WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.780 The scripture reading today comes from Matthew chapter 26. Please follow along on the screen, 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:10.500 on your bulletin, or in your own Bible. Starting in verse 30, we read, 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:17.679 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:24.359 You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:30.759 and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to 00:00:30.759 --> 00:00:38.480 Galilee. Peter answered him, Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. 00:00:39.019 --> 00:00:45.859 Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:52.939 three times. Peter said to him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:59.539 disciples said the same. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:06.759 disciples, Sit here, while I will go over there and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of 00:01:06.759 --> 00:01:15.239 Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:23.780 even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:33.259 prayed, saying, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:39.840 but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:46.960 So could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:01:48.100 --> 00:01:55.359 The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, he went away and 00:01:55.359 --> 00:02:04.379 prayed, My father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again, he came and found 00:02:04.379 --> 00:02:10.740 them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:18.599 time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Sleep and take your 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:25.400 rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:31.939 Rise, now let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:42.319 Well, while he was speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:48.400 clubs from the chief priest and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, 00:02:48.579 --> 00:02:55.240 saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him. And he came up to Jesus at once and said, 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:01.919 Greetings, Rabbi. And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you came to do. 00:03:01.939 --> 00:03:09.479 Then they came up and lay hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:15.180 stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off 00:03:15.180 --> 00:03:23.780 his ear. Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:32.780 perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father, that he will at once send me 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:38.840 more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the scripture be fulfilled, that it must be 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:46.060 so? At that hour, Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:51.780 clubs to capture me? Day after day, I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:58.659 But all this has taken place, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:02.259 disciples left him and fled. This is the word of God. 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:18.779 Father, we as a church want to be deeply rooted and centered on the person of the Lord Jesus. 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:26.939 God, as we come to this amazing passage in the build-up to the cross and Easter, we pray that 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:33.379 you will speak to us. We pray that you open our eyes to see more of Jesus, to see the depth of our own 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:40.119 brokenness and the wonder of your love. God, I pray that those of us here are anxious and worried, 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:45.319 fearful and fretful. God, those of us that have looked for hope and peace and all sorts of things 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:50.579 apart from you. God, won't you show us where peace is found? Won't you give us the peace that 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:56.659 transcends understanding because it comes from the throne room of heaven itself? God, we pray for our 00:04:56.659 --> 00:05:01.519 church. We pray for every church in Hong Kong. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be lifted up 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:07.539 and exalted, that we as a city will love Jesus. We pray for our city. We pray for our world. 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:12.599 God, come and have your way. In your wonderful name. Amen. 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:19.539 I'm not sure if you ever feel disappointed in yourself. 00:05:20.919 --> 00:05:24.479 Don't know if maybe you sometimes feel discouraged by your own struggles, 00:05:25.219 --> 00:05:28.459 to live up to your own expectations that you have for yourself. 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:34.579 I know that's not a very culturally appropriate thing to say. We are meant to tell ourselves that 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:38.959 we are a special, you know, snowflake and we're all unique and we're all wonderful and 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:44.859 there's no one in the world like us. But I wonder if you, like me, ever face the reality that sometimes 00:05:44.859 --> 00:05:51.359 I'm not all that I think I am. Maybe you, like me, see patterns or habits in your life that you 00:05:51.359 --> 00:05:57.120 resolve to change, only to find yourself back in those same habits and patterns again. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:03.879 Maybe like you, like me, see weaknesses in yourself and you resolve that you will get better, 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.280 only to find that those things get the better of you. 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:15.180 Friends, you sometimes find yourself weak and feeble in life or faith. I know I certainly do. 