WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:01.520 Hello, friends. 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:02.799 This is Pastor Creighton. 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:06.080 Thank you for tuning in to Newsong Church's sermon podcast. 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:13.279 At Newsong Church, we want to see Jesus lifted high in Port Perry, Ontario, as we worship, grow, and serve. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:18.719 You can learn more about us and find contact info at newsongportperry.ca. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.079 This is the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:26.800 Glory to you, Lord Christ. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:38.479 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the Passover, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put Jesus to death, for they feared the people. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.719 Then Satan entered into Judas called Isariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:51.039 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray the him to them. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.719 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:01.520 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:11.760 And he said to them, Jesus said to his disciples, When I sent you with no money bag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:13.519 They said, Nothing. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:29.439 And Jesus said to them, But now let the one who has a money bag take it, and likewise a knapsack, and let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one, for I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.280 And he was numbered with the transgressors. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.319 For what is written about me has its fulfillment. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.000 And they said, Look, Lord, here are two swords, and he said to them, It is enough. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:56.879 And he came out and went, as was his custom to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him, and when he came to the place he said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:07.599 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.919 Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:25.360 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him, and being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:34.319 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, Why are you sleeping? 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:39.360 Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:46.479 While he was still speaking there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.280 He drew near to Jesus to kiss him. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.439 But Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:01.759 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.319 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:09.360 But Jesus said, No more of this. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.560 And he touched his ear and healed him. 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:23.919 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and the elders who had come out against him, Have you come out aga have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs? 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:29.280 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.520 But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.759 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.240 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:43.039 Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:44.080 Let's pray. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.960 Gracious Lord, you feed us, as it were, with justice. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:00.400 Not the justice that we deserve, but the justice that your mercy is won for us. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:13.280 So we pray that by grace our hearts would not be hardened today, but that we would hear your word and respond to your word in faith. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:25.920 That we would cling to the good news of the gospel, that we would claim these promises as our own, that we would know the power of the risen Lord Jesus at work within us. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:32.160 So, Holy Spirit, we invite you to come, illumine this text to our reading and edify us through it. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:33.839 And in Jesus' name we pray. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:34.800 Amen. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:36.560 Please be seated. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:54.720 I promise the laptop is not my attempt to be the cool TED Talk pastor, but simply the fact that our printer is on the fritz. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:05.040 I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from the abyss. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.759 I see the lives for which I lay down my life. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:15.759 Peaceful, useful, prosperous, and happy. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:23.199 I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts and in the hearts of their descendants generations hence. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:29.040 It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:35.040 It is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:38.959 I should almost end the sermon right there, shouldn't I? 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:45.360 You might recognize that passage from uh the classic A Tale of Two Cities. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:55.279 Or if you're more like me, you recognize it from the end of the Batman trilogy, where this gets read after Batman makes the ultimate sacrifice, or so it seems. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:10.879 So at the end of Tale of Two Cities, uh the protagonist Sidney Carton is laying down his life as a substitute for uh Charles Darnay, his look-alike, who's married his great love Lucy Minette. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:38.480 And in this passage, this letter that Sidney Carton writes, it's this prayerful vision, as it were, of a brighter future, a future inspired by his selfless self-sacrifice, a future in which people are peaceful and useful, prosperous and happy, all these things that follow in the wake of that self-giving, selfless love that he demonstrates. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.040 Tale of Two Cities, of course, begins with one of the most famous lines in literature. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.439 We probably know it even if we haven't read the book. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.199 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:55.199 I was like The Simpsons, where the monkeys are typing the typewriter and they type, it was the best of times, it was the blurst of times. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:57.759 Which always makes me laugh for some reason. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.839 Anyway, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:18.240 Right from the outset of this story, Charles Dickens wants us to know that these are dire times, that these are dark times, that history is coming to a, it's like it's being bottlenecked, it's being funneled, something remarkable is about to happen. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:23.759 And all of that culminates in this self-sacrifice of the hero. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:31.120 This is a prayerful vision of a hero who makes the great sacrifice in dire times. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.879 And so we come to the Gospel of Luke. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.800 We've been journeying through the Gospel of Luke for this fall together, and we've been coming to see who Jesus is and what his kingdom is all about. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.319 And last Sunday we entered into Palm Sunday, didn't we? 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:52.319 We saw the triumphal entry and Jesus weeping over the royal city he's entering into. 00:07:52.879 --> 00:08:03.600 He's weeping for the lost because forgiveness is so abundant and available, and yet it's though the people don't catch the significance of his entering this city. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:04.560 He weeps for them. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:11.439 He weeps for the lost who would otherwise refuse his abundant forgiveness and his selfless love. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:26.720 And so what follows in the chapters that follow Jesus' teaching in the temple primarily, we see that the future looks like, well, not the best of times, but perhaps the worst of times, that judgment and destruction and ruin is going to follow. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:33.600 When people refuse God's grace and God's mercy, what else can we reap but ruin? 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.159 And so Jesus gives a promise. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:38.159 He gives a promise of the second coming. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:43.679 The Son of Man will come in glory, as it were, and establish his kingdom amongst us. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:48.559 The kingdom is far greater than his disciples can fathom, even in this moment. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:56.799 His kingdom is going to renew and remake the world as it should be, peaceful, prosperous, and happy. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.840 And so we come to Luke chapter 22. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.080 We see a Passover plot in the first two verses. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:06.639 The setting is Maundy Thursday now. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:11.360 We've done Palm Sunday and May Thursday before we as a congregation have celebrated Christmas. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:15.120 So if you're thinking this is all out of order, it's only because you're tracking with us. 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:17.679 We have a Passover plot. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.960 The chief priests are plotting against Jesus. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:25.840 This guy has got to go because he is established, he is upsetting the established power. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.720 And Judas, one of his twelve disciples, has agreed to be the one to betray him. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:37.120 And in what follows, and what wasn't read in Luke 22 today, is Jesus' celebration of the Passover meal. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:47.200 Remember this great feast of deliverance that God established to mark the time when he delivered his people out of bondage, out of oppression in Egypt, and brought them into freedom. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:49.519 It was God's great act of redemption. 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:58.799 And it's right here that Jesus renews and reconstitutes this feast as the Lord's Supper to celebrate the redemption found now in him. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.799 He's at the center of God's redeeming work in the world. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:05.600 That's what the Lord's Supper is all about. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:16.080 And what follows is a dispute amongst the disciples, among who's the greatest, and denial that the disciples would ever do something like, you know, deny Jesus. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:17.840 Says something, doesn't it? 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.759 These are dire times. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.080 And the pressure is on. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.559 In fact, our reading ends on a pretty minor key, doesn't it? 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:30.879 This is the hour of darkness, Jesus acknowledges. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.639 These are dire times. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:37.759 What I want us to do this morning is zoom in on verses 39 to 46. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:43.279 And I want us to ask the question: what does prayer in dire times look like? 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:46.080 This passage is all about prayer. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:48.320 It's about what the disciples are called to pray. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.039 It's what Jesus models in prayer. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:55.039 What does prayer in dire times look like? 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.440 And I want to suggest we see at least three things. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:02.320 Luke wants us to see at least three things in verses 39 to 46. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.919 Prayer in dire times looks like a petition. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.159 It has a purpose. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:12.000 And behind prayer in dire times is power. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.679 Petition, purpose, and power. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:19.039 This is what prayer in dire times looks like. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:26.080 And we do well to pay attention because I think we know in our stories what dire times looks like. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.840 Maybe we haven't been to the Garden of Gethsemane, but I imagine we've been to a place that sure felt like it. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:39.759 We know what it is to see life collapsing all around us, to know not just the best of times, but the worst of times. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:53.679 And if that's us, then we do well to pay attention to the sort of prayer we see happening in these verses, because it can be for us a model, an example, a light to show us what prayer in dire times looks like. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.960 A petition, purpose, and power. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:01.360 There's good news for those who draw near this morning. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.000 So, what does prayer look like in dire times? 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.159 First off, it looks like a petition. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.919 Let's open our, well, I can't say order of service this morning, can I? 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:18.000 Let's open our Bibles to Luke chapter 22, verse 39, and tour our way through these verses. 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:23.840 Prayer in dire times looks like a particular petition. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:26.799 Verses 39 to 40 here. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:32.720 When Jesus came out and went, as was his custom, Jesus is accustomed to pray in times like this. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.919 He goes to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:46.879 And when he came to the place, place where he's selected, he has in mind, Jesus said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.360 So did you catch the command there? 