Mark chapter 14.
Mark chapter 14, our passage today
describes one of my favorite places on earth.
I got to visit in 2012 and one day soon
I hope to take my wife and go back.
It is the Garden of Gethsemane.
This passage is also some of the weightiest of all scripture.
Jesus had spent time with his disciples
teaching them how to live
and how to live on for him after he died.
Those teachings are recorded in John chapter 13 through 17
that we looked at last week.
When they left that room, they went to the Mount of Olives,
a grove of olive trees to pray.
And in the center of that grove on the Mount of Olives,
just across the Kindred Valley from the Temple Mount,
is a garden that is surrounding an oil press.
It is called the Garden of Gethsemane.
Gethsemane meaning oil press.
It's where they gathered the olives and came
and pressed them into oil.
Jesus and his disciples had just spent precious time
in the upper room.
They left the upper room and they traveled
about three-fourths of a mile
to the garden for a time of prayer.
It is a special place.
And I want you to understand why this morning.
It's found in Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 32,
and it says this.
They went to a place called Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
sit here while I pray.
And he took with him Peter and James and John
and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
And he said to them,
my soul is very sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and watch.
And going a little farther,
he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible,
the hour might pass from him.
And he said, Abba Father,
all things are possible for you.
Remove this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.
And he came and found them sleeping.
And he said to Peter, Simon, are you asleep?
Could you not watch for one hour?
Watch and pray that you will not enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
And again he went away and prayed,
saying the same words.
And again, he came and found them sleeping,
for their eyes were very heavy,
and they did not know what to answer him.
And he came the third time and said to them,
are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
It is enough.
The hour has come.
The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise, let us be going.
See, my betrayer.
The God is at hand.
The events of the garden are amazing to me.
I've spent years combing over this.
And to summarize,
I'm most amazed by three factors.
All of them are very relevant to us today as well.
First, I'm blown away by the suffering.
Jesus suffered in the garden.
Understand, he knew what was coming.
John tells us that when the disciples came to arrest him,
that he knew all that would happen to him.
Yet even though he knew what was to happen
and why they were there,
he asked them,
whom do you seek?
Who are you looking for?
Now, I want you to understand something about that question.
And let me just say all the questions that God asks us.
God never asks us questions because he needs the answers.
He already knows.
We need to deal with what the answer to his question is.
He knew what was coming.
And even knowing that it was not easy,
there was nothing easy about the cross.
And we often think about the physical aspects of that.
And in a couple of weeks,
we'll look at that in detail.
And we think about the emotional aspect of that,
the shame that went along with a man
who was sinless and yet hung,
like a sinner.
But honestly, the spiritual part
is what breaks my heart the most.
The events in the garden revealed that
because he said,
and he said to them,
my soul is very sorrowful,
even to death.
Luke records for us in Luke 22, verse 43,
that his sweat became like great drops of blood
falling upon the ground.
That actually describes a rare but well-documented malady
that comes to people under tremendous stress
called hematidrosis.
And hematidrosis is when
there's so much stress upon you
that the capillaries in your face
that normally would cause you to blush
actually burst.
And the blood runs out of the sweat pores
in the face and in the head.
That bursting is only due to intense stress.
And through those sweat glands,
the blood runs
and the person actually sweats blood.
It's not only rare,
it is painful.
And to think about what would happen
in just not too long from that time
when they would ram a crown of thorns
upon that same head
that had went through that,
it was absolutely amazingly difficult.
When Jesus struggled though,
notice that he struggled over the cup.
That's what he asked for God
to somehow let him pass from.
The cup.
So what is the cup?
The Old Testament tells us clearly.
It says in Psalm 75, 6 through 8,
it says this,
for not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
For in the hand of the Lord,
there is a cup with foaming wine,
well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to its dregs.
Isaiah 51, 17 gives us a better example.
It says,
wake yourself,
stand up,
old Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord,
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk down to the dregs,
the bowl,
the cup of staggering.
