Just a brief note, at the outset here yesterday, myself and two of our elders, Richard Jones and Scott Warren, attended Presbyterian, which was at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Marlborough, Massachusetts. And one of the highlights, as it often is the case, is seeing men come under care in their process of desiring to pursue pastoral ministry. And so three men were coming under care and they were all standing up front of the church with plenty of spacing due to COVID. And just hearing their testimony was such an encouragement. First, a younger man was a white Caucasian man from the States. He grew up in the States in a Christian home, but he lost his best friend at age 17. And so he kind of walked away from the faith that he was nurtured in. He later expressed getting heavily involved in the charismatic movement, and then by God's providence being introduced to certain authors, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, and being introduced to the reform tradition in theology, and so he was one of the younger men standing before us. The second man then began to give his testimony. He was from China, born and raised in China till age 28, and I think at that age he came to the States. He was not a Christian. And he was searching for truth, considering different world views, and he was actually living in a Buddhist temple in Philadelphia, I believe, for that year, during which time he was providentially given a Bible to consider truth. Here he was from China, living in a Buddhist temple in Philadelphia, and came to faith in that temple through reading the word of God. The third man was from Korea. He had come to the States. He served in the U.S. Army or military. He was deployed to Afghanistan. He came to faith during his service in the Army. And then since that time, he started a ministry to orphans and widows, serving many people in Afghanistan, which is where he desires to continue serving. And I was just blown away by how different these men were in many ways, different stories, different backgrounds, different parts of the world. And yet the same God and his grace and gospel has brought these men to the Lord Jesus. So it's always an encouragement to hear those testimonies. Well, where do these words come from? Nearly all the wisdom that we possess, that is to say true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves. Those are the opening words of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, one of the great contributions to the Christian church. All wisdom that we possess consists of knowledge of God and knowledge of self. How can a person live well and wisely without knowing themselves, what their purpose is, what their needs are, what their greatest need is? And how can a person know the answer and remedy to their purpose and their needs without knowing the one who has designed them, who has made them for himself? Well, we are continuing in Matthew 26. Jesus is nearing the cross. It's the night before he is crucified. and two significant truths surface. One is about the disciples, about the nature of the disciples. One is about ourselves, and the other is about the Lord Jesus. One is about sinful humanity, and one is about the sinless humanity of our Lord and Savior, in whom we find our help and our hope. So Matthew 26, beginning at verse 30, As we continue in Matthew, Matthew 26 verse 30, listen now to God's word. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, so you could not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, my father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, sleep and take your rest later on. Look, the hour is at hand, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. Throughout this story and narrative, one of the threads that is woven throughout is the breakdown of the faith of the disciples, their failure, their letdown. Peter clearly has high expectations of himself. He has, perhaps we could say, a high view of himself and his own commitment. He says, though all fall away, I will never fall away. We know, fast forwarding, that Peter is going to be a central leader in the early church, in the opening chapters of the book of Acts. But here he's first having to learn about his own weakness, his own limitations, even his own failures and sins. And so he boasts this great resolve and this great commitment, but later that night he's going to have denied the Lord three different times. I don't know the man when questioned. I don't know the man. But it's not just Peter. Peter says in verse 35, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And then we're told, and all the disciples said the same. They all expressed this great resolution and commitment. They all talked a big talk. It makes sense, no one wants to let the Lord down. Yet just within one hour, upon the betrayal and rest of the Lord, we're told in verse 56 later on, then all the disciples left and they fled. Insight into the nature of discipleship. Have you ever experienced a letdown in life? A sense of failure in the pursuit of some end, some goal, some accomplishment? Have you ever experienced a breakdown in your own character. Like many of you, I enjoy activity, running, exercise. And a number of years ago, I began to participate in triathlons, which is an event that comprises a swim, and then a bike, and then a run. And over time, I had prepared for a full triathlon, which is kind of an all-day event. I had prepared very well, took six to eight months to prepare. It was 2016 in Hague, New York. I got into the water, Lake George, I finished the swim portion, got out, got on my bike, finished the bike portion, and then I set out for the run, which is a full marathon. And I hit mile five, and then mile six, and then about mile seven, I hit a wall. That's what they call it, hitting the wall. Has anybody hit the wall before? It's a sudden fatigue, a drop in energy. And I didn't just hit the wall, I stopped. I withdrew. So they call that a DNF. Did not finish. But the reality is it really felt like failure. Just hitting a wall. So much preparation, so much resolution, only to experience this kind of breakdown. I'd rather be communicating how to successfully overcome or