I would invite your attention with me this morning in the book of Matthew in chapter number 26. The book of Matthew in chapter number 26. We're going to take a break from the parables that we have been studying. In fact, we'll use today's morning service and next Sunday morning's morning service to help prepare our minds for the Lord's Supper next Sunday afternoon. Following lunch next Sunday, we'll get back together and the church here will celebrate communion together, enjoy the Lord's Supper together. And I want to use this service as well as next Sunday morning service to help point our minds to the cross and to prepare our hearts to receive communion. Matthew chapter number 26, Those of you who are Bible students will know that this is the last night that our Lord Jesus Christ will be alive in his natural body here on planet Earth. This is, as one of the gospel writer calls it, the night in which he was betrayed. Matthew chapter 26, we begin reading with verse 36. Verse 36, then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane and saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then sayeth he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What? Could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed in the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the 12, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people. From a very personal side, I have wrestled the last few days over what to speak this morning. My mind was pointed again to this text and prayed over it. But I sort of asked and questioned whether or not this was what I wanted to speak, whether or not this was something that I wanted to preach on this morning. Because as you know, and as I'm sure you are aware, the Lord willing, I'll be over in Jerusalem in Israel in just a few weeks now, and I'm not saying that to gloat. I'm excited about going over there, but I have long thought what a joy it would be to tread the same place, and in particular, to tread the same ground in Gethsemane that my Lord Jesus tread upon. And so I have thought as I wrestled with what to preach, I said, you can't preach that now because just as soon as you get over to Jerusalem and you get in Gethsemane, you're going to come back home all fired up wanting to preach on that again. But no matter my presence there or our feeble words today, none of these things can or will do justice to the events that took place on this night that we're talking about. And in fact, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the seriousness and solemnity of the occasion in a place called Gethsemane. And that's really what I wanna title my message to you this morning right off of the page in verse number 36. Then come Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane. And through the eye of faith and the enlightenment of the written page, I wanna follow Jesus this night through the garden of Gethsemane. I heartily agree with one preacher who I recently heard say, Gethsemane is no place for theological tourism. And we don't dare speak much of things that we do not know. Yet I believe and I trust the Bible bears this out that I think, and we speak as men because of the infirmities of our flesh, I believe that this was one of the most difficult nights in the history of time. period in the history of time. This was one of the most difficult nights in the history of time, and if I may very cautiously say that even for the triune God, the Trinity himself, this was a taxing evening on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It was a time of endurance, even for our glorious God to endure. On this night, the Son of God would face spiritual battles and emotional turmoil as His hour of death approached. On this night, the Father would hear the forlorn pleas of His Son, yet He must not deliver Him from that hour. And on this night, the Holy Spirit would grieve as the Son of God would be betrayed into the hands of wicked sinners. On this night, in a place called Gethsemane, the climactic end of the eternal covenant of redemption is approaching its highest peak. You should know and have been taught that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit covenanted one with another in what's called that eternal covenant of redemption to do what must be done to redeem fallen mankind. That covenant finds its apex at Calvary. It's highest point there, just the very next day from what we are studying. So, Christ from His birth begins to ascend up that cliff to reach that high point that towering point of death on the cross. And yet we are allowed a glimpse into what takes place behind the scenes on this incredible night in a place called Gethsemane to enter in, if you will, just a little bit to what took place leading up to the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us follow our Christ on this late evening. and see him as he enters into this garden of Gethsemane, this place called Gethsemane. Earlier this night, this very night that we have read about, earlier that night, you will remember that they gathered together in that upper room. There the Lord, and I believe it was in direct response to the twelve griping and quarreling among themselves which one of them should be the greatest, In response to that, I believe the Lord Jesus Christ takes a towel and a bowl of water and gets down on his knees and washes the feet of the