The Sacrifice of the King Pt 3

Good morning. Would you all stand with us?

We want to welcome you this morning to Calvary Chapel. And all those viewing with us online, we welcome you. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we come to you this morning asking for your blessing on our service, Lord. Help us, Lord, be real before you. Move in our hearts by your Holy Spirit. Fill us afresh. Father, as we sing, may we just pour our hearts out to you, Lord.

Just let go and sing as unto you, Lord. With whatever we're bringing today, whatever we're facing, good times, bad times, whatever they may be, may we by faith sing as unto you and worship you. I pray that you would bless the children's church teachers as they have their time with the youngsters down there. The nursery workers looking after the little ones and the toddlers.

We ask for your blessing on our service.

We also ask that you bless Ryan, Lord. Anoint him with the power of your Holy Spirit to bring forth your word, Lord. We give you thanks, Lord, for your love and your grace and your mercy. And we come to worship you.

Worship you now. How great is he.

Let's give you glory. You're worthy of our praise. We thank you for your love and your mercy, Lord Jesus. You're good to us all the time. We thank you, Lord. The song shall rise to the blessed tributes. The saints adore. Casting down their golden crowns. All see, see, not see. Beside thee, blessed tributes. That song moves me, Lord. We thank you for those words.

All the saints adore thee, Lord. The state of mind. And the world. And worship for a living, Lord. We want to adore you, Lord. You're so faithful to us. We were so unworthy. We're really nothing without you. But you loved us so much, Lord. We can't even really fathom it, Lord. But we thank you for what you did, Lord.

Into darkness, open my eyes. Let me see his heart. Worship, here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.

Together worthy, all together wonderful to me.

So, so highly exalted, glorious in heaven. Became to say, my God, my sin.

For know how much it costs to see my sin. How much it costs. To see my sin. Upon him to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. All together worthy. It's kind of set quiet here. We just reflect what you did, Lord. Up there in glory. We're willing to step down. Become man of very man. But still God of very God. That cross for us, Lord. To go through what you went through.

And we thank you for that, Lord. Oh, matchless king. The saints adore. The angels sing. And fall before the throne of grace. To you belongs the highest praise. These sufferings. This passing tide. Under your wings. I will. And every enemy shall flee. You are my hope. And victory sent. Has made me whole. Has welcomed home. Now peace like water. Praise the sun.

Praise the sun. A little stretch before set. Lord, just bless our time continually as we worship, Lord. We thank you. God is good. God is good. Father, just continue to bless our service now. In Jesus' name. Amen. Good morning. Glad you could be here this morning. If you could begin to locate your seat. Grab your bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements together.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel this morning. Over on the left-hand side of your bulletin are the things that are going on throughout the week. Places to get plugged into. Over in the middle section of your bulletin. Some things to take note of. So we are in that Christmas season. So on December 24th, Christmas Eve, we'll have our Christmas Eve candlelight service here at the church at 6 o'clock p.m.

So come join us for that. And then Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. No one really took the church into account as to whether or not that's going to work. So we'll do the best we can with it. So for Christmas morning, what we're going to do is we're just going to do one service that morning at 1030. And we're calling it a family Christmas service. So I know that some of y'all are like, man, I'm stealing my Christmas jammies at 1030.

That's okay. Show up that way. Bring your kids in the Christmas jammies if you want to. We're going to have a bunch of cookies in the back. So bring your kids. Let them get a cookie. Come on in here to church. I know there's going to be crumbs on the floor, but that's why they make vacuums. And it'll be a short service. We'll do a few Christmas carols. We'll tell the Christmas story.

And then you can be on about your Merry Christmas. Your Merry Christmas way. So come join us for that Christmas morning. The other two things to take note of is that intercessory prayer is tonight at 6 o'clock. We always get together the first Sunday of every month to pray about the things that are going on in our church, in the community, and in the world.

So if you have a chance, join us for that. We meet in the room at the other end of the building there. And then women's breakfast is coming up this Saturday, December the 10th at 8 a.m. at Daisy Mays. So come join us. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. For our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 124.

Psalm 124. Looking at the New American Standard. So we sound the same. If you need a copy, it should be one in a row. And as you are turning to Psalm 124, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's word. I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the others. Psalm 124, a song of a sense of David. Had it not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say.

Had it not been the Lord who was on our side when man rose up against us. Then they would have swallowed us alive when their anger was kindled against us. Then the waters would have engulfed us. The stream would have swept over our soul. Then the raging waters would have swept us away. Then the waters would have swept over our soul. Blessed be the Lord who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.

Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper. The snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. And Father, we do find our help in you. And Lord, I know that many of us in here can very confidently say. Had the Lord not been on our side, we would not have made it. And so Lord, I thank you for who you are.

And Father, as we spend time in your word now. I just ask that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Exactly what it is that your Holy Spirit wants to minister to us. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles. To the Gospel of Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. Today we come to part three. In our series, The Sacrifice of the King.

So just to bring us up to speed as to what's going on. Jesus and his disciples, when last we left them, had been in the upper room. And as they were there in the upper room. Jesus told them all that one of them was going to betray him. And of course they each went, Lord is it me? And as they went around asking that, Jesus eventually identified his betrayer.

But none of them really picked up on it. And so he told Judas, what you need to do, go do. So Judas left. And after Judas left, Jesus took his disciples through what we call the communion service. The Lord's Supper. And as he did so, he of course took the bread. And he broke it and said this is my body which is broken for you. And he took the cup and he said this is the cup of the blood of the new covenant which is shed for you.

