We can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. We're working through Matthew's gospel narrative concerning the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ in these Lord's Supper meditations. We find ourselves in Gethsemane this evening. Matthew 26, 36 to 46.

Basically, the structure is very simple. Jesus prays, according to verse 39, and the disciples sleep, verses 40 and 41. Jesus prays a second time, verse 42, and the disciples sleep, verse 43. Jesus prays a third time, in verse 44, and the disciples sleep.

And then Jesus announces once again His betrayal. It was at hand. And the next section shows where Judas and the soldiers come to arrest our Lord Jesus. So I'll begin reading in chapter 26 at verse 36.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:36–46

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit here while I go and pray over there. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.

He went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, What? Could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, a second time he went away and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

So he left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to his 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. Rise, let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Father, we thank You for the written Word, and we thank You for the Spirit who gave it to us, also illumines our minds and hearts as we look to it, and we pray for His ministry now. Again, we ask that You would forgive us for our sin and transgression, all those things that darken our understanding, all those things that produce that fog in our minds and that lack of reception to the glory of Christ. We pray that you would dispel this. We pray that we would see afresh the glory of Christ, that we would appreciate His work as mediator on behalf of all those whom the Father had given Him.

We thank you for this passage. Again, we ask that the Spirit would help us to navigate through it and to be encouraged and edified as a result. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Well,

Introduction

as we come to this particular section, it is a very weighty and a very deep and a very heavy section that our Lord undergoes on behalf of His people.

The Savior's First Prayer: Verses 36–41

I want to look first at the Savior's first prayer in the Garden in verses 36 to 41, then we'll look at the Savior's second prayer in verses 42 and 43, His third prayer in verses 44 and 46, and then the Savior's announcement of the arrival of the hour. We'll spend the most of our time on that first section in verses 36 to 41. And there, I want to consider the setting of the Savior's agony, secondly, the sorrow of the Savior, thirdly, the supplication of the Savior, and then finally, the sluggishness of the disciples. There is a marked contrast between our Lord and between the disciples set forth here for us.

But with reference to the first point,

Setting of the Savior's Agony

the setting of the Savior's agony, notice in verse 36, Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. Luke tells us in Luke chapter 22 at verse 39 that this was his casta. This wasn't foreign to him or his disciples. In fact, John 18.2 tells us that Judas knew the place, and as we see after this particular account concerning Gethsemane, Judas along with the soldiers arrived to arrest him.

So this wasn't a one-off for our Lord. They often frequented this particular garden. They would often worship there. They would often pray there.

They would often encourage one another in this particular setting. So he goes to Gethsemane and he takes the 11 disciples. Remember that Judas has been identified as the betrayer. Judas is no longer with them.

So eight of the disciples, he leaves at the gate going into the garden, and then he takes these three other disciples, Peter, James, and John. These men accompanied the Lord Jesus Christ at the Mount of Transfiguration as well in Matthew chapter 17. So there they saw, as it were, him peel away his humanity to reveal His glory and His divinity and His majesty. So they saw that on the one hand in Matthew 17, and here in the garden, they're going to see the depths of His anguish, the depths of His sorrow, the depths of the pain that He is undergoing on behalf of His people.

Sorrow of the Savior

That brings us to consider, secondly, the sorrow of the Savior. In the first place, notice the internal distress in verse 37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. This is consistent with what the prophet spoke concerning him.

Isaiah 53, verse 3, he prophesied that Jesus would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As well, the Psalms of David, specifically in Psalms 42 and 43, indicate that it is consistent with the people of God when they are sorrowful, when they are filled with anguish, when they are under any excruciating sort of a severity in their lives, it is consistent with them to pray, to open up their hearts, and to pour out their burden to the Lord God Most High. The psalmist says, and Peter quotes, that we are to cast our burden on the Lord. In Psalm 42, 5 and 6, David says, Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. Oh my God, my soul is cast down within me. And as well, that is repeated in Psalm 43 at verse 5.

So that's what's happening. He has this deep distress, he has this sorrow, and then he voices this according to verse 38. He said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.

Now this sorrow is according to his humanity. According to divinity, there is no soul sorrow. There is only eternal blessedness. But according to his humanity, Jesus assumed our humanity with all of the essential properties that are consistent with our humanity, and yet without sin.

He had all the common infirmities. He sorrowed. He hungered. He thirsted.

All that makes man, man, Jesus experienced on behalf of His people. And so that's how we need to approach this particular passage, especially when He prays to the Father that if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. He is speaking as the God-man with an emphasis on His humanity here. And when we consider the hour that is approaching, and we consider the cup that He must drink, this soul sorrow is consistent with true humanity.