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:22.100 Well, we're in Matthew 26 and in this passage we are making our way towards the cross. We are 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:29.060 following Jesus as he heads towards Mount Calvary. And in our passage today we see three examples 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:37.020 of men, followers of Jesus, people who had seen Christ, heard his teachings, seen his majesty, 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:44.980 seen the miracles, seen his glory, and yet stumble and stammer in their faith and their 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:52.140 religious walk, their walk of faith. And today we see who Jesus is and how his death on the cross 00:06:52.140 --> 00:07:00.020 speaks to or relates to these men in their walk of faith. In this passage today I suspect we're going 00:07:00.020 --> 00:07:05.580 to see more of ourselves than we maybe first like to admit, and yet I hope we also see more of the 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:14.259 wonder and the grace of Jesus as well. So let's look at the first example we have. Exhibit A, we have the 00:07:14.259 --> 00:07:24.579 self-confidence. Look at verse 31 with me. Last week Jesus at the Passover meal and he kind of signals out 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:30.719 Judas Iscariot and he says, you know, talks of Judas' betrayal. Well here Jesus talks of all the disciples. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:39.040 Verse 31 he says, you will all fall away because of me this very night. For it is written, Zechariah 13, 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:45.460 I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. Now the disciples, they are not 00:07:45.460 --> 00:07:52.960 so convinced. Peter says, verse 33, not I captain, though they all fall away, I will never fall away. 00:07:53.900 --> 00:08:00.600 Peter says what my daughters say to Claire and I, when one of them have created a mess in the 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:04.900 house and we kind of just speak to them both generally and say, will you girls please clean 00:08:04.900 --> 00:08:09.820 up the mess, one of them invariably is going to say, why are you talking to me? I didn't make this 00:08:09.820 --> 00:08:16.200 mess, right? Don't pick on me. Well Peter says the same thing, right? Though they all fall away, 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:23.860 I will never fall away. And even though Jesus, after he says what's going to happen, and Jesus has 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:29.760 proved quite reliable being able to foretell the future, verse 34, I tell you this very night, 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:36.200 Peter, before the rooster crows, you will deny me. Peter dabbles down, even if I must die with you, 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:46.139 I will never deny you. Now, not only is Peter very self-assured, self-confident, as many of us will 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:50.980 know, his self-assurance is not very well placed. We're going to find out next week what happens to 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:58.500 his self-assurance. Peter's going to find himself mired in unfaithfulness and in failure. Friends, 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:03.220 just one of the reasons, if you might have noticed or not noticed, at Watermark, we don't sing a lot 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:09.700 of songs in our worship songs that are full of bold declarations. I will stand for you. I will 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:15.620 change the world. I see a rising generation like me, and we're going to make a difference. No, we don't 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:21.980 sing those songs too much. Because though they may be sung with the best of intentions, the reality is 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:25.920 good intentions are not always a good barometer of the condition of our hearts, right? 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.519 But I'm not sure about you, but I feel a certain sympathy for Peter here. I mean, 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:37.600 it's easy to point the finger at Peter and scoff at him, what a loser, and scoff at his 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:44.300 self-assurance. I see a lot of Peter's self-assurance in myself. I remember about 13 years ago or so, 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:51.139 Claire and I were living in Cape Town. I was on staff of quite a big church in Cape Town, 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:57.019 many different campuses and sites. I was about 25 years old. I'd been in ministry for about one or 00:09:57.019 --> 00:10:01.959 two years, and the music ministry at this church was kind of going through a difficult time. 00:10:02.439 --> 00:10:08.779 It was led by one of the lay elders, and he was very busy with his business, and the music ministry 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:14.000 was kind of struggling. And so I said to somebody, what they really need is some strong leadership, 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:19.159 right? They need someone who can get in there and give some leadership this ministry. Someone 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:25.279 should give it to me. I'll take it forward. Now, just remember, I'm 25 years old. I know almost 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:31.320 nothing about music, and I'd been in ministry for about two years, right? And yet there I am. They 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:38.220 don't know what they're doing. I'll sort it out. I see a lot of Peter in me, the self-assured, 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:43.879 the self-confident. Friends, it's good to be confident in our abilities, not wrapped 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:49.679 with insecurity and fear. But the danger with self-assurance here is how it blinds us to our 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:55.240 own failings and our own weaknesses. I mean, look at Peter here. He's not duplicitous. He's not 00:10:55.240 --> 00:11:01.240 two-faced. He's not lying. He's not pretending to be something that he's not. He's very sincere, 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:08.879 but he's blind. He can't see his own failings, his own weaknesses. I will never deny you. I will 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:13.779 stand firm for you. On a couple of hours, he's going to be denying Jesus himself. 