And he told them that they were to do this often. And as often as they did so, they were to do it in remembrance of him. In remembrance of his blood. In remembrance of his body that was broken and his blood that was shed for us. And then as they sung a hymn, they left there. And as they were on their way to the garden of Gethsemane. Which is where we'll find them today.

Jesus told his disciples that all of them were going to be made to stumble because of him that night. That they would all flee. He said, scripture says, strike the shepherd and the sheep will flee. And of course Peter piped up the loudest and said, no I will die with you if that's what I have to do. And of course Jesus looked at him and said. Oh Peter, it's a good sentiment that you've given.

But you need to know that before the night's over, before the rooster crows. You'll have denied that you even know me three times. And of course Peter said that's never going to happen. And all of the disciples said the same thing. And they continued along their way. And they continued along the way to where we find them today. Which is the garden of Gethsemane.

And so as a subheading today, our title is prayer and betrayal. Because we're going to look at those two things. We're going to look at the prayer of Jesus in the garden. And the betrayal of Judas in the garden in the arrest of Jesus. And so we pick up in verse 36 of chapter 26 and it says this. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. And he 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 he began to be grieved and distressed. And 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 he fell on his face and prayed saying, my father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will.

He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. 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. He went again a second time and prayed saying, my father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done. Again, he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy.

He left them again and went away and prayed a third time saying the same thing once more. 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. Now, Matthew starts off by telling us exactly where Jesus went to.

He says that they came, that Jesus came with them to the place called Gethsemane. Now, there's a couple of things that are interesting to point out about the fact that this all takes place at the Garden of Gethsemane. The first thing that's interesting to point out, which is given to us in another gospel account, is that the Garden of Gethsemane was a very familiar place. As a matter of fact, it says where Jesus went often, which is, And it's important to point that out because remember, Judas has just left because his goal is to betray Jesus.

And if I'm going to be betrayed into the hands of those that want to kill me, I'm going to try to find a place that's unfamiliar to my betrayer. I'm going to try to find a place that no one can find me, someplace I've never gone before. And yet Jesus doesn't do that. He goes to a place that's about as familiar as possibly could be as far as the disciples were concerned.

Because remember, Jesus isn't trying to hide from Judas. He's completely content to be found by him, even though what we'll see is him battle with surrender to the cross in this time of prayer. Jesus goes to a very familiar place. But the second thing to take note of is what the name Gethsemane means. The name Gethsemane means olive press or oil press. Remember, Jesus had done much of his teaching and much of his hanging out at this point in time

around what's called the Mount of Olives. Now, I've done some deductive reasoning here, and I figured that on the Mount of Olives, they probably grow a lot of olives. And so at the base of the Mount of Olives was this place called the Garden of Gethsemane, which is where there was a place where they would press the olives to get the olive oil out of them. And isn't it interesting and somewhat symbolic that this place where Jesus will face some of the greatest pressure he's ever faced in his life is at a place known as the oil press, the olive press.

Because for Jesus, this would be the place where he too would face pressure, where he would face affliction. It would be at this place where he would find the greatest pressure he'd ever faced in his life. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that the battle of the cross is actually won in the garden. That the battle that Jesus faces on the cross, he actually won in the garden.

And by the time he's done with his time of prayer, his face will be set so firmly towards the cross that nothing can change his mind. Because remember, and I'll point this out again in a moment, what Jesus is about to face with the cross, while he is 100% God, he is also 100% man, and he faces it very much in his humanity. And so as Jesus is here at this garden, this garden of Gethsemane, he will face the pressures that go along with the cross. But just as a little side note, can I point out one more thing to you?

It seems as though God does his work in a garden. After all, it was in a garden that God placed man. It was in a garden that God gave man a choice. And unfortunately, it was in a garden that man chose to surrender to his own will rather than the will of God. And it will be in a garden that Jesus will surrender, not to his own will, but to the will of the Father to redeem sinful man.

Jesus came with him to a place called Gethsemane. And as he was there, he said to his disciples, verse 36, Sit here while I go over there and pray. And he took with him Peter, the two sons of Zebedee, began to be grieved and distressed. Now, he has all 11 just of his disciples. I don't believe there's anyone else here at this point in time. Oftentimes, in many of the instances where Jesus' disciples are there,

it's more than just the 12 disciples. But this time, I truly believe it's just the 11. Of course, it can't be the 12, because the 12th is already with the religious leaders telling them where they can find Jesus. And he's there with the 11. And as he's there with the 11, he says, I want you guys to wait right here, because I need to go a little bit further and pray.

I'm facing something difficult, and I'm going to be going to spend some time in prayer. If you will, he set a guard, not a physical guard, but a spiritual guard for himself with these disciples, hoping that they would stand in prayer with him. Of course, we're going to find that something very different than that happens. But he places those 11 there. Except from the 11, he pulls three more.

He pulls Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, who we know are James and John. And he takes those guys, and he moves on just a little bit further. Now, there's always a question that I ask myself, and that's why were Peter, James, and John always the ones closest to Jesus? Perhaps it was because of the role that they would play. James would be the first of the apostles to be martyred.

Peter would be the foundation upon which the church was built. And John, would be the one that lived the longest of them all. The one that they tried to martyr, but they just couldn't kill. The one who not only wrote the gospel of John, who wrote the epistles of John, but also wrote the book of Revelation, who saw Jesus high and lifted up in his future glory.

Maybe it was because of the special place that these disciples had in their work in the early church that Jesus always seemed to have them closest to him when he was doing his greatest work. Or it could be like what the dean of men at my college told all of us that were chosen to be dorm stewards. Some of you are here because of how talented you are and because of the great leadership skills that you have. Some of you are here because I don't trust you, and I'm never going to tell you which one's which.

