Luke chapter 22, and we want to focus tonight on the Gethsemane situation or episode if we begin the reading at verse 39 of Luke chapter 22. Luke 22, verse 39, 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 ye may not enter into temptation. 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. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. 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. 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? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. Let's again look to the Lord. Father, we are again thankful we can come to a God who knows everything about us. You know our sorrows. You know our burdens and our cares. And we can cast our cares upon you for this very reason. You care for us. You care for us, Lord. You care for us in a very loving, gracious way. And there's nothing, Lord, that you will not do for us that is consistent with your word and with your law and with your gospel. And you have certainly, Lord, promised that you would draw near to us. that You would give us what we need to worship You, so we again plead, Lord, that You would show Yourself to be the God who hears the prayers of His children. We come even like Your Son came, pleading, Abba, Father, hear us, answer us, give us the help we need, and we pray this in Your Son's name. Amen. If I ask You what are some of the hardest things in life to manage or get a handle on? What would come to your mind? What big things would you put on that list? Some might say, my job. Things are just out of control at work. The boss doesn't seem to know what's going on. I never know from one day to the next what's going to happen. It seems chaotic. Some might say, no, it's my diet, my weight. I can't keep that under control. Some might say, no, it's my health, my blood pressure, I have diabetes. And some might say, no, it's my in-laws, my rebellious son or daughter. So you can well understand why people would say those things. Those are some of the big unmanageable areas of one's life, or can be. But there is something harder to control and manage. And that is our emotions. And that becomes even more patent or more conspicuous when we are in the midst of trials or the difficulties of life. That's when our emotions can get out of control and can affect others. It can affect relationships. It can affect sleep. It can affect even how we eat. Eating disorders can surface. It can be behind panic and anxiety and worry and even bitterness and unforgiveness. You could even go to the extreme out of control emotions that can lead to road rage and drive-by shootings and even suicide. So often when our feelings get into the driver's seat, we look back, don't we, with a measure of shame and regrets. But the good news is that we have an example to follow, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the always person to go to when it comes to how then should we live. And where He shines brighter than anyone, He always shines brighter than anyone, but in a special way in the midst of His trials. That's why you have the writer of the Hebrews saying, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, the one who endured the cross. That's why Peter says what Peter says in 1 Peter 2. He says, Christ also suffered, leaving for us an example so that we might follow in his footsteps. So he is the one person, really the only person who, on record in our Bibles, who handled his emotions perfectly every day. And the most remarkable thing about it is he did it in the midst of his sufferings. And no one suffered more than the Lord Jesus Christ. You want a simple proof text? Isaiah 53, the man of sorrows. Tonight I simply want us to zoom lens Jesus in the midst of his suffering and see how he handled his emotions. And the emotions go on display here in Gethsemane. His grief, his sorrow, and I'm sure fear got mixed in there somewhere. Dr. Piper believes that in the garden Jesus experiences a deep depression. And this particular incident is probably the most intense in terms of his sufferings, except for Golgotha or Calvary. And what you see in Gethsemane is something of a contrast. Jesus' sorrow is put in contrast to his disciples' sorrow. Jesus, we see how he responds perfectly, and we see how his disciples respond not so perfectly. And that's what I want us to focus on this evening by way of meditation, this sorrow event or episode in the life of our Lord. And here are the four considerations. By way of outline, the rationale for sorrow, the rationale for sorrow, the escape from sorrow, the burden of sorrow, and then the triumph over sorrow. So, the rationale for sorrow, the escape from sorrow, the burden, and then the triumph. So let's consider then these four things as we focus upon this incident in Gethsemane. First of all, the rationale for sorrow. All of the gospel writers, all four of them, take us to the cross. And they also take us to Gethsemane. If you wanted an exact GPS reading as to where Gethsemane was, well it was on the western side of the Mount Olives, it was east of the city of Jerusalem, maybe half a mile or so, maybe a mile at the most. And there's this brook running by, it's the brook of Kendron, that's the valley that's named here. Some translate it Kendron, they don't have the I but the E, and that word means dark. that this will be a dark, dark night. Gethsemane means olive press. In all likelihood, it was an olive grove. Even a press was there where they actually squeezed the oil from the fruit. And we do know that this wasn't the first time Jesus went to Gethsemane. You notice, again, the language here in Luke chapter 22. It says, as was His custom. This was a place that Jesus went to frequently with His disciples. In all likelihood, it was a quiet retreat for fellowship, for prayer on both a horizontal and a vertical level. You could say there in Gethsemane, they enjoyed that sweet hour of prayer. I'm sure His disciples loved to go there, to