WEBVTT 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:04.160 Good morning. 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:10.160 Those were some amazing words we just heard. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:15.039 He must hold us fast, and he will hold us fast. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:20.800 Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:24.640 If you're a guest with us this morning, I want to welcome you. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:33.119 We go through books of the Bible here at New Hyde Park Baptist, and we have been working through the book of Matthew for three years now. 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:42.880 We are closing in maybe rapidly, but we are going to experience some delight this morning. 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:52.079 I hope you have come this morning looking for hope and looking for encouragement because our passage this morning is going to bring it in abundance. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.920 We'll be looking at two sections from this chapter. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:01.039 Section one appears in verse 31 to 35. 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:12.400 And I hope to be able to show us this morning this contrast that takes place between the word of the Lord and the word or the vow of the disciples. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:18.879 And then in section two, we have a change of scenery as Jesus enters into the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:21.040 That's verses 36 to 46. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:30.879 And here we are invited in to what is perhaps the most profound look at the humanity of Jesus in all of Scripture. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:32.879 Our sermon has two points this morning. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.159 Point number one, God's word prevails. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:41.280 And point number two, the last Adam overcomes the flesh. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.879 Please allow me to read our text for us this morning. 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:47.840 I will pray again and then we will get started. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:49.840 The word of the Lord. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:02:00.640 Then Jesus said to them, Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:04.319 But after I have risen I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:10.879 Peter told him, Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:18.639 Truly I tell you, Jesus said to him, Tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:23.759 Even if I have to die with you, Peter told him, I will never deny you. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.759 And all the disciples said the same thing. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:35.199 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, Sit here while I go over there and pray. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:40.080 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.319 He said to them, I am deeply grieved to the point of death. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:46.879 Remain here and stay awake with me. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:58.479 Going a little further he fell face down and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.360 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.280 He asked Peter, So couldn't you stay awake with me one hour? 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:09.280 Stay awake and pray, so that you won't enter into temptation. 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:12.639 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:20.800 Again a second time he went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:25.840 And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:31.120 After leaving them he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.360 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:37.120 See, the time is near. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:40.319 The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:41.759 Get up, let's go. 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.960 See, my betrayer is near. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:53.280 Lord Jesus, we must be held by your word. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:57.840 Lord, I ask that your Holy Spirit would be working and moving. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:10.960 I pray, as Brother Mike prayed this morning, Lord, that I would be out of the way and that it would be your word by your spirit that brings conviction of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:15.280 I pray, Lord, for your people that they would receive a blessing of encouragement. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:19.040 I pray for those that are burdened, that are distracted. 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:26.399 I pray, Lord, that you would invigorate their hearts and minds to receive what you have provided for them this morning, Lord. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:29.439 And I pray that it would be for your glory in Jesus' name. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:30.399 Amen. 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:46.000 In verse 31, we read, Then Jesus said to them, Tonight, all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:53.040 This is a very fitting introduction for Matthew, who has framed so much of his gospel in terms of fulfillment. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:58.800 Jesus says, For it is written, this will happen, for it is written. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:15.759 And here in chapter 26, Jesus identifies himself with the shepherd of Zechariah 13, and the fulfillment of the word of promise that God had delivered to the remnant of Israel in exile. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:21.120 This word, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:28.959 And I think it would be of some benefit to us this morning to just take a brief look at the context of Zechariah 13. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:34.959 So if you wouldn't mind, just keep your thumb in Matthew and turn back to Zechariah 13 for a moment. 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:43.839 Jesus and the New Testament authors, when they quote a passage from the Old Testament, they're not just proof texting, right? 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:56.160 When they are quoting a passage from the Old Testament, uh, they're not just grabbing a text that sort of fits uh the sound or the literary meaning that they're looking for. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:08.000 What they are doing is they are capturing an entire section of scripture, and they are providing the proper interpretation of that section. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:25.519 Indeed, it's often the case where Jesus and the New Testament authors, one authors, when they reference an Old Testament passage, they are directing the audience to recall the entire message that was delivered in that passage that they give. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:30.399 Look what we have here in Zechariah 13. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:39.439 Jesus is telling the disciples that this was written concerning himself and the events that will transpire that very night. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:43.199 We read here in these first two verses. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:53.439 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem to wash away sin and impurity. 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:59.519 On that day, this is the declaration of the Lord of armies. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:04.560 I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.240 I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirits from the land. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:24.879 Then the passage goes on in verses three to six to talk about how this day of salvation, this day where there will be a cleansing from impurity, will also be a judgment against these false and unfaithful prophets. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.519 The false shepherds deserve death. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:33.199 They deserve to be pierced through, they are full of shame and dishonor. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:37.680 And then in verse 7 to 8, it picks up again and it gets a little weird. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:53.040 It seems here that we have God's shepherd, a faithful shepherd, but he is going to receive the same judgment that these false prophets deserve. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:56.000 Look with me at verse 7 and 8. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:02.639 Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:07.519 This is the declaration of the Lord of armies. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.879 Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.240 I will turn my hand against the little ones. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:18.079 In the whole land, this is the Lord's declaration. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:22.720 Two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it. 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.480 You can turn back to Matthew. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.439 This is a really rich text in Zechariah. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:39.279 We don't have time to work through all of the details of it, but the connection here between verses one and two and seven to eight is simple enough. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:52.799 The fountain for the house of David that will be opened to wash away sin and impurity will be the very substitutional death and judgment of God's appointed shepherd. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:09:07.679 The Lord's faithful shepherd will stand in the place of judgment that the unfaithful rightly deserve, and he will receive in himself the shame and the judgment. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:25.440 And so when Jesus quotes this section, he's not only noting what will be the scattering of the disciples, but he's also pointing them to consider the salvation through judgment that will occur as God's shepherd is struck. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:35.200 An important note here is that the striking of the shepherd is not referring to some kind of assault, it's talking about death. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:42.159 The fountain that will be opened, which purifies from sin, is his body. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:58.559 And the promise for the purification from sin, this is part of a much broader hope and promise that God has been speaking of that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, where man was first cut off and separated from God. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:07.200 And Jesus wants to direct the disciples' thinking along these redemptive lines from Zechariah. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:15.200 He wants them to interpret the events that will follow that evening through the lens of God's word. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:25.279 And he essentially says, Tonight, tonight, the fulfillment of this hope for purification and sin is coming. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.559 Tonight is the night. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.600 But you will all fall away. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:36.159 The disciples will fall away, but God's word will prevail. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:40.320 Jesus will die the death of a sinner alone. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:45.279 This must happen according to God's set plan and purpose. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.799 Come back in Matthew 26 and look at verse 32. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:54.399 Those who are scattered will then be welcomed back. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:11:01.440 In verse 32, he says, But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:04.559 I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:14.399 Now we're going to come back to this verse a little bit later in the sermon, but for now I really want us to see that this scattering of the disciples is not the last word. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:19.840 The good shepherd will once again gather his sheep. 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:25.360 Jesus will rise, and the disciples will be with him in Galilee. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:37.120 And then in verse 33 to 35, we can see this contrast set up between God's sure word of promise and the disciples' vow. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:46.080 In verse 33, Peter told him, Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fail you, fall away. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:53.440 And then in verse 35, even if I have to die with you, Peter told him, I will never deny you. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.600 And all the disciples said the same thing. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:02.080 These are noble words, these are good words. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:06.480 But the disciples are unable to keep this vow. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.440 God's word will prevail. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.600 The disciples will scatter. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.720 Peter will deny Jesus three times. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:24.960 And this isn't the first time either in Scripture where we come across this kind of contrast between God's promise and man's promises. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.480 We see this in other places. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.919 In fact, we see this in the entire history of Israel, don't we? 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:40.240 If you can remember all the way back to Exodus 24, you have the people of Israel making a vow to be faithful to the Lord. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:53.600 The people of Israel, after receiving the law from Moses, they declare as one people before God at Sinai, we will obey all the Lord commands. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:55.039 Really? 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.360 All of it? 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:04.799 Rather than fall to their knees in humility and declaring, Lord, we are weak. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:08.639 We cannot obey all that you have commanded. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:12.559 You must keep us, you must hold us fast. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:18.559 Instead, they cry out and promise, We will obey. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.440 But Israel cannot keep this word. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:26.639 Later on, Moses even tells them this expressly in a number of places. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:28.159 They will fail. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.480 God's word prevails. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:34.080 The word of the Lord comes in Deuteronomy 30. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:49.039 And he says, When all of these things happen to you, the blessings and the curses I have set before you, and you come to your senses while you are in the nations where the Lord your God has driven you. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:54.799 The word of the Lord says, You will not obey this, you will be banished, you will be scattered. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:20.159 And the promise is that when you are in these nations where you are scattered, and you and you return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul by doing everything I am commanding you today, then he will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:25.120 God's word prevails. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:29.039 Man's promises do not. 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:36.000 Israel vows to obey God, God's word says they will not, they will be scattered. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:41.120 Humanity's failure to keep covenant leads to scattering. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.440 This happened in Eden. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:51.279 This happened with Israel as they failed to follow the covenant and they were scattered from the land of promise. 00:14:51.279 --> 00:15:20.000 This scattering, however, it is preceded by a merciful gathering, so that in Israel's failure and inability to keep the law, we can see the absolute necessity of God and God alone to produce faithfulness in his people, and God alone, who must keep his people. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.399 And we see the same thing in our text this morning in Matthew. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:29.919 We see here that the disciples they will fail to keep their vow. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:33.039 But God does not. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.519 God's word prevails. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:42.159 They will be scattered, but Jesus will go before them, and they will be gathered again to the shepherd. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:51.759 And just as sure as the sheep will scatter according to the word of the Lord, so too the sins of God's people will be washed away. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:57.759 The assurance of this is grounded in the repetition we read from Zechariah 13. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:02.480 This is the declaration of the Lord of armies. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:15.440 And friends, this should be enough for us that that would take away all doubt that our faith and our loyalty to Jesus is the result of our own decision making. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:20.639 Our loyalty to Jesus is not a result of our promises. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.440 It wasn't true of Israel. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.759 It wasn't true of the disciples. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:29.200 It is only God's word that will ever prevail. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:45.120 Not our promises, not our vows, unless our faith is anchored to something outside of ourselves and tied directly to the word of God, it will crumble in an instant under pressure. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.039 Now there's some really good application for us in this. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.519 Look to Christ with humility. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:17:03.039 Look to Christ knowing with absolute assurance that apart from his promise keeping, you would not only fall away, but you would run straight into the fires of hell. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:09.759 If you could lose your salvation, you would have already done it by now, beloved. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:15.519 Consider this: the first Adam did not even have a sin nature. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:22.960 And he fell into sin to such a degree that he sided with the word of Satan over the word of God. 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:32.000 Friends, what chance do we have in our own power or strength to stay loyal to Jesus? 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:37.839 Look to Christ with humility to keep you. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:46.799 If you are in Christ today, it is only because he is upholding you right this second by the power of his word. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.119 Jude 1 24. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:18:01.519 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in his presence without blemish and with great joy. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:10.079 If you are in Christ, you did not become a follower of Christ by choosing him or by dedicating your life to Jesus. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:14.960 He came to you first, he gathered you in. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:22.880 John 6 37, everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:33.359 Or John 6 45, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:43.440 Brothers and sisters, he will ensure that all of his scattered sheep are brought in. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:47.119 A few weeks ago we read this word from Matthew 24. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:59.680 At the end of the age, he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other, Matthew 24, 31. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.400 God's word prevails. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:14.480 Friends, you won't keep that vow to love your wife or honor your husband in your own strength. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:23.839 You won't keep that promise to never say those words again by your own self-discipline. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:31.279 You won't put away that pornography because you really mean it this time. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:36.400 But God's word will prevail. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:40.720 He must cause our faithfulness. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.599 And here's the really good news, beloved. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:55.279 God's word does assure our holiness, that we can reach out to the Lord, we can cry out to him for his faithfulness. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:20:02.559 Ephesians 1:4, for he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:09.200 Now hear this: to be holy and blameless in love before him. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:16.960 So look to Christ with humility, confessing your weaknesses to him. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:24.880 Plead with him daily, hourly, to grow you in grace, to purify you. 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:28.720 Brothers and sisters, God answers prayer. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.519 God gives grace to the humble. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:39.920 Our prayers and our confession of weakness are an expression of our neediness and humility before God. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.759 And he responds with more grace. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:46.240 Moving on. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:52.559 Following this exchange in verse 31 to 35, we now have the change of scenery. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:58.640 In verse 36, Jesus takes the disciples into the garden of Gethsemane. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:16.559 And what begins to unfold here is this struggle and this temptation in the garden that echoes the first battle in Scripture between God's will and man's will that occurred with Adam and Eve. 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:20.880 Point number two, the last Adam overcomes the flesh. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:28.240 Three times in this section, Jesus directs the attention and the focus of the disciples. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:32.240 He wants them to pay careful attention to what's going on. 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:37.519 He wants them to fully grasp what's going to be happening in this garden. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:42.960 In verse 38, he brings the three and tells them specifically, stay awake. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.000 Look what it says. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:51.359 Pay attention. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:58.240 Verse 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won't enter into temptation. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.759 The Spirit is willing to. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:02.000 But the flesh is weak. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.200 Here he adds, pray, stay awake and pray. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:16.079 The significance of this moment is so great that to miss it means falling away into temptation. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:19.279 The disciples will break their vow and flee. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.400 And then finally, in verse 46, get up, let's go. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.880 See, my betrayer is near. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:28.960 He says, see or behold. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:32.240 I love when God uses interjections. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:38.160 He's commanding us and the disciples to focus in on something, to behold it. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.440 There's a war going on in this moment. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:48.960 Jesus is engaged in the greatest human struggle that has ever been, and he is going to overcome. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:57.359 And again, with this contrast here, because in the battle against the flesh, the disciples cannot stand. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:58.960 They sleep. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.000 But Jesus does overcome. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:16.799 And what's amazing here is that despite all the weakness of the disciples to stay awake and to take in the significance of the events in the moment, God still manages to preserve this for us. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:32.160 We have a record here of how Jesus, in the darkest of hours, overcomes the flesh and submits himself to the Father's will in a way that no human being has ever done before. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:39.440 He stands as a new Adam in the garden, facing an unimaginable temptation. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:43.039 The last Adam overcomes the flesh. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:45.680 And all before Jesus have failed. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:52.079 Adam failed, Noah failed, Israel fails, the disciples fail, but Jesus will overcome. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:58.319 Let me try to help us to wrap our heads around this for just a bit. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:09.200 Matthew is connecting Jesus here to the first Adam by setting up this battle in terms of man's will versus God's will. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:20.720 What was at stake in the battle of the first garden was whether all of humanity would remain in God's presence and fellowship. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:35.759 What is at stake in this battle of the last Adam is whether God's people will remain alienated from his presence forever or be brought back into fellowship with God. 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:43.599 In other words, what's taking place in Gethsemane is the very reversal of Eden. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.640 One Bible commentator has said it this way. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:51.200 Now, this quote is rather difficult to follow, but I'm going to read it slowly. 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:53.440 See if you can get this. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:25:05.440 In the first garden, not your will but mine changed paradise to desert and brought man from Eden to Gethsemane. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:21.119 Now, not my will but yours brings anguish to the man who prays it, but transforms the desert into the kingdom and brings man from Gethsemane to the gates of glory. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.039 Isn't that wonderful? 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:32.720 We could read here in verse 37 to 38 that Jesus is indeed experiencing tremendous grief, even to the point of death. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:33.440 Look what it says. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:39.359 It says, He said to them, I am deeply grieved to the point of death. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:43.759 You may have a note in the margin of your CSB here. 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:51.920 Literally translated, he's saying, My soul is swallowed up in sorrow. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:55.119 And we need to ask, what is this grief? 00:25:55.119 --> 00:26:01.440 Is it just the stress of the impending physical torture and crucifixion to come? 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:03.200 I don't think it is. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:11.039 That may be part of it, perhaps, but there are far greater elements at work here in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:17.680 Jesus' grief includes the pain of having his beloved disciples abandon him. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.880 He knows the physical suffering will come. 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:32.799 It will be immense, but the humiliation, the rejection, the abandonment by those whom he came to save is deeply sorrowful. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:37.839 And to be sure, this isn't Jesus' first introduction to sorrow. 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:44.880 No doubt the scandal of his birth, we imagine, resulted in mockery and humiliation. 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:50.000 Then, of course, there was the rejection by the Jewish leaders, the slander. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:56.720 Jesus' suffering doesn't begin here, but it's certainly beginning to reach critical mass. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:01.759 Here in the final hour, his closest disciples are going to abandon him. 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:04.480 He will face death utterly alone. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:08.160 But we need to go even further. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:13.759 We also need to consider Jesus' grief in relation to the Father. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:17.920 This cup that Jesus will drink is God's wrath. 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:23.200 This is the cup from passages like Jeremiah and Isaiah in Jeremiah 25. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:32.720 We read, This cup of the wine of wrath from my hand, and make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink it. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:38.720 Or in Isaiah 51, the cup of his fury from the Lord's hand. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:47.680 This is the cup prepared for wicked and evil men who despise and blaspheme the Lord. 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:53.200 This is the cup for those that shake their fist at God and trample his law. 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:56.240 This is the cup that I deserve. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:00.240 Beloved, this is the cup that we all deserve. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:18.000 Yet here in the garden, Jesus is going to resist every impulse of his flesh in order to submit himself to take this cup, which he does not deserve, for an unworthy people who do deserve it. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:22.480 Three times he collapses in prayer. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:33.920 Verse 39 My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:29:15.920 Here's the first thing they teach you everybody breaks. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:18.480 Everybody cracks. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:24.720 Pain and fatigue and isolation make cowards of us all. 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:29.440 Everyone cracks under the mental and physical stress. 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.440 It's often the isolation that does the most damage. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:42.480 The goal of torture training is not to keep you from breaking, but to try and help you to delay the inevitable. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:45.599 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:49.279 What was he tempted with in these moments? 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:52.720 They don't love you, Jesus? 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:55.279 You don't deserve this. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:59.200 God is still glorified in their judgment. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:01.279 Give them justice. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:07.200 This sin is too great for one man. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:12.319 Surely there must be an alternative. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:19.119 Look, we don't have all the details of the war that's going on in the soul of Jesus here. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:22.559 Luke's gospel brings this out in a little more detail. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:29.440 He describes Jesus as sweating droplets of blood and needing to be strengthened by angels. 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:32.880 And yet he stays the course. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:54.319 The sins of all of God's people are going to be placed onto Christ, calling to remembrance this imagery of the Old Testament where the high priest lays his hand on the scapegoat and pronounces the sins of Israel onto it before sending it out into the wilderness and the realm of the dead alone. 00:30:54.319 --> 00:31:02.079 The weight of sin being placed onto the Christ is crippling. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:13.680 The eternal Son, who was with the Father from the beginning, Jesus understands the holiness of God far better than you or I, beloved. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:17.839 We make light of sin, we minimize it. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.960 And that's because we make little of God. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:31.279 We don't rightly understand the gravity of sin because we do not rightly see the one whom we have sinned against. 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:34.240 But Jesus does. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:44.079 What horror and agony of being scorned and judged by the Father. 