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me." He knew what he was facing. He knew the wrath of God that awaited him. He knew what was on the other side of this garden with reference to the arrest, the delivering up to the godless chief priests and elders, the ultimate delivering up to Pilate, and then being delivered up to the cross.

And so Christ understanding that has this soul sorrow. Again, very consistent with true humanity. And so then he bids the disciples stay here and watch with me.

Supplication of the Savior

And that brings us to the supplication of the Savior in verse 39. And there's something very important that we ought to observe in verse 39. He went a little farther and fell on his face. So he's by himself.

Drop down to verse 45. 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. Rise, let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand. This is a solitary mission for the Lord Jesus. The disciples are going to desert Him, but irrespective of their desertion, Christ knows it's between Him and the Father. Christ knows that they cannot help Him.

Christ knows that they will not help Him. So Christ is all alone, and that's why He continues a little bit farther, and there He falls on His face, and He prays to the Father. Now notice His petition. He doesn't say, Our Father, in verse 39.

This prayer is unique to our Lord Christ. It bothers me and it bugs me when people take Gethsemane and make it a paradigm for Christian life experience. We're not in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was unique to the mediator.

There is no moralistic imperative from this passage on go thou and do likewise. Christ is alone here. Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. Praise, O my Father.

This is a transaction between Him and the Father alone. This is not an Our Father prayer. This is not an inclusive prayer concerning the disciples. He addresses the Father not as Our Father, but He prays, O my Father.

And then notice the petition. And I want to look at this petition under some general considerations and then specific considerations. Look at the text. This petition reveals the two wills of Christ.

Remember that Christ is one person, two natures, divine and human. Well, each of those natures has a will. Christ has two wills, a will according to his divinity that he shares with the Father and the Spirit, but there is a will according to his humanity, and that is the light in which he is praying. This condemns what has been called in the history of the church monothelitism, which simply means one-will-ism.

Christ is unique. He doesn't have one will. He has two wills, just as he has two natures in the hypostatic union. This heresy of monothelitism was condemned at the Council of Constantinople in the 600s.

The Council of Chalcedon confessed the two natures of Jesus Christ in AD 451. Having reflected upon passages like these, having looked at the biblical data, those divines saw clearly that in the one person of Jesus there were two natures, divine and human. Well, here he is praying according to his humanity. He is offering up this supplication in light of those things that are facing Him on the other side of the garden.

The petition is perfectly consistent with His humanity. Our confession says, Christ, in the work of mediation, acts according to both natures, by each nature doing that which is proper to itself. And with reference to this petition, when he says, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. This does not mean that Christ is unsure about what is and what isn't possible with his Father.

It is rather similar to what theologians and commentators have referred to as the ignorant son. If you remember in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and then in Mark chapter 13, Christ says that no one knows the day and the hour, and he says not even the sun. Well, he is speaking there as or according to his humanity, not according to his divinity, because according to his divinity, he knows everything. But we would expect this if the hypostatic union is true.

We would expect him to eat, we would expect him to drink, we would expect him to sleep, we would expect him to sorrow, we would expect him to bleed, we would expect him to suffer, and we would expect him to die if in fact he is true humanity. And that is what this passage underscores for us. It also highlights what Westminster Larger Catechism No. 39 underscores. It was requisite that the mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to the law, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature, have a fellow feeling of our infirmities, that we might receive the adoption of sons and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace.

So again, that's what's in view here. It is similar to his confessing that not even the sun knows the day or the hour. We don't look at that and say, well, he must not be God. No, we understand the two natures in the one person, that blessed doctrine of the hypostatic union, which is the mystery of godliness, according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3, 16 and 17.

So it's important that we understand this. It's important as well as we continue to move through the passion narrative. When Christ cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? A lot of people mess that up because they don't understand that again, Christ is praying thus according to his humanity.

Now, with reference to the petition, some specific observations. Notice what he says. Oh my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. The cup refers to the wrath of God.

You see it referred to that way in Psalm 11, you see it in Psalm 75, and you see it scattered throughout the prophets. In fact, in a condemnation of the nation of Babylon, God threatens to pour out His cup of wrath upon that godless, vile, wicked people. We see Jesus refer to this cup in His ministry, and especially go back to Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20, we see that cup, and there He understands it as the wrath of God.

Matthew 20, the sons of Zebedee come, they're jockeying for position, and the Lord Jesus in verse 22 answers and says, you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? He is speaking of his impending death. The disciples wanted the crown, but they didn't want the cross.

And Jesus indicates there's no crown without the cross first. He speaks of this baptism in Luke 12 50. He uses that language. It is metaphorical.

