The Cross of Christ Pt 2: The Preparation

we thank you for the day, and we praise you. God, we ask that you'd help us to sit everything else aside that's going on in our lives this morning, God, just to simply just sit in your presence for a little while, to lift a joyful noise to you, and to spend some time in your word. God, let your word, let your Holy Spirit come and do its mighty work in our lives. We love you, Lord. We praise

you, and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Praise the Lord. You guys can go ahead and have a seat if you like, and we'll continue on. Amen, Lord. We know that the battle belongs to you. Amen.

Well, God, we just thank you that you never fail, Lord God. When everyone else and everything else around us fails, you never do. We're always there. You are always faithful. God, we thank you and praise you. And amen. God, we just thank you this morning, God, that you are always faithful, and even when we're not, Lord. And God, when we fail, you don't. You never fail. You are always there for us, Lord

God. We thank you. You are our firm foundation. Again, we just thank you for how faithful you are to us, Lord God. God, we thank you that even when we fail, when we fall short, God, you don't. You are our firm foundation, and you are always there for us, Lord God.

Well, God, again, we just, we give you praise. We give you glory and honor. That's due to you, God. You're worthy of it all. And this morning, Lord God, we just, we ask that your Holy Spirit come. We welcome you this morning, Lord, to come and do your mighty work in our lives, Lord. Let's pray that you overflow Pastor Ryan with your gift of teaching, and give him the words to speak.

Lord, let your word go out with power and not return void, but accomplish the purpose for which you've sent it, God. Let it accomplish its mighty purpose in our lives. Lord, we love you. God, we praise you, and we thank you. And all God's people said, amen. Let's have some fellowship.

We'll get ready to go over some announcements. I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. If this is your first Sunday here, very glad that you're here. If this isn't your first Sunday, I'm still glad that you're here. So it's a beautiful thing. I got to tell you before we get into the announcements, man, it's just really good to hear God's people sing praise. There's a couple of times I just had

to sit there kind of quietly and listen to the noise of the congregation singing the praises, and it was a really beautiful thing. So I was really thankful for that. A handful of things to take note of in your bulletin on the left-hand side are the things that go on throughout the week. Please take note of those. In the middle section of your bulletin, a couple of reminders that Grief Share, first of all, is still going on. So if that's something you

plugged into, please don't hesitate to do so. Also, a reminder that this Wednesday, we're having a night of worship here at the church. I would love to fill this whole sanctuary up and have it sound exactly like it did this morning as we take time to really spend some time worshiping the Lord and reflection of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. And then along those same lines, a reminder that there are Holy Week services going on throughout this entire week at noon. And there's a couple of posters out there that have all the times and locations or all the

locations and speakers out on that. So please take note of that. And then the other thing is we, I forgot to put it in here, but we do still have the signup for the mowing out there. So if you are interested in getting involved in the mowing ministry, that signup sheet is out there in the lobby. And then we had our fundraiser last night for the mission trip and it went

amazing. It was a lot of fun. I'm really glad to see, I think all of the guys in the game are here this morning. I think everybody made it. Everybody was upright. So that was good. And we raised just, just a shade under $3,000 for the mission trip. So I thought that was a beautiful thing. I'm looking forward to seeing what God does with that group that goes down to Guatemala.

So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced and for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 24. Psalm 24 for this part of the service, we will be using the new American standard Bible, just so we all sound the same. If you don't have a copy of that version, there should be one in the description. So if you don't have a copy of that version, there should be one in the

description. So if you don't have a copy of that version, there should be one in the description. And as you are turning to Psalm 24, if you are able, please stand in the reading in honor of the reading of God's word. I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with pastor Allen in the even verses, Psalm 24, a Psalm of David, the earth is the Lord's and all it contains

the world and those who dwell in it for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers who may ascend into the hill of the Lord. And as you are turning to Psalm 24, if you are feeble, please stand in the reading in honor of the Lord and you may stand in His holy place. He who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and is not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord in righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, even Jacob.

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the king of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the king of glory. And Father, we do praise you for who you are. Lord, as we spend time looking at your first coming this morning, Lord,

I ask that you would also prepare our hearts for your second coming. And so, Lord, speak to us as only your Holy Spirit can through your word this morning, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 21. Matthew, chapter 21. Last week, we started into a three-part series on the cross of Christ.

