The Prayers Of God's Servant
"In The Garden"
Book of Mark Chapter 14:25-46
It should be clear in all our minds, there is nothing that happened to the Lord Jesus Christ that came by accident!
Everything that happened to Christ Jesus was written down in the Old Testament many years before they actually took place.
If all these things had not happened then Christ Jesus would have been a false Savior.
Not Rome, not Israel, and not Satan, could have changed anything that happened to Our Lord!
God cannot be set aside by some rule of any government!
God cannot be set aside by the Devil!
And God cannot be set aside by mankind without consequences!
What God says in His completed Word will take place just as He has written!
After what is now called and celebrated as the Lord's Supper and Judas has departed to complete his betrayal, Jesus moves to the "Garden of Gethsemane" where He will be captured(He was not hiding) by His enemies.
Let's begin:
*****Mar 14:26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Christianity is not just a thing of principles! Christianity is not just following some book of rules!
But Christianity has within it praise and worship, but we must not leave out celebration of Our Lord and God!
The Psalms normally used at the Passover meal are Psalms 113-118, with Psalms 115 being the "psalm of the passion" of the Messiah.
But, I would be surprised if the Lord Jesus did not sing a song of celebration for the day He had come for had arrived!
Heb 12:2 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We may not know the actual difference between a hymn and a psalm but on this night of the Lord's Supper, no instruments of music were available, so a hymn could be a psalm that was sung without the use of musical instruments.
The Passover had to be treated just as any Sabbath Day and Sabbath's Day Journey from Jerusalem could take you no farther than the Mount of Olives.
And Jesus began to give His final thoughts to His disciples.
*****Mar 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mar 14:28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
According to the Webster dictionary to be "offended" is to be displeased or even disgusted.
According to the Strong's Dictionary of Greek words, the Greek word "skandalizo" is used for the English word "offended" and it means to "scandalize" or "entrap" or even "to trip" and therefore be a stumbling block.
I believe Jesus was saying all these things to His disciples.
So what would actually happen?
Zec 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and "the sheep shall be scattered": and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Those little ones represent the believer.
Jesus said all this prophecy would be fulfilled.
Jesus was teaching these 11 remaining disciples that all prophecies and everything written about Him in the Old Testament, must be fulfilled!
Jesus was not demanding or commanding that these men abandon Him, but He was stating the fact that they would do just as the Scriptures had said they would, they would scatter.
Jesus Christ knows what is in the heart of every man!
Jesus was preparing these disciples for His departure.
"Omniscience", is the character of God that means "He knows all things actual and possible", whether past, present, or future!
What Jesus was saying to these disciples would be what would actually take place!
All sheep are in need of a shepherd!
It is Our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, that would be smitten!
The world would attempt to kill and murder the Lord Jesus Christ but He had come to die and would freely give His life for the sheep.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
But Jesus assured these disciples that He was not about to forsake them.
Jesus would be in that grave for only 3 days and nights:
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
But at no time would these disciples be in any great danger and Jesus promised to meet them in Galilee because He already knew where they would be!
Jesus already knew His disciples would have a desire to quit on Him, though they all denied this.
Joh 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
The Lord was there to meet His disciples in Galilee.
But Peter just could not accept the Word of God as it was written:
*****Mar 14:29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
We should never ignore the Word of God!
"God says what He means and God also means what He says"!
The Bible still says that none of the scriptures can be broken!
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and "the scripture cannot be broken";
I wish our government would pay attention to this fact.
The Apostle John clearly got this right when he wrote this passage:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus Christ is the eternal revealer of the One True God!
John did not write that Jesus is "a word" but that He is "The Word".
God had already said this and these Jews sang these words in a Psalm on the Sabbath Day.
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book "it is written of me",
If the Lord Jesus said something was going to happen, then it will definitely happen!
As sinners none of us liked the truth of the Bible and this lost world still does not like what God says.
Isa 64:6 But "we are all as an unclean thing", and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Even as Christians we may still not like everything the Bible says.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
But God has only one command about His Word.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and "not a doer", he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
We must be doers of the Word of God to be called "obedient"!
