Facing Spiritual Battles: Jesus' Example in Gethsemane

Well, do be encouraged to open your Bible and turn with me this morning to Luke chapter 22 verses 39 to 46. As we sit here this morning on these nice comfortable chairs on this lovely sunny day in these relatively peaceful surroundings, I want to remind us that we are in a spiritual battle. I don't know whether it feels like that to you. I don't know how conscious you are of this being the case, but we are in a spiritual battle. In Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12, I'm reading from a slightly different version to what's up on the screen there. Paul says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The forces of evil that exist within the heavenly realms are at work in this world, and their attacks are especially aimed at believers, at the church. Now, of course, the good news is that Jesus has disarmed Satan at the cross.

No longer can he accuse believers or those who are in Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But he can still tempt.

He can still tempt us to disobey God. He can still ruin our testimony. So the question is, how do we stand against the devil?

Well, these verses that we're looking at this morning give us the answer to this question. By looking to God in prayer or strength. Now, I don't know whether this is particularly relevant to anyone this morning.

I mean, it is relevant to us all, of course. But I feel this morning as if this sermon, if for no one else, is for me.

Because when one is engaged in ministry, one is acutely aware of Satan's attacks and one's need for the strength that the Lord supplies. We're going to look at these verses under two headings. Firstly, the call to prayer.

Secondly, the example of Jesus. And thirdly, the repeated call to prayer. So firstly, the call to prayer.

Verses 39 and 40. Now, for three years, the disciples have stood with Jesus in his trials.

But as I said last week, things are now going to get more difficult. The reason for this is because the world has turned against Jesus, and it has turned against his disciples too. And it will be especially difficult for Jesus and the disciples in the coming hours. Look at verse 53 of Luke chapter 22.

Jesus says, Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour when darkness reigns.

Darkness is going to reign over the coming hours. Satan is going to be at work. Now it's late evening.

And Jesus and his disciples, having spent time in the upper room, go to the Mount of Olives. To be more specific, they go to the foot of the Mount of Olives, where there is a lovely garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. And in verse 40 you will see that Jesus calls his disciples to pray. Pray, he says, that you will not fall into temptation. Now is not the hour to be confident in their own strength.

No, Satan is at work and he is real. Where there is a lovely garden, the garden of Gethsemane. And in verse 40 we'll see that Jesus calls his disciples to pray. Pray, he says, that you will not fall into temptation. Now is not the hour to be confident in their own strength.

No, Satan is at work and he is real and powerful and they are human and they are weak and vulnerable. Friends, it is good to be reminded of Satan's strength and our comparative weakness. Every day we need the strength of God so that we do not fall into temptation. So that we are enabled to do the will of God.

Secondly this morning, and we'll spend a little bit more time here, the example of Jesus. The example of Jesus, verses 41 to 44. Now Jesus withdraws a stone's throw from eight of his disciples with Peter, James and John.

Now as I read this this week I thought, now what's a stone's throw? I'm not sure whether we can determine the exact answer. It depends on one, the sise of the stone and who's throwing it. I can see some young lads in the congregation this morning. I'm pretty confident if I was to give you a stone that you could throw it to the end of the graveyard. I couldn't do that. I might have been able to at one time, but not anymore because this arm doesn't work. I have to throw underarm these days.

I might be able to get the throne perhaps to the other side of the row. But a stone's throw, whatever that means, away from his disciples.

And if we read Mark's gospel we learn that Jesus then went a little further from Peter, James and John. And what does he do? He falls down and he prays. So this is what he prays, verse 42.

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done. What is this cup that Jesus refers to? Well, it's not a cup like this.

It's not a cup like this. Jesus is referring to the cup of suffering. A cup that he is expected to drink. A cup that involves him suffering and dying upon a cross. It's the cup of wrath. It's the cup of judgment. Now I think it's perfectly understandable for Jesus as a man, as a human being, to wish that his father might somehow take this cup from him.

Let's not overlook the fact that when Jesus was on earth he was truly God and truly. As a human being, as a man, he understandably did not want to experience an horrific death. Understandably, he did not want to bear the wrath of God upon him. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. But what was the will of the father?

It was, wasn't it, for him to go to the cross. In Isaiah 53, in verse 10, we read, Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And Jesus knows, even as he prays these words, what his father's will is for him. He has come into the world to drink this cup. He has made his way with his disciples to Jerusalem to drink this cup. Listen to what we read Jesus saying to Peter in John 18 and verse 11. Put your sword away. Shall I not drink the cup the father has given me?

And so he goes on to pray, Yet not my will, but yours be done. He is determined to do the will of his father. Oh, that there might be another way. But there isn't another way.

The cup the Father has given me? So he goes on to pray, yet not my will, but yours be done.

He is determined to do the will of his Father. Oh, that there might be another way, but there isn't another way. It is the will of his Father that he should drink the cup, and he resolves in prayer to do his Father's will. You know, I think we have a really helpful insight into what prayer in some ways is about. It's about aligning our wills to God's will. As someone has said, prayer is surrender, surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.

Well, wonderfully, in response to Jesus' prayer, an angel is sent from heaven. An angel is sent from the Father to strengthen Jesus to face his coming ordeal as a man. Now, I've sat and thought about this during the week, and I think this is remarkable.

Why do I say that this is remarkable? Because Jesus is none other than the Lord of glory. He is the creator of all things. He's the creator of heaven and earth. Who is it that made the angels? Jesus. And here he is in need of being strengthened by an angel that he himself has created. This is all part of Jesus' humiliation, isn't it?

Now look with me at verse 44. In verse 44 we read, And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Now it's important for me to say this morning that Jesus never crosses the line into sinful anxiety or fear.

Not once does he do that, but the emotional and psychological trauma he faces as a man is real. Now some Bible commentators emphasise the word like.

And in his anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. So not drops of blood falling to the ground, but sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground.

But some commentators argue that Jesus actually sweat drops of blood. Listen to the words of William Hendrickson. He writes, It is natural that Luke, as a physician, as a doctor, would inquire into and record this occurrence of hematidrosis. When these factors, extreme anguish, earnest supplication, unparalleled sensitivity, are combined, the resulting strain can easily cause subcutaneous capillaries to dilate to such an extent that they will burst. And when this happens, as it is almost bound to do, in the vicinity of the sweat glands, blood and sweat will be exuded together. This can happen over a large part of the body. The thick drops or clots of blood imparting a reddish colour to the beads of perspiration will then trickle down to the ground. The beginning of verse 44 reads, And being in anguish.

It might seem like a silly question, but actually it's not, and hopefully you'll see why I raise it. Why is Jesus in such anguish? Why is Jesus in such anguish? You see, to be frank, hundreds of people throughout the centuries have experienced painful deaths, including death by Roman crucifixion, and have not expressed such anguish. Why? Why does Jesus express such anguish at the thought of going to the cross? Why is Jesus in such anguish? You see, to be frank, hundreds of people throughout the centuries have experienced painful deaths, including death by Roman crucifixion, and have not expressed such anguish.

Why? Why does Jesus express such anguish at the thought of going to the cross? And the answer is because it will involve him experiencing what no man has or ever will experience. You see, Jesus in the coming hours will have all the sins of all his people laid on or transferred onto him. Think of the Old Testament for a moment, how the priests would have laid his hands upon the animal, symbolising the transferring of the people of Israel's guilt upon the animal. Well, Jesus, the Lamb of God, would in the coming hours have the sin of all his people transferred onto him.

What do we read in Isaiah 53 and verse 6? We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. I nearly brought in my rucksack that I take with me on holiday this morning, filled with bricks. That, you see, would have illustrated the burden of sin on one person's shoulders. But imagine millions of rucksacks filled with bricks, and then laid on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus.

Friends, for a time, Jesus Christ became the greatest sinner this world has ever known. Now, that almost sounds blasphemous, doesn't it?

Unless you understand what's being said from Scripture this morning. Listen to what we read in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. God made him, that is Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Oh, Jesus will soon have the sins of his people laid on him, and in his own body he will pay the terrible price for their sins. What do we read? We read in Isaiah 53 and verse 10, For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Oh, is it any wonder that Jesus falls down to the ground in the garden of Gethsemane and prays earnestly to his Father, with his sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground? Well, here we have the example of Jesus in prayer.

He prays for strength to resist the very real temptation from Satan to shy away from the cross and to resolve to do God's will, and he receives the strength that he needs. Christian friends, aren't you glad that Jesus prayed this prayer for you in the garden of Gethsemane? Aren't you glad that he wrestled in prayer that he might do the will of God? Aren't you glad that he drank the awful cup so that you might not have to drink it? Maybe you're sitting here or you're listening online and you're not a Christian, you're outside of Christ. Maybe the thought of drinking your cup terrifies you. It should. It should.

Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. Unite yourself to him and know that Jesus drank the cup in your place so that you need not drink it. I wonder though this morning, are we facing trials and temptations of one kind or another? If we are, can I encourage us to take them to the Lord in prayer? And be encouraged. He will listen and answer and strengthen you to face them. You can trust him.

Let's turn to the third heading. The repeated call to prayer. It's been a long and tiring day for the disciples. And be encouraged, he will listen and answer and strengthen you to face them. You can trust him. Let's turn to the third heading.

The repeated call to prayer. It's been a long and tiring day for the disciples. And what has made the disciples feel even more tired than usual is the sorrow they feel. Why do they feel sorrow? Well, it might be because Jesus has told them that he's going to be returning to the Father.

Or it might be because Jesus has told them that one of them is going to betray him. Or it might be because they know that soon Jesus will be arrested. It might even be that at this stage it has dawned on them that Jesus is going to be sentenced to death. These men are mentally and emotionally exhausted. Therefore, when Jesus, having prayed, goes back to them, he finds them asleep. Yet interestingly, verse 46, as tired and weary as they are, Jesus tells them that they should be up and praying so that they do not fall into temptation. Oh, they might be tired, but they cannot afford to sleep. They cannot afford to rest.

They must fight their tiredness if they are going to avoid falling into temptation. Earlier this year, back in May, I went to Kodoma Baptist Church for their morning service. And as we were leaving in the car, I saw this sign beside the entrance gate to the church. It's not the one I'm going to show you. I haven't got a picture of that. But the words on this one are the same.

You are now entering the mission field. I thought, that's great. We ought to have one at the front of our church for us to see. You are now entering the mission field. As I was preparing for this morning, I also recalled another sign that I had seen, this time on the outside of a church. One would probably refer to it as a wayside pulpit. This is what it said. Seven days without prayer makes one weak.

W-E-A-K, not W-E-E-K. And I thought, it might be a good idea to put this one, the one that you can see above you, under the sign that's to be found at Kodoma Baptist Church. You see, when we do the Lord's will, when we engage in His work, when we do mission, when we seek to play our part in building the church of Jesus Christ, Satan does not like it. And he will attack us and seek to discourage us and, if possible, to cause us to just throw the towel in and give up. If we are going to resist temptation and go on serving the Lord, we need, every day, the strength of the Lord. And as I said at the beginning, the strength of the Lord is obtained through prayer. I wonder, are we a people who believe in prayer? A tale is told about a small town that had historically been dry, that is, without liquor.

But then a local businessman decided to build a tavern, we might say a pub. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that shortly thereafter, lightning struck the bar, or the pub, and it burned to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible. But the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible.

The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated that no matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear, the tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not. Are we a people who believe in prayer? Do we believe that God hears and answers and he grants strength for every trial? The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated that no matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not. Are we a people who believe in prayer? Do we believe that God hears and answers and he grants strength for every trial? Are we a people who pray?

Do we regularly pray for ourselves and for others in the midst of this spiritual battle? Now I don't want to make us feel guilty this morning.

That is most certainly not my purpose. And I'm sure that most of us, if not all of us here this morning, wish that our prayer lives were in better shape than they are. I simply want to remind us that we're in a spiritual battle and we need to pray. We can't afford not to pray. We need to pray, even when we feel tired. That we might stand against the devil and his schemes and go on doing God's will to his glory and to his praise. Let's pray together. Lord, we thank you for your word to us this morning.

Thank you for the lovely example that Jesus has given to us in this matter of prayer. How alone and tired he must have felt at this time. How he must have longed for the support and the prayers of his disciples. We can't even imagine all that he went through, even in the garden, let alone at the cross. But we thank you.

We thank you for his earnest prayers. We thank you for the help, the strength that was given to him by the angels sent from heaven. We thank you for his resolve, his determination to drink the cup, to go to the cross, to pay the price for sin. So that people like us might be wonderfully redeemed.

Lord, you've reminded us this morning from your word that we find ourselves in a spiritual battle. We thank you that the victory is sure for those of us who know and love the Lord Jesus. We're clear about that, but Satan is still at work. And he wants to tempt us into sin, he wants to ruin our testimony, he wants to make us ineffective in service for you. Lord, we pray that we may look to you day by day for the strength that we need to take our stand against the evil one. And to do your will, particularly the work of mission, the work of gospel proclamation. Lord, when we're engaged on the front line in evangelistic work, we can at times be very conscious of Satan trying to discourage us and pull us down. Oh, how we rejoice that you are greater than he that is in the world.

May we know your power, your might at work within us as believers, strengthening us for all that you want us to do in this world. We praise your holy name, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's stand, shall we, and sing together our final hymn, O Church Arise. And put your armour on, hear the call of Christ our Captain. For now that we can say that they are strong, in the strength that God has given. Let's stand and sing.