul to the Father. To put it in Peter's language he casts his burden on the Lord. he's casting his burden his anxiety his care his agony.

[18:18] I would have you see Jesus today. I want you to see his agony. Verse 33 He took with him Peter and James and John.

[18:32] How come those three by the way? They're the closest. For some reason they're the closest. They're the ones that have gone with him to the Mount Transfiguration remember?

[18:44] They're the only ones that got to see that. They're the ones that went with him to that one time when he raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. He only allowed those three in. They're closer to him.

[18:57] John tells us that John himself was the one at the Last Supper that was the closest to Jesus leaning on his breast. So he takes us closest with him.

[19:11] Just those three. And then he began to reveal his feelings. Greatly distressed. He was being distressed.

[19:22] It was not a momentary thing. It was an ongoing being distressed. Something happened to him that distressed him. He was dreading and horrified at the kind of death that was before him.

[19:37] Feeling this distress and trouble and anxiety. And by the way, those feelings are not sinful. Can you see it?

[19:50] Jesus did not sin, yet he felt anxiety. He felt distress, disturbance, trouble. Feelings are not sinful.

[20:01] Feelings are natural. They're spontaneous. You can't even control them sometimes. I mean, at least start how they begin. Feelings are not sinful.

[20:12] What we do with them eventually, yes, can be, but just that it's something we feel. It's how we're affected. I can't stop how I'm affected by something. We see Jesus' full humanity.

[20:28] He's just like us. He feels these deep affections. Jesus is not this stoic, calm, handle everything piece of cake.

[20:41] I remember when I was growing up, the movies about Jesus would always have this kind of stoic, you know, it's just unbelievable. And then this Italian director, Zeffirelli, or something like that, came out with this three-part series called Jesus of Nazareth.

[20:56] Anybody remember that? Back in the 70s or 80s? It was like, it was a passionate Jesus. He laughed, he cried, he got passionately spoken, it was like a real-life person.

[21:13] I'm like, I can believe in that. He was real. And he's real, real here. Notice his admission, verse 34.

[21:28] What is the first thing he does? He shows it, now he speaks it. He said to them, he told them, my soul is very sorrowful even to death.

[21:43] The first thing he does with his distressed soul is not bury his feelings, not pretend that he's okay, not dismiss it.

[21:54] That's what, I don't know about all guys, but that's what most guys are taught to do. I remember being little and you fall down and scratch your knees and don't cry. Don't you cry.

[22:06] Rub some mud on it. You know, it's kind of a family thing to do. so we grew up with that. Don't tell my feelings.

[22:17] So we suppress it and hide it inside. I almost knocked my glass off again. But that's not what Jesus does. He doesn't bury it.

[22:27] He doesn't dismiss it. He doesn't pretend to it. He tells them. He shows it. He's not showing it to everybody. He's not crying all over the place.

[22:38] But he does have some he can take with him and just be real with it. He confesses to his disciples, my soul is sorrowful.

[22:51] He lets them know he's struggling. And then he says, remain here and watch. Now what's that? Watch what? Literally means stay awake.

[23:05] Okay, that's a clue to later. But maybe it's implying as they see and he's just confessed to them, maybe it's implying, will you watch with me?

[23:17] Will you pray with me? Will you just stay awake while I pray? I just need you near me. You don't need to teach me. I just need you near me.

[23:30] Stay and watch. Maybe it's listen. listen. Maybe it's what he clarifies later in verse 38 when he finds them sleeping and says, watch and pray that you not enter temptation.

[23:49] Maybe. Anyway, he wants them there. And then see his appeal, verse 35, what does he pray? The first time.

[24:00] the first time in verse 35, Mark just kind of summarizes what he prays. He says that he prayed that if it were possible the hour from him.

[24:12] If you can, let the hour pass. If there's any way, could you take the hour and just kind of let it go away?

[24:24] Let it pass on if it's possible. if, Father, you're able. Could we avoid this?

[24:38] This hour? What is Jesus doing here? Does he not know? Doesn't he know?