To be "obedient" is to be "Christian", be like Jesus Christ!
We will see that Peter did not like the Word of the Lord. Peter did not like what he heard from the Old Testament!
We think we want to know what will happen in our lives before we die, BUT it is probably just better to prepare ourselves for this evil world, and we can only do that by "true faith" in the Word of God and what it says.
Jesus told Peter exactly what things would happen this same day.
*****Mar 14:30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Jesus said, (my words) "Peter as confident as you are right now, you will fail me today".
You see we are always wrong to try to trust in our own strength!
The simple fact is, we all need Jesus Christ to have any strength in this world!
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
In other words there is not many things we can do without Jesus Christ.
I cannot speak for the women but we men know that "pride" gets in our way and becomes our own stumbling block just as it did with Peter.
The pure fact is that, if we do not allow the Word of God "to remove this pride" and "humble us", we will never be of much use to the Lord Jesus.
Humility must be the first lesson we learn in becoming a Christian!
Humility is not weakness!
Humility is "strength" under control!
Our first test in humility comes when we have to admit we are sinners, because we have to admit that the Lord is right and we are wrong!
Peter was still struggling with this as we all sometimes do!
Most men can relate to Peter.
*****Mar 14:31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
Peter had to much confidence in His own strength!
The Apostle was truly the strength of these 11 men. His influence was powerful. Peter was a true man!
These qualities were necessary if the New Testament Church was to take hold but Peter still lacked in humbleness and obedience.
Peter's birth name was Simon Bar-Jonah or Simon, son of Jonah.
But the Lord had given Simon this "nickname" of Peter.
Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
Luk 6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Jesus did not just give him a new name to replace the old name but this nickname was more his true description. Peter means "rock".
Petros is the Greek word for "piece of rock".
And Jesus had also used the name Cephas at times.
Joh 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Cephas means a piece of stone.
Peter was truly a piece of raw material that could be formed into a true leader but he was a stone and it takes patience from the Lord to remove the stones from the clay!
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
We should be very thankful that the Lord does not throw that stony clay away for I myself fit into many of Peter's faults.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, "that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ":
What Peter was saying, now all the disciples were in agreement with. They all agreed that none would deny the Lord Jesus Christ.
But they were all wrong!
*****Mar 14:32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
Gethsemane means "oil-press" or "olive press".
The Garden of Gethsemane is just across the Kidron Valley and at the base of the Mount of Olives.
The Book of Hebrews describes this night for us:
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Remember Melchisedec was the King-Priest of Salem. Melchisedec means "my king is righteousness". There was no record of his ancestry, and no record of his birth nor of his death.
This prophecy would also be to be fulfilled by Our Lord and also another song that was sung in the Temple on the Sabbath Day:
Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psa 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Only Jesus Christ, whose life can never be destroyed, could ever fit this description of Melchisedec.
Jesus came to Gethsemane to pray!
The Lord walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden.
The Lord walked and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Lord would soon be buried in a Garden Tomb.
*****Mar 14:33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Mar 14:34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
All the disciples but Judas Iscariot were in the Garden, but as Jesus went deeper into the Garden and took with Him, Peter, James and John.
As these men had witnessed the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, they were brought to also be witnesses of His sorrows.
Jesus began to be sore amazed:
As Jesus was about to die for the sin of the world, "within His flesh", Jesus was "amazed" at the enormous amount of and the filthiness of all that sin He was about to take upon Himself.
Remember even in His flesh, The Lord had never sinned!
Jesus could sense the wrath of God, within His flesh for that sin.
The darkness of this world was gathering thick over the only light that has ever existed for the freedom of God's people!
It can be said that Satan was making an attempt to kill the Lord Jesus before He had an opportunity to get to the Cross!
Remember what the Bible says:
Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
But, God's "sword of justice" was also being unsheathed.
It was in His flesh that Jesus realized these things and much more.
BUT, the Spirit of Jesus knew all these things and had joy!
This "amazement" at the amount of sin that was to be carried to the cross would soon change to "sorrow"!
Jesus began to be very heavy:
"Heavy" in this sense means sad, dejected, and depressed. This are things that the flesh of man can realize.