With Easter coming up, I took a little time away from Philippians so that we could focus in on this subject. Focus in on, really, the heart of our faith as believers in Jesus Christ. And so, we said that we were going to look at three things all together. We were going to look at the promise, we were going to look at the preparation, and then we were going to look at the victory.

And so, last week, we looked at the promise. How God's promise of salvation through a Messiah, through a sacrificial, substitutionary death, ultimately began in Genesis, chapter 3, right after the fall of man. And that crimson thread, if you will, that line of redemption is followed all the way through the Old Testament. Most clearly spoken of in Isaiah, chapter 53, as we took time to look at the suffering servant, as Isaiah so graphically described for us exactly who Jesus was, exactly the sacrifice that he would make, and the victory that he would ultimately earn over death through his resurrection.

And so, today, we now come to the second portion of this, and that is the preparation. The preparation of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us. So, there's a couple of different things that we're going to look at. There's actually three all together. We're going to look at the presentation, we're going to look at the examination, and then we're going to look at the prayer of the sacrifice.

And so, we will start off in Matthew, chapter 21, verse 1, with the presentation. It says this, When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them.

And immediately he will send them. This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them. And they brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their coats on them,

and he sat on the coats. And most of the crowd spread their coats on the road. And others were cutting branches from the trees and were spreading them on the road. The crowds going ahead of him and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying,

Who is this? And the crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. Now, before we get into the story of Palm Sunday, really the triumphal entry, there's a couple of things I would like for you to keep in mind, because I think they best paint for us an understanding of the significance of what takes place. The first thing that we need to understand is something that we referenced last week, and that is the Passover.

In Exodus chapter 12, I don't want you to turn there, but you might note that in the margin of your Bible or in your notes, because it's important. In Exodus chapter 12, God gives the children of Israel the instructions for the Passover land. The children of Israel had been in bondage to Egypt, and God was going to set them free through a series of plagues. And they'd gone through the first nine plagues that had only hardened Pharaoh's heart.

And God said, There's one more plague that I'm going to bring, and I promise this one will cause him to send you out of the land. And that's what God did. He said, But you have to pay attention to this one, too, because this is going to be the brand new start of a year for you. This will be a new beginning for you. On the 10th day of the first month, you are to choose a lamb.

And you're to choose this lamb as a young lamb who is a year old, a male of the flock, who is without spot and blemish. And once you've chosen the lamb, you are to bring it into your home, and it is to live with you until the time of the sacrifice. So that's the first thing that we need to understand, because it's important for us to pay attention to. But the second thing that's important for us to pay attention to is that there was a prophecy that was given in the book of Daniel.

And I had him reference that up there, too. Daniel chapter 9, verses 24 and 25. It's one I've referenced multiple times. But in Daniel chapter 9, verses 24 and 25, we have what's called the 70 weeks prophecy. And God told Daniel that there are 70 weeks decreed for the nation of Israel. After seven weeks and 62 weeks, there will come the Messiah, the prince,

from the going forth of the order to go and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem until Messiah, the prince. There will be 69 sets. It's almost universally accepted that that 69 sets of seven means 69 sets of seven years. So what he's saying is this. From the time that the decree is given to go and rebuild the temple until the coming of the Messiah, there will be 483 years.

Now, why are those things interesting? Because what we're going to look at today takes place on two very significant dates. One date with two very significant truths. Number one is that this took place on the 10th day of Nisan, which is exactly the day that the Messiah was born. When the Passover lambs were to be chosen. The second thing is that somebody much smarter than me

figured out the dates for this, right? From the time that the decree went forth for Israel to go and rebuild the tabernacle or rebuild the temple until the time that Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey was exactly 483 years to the day. Isn't that great? Jesus came at exactly the right time. And so there's great significance in Jesus coming riding into Jerusalem exactly when he did.

And so chapter 21 verse one says this. When they had approached Jerusalem and they had come to Bethpage to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples saying, go and you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her, untie them, bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord has need of them and shall immediately, he will send them with you. Now, the comedic side of me always finds this fascinating.

Right? Okay. So first of all, Jesus and his disciples have been traveling from Galilee down to the Jerusalem area for the specific purpose of what Jesus is about to do during this Holy Week, during this Passion Week, during this week where he will be offered as the ultimate Passover lamb. And so Jesus, they've been proceeding this far and they come to right just outside of Jerusalem, only it's time.