get away from the crowds and even towards the end of His ministry, to get away from the growing opposition that they could sense was intensifying no matter where Jesus went. The Garden was a safe place. The Garden was a place to rest. The Garden of Gethsemane was a place to refresh. We shouldn't forget that Jesus was a man. He possessed a full, complete humanity from the top of His head to the bottom of His feet. He was human through and through. And that means Jesus got tired. That means Jesus got weary. He possessed a human body. He possessed a human will. He possessed a human mind. And He possessed human emotions. And in the garden, on this Passover Eve, his humanity doesn't take a rest. It isn't refreshed. But rather, it comes under a tremendous duress, so intense, listen, so intense, that it reaches the danger level that threatens his life. It's a sorrow unto death. Some wonder if that angel had not come and strengthened him, would he have died in the garden? But both Mark's gospel and Matthew, they both capture the emotional trauma by that very expression spoken by our Lord. He said, I am very soreful or exceedingly soreful even unto death. Put those two words together, sorrow and death. This is a sorrow unto death. His very life, in all likelihood, was in jeopardy in the garden of all places. Now, to appreciate what transpires in Gethsemane and why Jesus experiences this severe depression or extreme sorrow, We have to step back, don't we, in terms of the narrative, in terms of what has already transpired. We have to do something of a replay. The sorrow in Gethsemane is a climax. John's Gospel gives us the fullest account of what took place on that Passover evening in the upper room. It began with the foot washing. It ends with a high priestly prayer by our Lord. But it starts on an ominous note. If you read John 13, verse 1, here's what you have. Jesus, it says, He knew His hour had come. That word, hour. His hour. In all likelihood, it takes in Gethsemane. That's part of the hour. It takes in Gabbatha, where He will stand before Pilate. It takes in Golgotha. In one sense, you could say Jesus was ready for this hour. He had prepared for this hour the whole of His life. You could say He was getting ready for this hour. But how can you get ready for an hour like this? His disciples are not ready. And when Jesus goes over the details of what will take place, the impending suffering and His death, you can sense that they have a real hard time accepting it. You can understand why. He talks about His betrayal of one of them. One of the twelve is going to betray Him. He talks about the other eleven, that they're going to forsake Him. And John says in his gospel, sorrow filled their hearts. If you read the whole Upper Room discourse, at least from John's perspective, Jesus said an awful lot to encourage them and to comfort them. You know what doctrine he gives in high definition in the Upper Room? The doctrine of the Trinity. to encourage them and to comfort them. Some of the most comforting truths in our Bibles with respect to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and Jesus the Son are captured in that upper room discourse. And again, Jesus communicates that doctrine to His disciple friends. He's thinking of them. He knows this trial is about to come upon them. He's seeking to help bring ballast into their souls when that storm comes. And you would have thought if they had really understood and grappled with the truth of what He had said in that upper room, they would have left that upper room void with hope and optimism. But like all of us, they seem to have a hearing deficit disorder. When we become so focused on the negatives of life, we can become oblivious to the positives of life. They're not listening. They're not listening. And so when they leave the upper room and walk into the darkness of the night, you could probably see their slumped shoulders. Walking slowly, they're overwhelmed with sorrow. They really are trapped in prisons of sorrow. And again, to be fair to them, you can understand why they had spent three and a half years with Jesus and they couldn't imagine living life without Him. They had high hopes and ambitions that He was the Messiah, and that He would set up this physical, literal kingdom, and that He would conquer the Roman Empire, and He would again be the King of Kings, and they were anticipating sitting up there, one on the right hand and one on the left hand, enjoying the best seats in the kingdom. Wasn't He the Messiah? Wasn't he going to establish a kingdom greater than David? Why would he leave them? Why would any of them forsake him? Why would anyone betray him? They were struggling to put all pieces of the puzzle together. This can't be right. Something doesn't add up. They are struggling. confused, they are bewildered with sorrow and grief. And Jesus is also troubled. Even before we come to the upper room discourse, we read of this in John, we read of his soul trouble in John chapter 12. So now he says, my soul is troubled. Father, save me from this hour. And then in the upper room, we read this. Jesus was troubled, troubled in spirit. No doubt He's suffering a tremendous amount of emotional angst or trauma on a deep psychological level, far more than His disciple friends. And He has to carry this burden of sorrow all by Himself. No human comforter, no human sympathy will come alongside. walk a long, desolate pathway to the cross. The rationale for sorrow. That brings us to our second consideration. Escape from sorrow. The escape from sorrow. As soon as Jesus and his friends, disciple friends, enter the garden, Jesus takes charge. Gethsemane will become a prayer meeting, a prayer closet. The very first word out of the mouth of our Lord is about prayer. He says, verse 40 of Luke 22. And when he came to the place, he said to them, pray, pray. Mark's Gospel puts prayer also on the agenda, but it puts Jesus' prayer on the