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[0:00] I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Children, you may be excused. We're just weeks away, ladies and gentlemen, from the Super Bowl.

[0:17] This afternoon, we've got two conference championship games. Vikings versus Eagles. Eagles. And the Jaguars versus the Pats.

[0:35] I'm going to disregard that. When do the Packers play? All right. Today, Tom Brady is going to get under center. And he's going to drop back into the pocket.

[0:50] And there's going to come a moment where you're going to see Tom Brady if you're watching the game, if you have any interest in the game. You're going to see Tom Brady do something. He's going to step back into the pocket.

[1:02] And his O-line, they're going to push the 300-pound defensive lineman around him. And it's going to form what's called a pocket. And at that moment, you're going to see Tom Brady make a decision.

[1:17] He's either going to drop into the pocket, which takes courage, or he's not. And when he drops into the pocket, which requires the decision and courage, because you've got 300-pound men wanting to grind your head, then he's going to have to stand in the pocket.

[1:39] And he's going to have to make another decision. This morning, we've reached a spot in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is going to step into the pocket of the will of God.

[1:59] Your will be done. He's stepping into what will surely result in crushing him.

[2:11] And he steps in, and then he stands there. And so this morning, we're going to look at Matthew chapter 26. And we're going to look at a good chunk of Scripture, starting in verse 36.

[2:27] And we're going to go all the way through 56. And there are basically two scenes. Scene 1, Jesus praying in Gethsemane. He steps into the pocket of God's will.

[2:40] And then what follows in 47 through 56 is Jesus standing in the pocket, resolved to do God's will. He's not shaken.

[2:51] Under threat. Under duress. And what I want you to see this morning is, he did it all for you. He stepped into the pocket, and he stood there.

[3:04] And was eventually crushed for you and for me. By the time we get to our application today, I'm trusting God by his Spirit is going to be doing two things in your heart.

[3:24] He's going to be stirring gratitude in your heart for what you see Jesus do. And then he's going to be stirring courage in your heart. Because you may have to step into your own little pocket.

[3:36] And he's got strength for you to do that. So if your Bibles aren't open, would you open to Matthew chapter 26, verses 36. And we'll go all the way through 56.

[3:48] Two scenes. Jesus praying in Gethsemane. And then Jesus arrested, betrayed and arrested in Gethsemane. And we're going to take one scene at a time. And so let's read this first scene.

[4:01] 36 through 46. Excuse me. Yes, 46. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. Side note, it means oil press.

[4:13] This was a garden. It would have been a garden of olive trees. It would have been lovely. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray.

[4:26] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. When you see your Savior sorrowful and troubled, it should probably get your attention.

[4:44] Then he said to them, Peter, James, and John, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me.

[4:57] And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

[5:12] And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

[5:26] Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, my father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

[5:41] So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

[5:56] Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. Don't forget what's just happened before this. Last week, we looked at the institution of the Lord's Supper.

[6:10] We saw how it was a Passover Seder. And what Jesus does in only the way that God incarnate can. He says, this Passover feast is now about me.

[6:23] My blood, my body, in remembrance of me. He's the ultimate Passover lamb. And coming out of there, do you remember what he tells his disciples?

[6:35] He's already told Judas he's going to betray him. Is it I, Rabbi? And then he tells his rest of his disciples that they're going to desert him that night.

[6:47] And then he tells Peter, Peter, you're going to deny me not once, but three times. That night. It's that night. That night.

[6:57] That night. That night. That night. Jesus walks out of the city into the Mount of Olives into this garden. And he has all this on his mind.

[7:09] He knows his betrayer is at work. He knows his disciples are going to deny him. They know they're going to desert him. He knows it. And he knows. He's been telling them for months, I'm going to be crucified.

[7:24] Handed over. To sinful men. And so he comes into the garden with all this weight.

[7:34] And so when we read in chapter 26, he tells his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray.

[7:47] Jesus has gone into the garden to pray. He's got business with his father he's got to attend to. He's feeling huge amounts of weight and pressure. Emotionally.

[7:59] Verse 37, he takes with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. These are the guys in Matthew 17 who went with Jesus on the mountain and saw him transfigured in his glory.

[8:10] And now they're going to see him in turmoil. Matthew tells us that he was sorrowful and troubled.