Isaiah 51,
21 and 22 celebrates the release
of the wrath of God.
And it says,
therefore hear this,
you who are afflicted,
who are drunk,
but not with wine.
Thus says the Lord,
the Lord,
your God,
who pleads the case of his people,
behold,
I am taking from your hand
the cup of staggering,
the bowl of my wrath,
you shall drink no more.
The cup that he speaks of
is like a bad drink
that ruins lives.
Now some of you don't want to hear
what I'm about to say,
but I'll tell you
that I don't apologize
when I share the evils of alcohol.
Alcohol has caused ruin
for too many people.
If it hasn't for you,
I encourage you to stop now
before it does
because it is simply not worth it.
A person,
a city,
nothing else will ever thrive
because of alcohol.
It may look like it does for a season,
but it will not.
Adrian Rogers said one time,
alcohol is the most dangerous drug in America
because of its acceptance,
availability,
and the effect that it has upon hearts
and the misery that it brings.
Now I'm not preaching on alcohol today,
but I'll be happy to if I need to.
Alcohol is what is used to describe
what it's like to be under the influence
of the wrath of God.
It compares the wrath of God
to the agony and destruction
that can be caused upon somebody
by lives who have been devastated
by alcohol.
Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about
because you've seen folks struggle with it,
you've seen lives destroyed by it,
you've seen folks' lives taken away
just simply by somebody
doing something stupid
under the influence of alcohol.
And he uses that example,
of all examples,
over and over again,
he uses that example
of the struggle of someone
who's under the wrath of God.
I'll tell you the struggle for Christ,
it was not the nails,
it was not the thorns,
it was not,
he struggled over the cup
of God's wrath.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 tells us,
for our sake he made him to be sin
who knew no sin.
So thank God in him
we might become
the righteousness of God.
Don't misunderstand me.
His mind was made up.
Luke 9 51 tells us
that he set his face toward Jerusalem.
That was when he knew
what he was to go to Jerusalem for.
And his mind was set,
his eyes were set,
he knew what he was to do.
But that does not make it easy.
And as he prays in this garden
right before he's to be arrested,
he is simply saying,
if there is another way,
if the feeling of separation
from the Father can be avoided,
let it.
As all of the sin of the world
comes upon his back,
I am grown convinced
over the years
that Christ in the garden
expresses the greatest sense
of solitude,
the greatest sense of loneliness,
the greatest sense of despair
of anything outside the cross itself.
No one could go for him.
No one could even go with him.
It is the greatest sense of sorrow
over the separation,
the greatest sense of struggle.
Luke 22 verse 43 tells us
that an angel from heaven
appeared to him
and strengthened him.
And I believe it is
the greatest sense of struggle
in all of humanity
outside of the cross itself.
There was suffering
in the garden.
I'll tell you what else there was.
There was also the sleep.
He asked them to pray
and instead they fell asleep.
Preoccupied by their own needs,
they missed the power of the hour.
Man, I'd love to point a finger at them.
I really would.
But the reality is
if we look at our lives,
we've had too many gardens
of slumber in our own lives.
Opportunities that we have
simply slept through.
While God is doing
a work of redemption
for our world,
the church too often slumbers.
We too often fail to respond
to his call for us to pray,
for his call for us to share,
for his call for us to lead
those who need him
so desperately.
And we know from our own experience
that we are too woefully weak
in spiritual matters.
And so we often remain silent
when we have opportunities
to speak for Christ.
We often tolerate unrighteousness
when we ought to be
standing against it.
We're often timid
when we ought to be bold.
We often do nothing
when we ought to act.
We're often silent
when we ought to speak up.
Left to ourselves
apart from the grace
and power and might of God,
we all lack the strength,
the fortitude
to stand up for Christ.
And sometimes maybe
even sit up for Christ.
So if you are appalled
at them for sleeping
in the midst of this,
let's also be appalled
for the numerous
missed opportunities
that we have
in our own life.
The times when our tongues
are too silent.
