Sermon: Come To The Garden

Matthew 26 and the Grief of Christ in Gethsemane

You may be seated.

If you would open your Bibles to the gospel according to Matthew, chapter 26, gospel according to Matthew, chapter 26. We are at a series at Apologia Church called the Kingdom of God. It's a working through verse by verse through the gospel according to Matthew, and we are in chapter 26.

A very powerful moment in the ministry and the life of the Lord Jesus. There are things here before us that I think are on the bottom shelf. We can apprehend, we can grab hold of and understand, and there are things here I have to confess that I believe are incomprehensible, and we cannot fully understand as creatures the glory of the incarnation and the working together of the triune God in this particular.

Moment.

There is so much here in terms of desperation and grief in the Son of Man, God as a man. And so the text will be Matthew, chapter 26, starting in verse 30. Hear now the word of the living and the true God.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

Peter said to him, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray.

And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my father, if it is be possible, let this cup pass for me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, my father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again, he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy.

So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. Thus far as the reading of God's holy and inspired word, let's pray together as his people. Lord, we come into your presence, Lord, with a recognition of your glory and Lord, of the gift of your word, your revelation to us.

And we come to you humble right now in this moment, recognizing that there are deep, deep things here. Things that we know in our own creaturely state, we could not fully begin to comprehend. But we ask that you, by your spirit, would teach us through your word today, that you would guide the teaching today, speak to your people, open our hearts to your truth, challenge us, renew us, be glorified in the proclamation of your word in Jesus name.

Amen. So we're starting here today in this section after this is, of course, after we've learned about the betrayal of Judas. We have, of course, the institution of the Lord's Supper. We have this spectacular moment of Passover taking place.

All of God's revelation from Genesis onward throughout the Old Testament is now finding its summary in the life and ministry of Jesus. I mean, you see it so spectacularly in this moment. We have the true Passover lamb taking his seat at the table during Passover.

And he is what it was all pointing to in the first place. And of course, Jesus says, take and eat. This is my body. And he says, drink this, all of you. And he says, this is his blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

This is a powerful moment in the life of Jesus. And we have to just stop for a moment and we have to try to get away from remembering that painting, right? Where they're seated at a high table with all the disciples.

I mean, this is a very intimate moment, but it's also a moment that is filled with so much pain. I mean, they're probably on the floor, very close to the floor, leaning against one another. It's very intimate and there's so much meaning to this moment.

It is a deeply held tradition by the Jews. Passover was a commandment. It was everything. And now here is that true Passover lamb seated with them. And when he's breaking the bread and he's giving the wine, remember this, that what he is giving to his people to receive into themselves at that moment.

And throughout time, we're going to do it today. What he's giving to them is something that actually symbolizes his brokenness, his pain. You are bought with a price. This is not just theater. This is not something just merely to put on a painting and to glory in the artistry.

And this is a painful moment. What Jesus is doing in breaking the bread is he's talking about his body that's going to be broken and his blood that's going to be poured out, that's going to be shed. I mean, that's a shocking thing.

It is.

Recently, Augustine is, you know, he's one and a half years old and he is beautiful and amazing and dangerous. He's dangerous. He has no fear. He's fearless, right?

He's fearless.

And he's, oh boy.

He likes to ram you with his head. He thinks it's hilarious to like run across the room and slam his head into you. He's like, I call him a little tank. Luke says that his feet are like all terrain feet.

His big old feet, his all terrain feet. He is just all like muscle and strong and he likes to ram into things and he's dangerous. And a couple of weeks ago, I think about three weeks ago, he was, he climbed up on this little tiny kind of just stool kind of thing.

He slips and falls. We caught him, but not, I guess, in time enough. And so as we lifted him up, we thought he's fine. Next thing you know, we see that his tooth has gone through the bottom of his lip and he's just pouring blood.

Now, when it first happened, we were like, oh, we got you. We got you. Just slipped a little bit. We literally scooped him, but he banged his head. And as soon as we turned him around, there is blood pouring from his face.

And you know that feeling, right? When you see blood, something serious, right? It jolts you. It wakes you up. Like this is, okay, take it seriously. There's blood flow now. This is not a minor thing.

And so of course we ran to the hospital and we were there till like three in the morning and all the rest. But you do that when you see blood because blood is serious. And here Jesus at the table, this moment of intimacy with his people where he is showing them who he truly is and he is giving them the elements.

Remember this, never forget it. This is a moment of deep pain and grief for the Lord Jesus. I think we need to stop and think for a moment as we unpack this. We're going to go into the narrative here.

We're going to unpack all these verses and talk about the Garden of Gethsemane in this.

Moment.

And again, there are things here I don't think we could possibly comprehend. I really don't. We have to consider something about this moment. This is a moment filled with very serious pain. Jesus is not a robot.

The Humanity of Jesus and the Meaning of His Suffering

Okay, two things you want to consider as you think about Jesus, the God man, truly man and truly God. Number one, Jesus is not mechanical. He's not a robot. He is a human being. Yes, he is truly God, of course, but he is truly human.

