Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July 24, 2005
Introduction
Have you seen the bumper sticker that reads: “Lead me not into temptation
(I can find the way myself)”
A little boy always went next door to play even though his mom had warned
him against doing so. This worried the mom so badly that she asked him why he
was so disobedient. He replied that Satan tempted him so bad and he did not
know what to do. The mom then advised him to say ‘get thee behind me Satan’
whenever he was tempted. She then built a fence around the house. This worked
for a week, then one sunny afternoon the mom looked over the window and there
was her son playing on the neighbor’s lawn having cut a hole in the fence.
“John”, she yelled, “Come here!” She then said “did I not tell you to say ‘get
thee behind me Satan’ whenever he tempted you?” “Yes”, the boy replied, “I
said, ‘get thee behind me Satan’, then he went behind me and pushed me through
the hole in the fence.”
We’re going to be looking at the subject of temptation this morning.
:32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane;
and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
Gethsemane – “oil press”; located in the
olive orchard on the Mount of Olives.
The whole group is supposed to stay in one spot while Jesus goes and prays.
:33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be
troubled and deeply distressed.
began – Even though Jesus had known all along what was up ahead, at
this point it seems as if the horror of the cross descends upon Jesus.
to be troubled – ekthambeo (“out
of” + “immovable”) – to throw into terror or amazement
deeply distressed – ademoneo –
to be troubled, great distress or anguish, depressed; There are three Greek
words in the NT for depression, this one is the strongest.
:34 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to
death.
exceedingly sorrowful – perilupos
– surrounded with sorrow
Jesus asks the guys to do just two things. He wants them to stay put and to
keep their eyes open. We’ll see at the end of the passage that Jesus is also
expecting them to pray as well.
Lesson
Man of sorrows
We might be tempted to think that what Jesus did for us was a piece of cake
for Him. The writer of Hebrews tells us how we can endure difficult times …
(Heb 12:2 NKJV)
…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We see that phrase, “for the joy” and can think that it
was easy for Jesus. But what Jesus faced
was nowhere near “fun”. As He faced the cross, He was struggling to do what He
needed to do.
Here was the Son of God who had always enjoyed sweet, intimate fellowship
with the Father. He had been tempted in His life, but He never had tasted the
shame and guilt of having committed sin.
He knew that He was not only going to face extreme pain in being scourged
and crucified, but He was also going to experience the darkness and weight from
the guilt and shame of every one of my sins, your sins, and the world’s sins
being laid upon Him. He was going to experience for the first time being
separated and forsaken by God.
This was not something Jesus was looking forward to.
He understands sorrow. He understands heaviness of soul. He understands
depression.
(Isa 53:3 NKJV)
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not
esteem Him.
He understands our sorrows as well.
(Heb 4:15-16 NKJV)
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. {16} Let us therefore
come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need.
If you are struggling with a time of sorrow and
despondency, Jesus not only understands, but He can help you as well.
What can you do if you’re depressed? Pay attention to what Jesus does.
:34 …Stay here and watch."
Lesson
He had companions
Jesus wasn’t alone. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted His friends to be
near.
Sometimes when we’re depressed or scared we run and hide from people. But I
wonder if we couldn’t learn something from Jesus. It seems He wanted His
disciples near by.
Illustration
There’s a commercial on television for the Angels baseball team. In the
commercial, as the radio announcer talks about the Angels being behind, it
shows people all around town in various jobs. One by one they take the various
hats they’re wearing and they turn the hats inside out. It’s kind of like their
way of all joining together to make a statement that they’re rooting for the
Angels. And then the announcer says, “Because we’re all in this together”.
Wouldn’t that be cool if we could in a way turn our hats inside out for
each other when we’re struggling?
(Heb 10:24-25 NLT) Think of ways to encourage one another to
outbursts of love and good deeds. {25} And let us not neglect our meeting
together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now
that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
:35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it
were possible, the hour might pass from Him.
:36 And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take
this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."
Abba – Abba – an Aramaic
word for “father”; it’s a term of affection, much like our “daddy”. This was
not the way that Jewish people were taught to pray because they thought it was
inappropriate to call God their “daddy”. Yet this is how Jesus prayed and this
is how God wants us to pray.
(Gal 4:6 NKJV)
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
possible – dunatos – able,
powerful, mighty, strong
Jesus went to pray that “if it were possible” … (vs. 35)
Now He acknowledges that all things are indeed possible with God. God is
able and strong enough to do anything.
Take – paraphero – to
remove; the verb is an imperative. He is asking, even ordering, the Father to
remove the cross.
will – thelo – (not what I … ) have in mind, intend; to
purpose; to desire, to wish; to love; be fond of doing; to take delight in
His prayer had two elements to it.
Lesson
All things are possible with God
When we come to prayer, it’s important to remember who we’re talking to.
There is nothing too difficult for God. Jeremiah prayed:
(Jer 32:17 KJV)
Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power
and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
When David faced the giant Goliath, but he knew he wasn’t alone.
(1 Sam 17:45 NKJV)
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a
spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel,
whom you have defied.
When Jehoshaphat faced a fearful coalition of his enemies’ armies, he
prayed,
(2 Chr 20:6 NKJV)
…"O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not
rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power
and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
The size of your problem is only as scary as the size of your God. The
smaller your God, the more you will worry. But when you realize how big God is,
maybe that problem isn’t all that big after all.
Lesson
Whose will?
If we could just learn to pray for the things that God wants, we’d have all
our prayers answered.
(1 John 5:14-15
NKJV)
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. {15} And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
When Jesus said, “Take this cup away from Me”, was He
asking according to the Father’s will? No. Jesus was expressing His own will,
and that’s okay. That’s part of what the process of prayer is all about,
sorting out my will from God’s will.
What was God’s will?
It was God’s will that Jesus die on the cross. He was supposed to be a sacrifice to pay for
our sins.
He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we
couldn’t pay. Heaven isn’t filled with people that are “good enough” to be
there. Heaven is filled with sinners who
have found forgiveness by trusting in Jesus.
Illustration
I was shocked, confused, bewildered as
I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all, by the
lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven who
made me sputter and gasp—
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
the alcoholics, the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor who
never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought was rotting
away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal? I
would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.
And why’s everyone so quiet, so
somber? Give me a clue.”
“Hush, child,” said He. “They’re all
in shock. No one thought that they’d see you.”
We need to yield to God’s will.
When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He gave them this example:
(Mat 6:9-10 NKJV)
"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your
name. {10} Your kingdom come. Your will
be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Peace comes when I yield to His will.
Victory comes when I learn to surrender.
Paul had been struggling with something difficult in his life. He prayed and asked God to take this thing
away.
(2 Cor 12:8-9 NKJV) Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord
three times that it might depart from me. {9} And He said to me, "My grace
is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.
Paul got to the place where he was able to surrender to
God’s will.
How God will answer my prayer:
Yes – if I am asking according
to God’s will, He will grant my request.
No – He is God. He can say “no”. And that’s okay.
Wait –
Sometimes you are asking for the right thing, but it’s not
the right time.
What you are asking for is good, but God doesn’t want a
“good” time to answer the prayer, He wants the best. Some prayers are like a
quick pass to your tight end – boom, straight to the guy, and it’s caught. Some
prayers are like a long bomb to your wide receiver – the quarterback tosses the
ball way up into the air and it hangs up there so long, you watch as the wide
receiver gets to the point where the ball comes down, and the ball is caught.
Sometimes God wants you to learn to persevere in prayer.
I think some answers to prayer require a certain “amount”
of prayer. In heaven the prayers of the saints are represented by bowls of
incense. I wonder if there are different sizes of bowls. I wonder if some
prayers require ten pounds of incense while others only require a pinch. However
you look at it, if God hasn’t said “no” to you, then God wants you to learn to
persevere in prayer, keep praying.
:37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon,
are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?
Why does Jesus address Peter?
Remember how earlier in the evening that Jesus warned the disciples that
they were going to deny Him? Peter had stated so strongly that he would never,
ever deny Jesus. He had said he was even willing to die with Jesus. (Mark
14:29-31)
I wonder if this isn’t a bit of a gentle rebuke to the one who was so
confident that he was not going to deny Jesus.
:38 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak."
watch – gregoreuo – to
watch; give strict attention to, be cautious, active
spirit – pneuma – Jesus is
talking about Peter’s own human spirit. Jesus knows that Peter wants to do what
is right but …
flesh – sarx – man’s “sin
nature”, his tendency to do what is opposed to God.
Illustration
That reminds me of a story …
From time to time an angel had been spotted at an old house outside of
town. Over the years many rumors had circulated about the whys and whatnots of
this particular phenomena. Finally a photographer decided he would go and take
pictures of the house and the angel that lived there. Upon arriving, the angel
actually greeted him at the door, and upon welcoming him in, told the man that
he would be more than pleased to pose for some pictures. The photographer,
extremely grateful for the opportunity, readied his camera and began taking
many pictures, however his flash did not seem to be operating well. He finished
the session and upon thanking the angel returned home to develop the pictures.
Upon doing so he found the picture were all grossly under or over exposed and
he fell to his hands and knees weeping saying, “The spirit was willing, but the
flash was weak.”
Lesson
The weakness of our flesh
Paul wrote,
(Rom 7:15-19 NKJV)
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not
practice; but what I hate, that I do. {16} If, then, I do what I will not to
do, I agree with the law that it is good. {17} But now, it is no longer I who
do it, but sin that dwells in me. {18} For I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform
what is good I do not find. {19} For the good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
How many of us are familiar with these verses?
And yet we continue to have struggles with our flesh. We
still continue to sin. This is a hard lesson to learn.
Even though we fail so often, we have this idea that we
can still pull off obeying Jesus on our own strength.
The answer to our flesh is to learn to completely depend on Jesus and not
on our flesh.
(John 15:5 NKJV)
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
:39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.
Again Jesus prays what He prayed in verse 36.
:40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were
heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.
He caught them sleeping again. They didn’t know what to say.
:41 Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still
sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man
is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Jesus went back to pray, and when He comes back, He finds them sleeping.
Some teach that it shows a lack of faith to pray for something more than
once. It seems that Jesus didn’t follow that silly rule.
:42 "Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."
The time to be prepared with prayer is over. The moment for trouble has
come.
Jesus wakes up the disciples because it’s time for Him to be betrayed and
arrested.
What did Jesus do when He was overwhelmed? What did He do when He was surprised
with despondency? He prayed. What did Jesus encourage the disciples to do in
order to prepare themselves for what lay ahead? He told them to watch and pray
(vs. 38).
Lesson
Prayer and temptation
Jesus was trying to teach the disciples that one of the best things they
could do in regards to temptation was to be “watching and praying”.
They needed to have their eyes open – that’s “watching”.
But they also needed to be praying.
The biggest work for Jesus was still ahead, on the cross.
But before the great work, there was the battle in prayer.
The real battles are won first in the prayer closet before you get to the
battle field.
Chuck Smith:
“You can do more than pray after
you’ve prayed, but you really can’t do any more for God than pray, until you
have prayed. You can’t really do any real work or service for God apart from
prayer.”
I was reading this morning about King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon.
When Rehoboam became king, he was faced with a difficult decision – in a sense
a “temptation” or a “trial”. The people
wanted Rehoboam to lighten up on the workload that his father had forced on the
people. Rehoboam didn’t know what to do,
so he decided to ask for advice. He
asked advice from the old men who had served his father – they told him to lighten
up. Then he asked advice from the guys
his own age – and they told him to get tougher.
In the end, he went with the advice from his younger friends, and the kingdom
of Israel split into two kingdoms.
I usually look at this and think that this is a lesson about learning to
respect the advice of your elders. But
it hit me this morning – there’s one person who Rehoboam did not ask for
advice. He didn’t ask God. When Rehoboam’s grandfather David needed
advice, he asked God.
Jesus taught us to pray,
(Mat 6:13
NKJV) And do not lead us into temptation, But
deliver us from the evil one…
I wonder how many temptations we could simply avoid if we
prayed more?
Some things we’re not going to be able to avoid – but I
wonder how many of those tests we could have passed easier if we had learned to
pray more?