That burden of sin was tremendous!
Remember Jesus was to carry with Him not only the sin of His day, but the sin from the days of Adam, where the disobedience of eating that fruit would be paid, but also all the sin through the day we live in now and all future sin from this day forward until the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Sin is "ungodliness".
"Ungodliness" is man's failure to obey God and keep the commandments related to Him and brings with it unrighteousness.
"Unrighteousness" is man's failure to to live righteously toward his fellow man and God.
Sin is the sinful state and the conditions in which mankind is born!
Sin is the corruption of our nature!
The corruption of sin extends to all mankind and to all parts of each man!
There is nothing within mankind that can gain merit in the eyes of God!
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
AND, there is only one payment for our sin!
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is "death"; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That gift of God, Christ Jesus in the flesh, was feeling the burden of this sin this night in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
It was God Himself, who became humble, "the strength of God under control"!
Jesus Christ was obedient to Our Father in Heaven, from the cradle to the cross!
Christ Jesus, not only obeyed God the Father, but He had obeyed His parents.
He had obeyed all the man-made laws that did not conflict with the Word of God.
He had also obey every law He, Himself, had given to Moses!
So, Jesus, in His flesh did not want to be alone this night!
Peter, James and John may not have realized these things but Our Father in Heaven did!
Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Jesus went on a bit further alone to pray.
*****Mar 14:35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Here we see the agony of a totally innocent man, who had to be considered guilty, in the eyes of Our Father in Heaven, "to pay the debt of all those who are truly guilty!
Jesus Christ paid the debt we owed. Jesus, in His flesh, was death for us!
This too is our example:
1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death "in the flesh", but quickened by the Spirit:
Did Jesus pray for a way out of that death?
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: "but for this cause came I unto this hour".
No, God forbid, this is why the Lord had come to this Earth!
Did Jesus pray that He could not obey this one time?
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
No, God forbid, Jesus was delighted to obey His Father!
Jesus always prayed for each one of us for our salvation!
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Jesus was in agony because for a very brief moment He would have to feel the wrath of God for all our sakes!
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
It took a "Piece of God" for us all to have "Piece with God"!
Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
All these things were accomplished on that cross.
*****Mar 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
The Lord Jesus cried out to His Father in Heaven, as any true son would call out to his own father!
The title "Abba" shows us the personal relationship that Jesus in the flesh had with His Father in Heaven.
AND, God will relate to each and every believer as a father should relate to his own child!
Some would say that "Abba" then means "Daddy"!
Only Christianity teaches this relationship to the Almighty God and this is the relationship that God wants from each of us!
In fact if we do not have this type of relationship with Our Lord then we must not stop until we do!
Most all prayer must be seen as child in conversation with their daddy!
This is not showing disrespect, IN FACT, it is disrespectful not to have this personal relationship with Our Father who is in Heaven!
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
And immediately following Jesus said, 0 "Daddy, I know that there is nothing that you cannot do".
There is no need to pray, unless we pray "realizing" that Our Father in Heaven can do all things!
There is nothing to hard for God!
God had already asked the Prophet Jeremiah this same question:
Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
And The Lord confirmed this:
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
One thing that God cannot do is lie:
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
One other thing that God cannot do is be tempted to sin:
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
But God knows what it feels like to feel all these things.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
It is all these things that allow for answered prayer.
Jesus could have prayed for these things to end without His death but He did not!
Mat 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 "But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled", that thus it must be?
The Word of God must be fulfilled just as it is written or we could not trust it's truths and no one would be saved.
This is why we cannot allow man to change what God has said!
We must use a literal translation of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures or God's great truths will be lost!
And Jesus went back to check upon those that were supposed to be watching out for Him:
*****Mar 14:37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
Jesus took a moment from His prayer and walked to Peter, James and John who were only a stone's throw away from Him.
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Jesus then said these words to Peter, but notice, Jesus did not call Peter by his nickname but by his true name Simon.
Peter, the rock, had already said to the Lord, that he would be with Jesus every step of the way.
Peter, the rock, had said that "though all be offended, he would never be offended about anything about Christ Jesus.