It's time for him to come riding in as the king. It's time for him to do exactly what he was sent to do. And only he needs a really good ride, right? And so he needs a really good ride. He needs a really good donkey. And that's exactly what Jesus sends his disciples to go find. He tells them, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go into Jerusalem

and you're going to find a donkey tied with a colt and you're going to take those and you're going to bring them to me. Now, I don't know about y'all, but the more I think about this, the more I think, you know what? There's probably a lot of in Jerusalem, donkeys. How are they going to know which one's the right one? There's one. Let's take that one, right?

And the second thing is if anybody says anything to you, say, the Lord has need of them. I added the hand wave because that felt right. It feels like the right thing for you. The Lord has need of them, right? Like in my mind, they're going to commit grand theft donkey, right? That's exactly what's going to take place right there. But Jesus had already prepared this.

Sorry, this is how my mind works. It's just how God made me. But anyway, so Jesus had already prepared this and they're to go in, follow his directions exactly. He says, I promise no one's going to give you any trouble. And that's exactly what they do. Now there's great significance, even in these instructions that Jesus gives to them, because this is what I want you to notice.

In verse four, this took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your donkey is coming. It's on the brain. Behold, your king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the full of a beast of burden. Again, a handful of things for us to pay attention to here. First of all, this is a prophecy that's given to us

in Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine. It's an important prophecy because it's what's called a messianic prophecy because Jesus as their ultimate king would come riding into town to set them free. Only he would not do it in the way that most of us think. He would come to them gently and riding on, did you notice the colt of a donkey? Now this is also significant

because we need to know something. It was not uncommon for a king in that day to ride a donkey. As a matter of fact, Jesus was actually following what Deuteronomy said that a king was supposed to do. God specifically told them that kings were not to amass horses unto themselves. They were actually to ride on a donkey because kings in Israel were not supposed to be some conquering entity.

They were supposed to be a servant of the people. And so when Jesus comes riding into town, he doesn't come riding into town as a conquering king. He comes riding into town as a suffering servant. And that's the way he shows up because he is being prepared to be the sacrifice, for the people. And so he's fulfilling all of these prophecies. And then we go on from there.

So verse six, it says, and the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them. And they brought the donkey and the colt and they laid their coats on them. And he sat on the coats and most of the crowd spread their coats in the road and others were cutting branches from palm trees and spreading them in the road. A couple of things again to take note of.

First of all, Jesus didn't have some kind of a plan. He didn't have some kind of a plan. He didn't have some elaborate saddle that he rode on. Now they were like, what do we have that we can lay on this thing for him to sit on? I've got an overcoat. Yeah, let's do that. So they throw some overcoats over the back of this donkey. And remember, Jesus doesn't ride on the adult donkey.

He rides on the colt. Other gospel accounts tell us that no one had ever ridden on this colt before. And it was actually somewhat miraculous that Jesus was able to ride on the colt of this donkey who had never been ridden on or broken before because he's ultimately the king of everything, right? And so he comes riding into town. And a couple of things fascinate me.

I always have questions because sometimes the text doesn't always answer the questions for me. And so there are things that I think about. There are things that I speculate about. Why on earth was there a huge crowd gathered when Jesus came riding into town? Well, there is a good answer to that one. And this is the Passover season, right? That's exactly what everyone was preparing to do.

Remember, this was the day when they were supposed to choose their Passover lamb according to the custom that God had established for them in Exodus chapter 12. Passover was the day that was one of the three main feasts that every male in Israel was supposed to attend. It was required by law. There was only a handful of exceptions that kept them from attending Passover when they were supposed to.

So the population of Jerusalem would swell much past its usual size. So there were lots and lots of people buzzing around town because everyone was there to get their Passover lamb. But that's not what I have the most questions about. The biggest question I have is why did they just start throwing out their coats and palm branches for Jesus? Well, coats and palm branches are kind of significant

when a king comes riding into town because according to historians, when someone threw their coats and their palm branches down, it spoke of loyalty, it spoke of victory, it spoke of success, and it spoke of support. Support, loyalty, and success that this king has earned or achieved. It is them, if you will, saying, this is my king and I'm showing my loyal support for him. But here's the question.