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:20.559 Look at verse 51. If you go down at the bottom, the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, and Matthew 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:26.559 tells us, verse 51, behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, drew his sword, 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:31.939 and struck the servants of the high priest and cut off his ear. Well, Matthew's being very kind. He 00:11:31.939 --> 00:11:38.139 doesn't give Peter away, but John's gospel tells us this is Peter who does this. And here he is, 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:44.580 sensing the danger. And what does he do? He does what self-assured people do. He jumps to action. 00:11:44.939 --> 00:11:49.559 He grabs his sword. And even though he's on his own, he's going to take on the whole crowd 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:56.039 of those bearing clubs and swords, and he starts hacking away to save Jesus. But what does Jesus do? 00:11:56.039 --> 00:12:03.399 Verse 52, Peter, put your sword away. For those who take the sword, the sword of self-reliance, 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:11.259 self-sufficiency, self-assurance, those who take the sword will perish by the sword. 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:20.399 The danger of self-confidence, self-assurance. Let's look at exhibit B, the weak and the feeble. 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:26.600 Jesus comes for the self-assured, but Jesus also comes for the weak and the feeble. 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:33.560 Look at verses 36 to 46, the second section with me. Jesus takes his disciples into the 00:12:33.560 --> 00:12:38.560 garden of Gethsemane. And again, he takes all the disciples, but he speaks specifically to 00:12:38.560 --> 00:12:47.879 Peter and James and John. He takes them. And here Jesus wrestles with God in prayer as he begins to 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:54.720 face the horror of Calvary. Verse 37 says he began to be sorrowful and troubled, which is a profound 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:01.220 understatement. Jesus was more than just a little sorrowful and troubled. Verse 38, Jesus says, 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:09.620 my soul is sorrowful even unto death. And so what does Jesus do? He asks his closest friends to watch 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:17.000 and to pray with him, to stand with him in prayer. And yet what do they do? Well, they are weak and 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:23.040 feeble. They cannot do it. Verse 40, he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping. He says to Peter, 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:28.519 could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:13:29.439 --> 00:13:35.699 Verse 42, again, the second time he went away and prayed. Verse 43, he came again and he found them 00:13:35.699 --> 00:13:44.019 sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy. Jesus is staring the most horrific event in the history of 00:13:44.019 --> 00:13:50.959 the world square in the eyes as the horror of Calvary comes hurtling towards him. And where are his 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:58.139 friends? They're fast asleep. They cannot even stay with him. And the problem is they have good 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:04.680 intentions, but good intentions aren't enough. Despite Peter's bold pronouncements, I will stand 00:14:04.680 --> 00:14:13.259 with you to the end. Peter cannot even keep his eyes open and he falls asleep. Overcome with weakness. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:19.300 Friends, do you ever find yourself overcome with weakness? Do you ever come to your own limitations and 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:26.139 find I cannot do what I wished I had done or what I'd hoped to do? I had one of those days this week. 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:33.559 Earlier this week, I had a fairly demanding day at work. I felt I'd given it my all. I came home a little 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:42.539 exhausted and tired. And I came home to children that were exhausted and tired. And they needed something 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:49.299 from me that I didn't have within me to give them. And so coming home, they needed a father who was 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:57.459 patient and kind and could bring gentle leadership to the home. And yet I was absolutely worn out. And 00:14:57.459 --> 00:15:04.699 so what did I bring instead? Not gentleness, not patience. And the evening ended in tears. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:08.839 As I had the best of intentions, I wanted to be the best father I could. 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:14.899 But instead, I got to my limitations and weakness. And I couldn't give them what they needed. 00:15:15.899 --> 00:15:20.300 It wasn't a very fun evening in the Murphy household. I can just let you know. 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:27.580 Jesus comes for the weak and for the feeble. Those who come to their limitations and don't have what 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:32.940 it takes. Now, on the one hand, the Bible says this is part of what it means to be human. As human 00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:38.400 beings, we are finite. We are limited. Christopher Ashe says that unlike God, we need sleep. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:45.539 We need rest. We need friends. We need the Holy Spirit's renewal to revitalize us. We are not God. 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:51.319 We are creatures. We are not infinite. But on the other hand, the Bible also says that part of the 00:15:51.319 --> 00:15:58.720 consequences of sin entering the world is that we are finite. We are limited. The world groans and longs 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:04.659 for its liberation. The world is not all that it's meant to be. And often life feels like an uphill battle 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:12.379 that wears us out. Our relationships, our work, our dreams, our hobbies, our aspirations, 00:16:12.699 --> 00:16:17.319 parenthood and marriage sometimes feel like an uphill battle because the world is broken. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:24.000 And we are often shot through with challenges and difficulty. And what we see in this passage is that 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:29.659 God's people are not all sufficient. They are beset with weaknesses, limitations. 