prevent breakdown or failure. But the reality of human experience is one full of falls. Now that's just a foot race. But what about breakdown in the race of faith? Does that happen? That's what the disciples experience. There's a deeply significant question and application for disciples drawn from this narrative. How do you deal with failure and sin in the life of faith? How does the Church of Jesus Christ deal with that sense of failure and sin within the body of Christ? In small ways, in greater ways, every Christian experiences failures, sins, letdowns. And the disciples are going to experience that in part because the Lord says so. It's hard enough in the life of discipleship to deal with sin, but then to hear the Lord Jesus say to the disciples, you will all fall away on account of me, that's hard to hear. He's not just warning them of falling away, he declares with certainty the fact that they will fall away. No one wants to hear about the reality of sin, the inevitability of falling. But there's something wonderful that's woven together here by our Lord. On the one hand, you have the certainty, the inevitability of the disciple's sin. On the other hand, you've got the sufficiency of God's grace in Christ. He says, you'll all fall away on account of me. But remember what Jesus had just declared an hour or two prior in the upper room as he was sharing the Passover meal and instituted the Lord's Supper, and he took the bread and he took the cup. What did he say to them? This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Sometimes in our lives, sin weighs heavy. And yet we're to remember there is a foundation that our faith rests upon far greater than our own resolve or commitment. Our assurance rests on that foundation. Sinclair Ferguson. Christian author and theologian, pastor, wrote a wonderful book. He wrote many wonderful books. One of them is on the Puritan John Owen, and it's called John Owen on the Christian Life. And Ferguson says this, John Owen describes the practical importance of assurance in the following way. Faith's discovery of forgiveness in God is the great foundation of a sin-perplexed soul. The assurance of forgiveness safeguards the believer from the tyranny of his own emotions and is essential to his spiritual stability. Key words, assurance, foundation, stability. That's what believers need in the midst of a fall, in the midst of sin. Because Owen's right. We have sin perplexed souls. We experience at times this tyranny of emotions, and yet we have to hear again and again and again, this is my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. To know that kind of foundation and the depth of that love that Christ has for his people. But there's something else the disciples are learning, not only the need for the foundation of Christ's grace, but also for Christ's presence. Notice the Lord says in verse 31, you'll all fall away because of me this very night. And then he quotes from the prophet Zechariah. He says, as it's written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. You see the point about the presence of Christ. When the Lord, when the shepherd is arrested, when he's taken that very night, The next day crucified, what do the sheep do? The disciples scatter. The faith of the disciples begin to crumble when Jesus is no longer present with them. One author put it this way, it becomes clear that the disciples do not have the ability to believe within themselves. They receive this ability through Christ holding on to them. Their faith has been upheld by the Lord Jesus, by his presence with them. And this is true in our own lives. When we are living, as they say, quorum Deo, in the light of God's presence, our faith flourishes. When Christ is present, faith flourishes. When Christ is absent, faith begins to falter. We see that happen literally in the life of the disciples. And yet he gives the disciples this word of hope. But after I am raised up, I will go before you. I will be with you again. And the Lord would not only rise from the dead, but then he would later send his spirit to strengthen, to be near and within his disciples, to empower them for their calling, their work. So they're learning about the necessity of Christ, his grace and his presence amidst their own failures and their own sin. And then in verse 36, we're told that Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. And I want us to follow the Lord Jesus and the disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane because we see here a depth of our Lord's heart that we have yet to see through the Gospel of Matthew. He takes all of his disciples and says to them in verse 36, sit here while I go over there and pray. It's striking when you look at the content of the Gethsemane narrative. Almost half of it is centered on prayer. The disciples being urged and exhorted to pray. Jesus encouraging Peter, James, and John to watch and pray that they fall not into temptation. Jesus is crying out in prayer to his father. It's instruction for us that when we as a people are going to do battle, battle against the evil one or battle against sin, battle against division, against spiritual darkness, a primary weapon our Lord gives us is prayer. Just gaining that alone from the text is of great practical help. But there's more. He takes all 12 of the disciples with him in the garden. But then notice he singles out Peter, James, and John, the so-called inner circle. And he takes them further into the garden. Remember, it was these three back in chapter 17 of Matthew who witnessed the transfiguration of our Lord. When the Lord was transformed before their very eyes, his face shining like the sun, his clothes becoming white as light. They witnessed the Lord in all of his glory and exaltation. And now they're going to see him in his humiliation and his suffering. The story of Gethsemane teaches us here as much as anywhere about the humanity of our Lord. That our Lord took on human flesh. It says that he began to be sorrowful and troubled. He said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Luke's account in Luke chapter 22 tells us he was in such agony, praying earnestly, more earnestly, that