[8:24] We've been going through Matthew. And we've seen Jesus do some amazing things. We've seen his compassion on display. We've seen him kind of struggle with patience with his disciples. But we haven't seen anything like this before.

[8:40] We haven't seen Jesus sorrowful and troubled before. These words are getting at a depth of hardship, of travail, of anguish.

[8:53] And so some of you in this room, when you start hearing these words associated with Jesus, you may start feeling a little uncomfortable.

[9:03] This is some significant emotional depth and travail our Savior's experiencing.

[9:15] We see him longing for companionship. He wants these three, his inner circle, to come with him.

[9:27] Be close. And so here in just the first couple verses, we are seeing the humanity of Jesus Christ.

[9:39] Oh yeah. Fully God. Emmanuel. God with us. Matthew chapter 1. God with us. And here in the garden, we are seeing his humanity.

[9:52] He experienced the full range of emotions. He knows when you feel anxious and a depth of anguish, he's been there.

[10:04] You have a high priest who can identify and sympathize with you in every way. Why is he so upset?

[10:19] Why is he in such anguish? Look at verse 38. He says to these three, my soul is very sorrowful even to death.

[10:31] We use the expressions like, I'm scared to death. My kids scare me. I'm like, I'm scared to death. Or maybe your mom has told you, you haven't called her and you get back home and she says, you worried me to death.

[10:47] These are expressions that we try to use to get at the importance and significance, the depth with which we are feeling about something. But Jesus, when he says, I'm sorrowful even to death, he's got his death on his mind.

[11:07] He knows what's coming. And it's no longer years away. It's no longer months away. It's no longer weeks away or days away.

[11:19] It's hours away. It's minutes away. He feels that. He's feeling the profound significance of what's about to take place.

[11:35] And he tells his disciples, watch with me. Remain here. He's going to go a little bit further and pray to his father alone, but within earshot, within a stone's throw, according to Luke.

[11:49] What are they to be watching? Watch with me. What? Watch for what? Watch what?

[12:01] Are they to watch Jesus? What are they watching for? That word watch shows up in verse 40. So could you not watch with me with one hour? 41. Watch and pray. Look down to verse 45.

[12:13] Jesus says, sleep and take your rest later on. So, so far in this section, watch, watch, watch. See, the hour is at hand.

[12:27] Verse 46. See, my betrayer is at hand. What are they to be watching for? It's what Jesus has already warned them about. It's what he's already told them that's going to happen.

[12:39] They're going to be tempted to desert him. They're going to be tempted to deny him. They're going to be tempted to disregard him.

[12:51] To not associate with him. Why is Jesus so upset? He knows what's about to happen.

[13:04] And it's just minutes away. He's about to be crucified. He's about to experience the wrath of his father. The full cup of the wrath of God poured out on him.

[13:19] Has the eternal son of God ever experienced any hostility from the father up to this point? No.

[13:29] No. He's not looking forward to this moment. And so this depth of emotion that Jesus is experiencing, it's not like he's turned off his divinity.

[13:48] Not in the least. What we see here is his humanity. And him coming to terms with this moment that he was sent for.

[13:58] The watching has everything to do with this cup that he references that he must drink.

[14:13] And so let's now look at these prayers that Jesus prays. Verses 39 through 45. First, I just want you to notice that in verse 39, he fell on his face and prayed.

[14:30] He fell on his face and prayed. He's desperate. That might make you uncomfortable a little bit.

[14:44] He knows what's about to happen. In this sequence, Jesus prays three prayers. And there's a bit of a progression in them. I'll try to point that out to you.

[14:55] But what I want you to see is that after each prayer, he checks on his disciples. And is met with disappointment. It's quite a contrast. Here we have this impending betrayal, desertion, denial by the disciples.

[15:12] And it's going to start his passion, start his suffering, which will lead to him being crucified and having to cry out, my father, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[15:23] It's all going to happen in hours. Jesus is obediently praying. What are his disciples doing? Sleeping. Sleeping. They're clueless.

[15:38] Jesus begins his first prayer with my father. My father. Jesus revolutionized the way we pray.

[15:50] Remember the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. Our father who art in heaven. Jesus taught us to pray that. And he practiced what he preached. What's interesting about Gethsemane is that there's a number of echoes of the Lord's Prayer in Gethsemane.

[16:06] This is one of them. My father. He starts every prayer. My father. My father. My father. It's intimate. It's submissive.