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:38.519 Peter here has the best of intentions and yet he falls asleep. Jesus came for the weak and for the 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:46.519 fable. Feeble. Not the fable. The feeble. Exhibit C. Jesus comes for the false and the deceptive. 00:16:47.219 --> 00:16:53.699 Look at the third section or pericope with me. Judas must have known where Jesus and his disciples 00:16:53.699 --> 00:16:58.600 were going to go. And so he concludes negotiations with the chief priests and the Pharisees and the 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:03.580 leaders. He assembles a band of soldiers and he makes his way to the garden of Gethsemane. 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:11.680 And he comes with a crowd carrying swords and clubs. And Judas gives the most ironic of signs. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:20.759 Verse 48. Judas says, the one I kiss is the man. Sees him. Verse 49. Coming up to Jesus, he says, 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:28.339 greetings, Rabbi, and kisses him. Now, in the first world, in the first century, 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:35.079 to greet somebody with a kiss is a way of showing that you're trustworthy and sincere. 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:41.240 You're coming so close to them that you're making yourself vulnerable to them. It's kind of like 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:46.139 these days we shake people's hands. The reason you shake hands is to show, look, I'm not carrying 00:17:46.139 --> 00:17:51.359 anything in my hand. I'm open. Look, if I was carrying a weapon, you would see it, right? So you 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:57.339 shake someone's hand as a sign of saying, I'm real. I'm sincere. I'm not hiding any weapons on me. 00:17:57.339 --> 00:18:02.859 In the first century, to go in and give somebody a kiss, you're almost offering your neck to them. 00:18:02.939 --> 00:18:08.159 You're saying, listen, I'm vulnerable. I'm sincere. I'm not hiding anything. If you want to take me 00:18:08.159 --> 00:18:16.179 out, here I am. I'm in your presence. Judas comes to Jesus with this act of sincerity and kindness, 00:18:16.419 --> 00:18:23.000 this act of intimacy, of saying, this is who I am. And yet all the while, just 50 feet behind him 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:30.880 is a crowd carrying swords and clubs. The one I curse is the man, seize him. Friends, I've often 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:36.799 wondered how Judas felt as he approached Jesus that night. How did Jesus feel? And I guess we don't 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:43.500 need to wonder so much. Our world is full of duplicity, insincerity. How many of us here have had somebody 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:50.000 lying to your face? They promise you one thing, maybe a boss, a colleague, a family member, and yet they 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:56.680 have no intentions of keeping that. I wonder how Judas felt as he approached Jesus that night. 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:02.660 But actually, if we're honest, we probably don't need to wonder that far because there's probably a 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:08.559 little bit of Judas inside all of us, right? I mean, how many of us here have gone up to somebody 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:14.440 and you greet them with a big smile, lovely to see you, while knowing that that very week we've been 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:19.700 speaking about that person behind their back? How many of us here have come to church? You don't 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:25.180 need to raise your hands, okay? This is just come to church and we sing the songs of grace and mercy. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:30.759 How lavish is your love while on the way we've had a fight with our kids and our spouse, right? 00:19:31.840 --> 00:19:39.500 I've done that once or twice. Friends, how many of us have deliberately rejected Jesus' lordship in the 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:44.819 area of our lives saying no to Christ and while all the other time acting like all is real? 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:51.980 There's a little bit of Judas in all of us, if we're honest. Six months ago, I was at a leaders 00:19:51.980 --> 00:19:57.619 gathering, not in Hong Kong, outside of Hong Kong, and there's a whole bunch of pastors there and we 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:03.099 are all giving report backs on what's happening in our area and our ministry. And one of my friends 00:20:03.099 --> 00:20:07.940 gives this report back and he says, oh, this is what's happening in my area of ministry and, 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:14.299 you know, we strategically made this decision to go this way, not this way. And I went to him afterwards 00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:19.580 and I said, you know, there's a good report back, but that wasn't the whole truth, was it? I mean, you 00:20:19.580 --> 00:20:24.360 and I know there's actually a whole lot of drama that's going on. That's why you went this way, not 00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:30.400 that way, right? You weren't completely honest with everyone in the room, were you? And he gave a good 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:35.620 answer. He said, listen, there's some relational tension, but it's other people's problem. It's not my job to 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:41.119 expose their challenges, you know? Okay, honest answer. That's fine. Well, friends, two months later, 00:20:42.419 --> 00:20:49.959 I, there's a pastor's gathering and they, I committed to going to some event and I didn't 00:20:49.959 --> 00:20:55.939 want to go to it. And so I try to think, how can I get out of it? And so I tell them, oh, you know, 00:20:56.059 --> 00:21:02.179 it's one of my children's birthdays that weekend. And, you know, I've got to be at home for my kids and 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:08.759 I'm so sorry. I would love to be there, but I've, you know, family duty. Friends, that 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:13.019 wasn't the honest answer. I actually just didn't really want to go. And there was a 