He can, he has to be truly human to be your substitute, to represent you. If he's a goat or an animal, he can never represent you because that's not the image of God. Jesus is the perfect image of God.

He is what you and I are supposed to be, and he is it in perfection. And Jesus is not a robot. He has here emotions, grief, he's troubled. Jesus feels pain. Jesus feels the sense of loss when his friends abandon him.

And so this, Jesus is not mechanical. This is not robotic. Yes, he's God, but something Pastor James has said often, and I think it's powerful, it's the second point here. Not only is he not a robot, but Jesus did not glow as he walked down the streets of Jerusalem because he's God.

Now of course, we have a moment in the Gospels where sort of the veil is, is torn away for a moment and you begin to see the real glory of Jesus Christ. That was a spectacular moment, but that was not an everyday thing.

That was out of the norm. Jesus isn't walking down the streets of Jerusalem like he was in the transfiguration. Jesus is God. Jesus is man. And in this moment, Jesus is doing something at this table that represents his suffering.

He's breaking bread and giving them wine and he says, this is my blood. This is what this is supposed to remind you of. Do this in remembrance of me. But it's all about pain, and it's not just the pain of the broken body and the shed blood.

Never forget, he is going as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It's not just the physical pain of the crucifixion that Jesus is going to endure. It's not just the punching in the face and the pulling of the beard and the crown of thorns crammed into his head.

Jesus is going to receive on that tree, on that cross, something we could not possibly fathom. It's incomprehensible to be receiving into himself the wrath of the Father, the holy God, the perfect and just God who can never simply let sin and crimes go.

In order to be a just and holy God, he must be just. He must answer. And Jesus is going to receive the wrath of God, the just God, the holy God, for all the sins of his people, for all time. This is a moment filled with pain incomprehensible.

So don't miss it and don't simply move through these texts and fly past them and not allow yourself to be touched by the emotion and the humanity in this moment. I think that's probably the most important thing to grapple with here is that the humanity of the Lord Jesus, which you and I need desperately, without his true humanity, he is not a perfect representative or substitutes.

So in this moment, look, Jesus, we're going to read things here where you see Jesus grieved and saying things like, I feel like I want to die in the garden. I feel like I feel like I'm dying. As Jesus in this world, in this life, experiencing a fallen world in the same way you do yet without sin, without flirting with temptation, without yielding to temptation, Jesus feeling everything.

Listen, there is not a thing as we open this, there is not a thing that you and I as the people of God that we've experienced in this world that we could bring to Jesus that he doesn't know about, that he hasn't touched himself.

You want to talk about abandonment? You want to talk about betrayal? You want to talk about people lying about you? They lied about Jesus. They brought false reports. They couldn't even get their testimonies to match.

You have people actually working together so deceptively to betray Jesus, but also to put him before a court system and to have him murdered. Jesus was physically tortured. They did things to his body that they had no right to do.

Jesus knows every bit of our pain, the things that we experience in this fallen world. And yet he faced down these trials and temptations without sin. He is a perfect high priest who sympathizes with you and I and our weaknesses.

And in this moment, there is so much of the biblical story tied together. So let's get to it in verse 20. I'm sorry, verse 30. It says, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives, David, and the Fulfillment of Scripture

They went out to the Mount of Olives. Now, it's interesting in Matthew's narrative, this is actually the third visit to the Mount of Olives. The third visit to the Mount of Olives. You see it in 21 .1 and 24 .3.

So this is the third time that Matthew's bringing us into this story where Jesus is at the Mount of Olives. And you need to think about Jerusalem in the way of it's actually not a very big city, but it was seen as the city.

This is the this is the big place. This is where all the action takes place. This is the city of Jerusalem. But as soon as you left the gates and you departed, you went out, you were kind of in the country.

So it was a stark difference in the city and then in the country. This is way out, out of the city. And so Jesus now departs and he goes to the Mount of Olives. And it's interesting because if you look at John chapter 18, John chapter 18, verses one through three, it says this.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. Now, Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.

So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. And so this is, by the way, right here in John's gospel in chapter 18.

This is, of course, after the Last Supper. And then Jesus has the long discourse to his disciples, sort of a final address to them. But you have this description here that Judas knew where Jesus was going to be.

So apparently this was a place that was maybe owned by a follower of Jesus, a wealthy follower of Jesus. It was the Garden of Gethsemane he eventually ends up to pray in. Gethsemane means oil press. So he's the Garden of Gethsemane.

It means oil press. But it's interesting because as you read the narrative here, remember this, that Matthew, from the beginning of the gospel, according to Matthew, is showing you that Jesus actually fulfills all that the Old Testament was pointing to, even to the degree that Matthew is showing that Jesus is the true and perfect Israel.

So you see that where even Matthew uses a verse that was about the people of Israel, but he applies it to Jesus and he puts Jesus in the wilderness and he's there for 40 days. And that, of course, is reminiscent of what took place to the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

So Matthew's already done this and shown that all of this story was really about Jesus down to the Passover. That was about Jesus. But it's interesting in this moment, in verse 30, they sing a hymn and they go to the Mount of Olives.