Could be that he didn't trust these guys. You know, so he pulls them a little bit closer to him. And as he pulls the three a little bit closer, I want you to notice the mental state of Jesus. It says at the end of verse 37, And he began to be grieved and distressed. And he said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Now there's two words that are used here

to describe the mental state of Jesus at this point in time. Grieved, which is a word that both Matthew and Jesus uses of the mental state of Jesus. But then there's a second word. The word is distressed. We'll get to the word grieved in just a moment. But that word distressed is an interesting one. It's an interesting word. There's three words in the Greek that speak of depression.

The word distressed in the Greek is the strongest word that is used of depression. In other words, this was the lowest place emotionally that Jesus had ever been. It's the lowest place anybody could have been. And Matthew takes note of that because that's Matthew's commentary of Jesus. He takes note of how depressed Jesus was at this point in time. Why was Jesus so depressed right now?

Well, I believe he was so depressed because he knew what he was going to have to face. He knew the physical suffering that he was going to have to face. And you know as well as I do that when you endure physical suffering, oftentimes it can bring about depression in your lives. I think that there's many in here who have at times battled depression because of the physical things that you've gone through.

But not only that, he knew the spiritual toll that this would take on him. Because what Jesus faced on the cross was not just a physical punishment, but it was a spiritual punishment. But it was a spiritual one as the sins of humanity were laid upon him. And we find that Jesus is depressed. I bring this up because I know that depression has been something that has struck our society

particularly hard lately. Particularly hard over the past few months, couple of years. And many battle in depression silently. And many of you feel the exact same way. You say, no one understands. You see, I think on top of this depression, I don't feel like I'm out of line to say that there was some anxiety that Jesus dealt with as well with the things that he was about to face.

And as Jesus dealt with the depth of the anxiety and depression that he was dealing with, it was deeper than most of us can even fathom with our minds. But Jesus dealt with it in the same way that you and I do. Sometimes you find yourself saying, nobody else understands. Nobody knows what I'm going through. I can't explain it in words. I can't put it into words.

I don't know how to tell anybody how depressed I am, but I'm so down. And nobody understands. May I just go ahead and agree with you? Potentially there is no other human being that understands. But Jesus does. Jesus understands the depression that you're going through. He understands the anxiety that you face. And while it may feel like you're facing it on your own

and nobody else is there with you, may you know and understand the presence of God that is with you to face what feels like it. What feels like the deepest, darkest place that you can face in your life. Because he understands. And so it says, Matthew gives us the commentary that Jesus was deeply grieved, or that he was distressed. But then he uses another phrase that Jesus uses of himself.

He says he was deeply grieved. Notice what it says. He began to be grieved and deeply distressed. And then Jesus says of himself, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. That word grieved there literally means sorrowful to the point of death. In other words, his heart is so heavy and broken over what he's about to go through that if it gets any worse, he won't survive it.

You know, they say that brokenheartedness is actually a cause for death in some. There are many who are elderly who have lost a spouse that oftentimes find that they're not very far behind. And the one thing that any doctor can say happened is that they simply died. Of a broken heart. Because their heart could not handle the sorrow and the grief that they went through.

And that's what Jesus is going through right now. What was he so sorrowful about? What was he so grieved over? Again, what he was about to face. What he was about to go through. You know, it's kind of interesting, if we were to jump forward, which we will here in the next two or three weeks, into the death of Jesus, we'll find that as he hangs there on the cross,

he will actually give up his spirit and he will die. And as he dies and hangs there on that cross, the Roman soldiers wanted to make sure that they were all dead before sundown so that they could get their bodies off of the cross before the Passover. They came to Jesus and they noticed that he was already dead. But just to ensure that he actually was dead, they took a spear.

And as they took a spear, it says that they pierced his side. They would have come up in the fleshy part right here underneath the ribs, gone up and pierced his heart. It says that blood and water flowed out. The water from that pericardial sac, that goes around the heart, the blood that was within the heart, it all came flowing out of Jesus. Chuck Smith always had an interesting commentary on this.

He said, if one were to do an autopsy on Jesus, you would say that he died of a burst heart, that he died of a broken heart. And it's interesting to think about that when we couple that with the fact that here in the Garden of Gethsemane, the mental state of Jesus was not only one of great depression but one of great sorrow. Sorrow so great that he didn't even know if he would survive it. And as he's in this place, he looks at his disciples and he says, remain here, end of verse 38, remain here and keep watch with me.

And he went a little beyond them and he fell on his face and prayed. He says, I just need you to do one thing. I just need you to labor with me in prayer during this time. This is the heaviest time I've ever gone through. This is the most difficult time that I've ever gone through. My soul is more distressed than it's ever been before. And I just need someone to labor with me in prayer.

You guys stay here while I go a little further and we'll labor in prayer together. You there, me over here. Of course, we find that they can't do that. We'll deal with that in just a moment. And then we see this prayer of Jesus. Matter of fact, I've labeled this next part simply, Jesus prays. Notice what it says. Verse 39, he went a little beyond them and he fell on his face and he prayed saying,

my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. It says he went a little beyond them, meaning he's all by himself now. And as he began to pray, notice how he starts off. He starts off by addressing him as my father. That distinction of the Trinity is always a hard one to understand, but he was completely submitted

to the will of the father in this. Or at least he'll be in the process of submitting to the will of the father in this. He starts off, my father. And then he comes to his request. He says, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Now, I read some very over-spiritual commentators that tried to explain this away and say that Jesus wasn't actually asking

that the cup would be passed from him. Really, because that's what he said. He said, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Why? Because he knew what he was about to have to endure. And he's saying, if anybody's got any other plan, now's the time to speak up. If there's any other way that we can do this, I'm open for options. Because I know what I'm about to face.