Why did they think Jesus was a king? Remember, Jesus had to be a king. Jesus hadn't done anything to establish himself as a monarch. He hadn't done anything to establish a royal throne. All he'd actually done was be a servant. All he'd actually done was heal people. All he'd actually done was be persecuted by people. And every time they would try to crown him as a king,

he would say, no, my time has not come. It's not time for that yet. So why at this point in time are they throwing out their coats and are they throwing out their palm branches? I just have to believe that the significance of him riding into town on the colt of a donkey made them all go, this must be it. This must be it. The conquering king has come. And they show it to an even greater degree

when they start to shout this. It says in verse nine, the crowd's going ahead of him. And those who followed were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Again, you might just in the margin of your Bible, just write out Psalm 118. Nevermind, my TVs aren't working anymore. You might just write,

Psalm 118 verse 26, because that's exactly what they were quoting when they were saying this. This was what we call a messianic Psalm. And it was attributed only to the Messiah. And so as they were crying out Hosanna, Hosanna has incredible significance for a statement because the word Hosanna means save now. Now, the problem that the people had at this point in time,

they recognized him as the king. They recognized him as a savior, but they recognized him as the wrong kind of king. And they recognized him as the wrong kind of savior because as they're saying, save now, what they meant was save us from Roman occupation because they had a governmental system that they didn't like because they were under the authority of Rome and the people of Israel wanted to be free from Rome. And so as they're saying, save now, what they meant was save us from Rome now.

That's who they thought he was because that's what they had always known as far as deliverers were concerned is a political ruler who would come in and set them free from the oppression of a foreign nation and ultimately lead them back to being under the headship of an Israeli king. But just that wasn't the kind of savior that Jesus was. Jesus was not just a political savior because as much as Jesus cares for the temporary, he's not concerned about the temporary. What he's concerned about is the eternal.

He didn't come to set them free from temporary occupation. He came to set them free from eternal damnation. That's what he came to do. He came to set them free from sin. And if I may just bring a quick personal application into this real quick, what kind of savior are you looking for? What kind of savior are you looking for in your life today? Are you looking for a savior

who will set you free from the temporary? I'm always amazed at some of the testimonies that people give. Oh, you know, Jesus set me free and now I have a million dollars. Well, okay. I mean, that's great that he set you free, but that and a million dollars, I don't know that Jesus was concerned about that as you think he was. Jesus set me free and now I have a brand new boat.

Well, I mean, yeah, that's great that you have a new boat, but I don't think, I think you're missing the point of the savior thing. What kind of a savior are you looking for? Because I'm here to tell you right now, you can be saved from the temporary or you can be saved from the eternal. And I promise that Jesus cares a whole lot more about the eternal than he does the temporary.

You know how I know that? Because in scripture, we read that the temporary things that we go through are actually preparing us for a far more eternal weight of glory, right? And so they're crying save now, but they don't understand really what they're saying, but this is what they're doing. So they're crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest. Now, the fascinating thing to me is this, and I just referenced it earlier. How many times did they try to crown Jesus as king? Matter of fact, when they fed the 5,000, they came back and he said, you're not here because you want me. You're here because you want me to give you more bread. But I tell you, my time has not yet come. Jesus for three years has been saying that.

But now as he's riding in on the colt of a donkey, just like Zachariah said, that he was going to fulfilling that prophecy while all the people are shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. He was telling everyone, my time has come. And now here I am. Only I'm not here as a conquering king. I'm here as the Passover lamb. The only sad thing to me

is that we didn't have John the Baptist in the background yelling out, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So Jesus comes riding into town like that. And then I want you to notice the reaction of the city. It says in verse 10, and when he had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred saying, who is this? That word stirred is a really strong word

that Matthew uses there because it carries the idea of a violent shaking. In other words, when Jesus rode into town, everybody knew Jesus rode into town. He may have been a humble servant, but he made a ripple effect when he came into Jerusalem. And I love this. Everybody's crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And they're like, who is this, right?

Mob mentality. And so they're like, who is this? And the crowds answer and they say, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth and Galilee. Now there's a fascinating truth behind even what the crowds say right there. Because you hear that and you go, yeah, it's true he was a prophet, though that really doesn't describe fully who he was or does it? Because in the book of Deuteronomy,

as a matter of fact, if you've been keeping up with our daily reading, we read this about a week and a half-ish ago, Moses made a prophecy. He said, That is Moses' prophecy of the coming Messiah. And what did they just refer to Jesus as when he came riding into Jerusalem? They said, who is this? This is the prophet who has come from Nazareth. Isn't that great?

He fulfilled it all. And there he is as the Passover lamb being presented to the people. Presented as the one who is the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. So the next thing that we're going to look at is we're going to look at the examination. Now I don't want you to turn anywhere in Scripture. I just want you to listen because I'm going to tell you

a handful of the things that Jesus did as he was examined before the people for those days. But again, I want to remind you of what took place in the Passover. Now, when they chose that Passover lamb on the 10th of Nisan, it would live in their hearts. It would live in their house until the 14th day of the month. So for those days, that lamb would live in the house.