agenda. Jesus says, I will pray. Sit here while I pray. So, Gethsemane will become a concert or a sanctuary of prayer. Jesus will certainly make prayer a priority. But you know what happens here, don't you? His disciple friends drop the sword, they drop the shield right on the front doorstep. And you know why? They can't manage their emotions. They can't handle their feelings. Their feelings dictate. Their feelings cripple them. and debilitate them. You could even say this, their emotions KO them. We all know this, don't we? Our emotions can be used in a good way or a bad way. God made us with emotions. It's part of being made in the image of God. But they can be used in a good way. They can drive us to our knees. You see that in the Psalms, don't you? David frequently Calling upon God, he's distraught, he feels pain, he feels anguish. And what does it do? Well, it drives him into the arms of God. That's a good response. That's a good use of your emotion. But here in Gethsemane, the emotional duress and stress of sorrow and pain doesn't put the disciples on their knees. It puts them to sleep. Look at Luke again, Luke 22, tells us, they were sleeping, verse 45, and when he arose from prayer he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, sleeping for sorrow. Have you ever thought that sleep could have moral implications? I think we all would agree that sleep, just rest, is a gift from God, just like food, just like wine, and we are told to make good use of God's gifts. We are to use them in the way God wants us to use them, but that doesn't happen, does it? People can use food in the wrong way. They can be gluttonous. They can use alcohol in the wrong way, they can be drunkards, and they can use sleep in the wrong way and become sluggards. Isn't that what Proverbs 6 focuses upon? The man who has no discipline when it comes to his sleep. He's called the slugger. Proverbs 6, verse 9, How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? He sleeps too much, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. You see, the sluggard has something in common with the glutton and the drunkard. They all have discipline issues. They all have self-control problems. And one problem with food intake, one has a problem with alcohol intake, And one has a problem with sleep intake. They don't exercise moderation. They indulge too much, right? Too much sleep, too much food, too much drink. But there's another problem with sleep. We can misuse the gift of sleep, not only by too much sleep, but by sleeping at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. And I think we see that in our Bibles. Several instances, in fact. I mean, you have Jonah. Remember Jonah running from God? He's told to bring the gospel of repentance to the Ninevites. And what does he do? Well, he goes the opposite direction. He gets a ship to Joppa. He's running away. He's running from his responsibilities. And no sooner do we find Jonah on that boat heading towards Joppa. And what's he doing? Sleeping. He's sleeping. See, disobedience brings sorrow. It always does to the child of God. And oftentimes we deal with sorrow by sleeping. We deal with disobedience and sorrow by sleeping. We find sleep to be an escape. Don't people do that with alcohol? Drugs? Sometimes they glut their senses on entertainment. And some people use sleep. We see that with Elijah, the prophet. Not quite as aggravated as Jonah, but he does seem to be running away from issues in life. He's running away from Jezebel and her and her sword, he's allowed fear, his emotions to get the better of him, and not long before we find Elijah sleeping under the juniper tree. And what about the disciples here? Is this a good sleep? Or a bad sleep? They were given responsibilities, weren't they? They were told to pray. They're not praying. They were told to watch. But they're not watching. They drop the sword, they drop the shield, and they go to sleep. They use sleep as a way to escape pain and sorrow and suffering. And it's obvious that Jesus is disappointed when He comes upon them. Could you not watch? Could you not watch for an hour? And again you see our Lord's graciousness. He recognizes the flesh is weak. They've had a hard night. They've had a lot of things to handle emotionally. He knows all that. He doesn't come down with a heavy hammer of rebuke, but their sleep is not justified. They were attempting to run and hide from their sufferings. They are not handling their emotions in a God-honoring, principled way. The rationale for sorrow The escape from sorrow. Thirdly, the burden of sorrow. The burden of sorrow. And I'm sure when Jesus found his disciples sleeping, it was disappointing. It only added sorrow to his sorrow. A reminder, when it comes to suffering, brethren, the best of friends can disappoint you. So don't be too hard on them. The flesh is weak. But coming back to the matter of sorrow, this is really what makes Gethsemane, Gethsemane. It's the sorrow of Jesus. That's what's highlighted in all the four or three of the gospel accounts. There's a battle taking place on the turf of his heart and his emotions play into this stress and this conflict. Twice he says, again, my heart is very soreful. You could say a tidal wave or a tsunami of sorrow comes crashing in upon his soul. The disciples can't handle their sorrow. Proof positive, they're sleeping. They're not praying. They're not watching. But what is Jesus doing? Well, He's praying. He's not sleeping. He hasn't succumbed to sleep. He hasn't dropped the sword. He hasn't dropped the shield. And again, He has a whole lot more sorrow to handle and manage than they do. Remember, He knows everything. He knows everything about the cross. He sees that cup. That's what's emphasized, isn't it, in Gethsemane? The cup. What's in that cup? Well, the cup is a figurative expression for the wrath of God. And Jesus knows He has to drink that cup. That explains His sorrow. It's not the