Turn your Bibles, please, to John's Gospel, John chapter 18. We often call Matthew, Mark, and Luke the synoptic Gospels because they approach the life of Jesus in basically the same way. The word synoptic means the same, but John's Gospel is different, and even when it comes to the Lord's betrayal and arrest, he doesn't approach it quite the same way as the other three gospel writers. He says nothing really about what really takes place there in the garden in terms of Christ and his prayer. John chapter 18 verse 1, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kindron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he. So if you seek me, let these men go. Well, let's again look to the Lord. Father, we are thankful that we come to you. We believe who always has a listening ear. We never have to worry that you do not hear us, nor do we ever have to worry that you will not answer our prayers in one way or another. You are the God who has always, always kept his promises. And now we come asking you to bless us. We know that if we are to grow Christians, we need to take advantage of the means of grace. And this is one of the means, the main means, the primary means by which we grow into greater likeness to Christ. So take your word tonight and seal it into our hearts by your Holy Spirit. And may it indeed impact us at the deepest heart level and impact how we live. May we live conscious that we have a Savior who died for us. who suffered for us, who now reigns on our behalf. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. A Christian should not be described as pugnacious or combative. The Bible says a person who stirs up strife, according to the Bible, is a fool. And when you think of a Christian, what should come to mind is that a Christian is a peacemaker. That's certainly one of the ways Jesus described a kingdom citizen. We are a peacemaker. And the Christian's life is to be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, joy, peace, love, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. And certainly that stands polar opposite to what we often witness today in our world, an aggressive, pugnacious, fighting, arguing over almost everything. The mass media is full of strife and a combative spirit. Now Christians have to be Different from the world, we are peacemakers, but we have to be careful that we don't go to another extreme. I remind you that we are peacemakers, but Christians are also soldiers. That means we have to fight. Timothy is told by Paul, fight the good fight of faith. Jude tells us we are to contend earnestly for the faith. You think of that long extensive metaphor that's used by Paul in Ephesians chapter 6, the picture of a Christian soldier. Everyone who is a Christian is a soldier who has to put on the armor of God to fight against those principalities and rulers and high places, those cosmic powers. So yes, a Christian is a peacemaker, but he's also a courageous soldier. And when we see the Lord Jesus, isn't that what Jesus models for us? Was there anyone who was more gentle? Was there anyone who was more of a peacemaker? He's called the Prince of Peace. But on the other hand, we see Jesus frequently engaged in conflict. You could argue his whole life, his whole life, was marred and scarred with conflict and controversy. Right there at the very front end of his life, Matthew 4, where does the Spirit lead him? It leads him into the wilderness to step on a battlefield and go head-to-head with the devil himself. And the devil never, never ceased to battle and take on Jesus in one way or another, and the final climactic battle is on the cross. But Jesus also engages in controversy frequently with the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the religious establishment of that day. They were aggressive, they were pugnacious, they were combative in the worst of ways, but Jesus at times actually initiated controversy. And you frequently find him confronting the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and their twisting of the Scriptures. On two occasions, Jesus enters the temple and performs what you might call a military laicu. He chases out those money changers that had turned that temple into something like a gambling casino. Jesus so upset the status quo, the religious establishment of his day, they eventually kill him. So his life, again, was marred and scarred with conflict and controversy. He was frequently stepping on the battlefield. But there's one place where Jesus steps on the battlefield, and it's a different kind of warfare. It's a different kind of fighting. And that's in a place called Gethsemane. It's not a normal conflict. This is an extraordinary one. It's the only conflict that Jesus would fight, and the only conflict He could fight. And tonight I want to focus upon our Lord in Gethsemane, where He gauges in a bloody conflict. Q. Martin, who has written a book titled The Shadow of Calvary, He says, as far as Gethsemane is concerned, this is the most awful, solemn event in all of Scripture. This one event, he says, is good reason to call Jesus the man of sorrows. So let's look at Gethsemane from four perspectives. I preached on Gethsemane probably six or seven times, but this is a brand new sermon, so no going back to old notes, believe me. Here's four perspectives. Number one, the battlefield described. Number two, the soldiers put on notice, or put on duty. The fight is intense. and then the