And that lamb would live in the house for two reasons. Number one, because that family would grow very close to the lamb. Those of you with kids, how long does it take for your kids to get attached to a pet? Negative 37 seconds. Right? Like all they have to know is that the thought is there that you're going to have a pet and they're immediately attached to it.

And then when they see it, they're like, I've been waiting for you. Right? Because they're just excited as can possibly be. And that's what would happen with this lamb. Can you imagine what it would have been like? They bring this little one-year-old fluffy little lamb in, just cute as can be, fluffy as can be. You know that somebody snuggled up to it every single night to go to bed.

And they would get close to that lamb. So that the day that they had to sacrifice that lamb, it was exactly what it's called. A sacrifice. There was a second reason why that lamb would live in the house. From the 10th to the 14th. Because over those set of days, every day they would examine the lamb to make sure that they had chosen a truly spotless lamb. They would look it over

to make sure that they hadn't missed any defects, that they hadn't missed any little spots or blemishes on that entire lamb. And so those days were days of examination. And that's exactly what took place with Jesus. Because Jesus was taken into, if you will, the house of Israel, into Jerusalem itself, into the house of the Lord, if you will, the temple. And he was examined for those set of days

while he was in Jerusalem. His examination was full of tests, both moral and theological. As a matter of fact, he was tested often morally by being faced with questions as to how he would respond to them. He was tested ethically to see if he would ethically stand up to what is true, even though it might have been hard according to what the law had to say. And he was tested theologically

because the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees tested him over and over again for the simple purpose of catching him and having said something wrong so that they could find some reason to accuse him. And every time they did, they were left in the exact same way in stunned silence because he answered them with such wisdom. And he passed all of the examinations. But not only was he examined in that way, he was examined through the things that he did.

It's fascinating because the very first thing that Jesus did on the day that he came riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey as the perfect Passover lamb is he cleansed the temple. Now, if you know the story of the cleansing of the temple, you know that Jesus went into the temple and he saw what was called the money changers and those who were selling sacrifices. If you will, inside of the courtyard that anybody could go into in the temple, they were selling Passover lambs, basically. You had to bring your lamb to be looked at by the priest to make sure that it was the right kind of lamb.

And this is the way that things went. The priest would look and go, that one's no good. But for 59.95, you can have this lamb who is certified approved by the priest. See, look, they lift his wool up. See, look, he has the priest stamp of approval. 59.95 and he's all yours. Okay, right? And they're making money off of these people as they're choosing the Passover lambs.

And so the ultimate Passover lamb comes into the temple and says, what is going on in here? And he makes for himself a whip and he starts turning over tables and he starts whipping the animals and he starts pouring out all the money of the money changers and he drives everybody out of the temple. Why? Because the entire, every time he's shouting, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations declares the Lord.

Because as he was being examined as the spotless lamb, he was proving that there was nothing spotless about the nation of Israel at that point in time. And so he drove them all completely out of the temple, which is always a good reminder. The next time you ask yourself, what would Jesus do? Just know that turning over tables and making whips is absolutely in the realm of possibility, right?

And so the second thing that he did is he taught on the kingdom and he taught on the kingdom in a couple of ways. Number one, he taught on the kingdom through parables, right? He told kingdom parables while he was amongst the people. As a matter of fact, when he talked with most of the people, he spoke in parables because he wanted them to dig deeper. Those who wanted to know more,

dug deeper to find out more. Those who didn't care, they said that doesn't make any sense anyway and they moved on. But he told these kingdom parables. He also taught about the kingdom with his disciples by giving them the kingdom. Giving what's called the Olivet Discourse. Matter of fact, the temple itself, the temple structure was a beautiful structure. Considered one of the great structures of that time.

And his disciples one day were looking at the temple and they were like, wow, isn't that beautiful? Now the irony is this. Everything about the temple was supposed to speak of and declare Jesus. And the one who the temple spoke of was standing right next to him and all they could look at was the physical, the physical building of the temple and go, wow, isn't that amazing?