He is overwhelmed with travail. He is overwhelmed with suffering and pain. And then he speaks of this cup, this cup of the wrath of God that he must drink. Notice what they say at the end of verse 22.

We are able. So he said to them, you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give. But it is for those for whom it is prepared by my father.

The sons of Zebedee would meet their end in very difficult ways. James would lose his head under Herod in Acts chapter 12, and John would be exiled on the island of Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to John 18.11, another use of this cup language. It's metaphorical for the wrath and fury of God Almighty.

It is at the arrest of our Lord, and in verse 11, Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? So when we go back to Matthew chapter 26 and we understand what the cup is, it makes sense that the Savior, again, according to his humanity, would pray, oh my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. He is not questioning what is and what is not possible with the Father.

He is expressing something concerning His true humanity. He is facing the wrath and fury and judgment of God Almighty. And I think that we don't sufficiently ponder what it is to die apart from our Lord Jesus Christ. The reality is, is that God is holy.

God is burning in holiness, and God has prepared a place not only for his people, but as well for those who are not his people. He also prepared it for the devil and his angels, and those who reject Jesus Christ, those who resist the gospel offer, those will ultimately enter into that place of perdition, that place of suffering, that place of torment. Scripture, New Testament, the Lord Jesus speaks more concerning hell than he does heaven. That doesn't mean that hell is more important, but perhaps Jesus understood something of the human psyche.

Well, he obviously understood something of the human psyche because he was, in fact, the Lord Jesus. but he used that kind of language to basically exhort people to consider their pathway, to consider that broad road that leads to destruction, to consider that end when they would hurt here, depart from me for I never knew you. So he spoke often on hell, and as Jesus is now facing hell on the cross, it is absolutely positively consistent for him to express this kind of sorrow and this kind of petition, if it is possible, Father, let this cup of wrath pass from me." Again, it's not a question of what the father can and can't do or the son's ignorance concerning that, but rather the cup explains the Savior's soul's sorrow and exceeding distress. And then as well, some have seen and some have made the observation that Christ going to his death is different than, say, the martyrs who oftentimes rejoiced when they went to their death. Christ is not dying as a martyr.

Christ is not dying as a martyr. Christ is dying as a substitutionary sacrifice. Christ is going to bear the wrath and fury of God Almighty for all those whom the Father had given Him. Martyrs don't do that.

Martyrs die for Jesus. Martyrs manifest their faithfulness. Martyrs march to their grave or their death because they're doing it for the Lord Christ. But in this instance, the Lord Christ, unlike any other human that ever lived, or ever will live, he is going to drink the cup of the wrath and fury of God Almighty, not because he's a sinner, not because he's a criminal, not because he's a malefactor, but because you and I are.

So there is a marked difference between Christ and martyrdom.

The Cup and Substitutionary Atonement

The cup demonstrates substitutionary atonement. The cup is the result of Christ bearing the sins of his people. 2 Corinthians 5.21, God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. The cup is the result of the execution of divine justice upon the Son of God for the sins of His people. And the cup is for Him to drink and for Him alone.

Martyrs do not participate in this. Disciples do not participate in this. We don't help Jesus save His people from their sins. This was announced at the very outset of Matthew's Gospel.

You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. He doesn't do it with a helper, He doesn't do it with any participation on behalf of others, but He does it Himself. So in His solitariness before the Father, He expresses this petition, which manifest or demonstrates His true humanity. If it is possible, let this cup of the wrath and fury of God Almighty pass from me."

Christ's Resolve and the Covenant of Redemption

Notice the resolution on behalf of Christ to do all that the Father has called Him to do. Back to verse 39. "'O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will according to His humanity, but as You will.'" The acknowledgment of the primacy of the Father's will.

When you look at the persons of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit, they share, they have one will. There's not two, there's not three, there is one will, with reference to the Trinity. In the work of mediation, Christ has two natures, and hence two wills. So as mediator, he demonstrates here his resolve to do all that the Father had sent him.

In our church, we love covenant theology. We love the major covenants that the Bible sets forth, not just the historical covenants, but the theological covenants, the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace. This harkens back to the covenant of redemption, that pact between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to save His people from their sin. The Father gives a people to the Son.

The Son purposes to be the mediator, to be the surety, to pay their debts, to execute all the demands of God's law on their behalf, and then to die as a substitute and as a sacrifice in their stead. And Christ affirms His commitment to that. Christ affirms His willingness to do the will of the Father. Christ affirms that always.