apostles. And then they gather together around the table and observe that Passover meal. Tradition tells us, and probably so, they would have sat down together and ate that meal about six o'clock on that evening. And then very shortly, very shortly, at the end of that, nearing the end of that, Jesus dismisses Judas Iscariot and says to him, what thou doest, do quickly. As you know, Judas has entered into an agreement with the Sanhedrin, with religious elders, to betray the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus, knowing this, looks at Judas and says to him, go do what you're here to do. And Judas then leaves there. And I believe it is at that moment then, with Judas having been dismissed, that Christ institutes his supper there with the eleven. Judas is gone, so there are eleven of them now. And he takes those same elements that have been used for Passover to now institute his supper with them. And then he begins to teach them. He knows that his hour is coming and he begins to teach them that on this night the shepherd would be smitten and the sheep would scatter. And in response to their heartache, he then says to them, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me, in my Father's house, and you know the language. That's John 14. Put it in its context. It takes place right on the heels of him saying to them, I'm getting ready to leave you. And then he promises them, the gift of the Holy Spirit, that paraclete, that comforter would come, that one who would be like Him to come in His absence and to comfort them in their sorrow, in their suffering. He says to them, I am the true vine. If you want to live and grow and blossom, you must abide in Me. And then, as you know, he says his high priestly prayer, John 17. What we know of is that high priestly prayer. And then they leave that upper room together. And as they leave that upper room together, they sing a hymn together. And I'm not one to romanticize a lot of things, but I have often thought how wonderful it would be to be able to stand and sing, even walk the streets of Jerusalem singing a song with the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet I am reminded, and especially you young people, that we have the privilege, worship service after worship service, to sing praise to and with our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. I want you to turn to John 18 with me, and I want to read a few verses there as it helps set the precedent, helps open the door up to what is going to take place in the remainder of this study. In John's gospel, he doesn't give us as many details in Gethsemane as Matthew, Mark, and Luke do, but he plugs some holes, if you will. In John chapter 18, look what it says in verse number one. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Sidron, where was a garden, and that's Gethsemane, that's what we're talking about, into which he entered and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. I want you to get that. Judas, when he would lead the mob into the garden, he knew where to go because this was a favorite place of Jesus Christ. This was a place that he would often go to find quiet rest and prayer alone with his Heavenly Father. In fact, In particular, the last week of his life was spent during the daytime teaching in Bethany and Bethphage and into Jerusalem teaching in the temple there, but during the night he would resort again to Gethsemane. And he had done this so frequently that Judas would know where to lead the mob to find him. And Judas in verse number two in John 18, again, and Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, verse three, says, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. And I want you to notice verse four. Jesus therefore knowing all things, that should come upon him went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? That's a glorious read if you keep going. They said, we're here to find Jesus of Nazareth. And he spoke and said, I am he. And when he said, I am, they all fell to the ground, fell backwards as the great I am. making reference all the way back to the burning bush in Moses. As the I am there in the garden said, this is me, I am he, they all fell down. Which very simply tells us if Christ had so desired, he could have easily have delivered himself from that hour. But as he prayed in John 12, and as he said to his disciples there, he said to them, I could pray the Father to deliver me from this hour, but this is the hour for which I came. This is why I'm here. But in verse 4, we find, and I want you to understand as we make our way through our text in Matthew, Jesus knew all things that was going to happen to him. He wasn't taken by surprise. when Judas showed up on the scene. He wasn't shocked by the events of the next day. He, Christ, was well aware of all things that were going to happen to him. That's what makes the events in Gethsemane so powerful to us. should cause us to bow in humble reverence at the feet of our Messiah and give Him praise and glory because He knew what He was facing and it all begins to come home to Him, to be real to Him in the garden that night in which He was betrayed. I know it's been somewhat of a long opening, but bear with me. I want to notice three conditions in which our Lord would face on this night. From our text, three conditions. First, Jesus in agony. Secondly, Jesus by Himself. And