Not realizing that the ultimate temple was right next to them. And Jesus said, I need you to know something about that building right there. It's beautiful. But you need to know that there's going to come a day when not one stone will be left upon another. And his disciples were left somewhat in silence and they pondered it all the way from Jerusalem back out to the Mount of Olives

where they'd been camping waiting for the feast to begin. And so when they arrived at the Mount of Olives, they asked Jesus, they say, what does all this mean? When will these things take place? What will be the sign of your coming and what will be the sign of the end of the age? And then Jesus himself declares for them what all of future history is going to look like

starting with the resurrection and ascension of himself, carrying them all the way through history down to his second coming when he comes again to establish his kingdom here on earth. He gives them the entire panorama of history. Why? Because he's the one who wrote it. He was the one who did it. It was the story of him coming back to receive them unto himself.

And so he taught them about the coming kingdom. He also pronounced woes on the religious system of the day. He pronounced woe upon them because they had built the religion on tradition and not the truth of God's word. He said, you have held your traditions in a place where it's equal to God's word and you have forgotten that God's word is the standard that it is all to be built upon.

And he pronounced woes upon them. He pronounced woes upon them because they only cared about outward religion and not inward change. They only cared about looking right to everybody else around them and didn't have any change, which is why he called them whitewashed tombs. You look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, you're full of dead men's bones.

And I don't know who needs to hear this this morning, but don't just be beautiful on the outside because you need to be, you need to be completely, be cleansed on the inside. If on the outside you look good, but on the inside, you're full of dead men's bones. Jesus wants to make you brand new on the inside too. And so he pronounces these woes upon them. And he says, not only have you held tradition

in a place where it shouldn't be instead of holding God's word up, not only are you hypocrites because you look right on the outside, but on the inside, you're full of dead men's bones. But in the process of all of that, you have kept people from coming to me. You have kept people away from the true knowledge of God. Therefore, woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites.

And he goes on from there to then weep over Jerusalem. We talked about it last week. It's a good one to talk about again because Jesus looked out over Jerusalem after he pronounced all of those woes. And he said, oh, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets, how I just wish I could just gather you up. You have no idea what's coming. And of course, he then goes on

to say, oh, Jerusalem, to sit down with his disciples and eat what we call the last supper. And at that last supper, he taught them two very important lessons. The first of which is what it really looks like to be a servant. As Jesus gathered with his disciples and he laid aside his garment and he girded himself with a towel and he went about to wash all of the disciples' feet.

And then he said, what you've seen me do, do unto each other. And then after he taught them, he said, he taught them what true servanthood looks like. He taught them how they could best celebrate the death that would take place as he instituted the Lord's supper for them. And as he did all of these things, as he did all of these things, he was examined. And as he was examined,

he was found to be the perfect, spotless Passover lamb. But there was one more aspect of preparation that needed to take place in his life. There was one more aspect of preparation. There was the presentation of him as the suffering servant, the king of the Jews who would take their place. There was the examination to see if he was truly the spotless lamb. But then came the prayer.

Turn over to Matthew chapter 26 in verse 36.

Matthew 26 verse 36.

Jesus had finished with his disciples in the upper room. Before he did that instituting of the Lord's supper, he had said that one of you is going to betray me. And eventually Judas looked at him and said, is it me? And he said, what you do, do quickly. And Judas went out to do what he needed to do. And then Jesus moved on from the upper room out to the garden of Gethsemane

where we'll find him. And on the way he gave the discourse where he told them about abiding in the vine. And then he gave that great high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. And after that great high priestly prayer, they arrive at the garden. And as they arrive in the garden, it says this in verse 36. Then Jesus came to a place called Gethsemane and said to his disciples,

sit here while I go over there and pray. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and distressed. He said to them, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch with me. And he went a little beyond them and fell on his face and prayed saying, my father, if it is possible, let this come to me.

Let this come to me. Let this come to me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, so you men could not keep watch with me for one hour. Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And he went away again a second time and prayed my father,

if this cannot pass away, unless I drink it, your will be done. Again, he came and he found them sleeping for their eyes were very heavy he left them again and he went away and he prayed a third time saying the same thing once more and he came to the disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and resting behold the hour is at hand and the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners get up let us be going behold the one who betrays me is at hand now they come into this place called the garden of Gethsemane again there's some significance in that title the word Gethsemane literally means olive press or oil press and there's a reason it's because when they would harvest their olives the garden of Gethsemane

is a place where they would press out those olives to get the olive oil but it's significant because of what's going to take place in Jesus life because in this place of the oil press Jesus would find the greatest pressure he had ever faced in his life on earth he will find the greatest pressure as he faces the cross and as he faces surrendering to the cross in his humanity and so this prayer is actually one of the most important parts of the cross because without this preparation I think we never see the cross because this preparation was key for him facing what he was about to face in the cross we're given a little clue into the way that Jesus thought matter of fact we see his state of mind I want to point out a handful of words notice