Cephas or Peter meant "stone" or "rock" but this night Peter was just being Simon, his regular old self.
Peter was just not sincere enough in the things he said, to even watch over the Lord in His hour of "passion", for one hour, and none of these had done any better.
Jesus was saying,(my words) "how can you stand with Me all this night if you cannot stay awake even for 1 hour"?
We can surely disappoint the Lord with some of the things we say and then not do!
We seem to forget sometimes when we say things to the Lord, He already knows the outcome of those things!
*****Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Mar 14:39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
These disciples were about to go through many trials and tribulations of their own and they did not realize it.
It is not always easy to live as Christian!
We must all prepare ourselves for this evil world and our greatest armament as we see the things going on in this world we live in, is "prayer". There is still danger on all sides! Those dangers will remain until we get home!
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The spiritual war these, soon to be called, Apostles would face was real and was certain!
Every soldier in the army of God must keep his weapons and his defence ready at all times!
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
And we simply must maintain a sincere prayer life:
Eph 6:18 Praying "always" with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
And we must watch out for each and every other brother and sister in Christ!
Jesus went back to His own prayer.
*****Mar 14:40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
Mar 14:41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
It is a shame when we allow, our lack of control of our own flesh, to interfere with some very personal time with the Lord!
This is what the act of fasting is all about, having that truly personal time!
We miss out on a lot of personal time with the Lord when we cannot control our own flesh!
We must also never forget, that the enemies of Jesus Christ, are also the enemies of the Church.
But a church is not a Church unless it is founded on the foundation of Jesus Christ!
We see in so-called churches everyday, where The Lord Jesus Christ is still being betrayed!
Every time the Word of God is perverted by those who rewrite the scriptures, the Lord Jesus Christ is still being betrayed!
The atonement, the cross, the blood, and the gospel no longer have real meaning to the world we live in!
In our upside down world it is becoming a sin just to say you know the Lord Jesus Christ!
In our upside down world it is becoming sin just to say you believe the Word of God!
BUT, for the church our greatest sin is being inconsistent in our Love for Our Lord!
These 3 disciples had missed a great opportunity to witness the God-Man in His passion.
But now at this time, even these men needed to be awake and alert.
*****Mar 14:42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
Mar 14:43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
Judas may not have known where Jesus and the disciples would eat the Passover meal but he certainly knew where Jesus would go after that meal.
Joh 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.
Joh 18:2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
Judas had brought a great multitude so that there would be no possibility of Jesus's escape.
But Jesus had no intention of escaping and said:
Joh 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
Things were going to happen just as the prophets had written!
Luke said Jesus added these words:
Luk 22:48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
As the Psalmist had written:
Psa 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Judas had taken of the Lord's Supper in deception. Judas Iscariot was a hypocrite!
And there will be no hypocrites in Heaven!
*****Mar 14:44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
In the East, the kiss was a mark of respect and/or affection.
The kiss was also a symbol of brotherly love!
The kiss was therefore easy for the "hypocrite" to pretend to love.
When we pretend, our actions will soon find us out!
*****Mar 14:45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.
We know that the prayer of Jesus was answered:
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
The proof that the prayer of Jesus was answered is also proof that He did not pray for God to find another way beside His death!
The days of God in the flesh, Emmanuel, had began at Bethlehem and would end at His resurrection.
But God never for one moment lost His godly nature!
Some of those that have gone on before us say that there will be many, as much as 80 %, that will slide off the pew straight into Hell.
Judas is proof of this!
Judas had spent more than 3 years with the only way to get to Heaven, but he had never found that true faith.
BUT, when the hour of the cross came, Our Lord did not want anything or anyone trying to defeat God's plan!
Jesus then said these words:
Luk 22:52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
Luk 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
The power of darkness includes all powers that are hostile to God!
But we should also remember that darkness also symbolizes ignorance, especially of God's Word and God's ways:
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me "should not abide in darkness".
We all have to make our own decision!