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:50.720 Did you catch the imperative? 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:55.440 Did you catch the petition that Jesus tells his disciples to make? 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:59.440 Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:01.600 And we might want to ask a couple of questions here. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.679 First off, we might want to say, what kind of prayer do you have in mind? 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:07.679 What is prayer? 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:12.159 And we might want to say that prayer is a direct address to God. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:18.000 It is conscious communication between a soul and its creator. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:24.960 In Psalm chapter 5, verse 3, we see the psalmist say, My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:29.519 Early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto you, and I will look up. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:38.000 Prayer is the heart's posture and the communication of one's heart that looks up, as it were, to its creator, in dependence and in trust. 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:42.960 Prayer is that communication between a soul and its creator. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.600 So pray, Jesus says. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.799 I love what Charles Spurgeon has to say about prayer. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:54.639 He says, true prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:56.720 It is far deeper than that. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:01.519 It is a spiritual transaction with the creator of heaven and earth. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:02.559 I love that. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:04.480 Teresa of Avila goes further. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:10.320 She says, prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.720 Prayer is the practice of friendship with God. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:21.120 So when Jesus tells them to pray, he's telling them to put their friendship, as it were, into practice. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:25.600 Put dependence and trust into practice through your communication to God. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.879 Pray that you may not be led into temptation. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:31.759 And we might want to ask, well, what is temptation? 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:39.200 And perhaps one answer could be that temptation is a desire to transgress God's good law. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:45.759 It's when we're enticed away from the things we know we ought to do by the things we ought not to do. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:51.279 In James chapter one, he writes this about temptation. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:58.799 He says, Let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he tempts no one. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:03.440 But each person is tempted when he's lured and enticed by his own desire. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:11.200 Then desire, when it's conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin when it's fully grown, brings forth death. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:13.919 So what's James saying about temptation here? 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.320 He's pointing out that temptation has a source, and the source is not God. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.519 God is not delighted to send temptations our way. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:31.600 God is not one who entices us to disobey his commands, but James recognizes it's as though we're inclined away from God's will and enticed by our own desires. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.039 Something clicks with us. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:39.919 We go, oh, that's something I want for myself, even more than wanting the good thing that the Lord desires for me. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:50.480 So we ought not to say I'm being tempted by God, but recognize that our own corrupted desires, as it were, are at work leading us astray. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:52.960 So what's Jesus asking in this moment? 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:57.600 At the worst of times, in these dire times, what is Jesus asking his disciples? 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.399 He's asking them to make a very important petition. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:08.720 In dire times, draw near to God as your friend and refuse what entices you otherwise. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.440 Draw near to God as a friend and flee from temptation. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:16.080 Draw near to God, he will draw near to you. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:19.279 That's what John James writes in chapter four. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:24.879 For his disciples, this means acknowledging the time is as dire as it gets. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:29.039 Jesus is about to be arrested, betrayed, executed. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:34.879 And the temptation of the disciples is going to be abandoned hope altogether, abandon ship altogether. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:39.919 We're getting the heck out of here, as it were, and fleeing. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:44.000 Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:51.679 I think this becomes important only if we can acknowledge that temptation is our default setting. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:57.440 We are inclined, as it were, to our own enticing desires and not God's law. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:03.360 And that can be a tricky thing to kind of work through here, but I think a great case study is Peter. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:15.920 We didn't read it in our reading this morning, but in the midst of the Passover Supper, the Lord's Supper, Jesus has this remarkable exchange with Peter in verses 31 to 34 here. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:24.640 And verse 33, Peter says to Jesus, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.920 But what does Jesus say? 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:31.519 He says, I tell you, Peter, the rooster won't crow this day until you deny me three times that you know me. 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:35.279 Peter's saying, There's no length I wouldn't go for you, Lord. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.839 Even in the worst of times, I'm there. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:41.359 And Jesus is saying, Peter, I don't think you know your own heart. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:49.359 The rooster's gonna crow three times, or you're gonna deny me three times before the rooster crows. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:59.200 Temptation is an easy enticement, especially when the pressure is on, especially in dire times, it's almost as though we're pressurized towards our own inclination. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:11.599 And until we acknowledge that our hearts are so fickle, then I don't think we're going to be putting that everyday dependence and everyday obedience into practice as we're called to. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:13.839 Lead us not into temptation. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:18.480 Isn't that what Jesus says in the prayer that he teaches his disciples to pray? 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:26.160 I mean, that takes on such importance when we read if we're willing to acknowledge how fickle our hearts can be, especially when the pressure's on. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.480 I know I like to think when the pressure is on, I'm going to rise to the occasion. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.880 But so often the opposite is the case, isn't it? 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:39.279 Lead us not into temptation is a posture of dependence, not a posture of pride. 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:40.960 So make this petition. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:42.960 What does prayer look like in dire times? 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:44.640 It looks like making this petition. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.640 Lead me not to temptation, Lord. 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:51.279 I need your strength to do what I can't on my own strength. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.440 But prayer in dire times also looks like, has a purpose. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.880 Jesus models that purpose for us in what follows, verses 41 to 44. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:02.240 Let's have a look. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:25.200 Jesus withdrew from the disciples about a stone's throw, so distant enough to kind of be private, but close enough to be overheard by his disciples, he withdrew for them and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you're willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:32.240 It says there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him, a ministering spirit sent from the Lord. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:41.920 And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:46.240 Jesus shows us that prayer in dire times has a purpose. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:53.039 Jesus makes an ask to his father, Father, if you're willing, remove this cup from me. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.960 And we want to ask, well, what does Jesus have in mind by this cup? 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:02.400 Jesus does not have Gatorade in his hands, you know, as though he doesn't like the taste of it. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.720 What's Jesus saying about the cup? 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:15.599 The cup is a common, a well-known illustration, metaphor for God's wrath being poured out in justice. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.359 He feeds them with justice, is what we read in our Old Testament reading. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:23.599 And the cup is as though it's that justice is being poured out. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:35.039 And when that justice meets an unjust world, it takes the form of God's wrath against that which corrupts and threatens and deteriorates humanity that God loves. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:45.599 So we can read in Isaiah 51 God's address to Jerusalem through the prophet, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem. 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:54.079 You have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:58.319 This is the cup that Jesus understands he's about to drink. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:07.200 He's about to drink deep from the cup of God's wrath against injustice, and we want to ask, why is Jesus the one drinking this cup? 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:09.440 Jesus is the sinless one. 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:19.039 Jesus is the only one who has not been led into temptation as though he has transgressed God's law, and yet he's the one drinking the cup. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:20.559 Why is that? 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:25.200 I think Jesus gives us the answer earlier in verse 37. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.599 Why is all of this happening? 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:29.440 Why the Passover meal? 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:30.880 Why the crucifixion? 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:35.119 Why this whole holy week, this whole entry into Jerusalem? 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.839 Jesus gives us the answer in verse 37. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:42.160 I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.279 He was numbered with the transgressors. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:50.000 What was written about me in that text has its fulfillment. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:57.200 Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 53, just a couple of uh chapters away from what I just quoted in Isaiah 51. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759 This is a famous scripture pointing us towards. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:07.920 The coming Messiah, the suffering servant, who's going to step into the place of a misguided and wayward people. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:13.920 And he's going to take the punishment that they deserve onto himself, as it were, to reconcile them with God. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.079 And Jesus is being very purposeful here. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:22.079 He says, What was prophesied here hundreds of years ago is exactly what I've come to accomplish. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:26.720 I am going to be the one to reconcile you with God. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:31.680 I am the true Passover substitute for you. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:39.599 And that's why Jesus is willing to say to his Father, Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:48.559 Jesus, out of his love for us, is willing to negate his will, because who wills suffering for themselves, really? 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.200 Who just is like, sign me up for more suffering? 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:52.400 I can't get enough. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:56.319 Especially the ultimate form of suffering that Jesus is about to endure. 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:03.599 No, he doesn't will suffering for himself, but nevertheless, Father, not my will but yours be done. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:13.359 I'm willing to drink the cup of wrath on behalf of a wayward people to redeem them, to reconcile them, to propitiate their sin. 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:18.000 And one objection we might need to answer here is one commonly raised at this point. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:23.200 And the objection is this: isn't this something akin to sort of divine child abuse? 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:24.000 Right? 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:35.039 Is this an angry father who wants nothing other than wrath to be visited upon his son, just pour out more of that wrath, and Jesus is just resigning himself to the fact that this is the case? 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:40.240 I think there's more going on here than just an angry father. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:47.759 We need to bear in mind that in the great mystery of the Trinity, the Father and the Son are co-workers in this act of redemption. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:53.279 The Father has sent the Son, and the Son has willingly been sent by the Father. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:24:04.400 The Father and the Son together will the redemption, the rescue of their wayward people, and they recognize they each of them have a role to play in their redemption. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:07.839 It's true Jesus doesn't will the suffering that's going to follow. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:19.279 He doesn't desire to drink the cup of wrath, but because he shares the same heart of the Father for a wayward people, he's willing to drink that cup out of love for them. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:32.240 He's willing to trust his father, because even in the most dire times that he's facing right now, he knows his father can take what is intended for evil, what's intended for suffering, and he can redeem it. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:34.480 He can bring good out of it. 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:42.160 And because Jesus trusts the Father with the final verdict here, he's willing to submit his will to the fathers. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:43.359 C.S. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:44.880 Lewis reflects on this passage. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:50.160 He reflects on the fact that God ultimately works good out of suffering. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:57.920 And he writes this we must distinguish in God, even in ourselves, absolute will from relative will. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:08.799 No one absolutely wills to have their tooth out, but many will, pardon me, many will to have a tooth out rather than go on with a toothache. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:27.519 Surely, in the same way, God never absolutely wills the least suffering for any creature, but rather will it, pardon me, but may will it rather some alternative, i.e., he willed the crucifixion, rather that man should go unredeemed. 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:32.880 And so it was not in all senses his will that the cup should pass from his son. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.359 Do you catch what Lewis is getting at here? 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:42.720 We may not will to have that root canal, but we'd sure rather have the root canal than go on with our mouth in agonizing pain, right? 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:47.200 Root canals are not something we sign ourselves up for on a regular basis, surely not. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:49.599 And here's the ultimate form of suffering. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:26:03.039 That's not the ultimate will of God, but God is willing to enter into that suffering himself for our sake, to rescue us from it, to bring us back into communion with him. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:04.960 That's the purpose here. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:23.519 And so in Jesus' prayer to his father, he begins to expose the purpose of prayer itself, which is this in dire times our prayer ought not attempt to bend God's will to ours, but instead conform our will to his. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:31.839 It ought not to bend God's will to ours, but conform ours to his, not my will, but yours be done. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:37.759 And that requires us to answer the question: do I trust that God can bring good out of suffering? 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:43.759 No one can adequately answer why suffering and pain exists. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:46.880 I know we wrestle with that and we ought to wrestle with that. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:54.000 And sometimes a Christian faith is seen as lacking because we lack an answer to the problem of evil and suffering. 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:56.319 And yet, I would say, along with C.S. 00:26:56.480 --> 00:27:01.519 Lewis, that what the Christian faith does offer is a greater hope than suffering. 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:14.319 It doesn't say that suffering is the good that God wills, but it does say that our God is so great that he can take what was intended for evil, what was intended to make others suffer, and he can bring renewal and redemption and rescue out of it. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:20.400 It doesn't make that experience good, but it means a greater good can be won from it. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:26.079 And for that reason, we can trust our Father, even in the most dire circumstances. 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:36.720 He has a purpose, and he's at work in his purpose, and we can trust that purpose, and it should fuel our earnest prayer, fuels Jesus' earnest prayer. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:42.400 He's praying earnestly as his sweat is coming out as though it's drops of blood. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:49.119 He's not resigned to his fate, but he is practicing an active trust in his Father. 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:58.319 And when we trust the Father's purpose to redeem suffering as he is through Christ, then our prayer can be all the more earnest. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.759 Thy will, not mine, be done. 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:08.480 And prayer in dire times looks like a petition, lead me not into temptation. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:13.200 It takes a purpose of negating our will and trusting our Father. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:17.599 But finally, Jesus exposes the power behind our prayer. 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.759 This is what I want us to catch. 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:25.359 Jesus addresses his disciples once again in verse 45-46. 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:31.680 When Jesus rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow. 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:35.279 And he said to them, Why are you sleeping? 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:39.359 Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:41.119 Why are you sleeping, disciples? 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.960 Do you not know what's coming next? 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.480 Do you not realize that this is the darkest of times? 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:48.960 Wake up, Jesus says. 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:51.920 Pray that you may not enter into temptation. 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.079 Rise, Jesus says. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.039 The Greek word there is anistemy, rise. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:03.200 And in one sense, I think Jesus is very plainly telling his disciples, it's time to get up. 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:04.079 Wake yourselves up. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:05.279 Drink a cup of coffee. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:12.160 Like pull yourself together here because the time we've been preparing for, this whole time of my ministry, is upon us. 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:18.160 But I also think anesthes a pretty key word here. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.640 And Luke's using it pretty strategically. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:22.079 And here's what I mean by it. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:32.960 We look at this Greek word anestheme, and it's sandwiched between Luke chapter 18, verses 33, and Luke 24, verse 7. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:35.119 It's like it's those bookended. 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:37.440 The same word is being used in both of those verses. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:44.079 And in both of those verses, it refers not to the disciples rising, but to Christ rising. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:48.799 That on the third day the Son of Man who gives his life will rise. 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:52.079 So what's Jesus saying to his disciples? 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:55.200 Is he saying, try real hard and rise just like I am? 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:55.839 No. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:00.720 But I think Jesus is pointing them towards a greater anestheme to come. 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:08.559 Jesus is calling his disciples not to pull themselves together but to rise in looking toward him. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:11.279 See, I think it exposes the real problem here. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:31.839 When dire times arise, we're far less often the hero, the Sydney Carton, the Batman, who rises to the occasion and makes the self-sacrifice and lives up to the call, and far more often we're the sleepy, sorrowful disciples who can't even rouse ourselves to do the thing we've been told to do. 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:39.200 When dire times come, how often are we looking for relief from the weight of our sorrow? 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:44.240 We're looking to escape from the dire reality we face. 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:58.319 See, Jesus knows us, and he knows our hearts, and Jesus meets us in our direst circumstances, and he brings with him a greater anesthesia, a greater resurrection to come. 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:03.359 In fact, we see his power at work in our weakness. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:08.400 And it's the weakness of the disciples that bears witness to his strength. 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:16.480 It's the power of Christ's resurrection at work in our hearts that enables us to pray in dire times. 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:24.480 That's why Paul can write in Ephesians chapter 1, I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for those of us who believe in him. 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:32.240 This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at Christ's right hand. 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:34.799 So we celebrate on Christ the King's Sunday. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:47.599 And Paul writes in Romans chapter 8, the Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead lives in you, and just as God raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living in you. 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:49.680 So what's the good news here? 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:54.960 The good news is that Jesus meets us exactly in our dire situation. 00:31:55.200 --> 00:32:06.480 He is not removed from us, he is not disinterested in us, but he has entered into our suffering and called us to rise, and he gives us the very power to do so through his resurrection. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:14.640 Jesus enters into the condition of our temptation because our high priest knows what it is to be tempted, so tells us Hebrews chapter 4. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:23.200 Jesus is not removed and disinterested from us, but he enters into our condition and calls us to make this petition as one who has gone before us. 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:36.559 He calls us to the very purpose of prayer, to an obedience and submission, to a dependence on God that seeks the greater good out of suffering, because Jesus Himself went before us, the first fruits that rose from the dead, as it were. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:42.000 He took his cross first so that he could make way for new life for us. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:52.640 And Jesus supplies us with the power that we require to rise from our sleepy and sorrowful disposition and rise to new life in him. 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:54.880 This is the gospel. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:33:00.720 Jesus supplies us with the power we need to pray in dire times. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:12.960 We have only to look at the one who has accomplished our salvation for us on the cross and direct our eyes to the one who's overcome the darkness we find ourselves in. 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:17.519 This is not an answer for suffering, but it is hope and suffering, isn't it? 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:21.759 Jesus has gone before and rescued us from it. 00:33:22.160 --> 00:33:38.240 So perhaps we can say, in similar words to Sidney Curtin, but not the same words, we can say, as disciples, it is a far, far better thing that is done for us than we could ever do ourselves. 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:48.319 It is a far, far better rest to which we'll rise than we otherwise could have ever known, because Christ has done it on our behalf. 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:51.200 It is his will for us. 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.519 It is the will of the Father. 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:58.000 Not my will, but yours be done, our Lord Jesus says. 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:03.039 Thank you, Lord Jesus, that your will for us is for our redemption and our rescue. 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:13.440 That you've entered into whatever suffering, whatever pain we experience, even now, you have plunged yourself even deeper into the darkness to rescue us with your mighty hand. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:20.159 And we look forward to that day when pain and suffering will be no more, where you will wipe every tear from our eye. 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:24.960 Lord Jesus, we pray you'd meet us exactly where we're at right now. 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:35.679 Those who are hurting, those who are in pain, would they know through the power of your cross and resurrection that there is hope? 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:37.840 Keep us from temptation. 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:41.039 Keep our will in accordance with yours. 00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:45.440 Lord, give us power by your Holy Spirit to trust you always. 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:47.119 It's in your name we pray. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:48.000 Amen. 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:51.840 Thank you for listening today. 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:57.440 We worship a generous God who calls us to follow Him in giving willfully, cheerfully, and sacrificially. 00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:04.159 Newsong Church's mission and ministry is 100% funded by the generous gifts of those worshiping and journeying with us. 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:11.920 If you'd like to offer a gift towards Newsong's ministry, please visit newsongportperry.ca slash giving for more information on how to do that. 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:14.960 May God bless you and keep you today and every day.