[24:49] He has to do this. He's committed to do this. He's already said, I'm going to Jerusalem. I'll be betrayed. I'll be killed. He's already said it. He's fully committed.

[25:00] And here he is hours before saying, is it possible? It's just his feelings. It's just his humanness. He's struggling.

[25:11] He's struggling. Can I say this? He's struggling with obedience. He's struggling with obedience. I know this is what you want.

[25:25] And he's going to say that later. Not what I want but you. I know this is what you want. But I would rather not. You ever prayed that way?

[25:37] You ever know there's a trial before you? You ever knew there's a storm before you? Or been in the middle of the storm and you're overwhelmed? Can we let this go? Can this please end?

[25:49] Could you cut it short? Could you just rescue me right out of it? Could you change how I feel? Could you take the depression away?

[26:06] He's struggling. See, even for Jesus, this was feeling too hard. It felt too hard. He wants out.

[26:21] He's working out his feelings and his agony. In his distress, what he does not do is look to himself. He does not try to psych himself up.

[26:34] He doesn't say to himself, okay, I've got to do this. I've got to man out. Said I'd do it. I've got to keep my word. I've got to do it. Doesn't do that. Doesn't look to himself.

[26:45] Doesn't try to feed himself. He pours out his soul to his father. And by the way, again, it's okay to ask to avoid trials.

[26:57] Jesus even tells us that, right, in the Lord's prayer. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Well, why would we pray that when we know he does?

[27:12] He leads us into trials. But you have not because you have not. Lead us not. How about today? How about that? Can I have a break today?

[27:22] I'm kind of a little overwhelmed. He's going to answer it sometimes. At least who he is.

[27:34] Sounds like it. It's up to him, right? So, Jesus sounds like David in Psalm 42.

[27:46] My soul, my soul, my soul. for you.

[28:18] will, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. And then he complains. When shall I come and appear before God?

[28:28] My tears have been my food day and night. While they say to me all day long, where is your God? He's being taunted. These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I would, how I would, how I used to, go along with the throng and lead them in procession into the house of God with glad shouts of songs and praise, a multitude keeping festival.

[28:54] He's remembering public worship. He's remembering how great that is sometimes. And he misses it. He misses it. He's missing it because he's depressed.

[29:08] The next words he says is, why are you cast down on my soul? Literally, why are you pushed down? Why are you depressed? Why are you depressed on my soul?

[29:22] And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God! For I believe, I trust, that I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

[29:40] What I want you to notice from Psalm 42 is how much this is like what Jesus does. How do you handle a distressed soul?

[29:51] Jesus, just like Psalm 42, is pouring out His soul. He is confessing it. He's admitting it. He's telling the Lord how He feels. He's telling them what it was like.

[30:04] He's telling God, I miss when I used to worship with everybody else. Where is that? And by the way, Lord, all these people are saying, where's thy God?

[30:15] Because you're not showing up for me, by the way. They're taunting because you aren't showing yourself. Why are you away?

[30:29] But notice, He's pouring it out. He's telling God. He's confessing and He's complaining. that's all casting the burden before the Lord. Do you do that?

[30:43] Do you take those feelings, those disturbances, those agonies, those depressions, those discouragements, those anxieties, and you take them to the Lord and just tell Him about it.

[30:55] Tell Him how you feel. Tell Him what it looks like. Tell Him what you're missing out on.

[31:07] And then, what David does is he talks to himself. Then he speaks to his soul. He asks his soul. He questions his soul. He examines his soul. Why?

[31:21] I've mentioned this before. It's kind of, it's a really biblical thing to do, is to talk to yourself. You think, well, that's kind of weird.

[31:31] no, we listen to ourselves all the time. The Bible never says, listen to yourself. It says, talk to yourself.

[31:49] Question yourself. Examine yourself. Preach to yourself. Especially your soul, because your soul's, whoo, if I just follow my soul, I'm in trouble.

[32:09] Pour it out. So what does Jesus do in his distress? First of all, he casts his burden upon the Lord. He pours out his soul to the Father. He just goes to the Father.