victory is secured. So those are the four things we want to consider tonight as we visit Gethsemane. The battle described, the soldiers put on duty or on notice, the fight is intense and the victory is secured. So let's go one by one. Number one, the battlefield described. One shouldn't forget, when we think of Jesus, that He is the second Adam. That's how he's described in Romans chapter 5. Remember the first Adam. The first Adam failed. The first Adam sinned against God, rebelled against God. Both Adam and Eve thought they could live life independently of God, go their own way, not God's way. And remember what happened after they sinned. And God rains down His curses upon them. He evicts them out of the garden. Never to return. Jesus, the second Adam, he engages the devil, not in a garden the first time, but in a wilderness. And he wins. He doesn't lose. And Jesus also takes us back into the garden, not the garden of Eden, but a garden called Gethsemane. John doesn't identify that place here. He does mention a garden, but doesn't give us the specific name. But that portion of scripture read by Pastor Bernard earlier does identify it as Gethsemane. The word simply means oil press. It was a place full of these gnarled oil olive trees. And they would press the olives from those trees for olive oil. Now, if you were to go over to Palestine or the Middle East today, you would actually find that place. 1,200 square feet, apparently. And the trees that are there are these old, old, dulled olive trees. Now they don't take us right back to the time of Jesus, and the reason we can say that is because Josephus reports that all the trees around Jerusalem were cut down during that siege by the Romans on that city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But apparently the root systems of those olive trees never really We're always there. So they really believe that by taking some of the tests that they take, that some of the roots of those olive trees could take us right back to the days of Jesus. And Gethsemane, you see, is a real place. It's a real place, a real piece of geography over there in Palestine. And on this Thursday night, the evening of the Passover, Jesus and his disciples leave the city precincts and they make their way across this river to the base of the Mount Olives to this place called Gethsemane. And John tells us in his gospel that this was a favorite meeting place for Jesus and his disciples. They often went there, perhaps to pray and to have fellowship, to get away from the rat race of the city life. And it seems here that, well, we know, we're told in John, that Judas knew that as well. Judas knew that Jesus would be there, perhaps on this particular evening. And so you could say Jesus walks into an unsuspecting trap. No, because look what John tells us in verse 4. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, Jesus was not caught unaware. Jesus knew what was going to take place after the garden, before the garden, and in the garden. He knew everything. He knew that that garden would be invaded by an army of men. He knew that Judas would be there, and that Judas would betray him with a kiss. He knew that his disciple friends would run like scared rabbits. He knew everything. Jesus is God, and that means he's omniscient. But don't forget this, that Jesus is man. 100% God, perfect God, but he's also man. He possessed a full, complete, real humanity in terms of all the emotions, in terms of his mind, his affections, his body, everything was 100% human. And his humanity and his divinity go on display here in the garden. But this is where Jesus will fight, you might say, the war of wars, the battle of battles. If you've ever watched a heavyweight boxing match, you know that usually at the end there's one man standing. And that's really what happens in the garden. There's one man standing. And often, again, in a heavyweight fight, Both men end up pretty battered and bloodied, and here in Gethsemane we have Jesus pretty battered and bloodied. That's the battlefield. It takes place in a garden. Second, the captain in charge. The captain in charge. Jesus is called the captain of our salvation. He is the one in charge of the troops. I put it here that soldiers put on notice, but you could also put it the captain in charge. I got it different in my notes here. But it's obvious that he's in total control. He puts these soldiers under command. You have 11 of them. They are the best soldiers he has. And he divides them into two groups. The majority of them are positioned at the gate of the garden. There would have probably in all likelihood been one main entrance into this enclosed walled olive grove. Matthew tells us in his gospel that Jesus went with him to that place called Gethsemane, and right there on the outset, he says to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. And Jesus makes it very clear that his main purpose to go into that garden is to pray. Remember, that's what he did all the time. He was a man of prayer. But my first major introduction, I was, again, not brought up in a Christian home, so I didn't know a lot about my Bible. I didn't know a lot about the Christian life, but I had a friend at Bible college who was a man of prayer, and he invited me to go with him to a conference in Montreal, Canada. And we went there. The conference was on prayer. And it was all about a man named E. M. Bounds. Does anybody remember him? And I bought