And it's gonna be hard. So if there's any other way, if we've exhausted every other option, then let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. There's four things I take note of about this prayer of Jesus. Four things that I think are important for us to take note of as Jesus prays this, as we see him surrender to the will of the father. Number one,

Jesus is all alone. Jesus is all alone. I point that out for two reasons. I didn't write these two reasons down, but I point it out for these two reasons. Number one is that Jesus understands what it's like to be all alone. Matter of fact, from this point on, Jesus is gonna be all alone. He's gonna be all alone in his prayer in the garden. He's gonna be all alone after he is arrested

because all of the disciples flee from him. He'll be all alone as he stands trial. He'll be all alone as he faces the scourging. He'll be all alone as he hangs on the cross. And he'll be all alone as they bury him in the tomb. I say that because again, I think that there's a lot of people that battle with feeling all alone. Though you may be surrounded with people,

for some reason, you just have this feeling on the inside of you that you are as alone as you've ever been before. And I just want you to know that Jesus understands that. That Jesus understands exactly what that's like. He knows what it's like to feel like no one is with you, that you are all alone. And my prayer for you is this, that you will begin to know,

understand, and perceive the presence of God with you, even in the place of where you feel all alone. Because brothers and sisters, though you may feel alone, you are not alone. You have a savior who understands everything that you're going through. You have a savior who understands everything that you've been through. We're told in the book of Hebrews that he was tempted in every way that you are,

and yet without sin, and so he understands. And I know that loneliness is plaguing our culture right now. Jesus knows what it's like to feel all alone. But the second thing that I'll point out to you is this. There is such an important place in the Bible, such an important place in our prayer times to get ourselves all alone with our savior, to shut out the things of the world,

to shut out the influences of the world, to shut out the distractions of the world, to have it just be you and your savior, you and Jesus, where you can really communicate with him, where you can lay out the things that you have going on inside of you, where you can hear from your savior, where you can hear from God. There's something so vitally important about that. Jesus was all alone. Number two, I would like to point out to you the humanity of Jesus.

I think oftentimes we discount the fact that Jesus was completely man as he dealt with this, meaning that all of the fears that we go through in having to face something really hard, he faced all of those fears. I don't like when things hurt. Do you feel that way too? I don't like when stuff hurts. I avoid painful situations, both physically and emotionally,

in every way that I possibly can. Yet Jesus is about to run headlong into both the most physically and emotionally, and may I add spiritually painful situation that he possibly could. In his humanity, it scared him to death. I think that's so important to remember. The reason why I think it's so important to remember is because it so amplifies the greatness of the sacrifice

that he made for you and I. It so amplifies what we celebrate when we come together and declare the death of Jesus, that he did not face this as some immortal God who nothing affected. He faced it as a man who was subject to the same fears and weaknesses that we are, who found himself going, that's going to hurt. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this.

That humanity of Jesus so comes into play in this prayer as he says, Lord, Father, if there's any way for this cup to pass away, I'm open. I'm open for those options. That humanity of Jesus is so distinctly on display for us. Number three, I see the importance of surrender. Because in his humanity, in his desire to not go through what he was about to have to go through,

he also was so completely surrendered to the will of the Father. Listen, even if that meant the sacrifice of his life, I think we fight against surrender so much. We fight against that surrender to the Lord so much in our lives. That fight starts before we ever come to Jesus, does it not? Listen, if there's somebody in here that hasn't come to Jesus this morning,

I guarantee you're fighting to surrender to him. You're fighting for your own will, you're fighting for your own way, you're fighting for there to be any other way to salvation, any other way to feel better, any other way to deal with the guilt, any other way to deal with the things that I'm going through in my life that doesn't mean me surrendering to Jesus. Because it always starts off that way. And then finally you go, I guess there's no other way, I'll surrender.

But that same fight is inside of us after we come to Jesus. That same fight against the will of God, the fight against the will of God is still there as he calls us into deeper fellowship, as he calls us away from the sinful things of life, as he calls us into a deeper prayer life, a deeper time in his word, a deeper aspect of serving him, a deeper aspect of knowing him, a deeper aspect of surrendering myself so that I can have everything of him. And you know what we still have a tendency to do? Lord, if there's any other way for me to be who you've called me to be without me giving up all the things that I like, I'm open for options.

But we eventually have to come to the place where we say, not my will, but your will be done. There's a lot of times in my life where I've had to say, Lord, this is what I'd like to see happen, but I know that ultimately you've got to be the one in charge. Help me surrender to your will. Because that's exactly what Jesus does here, is he surrenders to the will of the Father.

And aren't you so glad that he did? Listen, the strongest place we're ever at in our lives is when we are in the place of surrendering to the will of God. And then number four, I see that there is no other way to salvation. There is no other way to salvation. People want to come up with all kinds of different ways that you can be saved. Well, you know, if you'll just say 12 Hail Marys,

if you'll just go confess to the Pope, if you just be a really good person, if you just, you know, um, your good outweighs your bad, if you do this, if you do that, if you do the other thing, then you can be saved. As long as you believe something and you're sincere, that's the important thing. Really? Because all of those things are a slap in the face of Jesus, who said, if there's any other way for this cup to pass, then do it, but not my will, your will be done.

Because listen, there is salvation under God. There is salvation under no other name than Jesus Christ. You can't be good enough. You can't confess enough. You can't attend church enough. You can't read the Bible enough. You can't do anything enough. It can only be by coming to Jesus. There's no other way of salvation. So Jesus lays out this prayer. And I find it kind of interesting.