[32:20] He's just authentically open and honest. And then secondly, here's what he does in verse 36. It's kind of intensified a little bit. It's still kind of the same, but there's a change that happens.

[32:33] As we see in verse 36, Mark records what he actually said. He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.

[32:45] Remove this cup from me, yet, yet, not what I want, but what you want.

[32:57] So there's a shift. And I would say it this way, his second response is by authentic prayer. He is enabled to renew his purpose.

[33:10] How does he switch from take it away to, okay, how does he do that? Well, the only thing that's happened in between there is his praying, his authentic prayer.

[33:26] It's honest, it's open, it's not disobedient, but it is pleading. It's authentic. It's not just saying words, it's this is, there's a little despair, despair in there, there's desperateness in there, there's urgency, intensity, it's authentic, it's real.

[33:46] And in that step, he's empowered to take the next step. So look closely at his request, look at how it begins.

[34:01] Abba. What's Abba? Isn't that an eye care place or something like that? Yeah. No. Sorry. Abba, it's Hebrew.

[34:15] It's Hebrew. Abraham. Abba, father. It's actually more intimate. Some people say it's like saying daddy.

[34:26] That's probably close. It's still respectful, but it's intimate. It's bold. We're actually allowed to see it in the window of Jesus' relationship with his father.

[34:45] There's an Abba. God. Now, Jesus was radical when he taught us to pray father. The Jews didn't do that. They said Adonai.

[34:58] Jesus says father. And then as we glance at him in his intimate moment, he says father, but he also says Abba.

[35:09] you will not find any Jewish rabbi's tradition anywhere in history that did that. He's radical.

[35:22] No one would dare that kind of familiarity with the Lord. Don't take the name in vain. Be very, very careful. God is to be feared. Yes. But he also talks to his children.

[35:36] And so Jesus has displayed that. it's quite remarkable. It's only used two other times in Scripture in Galatians and in Romans and in both places.

[35:48] That word Abba is associated where when we pray to the Father with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us to say Abba. Daddy.

[36:01] Papa. Not just father, but no, really. My. Notice also his request is a bit stronger.

[36:13] It intensifies. Before he said, verse 34, verse, yeah, verse 34. No, yeah, I'm sorry, I can't find my page.

[36:30] Sorry, verse 36. Before he said, verse 35, if it's possible, let the hour pass. Now he says, what?

[36:41] Verse 36. Not if it's possible. He says, all things are possible. He's gone from if to all things are possible.

[36:53] And then he's gone from let the cup be passed, kind of more timid, to remove the cup. See, it's stepped up. It's more strong. It's not if it's possible.

[37:05] I know it's possible. Father, remove it. Take it away. See, he's struggling intensely with the plan of God.

[37:18] You don't ever do that, do you? I never struggle with God's plan for you. especially when it looks like dark days ahead. When he's not answering your prayers like you want him to answer your prayer.

[37:34] When he's not showing up like David said, you know, my enemies are saying, where's your God? Where's your God? Look at you suffering. God doesn't care. And you go, okay, who do I believe?

[37:48] Who do I believe? Who do I Who do I take it away? And then notice this shift that happens in the second part of verse 36.

[38:03] All things are possible. Remove this cup from me yet. Yet. Not what I want, but what you want. What I want is to avoid this cup.

[38:17] What I want is to circumvent the cross. What I want is another way. that's what I want. Clearly. But Jesus is not what I want.

[38:30] In my humanity, in my authenticity, what I feel and desire is not that. I do not relish going to the cross.

[38:43] I do not relish becoming sin. I do not relish experiencing whatever that wrath and separation from the father is.

[39:00] I don't want that at all. But, not what I want, but what you want. How does he make that shift?

[39:13] How does he just surrender? how does he yield himself? When it's so intense, and then all of a sudden, yielding?

[39:27] How? Well, I'll tell you this, I don't believe it happened in a second. I don't think it was a quick fix. but it did happen.

[39:40] It did shift. And the only thing I know how that happened is because he had confessed and poured out his soul. Do you know that we can do that?

[39:57] There's a lot of things we can't do. Okay? When I'm distressed, and I'm troubled, and I'm depressed, there's a lot of things I can't do. But one thing I found I can do is I can complain.