He says, with reference to eating in John chapter 4, my meat is to do the will of him who sent me. It was written in the Psalter, Psalm 40, behold, I delight to do your will. This is the active obedience of Jesus Christ, never shrinking back, never not going forward, never actually engaging in defection from the Father. He prays consistent with his humanity, but he's resolved consistent with his humanity to fulfill the obligations placed upon him as the covenant mediator.

And we should stop here and marvel and wonder that this occurred on behalf of people like you and I. We are not deserving. We are guilty, vile, and helpless. We are rightly under the condemnation of God Most High.

We rightly deserved His wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. But because of Christ, and because of His resolve, and because He goes forward, we have forgiveness, and we have received a righteousness that avails with the Father. We ought to praise God for the resolution of our Christ to do all that the Father had called upon Him to do. As I said, Psalm 40, verse 8, I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.

Turn back to Matthew chapter 3. This is the way we ought to understand this interchange with the Baptist. Matthew chapter 3 at verse 13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

And John tried to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And are you coming to me? But Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. That is crucial not only in Matthew's gospel, but in the entirety of the mission of the Savior.

We mustn't ever dissect or separate the work of the mediator. We need not only his death for the forgiveness of our sins, we not only need the resurrection for the vindication of the Son of God with power, but we also need the life We need a righteousness that avails with God. If we're only forgiven of our sin, then it is as it were that we're back at the Garden of Eden. We're back at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

We're back in a probationary period. We're back to the place where we now have to confirm a positive righteousness in order to be accepted by God. But see, that's not good news. That's not gospel, because we ain't got it in us.

There is not a one of us who could, with faith plus words, find our way back to God. If it isn't grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, then we are damned for eternity. We need the life of Christ. We need the perfect obedience of Christ.

We need the imputation of His righteousness received by faith alone. We need the twin aspects that we see in the prophet Zechariah. You can turn there, Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah chapter 3, a glorious illustration of the doctrine of justification.

Zechariah 3.1, Then he showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a bran plucked from the fire? realize this is a pretty enigmatic passage of scripture.

I just want to sort of give you the background. Joshua here is not Joshua the son of Nun, military commander and conqueror of Canaan. This is Joshua the high priest after the exile. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are post-exilic prophets.

That means after the Babylonian captivity that occurred in 586 BC. So these are the prophets that go back to Judah, and they are the ones that encourage the people of God as they rebuild the temple, as they rebuild the city of Jerusalem. And so Zechariah indicates that there is this Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan is standing right there to accuse him. It's what he's referred to in Revelation chapter 12 as well.

He is an accuser of the brethren. It's almost like he cannot wait to tell the Lord God Most High how wicked Joshua the high priest is. And by virtue of the fact that Joshua is the high priest, he's not only standing there for himself, but he's a public person. He is standing there as a representative of the nation of Israel as a whole.

So Satan is there ready to accuse these people of their wickedness, of their rebellion, of their sinfulness. So that's sort of the scene. But before Satan can open his mouth, verse 2, the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

So before the devil says anything, the Lord already knows. And the Lord shuts him down. The Lord understands the condition of Israel. The Lord understands the condition of his people.

And the Lord is the one who fixes it. The Lord is the one who mends it. The Lord is the one who rectifies it. The Lord is the one who redeems them.

Now, verse three, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. For those of you who have heard the exposition on this passage, you'll know filthiness here is not a little speck on his shirt. Filthiness in other contexts in the Old Testament refers to feces, and it refers to vomit. So Joshua, the high priest representing Israel, is full of sin, full of wickedness, full of filth, full of evil.

So the devil doesn't even have to say anything. God sees it, God knows it, and now God remedies it. Notice in verse 4, Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. Beautiful.

What do we have in justification? We receive the forgiveness of sins. Get rid of those filthy garments. And to him he said, See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.

So it's not just the stripping away of the filthy garment, but it's the putting on of the righteous garment. It's not just the forgiveness of sins that we need, but it's also a positive imputation of righteousness that will avail with the Father when we stand before Him on that day. Sacrifice is good as far as God is concerned, but to obey is better. Remember in 1 Samuel 15, the indictment, of Saul, the king of Israel, who failed, who rejected, who resisted the very command of God to kill the Amalekites and Agag with that.

He says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. It is better to obey than to sacrifice. Brethren, we need a righteousness. We need that garment.

We need to be clothed in the righteous robes of another, and that's the beauty of the Christian gospel. Luther spoke of it as the great exchange. Our sins heaped upon the Savior, and the Savior punished in our place. His righteousness then heaped upon us so that we can stand before God clothed in that righteousness of another.