In just a moment, we're going to find that he's been in prayer for about an hour. And yet all he comes up with these, at least as far as what's recorded, are these little words. I want to know if he said more than that. Part of me thinks he didn't. Have you ever dealt with something so intense that you don't know what to say? You ever dealt with something so heavy

that you don't know how to pray for it? And maybe the first 10, 15, 20 minutes of you praying is you just going, oh, dude. Maybe you don't say dude as much as I do. But you're like, oh, man, what? And you don't know what to say. And you just find yourself kind of groaning and grunting and maybe crying a little bit. Because you can't come up with anything. You can't put it into words.

You can't even form the thoughts that it takes to pray about what's going on. You don't know how you really feel about these things. And then finally, and then finally, God brings a little bit of clarity to your mind. And you're able to eke out one little sentence of what's going on in your heart and in your life. And finally, you're like, yeah, that's how I feel.

And all you can do is just say that. And then you groan a little bit and you say it again. I think that's what happened with Jesus here. So Jesus goes through this time of prayer and decides he needs to go check on his disciples. Notice what it says. And he came to his disciples and he found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, so you men could not keep watch with me for one hour.

A couple things I think are kind of interesting about this verse. Let's talk about the funny one first. He came to his disciples. And yet, who did he say something to? Peter. Peter had to have been like, bro, there's three of us here, man. We're all sleeping. Why are you talking to me? You know why I think he talked to Peter? I cannot prove this scripturally.

You know why I think he talked to Peter? What was the last thing Peter just said? These other knuckleheads will abandon you. I'll die with you. Peter, you can't die for me. You won't even stay awake for me, right? Like, what are you talking about? Peter, you couldn't watch with me for one hour? Because he found them sleeping. Now, I think that there's something very much more symbolic

about this aspect of sleeping than just the fact that they were asleep. Listen, full disclosure, if I want to get the best night's sleep ever, I will start off by saying, dear Jesus, right? And I know that within like two minutes of that, I am going to sleep like a baby. Sometimes it's for a very positive reason. Sometimes it's because I had a lot going on in my head.

Because I get caught up in my own head sometimes. And I've given those things to Jesus and I'm like, and he's like, that's right, son. Just go sleep now. I'm like, oh, yeah. Right? Like, sometimes that's why. But usually it's much less spiritual than that. Usually I have a whole laundry list of things I need to be talking to Jesus about. Things I need to be sharing with Jesus.

And I fall asleep. Right? We used to call it resting in the Lord. And when I say used to, I mean like yesterday. So I always call it resting in the Lord. Right? Like it's the best sleep you ever get. But I can relate to the disciples here. So first of all, they're physically sleeping. But I think that there's something a little bit deeper than that going on.

See, I think there's an aspect of the fact that they're spiritually asleep at this point in time, too. You see, what they don't realize is everything that Jesus is about to face. What they don't realize is that he's about to stand trial before all of the leaders of the region in the next 24 hours. They don't realize he's going to face the worst beating any day.

That any human being could face in the next 24 hours. They don't realize he's going to be hanging on a cross in the next 24 hours. They don't realize that the sin of the world is going to be put on him in the next 24 hours. They don't realize that the Father is going to turn his back on him in the next 24 hours. They don't realize that he will complete the work of redemption in the next 24 hours.

Therefore, they're asleep. You see, they're sleeping because they failed to realize the gravity of the situation. And I'm afraid that sometimes we're the same. I'm afraid that sometimes many of us, though maybe not sleepwalking our way through a church service, although sleep on, I get it. Sleepwalking our way through a church service or through a prayer meeting,

you are sleepwalking your way through life. And we lack that spiritual acuity that we need. We lack that desperation in our walk with Jesus Christ that we need. We lack that passion for prayer that we need. We lack that drive in our walk and service for Christ that we need. And the reason why is because we fail to grasp the gravity of the situation. We fail to grasp the gravity of the world that is around us that doesn't know what's going on

because, quite frankly, sometimes we as the church don't understand what's going on. And sometimes we need Jesus to wake us up a little bit. To say, are you sleeping? You can't just keep watch with me? You can't just be alert with me? And then he gives them an exhortation. Notice what he says. Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation.

He says you need to be watchful and you need to pray. The word watchful means to be alert. You need to be alert and aware. You need to be alert of what's going on around you. Be alert of the situation. Be aware of what's happening right now. And then you need to pray. And brothers and sisters, I think we need to start praying that the Lord will give us that heart and mind

that is alert and aware. And that we will become the people who will pray. Why? Because otherwise we'll give in to temptation. Because if we don't realize the gravity of the situation, then we won't be as focused and watchful in praying the way that we should be. Which means that we'll slip into temptation. A year or two ago I read a book about one of my favorite baseball players.

And this book told about him. And this book told about his battle with addiction. And as he went through this battle with addiction, he had come to a place where everything was going really well. Everything was going great. He had really overcome the addiction. He had a guy that was with him all the time that would make sure that he wouldn't end up slipping back into drugs and alcohol.

Only one time he was really far advanced in his battle with addiction. And he was at a place down in Arizona where he was working on his batting. He was working with a coach for batting. And there was a hotel that he would always stay at and the guy would always sleep in the room right next to him just to keep him out of trouble. He said, but this one night,

this one night I thought I'll be okay. And quite frankly my buddy whose job was to keep me out of trouble thought the same thing. Because I'd had victory for a really long time. He said, I decided I'd go get pizza by myself that night. And I ordered myself a beer. He said the next thing I knew pictures of me were all over the internet. And I don't remember what happened in that 24 hours.