[40:15] I can complain. And I can complain to him. And I can tell him what I think about this, and I can tell him how I feel about this. And I can tell him what I miss, what I want back.

[40:33] And do you know what that does? that's a step of faith. You say, well, complaining can't be a step of faith. Read the Psalms. I'm still complaining to him.

[40:48] David calls it pouring out my soul. I'm still complaining. It's a confession. A complaint is a confession. It's just real negative.

[40:58] God wants to do it. It's authentic. It's real. It's honest. And God wants that. And when I do that, when I take that little step, I can do it.

[41:12] When I take that little step, you know what happens? I can take another little step. And I can start to say, okay, let me tell you this too.

[41:23] and something starts to change. Something starts to shift to where I'm enabled at some point to say, okay, okay, this is where you want me for now.

[41:41] I still want out, but if this is where you want me. I couldn't do that on my own. I could not do that by resolving, by willing, by getting strong.

[41:53] I mean, it wouldn't be authentic. Leaking. One step.

[42:09] One step of faith enables another step of faith. All you can do, and I know this, all you can do is take that one step.

[42:19] Don't worry about the second step. I can't go that step. That second step is like, we're in trifocals and it looks like it's 80 feet down, right? Can't go there, but I can do the little three-stepper, three-incher, something.

[42:36] I can. I can complain. I can confess. You know, and John says, 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, right, he's faithful and just to forgive us and what?

[42:55] Cleanses. Cleanses. See, I believe there's really powerful truth in confession. And Jesus does it both. He does it with the others, which makes him an authentic person, and with the father.

[43:13] There's power in there, because that brings a cleansing. And guess what? When I'm cleansed, I'm a little free. So, he casts it upon the Lord, and he calls upon the Lord, and he's empowered.

[43:37] But guess what? It's not over. Should it should end right there, right? He should come back in verse 37, find the disciples. Lord, we're with you. What do we need? What can we do?

[43:49] I see you've been crying. You okay? Nope, that's not what he finds, right? Verse 37. He came and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, how come he picks on Peter?

[44:03] And I remember just a little bit ago, Peter was, I will never, I never will. Hey, Mr. never will. Are you sleeping? You weren't going to deny me or fall away, but you can fall asleep.

[44:19] Gotcha. Now, I don't know in what tenor he's saying this, Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch with me one hour? Oh, you know Peter felt that.

[44:33] Why? Because in the next verse, we find out that Jesus knows Peter didn't intend to do that. The next verse, he says, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

[44:44] The spirit indeed is willing. I know you're willing, Peter. I know you want to, Peter. I know you want more than anything to be loyal and honest and faithful, but your flesh is weak.

[44:57] And then we see these words in verse 39, and again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. Saying the same words. In other words, Father, all things are possible for you.

[45:10] Remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done. He says it again. Why? Isn't the prayer of a, isn't the faithful prayer, how's it going?

[45:25] The effective prayer, never mind. That'd be fair, but a fervent, righteous man bails much. Something like that, yeah. Something like that. Why does he need to pray this again?

[45:39] This is Jesus. Doesn't he have great faith? Doesn't he have the kind of faith, the faith preachers tell us about? Yeah, but if you have great faith, man, it's just, you should handle that.

[45:55] Jesus comes back, it seemed like he was resolved, right? Not mine, but your will. Come back, find him sleeping. I don't know, maybe that, maybe that discouraged me.

[46:07] Maybe that kind of brought her all about, I'm alone. Oh, I'm alone. And he goes back and prays again. I don't know, but he does go back and pray again. And then we find out in verse 41, he comes back a third time, which implies that he went away and prayed a third time.

[46:23] He prays three times. Why? Because it wasn't resolved. It's not easy.

[46:34] It's not a quick fix, even for Jesus. And if it's not a quick fix for Jesus, what do you think it is for us? Oh, my goodness, three times 70, right?

[46:44] Whatever it is. Learning obedience is a process. It's a process, beloved. It's not an instant.