a book there. It's probably now about 30 years old. Maybe even older than that. But it was titled, The Weapon of Prayer. And I've often gone back to that book. It's still in my library. The Weapon of Prayer. And he says this in that book. Persevering prayer always wins. Always wins. And if you want proof of that, you could go to the garden and see the praying Savior. Jesus is found praying. Jesus knows that he needs the help of God if he's going to go to that cross. Now notice, at some point in the garden, he tells the larger group of disciples to stay there at the gate, and then he brings three of his disciples' friends into the inner sanctuary of that garden. We are told that Peter and the two sons of Zebedee Why them? Well, they were his closest friends. Jesus had something of a hierarchy when you think of his friendships. There were his good friends, there were his close friends, and there were also, you could call, his best friends, and even his best best friend, or his bosom friend, who was John. But these were three of his closest friends. Remember, these were the three men that had gone up to that Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. They saw Jesus in the best of times. And they will see Jesus in the worst of times. From a perspective of friendship, who would you rather have than your deepest, closest friend when you're facing your deepest, most difficult trials? Those who know you best. Those who love you the most. The Bible says there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. So Jesus realizes he needs God's help and he also needs the help of these friends. He needs divine support and he needs human support as he steps on the battlefield. And Jesus doesn't just bring these men or ask these men to pray for him or bring them into the inner sanctuary of that garden because of human companionship. I think that's part of it, but I do think that Jesus wasn't just thinking of himself. He's thinking of them. That's really what was always on his mind, wasn't it? He's thinking of others. How can this best serve them? How can this best help them? There was always, what you could say with Jesus, a self-forgetfulness. Self-forgetfulness, even on the cross. Remember? He's thinking of his mother. He's thinking of that thief on that one side, and he's also even thinking of his enemies. He's praying for his enemies on the cross. He was always thinking about other people. And Jesus brings these disciples into the inner sanctuary, three of them, because I really believe He wants them to learn some vital, crucial lessons. Trials are often the best places for us to learn. And don't we also learn by watching others in the midst of trials? They will share in the sufferings of Christ. They will learn about the cross. They will learn about His humanity. They will see a depth of emotion and affection. They will learn about His prayer life. They will also learn this about themselves, just how weak and vulnerable they are. They will learn how to be better soldiers. They will learn how to be better pastors. They will become the future leaders of the church. You see, Gethsemane becomes a great schoolhouse for these disciples. And to get them ready, to get them ready, Jesus puts three of them, these three men, on special duty. What are the two duties that he gives to these three disciple friends? Well, you could say he tells them to pray and he tells them to watch. You find those two words sprinkled through the three gospel accounts. Matthew 26, verse 36, verse 41. Mark 13, verse 34, verse 47. Luke 22, which you have again the account of Gethsemane, verse 40 and verse 46. Watch and pray. He's calling these men to be vigilant, good soldiers. Watch and pray. Now this was not the first time he'd given these instructions to his disciples. They'd heard them before, watch and pray, but he gives them now, he gives these same marching orders to these disciples at a very critical point in his own life and ministry. If there was ever a time to watch and pray and show their loyalty to Jesus, this was it. To follow that narrow pathway of obedience, this was the opportunity of opportunities. And Jesus, as always, sets the example. He's the commander-in-chief. He's the captain. If you've ever had to give oversight to an army of men, you know that the best way to show them what a soldier is, is by your own example. You give them the duties, but you also set the example. Not just do as I say, but do as I do. That's true of parents too, isn't it? Pastors too. Jesus was a man of prayer. And in the garden, he's going to show that he is a man of prayer. That marked his whole life. He's going to show his determination and his commitment to prayer. And almost like a bright diamond that's put against a black velvet pad or dark black backdrop, Jesus' prayer is like that here, against the dark backdrop of these disciples' failure and Jesus' own sorrow and agony. But is there a harder time to pray than when you are overwhelmed with sorrow? The battlefield described, the captain in charge, or the soldiers put on notice, and then thirdly, the battle is waged. Now you all know what a battle is, right? You all know what a war is. We have history books full of all kinds of wars and battles that have taken place. The Civil War, World War I, World War II. I don't know if you're familiar with the War of 1812, but there was a war between the Canadians and the Americans. That's the only one that the