It is most glorious, and that's why gospel is gospel. That's why it is good news. If it was up to us to construct this garment, if it was up to us to make ourselves pure, perfect, or holy, we would never do so. Even as believers, we have enough remaining corruption in us to damn us for an eternity of eternities. very merciful in terms of God on behalf of His people, sending the Son of His love, who resolved to do what the Father had said.

So, back to our text.

Sluggishness of the Disciples

After the supplication of the Savior, we look at, fourthly, under this head, the sluggishness of the disciples in verses 40 and 41. Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping." The utter contrast between Christ and the disciples. As well, the utter contrast between the disciples here and now, and what the disciples had said before. We just read concerning the sons of Zebedee.

We just read that they said, we are able to drink the cup and to undergo this baptism in 2022. Peter in 2635, in fact, you can look there. It's just a few verses ahead. Peter said to him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.

So these men were filled with a fervor and an earnestness and a zeal and a desire to die with the Lord if necessary, and here they could not watch and pray with Him. It really is indicative that the best of men are men at best. And if these men fell prey to that, we really ought to take heed, because we're not of the caliber of Peter, James, and John. So we ought to watch and pray even more so with reference to the various temptations that come our way.

And so notice that he rebukes Peter. Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, the specific address to him, C. H. Spurgeon said, he who had made the loudest protestations of devotion deserved to be the most blamed for his unfaithfulness.

I don't know if that's altogether accurate, but I think the sentiment is on the right path. Peter was the one. I will die with you. I will do whatever it is.

And here Christ comes with reference to his rebuke, and he says to Peter, what? Could you not watch with me one hour? What's the implication? You should have been able to watch with me for one hour.

He's not asking them to pray for 15 days. He's not asking them to fast on a mountaintop for 40 days and 40 nights. You couldn't watch with me for one hour? I'm in the sole distress of my life.

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death, and you couldn't watch with me for that one hour? The question assumes that the disciples ought to have been able to watch for one hour. Now, after the rebuke, he then exhorts them in verse 41, watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

The exhortation is directed to the disciples, ultimately for the disciples, to strengthen them, to stabilize them, to steal them, to gird them up, so that they will not depart, so that they will not defect. See, even at this point, Christ is preparing these men for service. Christ is preparing these men for ministry in the Roman Empire. Christ is going to die, Christ is going to be raised, and Christ is going to ascend on high.

He's going to lead captivity captive, and He's going to give gifts to men. He's going to tell these disciples to go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all things that He had commanded. So even at this point, He is telling them to watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. It is a reality facing the people of God.

And again, brethren, if these men were subject to failure at this point, then what are we? We need to take heed lest we fall. This wasn't a 1st century Peter, James, and John problem. This is a 21st century all of us problem.

Watch and pray. We need to take heed to this so that we don't enter into temptation. And then notice His acknowledgment. This is again the grace of our Lord Jesus.

The end of verse 41. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Our Lord knows us, doesn't He? I think the backdrop is Psalm 103, where it says that Yahweh pities His children.

He knows their frame. He knows that they are but dust. Brethren, at the very best, our Lord, in His mercy and in His grace, continually showers us with the benefits of redemption. We are people that are given to weakness.

The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. We saw that last week in the reading, in Romans chapter 7. The good that I wish to do, I don't do. The evil I don't want to do, I find myself doing.

The parallel in Galatians 5.17, the spirit lusts against the flesh, the flesh against the spirit. These two are, they're contrary to one another so that you don't do the things that you want. Our Lord Jesus doesn't scowl at them. He doesn't shout them down.

He chides them. He reproves them. He exhorts them to be sure, but he acknowledges their frame and realizes that they are but dust. Our Lord Christ is not only resolved in serving, honoring, and obeying His Father, but in blessing His people profusely and consistently and conspicuously by His grace and for His glory.

The Savior's Second Prayer: Verses 42–43

Now look at the next major heading, secondly, 42 and 43, the supplication of the Savior. Verse 42, again a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. The parallel in Luke's gospel, Luke 22, 24, and being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood, falling down to the ground.

The sorrow and the distress and the stress of the situation is weighing upon him. Please think of this according to his humanity. Our humanity is oftentimes stressed and weighed down and perplexed when we face things a whole lot less than drinking the cup of God's wrath. And so when we appreciate what the Savior is going through here, it makes perfect sense.

But with reference to this particular prayer, he doesn't pray, if it is possible, let this cup pass. He's resolved. He's going to drink the cup. He is going to engage in that wrath bearing on behalf of his people.

Oh my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me, unless I drink it, your will be done. So the supplication here, the petition here, is basically an expression of his resolve to do and obey the will of his father. And then that brings us again to the sluggishness of the disciples in verse 43. As I said, with reference to the Savior, there's no moralistic principles in this chapter or in this section concerning how we deal with our Gethsemanes.