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:18.080 convenient excuse. And so here's me challenging my friend. Oh, you weren't really that 00:21:18.080 --> 00:21:23.700 honest. Oh, but here I am the same doing the same thing. Friends, I know what it feels 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:32.519 like to be like Judas. Do you? Jesus came for the false and the deceptive. And so in 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:37.779 this passage, we have three examples of men that lived extremely closely to Jesus. It's 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:42.259 seen the miracles, it's seen the teachings, that experienced his glory, and yet we see them 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:49.700 full of flaws and failure. And what this passage shows us is that ultimately no one can save 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:56.420 themselves. No one is sufficient in and of themselves. That all of us, like the Bible 00:21:56.420 --> 00:22:02.920 tells us, have fallen short. All of us have gone astray. Not the most self-confident, self-assured, 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:08.539 not the most religious people in the world, the most devoted and devout. All of us are shot 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:13.980 through with weakness, flaws, and failure. And where does this come from? I mean, why is it 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:18.900 that we like this? Why are we blind to our own foolishness and hypocrisy? Why is the world 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:24.600 so full of these things? Why are we the way that we are? Well, the answer that the Bible 00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:29.500 gives is because there's another scene that happened many, many hundreds of years before 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:35.200 this in another garden. It wasn't the garden of Gethsemane. It was the garden of Eden. 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:42.940 In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, the heads of humanity, as it were, make a disastrous decision. 00:22:43.800 --> 00:22:48.880 A decision full of self-assurance and self-confidence. A decision shot through with betrayal. 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:54.259 They sowed the seeds for the pain and the misery and the destruction that we experience and witness 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:59.860 in the world. And the Bible says that because of humanity's rejection of God, our rebellion, 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:06.000 our desire to live independent of God, our desire to be our own God, what the Bible calls the fall, 00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:14.980 all creation is broken. And that brokenness extends into every area of our lives. And so our relationship 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:20.180 with ourselves is broken. That's why we oscillate between self-confidence and self-doubt, between 00:23:20.180 --> 00:23:26.220 self-love and self-loathing. Our relationship with one another is broken. It's why we're dishonest 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:33.299 and not real, why we put up a facade, why we fight and argue. Our relationship with creation is broken, 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:40.339 but ultimately our relationship with God is broken. And this broken relationship has led to the breakdown 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:47.000 in every other relationship. The theological phrase of this is that we are objects of total depravity. 00:23:47.379 --> 00:23:52.659 It means the brokenness of the world extends to the totality of our lives. Not just with us and God, 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:59.539 but every area of our lives. And yet the message of Christianity is that Jesus Christ, the perfect one, 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:05.599 God himself has come into our broken world and to come to rescue us and to save us. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:11.939 Jesus Christ, who sees with perfect perspective, who is not blind to anything of what's going on, 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:17.539 who knows the thoughts and the intentions and the reality of every heart, who knows us better than we 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:23.459 know ourselves. Jesus came for those who suffer with self-assurance and blind confidence, 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:31.000 for people like Peter, people like me, people like us. Friends, Jesus Christ, your powerful one, 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:37.680 the sovereign one, the one who hanged the galaxies and stars in space. Jesus entered into our weakness 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:44.000 and took on our humanity and made himself weak by dying on the cross so that our weakness doesn't 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:51.920 need to be the final story in our lives. Jesus made himself weak in order to come for weak and feeble 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:58.980 people like Peter, people like me, people like us. Friends, Jesus Christ is the one true being in the 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:04.819 universe who is constant and unchanging. James says in him, there is no variation due to shadow 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:11.500 or change. Jesus is not one thing today and something else tomorrow. He's not faithful and gracious today, 00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:18.200 but impatient and frustrated tomorrow. With Jesus, you'll never discover an ugly underbelly, 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:23.960 a dark side to him that you'd never known before. The book of Hebrews says Jesus is the same yesterday, 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:33.079 today, today, and forever. Jesus came for those that are deceptive and false like Judas, like me, like us. 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:40.019 But what does it mean that Jesus came? I mean, how did Jesus come? What does it mean? Did he come just 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:45.759 to show us how to live? Did Jesus come just to give us some new wisdom, some technique to self-improvement? 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:52.500 No, friends. Our passage tells us. Look at verse 39 with me. If you've got your bulletin, this is the key. 