what it says in verse 37 at the end it says and he began to be grieved and distressed and then verse 38 says all this deeply grieved to the point of death I'm told according to what I understand in the Greek language there that those are some of the strongest words that can be used in the Greek language to speak of grief and depression that's the place where Jesus was as he was pressed down so hard that depression filled his soul because he knew what he was about to face and as he knew what he was about to face these were the things that were gripping him and these were the things that were pressing him as one would press out the olives so Jesus looks at his disciples and he says I've got a couple of instructions for

you says first of all just just watch here and pray with me just watch and pray and then soon he's going to tell them watch and pray lest you enter into temptation the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and if I may depart from our story again for one quick moment and and draw a little personal application to us here is that Jesus gave us an amazing key to living out the Christian life Jesus just gave us an amazing key of what it is to fight temptation to what it is to live according to the way that God has called us to live because he just said if you want to truly be free from temptation then you need to watch and pray be watchful of the things that will lead you into temptation be watchful of the things in the world

that will point you away from me be watchful of the areas of your life where you know there's weakness and as you are watchful of those things pray because the spirit is willing oh we want so bad to do what God calls for us to do we want so bad to be obedient to what God calls us to do we want so bad to have victory over temptation and yet our flesh is so weak we give in so easily so the only way that I can be free from that is if I am in a constant place of praying is if I am constantly watching and praying watchful of the distractions focused on the spirit he says watch and pray lest you enter into temptation so now we come back to our scene here in the garden and I want to look at these prayers that Jesus prays

verse 39 it says he went a little beyond them and he fell on his face and he prayed saying my father if it's possible let this cup pass from me yet not as I will but as you will now you've probably read that lots of times before I've read it lots of times before but but let's just linger on his words there for a moment and I want to look at these prayers for just a moment shall we because here we see in the greatest graphic detail the humanity of Christ on display for us because as he is about to face what will be the most difficult hour anyone could ever face he wants to know if there's any other way for this not to happen let me put it to you in really clear terms he says I'm not sure I want to do this

you say oh that's Jesus yeah but in his humanity he knows what he's going to have to face he knows he's going to have to face the physical suffering that while others have suffered is still a lot of suffering that he's going to have to deal with but not only that he's going to have to deal with all of the guilt of all of the sin that you deal with being placed upon him and he's going to have to deal with being separated from the father having God turn his back on him because he's bearing the sin of the world he's going to have to deal with all of that and he just doesn't know Lord if there's any other way have you come up with plan b have you come up with remember we said we're going to have to deal with all of that

the cross was plan a have you come up with another plan and I think for just a minute we just need to know that's the humanity of Jesus speaking right there because sometimes we just look at Jesus of course he did everything perfect he's Jesus but remember he was a man he was a man that had no sin but he was still a man he goes through everything you go through just without sin he says if there is any other way that this cup from past that this cup could pass for me then let it be then he comes to the important part that you and I don't always like to come to in prayer he says nevertheless not my will but your will be done he surrenders now I want you to take note of

something in verse 40 it says he came to his disciples and he found them sleeping and he said to Peter so you could not keep watch with me for one hour now I'm going to use some simple deduction here and say that that means that Jesus must have been in prayer for about an hour would you agree that that's it's a decent thought that that's a decent thought that that's a decent thought that that's how long Jesus prayed only all that's recorded for us is one sentence one sentence over an entire hour of Jesus praying brothers and sisters I just want you to think about that for just a moment his heart was so heavy the the grief and distress was on him so heavily that it took him

an hour to come up with one sentence I don't know about you but sometimes I come to prayer and I think I've got to talk the whole time I've got to come up with something to say the whole time Jesus isn't concerned about whether or not the conversation is going to keep happening okay sometimes you just need to sit with it sometimes you just need to sit with your business and and go and just kind of groan in it a little bit before you ever come up with what to say because sometimes it's heavy enough that you just don't know what to say and I think Jesus just sat with it for a little bit as a matter of fact I think it bore down on him heavy matter of fact I know