Canadians are famous for, by the way. The only one we won on our own. Vietnam War? War against terrorism? Yeah, the history books are full of wars. It's a war against flesh and blood. It's a war with grenades and bombs and machine guns. But as Christians, we are involved in another kind of war, a spiritual war. We fight against the devil. We fight against our own sin and corruption. Jesus is in the garden. He's fighting. He's warring. What is He fighting against? It can't be sin. He's sinless. I don't think it's the devil. He fought that battle in Matthew 4, and certainly you could say all along the way. Now, was the devil present there? Was the devil trying to do something to discourage and depress Jesus? I'm sure there might have been some influence of Satan there. I don't know if we can say for sure, but it might have been. Jesus does refer to the power of darkness. At the back end of Gethsemane, he says, the hour has come. It seems to imply that the hour is now here. But it wasn't in the garden. That wasn't the hour. So, who's he battling? He's battling himself. The war takes place on the turf of his own heart. What's the battle over? The battle is over the cross. That's why he sweats drops of blood. Luke tells us that. He sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. But to understand what happens in Gethsemane, you have to understand the word that Jesus uses, I think, three or four times. He uses the word cup. The word cup. That's the word he references more than any other word in his prayer to God. He knows he's come into the world to go to that cross, to pay that ransom for sin. He knows all of that. And in the garden, it's almost as if God pulls back the veil. And let Jesus peer into the cup and see the horrors of Golgotha. He sees in a way he hasn't seen before. The cup is brought into sharp focus or high definition. And Jesus knew his Bible better than anybody. And he knew his Old Testament. And he knew that the cup As one man put it, is a picture, listen to this, a picture in the Bible, it's a symbolic picture of being hopelessly and irretrievably under the wrath of God. That's what's in the cup. Undiluted wrath. You could look at Several Old Testament passages, Isaiah 51 and Psalm 11 and Lamentations 4 and Ezekiel 23 and Habakkuk 2 where the cup is mentioned, the cup is mentioned as divine punishment and punishment of sin. Jesus becomes profoundly, keenly aware in the garden that he will suffer the wrath of God. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. This is no ordinary distress. No man has ever experienced Gethsemane, and no one ever will. It's almost, as one person put it, blasphemous to say, you've had your Gethsemane. No, we haven't. This is unique to Jesus, just like Golgotha was unique to Jesus. And again, this explains why Jesus is called the Man of Sorrows. He will be forsaken by God, and He knows that. And His humanity wants to avoid it. It wouldn't be real humanity if He didn't want to avoid it. And so what He's doing when He's praying is saying, Lord, is there another way? Is there another way where I can redeem the human race, where I can uphold your righteousness and your justice and accomplish redemption without drinking the cup? Must I drink the cup? Jesus' sinless, perfect humanity is in deep distress. And the three episodes of prayer is Jesus casting himself upon the Father's bosom. It's interesting, on the cross, he doesn't call God his Father. I mean, when he's in the midst of that darkness, when he's forsaken by God, he says, my God, my God. But in the garden, he calls Him Father. He speaks to Him in the most intimate way. Oh, my Father! My Father! If it's possible, let this cup pass from me. He's not angry with God. He's not questioning God's goodness or wisdom, but he's running to God. He's knocking, you could say. He's seeking God. He's asking, hoping to find the Father's outstretched arm. But they're silent. And he goes in to that garden, distancing himself about a stone's throw from the rest of the disciples, and he falls on his knees and he falls on his face. It's interesting, Mark in his gospel uses an imperfect verb, which tells us Jesus fell and Jesus fell and Jesus fell. It's almost like he's stumbling around. And in between those intense prayer meetings, He goes back to his disciple friends, looking for comfort, looking for sympathy, looking for relief from this torturous agony. Maybe even afraid that he might not get out of that garden alive. I have a soul unto death. And what does he find when he goes to those disciple friends of his? Well, they're sleeping. is sleeping, not praying. Not watching, but they're sleeping. Mark's Gospel, as you know, Mark's Gospel kind of looks at the story of Jesus' life from, many believe, from Peter's perspective. People think that Mark, as he wrote Mark's Gospel, he was something of a scribe, and Peter was at his elbow when he was writing Mark's Gospel. But it's interesting, when Mark describes the incident, Jesus comes back to these disciple friends, and he focuses on Peter. Peter, the one who had all that braggadocio, the one who said, I would never ever betray you. I'll be there right to the end. I'm going to stay loyal. They might forsake you, but I will. Peter is already showing his weakness. And later on, he will deny his Lord three times. But he doesn't maintain his fidelity even here. He's sleeping. And again, it wasn't one time incident, was it? Three times. He