We will, because of the grace of God, never have a Gethsemane. We will, because of redemption by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, never face the prospect of drinking the cup of God's wrath. That is a good thing. If we were in a black church, I'd say, can I get an amen?

The reality is, is that we will never, ever have to drink the cup of God's wrath, because Christ has done so. The moralistic principle in here is the disciples held up to us so that we can examine our own hearts to see what manner of men and women we are. Would we be the types that would continuously sleep when Jesus tells us to watch and pray? The temptation probably arises in us to say, oh no, I would have stayed awake.

Oh no, I would have watched and prayed. Oh no, I would have been doing right what he called me to do. Brethren, watch and pray for an hour tonight after church, and let's see how that goes. Watch and pray tomorrow for an hour, and let's see how that goes.

Brethren, we are weak. These disciples were weak. And as we've often had cause to reflect, it's not Peter, James, and John that are the hero in the narrative. It is the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is one hero from Genesis to Revelation, and that is the skull-crushing seed of the woman. So the Lord then does again see them sleeping. He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. This indicates the spirit was still willing, but the flesh was still weak.

The sluggishness of the disciples is unfortunately a persistent problem. The failure to take seriously His exhortation to watchfulness in prayer. They've already went through this. He's already given them the remedy.

He's already given them the exhortation. If it's problematic for us to sleep, not always. Jesus is very kind and He gives His beloved sleep. This should never be seen as an affront with reference to sleep.

God's not condemning sleep in this passage. But in this instance, when the Lord Jesus has his disciples present, he calls on them to watch and pray. They disregard completely that exhortation. It's like they don't even process it.

It's like they don't even hear it. It's like it doesn't even resonate. affect them one way or another, and they continue to engage in this activity that is contrary to the will of our Lord Jesus at this point.

The Savior's Third Prayer: Verses 44–46

And that brings us to the Savior's third prayer in the garden in verses 44 and 45. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time. That third time, the fact that he prays thus, underscores the gravity of the situation. Paul the Apostle, when he had that thorn in the flesh, says that he prayed three times for the Lord to take it away.

With reference to Paul and with reference to Christ, it's not just, Lord take it away, Lord take it away, Lord take it away. There's an earnestness, there's an outpouring of the soul, there is a casting the burden upon the Lord God Almighty, and that is precisely what Christ does here. He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. And that brings us to the sluggishness of the disciples. 45a.

Then he came to his disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Now, this is a bit of an interpretative call. The New King James poses it here as a bit of an exasperated question. Are you still sleeping and resting?

The King James has it as a bit of an exhortation. The King James says, sleep on now and take your rest, i.e. there's a lot that's going to happen and you need to be prepared for that. I think I would side with the exasperated question or perhaps even more of an ironic comment on the part of our Lord Jesus Christ versus an encouragement for them to sleep more based on the events that are coming. And so Christ sees this third response.

He sees this third time of sleep on their part, and he is exasperated. Again, according to his humanity, because divinity isn't exasperated, because that would argue some sort of change, some sort of passion, some sort of movement from one state to another. But Christ says, are you still sleeping and resting? And then he announces, he indicates with reference to the hour and the betrayal.

He says, Behold, the hour is at hand. The hour indicates the death for sinners. That word cup, we saw that in Matthew's gospel. You can go through the gospel narratives and see the hour.

Christ speaks concerning that. It's the hour of his death, wherein he will suffer the wrath and fury of God on behalf of his people. So he says, Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. He announced this on several occasions to his disciples.

He starts in Matthew 16, he repeats it in Matthew 17, he says it again in Matthew chapter 20, and then again in chapter 26. He tells the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. He must be arrested, he must be tried at the hands of wicked men, he must be crucified, and he must be raised again. Well, now the hour is at hand.

This is the time, this is when it's all going to come to fruition. This is when the covenant mediator is going to execute all of the demand of the father with reference to suffering in behalf of his people. So he rallies them up and notice, rise, he says in verse 46, let us be going, see my betrayer is at hand. The terror of the cup did not dissuade the Lord Jesus from going forward.

The sluggishness of the disciples did not dissuade the Lord Jesus from keeping them with him. He says, arise, let us be going. He doesn't say, you wretched ones stay here. I'll try the other eight.

Maybe they can stay away. No, Peter, James and John with the other eight disciples, you come along with me. Unfortunately, they will depart from Him. They will, again, underscore the reality that this is a solitary effort on the part of the Savior to save His people from their sins.