Whether we are going to go through life "pretending" like Judas, or "fighting" against our flesh like Peter or "yielding" to God's plan and finding God's perfect will for our own lives!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
"In The Garden"
Book of Mark Chapter 14:25-46
It should be clear in all our minds, there is nothing that happened to the Lord Jesus Christ that came by accident!
Everything that happened to Christ Jesus was written down in the Old Testament many years before they actually took place.
If all these things had not happened then Christ Jesus would have been a false Savior.
Not Rome, not Israel, and not Satan, could have changed anything that happened to Our Lord!
God cannot be set aside by some rule of any government!
God cannot be set aside by the Devil!
And God cannot be set aside by mankind without consequences!
What God says in His completed Word will take place just as He has written!
After what is now called and celebrated as the Lord's Supper and Judas has departed to complete his betrayal, Jesus moves to the "Garden of Gethsemane" where He will be captured(He was not hiding) by His enemies.
Let's begin:
*****Mar 14:26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Christianity is not just a thing of principles! Christianity is not just following some book of rules!
But Christianity has within it praise and worship, but we must not leave out celebration of Our Lord and God!
The Psalms normally used at the Passover meal are Psalms 113-118, with Psalms 115 being the "psalm of the passion" of the Messiah.
But, I would be surprised if the Lord Jesus did not sing a song of celebration for the day He had come for had arrived!
Heb 12:2 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We may not know the actual difference between a hymn and a psalm but on this night of the Lord's Supper, no instruments of music were available, so a hymn could be a psalm that was sung without the use of musical instruments.
The Passover had to be treated just as any Sabbath Day and Sabbath's Day Journey from Jerusalem could take you no farther than the Mount of Olives.
And Jesus began to give His final thoughts to His disciples.
*****Mar 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mar 14:28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
According to the Webster dictionary to be "offended" is to be displeased or even disgusted.
According to the Strong's Dictionary of Greek words, the Greek word "skandalizo" is used for the English word "offended" and it means to "scandalize" or "entrap" or even "to trip" and therefore be a stumbling block.
I believe Jesus was saying all these things to His disciples.
So what would actually happen?
Zec 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and "the sheep shall be scattered": and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Those little ones represent the believer.
Jesus said all this prophecy would be fulfilled.
Jesus was teaching these 11 remaining disciples that all prophecies and everything written about Him in the Old Testament, must be fulfilled!
Jesus was not demanding or commanding that these men abandon Him, but He was stating the fact that they would do just as the Scriptures had said they would, they would scatter.
Jesus Christ knows what is in the heart of every man!
Jesus was preparing these disciples for His departure.
"Omniscience", is the character of God that means "He knows all things actual and possible", whether past, present, or future!
What Jesus was saying to these disciples would be what would actually take place!
All sheep are in need of a shepherd!
It is Our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, that would be smitten!
The world would attempt to kill and murder the Lord Jesus Christ but He had come to die and would freely give His life for the sheep.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
But Jesus assured these disciples that He was not about to forsake them.
Jesus would be in that grave for only 3 days and nights:
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
But at no time would these disciples be in any great danger and Jesus promised to meet them in Galilee because He already knew where they would be!
Jesus already knew His disciples would have a desire to quit on Him, though they all denied this.
Joh 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
The Lord was there to meet His disciples in Galilee.
But Peter just could not accept the Word of God as it was written:
*****Mar 14:29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
We should never ignore the Word of God!
"God says what He means and God also means what He says"!
The Bible still says that none of the scriptures can be broken!
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and "the scripture cannot be broken";
I wish our government would pay attention to this fact.
The Apostle John clearly got this right when he wrote this passage:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus Christ is the eternal revealer of the One True God!
John did not write that Jesus is "a word" but that He is "The Word".
God had already said this and these Jews sang these words in a Psalm on the Sabbath Day.
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book "it is written of me",
If the Lord Jesus said something was going to happen, then it will definitely happen!
As sinners none of us liked the truth of the Bible and this lost world still does not like what God says.
Isa 64:6 But "we are all as an unclean thing", and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Even as Christians we may still not like everything the Bible says.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
But God has only one command about His Word.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and "not a doer", he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
We must be doers of the Word of God to be called "obedient"!
