Matthew 26:36-46
“He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39 NLT)
“Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42 NLT)
“So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.” (Matthew 26:44 NLT)
Go back with me. As I am writing this it is about 2:00pm Friday, April 2, 2010. It is Good Friday. The Savior, The Son of God has been hanging on a cross for over an hour. The sacrifice has begun. Why doesn’t he come down? Why doesn’t He call on God to send armies of Angels to save Him? Why are they killing Him?
Nobody killed Jesus. Nobody on earth took His life. Jesus is on the cross because He loves us and chose to die for us. He gave everything so you and me could have eternal life.
The tomb is empty only because of the victorious power of God’s grace and mercy over sin and eternal death. Jesus Christ died one time for all people. Jesus’ life is the final sacrifice for your and my sin. Jesus Himself said, “It is finished.”
The tomb is empty because the Redeemer is alive. The tomb is empty because sin has no power over us. There is only grace and forgiveness with Jesus Christ.
Jesus journeyed into the deepest pit of grief hours before His crucifixion. Not grief for Himself, His situation, or what He was going to face the next day. It was grief for those who still would reject God’s offer of mercy, grace, and eternal life.
Here is Jesus approaching the betrayal and the cross as he enters this garden to pray. One cannot help but sense the anxiety in His words. What is that would cause the very Son of God to sweat as it were great drops of blood? What is it that would cause the Son of God to return to that spot in the garden three times to pray the same words? Five Words come to mind: “Sin,” “Suffering,” “Sacrifice,” “Separation,” and Salvation.”
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus repeatedly prayed that "the cup" would pass away. His grief was for the wrath and judgment of God that we all were facing as a result of our rejection of Him. “Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem! You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury. You have drunk the cup of terror, tipping out its last drops.” (Isaiah 51:17 NLT)
Mankind heaped the grief on Jesus' shoulders with the most wicked and evil deeds and thoughts they could think of. According to Scripture, Jesus Christ did not just die for our sins; He became our sin. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT) The holy, perfect Lamb took on Himself all that was evil and dark in mankind.
Furthermore, Jesus knew the cost of accepting mankind's evil. God's holiness prevented Him from being in the presence of sin. Therefore, the Father would have to separate Himself from the Son. Jesus had always enjoyed perfect oneness and relationship with God. For Jesus, the thought of God turning His back on Him and separation that would follow must have been terrifying.
There was no question that Jesus would do God's will. He would become sin and be separated from the Father, if that's what was required to save mankind. For a while in the garden, He pleaded for another route to our redemption. However, when it was clear that the Father's answer was "No, this is the only way," Jesus freely, willingly, and obediently sacrificed Himself.
Jesus Christ sacrificed more than His life. He exchanged perfection for wickedness and holy union for separation. The Savior did this so we could be transformed into righteous men and women with an eternal future.
Is it no wonder, then, that all of heaven exalts Him?
“Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered - to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.” (Revelation 5:11-14 NLT)
We must do the same.
In about another hour Jesus Christ, the Son of God will stop breathing. He will cease to live. People will take down His lifeless body and place it in a borrowed tomb. People will walk away wondering, “Why?” The answer lies in His love for you and me and for God’s love for His creation.
But Glory Be to God, Resurrection Sunday is coming!!!!
Whenever you may be reading this stop and thank God for Jesus Christ freely giving His life as the final sacrifice our sin. Lift up the Name of Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, Son of God an promised Messiah. He is THE Way, THE truth, and THE Life. There is no other Name under heaven by which we are saved.
Amen and Amen.
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