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:47.759 What pain to be forsaken. 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:55.279 We are often reminded of the effects of sin in our life. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:32:06.400 Every time we bury a loved one or visit someone sick in the hospital, when we see broken homes, divorce, shattered relationships. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:16.160 But even in all of this, we can only grasp at a portion of the weight of sin against the holy God. 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:30.880 And Jesus knows exactly how vile and weighty and wretched even a single sin is because he fully knows the Father. 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:36.079 It was a single sin which threw all of humanity into misery and judgment. 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:43.119 It was a single sin that separated us from the beauty and the goodness of God's presence. 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:55.920 How much worse to have the totality of the sin of God's people to bear on his soul, the soul of the man Christ Jesus? 00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:01.039 In weakness he pleads with the Father for another way. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:03.119 Was there another way? 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:09.200 Was there another way to bring sinners into true and lasting fellowship with the Father? 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:11.039 And the answer is no. 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:12.799 No. 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:16.559 There was no other way. 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:24.960 What the first Adam lost, only the last Adam could restore. 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:34.079 The last Adam must overcome the flesh in order to then overcome sin and death at the cross. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:37.279 Brothers and sisters, the cross is necessary. 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:45.599 Without the cross, we would never grasp the love and the mercy of God that says, I will give myself for you. 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:49.680 But hear me carefully here. 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:59.839 Jesus' death on the cross is not in itself sufficient to bring you into God's presence. 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:01.839 Just hear me out. 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:07.680 Jesus' death is part one of a whole redemption. 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:14.480 Our salvation is both from sin and to the Lord. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:22.480 Jesus taking the wrath of God, which our sins deserve, saves us from sin and judgment. 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:41.119 But it is the perfection of Jesus' life, his perfect law-keeping, his undefiled obedience to the Father's will that earns a holiness and a righteousness that is required to stand in God's presence. 00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:47.360 Hebrews 12:14, without holiness, no one will see the Lord. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:58.000 Without the cross, we would never know the wisdom of the holy God, who is both just and justifier, who upholds his justice and holiness in forgiving sin. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:06.400 But without the last Adam overcoming the flesh in the garden, you would have no righteousness. 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:10.719 You would have no faithful obedience before God. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:18.239 Because he cried out, yet not as I will, but as you will. 00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:28.159 You, if you are in Christ, are now credited with the holiness and righteous obedience of the last Adam. 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:31.440 That is good news. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:40.159 And the question for us is: do you want to live according to the first Adam or the last Adam? 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:46.480 Do you want to be less about yourself and your will and your preferences? 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:47.920 Are you tired, beloved? 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:52.639 Well, if so, then this is wonderful news for us. 00:35:52.639 --> 00:36:06.800 Because this same Christ who overcomes the flesh in the garden is the same Christ who poured out the Spirit for you and who now sits on his throne to hear your prayers and to intercede for you. 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:23.280 And so I implore you, by the mercies of God, to look to Christ in such a way that you continually lean into him in order to resist the flesh and submit yourself to the will of the Father. 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:27.440 Romans 8, 12 to 13. 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:37.599 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:43.519 But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 00:36:43.519 --> 00:37:02.639 Look to Christ with hope, knowing that in Christ we have the power to now set aside our own wills. 00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:12.559 You are no longer a slave to the carnal flesh that makes your wants and your preferences and your desires the master. 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:24.719 In the day-to-day minutia of life, in all of the little decisions and choices that we make, we can now ask ourselves, what is the Father's will? 00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:36.480 And in Christ, by the power of the second and the final Adam, we are free to submit ourselves to the Father's will. 00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:41.519 Friends, to do that, we need to be about this book. 00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:48.559 We need to know the will of the Father, and we need to look to Christ with hope. 00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:52.320 And this brings me to our final application point. 00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:57.280 Now, many of you are going to think, well, of course, Kevin's going to go down this direction. 00:37:57.280 --> 00:37:58.719 He's the mission guy. 00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:01.519 But follow along with me here. 00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:03.440 I want you to see this in the text. 00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:07.440 This final application point is coming back to verse 32. 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:10.800 Meet the resurrected Lord in his mission. 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:17.679 He says in verse 32, but after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:21.599 Jesus knows the disciples will fail to keep their vow. 00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:24.159 He knows they will succumb to the flesh. 