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:58.480 Verse 39. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and he prayed, saying, my father, 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:05.599 if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:10.240 What does this mean? What is Jesus talking about? What is the cup that Jesus is talking about? 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:17.980 In the Old Testament, the prophets constantly speak about the cup of suffering and the cup of God's wrath. 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:26.079 The prophets talk again and again about how Israel and the nations around Israel will drink the cup of God's judgment 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:33.339 because of their sin and their wickedness. Amazingly, the nations are going to drink the cup of God's judgment 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:40.180 because of the way that they've treated God's people. Friends, here Jesus Christ enters into the garden of Gethsemane 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:46.799 his soul deeply, deeply troubled, anxious and fraught to sorrow because he knows that very day 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:53.420 he is going to drink to the very bottom the cup of sorrow and the cup of suffering and the cup of judgment 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:57.400 for the nations and the sins of the world, the cup that we ought to drink. 00:26:58.560 --> 00:27:02.940 Ironically, in the Old Testament, it's the nations that drink the cup because of the way they've treated God's people. 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:08.279 Here, the very perfect picture of God himself is going to drink the cup of judgment for the nations 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.819 so that people like you and I can come in. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:17.619 Many people have pointed out that if Jesus was just sorrowful because of the nails and the horror of the cross, 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:22.019 he handled death far worse than many of his faithful followers. 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:28.879 Many men died and women died as faithful martyrs, far braver than Jesus if that's all the case was. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:33.860 No, friends, the agony of Jesus' soul was not just the nails and the Roman cross. 00:27:34.380 --> 00:27:41.860 It was that on that moment, the righteous wrath of God, the judgment of God was going to be poured onto his shoulders. 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:50.480 That Jesus would be utterly God-forsaken on the cross, experiencing not his favor, but his total silence. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:28:02.519 You can always trust Charles Spurgeon for a great quote. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:11.799 Friends, this scene here in the garden tells us of the magnitude of the cross, how utterly massive it was, how significant it was. 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:13.980 What a great thing that Jesus was doing. 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:21.120 Jesus was doing nothing less than going back into the Garden of Eden and taking the curse for all humanity, 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:24.799 all those who would hope in him and trust in him, upon himself. 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:30.759 Jesus was the true and better Adam, doing what Adam did not do and failed to do. 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:36.099 Jesus drank to the bottom the cup of suffering and judgment for the fail and the feeble, 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:39.660 for the false and the unfaithful, for sinners like us. 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:46.640 Jesus became on our behalf the object of God's judgment so that we can become the object of his love. 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:48.940 Isaiah 53 says, 00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:51.019 We all like sheep have gone astray. 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:53.720 We have turned every one of us to his own way. 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:58.660 But the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:01.900 Friends, the magnitude of the cross. 00:29:02.120 --> 00:29:05.040 Jesus wasn't just showing us how to be selfless, how to be humble. 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:08.279 He was taking the judgment that we deserved upon himself. 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:12.299 But can't you see also the necessity of the cross? 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:14.299 Neil's helped me see this this week. 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:16.160 That there's no other way. 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:18.379 I think it's verse 39. 00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:19.920 Jesus prays again and he says, 00:29:20.599 --> 00:29:25.779 Father, if there's any other way, if it's possible for this cup to pass from me, let it be so. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.079 Friends, the necessity of the cross. 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:30.879 That Jesus knew there was one way and one way only. 00:29:31.379 --> 00:29:34.200 For the sins of humanity not to be counted against him. 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:43.799 Jesus goes to the cross because it's the only way for God to destroy sin in the hearts of his people without destroying his people. 00:29:45.080 --> 00:29:46.160 And so Jesus says, 00:29:46.940 --> 00:29:47.539 Here am I. 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:48.380 Choose me. 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:52.200 Friends, Jesus goes to the cross for us. 00:29:53.360 --> 00:29:54.779 Ruined sinners to reclaim. 00:29:54.779 --> 00:30:01.379 What this passage tells us is the flaws of man, but the astounding grace of God. 00:30:02.399 --> 00:30:06.160 That though our sins are many, his mercy is more. 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:07.559 As we're going to sing a little bit later. 00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:09.779 We sang the song earlier, 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:13.160 Man of sorrows, now my debt is paid, it is paid in full. 