The times when we are
wearily nodding
in our slumbering heads
instead of paying attention
to what God is doing
in our world
and in our lives.
It's not only the sleep
and it's not only the struggle,
it's also the silence.
Let me explain.
I've often stumbled
over Judas.
I can't understand
how somebody
who walked with Christ himself
never heeded the message.
He was entrusted.
He was their treasure.
He was entrusted
yet he bribed for Christ.
The Bible says
that he betrayed
Jesus with a kiss.
Previously setting Jesus up,
he's telling the mob
that Jesus would be the one
that he would kiss.
What a way to betray somebody.
I mean the kiss in that day
was a sign of respect.
The kiss in that day
was a sign of homage
as well as affection.
Slaves would kiss
the feet of their master
out of respect.
Students would kiss
the hem of the garment
of their teacher.
A kiss on the hand
was common
as a sign of respect
and honor.
It was common.
But a kiss on the face,
that was a special
kind of embrace.
That was only to be done
among the closest of friends.
And yet that's exactly
how Judas identified
who Jesus was
for the soldiers
that were to arrest him
that didn't know
what he looked like.
And I want to point at Judas
and say,
shame on you!
How in the world
did you miss
the opportunity of Christ
when he walked
right there before you?
How did you betray him
with a kiss?
How in the world?
But let's be honest.
If we can't be honest
with each other,
let's at least be honest
with God.
How many times
have we tried to embrace him
while disobeying him?
How many times
have we made bribes
with the world
to be somewhat Christian
but somewhat worldly?
To have a little bit of this
and a little bit of that.
How many times
have we come to worship
wanting blessing
while we've ignored
unconfessed sin
in our own life
and expected God
to bless us?
It's a hindrance.
It's a shame
to sin against God.
It's shameless
to embrace him
with his people
as if we love him
and then betray him
with our sin.
And the truth is
that Judas
was not led
by love of God.
He was led
by love of self.
And possibly
the biggest
wow statement
in all of Scripture
is found in Matthew 26
verse 24.
And it says
the Son of Man
goes at his written of him
but woe to that man
by whom the Son of Man
is betrayed.
It would have been
better for that man
if he had not
been
born.
What a statement.
The disciples slept.
When God asked them
to get up on their face
and pray with him
they slept.
When he went back
they continued to sleep.
When he went back
again they continued
to sleep.
How many times
has Christ
asked us to go
an extra mile
and we passively
have passed it by?
Judas had the greatest
opportunity
the grandest opportunity
in life
the will of God
and he walked away
from it.
Has God
ever spoken
to you
and found
a professed
Christian
that was too
selfish
in his or her ways
to be obedient?
All the while
he drinks
the cup
of God's wrath
for
your sin
and my sin
and our sin.
he suffers
the cross
as an innocent
man
for the sins
of sinners
that too often
are reckless
and that are not
really willing
to sacrifice
their appetite
for stuff
and their appetite
for lust
and their appetite
for power
for the lordship
of Christ
to really be
in their lives.
I think we need
to fall on our face.
and have a garden
type experience.
In all the sacred places
in the Holy Land
years ago
in that worn
torn area
they began building
chapels
on top of those
sacred spots.
Some of them
great cathedrals
to protect
that spot.
to see where
Christ
was believed
to be born.
You go into
a huge cathedral
and walk
down a narrow
stairway
and look down
in the basement
at one small
spot
that's protected
by all that
building
as to where
he was to be born
in the Palestinian
land of Bethlehem.
the garden
of Gethsemane
is still there.
Some of the olive
trees that are there
were there
when Christ
prayed that day.
When I went
in 2012
there was a man
almost 90 years old
that still took care
of those trees
and he would
prop up the branches
of those
2,000 year old trees
to make sure
that they
survived.
It's a special place.
And beside it
there is a large
cathedral built.
We walked into
that building
and across the stage
in the front of it
is a gated area
but inside
that gated area
is a rock
embedded in the ground.
