1 Not My Will, But Yours - Matthew 26:36-46 Argyle 3/8/15 The Gospel of Matthew Introduction to Scripture I was blessed as a young adult to be exposed to the preaching of Dr. James Montgomery Boice of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. One of the highlights of my life back then was to sit in on a couple of small luncheons Dr. Boice hosted to talk about influencing the Philadelphia area with the gospel. Dr. Boice died several years ago, but he continues to impact me though his writings. In his commentary on Matthew he observed that there are passages in Bible we tend to skim over, because we don t think they are very important. There are others, however, that seem to cry out, Take off your shoes for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Dr. Boice said this passage about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of those holy ground passages. Other commentators agree. Charles Spurgeon wrote, Here we come to the Holy of Holies of our Lord s life on earth. This is a mystery like that which Moses saw when the bush burned with fire, and was not consumed. No man can rightly expound such a passage as this; it is a subject for prayerful, heart-broken meditation, more than for human language. William Barkley said, Surely this is a passage we must approach on our knees. D.A. Carson declared, As his death was unique, so also was his anguish; and our best response to it is hushed
2 worship. We are on holy ground this morning. We want to approach this passage prayerfully. Let me pray for us. (Pray) Jesus and his disciples had just celebrated the Passover feast. Jesus used the Passover ritual to institute what we know as the Lord s Supper. While they were together Jesus washed the disciples feet and gave them some last instructions. Then they headed out into the night. (Read) The Real Humanity of Jesus The first thing we see in this passage is the real humanity of Jesus. The mystery of the incarnation is that although Jesus was God, he was also fully human. He was born of a woman like all of us. We are told that he grew in wisdom and stature... When he fasted in the desert, he got hungry just like we would. While walking through Samaria he asked a woman for a drink from a well because he was thirsty. Once while riding in a boat with his disciples, Jesus fell asleep. He was so tired that he didn t even wake up when a storm started tossing the boat around. When he approached Jerusalem on the day of his triumphal entry, he wept over the city because he knew that it would soon be destroyed. All throughout his life we see the humanity of Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, however, we see the depth of Jesus humanity. Jesus was clearly struggling in the garden. Often when he prayed, Jesus went off on his own, but this time he took Peter, James and John, his three closest friends with him. He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the
3 point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." We ve never seen anything like this with Jesus before. Luke tells us that he was in such anguish that his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. We don t know if Luke meant that Jesus had large drops of sweat dripping off him like blood would, or if his sweat actually was mixed with blood. There is a condition known as hematidrosis in which during times of extreme anguish the blood and sweat will actually mix. Why was Jesus, who had talked so calmly about his death before, now so overwhelmed? Why, as Jesus faced death, was he more anxious than many of his followers as they faced death for their faith. When the first century martyr, Ignatius, heard the roar of the lions he was about to be thrown to, he said, "I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread." Or Polycarp, when he was urged to recant his faith as he was about to be burned at the stake answered, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?" Church history is filled with stories like this of the courage of Christians as they were being martyred for their faith. The anguish of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane gives us insight into the unique suffering of his death. He was not just dying as a martyr. He was also dying as a substitutionary sacrifice. As the angel had said to Joseph before Jesus birth, She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name, Jesus,
4 because he will save his people from their sins. Jesus knew that his death was going to be more than just a physical struggle. It was also going to be a spiritual struggle as he took our sins upon himself. Jesus himself had said,...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. He knew he was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. In the Garden of Gethsemane we see the depth of Jesus humanity. He really was both God and man. The Ultimate Desire of Jesus A second thing we see in this passage is the ultimate desire of Jesus. Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." A little while later he prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." We are told that once more he prayed the same thing. In the Old Testament cup was used as a reference to God s wrath against sin. Jesus was about to experience God s wrath on the cross as he took the sins of the world upon himself. His desire was that this cup be taken from him. If there was another way for God to save sinners, Jesus was asking that he be delivered from having to do this. We can all relate to Jesus desire. There are many times we would like God to change our circumstances.