He said the one thing we realized is that we stopped being alert. We stopped being watchful. And when we stop being watchful we slip into temptation. Brothers and sisters, the battle that we fight against the flesh is always trying to destroy us. And it's only won as we are watchful and praying. Because the battle against temptation, the battles that we face,

are all won on our knees in prayer. And so Jesus tells them, you need to do this. And then he reminds them why. Because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And so we see the second prayer now in verse 42. It says, he went away again a second time and he prayed saying, my father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done. Again, he came and found them sleeping

for their eyes were heavy. Notice that the prayer is a little shorter this time. It's a little more pointed this time. He says, my father, this can't pass away unless I drink it, your will be done. It's almost like it's easier for him to surrender this time. And I'm reminded of something. I'm reminded of a psychological truth about us as human beings. That our brains tend to form these things

called neural pathways. When you make a decision, you start to form a neural pathway. This happens in both positive and negative ways. It happens in negative ways when you give into things like addiction or sin or things along those lines. In our case as believers in Jesus Christ, we give into not surrendering to the Lord. We form a neural pathway to where the next time that comes up,

it's easier for us to make that decision. Well, that's also true in a very positive way. When you make a decision to pursue the Lord, to surrender to the Lord, it's easier the next time that comes up. To make that decision. Because you've already formed that neural pathway. Now, the wonderful thing is that when we start to form those negative neural pathways,

the word of God comes in in a very handy way. Because we're told that the word of God is like water. It washes us. And it can wash away all those negative things. We see that Jesus had already made the decision towards surrender once. So this second time around, it's a little bit easier for him. Of course, so did his disciples. And so they're still sleeping.

Now we come to the third prayer. It says, And he left them again and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. We're not given a window into it this time, just that he prayed the same thing. And then it says, verse 45, Then he came to the disciples, and he 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 find there to be something different in the tenor of Jesus's voice here. I'm making this up a little bit myself, but in the way he speaks, in the way that Matthew records, the way that he speaks, I find something kind of interesting here.

What I find is a settled determination in the words that Jesus uses. Do you see it? It says, Are you still sleeping and resting? The hour is at hand. The time has come. 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. You see, I see a real settled determination in the mind of Jesus here.

I see a settled determination in his words. Why? Because Jesus just won the battle of the cross in prayer in the garden. As he surrendered to the will of the Father in prayer, the battle of the cross was won. There's an incredibly stirring scene in the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I don't always love everything about The Passion of the Christ with the 12 stations of the cross

and things like that, but there is a very stirring scene in the movie, the very beginning of The Passion of the Christ. It shows Jesus in prayer in the garden. Do you remember what's happening when Jesus is in prayer in the garden, if you've seen that movie before? There's a snake that's slithering his way, and as that snake is slithering his way, Jesus is continuing to pray.

Now, this is, of course, artistic symbolism on the part of Mel Gibson, but you get the idea. The snake is slithering towards him, and finally, Jesus says his final amen after he says, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. And as he stands up, the snake is right next to him, and he takes his foot, and he stomps on the head of the serpent. Because we're told in the book of Genesis that though the serpent would bruise his heel, he would crush the head of the serpent.

And brothers and sisters, when Jesus said amen, he had crushed the head of the serpent. The battle was done. Now he just had to go in and do what he was called to do. And so with this settled determination, we now come to the second portion, which is the betrayal. It says, while he was still speaking, behold Judas, verse 47, one of the twelve came up, accompanied by a large crowd

with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now he who was betraying him gave them a sign, saying, whomever I kiss, he is the one, and he will be my servant. Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, hail rabbi. He kissed him. Jesus said to him, friend, do what you have come for. Then they came, laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

Behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Jesus said to him, put your sword back into its place. All those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

How then will the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? At that time Jesus said to the crowds, have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching. You didn't seize me. But all this has taken place to fulfill the scripture of the prophets. Then all the disciples

left him and fled. While he was still speaking, behold Judas, and I love Matthew's little commentary on Judas, one of the twelve. Matthew sort of drives that home that he was one of them before this whole thing took place. It says Judas came up to him, Judas who was one of the twelve, and with him in the New American Standard it says he was accompanied by a large crowd.

The New King James translates that a multitude, and if you look at it, other gospel accounts, you'll see that it's referred to as a detachment or a cohort. That's a lot of people. Now, the religious community at that time didn't have very much political power or very much ability to govern themselves. And so if they needed to make a high profile arrest, the religious leaders would petition the Roman government and they would provide a detachment of soldiers.

Just to give you a little bit of an idea, detachment of soldiers was usually in the neighborhood of 600 soldiers. And these 600 soldiers were carrying swords and clubs. If you will, they were heavily armed. This is a heavily armed tactical team that comes to get Jesus. And as these guys come to get Jesus, it's Judas, a tactical team from the Roman government,

and of course, the chief priests and elders of the people. As they show up, Judas had already told them the way that he would identify Jesus. This is why Judas had to identify Jesus. He had to identify Jesus with a kiss. The chief priests and elders would have known who he was, but this cohort of Roman soldiers would have had no clue who this Jesus of Nazareth,

some peasant from Nazareth was, some itinerant preacher. They needed an identification process. And so Judas said, the one whom I kiss, he's the one that you need to arrest. And of course, there was nothing weird about Judas coming to kiss Jesus at that point in time. In our culture, it would be a holy high five, a handshake, or a bro hug, right? That's what he would have done.

