Introduction
Before I went on holiday we studied verses 31 to 35 of Matthew 26 where the Lord predicted that all of his disciples will fall away on account of him. Peter protested that even if the others fall away, he never will. But the Lord responded by telling Peter that he — Peter — will disown him not just once or twice, but three times. And the Lord was right. He was right about Peter; and he was right about the other disciples. When he was arrested, the disciples abandoned him and ran away. And when the Lord was taken to be questioned, Peter denied knowing him three times. And yet, instead of holding their sins and shortcomings against them, the Lord loved them and gave up his life for them. And despite our sins and shortcomings the Lord loves us; and he gave up his life for us and for our salvation.
Today we come to Matthew’s description of what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Lord began to be sorrowful and troubled; and where he said that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Gethsemane was a kind of foretaste of Golgotha, because of the mental anguish which the Lord suffered in that place. But the garden setting also recalls the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve’s obedience was put to the test, just as the Lord’s obedience was put to the test. But whereas Adam and Eve were unwilling to submit themselves to God’s will for them, the Lord Jesus was willing to submit himself to his Father’s will for him. Whereas Adam and Eve might have said: ‘Not your will, but mine be done’, the Lord Jesus said: ‘Not my will, but yours be done.’ And so, he submitted to the Father’s will and drank the cup of suffering in our place and for our salvation.
Verses 36 to 38
Matthew tells us that the Lord and his disciples went to Gethsemane. This was an olive grove or garden which was located somewhere on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. In Luke 22:39, we’re told they went there ‘as usual’. And in John 18:2, John tells us the Lord often met his disciples there. So, this was somewhere were they often went together. And as they arrived, the Lord instructed most of the disciples to take a seat, while he went off to pray. However, he didn’t go off on his own, but he took Peter and James and John, the sons of Zebedee, with him.
And Matthew tells us that he began to be sorrowful and troubled. The word translated ‘sorrowful’ can also be translated ‘grieved’ or ‘distressed’ or ‘pained’. And the word translated ‘troubled’ can also be translated ‘full of anguish’ or ‘full of sorrow’. One interpreter translates the words as follows: ‘a feeling of great distress and desolation began to fill his mind.’ Matthew is describing for us the Lord’s mental anguish.
And the Lord then said to the three disciples who were with him that his soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. In other words, he was so overwhelmed with sorrow and pain that it felt to him that he was dying. ‘This is killing me’, we might say today. ‘I can’t take it anymore’.
The commentators point out that it was not the thought of dying which caused him to feel this way. After all, lots of people face death and many face it calmly. So, it wasn’t the thought of dying which made the Lord suffer like this. It wasn’t even the thought of suffering a cruel death on the cross. Once again, many other people faced death on the cross calmly. No, the mental anguish which he suffered in Gethsemane was connected to the kind of death he would suffer, which was a death for sinners under the wrath of God. God’s Beloved Son was about to suffer the wrath of God on our behalf. That’s what caused him to be sorrowful and troubled. He knew that God was about to pour out his wrath on him and that he was going to suffer the punishment we deserve for our sins.
And in his time of distress, he asked these three disciples to stay with him and to keep watch. He’s not asking them to keep watch for the soldiers and to be his look-out. He’s asking for their company. Just as we are comforted by the presence of friends, so the Lord wanted his friends to be with him in his time of sorrow.
Verses 39 to 44
Nevertheless we’re told in verse 39 that he went a little further. So, the disciples were close enough to provide companionship, but they were far enough away to let him pray in private. And he fell on his face before his Father in heaven and asked the Father, if it was possible, to take the cup from him. When he refers to the cup, he’s referring to the cup of suffering, which is caused by God’s wrath. So, in Psalm 78, we read of a cup which God pours out for the wicked to drink. Isaiah 51 refers to the cup of wrath which the people of Jerusalem drank when God sent their enemies against them. And in Jeremiah 51, Babylon is described as God’s cup, because he used Babylon to punish the wicked. And so, by using the image of the cup, the Lord is saying that God’s wrath is about to come on him. God will pour out his wrath on him for our sins and shortcomings. He will suffer the judgment of God in our place.