To be "obedient" is to be "Christian", be like Jesus Christ!
We will see that Peter did not like the Word of the Lord. Peter did not like what he heard from the Old Testament!
We think we want to know what will happen in our lives before we die, BUT it is probably just better to prepare ourselves for this evil world, and we can only do that by "true faith" in the Word of God and what it says.
Jesus told Peter exactly what things would happen this same day.
*****Mar 14:30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Jesus said, (my words) "Peter as confident as you are right now, you will fail me today".
You see we are always wrong to try to trust in our own strength!
The simple fact is, we all need Jesus Christ to have any strength in this world!
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
In other words there is not many things we can do without Jesus Christ.
I cannot speak for the women but we men know that "pride" gets in our way and becomes our own stumbling block just as it did with Peter.
The pure fact is that, if we do not allow the Word of God "to remove this pride" and "humble us", we will never be of much use to the Lord Jesus.
Humility must be the first lesson we learn in becoming a Christian!
Humility is not weakness!
Humility is "strength" under control!
Our first test in humility comes when we have to admit we are sinners, because we have to admit that the Lord is right and we are wrong!
Peter was still struggling with this as we all sometimes do!
Most men can relate to Peter.
*****Mar 14:31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
Peter had to much confidence in His own strength!
The Apostle was truly the strength of these 11 men. His influence was powerful. Peter was a true man!
These qualities were necessary if the New Testament Church was to take hold but Peter still lacked in humbleness and obedience.
Peter's birth name was Simon Bar-Jonah or Simon, son of Jonah.
But the Lord had given Simon this "nickname" of Peter.
Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
Luk 6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Jesus did not just give him a new name to replace the old name but this nickname was more his true description. Peter means "rock".
Petros is the Greek word for "piece of rock".
And Jesus had also used the name Cephas at times.
Joh 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Cephas means a piece of stone.
Peter was truly a piece of raw material that could be formed into a true leader but he was a stone and it takes patience from the Lord to remove the stones from the clay!
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
We should be very thankful that the Lord does not throw that stony clay away for I myself fit into many of Peter's faults.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, "that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ":
What Peter was saying, now all the disciples were in agreement with. They all agreed that none would deny the Lord Jesus Christ.
But they were all wrong!
*****Mar 14:32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
Gethsemane means "oil-press" or "olive press".
The Garden of Gethsemane is just across the Kidron Valley and at the base of the Mount of Olives.
The Book of Hebrews describes this night for us:
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Remember Melchisedec was the King-Priest of Salem. Melchisedec means "my king is righteousness". There was no record of his ancestry, and no record of his birth nor of his death.
This prophecy would also be to be fulfilled by Our Lord and also another song that was sung in the Temple on the Sabbath Day:
Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psa 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Only Jesus Christ, whose life can never be destroyed, could ever fit this description of Melchisedec.
Jesus came to Gethsemane to pray!
The Lord walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden.
The Lord walked and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Lord would soon be buried in a Garden Tomb.
*****Mar 14:33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Mar 14:34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
All the disciples but Judas Iscariot were in the Garden, but as Jesus went deeper into the Garden and took with Him, Peter, James and John.
As these men had witnessed the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, they were brought to also be witnesses of His sorrows.
Jesus began to be sore amazed:
As Jesus was about to die for the sin of the world, "within His flesh", Jesus was "amazed" at the enormous amount of and the filthiness of all that sin He was about to take upon Himself.
Remember even in His flesh, The Lord had never sinned!
Jesus could sense the wrath of God, within His flesh for that sin.
The darkness of this world was gathering thick over the only light that has ever existed for the freedom of God's people!
It can be said that Satan was making an attempt to kill the Lord Jesus before He had an opportunity to get to the Cross!
Remember what the Bible says:
Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
But, God's "sword of justice" was also being unsheathed.
It was in His flesh that Jesus realized these things and much more.
BUT, the Spirit of Jesus knew all these things and had joy!
This "amazement" at the amount of sin that was to be carried to the cross would soon change to "sorrow"!
Jesus began to be very heavy:
"Heavy" in this sense means sad, dejected, and depressed. This are things that the flesh of man can realize.