But the reality is, the graciousness of Christ is seen in His invitation to the disciples. In other words, though their flesh was weak, Though their spirit was willing, Christ does not cut them off. He says, let us be going collectively in the plural form, but see, my betrayer is at hand. It isn't them that's being betrayed.

It isn't them that's going to be delivered up. It isn't them that is going to drink the cup of God's wrath and fury and curse and judgment. So with reference to this passage, in summary, the Lord prays, the disciples sleep. The Lord prays, the disciples sleep.

The Lord prays, and the disciples sleep. At the 11th hour, at the time when the Lord Jesus Christ was entering in to that divine transaction wherein Yahweh was pleased to bruise Him, according to Isaiah 53, verse 10, Christ had no assistance, no earthly help. In fact, the disciples will be with Him for a bit, and then they will depart from Him. Simon Peter will deny him to a servant girl.

But even in that, Christ doesn't cut him off. Even in that, Christ restores him. Even in that, Peter rises up on the day of Pentecost as the preacher of Jesus Christ and him crucified. It really is an excellent situation concerning our Savior and his resolve to go to these lengths for us men and for our salvation.

Application

In terms of some practical observations, we ought never underestimate, we ought never undervalue the true humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Fathers said, many of them, probably one specifically, whatever is not assumed is not redeemed. Whatever is not assumed is not redeemed. It was absolutely crucial and imperative that Christ be made like us.

He does not give aid to angels, according to Hebrews chapter 2, but he takes on the seed of Abraham. He identifies with those whom He redeems. And if He does not assume our humanity, He does not redeem our humanity. Again, all the essential properties and the common infirmities without sin.

Christ assumed everything that is true of us, yet without sin. It is a most blessed aspect of our religion that God, the second person, God, the second person of the Trinity, comes into this world, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. The Lord Jesus Christ did that in order to save us from our sins. We see, secondly, the obedience of the Son.

Turn to Hebrews chapter 5, where the apostle comments on this. Hebrews chapter 5. setting forth the supremacy of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ, in contrast to the Levites, in contrast to the Aaronic priesthood. Notice in 5.5 in the book of Hebrews, so also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, you are my son, today I have begotten you. As he also says in another place, you are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to him, who was able to save him from death, and was hurt because of his godly fear.

Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. The Lord Christ, in His work on behalf of sinners, engaged in obedience, and that obedience through suffering. In verse 9, And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. So Christ is perfected.

According to his humanity, he learns obedience through suffering. And then notice in verse 9, he became the author of eternal salvation. You perhaps have met those people who think that you can lose your salvation. Well, it's not an eternal salvation then.

That little phrase indicates there is no losing of salvation for those whom the Father gave to the Son and those for whom the Son died and rose again. There is no way that Christ loses his elect. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Not at the beginning, not at the end, and not in the wretched middle when we aren't doing the things that we're supposed to do.

MacArthur has well said, if we can lose our salvation, we would. The reality is that Christ has perfected, Christ has brought to fruition this eternal salvation for His people. Third, we ought to appreciate in this passage or marvel at the sufferings of Christ. Again, not in some sick, Romanistic, passion play sort of way, but we ought to appreciate what the Savior went through on our behalf.

Brethren, this is excruciating. He knew what was facing him. Do you realize that at times the worry heading up to something is actually worse than the something itself? You may be puzzled and may be looking at me.

I'm a worryer, you know, chief of worries. I've got this Roman Catholic background. I've got the guilt. I, you know, had a mother that instilled a lot of guilt in me, a lot of worrisome and a lot of anxiety.

And I have found that when I worry about something and then something actually happens, I realize, boy, that was a lot of spent worry on something that wasn't that big of a deal. And hopefully I'm getting a little better as I get older, but it's still there. Brethren, he understood what was facing him on the other side of this garden. He understood what the wrath and fury of God is.

I can see it in Scripture. We can exegete the passages. We can, at a textual level, understand. that hell is a place of separation from God. All of the goodness of God, God is not separate, it's God that is ultimately the one who is making hell hell.

It is a deprivation of any good from God, however, there is a punishment of loss, no God, no goodness of God, and there is a punishment of sin. So I understand that in an intellectual way, but not experientially. I certainly don't know what hell looks like. I certainly don't want to know what hell looks like, and by God's grace, we don't have to know what hell looks like, because Jesus paid it all.

Jesus saved us from our sins. But Christ knew, Christ understood, Christ recognized, and that's why, according to verse 38, then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death, stay here and watch with me. Or why in Luke 22, 44, and being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

He knew that because he understood what was on the other side of the garden of Gethsemane. This Christ went through these things for us men and for our salvation. We ought to rejoice in it. Again, not in some, you know, Roman Catholic, you know, fascination with the blood and the gore and all of the particulars involved, but we should have some understanding of what is involved or was involved in the crucifixion of our Savior on our behalf.