5 This, however, was not Jesus ultimate desire. His ultimate desire was not for his will to be done, but for the Father s will to be done. Jesus didn t want to suffer on the cross, but he wasn t trying to manipulate the Father into changing his mind. His ultimate desire was for the Father s will to be accomplished, even if that meant he had to suffer. This challenges us to ask, What is our ultimate desire? Is our ultimate desire our will or God s will? Each week we pray,...thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but do we really mean it? I ve thought this week of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they faced King Nebuchadnezzar s fiery furnace. We read about this in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar had commanded all of his subjects to bow down and worship a statue of gold he he had made, but these three Godly men refused. So Nebuchadnezzar threatened to burn them to death in a blazing furnace. Do you remember their response? King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. (Daniel 3:16-18) Their desire was for their lives to be spared and they knew God could do that, but their ultimate desire was whatever God s will was. They were willing to die if that was God s will for them.
6 This passage was on my mind this week because my friend, Rich Savoy (picture), quoted it on his Caring Bridge website. Rich and I led the Governor Mifflin Young Life club together in the early 1980 s. Last week he was out in Iowa with his wife, Joan, at the Big Ten swimming meet to see their son compete. During the week he began to have headaches. Sunday as they flew home his condition got worse, so Joan took him right from the airport to the hospital emergency room. A CT scan showed a large mass on the right side of Rich s brain. He was transferred to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia the next day and scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Most of the Caring Bridge posts were from Joan, but on Tuesday night Rich wrote the post. He quoted this passage from Daniel 3 about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and then said, I trust in God that he will be faithful and able to save me but even if he does not and takes me home to be with Him, or allows significant side effects, I will still worship him. My prayer is that you too will come to know Lord better this week. It was a powerful message, but Rich wasn t done. Early the next morning before his surgery he wrote another post. On this blog I'd like to keep you informed about what is going on with me but I'd also like to help you understand what I am thinking and my spiritual journey. Rich went on to share how he had come to saving faith in Jesus Christ and he invited his readers to give their lives to Christ, as well. He then wrote, I'm not really afraid for the surgery today, because I believe if it doesn't work out, I will be with Jesus. I'd rather be with Joan, my
7 kids, my family and you all, but that s not up to me and it s not in the control of the doctors who will be working on me today. It s in God's hands and that s the best place for it to be. Rich came through his surgery well and awaits the results of the pathology report that will determine the next steps. He was released from the hospital on Friday, but not before leading his roommate to faith in Christ. Jesus ultimate desire was for God s will to be done. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego s ultimate desire was for God s will to be done. Rich Savoy s ultimate desire is for God s will to be done. How about you? As Jesus showed us, it is okay to express our desires in prayer, but at the end are we able to pray, not my will, but yours. The Amazing Transformation of Jesus I want to point out one more thing briefly and that is the amazing transformation of Jesus. When Jesus returned to find his disciples asleep, he said, Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer! Jesus didn t run and hide, but went straight to Judas. When Peter pulled out a sword and cut off a man s ear, Jesus told him to put it away. And he healed the man s ear. Through a series of trials before the high priest, Pilate and Herod, Jesus answered their questions or just said nothing. Jesus was calm and confident. He, not the authorities, was in control of what was going on.
8 From the time Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane until the time he left, he was a changed man. His anxiety was gone. His desire to escape suffering was no longer a driving force. Jesus is a great example of what Paul commanded us to do in Philippians 4. He wrote, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) Jesus placed his situation in God the Father s hands. Although his circumstances didn t change, his demeanor did. He was at peace - a peace that didn t make sense; a peace that transcended his circumstances; a peace that only comes from God through prayer. There will be times in our lives where we will find ourselves in anxious situations. Follow Jesus example. Turn to God in prayer. Trust him with your situation. Submit to his will for your life. Allow his peace to sustain you. Jesus experienced an amazing transformation in the Garden of Gethsemane. Conclusion Many of you are familiar with Garth Brooks song, Unanswered Prayers. The chorus goes... Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't
9 care Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers I used to think that God didn t answer Jesus prayer in the Garden. I ve since come to realize that Garth Brooks and I are wrong. Just because God doesn t answer our prayers the way we would like, doesn t mean that he hasn t answered our prayers. In fact, God the Father did answer Jesus prayer. He answered it through saving sinners like you and me through Jesus death. And he gave Jesus the strength he needed to do this. And, he raised him from the dead three days later. You can see why Dr. Boice described this as a holy ground passage. It describes one of the great spiritual battles in history. In it we see that Jesus humanity was real, not an allusion as the Gnostics and others have alleged over the years. We are challenged as we see Jesus ultimate desire to examine our own lives. Do we desire our will or God s will for our lives and families? We are encouraged to take our troubles and disappointments to God in prayer so that we may experience the kind of amazing transformation that Jesus experienced.