then thirdly, we want to notice Jesus on His face. First of all, in our text, now in Matthew, Jesus in agony. Verse number 37 in our text, And He took with Him Peter, and James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy." These words teach us that Jesus was in distress. He was in agony. The language itself, though it's hard to render this strongly enough, in fact, When he says in verse 38, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, notice these words, even unto death. I want you to see Jesus in distress, Jesus in agony in this place called Gethsemane. He gathers with him the eleven and they enter into Gethsemane, cross the book of Kidron and go into the garden of Gethsemane and there he leaves eight of the disciples and he takes Peter, James and John, that inner circle if you will, and he takes them and he goes a little bit further and he says to them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful. I am nearly overwhelmed. It is as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. And if I may, within a few hours, he will have the sins of a lost world on his shoulders. And the realization of that begins to come home to him and becomes to make clear to him they had planned, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit had planned this in eternity past and now it is reaching its ultimate culmination. It's reaching its apex in this very night. He cries in distress and says, I am exceeding sorrowful. Mark's gospel says he fell to his knees. Can you see the glory of our divine Creator who spoke and the worlds were framed there falling down under the weight of what was about to transpire? Knowing all things, understanding what was ahead of Him. Can you see Him crying in spiritual and emotional distress? I am exceeding sorrowful even at the point of death. Can you see Him there by the eye of faith? He knowing what would take place. Yes, He, God the Son, was nearly overwhelmed with all that was ahead of Him. I imagine in my mind Jesus, that lush, gorgeous garden with branches and vines interwoven over her head, what was called the olive press. That's what Gethsemane means, the olive press. And I see him there being pressed down, weighed down, weighted down with the reality of what was about to take place. And if he wanted to, he could have just pinched this planet and froze time. He could have called 10,000 angels to deliver him. Yet he bows down and humbly obeys the divine will and covenant that he made. Yet it is so taxing on him that he is nearly at the point of breaking. He is God, yet we've got to remind ourselves He's also a man. He is God, but He's also a man, and as a man. What's the heaviest you've ever been? I'm not talking about weight. I'm talking about with emotional burdens and being weighed down with a wayward child, death of a child, the brokenness of a home. What's the most weighted down you've ever felt? What's the heaviest, the loss of a spouse? Imagine that times a million and that's what was on Jesus. more than we can even begin to comprehend. This weight was placed upon Him, and only the God-man was man enough to bear this burden. His body, His soul, His spirit, so heavy, so burdened with the charge that lied ahead of Him, that He begins to sweat blood. You want to read that with me in Luke chapter 22? Luke, as you know, is a doctor. He is a physician. And out of the four Gospel writers, he is the only one who records this phenomenon, this unique event in Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is so overwhelmed, in such great distress. that the pores of his skin actually began to secrete blood. In Luke chapter 22, look at verse 39. And he came out and went as he was want, or what was his habit, to the Mount of Olives. And that's where the Garden of Gethsemane is. And his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, that common place where he went, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Notice verse 44, and being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke records this rare but real phenomenon. It has been seen, it has been observed. Go home this afternoon and Google it. It happens. This unique act of the body is called hematidrosis where the pores of the skin will actually produce blood. Your sweat vessels have these tiny blood vessels associated with them and under times of extreme duress, those tiny little blood vessels will rupture and you will begin to sweat blood. This hardly ever happens, but it has been documented that it happens, but only under times of extreme duress. I read a story of a man on death's row, a condemned criminal, who his hour of execution was coming. And the man who went to get him to lead him to His execution documented and saw that He had His robe, His clothing was turned red as He was sweating blood, as He knew that His hour of death was imminent. How do we not see a glorious image of Jesus our Savior in this? who would soon become a condemned criminal in our place instead, who would soon suffer the execution of both Roman Gentile rule and the wicked betrayal of his own Jews and be crucified. He was about to be put to death and He knew that. And the agonizing reality of this and the stress of this burdens Him and weighs Him down so much that as He falls under the weight of tomorrow's reality, He begins to sweat blood. This is what your Christ did for you? This is what your