Van-guard (văn’gärd), noun: “The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement.”
the journey forward... exploring the emerging church... navigating spiritual formation... seeking to transform the world... ...through Christ
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Van-guard (văn’gärd), noun: “The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement.” the journey forward... exploring the emerging church... navigating spiritual formation... seeking to transform the world... ...through Christ |
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Matthew
26:36-46 This Wednesday, the much anticipated movie from producer/director Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ, opens in theaters nationwide. Our current series looks at Matthew, chapters 26 and 27—the “Passion” Narrative. The opening scene of the movie, as I understand it, finds Jesus in a garden. It is dark, he is praying, and three of his closest friends are asleep a few feet away. This is the scene we look at this morning in Matthew chapter 26. Start at verse 36— 36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here
while I go over there and pray.”
37He
took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be
sorrowful and troubled. 38Then
he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground
and prayed, “My
Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but
as you will.” (Matthew 26:36-39) Okay, I have a question. Why is Jesus so sorrowful—“to the point of
death”? Why does he pray to His Father for the cup to be taken from him?
Isn’t this the same Jesus that for 25 chapters has been portrayed as coming
into the world for the expressed purpose of dying on the cross? Isn’t this the
same Jesus who at the very beginning of this chapter
told the Disciples, “As
you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over
to be crucified” (v. 1)? Why the cold feet now? Why is he trying to find some way out of it now? Look at what He does! He falls on His face—groveling on the ground in anguish! This is no ordinary prayer. We have never seen this kind of display from Jesus. This is unique—this is torment! Why? If Jesus is willing to die a martyr’s death, he should know that God’s going to be with him throughout that martyrdom. He should find strength in knowing that he will not be alone. Ahhh… But that’s it! Jesus will be alone! Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is possible,
may this cup be taken from me.” In Scripture, “cup” frequently refers to
the cup of God’s Wrath! 15This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup
filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you
drink it. 16When
they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send
among them.” (Jeremiah
25:15-16) 8In
the hand of the LORD is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out,
and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs. (Psalm
75:8) What we are witnessing here is Jesus, in all his humanness, horrified at the prospect of enduring God’s wrath! There have been martyrs throughout the history
of Christianity. People have died with great strength and determination because
they knew that God would be with them through their suffering. They have found
strength in Jesus' death and resurrection. But Jesus went to his death knowing
that it was his Father's will that he face death completely alone
as the sacrificial, wrath-averting Passover Lamb. As his death was unique, so
also his anguish. This is Jesus, the very name he is given means “God saves”—The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to give birth not to just any little boy… “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Jesus explained what his mission was… “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew
20:28) Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, "God with us!" His sacrificial death inaugurates the New
Covenant (vv. 26-30) and redeems his people from their sins. This is why the
other New Testament writers make it clear that Jesus’ death was unlike any
other. His death was much more! His death was the averting of WRATH because the
“cup of wrath” was drank by Jesus on the cross! 6You
see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. 7Very
rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might
possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more
shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
(Romans
5:6-9) Jesus did not suffer martyrdom. Jesus suffered the wrath of God. That is why he will say upon the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew
27:46) Imagine! Jesus, who for all eternity has been in perfect relationship with His Father, who for all eternity has lived in glory and majesty, for all eternity has been the very object of worship, will, for the first and only time in His existence, NOT be in relationship with God the Father, will instead feel the totality of God’s wrath for sin! Imagine! So, he falls on his face and cries out, “Is there no other way?!?!” Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be
taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” In one sense all things are possible with God,
Jesus said so Himself in Matthew But in another sense, some things are
impossible. So, Jesus prays that if it be morally consistent with the Father's
redeeming purpose that this "cup of wrath" to be taken from Jesus,
that is what he deeply desires. But more deeply still, Jesus desires to do his
Father's will. Jesus' deep commitment to his Father's will cannot be doubted.
God had long ago determined the path of redemption for us: It was for Jesus to
suffer and die. . Jesus may be tempted here again (like he was in the wilderness
when he first started out)—in this crisis, Jesus is tempted to seek an
alternative to sin-bearing suffering as the route by which to fulfill his
Father's redemptive purposes. He prays in agony; but he does not succumb to the
temptation—he realizes that the Cross is unavoidable if he is to obey his
Father's will. 40Then
he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you
men not keep watch with me for one hour?”
he asked Peter. 41“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken
away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because
their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third
time, saying the same thing. 45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near,
and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise,
let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew
26:40-46) Following God’s
call on our lives may cause us unbearable pain. When Jesus was began to feel the
anguish of his fate, he asked what any of us would ask when we are in dire
need—will you stay up with me and pray? Jesus asks his best friends for
support in prayer. People all around us are suffering—some in very clear and
difficult ways, other in more subtle ways. We are called to suffer along with
them in prayer—we must not give people Christian platitudes—“Oh there,
there. God is good! Everything’s going to be alright.” We need to come
alongside and pray. We need above all,
to come alongside each other in genuine love and compassion. We need to pray for
each other!
Get
together in groups of three, and begin probing where each other needs prayer.
Ask these kinds of questions. We will pray in a moment—some of you will pray
out loud, some will opt to pray silently. Both are okay. But we will indeed pray
for one another! In
what ways has God made his presence known to you in recent weeks? What
experiences of prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading has God given you? What
difficulties or frustrations have you encountered? What
joys and delights? What
temptations have you faced recently? How did you respond? Have
you sensed any influence or work of the Holy Spirit in recent weeks? What
fruit of the Spirit would you like to see increase in your life? Which
spiritual disciplines has God used to lead you further into holiness of heart
and life? What
opportunities has God given you to serve others since our last meeting? How did
you respond? Has
God provided an opportunity for you to share your faith with someone since our
last meeting? How did you respond? In
what ways have you encountered Christ in your reading of the Scriptures? How
has the Bible shaped the way you think and live? In
what ways have you been able to manifest the presence of God through your daily
work in recent weeks? |
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Ministry Transformation- The Emerging Church Personal Transformation- Spiritual Formation World Transformation- Social Action Interact with Bob Robinson about the emerging church, spiritual formation, or social action by e-mailing vanguard church with your comments. |