And there was a great depth of suffering, not just on the cross, but prior to the cross in terms of His humanity facing the wrath and fury of God Almighty. And finally, this brings us to consider the gospel as a whole. This is good news. One stood in our place to do what we could never do.

One lived in light of God's law, always obeying faithfully, executing every jot and tittle of it. The two chief commandments, love to God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love to neighbor as yourself. Brethren, we don't do that even as believers. If you are saying in your heart and mind, well, I do, I'm going to challenge you and say, you probably don't.

Certainly, as unbelievers, we hate God and we hate others. But with reference to our salvation, remaining corruption, do we wake up in the morning and the first thing we express our love to God and we look for ways to express our love to others? No, that's just not us. We need that, though, because the demand of God is not do your best.

The demand of God is not grating on a curve. The demand of God, with reference to the law, is perpetual, exact, entire obedience to every jot and tittle, and Christ rendered that. Brethren, never underestimate the glory of the active obedience of Jesus Christ. You've heard of that theologian, J.

Gresham Machen. He was on his dying bed, and he sent a telegraph, and he says to the person on the receiving end, I am so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it. He understood the implications.

We need the forgiveness of sin to be sure, but if that forgiveness is not accompanied by that imputation of righteousness, then we're back at the garden. We're back at a position of probation, and that's why Romanism. That's why New Perspective on Paul. That's why federal vision comes up short, because it's faith in Christ plus our faithfulness to Christ that is ultimately received by God as the ground of our justification.

If that's the case, we're all damned. Our confession is right. We receive the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is our sole righteousness alone.

It's not what we bring to the table, it's not what we supplement His work with, but it's all of Christ with reference to our salvation. And in that, the people of God rejoice. And if you're not the people of God, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, look at the lengths to which He went to save sinners from their sins. I mentioned this this morning.

We have taken the freeness of the gospel. We have taken the graciousness of God. We have taken the benevolence of God, and we have turned it on its head. We have said that God is narrow.

God is small-minded with reference to salvation. There's only going to be a handful of people that make it into heaven. That's not what the Bible says. In Revelation 5 and 7, the seer sees a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

I would say to you, if you're not in Christ tonight, consider what Christ went through to save sinners from their sins. This is not a begrudging Savior. This is not a miserly Savior. The Savior is not Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Savior is not small-minded or limited in terms of who it is He's come to save. We see Him in His earthly ministry, saving, saving, saving, saving, calling sinners unto Himself. What's changed, brethren? Why in the 21st century are we afraid to preach Christ and Him crucified?

Why are we afraid to tell sinners to believe on Him and be saved? Why are we afraid to imitate Paul and Silas in that Philippian jail, or that jail in Philippi, when that Philippian jailer says, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Notice what the apostle doesn't say. Well, you go think about it.

You go prepare yourself. You go add a few words to your life. You go engage in moral reform. You make yourself more commendable to God.

No. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That is the response to the gospel of Christ our Lord. If you are not a believer, believe.

If you are not a looker, look. If you are not one who has come, by God's grace, come. Believe on Him, and the Bible says you will be saved.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for what Christ went through on our behalf. We thank you for the sufferings in Gethsemane, for the sufferings on the cross, and we thank you for that resurrection from the dead. The tomb couldn't contain him.

We see his glory, we see his majesty, we see his excellence, we see his efficacy in saving sinners to the uttermost. And I pray that you would encourage each of our hearts as we consider Him, as we eat this bread, as we drink this cup, let us meditate upon what Jesus went through on our behalf as a sign of His love, an expression of His love to us. And for those who do not know Him, I pray that by Your grace they would look, they would believe, they would understand that everything that the Bible says is true and the principal acts of saving faith have respect to Christ in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection. God, be merciful and save sinners for your glory and for your honor and for your praise.

And we ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Scripture References

• 1 Samuel 15
• Psalms 11; 40:8; 42:5-6; 43:5; 75; 103
• Isaiah 53:3; 53:10
• Zechariah 3:1-4
• Matthew 1:21; 3:13; 16; 17; 20:22; 24; 26:35; 26:36-46
• Mark 13
• Luke 12:50; 22:39; 22:44
• John 4:34; 6:37; 18:2; 18:11
• Acts 12
• Romans 7
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Galatians 5:17
• 1 Timothy 3:16-17
• Hebrews 2; 5:5; 5:9
• Revelation 5; 7; 12