But he asked his Father in heaven to take the cup of suffering from him if it is possible. And we can understand his request, can’t we? None of us likes to suffer. All of us will try to avoid suffering if possible. And since the Lord came into the world as one of us and was made like us in every way, then his natural human desire, which he shares with us, was to avoid suffering. And so, he asked his Father to take the cup from him if possible.
He’s saying that if it’s possible to save his people in a way that doesn’t involve suffering, then let’s do it that way. Nevertheless, as God’s obedient Son, he was willing to do his Father’s will, even if that means suffering and dying on the cross.
And having prayed in this way, he returned to his disciples. Presumably Matthew means he returned to Peter and James and John. But he found them sleeping. He asked Peter could they not keep watch with him for one hour. That tells us that his prayer to the Father was longer than is recorded here. It also tells us that while he wanted his friends to be with him in his time of trouble, nevertheless he really was all on his own. He alone is the Saviour of the world and therefore he had to suffer on his own; and there was no one who could share his suffering; and he had to face the Father’s wrath all by himself.
But he also instructed his disciples to watch and pray so that they will not fall into temptation. It’s not clear whether he’s referring to their current situation or to the future. So, is he saying, ‘Watch and pray now so that you will not fall into temptation here in Gethsemane’? Or is he saying: ‘Watch and pray always so that you will not fall into temptation in the future’? Since he goes on to refer to the weakness of their body, then he’s perhaps referring to their current sitation. So, they want to keep watch with him, but they’re physically tired. However, the Lord’s word are instructive for all of us, because he’s telling us not to rely on our own strength, but to seek God’s help to overcome our own weakness. Just as small children naturally turn to their parents for help and support, so all of God’s children are to turn to our heavenly Father for the help and support we need each day.
Matthew then tells us that he went away for a second time to pray on his own. And he prayed that if it is not possible for the cup to be taken from him unless he drinks it, then may your will be done. And so, once again he submitted himself to his Father’s will.
And once again, he went back to his disciples and found them sleeping. This time he didn’t say anything to them, but he went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
Verses 45 and 46
And having prayed alone a third time, he went back to his disciples and woke them and announced that the hour is near. He’s referring to the decisive time, the time of his suffering and death. That time is near, because he’s about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. He’ll be handed over to them and they will crucify him. And so, it’s time to get up, because Judas, his betrayer, has come. And presumably the Lord can hear and see the soldiers, coming through the trees to arrest him.
Conclusion
What happened in the Garden of Gethsemane makes clear that the death of the Lord Jesus was an act of obedience. His natural human desire was to avoid suffering, but he was prepared to submit himself to his Father’s will and to obey his Father in all things, even to the point of death on the cross. And so, though he is the Eternal Son of God, he is also the Suffering Servant of the Lord, whom we read about in the Old Testament, who did not come to do his own will, but to do the will of God the Father. And it was the Lord’s will to crush him and to cause him to suffer and to offer up his life on the cross as the guilt offering for our sins. And so, in obedience to his Father, he went to the cross to pay for our sins with his life. When Judas and the soldiers came to arrest him, he could have stopped them in their tracks with a word of command. But because he was prepared to do his Father’s will, he did not resist them, but he let himself be taken away and killed.
And his obedience to the Father can be contrasted with Adam. Instead of doing God’s will in the Garden of Eden and obeying God’s command concerning the forbidden fruit, Adam disobeyed God. And so, sin and death came into the world. And the result of Adam’s disobedience was condemnation for all. But the result of Christ’s obedience is salvation for all his people, because whoever believes in Christ is justified, which means God forgives us for our disobedience and he treats us as if we had done everything right. And so, instead of drinking the cup of God’s wrath, we can lift the cup of salvation and give thanks to God for Christ our Saviour who laid down his life for us and who died so that we might life forever.
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