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:16.000 By the precious blood that my Jesus built. 00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:18.799 The curse of sin, it has no hold on me. 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:22.240 Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:28.579 Friends, this passage tells us, as I said, the flaws of man, but the grace of God. 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:30.680 So what should we do? 00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:32.160 So what? 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:34.940 What does Matthew want us to see and what should we do in response? 00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:37.819 Well, let me give us three very brief responses. 00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:41.420 The first one is rejoice in Christ's lavish grace. 00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:43.599 Look at verse 30 with me. 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:45.279 If you've got your bulletin, look at verse 30. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:46.599 There's an amazing little verse here. 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:47.559 It says, 00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:51.019 When they'd sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:53.200 Do you know what hymn they sung? 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:56.700 They didn't sing Man of Sorrows, even though that would have been appropriate. 00:30:57.019 --> 00:30:58.700 Or, yet not I, but Christ and me. 00:31:00.139 --> 00:31:01.619 They sung one of the psalms. 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:05.359 One of the Hillel songs, which is Psalm 113 to 118. 00:31:05.879 --> 00:31:08.700 It's the psalms that they always sung at Passover time. 00:31:09.639 --> 00:31:12.420 Well, let me read a couple of verses from Psalm 118. 00:31:12.579 --> 00:31:13.960 They probably would have ended with this. 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:15.440 Look at how it goes. 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:29.620 Or verse 5. 00:31:29.620 --> 00:31:30.539 It's not on the slide. 00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:45.440 Pretty astounding words for Jesus to be singing on the way to Gethsemane. 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:47.720 The Lord is on my side. 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:49.200 What can man do to me? 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:51.779 Jesus knows what man's about to do to him. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:53.579 They're about to nail him to the cross. 00:31:53.579 --> 00:31:58.419 Friends, yet we can sing these words, glad songs of salvation. 00:31:59.339 --> 00:32:03.319 Because Jesus had his cries not answered on the cross. 00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:07.179 So that we can have our cries for mercy and salvation answered. 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:10.960 Friends, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus cried out, 00:32:11.059 --> 00:32:14.720 If there's any other way for this cup to pass from me, let it be so. 00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:16.839 And he was answered with silence. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:19.019 On the cross, Jesus cried out, 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:21.319 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:23.460 And the answer was silence. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:26.079 Jesus was not answered on the cross. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:29.339 Because he took our sins that when we cry out, 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:31.019 God, save me, 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:33.240 our cries will be answered. 00:32:34.639 --> 00:32:37.339 Friends, and so if you're a Christian this morning, 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:39.619 this passage calls us to rejoice. 00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:42.699 That though our sins are many, his mercy is more. 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:46.059 Friends, what happens if you're here this morning, you're not a Christian? 00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:48.099 Today you've been told, 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:52.099 I've tried my best to tell you as clearly as I can the good news of the gospel. 00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:57.000 That all of us here are flawed and shot through with sin and failure. 00:32:57.679 --> 00:32:59.500 And that only Jesus can save you. 00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:05.559 Friends, God made you in order to know him and love him and to know his love for you. 00:33:06.419 --> 00:33:08.139 And Jesus went to the cross for you, 00:33:08.439 --> 00:33:09.419 to die for you, 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:11.879 to take your sins so that you can be reconciled with him. 00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:16.759 So that you can, like grace, know the peace of God because you can be at peace with God. 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:20.279 Friends, if you're not a Christian this morning, come to Jesus. 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:21.799 Bow your knee down before him. 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:23.319 Admit your need for him. 00:33:23.339 --> 00:33:25.940 There's no other way to be saved but to come to Jesus. 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:28.460 Come and do that this morning. 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:31.119 Friends, how should we respond? 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:33.039 Rejoice in Christ and his lavish grace. 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:35.160 Secondly, watch and pray. 00:33:35.299 --> 00:33:36.420 I forgot to put it on the slide. 00:33:36.879 --> 00:33:37.420 Watch and pray. 00:33:37.539 --> 00:33:40.059 Jesus says this in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:41.240 He says to Peter, 00:33:41.660 --> 00:33:42.900 Watch and pray with me. 00:33:43.540 --> 00:33:46.900 Friends, in our world, we'll be marred with weakness and failure. 00:33:47.100 --> 00:33:48.360 We'll come to our own limitations. 