[46:56] It's not an either or. It's a process. God sees our small steps and affirms Christ is still working it out.

[47:11] It takes time. True faith takes time. This was not the first time Jesus battled with his death. Just a few days before, he prays in a very similar way, we're told, in John 12.

[47:26] In John 12, the context says, Jesus answered people coming to him and said, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.

[47:41] But if it dies, it bears much fruit. So he's speaking about dying. Whoever loves his soul, loses it. Remember? Do we trust our soul?

[47:52] Do we do what our soul wants? If we trust and do what our soul wants, we'll lose our soul. Because our soul will destroy us. And whoever hates his soul in this world will keep it.

[48:04] will save it. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. And watch what Jesus says next.

[48:17] Now is my soul troubled. There he is again. He's confessing it out loud. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say?

[48:31] This is confession. Once again to public. What does he say? Father, save me from this hour. There's his prayer. Remove this cup.

[48:43] Let this cup, let this hour pass. Father, save me from this hour. He pours out his soul. And then what does he say next? but, not what I will, but you will.

[48:58] But, for this purpose I have come to this hour. He's reminded. And then he's able to say, Father, glorify your name.

[49:11] He goes from save me to you glorify your name. How does he do that? How does he go from my soul is troubled to go for it, Father?

[49:24] And by the way, did you see the affirmation he gets? Then a voice came from heaven says, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. There's some affirmation. The voice from heaven only speaks a few times.

[49:36] Those times are significant. This is significant, that Jesus had prayed this and conquered his temptation again. Now is my soul troubled. Save me! But for this purpose I have come.

[49:49] God glorified it. It's the same response. He says his soul is troubled.

[49:59] He confesses that. He prays. And through his prayer he's enabled to renew his purpose. He's enabled to remember why he came. Even amidst all the distress and troubled feelings, he's able to affirm again, no, I came to lay down my life.

[50:17] I came to give my life as a ransom for many. I came to bear the sins of the world. Father glorify your name.

[50:30] So here's the hundred thousand dollar question. How do you deal with your soul? How do you deal with your soul when it's troubled? When you are in distress?

[50:43] When you are disturbed? When you are anxious? when you are in a dark day? A dark month? A dark decade?

[50:57] Thank you very much. How do you deal with your troubled soul? Here's the good news.

[51:12] Jesus is not just our example Lord. He's a great example for us. But he is the source of our being saved from soul trouble.

[51:24] Hebrew says this, in the days of his flesh Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears. The Hebrew writer is probably referring to Gethsemane.

[51:37] To him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

[51:51] Did you hear that? Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered. Jesus learned obedience.

[52:03] Jesus was not automatically obedient. Jesus learned obedience. through what he suffered.

[52:15] Couldn't he just learn it in Sunday school? He can learn it there. He can learn about it there. But you learn it. You apply it. You rubber meet the road.

[52:26] Learn it through what you suffered. Because you're tested. Where's your faith? What's real? He learned obedience through what he suffered.

[52:37] and because of that being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.

[52:48] So he's not just our great example. He's the source of our saving. So do you go to Jesus with your troubled soul?

[53:02] When you're distressed? When you're in despair? When you are depressed do you go to Jesus? Because he invites you. He says, remember, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest for your soul.

[53:27] Because the heavy laden, we're not talking about physical, we're not talking about deep, deep stuff. I will give you rest for your soul. come to me.

[53:39] Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this intimate look at our Lord Jesus and an intimate look of your dear son.

[53:50] Lord, we thank you Lord that we can see Jesus. That we can see he was not just this stoic, unflappable, perfect.

[54:09] He was perfect, of course Lord, but he was perfect even through his flesh, through his struggles, through his real temptations. And we thank you Lord that this shows us that he understands how hard it is for us to.

[54:24] He understood the weakness of the flesh. And so we thank you Lord that encourages us that we can go to him because he gets it. He welcomes us, he wants it, he gets it.

[54:39] So Father, draw us to him. Help us to worship him more deeply and love him more affectionately. for who he is.

[54:50] And make us more like him. We ask in Christ's name, amen. Amen.