Jesus suffered and endured for you in a place called Gethsemane? How quickly do we read these words and run right past them without thinking about the duress that our Savior was under. The enormous amount of stress and physical anxiety that was placed upon Him. The emotional stress and burden that He would fall under. The wrath not only of men, but of God. Also, Men on the battlefield have been documented to do this, this hematidrosis. Again, I read another narrative where back in the olden days when you had vast armies that would face off one another, cavalry and soldiers and battlemen standing on one side of a battlefield facing another. And that moment of war was imminent. that it was documented that some of those soldiers standing there, right at that moment of battle, under that, standing on the front line, under that great duress, their body would actually sweat blood. Their body would react like Christ did during this time. You think that will preach? Can you not see the captain of our salvation? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Soldier of the Cross, getting ready to go out and make war with sin and Satan, getting ready to go out against the foes that beset us, to do battle with the enemy of all righteousness, and to go and make Himself an offering for sin. There He, the Soldier that represents us, He excretes blood through His pores. Can you see the tender shepherd there on bended knee, bowing under the duress of the hour? His duty nearly overwhelming and he cries out and says to his disciples, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. He had a yearning to do what was right, yet there was that natural tendency within him as a man to fight for every ounce of life that was remaining. See him there, in a place called Gethsemane, about to become a condemned criminal, about to do war with sin, and the righteous indignation of God about to be poured out on him because of us. But it was not enough, even, that Christ is in such agony, but we also learn from our text that he faces this time alone. Look at the close of verse 38. He says to them, the three, tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little farther and fell on his face. Now, I want to be cautious how I say this, because Christ knows all things. But there was a circle of his nearest disciples. There was the eleven, but even among the eleven there were three. Peter, James, and John, that if I may say it this way, Jesus should be able to count on them. Now He knows even their weakness at this moment, but to speak as men, He should be able even at this hour to count on them. They are His closest disciples. They were the ones that were there on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John, if you read the gospel narratives, they are normally, there's the 12, but out of them, of course there's Judas, but there's also these three who seemingly are nearer in fellowship to him, but even at this hour, those closest to him abandon him. He faces this time in this place alone. Verse 40, And he cometh unto his disciples, and findeth them asleep. And he says unto Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. Look at verse 43, And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. Verse 45, He returns again. Three separate times He goes and prays and each time when He returns, His disciples are asleep. So not only is He under great distress and agony, He's also alone. Alone. Now I don't think that carries enough weight with us. On this night, on this all-important night, the Creator of heaven and earth was alone. He spoke and the worlds were framed. He created animals. By the word of His mouth, He breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life. In Him we live and move and have our being. We exist only at His free and sovereign will. Yet on this night in the place called Gethsemane, Jesus was alone. Those three that I speak again as a man, those three that you would think He could count on, they're dead asleep. You know I've said this on Sunday nights in particular. I don't want to be overly critical. And with some understanding, we get it. By this time, when we read this narrative, it is probably late, late into the night, and probably early in the morning. I'm not going to speculate exactly, but it is after, I feel confident saying it is at least midnight if not one or two o'clock in the morning when this takes place. And they're tired. It's been a busy week. And let's give them this. How many other nights have they seen the same thing take place? Right? Because we read this was a place where Jesus often went, So much so that Judas knew where to find him. So to them, this night was probably very much like many other nights that they had experienced. They had seen him go into the garden. Many other nights they'd seen him go alone and pray. And without being overly critical of them, we can sort of sympathize, right? We've been going day and night. It's 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. You're asking us to pray and we're tired. How many of you spent all night last night in prayer? How many of you or me were up at 2 or 3 this morning praying like he commits them to at this hour? And it is almost as if, and I want to translate so cautiously, it's almost as if God the Father looks down out of heaven into that place called Gethsemane and He sees eight disciples