He would have kissed on the cheek. So Judas comes up to Jesus, and Judas says something kind of interesting. He says, hail rabbi. And that just seems like a normal greeting to us, until we understand the depth of that meaning of that word where he says, hail to the rabbi. Because the meaning of that word is, it's very cheerful. It's a cheerful greeting. He says,

greetings, my friend. In other words, there's no indication that anything nefarious is going on here whatsoever. And so Judas doesn't know what's going on here whatsoever. He acts like this is just a normal day that he showed up with 600 of his best highly armed friends to arrest Jesus. He gives him a kiss on the cheek. And notice what Jesus says in verse 50.

He says, friend, do what you have come for. Now, the New American Standard translates this just a little bit differently than the New King James does. And I did a lot of studying in the New King James on this, and I found the way that they translated to be kind of interesting. Because the New King James translates that phrase, friend, do what you have come for this way.

Friend, why are you here? That's the idea that's given to us in the New King James translation of this. Now, I think the reason why he asks that, if that's what he asks, if that's how it's translated, I find it kind of interesting. Because do you know what it makes me think of? It reminds me of the first time that Jesus was crucified on the cross that there was

a garden scene where something tragic was taking place. Do you remember what happened in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned? They realized that they were naked and they made clothes for themselves. And they hid themselves from God. And God shows up in the cool of the day to walk with them like he always does. And what question does God ask Adam? Do you remember?

God asks him, where are you? Adam, where are you? Not because he doesn't know where he is, he's God. But because he wants Adam to think about where he is. Why are you hiding? Why did you make yourself such a terrible outfit? Why did you realize you were naked? What happened? Where are you right now? Now, if that's the way it's translated in the way that the New King James

has it, that means that this is Jesus saying, what are you doing here? What did you come for? Was he giving him one last out? Was he causing him to ask himself, what am I doing? The greatest question we can ask ourselves at multiple times throughout the day, especially when we find ourselves slipping a little bit into the things of the flesh is, what am I doing?

I ask myself that question a lot anyway. What am I doing here? Because I forgot what I was doing. But I mean like when you're dealing with the things of the flesh. Have you ever found yourself sort of begun to be led away by the things of the flesh and pretty soon you're going, whoa, what am I doing? This is dumb. Where am I? And what am I doing? Whichever way

it's translated, Jesus essentially does finally tell him, do what you need to do. He says, they came, they laid hands on Jesus, and they seized him. This next part, I've affectionately referred to as the incident with the ear. Because it says in verse 51, and behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached out and said, where am I? What am I doing? Whichever way

it's translated, Jesus essentially drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Jesus said, put your sword back into its place. For all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Matthew's very gracious to Peter on this one. John is not. John's like, it was Peter. Peter woke up, grabbed his sword, cut that new deer off.

Right? And so, man, I just love that guy. I love this story because although there's a, if I was writing this and making up my own, I would change one mild thing about it and I'll tell you in just a minute. Peter gets up. He's still sleepy. Now, if Peter's anything like me, which, you know, maybe a little bit, he can't see straight when he first wakes up. He doesn't know his name

and all he knows is guys are arresting Jesus and he's got a sword and by golly, he's gonna take care of business. So he just starts going to town. Just, I wonder how many times he slashed before he hit the ear. I wonder if he was like, I'll cut his head off. Oops, the ear will do. He says, what are you doing? Put your, put your sword away. Those who live by the sword

are gonna die by the sword. We're reminded by something through this. We're reminded that the kingdom of heaven is not spread through violence. The kingdom of heaven is not spread through aggression. The kingdom of heaven is spread through the message of the gospel empowered by the Holy Spirit accompanied with the love of Jesus Christ. That's how the gospel

is spread and yet sometimes what I'm finding is that many of us are wielding swords and the swords that we're wielding are cutting off some ears because we've stopped making the main thing the main thing. I think that we need to be aware of this because sometimes we need to put away our swords and remember that the kingdom of heaven is not spread through violence. The kingdom of heaven is spread through the gospel. But you know, one little detail that the gospel of Matthew doesn't give us is that Jesus heals Peter.

We're told, if I remember correctly, it's in Luke's account that Jesus heals him. Now, Peter cuts off his ear. I have to believe that the ear is either laying on his shoulder or laying on the ground. I can't help it. I think about what these things must have looked like. And Jesus must have just picked up the ear and put it back on. This is how I picture it.

Again, this and 495 will get you coffee at Starbucks. I think he picked up that Peter, no, okay, he's healing the guy with the ear. I just want to know what this guy, who by the way, his name was Malchus. Okay, so Peter was sleepy, right? Probably aiming for his head. This is the one thing I wish changed about this story. Wouldn't it have been crazy if he had

cut his head off? And Jesus was like, Peter, no, that is not, heals that thing up. Everybody's just like, what just happened here? That would make this story even more epic. It doesn't happen. It is what it is. So, we have this little ear incident, but then notice this last part I've just simply entitled The Sovereign Sacrifice because notice what happens. He tells him

to put his sword away. Listen, those who live by the sword are going to perish by the sword. Then he begins to talk about his sovereign control over this whole situation. He says, do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels? He says, I'm not in trouble, Peter. Everything's happening the way that it's supposed to.

I could call down 12 legions of angels. Now, if a legion is what it was as far as the Romans were concerned, you're looking at about 6,826 soldiers. 6,100 of them would be foot soldiers. 726 would be soldiers on horseback. That would be a legion as far as the Romans were concerned at least at this point in time. Jesus says, I can call 12 of those down anytime I wanted to.