That burden of sin was tremendous!
Remember Jesus was to carry with Him not only the sin of His day, but the sin from the days of Adam, where the disobedience of eating that fruit would be paid, but also all the sin through the day we live in now and all future sin from this day forward until the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Sin is "ungodliness".
"Ungodliness" is man's failure to obey God and keep the commandments related to Him and brings with it unrighteousness.
"Unrighteousness" is man's failure to to live righteously toward his fellow man and God.
Sin is the sinful state and the conditions in which mankind is born!
Sin is the corruption of our nature!
The corruption of sin extends to all mankind and to all parts of each man!
There is nothing within mankind that can gain merit in the eyes of God!
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
AND, there is only one payment for our sin!
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is "death"; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That gift of God, Christ Jesus in the flesh, was feeling the burden of this sin this night in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
It was God Himself, who became humble, "the strength of God under control"!
Jesus Christ was obedient to Our Father in Heaven, from the cradle to the cross!
Christ Jesus, not only obeyed God the Father, but He had obeyed His parents.
He had obeyed all the man-made laws that did not conflict with the Word of God.
He had also obey every law He, Himself, had given to Moses!
So, Jesus, in His flesh did not want to be alone this night!
Peter, James and John may not have realized these things but Our Father in Heaven did!
Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Jesus went on a bit further alone to pray.
*****Mar 14:35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Here we see the agony of a totally innocent man, who had to be considered guilty, in the eyes of Our Father in Heaven, "to pay the debt of all those who are truly guilty!
Jesus Christ paid the debt we owed. Jesus, in His flesh, was death for us!
This too is our example:
1Pe 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death "in the flesh", but quickened by the Spirit:
Did Jesus pray for a way out of that death?
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: "but for this cause came I unto this hour".
No, God forbid, this is why the Lord had come to this Earth!
Did Jesus pray that He could not obey this one time?
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
No, God forbid, Jesus was delighted to obey His Father!
Jesus always prayed for each one of us for our salvation!
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Jesus was in agony because for a very brief moment He would have to feel the wrath of God for all our sakes!
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
It took a "Piece of God" for us all to have "Piece with God"!
Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
All these things were accomplished on that cross.
*****Mar 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
The Lord Jesus cried out to His Father in Heaven, as any true son would call out to his own father!
The title "Abba" shows us the personal relationship that Jesus in the flesh had with His Father in Heaven.
AND, God will relate to each and every believer as a father should relate to his own child!
Some would say that "Abba" then means "Daddy"!
Only Christianity teaches this relationship to the Almighty God and this is the relationship that God wants from each of us!
In fact if we do not have this type of relationship with Our Lord then we must not stop until we do!
Most all prayer must be seen as child in conversation with their daddy!
This is not showing disrespect, IN FACT, it is disrespectful not to have this personal relationship with Our Father who is in Heaven!
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
And immediately following Jesus said, 0 "Daddy, I know that there is nothing that you cannot do".
There is no need to pray, unless we pray "realizing" that Our Father in Heaven can do all things!
There is nothing to hard for God!
God had already asked the Prophet Jeremiah this same question:
Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
And The Lord confirmed this:
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
One thing that God cannot do is lie:
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
One other thing that God cannot do is be tempted to sin:
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
But God knows what it feels like to feel all these things.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
It is all these things that allow for answered prayer.
Jesus could have prayed for these things to end without His death but He did not!
Mat 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 "But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled", that thus it must be?
The Word of God must be fulfilled just as it is written or we could not trust it's truths and no one would be saved.
This is why we cannot allow man to change what God has said!
We must use a literal translation of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures or God's great truths will be lost!
And Jesus went back to check upon those that were supposed to be watching out for Him:
*****Mar 14:37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
Jesus took a moment from His prayer and walked to Peter, James and John who were only a stone's throw away from Him.
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Jesus then said these words to Peter, but notice, Jesus did not call Peter by his nickname but by his true name Simon.
Peter, the rock, had already said to the Lord, that he would be with Jesus every step of the way.
Peter, the rock, had said that "though all be offended, he would never be offended about anything about Christ Jesus.
Cephas or Peter meant "stone" or "rock" but this night Peter was just being Simon, his regular old self.
Peter was just not sincere enough in the things he said, to even watch over the Lord in His hour of "passion", for one hour, and none of these had done any better.
Jesus was saying,(my words) "how can you stand with Me all this night if you cannot stay awake even for 1 hour"?
We can surely disappoint the Lord with some of the things we say and then not do!
We seem to forget sometimes when we say things to the Lord, He already knows the outcome of those things!
*****Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Mar 14:39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
These disciples were about to go through many trials and tribulations of their own and they did not realize it.
It is not always easy to live as Christian!
We must all prepare ourselves for this evil world and our greatest armament as we see the things going on in this world we live in, is "prayer". There is still danger on all sides! Those dangers will remain until we get home!
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The spiritual war these, soon to be called, Apostles would face was real and was certain!
Every soldier in the army of God must keep his weapons and his defence ready at all times!
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
And we simply must maintain a sincere prayer life:
Eph 6:18 Praying "always" with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
And we must watch out for each and every other brother and sister in Christ!
Jesus went back to His own prayer.
*****Mar 14:40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
Mar 14:41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
It is a shame when we allow, our lack of control of our own flesh, to interfere with some very personal time with the Lord!
This is what the act of fasting is all about, having that truly personal time!
We miss out on a lot of personal time with the Lord when we cannot control our own flesh!
We must also never forget, that the enemies of Jesus Christ, are also the enemies of the Church.
But a church is not a Church unless it is founded on the foundation of Jesus Christ!
We see in so-called churches everyday, where The Lord Jesus Christ is still being betrayed!
Every time the Word of God is perverted by those who rewrite the scriptures, the Lord Jesus Christ is still being betrayed!
The atonement, the cross, the blood, and the gospel no longer have real meaning to the world we live in!
In our upside down world it is becoming a sin just to say you know the Lord Jesus Christ!
In our upside down world it is becoming sin just to say you believe the Word of God!
BUT, for the church our greatest sin is being inconsistent in our Love for Our Lord!
These 3 disciples had missed a great opportunity to witness the God-Man in His passion.
But now at this time, even these men needed to be awake and alert.
*****Mar 14:42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
Mar 14:43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
Judas may not have known where Jesus and the disciples would eat the Passover meal but he certainly knew where Jesus would go after that meal.
Joh 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.
Joh 18:2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
Judas had brought a great multitude so that there would be no possibility of Jesus's escape.
But Jesus had no intention of escaping and said:
Joh 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
Things were going to happen just as the prophets had written!
Luke said Jesus added these words:
Luk 22:48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
As the Psalmist had written:
Psa 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Judas had taken of the Lord's Supper in deception. Judas Iscariot was a hypocrite!
And there will be no hypocrites in Heaven!
*****Mar 14:44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
In the East, the kiss was a mark of respect and/or affection.
The kiss was also a symbol of brotherly love!
The kiss was therefore easy for the "hypocrite" to pretend to love.
When we pretend, our actions will soon find us out!
*****Mar 14:45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.
We know that the prayer of Jesus was answered:
Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
The proof that the prayer of Jesus was answered is also proof that He did not pray for God to find another way beside His death!
The days of God in the flesh, Emmanuel, had began at Bethlehem and would end at His resurrection.
But God never for one moment lost His godly nature!
Some of those that have gone on before us say that there will be many, as much as 80 %, that will slide off the pew straight into Hell.
Judas is proof of this!
Judas had spent more than 3 years with the only way to get to Heaven, but he had never found that true faith.
BUT, when the hour of the cross came, Our Lord did not want anything or anyone trying to defeat God's plan!
Jesus then said these words:
Luk 22:52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
Luk 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
The power of darkness includes all powers that are hostile to God!
But we should also remember that darkness also symbolizes ignorance, especially of God's Word and God's ways:
Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me "should not abide in darkness".
We all have to make our own decision!
Whether we are going to go through life "pretending" like Judas, or "fighting" against our flesh like Peter or "yielding" to God's plan and finding God's perfect will for our own lives!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
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