asleep. He sees three disciples asleep and He sees His Son over here by the stones cast away, weeping and mourning with the weight of the world on His shoulders. and his son who he daily delighted is alone. So he points at one of the holy angels from the throne and he said, go down there and minister to my son. The very human beings in which he's about to die for are laying there asleep. Go tend to my son. The only reason he's on planet earth is to die for them and they're lying there asleep on the last night that they have with him. So he dispatches a holy angel to come down and minister to his son. How or what could he do? This angel couldn't take his place. This angel could only do so much to minister to Him because He must drink that cup. He must walk up that cross, or up to that cross, all on His own. That angel was limited in what he could do, but he wanted to do what he could to minister to his Creator. I simply want to draw an application out of this, and you and I, are too much like these disciples. And we are sleeping and playing rather than watching and praying in the late hour in which we live. They did not appreciate that hour, nor do we. Our homes are in a disaster. Our nation is in turmoil. We have faced gruesome death right here in our own community and yet we want to give ourselves to play time rather than prayer time. We have time, money, and effort for anything and everything other than this time that we have should be soaked up and overrun with the Lord Jesus Christ. What a different story this would be if those three had blanketed themselves around the Messiah that night. If in His great distress He could have reached out and laid hold of Peter, James, and John as they surrounded Him with prayer undergirding Him, but that's not how it happened. As much so as we don't value the late hour in which we live. Rather than giving ourselves to prayer and fasting, we want to play games here on this earth. How little do we realize, as we were just reminded how short this life is, and how quickly some of our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and even people we see day in and day out could be ushered off into eternity. or how we must give ourselves to serving our Christ while we have time. It's a night like any other. He's going to go over there and pray all night and tomorrow we're going to go back to Jerusalem and get harassed. That's what they thought. But He would come and wake them up and say to them, He is that hand that does betray me. All these things I've been telling you, they're happening now. Look around, brothers and sisters. All those things he's been telling us, they're happening right now. We need to appreciate the hour in which we live. He's alone and he's in distress. So what does he do? He falls on his face. The same thing you and I ought to do when we are alone and in distress. He falls on his face. Go with me now to verse 39. And he went a little farther and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. I want you to notice the model prayer, even at a dark hour. He calls out to his father. We have no or very, very little comprehension of the sweet harmony of eternity that existed between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. No real comprehension of what it meant for God the Son to become flesh and to take upon himself a form of servant. So little appreciation and comprehension of what it meant for him to unite himself with a mortal body. In ages past, before the worlds were ever framed, before the first angel's wing fluttered on the halls of heaven, in eternity past, God dwelt in perfect peace, love, and harmony with himself. Father, Son, and Spirit, needing nothing, depending on nothing. And yet, in order to bring joy, He says, I will create, that they may experience our unity, love, and harmony. And He created man. And knowing that we would sin, God also made a plan of redemption. And that encompassed Jesus coming to this earth, born of a virgin, and living a perfect, holy, and sinless life so that throughout all of his time here on earth, the Father would look down from heaven and say, this is my son in whom I delight. He may be wrapped in mortal flesh, but that's still the Son that I've been enjoying throughout eternity. And so on this night, in a place called Gethsemane, Jesus calls out and He says, Father, we've been dwelling together since before time began in perfect peace and unity. I'm coming to you for help at this hour. And I want you to see this prayer. I'm fast forwarding to next Sunday because we're gonna look at the prayers on the cross next Sunday. Father, oh my Father, you that love me, You that thundered from heaven and said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Oh my father, if it be possible. Now do you believe the father heard him? I believe the father heard him. In fact, God's word says the father hears him always when he prays. There's no sin within him to break that fellowship like it is with us. Father, Father, hear me in my distress, hear me in my loneliness. I don't have anybody else to call upon, but I can call on you. You ever felt that way? If you haven't, you probably will, you live on this earth long enough, in your loneliness, in your distress, when life is overwhelming, when the anxiety and the emotional destruction of this life comes upon you, you don't have anybody else to turn to, even those, even those you thought you could count on aren't there, you can always say, oh my father, for he hears us. when we approach his throne through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Soon the father would place his hands, I hope you get this, soon the father would place his hands on the head of the scapegoat and whisper in his ears the sins of the people and he would be led astray out of the camp to die. Soon God's arrow of divine justice would thrust through the heart of his beloved son, torturing, humiliating, crushing him for our sin. And he cries out and says, Lord, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. One of the greatest Bible scholars that's ever lived, he said, God could have saved mankind any number of ways. This was just the way he chose to do it. And I'm not quick to disagree with Bible scholars, but I got to call his bluff on that one. Because Jesus prayed in this, and he says, if it's possible, what's he talking about? The redemption of fallen mankind. If it's possible that mankind can be redeemed in any other way Then Lord, will you do it? Father, will you do it that way? If it's possible to let this cup pass from me? If the brutal slaughter of 10,000 angels could redeem mankind, God would have done it. If turning the planets inside out could redeem mankind, God the Father would have done it. But it is only by the shedding of blood that there is remission of sin. And so God created a body for His Son and a cross for His Son and He must go up that hillside on the next day. It was not possible for you and I to be redeemed in any other way than God Himself bear our sins in His body on the tree. That's it. Let this cup pass from me." What was in that cup? What was in this cup that he was about to drink? The betrayal of Judas, the denial of his disciples, the mockery and ridicule of the Roman soldiers, the rejection of his own people, the scourging and the beating from the Canaanite tales, the open shame and humiliation of being hung naked in front of family, Friend and foe! God the Eternal Son hung there stripped of all clothing in front of His own mother. Think on that. In front of His brothers, in front of His sisters. In front of His disciples He hung there as an open shame and spectacle among men. And the reality of all of this hits Him in Gethsemane. It's reaching its apex, it's reaching its climax. This is the cup. The death of the cross, the pain, the searing pain of being thrust through by hammer and nails, the humiliation of being hung on a tree, but more than the physical sufferings, you know what was in that cup he had to drink? Separation from the Father. The wrath of God Almighty. For there, 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 says, there He was made to be sin for us. He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He bore in His body our sins. And you know what I think? The most awful awareness that was centered on His heart at that time was the fact that that eternal harmony and unity that had existed between he and his heavenly father would be broken as he was made sin. For God is of holier eyes than to behold sin and come back next week and we'll hear more about that. Broken by the fact that soon he could not call out to his father because his father could not hear him because he was made sin. But what did he say? And I'm almost through. What did he say? If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done, as I will. There's how we are to pray. Do you see the beauty of Christ teaching us, even at that moment, how to pray? That's how we are to pray. Lord, if it's possible, remove this out of my way. But if it's not possible, give me strength to bear it. But no matter what, Lord, Your will be done and not mine. That's how we are to pray. Lord, if it's possible, take this trial away from me. But if it's not possible and it's necessary that I face this, this is a cup I have to drink, Father, help me to bear it well. And no matter what else, I want your will to be done and not mine. No wonder the old preacher said, Gethsemane is not a place for theological tourism. This is no place to play around. How deep the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure. Think about a place called Gethsemane, where the full awareness of what laid ahead on the morrow absorbed our Christ, crushed our Christ, forced him to be in distress, forced him to be alone, forced him to fall on his face and cry out to his father. The events of this night and this place should cause us to love our dear Christ more. How frail, how weak we are and how we tread cautiously into Gethsemane and are told and we see A glimpse, a little glimpse behind the scenes of what Christ went through. Judas will come. You want to know how close you can get to heaven and still miss it? Judas will come and kiss the Savior and die and go to hell. He kissed salvation and died and went to hell. That's how close you can come to the kingdom and not enter in. Jesus would go the next day. The law of Bob would lead him away. He would go to the cross the next day and they'd crucify him. There he would become sin, bear the sins of his people, die, yield up the ghost, they'd be buried. But I got good news. He didn't stay dead. We serve a risen savior. And he's in the world today. Do you know him? Can you say what he did in a place called Gethsemane, he did for me? Brother.