his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. The anguish and distress within our Lord emotionally, physically is severe. Notice what has happened in the story. Jesus led the 12 into the garden and then he led the inner circle of three even further. But then he asked those three in verse 38, remain here and watch and pray. He has gone from the 12 down to the three, but then he leaves the three and he's alone. The focus narrows to Christ alone. And that's where the eyes of our hearts are to be in this story. It's our Lord alone who is able to walk and bear this path of suffering. Remember the words of Hebrews, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. We do not author our faith, we do not perfect our faith. But Matthew is drawing our attention to him who does. There's such a strong contrast in Gethsemane between the sinful humanity of the disciples and the sinless humanity of our Lord. The disciples, they make great promises, never to fall away. They're all going to flee. They can't keep their eyelids open and commit to prayer. Jesus returns to them again and again. They're sleeping. Their faith breaks down. But our Lord's faith, He remains faithful. He remains firm. But it's not without pain. Matthew wants us to see, yes, our Lord is sinless, he will remain faithful, but he will do so enduring severe suffering and pain. Why the pain? We might say, well, he's suffering because he's feeling the weight of the cup of God's wrath that is going to be poured out. The prospect and the reality that he will be bearing sin Becoming what he was not. Being made sin, him who knew no sin. But there's another reason he's suffering. It's because he bears our humanity. Our Lord did not come as an angel. He came in human weakness. And he came bearing humanity so that in knowing human weakness he would be able to sympathize with you in your weakness. That's why he takes on human form and human flesh. This is what the fourth and fifth chapter of Hebrews is very much about. The author of Hebrews says, we don't have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted and tried as we are, yet without sin. Have you ever experienced a friend, a parent, a brother sympathize in your pain, in your weakness, when they have felt your pain? It's one of the most healing, restoring, transforming ways that God gets to our hearts. Our Lord gets us. He understands us. Because he suffered, we suffer. We are weak. He took on human flesh to know weakness. And we see the depth of his pain in that repeated prayer that he offers to the Father. Three times. Verse 39, he fell on his face and prayed, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Again, in verse 42, he prayed, my father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. The relationship between the human will of Jesus and the will of his Father is as mysterious as is the relationship between the divine nature of Christ and the human nature of Christ in one person. Our Lord says, Father, let this cup pass from me. The cup is the wrath of God. Richard Lenski says the words, let this cup pass from me, means do not put it to my lips. Is Jesus desiring a way out? A way out from bearing the cross? Throughout the gospel we have seen, through the gospel of Matthew, our Lord has been crystal clear and resolved. He must suffer and be crucified. He's repeated it to his disciples. Our Lord does not have the slightest trace of any sinful desire, yet he prays, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. One commentator said this, Jesus is facing the most severe temptation of his life at the moment when he is ready to accomplish the culmination of his life's mission, to bear the sins of the world. It's not that Jesus was wanting out, out from the will of the Lord. He's praying. And he's praying in a way that we can relate. Many of us pray this kind of way. Lord, deliver my mother or my child from the severe pain that they are experiencing. Yet, Lord, your will be done. Lord, bring salvation to my son, my daughter, who is walking down a path of self-destruction. Yet, your will be done. We offer prayer, desiring a good and godly thing. But in the end, we yield to the will of God. Notice Jesus' words, both in verse 39 and 42. He says, if it's possible, let this cup pass. Nevertheless, your will be done. Again, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. John Calvin says, Christ from the very beginning checks his feelings and in good time brings himself into line. It's like he's in prayer, in mid-thought, in mid-stream. He keeps his mind and his heart fixed upon the will of God, but he feels the agony. Though our Lord felt great distress and severe agony, he kept his heart and mind fixed upon the will of God. Our faith falters. But our Lord Jesus' faith is perfect. He is faithful. He will not fail us. He will not fail his people. And brothers and sisters, there's much today that seeks to draw our attention. Much happening in our country, much happening in the world that could be drawing our hearts' attention. There's a presidential election. There's the ongoing effects of COVID. There's societal unrest, upheaval in cities around the nation. There's our own struggles in life and faith. All important matters. Yet what demands our hearts greatest attention is our faithful and loving Savior. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let's pray together. Oh, gracious God, how we thank you for your grace toward us. How we thank you for your son, the sinless Savior, faithful friend. Oh, Lord, for your abundant mercies that you have poured out. Lord, we pray that you would cause the eyes of our hearts to be fixed upon Christ that Jesus and his spirit would cause us to be one. Lord, that we would take refuge in him. Lord, that you would sustain us amidst our own sin, our own letdowns and breakdowns, failures that we experience in life. Lord, how we are filled with hope that there is one who is and has been faithful. who indeed is our great high priest, who intercedes for us. Lord, may our lives respond with joy, with obedience, with assurance of the salvation that we have, for you are faithful to the end. We pray all these things with thanks in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.