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:40.639 But he dies so that not only will his people be free from the wrath of God, but so that they will be free from the bondage of the flesh, which has corrupted the image of God since the first Adam. 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:52.800 And now I'm using this term image of God here, not so much as a title for humanity, but as a commission, as a responsibility. 00:38:52.800 --> 00:39:08.159 Back in Genesis 1, it reads, They were made in the image of God so that the reason is given, so that they might rule and subdue the creation. 00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:23.440 Effectually, Adam and Eve were tasked with representing the heavenly king on earth and carrying out his will as it is in heaven, filling the earth with the knowledge of God and with faithful worshipers. 00:39:23.440 --> 00:39:31.920 After Jesus makes atonement for the sins of his people, he will rise and he will meet the disciples in Galilee. 00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:35.280 And this is significant. 00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:51.119 I mean, it's significant because, of course, Jesus first met the disciples in Galilee, but it's significant because Galilee is tied into this mission of God, this commission of God to see the gospel spread into all the world. 00:39:51.119 --> 00:39:59.840 Matthew is going to be working out this movement in his gospel that takes us to the mountain of Galilee. 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:10.400 In Matthew 28, verses 9 and 10, after the resurrection, just as he said, Jesus met them and said, Greetings. 00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:14.320 They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:20.559 Then Jesus told them, Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there. 00:40:20.559 --> 00:40:27.760 Then again in Matthew 28, 16, the eleven disciples traveled to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 00:40:27.760 --> 00:40:29.199 Verse 18. 00:40:29.199 --> 00:40:38.159 Jesus came near and said, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, the perfect image of God Jesus Christ. 00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:42.079 All authority to rule and to subdue. 00:40:42.079 --> 00:40:47.920 And he commissions these redeemed sheep. 00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:55.360 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 00:40:55.360 --> 00:41:04.159 This connection between Galilee and the mission of God is rooted not only in Matthew's gospel in this movement, but also in the Old Testament. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:13.760 In Matthew 4, if you remember where Jesus goes into Galilee and begins his ministry, he goes into Galilee preaching the good news of the gospel. 00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:31.519 And Matthew says in verse 14 and 16 of chapter 4, this was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, land of Zebulon, land of Naphtali, along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:39.280 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:44.800 Galilee is the gateway to the Gentiles, to the nations. 00:41:44.800 --> 00:42:05.840 And not only did Jesus fulfill this by bringing a light to the nations with his own life, but by the overcoming of his flesh in the garden and the cleansing from sin at the cross, this means that his people are now restored to the image of God. 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:12.000 They are able to fulfill the purpose of God for humanity. 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:18.239 Paul and Barnabas, they pick up on this. 00:42:18.239 --> 00:42:24.800 They see themselves as fulfilling this mission of Jesus. 00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:32.400 They boldly declare that having already proclaimed the gospel to the Jews, they will now go to the Gentiles. 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:36.480 And they say this in Acts 13, verse 47 to 48. 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:39.840 For this is what the Lord has commanded us. 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:42.800 Now, now he's speaking of the Old Testament here. 00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:49.199 I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. 00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:57.199 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 00:42:57.199 --> 00:43:06.559 Friends, we are gathered up into Christ that we might meet the resurrected Lord in his mission. 00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:09.039 He has saved us. 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:17.599 He has given us a restored nature, that we might be a light to the nations. 00:43:17.599 --> 00:43:20.400 We are saved for service. 00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:26.800 We are not saved to be only consumers of Christian ministry. 00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:32.159 We are saved to live out this mission of the last Adam. 00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:45.119 And this includes everything from sweeping floors in our local church to serving in various ministries, to counseling others, encouraging those that are weak, sitting with those who mourn. 00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:52.320 Whatever it is, we are to meet the resurrected Lord in his mission, beloved. 00:43:52.320 --> 00:43:55.920 We are saved for service. 00:43:55.920 --> 00:43:59.119 Point number one God's word prevails. 00:43:59.119 --> 00:44:02.960 Number two, the last Adam overcomes the flesh. 00:44:02.960 --> 00:44:07.199 Brothers and sisters, we must look to Christ with humility. 00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:15.039 Our faith and our faithfulness must be grounded in his word, not our own efforts or promises. 00:44:15.039 --> 00:44:21.280 We must look to Christ with hope, because he has overcome the flesh. 00:44:21.280 --> 00:44:24.880 We have been freed to lay aside our wills. 00:44:24.880 --> 00:44:32.960 Look to Christ pleading with the Lord to conform your hearts to the will of the Father alone. 00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:39.599 And finally, meet the resurrected Lord in his mission, looking to Christ with humility and with hope. 00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:45.039 We must meet the resurrected Lord in his mission to be a light to all nations. 00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:46.639 Let me pray for us. 00:44:46.639 --> 00:45:04.960 Heavenly Father, we rejoice knowing that the Christ came when we, like sheep, had gone our own way and wandered, and we rejoice that you have brought us. 00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:11.599 We rejoice, Lord, that our faith rests in you and you alone and not in ourselves. 00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:15.360 Lord, I pray that this word would be sealed in our hearts. 00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:21.679