And if you don't know how powerful angels are, there's a crazy story in the Old Testament, the book of 2 Kings with Hezekiah. Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were completely surrounded by the Assyrian army. And as they were completely surrounded by the Assyrian army, Hezekiah cried out to the Lord. And as he cried out to the Lord, God sent an angel. The angel that God

sent that night, one angel wiped out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. Jesus is like, Pete, it's not the problem. You don't need to defend me. I'm in control of this whole situation. He says, after all, how then, verse 54, will the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? If I do away with this hardship now, then we won't get to fulfill

the scriptures. He goes on to address the crowds. He says, at that time Jesus said to the crowds, meaning all of the soldiers who were standing there, have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize me. He said, have you come out like this, like I'm some sort

of a robber, like I'm a thief, like I'm a thug that you're gonna have to come against with this kind of force? Is this the way that you're coming against me? He says, I sat in the temple every single day. Why didn't you arrest me then? Oh, that's right, you couldn't because my father wouldn't let you because my time hadn't come yet because there's all kinds of stories

scattered throughout the gospels that tell about how Jesus was about to be arrested and somehow escaped and probably as far as they were concerned performed some sort of voodoo and allowed himself to escape. Why didn't you arrest me all those times because the time wasn't there yet? We weren't ready yet but now we are. Do you understand that you have no control in this?

Do you understand that you have no say in this? No. But all this, verse 56, has taken place to fulfill the scriptures of the prophets. We need to remind ourselves of something because this is something that goes around in liberal theological circles that Jesus was a martyr, that Jesus was a victim, that Jesus was a victim of violence. No. Jesus wasn't a martyr.

Jesus wasn't a victim. None of this was an accident. Jesus was a victim of violence. No. Jesus was a victim of violence. He didn't die before He was supposed to. He didn't die after He was supposed to. Everything happened exactly as planned so that He could be the sacrifice for our sins. Brothers and sisters, if He was sovereign over the way He came the first

time, we can rest in the fact that He'll be sovereign over the way He comes a second time because probably lives, everything was completely out of control. But ultimately, Jesus was completely in control. And it's the same thing now. I can't begin to tell you all the things that are going on in the world. You have the news, you watch. And sometimes it just feels like everything is going out of control.

I don't even want to share some of the things that I read on a daily basis of the things that are going on in the world. I'm just like, that's just the violence that's happening, the craziness in other cultures that's happening. Pray for the people of Ukraine. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring this up, but I read an update yesterday. They somehow get about four to six

hours of electricity a day. That's to try to light and heat their homes. People of Ukraine are probably going, man, things feel really out of control. But behind it all, Jesus is absolutely in control. And we can rest in that. And it closes like this. Then all the disciples left him and fled. Everybody left him alone. That was it. They all fled. They all ran. And now Jesus is going to be alone to face the trials,

to face the beatings, to face the cross. We'll get into that more in the next couple of weeks. As of now, it's Communion Sunday. So I'm wondering if the kids are heading this way. I love that there's glass doors now, so I can see. They're working on it. They're getting kids ready to come this way. So while they're gathering kids, I'll do the speech that I typically do.

It's Communion Sunday. And as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we saw as Jesus presented that very first communion time for his disciples, as he laid out that Lord's Supper, as he took that bread and he broke it. He said, this is my body. And he took that cup and he shared it. And he said, this is my blood. And we know that every time we partake in this, we declare the death of Jesus.

So we're told to do so in a worthy manner. So in just a moment, the kids are going to come in and I'm going to ask the worship team to come up and share one last song with us. And as they do so, I just ask you to allow the Lord to search your heart. If you're here this morning and you've been fighting against surrendering to the Lord and salvation, if you've been fighting against that, then today's that day for you.

Today's that day for you to say, you know what? I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of asking if there can be any other way because I can't seem to come up with any other way. It's because there's only one name by which you can be saved and that's Jesus. If that's you, you've been fighting against that, then today's the day of salvation and today's the day to surrender. If you're here this morning and you've made that decision,

but you're fighting surrendering to God in other ways, if you're fighting surrendering to his will in other aspects of your life, as a matter of fact, maybe there's even a little rebellion you've been living in. And as the worship team sings this last song, just start confessing those things to the Lord so that your heart can be right with him, so that we can partake in this as a family who's ready. Amen. Would you bow with me real quick? Father, we come to you and just thank

you for the time that we've had in your word this morning. And Lord, as the kids come in and we sing this last song, I just ask that you would work on the heart of our hearts. I just ask that you would work on the hearts of everyone that's here. Prepare our hearts to celebrate together what you've done for us on the cross. In Jesus' name, amen. In just a moment, the ushers will be coming

down. As they hand you the elements, please stand and we will partake together.

Would you bow with me? Lord, we come to you now and we thank you for your sacrifice that you made for us. Father, I thank you for your body that was broken for us. Lord, enduring the stripes, the beatings. Father, allowing sin to be laid upon you so that it would not have to be laid upon us. Father, I thank you for your blood that was shed for us, your blood that was enough to cover all

of our sins. Lord, your blood that guarantees our salvation. And Father, I thank you for the sacrifice that you made so that we could be made right with you. Lord, I ask that you would keep us ever in mind of that. Lord, that our lives would be guided by you. Lord, that our lives would be guided by the knowledge that you, even while we were sinners, loved us enough to die for us.

Father, we thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's partake.

Would you bow with me one last time? Father, I thank you so much for the time that we've had together as family, for the time that we've had in your word. And Lord, I ask that as we take time to fellowship now and head out for another week, Lord, that you would use your word in our hearts and in our hearts. Lord, I ask that you would use your word in our hearts and in our hearts.

In the way that you see fit. Father, continue to fashion us into the men and women that you've created for us to be. And Lord, as we have a perfect excuse in this Christmas season to tell everybody about Jesus Christ, may we take full advantage of that opportunity. Father, we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.