[16:16] He recognizes this. He's crying out. By the end of his praying in verse 46.

[16:28] Jesus is no longer distraught. He's no longer upset. He has stepped into the pocket. He's fully resolved to do the will of his father.

[16:41] He's no longer distraught. He's no longer distraught. He's no longer distraught. He's no longer distraught. He's no longer distraught. What we see happening here is that Jesus is coming to terms. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

[16:53] In verse 39. That sounds kind of weird to our ears. It makes us, is Jesus wavering here? Is there unbelief in him? What's going on here?

[17:04] Well, the most obvious thing to say is this. This is not Jesus refusing to do the will of his father.

[17:16] Not in the least. It's Jesus coming to terms with it. It's him coming to emotional terms with what he knows he must do.

[17:27] And it's going to take a little bit of a process. And that's what we see these prayers. So Jesus is coming to terms with what is about to happen.

[17:38] And we hear him reference this cup. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. What's this cup? Throughout the Old Testament, there are all sorts of references to various kinds of cups.

[17:52] There are real cups. And then there are symbolic cups. And of the symbolic cups, there are cups of blessing. Psalm 16, 5. The Lord is my choice, blessing, and cup.

[18:03] But by and large, when the cup is used symbolically in the Old Testament, it's not used for blessing. It's primarily used to talk about God's judgment. And suffering.

[18:15] And wrath. We see that in Psalm 75, 6 through 8. Jeremiah 25, 15 through 29. Ezekiel 23, 32 through 34.

[18:27] And in the New Testament, in Revelation chapter 16, verse 19, we read, And God remembered Babylon the great to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of God's wrath.

[18:43] The cup. When Jesus is speaking about this cup, if it be possible, may this cup pass from me.

[18:58] He's talking about having to drink down the dregs of God's wrath for all who would believe for him. He's talking about being crushed by God for our sin.

[19:18] Under God's wrath. And he's been talking about it for months. Chapter 16, 21, 17, 22, and 23. Chapter 20, chapter 26, 2.

[19:30] He's been telling his disciples, I'm going to be delivered over and crucified. It's the cup. He's going to drink the cup. God's wrath must be quenched for sinners to be saved from their sin.

[19:52] And that's why Jesus came. It's in his name. The Lord saves. God the Father sent God the Son.

[20:05] To save his people from their sins by having to drink down the cup of the fury of God's wrath in full. Now, if you knew that you were going to have to endure the full wrath of God for all who would one day believe, do you think that would give you a little pause?

[20:24] So what we see happening is Jesus coming to terms emotionally with what about to happen.

[20:34] In hours, he's going to cry, Eli, Eli, lay me sebectani. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He knows he's going to have to cry that. He's going to feel forsaken by his Father.

[20:47] And so he's like, is there any other way? And then he immediately goes to, not as I will, but your will be done.

[21:05] Do you know how you have to understand that? Not as my will, but your will. Daddy, not what I want to do, but what you want to do. Do you know what he's doing?

[21:16] There's one word for it. Obedience. He's obeying his Father. He's coming under the will of God.

[21:26] He is stepping up into the pocket. He's stepping into the pocket of God's will, and it will crush him.

[21:41] And he knows it. In verses 40 and 41, contrast with the disciples, Jesus comes back. He finds them sleeping.

[21:52] So could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. They don't get it.

[22:03] They don't understand what's going on. They don't understand what is about to happen. Jesus just wants them to watch with him. And they're sleeping.

[22:18] How would that make you feel? Alone? The temptation that Jesus is talking about is another echo of the Lord's Prayer.

[22:34] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And the temptation, of course, is the temptation these disciples are about to face.

[22:44] They're in it right now to desert, to deny. They don't see it. And Jesus sees they're not seeing it.

[22:57] And he knows what is about to happen. So here it is, verse 43. We go into verse, the second prayer.

[23:09] Excuse me, 42. And for the second time, he went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. There seems to be some progression between the first prayer and the second prayer.

[23:21] First prayer, Jesus was like, is there any other way? And then the second prayer, he is just, okay. If there's no plan B, I'll do it. I'll do it.

[23:37] My Father, if this cannot pass, he's talking about the cup again. There's no other way to satisfy your wrath. Unless I drink it, your will be done.

[23:55] Obedience. He's coming under the will of his Father. He's stepping into the pocket of God's will. He's putting himself in danger. No plan B.

[24:09] Verse 43. Again he came and found his disciples sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 44.

[24:20] So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for them a third time, saying the same words. Presumably the same words of the second prayer. My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.

[24:32] So he's addressing his Father. He's talking about the cup that he knows the horror of. Your will be done.

[24:44] Your will be done. Your will be done. You see what's happening here? Jesus is praying himself into the will of his Father.

[24:55] He's submitting himself to his Father's will. Would you flip back into your Bible to the book of Hebrews?

[25:08] Hebrews chapter 5. I love it. I love it when my, one area of my Bible explains another area of my Bible.

[25:20] And here you're going to see Hebrews 5 explaining what's happening in Gethsemane. Hebrews chapter 5, it's towards the back of your Bible. Start in Revelation and start going left if you haven't found it.

[25:33] Hebrews 5, 7. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death.

[25:51] Absolutely, that's speaking of Gethsemane. Gethsemane. Listen. And he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, listen, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

[26:11] If he made perfect, he became the source of eternal life to all who would obey. Do you know what's going on in Gethsemane? See? This is, this is, this is God the Father's classroom for God the Son.

[26:23] He's teaching him obedience. He comes out of the Passover feast and the God the Father, there's more, son, before you can give yourself. You've got to learn to trust me more.

[26:34] You need to step into my will. And Jesus does. In Gethsemane, we see God the Son, fully God, fully man, learning obedience in his suffering in order to accomplish the will of his Father.

[26:54] And do you know what the will of his Father is? To crush him for you. To crush him for me.

[27:06] Jesus' resolve resulted in our salvation. He had to go through Gethsemane to get to Calvary. And so by the end of his praying, Jesus is of a different state of mind, it seems.

[27:27] He's resolved. He's courageous. Look at verse 6. 46. He comes back to his disciples who are still sleeping.

[27:42] And he says, sleep and take your rest. Later on, this is verse 45. See the hours at hand. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. He's talking about Caiaphas and the elders of Jerusalem.

[27:55] And then he says to his disciples, rise, let us be going. See my betrayers at hand. Now when you read those words, rise, let us be going.

[28:07] What do you think? Here's what I think. I first read that. I'm like, we're out of here. See you later. Where's the next bus? I'm gone. That's not what Jesus is saying.

[28:19] You know what Jesus is saying? Always wake up. We're going to meet my betrayer. We're going to meet him.

[28:33] We're not running from him. We're going to him. And so what we see happen in Gethsemane through these three prayers is Jesus stepping into the pocket of God's will.

[28:46] And by the time he finishes praying, he is resolved to do the will of his father. And it shows up and saying, we're going to go meet Judas.

[28:58] He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. That's your savior. That's your king. He's the one who loves you.

[29:11] He did it for you out of obedience to his father. We see some wonderful things here. Jesus fully God in his full humanity.

[29:21] We see an emotional depth to Jesus. He can identify with every aspect of our lives. He knows what it's like to be in emotional despair. Anybody know what emotional despair is like?

[29:35] Your savior knows it. He learned obedience through suffering and praying and coming under the will of his father.

[29:48] Oh, I am so grateful for the obedience of my Lord Jesus. And we see him resolved to meet his betrayer.

[30:00] What a savior. And I can live for him. I can give everything I got for him. Everything I got.

[30:15] Moving from the first section of his actual praying in the garden. Moving to the next part. I'm just going to breeze through this so you can see what happens. In verses 47 through 56, Jesus is now resolved.

[30:33] Judas shows up in verse 47 while he's telling his disciples, guys, get up. We're going to meet him. While he's saying that, Judas shows up, verse 47. Matthew's very clear.

[30:45] We already know Judas is a betrayer. But Matthew wants to make it clear. Judas came one of the 12. It's crazy. What we see happening in verses 47 through 56 is that Jesus steps into the pocket of God's will.

[31:04] And he stands. Resolute. The betrayer comes. In verses 47 through 50.

[31:16] Judas. He greets him as, greetings, rabbi. Literally, grace to you, teacher. And he tells this crowd, armed crowd with him, hey, the one you're looking for, I'm going to kiss him.

[31:34] Seize him. They didn't have smartphones. Judas didn't send his crowd a picture of Jesus' face so that they knew what he looked like. It was dark in Gethsemane.

[31:46] They needed a sign, verse 48. And so he gives them the sign. He says, I'm going to kiss him. So he comes up, greets Jesus. Greetings, rabbi. Notice, it's not lord.

[31:58] It's rabbi. We saw that happen right before the Passover. Jesus is talking about the betrayer. Disciples, the 11 say, is it I, lord? And at the end of that, Judas says, is it I, rabbi?

[32:14] Jesus is not the lord of Judas. Judas comes. Judas comes, kisses him. If you look at verse 50, Jesus responds, friend.

[32:33] Friend? Friend? You're my friend. Friend. Friend. Friend. Friend. Friend. Friend. Friend. Friend.

[32:44] Friend. Friend. Friend. Did you know what? You kiss somebody when there's peace. You greet someone with a kiss when there's peace.

[32:57] There's a kiss of betrayal. It's deeply ironic. And Jesus greets him as friend. It's full of irony. It's a subtle rebuke. Do what you came to do. Jesus is standing in the pocket.

[33:10] I know why you're here. Do what you need to do. You know what Jesus is doing? He's letting him do it. He's letting him do it.

[33:23] He's resigned himself to be crushed by the father. And he knows that this man, his friend, is going to be used in God's sovereign plan to bring about his arrest, which will lead to his trial before Caiaphas, before Pilate, and then he's going to be thrown on a cross.

[33:44] Nailed to a cross. Jesus stands in the pocket with Jesus. Do what you came to do.

[33:55] And he does what he came to do. After Jesus says that, there's this smaller group of this armed crowd.

[34:09] They lay hands on Jesus. If you were one of the twelve, it would have been a little striking. It would have been difficult to watch. They're manhandling Jesus. They're taking no precautions.

[34:19] And so do you know what happens? One of the disciples does something very impulsive. And behold, 51, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

[34:41] Matthew doesn't tell us, but John does. This is Peter, our good friend, our impulsive, passionate Peter. He sees his Savior, his King, his Lord.

[34:55] Jesus has just told him, you're going to deny me three times. Peter is on alert. I'm not going to deny you, Jesus. I'm going to die with you. I'm going to die with you. He sees Jesus manhandled.

[35:08] He's like, oh, I'm not going to deny him. Reaches for his swords, pulls it back, and swings. He's a fisherman. He doesn't know how to handle a sword. He takes a swing in the dark of whoever's closest to him, and that happens to be Malchus.

[35:22] John tells us the name of the servant of the high priest. And so Peter must be a right-hander, so he takes a swing at Malchus. Malchus takes a dodge to the left, and we learn from Luke, he slices off his right ear.

[35:37] So here we are in the Garden of Gethsemane. This great crowd comes out to arrest Jesus. They seize him. Peter flips, cuts off the guy's ear, and all of a sudden, could you imagine this?

[35:49] On the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane is the right ear of Malchus. You're looking down at it. If you're part of the crowd, what would your reaction be?

[36:01] The reaction, oh, you want to fight? You want blood? That's why I brought my club.

[36:15] Jesus is in control. Your will be done. He steps right into it. Luke tells us he heals Malchus' ear. He must have reattached it.

[36:26] I mean, he bends down, grabs the ear, reattaches it to his head. In the garden. Surrounded by a crowd. So you tell me, if you're Malchus, you show up to seize Jesus, you get your ear chopped off, trying to arrest this guy that's supposed to be bad news, and then he heals you?

[36:48] What would you think? What would you think? What would you think if you're there, part of this crowd, and you're watching this happen, and he just healed him? I'm letting go of any kind of violent...

[37:01] Jesus has just pacified the moment. He's not going to let this thing get carried away into something else. He's not going to let this become a bloodbath. He's not going to let Peter get arrested.

[37:12] He's got to deny him three times. Jesus is in control. Your will be done. Jesus is in control. In 52 through 54, not only does...

[37:33] Have we seen Jesus stand in the pocket with Judas, and now stand in the pocket with Peter? Peter, come on, man. He rebukes the crowds. He says, what are you coming out to find?

[37:47] A robber? A robber? Now that should strike something in you. Do you remember who Jesus was crucified with on either side? Two robbers?

[37:59] He was numbered with the transgressors. Isaiah 53. Them coming out to treat him as a robber, as a criminal, is the fulfillment of the scriptures.

[38:16] All throughout this section on the... In 47 through 56, we see fulfillment after fulfillment after fulfillment after fulfillment. With Judas, he's the betrayer.

[38:28] Fulfillment. With Simon in this impulsiveness. 54. But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled? I've got...

[38:39] I've got to be arrested, Peter. It's not about me being able to defend myself. I'm giving myself. It's not about force.

[38:52] And here with these crowds, he's saying, hey, you guys come out to arrest me like I'm a robber. I'm not. I've been in the temple preaching.

[39:02] You could have come there in public. But they don't. This, too, was to fulfill the scriptures. Fulfillment, fulfillment, fulfillment, fulfillment.

[39:18] Jesus is standing in the pocket. I hope you see this. He's doing the will of the Father. He's resolved. And then finally, at the end of verse 56, then all the disciples left him and fled.

[39:30] I mean, it's in verse 35. Peter says, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same. In just a matter of hours, they're gone.

[39:45] Fulfillment. They've done what Jesus has said they would do. They gave in in their temptation. So what we see here, 47 through 56, is Jesus standing in the pocket, resolved to do the will of his Father that's going to crush him.

[40:08] And he fulfills after incident after incident, Judas, Peter, the crowds. And now what he said about the disciples has come true.

[40:19] Here's why all this matters. Jesus steps into the pocket of God's will in order to accomplish your salvation.

[40:40] It had to happen. He had to go through Gethsemane in order to get to Calvary. And so here's how I want to apply it. I want to apply this in two ways.

[40:51] Just give me a couple minutes here. The first way to apply this is with gratitude. Here's the risk we run.

[41:07] It's a very familiar story, right? It happened hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, right? And what you can start thinking is this. Well, that's nice that that happened.

[41:18] I'm really happy that Jesus, you know, kind of followed through. That's great. This is incredibly personal. It's incredibly personal for you. Did you know that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, oh, he knew before he became a man, he knew all those he would shed his blood for.

[41:39] He knew it. He knew it already. Is it possible, even likely, that when Jesus is in the garden, travailing in prayer before the Father, he's crying out to him, not my will be done, but your will be done.

[41:57] Crush me. Crush me. Could it possibly be that you crossed his mind? Crush me for Mike.

[42:09] Crush me for Jenny. Crush me for Mikey. Dave. In the garden. Crush me. Not my will be done, your will be done.

[42:21] Crush me, God. I'll see it all the way through. For Billy. For Lou and Bev. For Jess. Crush me for him.

[42:33] Crush me for her. He's being obedient. To the Father for you. He was crushed.

[42:45] For you. It's very personal. And the response to something like this is to express gratitude. Oh, Lord Jesus, thank you so much for going through that kind of travail for me, for my wife, for my kids, for this church.

[43:03] Thank you so much for doing that. See how gratitude blossoms from that? The second thing. The second thing. It's not just gratitude, but courage.

[43:17] Jesus was courageous here. His resolve is impressive. He steps into the pocket and he stands there amidst betrayal, desertion, eventually denial.

[43:28] He gets beat up. Nailed to a cross. Do you need to step into the pocket? Are you aware of something that you need to take a step in trusting God with?

[43:45] Not only is what Jesus is doing here accomplishes our salvation. It's an example for us. That we must learn obedience to.

[44:00] We're more like those clueless disciples. I don't know what you're facing. I don't know what you've got to step into.

[44:12] But I'm guessing you know you need to take a step. But you need resolve to get there. And the way to take that step is take the similar step of Jesus.

[44:27] Your will be done. Lord, your will be done. Lord, your will be done. I don't want to confront this person. It's scary. Your will be done.

[44:38] I don't want to confess this sin. It's going to be embarrassing. It's humiliating. But your will be done. I'm going to step into that pocket. You see, Jesus' death and resurrection now is able to work in you.

[44:56] So that you would do that. What step do you need to take? This morning we have seen Jesus in Gethsemane.

[45:12] And he's our hero. He's our king. And his resolve resulted in our salvation. And our stepping into scary situations.

[45:27] Gratitude. Courage. What a savior. God, your will be done. Let's pray. God, you say that your word does not return void.

[45:56] You say that your word is living and active. It accomplishes much. It's profitable. And so, God, I am trusting you to take this word and to apply it to the hearts of these people by your spirit.

[46:15] That they would be enamored with their savior. Grateful. Even courageous. God, would you make us a people.

[46:31]  Oh, who just delight in our savior. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.