it bore down on him heavy you know why I know that because we're told in other gospel accounts that he began to stand up and he began to stand up and he began to stand up and he began to stand up as it were great drops of blood we know now from science that that means that capillaries were bursting and as those capillaries were bursting they were actually forming blood droplets that were flowing down his face so I want you to think about something right now Jesus is there in the garden undoubtedly sweating because stress always makes you sweat I know that because I stress out really easily stress always makes you sweat plus he's got blood dripping down plus his face is in

the dirt that means as his face is in the dirt there's nothing but blood and sweat and mud forming on his face and in that entire hour he's sweating and he's sweating and he's sweating and his face is in the dirt there's nothing but blood and sweat and mud forming on his face and in that entire hour all he could come up with is Lord if there's another way then let it happen nevertheless not what I will but let your will be done you see why this preparation was important it took him an hour to pray that and Jesus comes back and he finds his disciples sleeping can you imagine him waking up and going Jesus what's wrong with your face like what do you have all over you it's like never mind just keep praying okay

look at verse 42 it says and he went away a second time and he prayed saying my father if this cannot pass away unless I drink it your will be done do you notice there's a little difference in the wording now there's there's a little more surrender in the wording now there's not Lord if there's another way Lord since there is no other way except for me to drink this then then let your will be done you see that that surrender is taking place in his heart that that preparation is taking place in his heart of course he comes back again he found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy and he left them again and he went away and all with all that's recorded for us by Matthew this third time is he went away and prayed a third time saying the same

thing once more I have to believe for at least another hour praying the exact same thing once more and then he comes back verse 43 he came to his disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and resting behold the hour is at hand the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners get up let us be going behold the one who betrays me is at hand I don't know how you read that last verse but I read that last verse with a lot of power in his voice Jesus came into this time of prayer distressed and grieving grieving to the point of death and he left ready he came into this thing questioning whether or not this was really what God wanted Lord is this really what you want if there's

any other way and he left determined he left determined I think Jesus stood up with all of the determination in the world and said he's here let's go there there's this great story that came out of the the 9-11 bombings perhaps you read it there was a book it was called let's roll you guys ever heard the the story of that I think his name was Todd Beamer and and he had this saying that he always used with his family was let's roll let's roll let's roll let's roll let's roll he was the one that was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania they actually took the plane back over from the terrorists and and were able to crash the plane so that it didn't harm anyone else well there was one recorded phone call to his wife and the last thing that

he said he goes you're gonna read some things and I want you to know I went out as a hero because we got to do some stuff to save people let's roll and that was the last thing he said and he hung up the phone and they took over that plane and they crashed it that's what I picture saying I'm gonna tell you this is what Jesus was saying look here's what we just just talked about because when you start to make your mind on what you've like God and you want to be ready to rise and you want to be a harlot you want to be a %uh animal when you're ready to be a animal you like construction because you're ready to step the steps to be like a full boat so what you encourage people through education or

professionalism and conversalициy go through some of theël knowledge of the japanese faithüğ know you haven't been to Washington so this is cameraake all right make no mej ל� Say why you need to stop anyway week. And then that night before the cross, he surrendered in preparation for what God had for him. And he stood up with all the determination in the world and said, let's go. Let's roll.

Brothers and sisters, I would love to give you just some kind of exhortation now about how you need to be ready. I don't want to do that. What I want to do is I want to tell you that's how much Jesus loves you. That's the love that God has for you, is that he looked at you and said, Father, if there's any other way, then show me now. But if not, then let your will be done. Because I love

him. Because I love him. And I want you to know and understand the love of Jesus Christ that surpasses all knowledge, because he did this for you. Amen. Let's all stand. I do hope that you're able to join us Wednesday night as we take time to worship the Lord together and respond to the great love that he has shown to us. In the meantime, let's bow. Father, we come to you. And Lord, I thank you that you have blessed us

with the knowledge of who you are. Father, I thank you that you have blessed us with your word that speaks so clearly to us. And Lord, I thank you for your love. That is so far beyond our finding out. But Lord, you reveal it to us in little ways, day by day. And so, Father, be with us as we go out from here. And may the love of God soak down into our hearts. May the truth of who you are marinate us, Lord, so that we come out smelling

just like you. Father, we thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed. The Savior's name.

Lord, God, we just thank you. And we praise you, God, for what you've done for us, Lord, for the debt that you paid for us freely. God, thank you just doesn't quite cut it. There's no words to express the gratitude, God, that we have for what you've done for us. God, we thank you and we praise you. And as we leave here today, I pray that your Holy Spirit go

with us and you just continue to minister to our hearts, Lord God, and just change our lives. We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen.