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"Kneel
and Pray"
Luke 22:39-46
Introduction
When you are tempted to fall into sin – what do you do? How do you handle temptation? How do we handle the temptation the world
throws at us every single day? How do we handle the temptation of our
very own flesh?
As Christians, says our text, we are not to "fall into
temptation." We are not to listen to temptation and be lured into
its trap. With temptation all around us, with temptation within and
without, how can we avoid falling? How are we, as Christians, to handle
temptation?
What do you do to keep
from falling?
The father of a small boy would occasionally sneak into a neighbor's
orchard and pluck some of the choicest fruit. He always made sure,
however, that "the coast was clear." One day with his son
tagging along, after carefully looking in every direction and seeing no
one, he crept through the fence. He was just about to help himself when
the youngster startled him by crying out, "Dad! Dad! You didn't look
UP! You forgot to see if God is watching."
The fear of getting
caught has kept many a person from falling into temptation. However, when
temptation strikes and you're inclined to give in because no one seems to
be around, remember the words of the little boy. Don't forget, God always
sees.
We all know that God is always watching, yet we still fall into
temptation and sin. So what can we do? I ask again, how do you handle
temptation? What do you do to keep from falling? Jesus tells us and shows
us in this morning's Scripture reading the best way to handle temptation.
I. Jesus is Tempted and Prays
A. After celebrating the Passover and instituting the Lord's Supper,
Jesus went with His disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane. Once in the garden, we hear Him praying about
a cup: "take this cup from me." What is this cup? What is Jesus
praying about?
There are 2 cups in the Old Testament (HOLD UP 2 CUPS). The first is the
"cup of blessing" or "cup of salvation" (Ps 16:5;
23:5; 116:13). That's not the one Jesus is praying about. The second is
the "the cup of wrath". That's the one Jesus is praying about.
Listen to these words from the Old Testament:
(Ps
75:8) In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with
spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to
its very dregs.
(Jer 25:15-16) This is
what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me:
"Take from my hand this cup
filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send
you drink it. (16) When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad
because of the sword I will send among them." (cf Ezek 23:33)
It is obvious that the
cup symbolizes the judgment and wrath of God against sin. And, to drink
from the cup is to experience the terrible and awesome anger of God. All
of us recognize, I hope, that we all should be made to drink deeply from
this cup because we have all fallen into temptation and have all sinned
against God in thought, in word, and in deed.
The Old Testament also makes clear that the cup of God's wrath must be
taken and drunk to the very dregs. The cup of wrath must be taken and
drained to the bottom.
(Jer
25:15,28) This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me:
"Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and
make all the nations to whom I send you drink it ...(28) But if they
refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what
the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! (cf Ps 75:8).
In other words, there
is no escape from the wrath of God. Even God's people, Israel, could not escape. We think here of the 40
years when she was forced to wander through the wilderness until all the
fathers died. We think here also of the days during the judges when God
gave Israel over and over again into the hands of her
enemies. We also think here of the 70 years of exile in Babylon. In each and every instance, Israel was forced to drink from the Lord's cup of
wrath. She was not allowed to escape the consequences of her sin.
The message of the Old Testament about God's cup of wrath is clear: God's
justice cannot be denied and His punishment must be handed out. Nations
and peoples cannot escape the judgment of God against sin. The cup of
wrath will be drunk by the wicked.
B. "Take this cup from me," prays Jesus. How awful! Jesus is
being given the cup of God's wrath. He is about to drink deeply from
God's anger against wickedness and sin. And He knows what that means:
humiliation, pain, suffering, death. He knows He will be cursed on the
cross, forsaken by God, abandoned for 3 awful hours, enduring the
torments of hell itself. How awful that He will endure this – He,
Who from eternity has had an intimate and unbroken communion with the
Father. He knows He'll be counted with the transgressors (cf Lk 22:37) and condemned like a criminal.
"Father ... take this cup from me," prays Jesus. In the garden,
we see Jesus struggling with the will of God. Jesus is facing temptation.
He is being tempted to avoid the path of suffering, to escape the cup of
wrath. Scripture tells us about the anguish and pain of the struggle:
"his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." It's
only natural, isn't it, to struggle, to be tempted, in such a situation?
Who among us, if healthy, welcomes suffering and death? Don't forget,
Jesus is human just like you and me. And, in every normal person there
exists the urge, the instinct, to continue life and to avoid death. Jesus
is no exception: He wants to live, He doesn't want to suffer, so He is
tempted (cf Heb 2:18; 4:15).
C. What does Jesus do as He faces temptation? What does Jesus do as He
struggles with the will of God? He prays. We don't know all of what He
said, but it must have been intense. The author of Hebrews says,
(Heb
5:7) During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from
death ...
The custom at the time of Jesus was to pray in a group and to pray
standing with eyes raised to heaven. But Jesus, He prays alone and He
prays on His knees. This shows us something of His attitude before the
Father: meekness, humility, obedience.
This same attitude of meekness, humility, and obedience is evident in the
words of Christ's prayer that Luke records for us:
(Lk 22:42)
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will,
but yours be done."
Jesus does not seek to
disobey the will of God; rather, He accepts the will of God. His only
wish is that God's will is something other, something different, than the
way of the cross and the grave.
Jesus is tempted, so He prays. He prays that God's will be changed. He
prays that God's will be done. He prays for the power and strength to
obey God's will and to drink the cup of God's awful wrath.
D. Jesus is tempted, so He prays. And the Father, He hears and He answers
the prayer of the Son. Turning again to the book of Hebrews:
(Heb
5:7) During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from
death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Of the Gospel writers,
only Luke records God's answer to Christ's prayer:
(Lk
22:43) An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
Christ is tempted, He
prays, and God strengthens him.
E. Do you see what happens next? Jesus gets up to meet those sent to
arrest Him. As He so easily does at other times, He could have evaded His
enemies (Lk 4:30; 13:31; 19:47-48; 20:19; 20:20-26;
22:2). But He doesn't! He could have called on more than 10,000 angels to
help Him (Mt 26:53). But He doesn't! Do you realize what is happening?
Jesus is not simply submitting to fate. Not at all. He is not a dumb
animal that has no say in its sacrifice. Rather, after struggling with
God in prayer, He is ready to enter upon the road to the cross and to
follow it to the bitter end. After fighting with temptation in prayer, He
actively accepts the will of God and decides to willingly drink the cup
of God's wrath.
Why? Why would He do this? Why would this be God's will for Him? God's
cup of wrath is reserved for the wickedness and godlessness of men. God's
cup of wrath is reserved for the punishment of sin and evil. But Jesus,
He is sinless and perfect. So why should He have to consume the cup of
God's awful anger? We all know why. The prophet Isaiah tells us:
(Is
53:4-6) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (5) But he
was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we
are healed. (6) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has
turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us
all.
It's
for us! Jesus willingly drinks the cup of wrath for us. He drinks it in
our place, in our stead. It should be us drinking from God's awful cup.
Instead, it is Jesus Who drains it to the dregs.
II. When Tempted We Should Pray
A. Christ is tempted to find a way other than the cross. After He prays
about this, He is willing to drink from God's awful cup of wrath. You and
I are to take a lesson from Christ here. We are to follow His example. We
are to listen to His words. Two times in our short passage, what does
Jesus say? He says, "Pray that you will not fall into
temptation."
It seems that we have a choice between prayer and temptation. This is not
to say that people who pray don't fall into temptation; none of us would
be so foolish as to say that. However, if you don't pray, you will not
only fall far more quickly, but you will also fall much further.
"Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
Is there is a sin which keeps recurring in your life? Is there a vice
which you find yourself struggling against day after day and year after
year? How do you handle it? How do you face temptation? Jesus shows us
and Jesus tells us the best approach: on our knees. "Pray that you
will not fall into temptation."
B. When it comes to temptation, why are we to fall down upon our knees in
prayer? There are 2 reasons. First of all, on our own, by our own
strength, relying on our own power, we are so weak, so helpless, so
frail, so unable to resist. Relying on yourself – like Peter did
– you will surely fall.
The second reason why we should pray when we are tempted, is because
through prayer we maintain communion and fellowship with the almighty
God. Prayer puts us in touch with the power and strength of God. One
might estimate the weight of the world, tell the height of a mountain,
count the stars of heaven, measure the speed of light, and calculate the
time of the sun's rising and setting 5 years from now – but one
cannot begin to estimate the power of prayer. Why not? Because prayer is
as vast as our fathomless God. And prayer is as mighty as our infinite
God. Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God's infinite
grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at our
disposal through prayer.
Conclusion
How do you handle temptation? What do you do to keep from falling? In the
garden, Jesus shows us and tells us the best posture: on our knees in
prayer.
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