It is the same
rock
facement
that rolls
through all
of the top
of the Mount
of Olives.
And it is thought
to be the rock
in which Christ
agonized
in prayer
that very night.
When I went
that day
that area
was crowded.
They were about
to have some type
of communion service
different denominational
thing than
what I was a part
of.
And I tried
to bust up
among them
and I wasn't
crazy about that.
As I backed
up
and went around
I looked over
in the corner
of that building
and that rock
that rolls
through that building
jetted up
over in the corner
along the wall.
You could see
how the rock
was coming out
of the wall
and how they
had built
that building
around that wall.
Most sacred time
I had
of all of them
in the Holy Land
was walking
over to that corner
putting my hands
on that rock
and kneeling
before it
and saying
thank you Christ.
thank you for
taking on
the cup
of God's wrath
for my sins.
Thank you for how
you've changed
my life
because of what
you were willing
to do for me
and how you went
and hung on
that cross
for me
to have salvation.
May my life
be lived
in gratitude
of what you've
done for me.
I don't know
what you need
to do this morning
but I think
somehow
God's allowed
us to reflect
on that time
for us
to just
thank him
for what
he's done
for us.
For some of you
that's a bowed
head and a
closed eye.
For the others
of you
it could be
a surrender
of your life
and when you
look back
over your
life
no matter
how long
you've been
in church
you realize
that there's
never been
a time
in your life
when you
surrendered
your life
to follow
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You've never
asked him
to forgive you
of your sins
to come
into your
life
and to
change you.
Maybe
everybody
thinks that
you have
and maybe
nobody
thinks that
you have
but it
really don't
matter
what anybody
thinks
because there
comes a point
in your life
when you
must choose
to take the
offer that
he gives you.
and surrender
your life
to follow
Christ.
If you've
never done
that in
just a few
moments
we're going
to stand
and we're
going to
sing
but more
important
than that
is that
you surrender
your life
to the
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
He lived
a sinless
life and
died a
sinner's
death so
that you
could have
eternal
life.
Maybe
you're here
and you know
you have
done that
but you've
done that
privately
and you've
never done
that publicly
you've never
acknowledged
that.
Jesus
showed us
by example
and by
his teaching
that we
acknowledge
that through
baptism.
And if
you've never
been baptized
as a believer
maybe something
happened early
in your life
but since then
you've made
a decision
for Christ
but you've
never been
baptized
as a believer
you need
to come
make a
commitment
to do
that.
Maybe
you're
just
just like
I was
that day
and as
I am
today.
When you
realize
that
what God
has done
for you
you're
not worthy
of
and that
every breath
that you
live your
life
ought to be
for his
honor
and for
his glory
and the
reality is
we live
in such a
hectic
paced world
that we
don't bother
to settle
down
and wait
a moment
and reflect
upon the
wrath of
God
that Christ
endured
so we
don't have
to.
May this
be our
rock this
morning.
May this
be a
makeshift
altar for
us
to lay
it down
before the
Lord
as he
leads
I'll
never
ask you
to do
anything
that
God
don't
want
you
to
do
and
I
hope
I'll
never
let
you
be
satisfied
with
doing
anything
less.
I just
think you
ought to
honor God
with your
life
today.
Heavenly
Father I
love you
and I
thank you
for the
love that
you have
for us
and I
thank you
dear
Lord
for the
garden
of
Gethsemane
and I
thank you
dear
Lord
for what
you
endured
in that
time
and
I'm
thankful
that you
didn't
consider
our
worthiness
God
I ask
Lord that
we'll leave
here
more committed
to live our
lives for the
Lord Jesus
Christ than
we've ever
been before
and that as
we approach
that day
of celebration
of the
resurrection
of Christ
that our
hearts will
be so
right
and we'll
be so
ready
it'll be a
celebration like
we've never
experienced
oh God
help us to
do the
business at
hand
however you're
leading God
right now
in Jesus
precious name
I pray
amen
stand