comes back to them three times and they're sleeping. Now, I don't think I want to be too hard on these guys for their sleeping because a lot of us make excuses for our lack of praying. Right? Why didn't you pray last week? Well, why didn't you pray last night? We can come up with all kinds of excuses. And we often succumb to tiredness and sleepiness and physical distraction. But Jesus doesn't allow their failure or his disappointment. I'm not sure he was disappointed. You get disappointed, I'm sure, as parents with your children. You get disappointed with your wife or your husband. You get disappointed with the guys at work. Jesus was disappointed. I'm sure he was. But it doesn't keep him from his unwavering obedience and commitment One of the Gospel writers tells us he prayed more earnestly, his passion intensifies. He doesn't give up praying, he prays more earnestly. So he's fighting this battle on his own, he's fighting this battle with himself and with his father. The battle described, the captain in charge, or the soldiers put on notice, the fight is intense, but finally, finally the victory is secured, or the outcome, or the results. I never thought of this before, but think about it. Jesus never lost a battle. He never lost a battle. No matter what he went up against. I mean, when he went into that wilderness for those, what, 40 days and 40 nights, and the devil comes after him on the back end, he doesn't lose that battle, does he? The devil is on the run. When he comes up against those demon-possessed individuals who have been in bondage to demonic oppression for years, he always exercises them. He never loses a battle. When he comes up against crippling diseases and deformities, even leprosy, he never lost. He always wins, even death itself. On one occasion, He takes on a storm, a hurricane-like storm, and He wins that battle too. Jesus always won, He always conquered, and He doesn't lose the battle here. He embraces the will of the Father. Despite all the loud cries, and all the groans, and all the tears, And all the shedding of the drops of blood that oozed out of His pores, Jesus stays on the pathway of obedience and submission. There's that word again that everybody loves. Submission. He never falters. He never ceases to trust His Father. I think it was Dr. Piper who said, these are the toughest nine words to pray. I wanted to be sure. I counted them up. He's right. Nine words here. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. The toughest nine words to pray. Not my will. but your will. He puts it again in Matthew 26, nevertheless not as I will, but as you will. Again, Luke chapter 22, nevertheless not my will, but yours be done. He prays that prayer over and over and over again. He submits to the Father. No pushback, no resistance. He wins. He wins the battle over his own humanity. Over his own will. He cements the God's will. His will melts, you could say, into God's will. His will melts into God's will. And on the back end, all his emotions and all the tumult of soul has been quieted. You could say the peace of God that passes all understanding pervaded his soul. And He's prepared. He's prepared to go to the cross. He's prepared to drink that cup. And He will do it with a deep calm, composure, and a triumphant confidence. And you can actually sense that, don't you? At the back end of this prayer time in Gethsemane, He speaks to His disciples. Here's what Mark says. I like what Mark says. The hour has come. Rise. Let's be going. Let's be going. My betrayer is at hand. And as soon as he awakens his disciple friends in the garden, all the gospel writers tell us this, even John tells us this, there was a cacophony of noise. You can hear the clanking of the armored soldiers. You can see the lantern and the torches and the weapons. Yes, he will drink the cup, so you and I will drink another cup. If you're a Christian, the cup of salvation. Gethsemane was a conflict, a terrible, terrible conflict, but a triumphant victory. And then on the cross, Jesus will fight his last battle. The final battle is on the cross, where he takes on the devil again, he takes on sin, our sin, and you could also say he takes on the world. But Gethsemane gives us reason to say this. The cross was the only way to secure your salvation. Right? If there was another way, don't you think God would have provided that way to spare His Son from what He had to endure? The cross is the only way to secure our redemption. The cross is the only way sinners get right with God. I hope Gethsemane convinces you of that. And that's why we have to tell others about Christ and His cross, because that's the only way. The only way to be saved is by a person named Jesus who died in your place on your behalf and endured what you should have endured, the very wrath of God. He was willing to be numbered with the transgressors to satisfy divine justice and put on display divine Love. Thank God for a submissive Savior. That's the Savior we come to the table to remember tonight. Let's worship our blessed Savior. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we again are thankful for all that we read in our Bibles, all that we can know about our Lord Jesus, We thank you for all that he has accomplished for us. We do pray, Lord, that we would come to the table again desiring to worship and remember our blessed Savior. Give us eyes of faith. Give us ears of faith. And we pray this in your Son's name. Amen.