00:33:48.560 --> 00:33:49.259 What should we do? 00:33:49.340 --> 00:33:50.019 Not just say, 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:51.400 Well, I'm weak. 00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:52.620 That's the way it is. 00:33:52.800 --> 00:33:54.120 I'm not God, so what must I do? 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:55.680 No, friends, watch and pray. 00:33:55.820 --> 00:33:56.940 Set your eyes on Jesus. 00:33:57.580 --> 00:33:58.480 Look to Jesus. 00:33:59.040 --> 00:33:59.920 Trust in Jesus. 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:03.800 Wake up a little earlier and get in God's Word and read the Bible and pray. 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:06.580 As you're on the MTR, as you're in the boardroom, 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:08.360 as you're in the courtroom or the classroom, 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:10.579 pray and ask God to be with you. 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:12.539 As you come to the end of yourself, 00:34:12.539 --> 00:34:13.960 say, Jesus, I need you. 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:15.679 Watch and pray. 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:19.199 And then thirdly this week, rely on His unfailing love. 00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:21.519 Psalm 33 says this, 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:24.500 The best equipped army can't save a king, 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:27.480 nor can great strength be enough to save a warrior. 00:34:28.119 --> 00:34:32.139 Don't count on your war horse or Peter's sword to give you victory. 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:34.639 For all that strength, it cannot save you. 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:37.300 But the Lord watches over those who fear Him, 00:34:37.759 --> 00:34:40.539 those who rely on His unfailing love. 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:46.519 Friends, this week, all of us are going to go through trials, temptations, and struggles and storms. 00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:50.059 And when that happens, we may be tempted to rely on ourselves. 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:51.900 Don't rely on yourself. 00:34:52.739 --> 00:34:54.159 A great war horse can't save you. 00:34:54.659 --> 00:34:56.259 A great argument can't save you. 00:34:56.739 --> 00:34:58.259 A great excuse can't save you. 00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:00.800 Rely on Jesus and His unfailing love. 00:35:01.640 --> 00:35:04.420 Friends, whether you're in the boardroom or the negotiating table, 00:35:05.120 --> 00:35:08.700 whether your client has failed to pay you and you're in fear of default, 00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:12.980 whether you're at the bedside of a loved one in hospital, 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:16.280 whether you're in the courtroom or the classroom, 00:35:16.460 --> 00:35:18.440 look to Jesus and His unfailing love for you. 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:21.880 Friends, do you ever feel disappointed in yourself, 00:35:22.460 --> 00:35:23.960 discouraged by your own failings, 00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:26.340 your struggles to live after your own expectations? 00:35:27.240 --> 00:35:30.519 Do you find yourself weak and feeble in life and faith? 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:31.800 I know I do. 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:34.960 But thank God Almighty that Jesus Christ came 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:36.619 for people like Peter, 00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:38.240 people like me, 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:39.920 people like us. 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:41.380 Let's pray now. 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:43.119 Will you join me? 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:43.519 Let's pray. 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:47.440 Lord Jesus, we come before you this morning 00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:52.079 and this passage reminds us of the flaws and failings of all of us. 00:35:53.239 --> 00:35:54.400 Father, when we read this passage, 00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:57.400 it's very easy to point the finger at Peter and the other disciples 00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:00.500 to point out their weaknesses, their flaws, 00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:02.500 their frailty, 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:04.579 their failings. 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:06.980 Father, if we're honest, 00:36:07.259 --> 00:36:10.059 there's far more of Peter and Judas in us than we like to admit. 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:13.579 Jesus, this morning we come before you 00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:16.000 and we take no confidence in ourselves. 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:18.259 We fall on our knees, God. 00:36:18.299 --> 00:36:19.159 We lift our hands. 00:36:19.779 --> 00:36:21.059 We say, Jesus, we need you. 00:36:21.880 --> 00:36:23.480 Thank you, God, that there are sins, 00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:24.199 there are many. 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:25.679 Your mercy is more. 00:36:25.779 --> 00:36:26.960 Your grace is more. 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:29.480 God, your patience with us, 00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:32.340 your kindness towards us is simply astounding. 00:36:33.279 --> 00:36:35.360 God, I pray by the power of the Spirit, 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:36.940 won't you come and fill our hearts 00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:38.500 with the wonder of Jesus. 00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:40.260 Jesus, draw us to yourself 00:36:40.260 --> 00:36:43.079 and help us, God, this week to trust, 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:46.219 not in our own great efforts, 00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:49.340 but in the great unfailing love of Jesus. 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.199 Help us, God, to fear you and to look to you. 00:36:53.980 --> 00:36:57.039 We pray this in your good and your wonderful name. 00:36:58.079 --> 00:36:58.360 Amen. 00:36:58.360 --> 00:36:58.519 Amen.