physical pain of the cross. It's not the fact that he's going to be rejected and despised by the world. I'm sure he was soreful that his disciples would forsake him, that one of them would betray him, but that's not really what's behind his soul. That's not really what's causing him to sweat drops of blood. It's what he knows what will happen when he's on that tree. He knows those three hours of darkness that he will be forsaken. by God, by His Father. And so, here's the question. Will He run? Will He hide? This would be the opportune time. He could have chosen the sleep approach. He could have snapped His fingers, couldn't He? And had a legion of angels come and rescue Him. One cry for help. Get me out of here! This is too much for me. But he stays the course. He doesn't flinch. Even with a sorrow unto death. The rationale for sorrow, the escape from sorrow, the burden of sorrow. But the last matter here is the triumph over sorrow. The triumph over sorrow. Yes, a battle takes place here. Perhaps the greatest battle our Lord had ever fought up to this point takes place in the garden. His humanity is recoiling. in terms of that cross and what he knows that cross will involve, how could it not recoil? He has a pure, sinless humanity. He knows he's going to have to bear the sins of the world or the sins of his people. That explains the sorrow, that explains the drops of blood that stain his brow. As I said, sorrow upon sorrow comes crashing in upon his soul, and I don't think we should underestimate the devil. Was he whispering in the very ears of our Lord, run like Jonah, run like Elijah, escape your suffering. And while he was tempted like we are tempted in all points like us, to run and hide, drown his emotions in a carnal way. He doesn't. He fights them. He fights them and he overcomes them. But it wasn't easy. Again, this was the most difficult thing in his life. This illustration came to me. Jesus is like one of those jet fighters who sees a missile coming right towards him when he's sitting in the cockpit. He knows he's going to be dead in a few moments if he doesn't press the eject button. His hands are trembling. Everything in him is saying, press the button, eject, eject. But he doesn't press the button. His emotions are telling him, press the button. He's sweating drops of blood. Every drop of blood is saying, eject, eject, eject. But he doesn't. He stays the course. He's able to rein in his emotions. He's able to subdue his recoiling humanity, he won't allow his emotions to control him or paralyze him from doing what he knows he has to do. I'm sure he hoped that going back to his friends, those three friends, the closest disciple friends, remember he brought them into the inner sanctuary of that garden, as he went back to them, I'm sure he was hoping for a little sympathy, for a little understanding. He had a dependent humanity just like us. It's not good for man to be alone, but he finds no relief, he finds no help from his disciple friends, so what does he do? While he exercises faith, he clings to his Heavenly Father. Probably no word brought more comfort to Jesus' heart, soul, and mind than the word, Abba, Father. Abba, Father. Father. If you are willing, remove this cup from me. Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me." And he goes into the garden further and further. He falls on his face. Mark gives the description that our Lord was stumbling there in the garden, praying, Father, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless not what I will, but what you will. That's the exercise of faith. And with that faith was love. Love for His Father. Affection for His Father. Wanting to please His Heavenly Father. Not my will, but Your will be done. You can't go to Gethsemane, can you, and not come away thinking, what a Savior, what a Savior. And just by way of application, we all can relate to sorrow. Life's full of sorrow, and they never go away. I mean, sorrow almost seems to multiply. You have sorrow for your children, you have sorrow for your parents, you have sorrow for your friends, you have sorrow with respect to your in-laws, sorrow over loss of loved ones, sorrow over your sin and failing, sorrow over broken relationships that will never be mended, this side of glory. Psalm 90, Moses says that our years here upon the earth are seventy by reason of strength eighty, and then he says, yet their span is full of toil and sorrow. We will always be sorrowing this side of glory. Now the Christian can rejoice at the same time, that's the paradox of the Christian life, but we will always sorrow this side of glory, but we don't sorrow like the world. The world is without hope. We always have hope. We always have the hope of the resurrection. We always have the hope of forgiveness. We always have the hope because of Christ's cross. And something else we need to realize, my dear Christian friends, you and I will never, ever, ever experience the sorrow that Jesus experienced. I know some people use the language, my Gethsemane. But that's almost blasphemous. You and I will never have a Gethsemane or a Golgotha. But we will suffer. That's inescapable and unavoidable. But we will never ever sweat drops of blood. But we can, can't we? We can imitate Jesus in this way. We can go to the Father. We can go to the Father, Abba Father, in the midst of our sorrow. Our sorrow is never, ever without hope or without an ultimate remedy. Because there is a place called Heaven with no more sorrow. sorrow. Heaven will put an end to all our sorrow and all our pain. That's another reason, I think we heard this in the Sunday school hour, but another reason why we should pray, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Yes, so I can see the face of Jesus, so I can have fellowship with my Savior, but also so I will be without sin and without sorrow. Come, Lord Jesus, come. But until that day, we need to pray for grace to manage our sorrows for the glory of God.