So here's Jesus leaving the city and going to the Mount of Olives. Is this alluding to 2 Samuel, chapter 15, verses 30 through 31? 2 Samuel 15, 30 through 31. This is from the exegetical commentary on Matthew.

It says that David fled, King David, fled to the Mount of Olives, weeping and praying after he learned that Ahithophel, his trusted advisor, had joined the plot of his son Absalom in rebellion against his reign.

So Ahithophel wanted to attack David at night, 17 verses 1 through 2, 2 Samuel 17, 1 through 2. And like Judas, he hung himself when his plot didn't work out in 2 Samuel 17, verse 23. So, again, you see examples of there's a narrative, a historical narrative in the Old Testament that actually ends up finding its full fulfillment in the Lord Jesus in his life.

David did the same thing. He leaves Jerusalem, goes to the Mount of Olives. There's a plot to kill him at night or to take him at night. And the person who actually fails in the plot ends up hanging themselves, takes place right here in the life of Jesus.

Now, this is what's interesting here is Jesus leaves the table. They sing a hymn. They go to the Mount of Olives. But this little space here, if you take the Gospels and put them together, is where you have Jesus' final address in John 13 through 17 to his disciples.

So I just want you to see a couple of things from that so you can kind of place this together in your Gospels. As you're reading Matthew's Gospel, you can oftentimes pick up more details from another Gospel.

But it's interesting because in this moment where they leave the table and they go to the Mount of Olives, a lot took place according to the Gospel, according to John. I want you to see it. Just go to 13.

I'm not going to do all of it, but I do want you to see some remarkable things that take place in this section. In John 13, start at verse 30. Here's how the Gospel according to John does this. So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out and it was night.

What's that about? That's about Judas, right? So they're at the table. Judas is going to betray Jesus. And here are some of the most spectacular words, I believe, from the ministry of Jesus in these chapters from 13 through 17.

Just some points here. Again, not the whole section. When he had gone out, verse 31, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once.

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me. And just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you where I am going, you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you.

You also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another, isn't it powerful when you put this together in terms of the timeline? Jesus was just at the table.

This is a harrowing moment for all the people of God. It is a moment filled with grief and pain for the Lord Jesus. He fought. He goes out to the Mount of Olives. He's going to end up at the Garden of Gethsemane.

But apparently this conversation takes place between those points. And these are those famous sections. Of course, you see in verse 36 there of 13. This is where Simon Peter says he's not going to deny him.

But in chapter 14, verse one, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.

But I'm sorry if I were not. So what I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also.

And you know the way to where I'm going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.

If you had known me, you also would have known my father. Also, from now on, you do know him and have seen him. Now, as you continue to move through, you see Jesus in chapter 14, verse 15. He promises to give us the helper, the spirit of truth in the world cannot see because it neither sees him nor knows him.

You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. Verse 25, these things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance your remembrance.

All that I have said to you, peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I'm going away and I will come to you.

If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I'm going to the father for the father is greater than I. Mark that in that moment there, the father is greater than I. The God man, Jesus Christ, and in intimate relationship with the father from all eternity in this moment, the ministry of Jesus, the father is greater than I.

It's a powerful thing to keep in mind. Go to chapter 17 to see some more of these glorious statements, because this takes place here in this moment. Leaving Jerusalem, leaving the table, going to the garden.

Here are Jesus's farewell words to his disciples. Can you imagine the intensity of this moment? Just picture the intensity of this moment, the grief of this moment, the pain of this moment. There's almost a sense of desperation in this moment for the disciples.

And this is a powerful scene. And this section of scripture from 13 to 17 in John is taking place in this little moment. This farewell address to his disciples, final words. It's like he's giving them, I think, this powerful dump of encouragement.

And it's beautiful. But here it is right here, 17. Here it is. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that you that the son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, look at this.

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. There's a tension in this moment. You have to recognize it because of the incarnation. There's a tension in this moment.

The God man is going to endure the wrath of the father. He's going to save us from God. Think about that as a man. But he says here, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

It truly is a powerful moment. And again, I think there are things here that are incomprehensible for creatures. Back to 26, starting in verse 31. It says, then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night.

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered, and Peter’s Denial

For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. So that's 31 to 32. He makes the promise that it's written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Now, first thing is obviously Matthew points out here that this is the fulfillment of Zechariah chapter 13, verse 7. Again, another example of how the New Testament authors do not act in a way or behave like the ministry of Jesus, the life of Jesus is a novelty dropped into history.

It's a novelty, not a novelty. This is a fulfillment of all that the scriptures have promised. And so it's a fulfillment of Zechariah 13, 7. Now, I want to have a I want to point out and note verse 31.

It says, I will strike the shepherd. I will strike the shepherd. Who's that? Who's that? God. I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock are going to be scattered. So the first thing to note is that it is God doing this.

It is God who is in control. And who says this? Jesus. Jesus, you will all fall away because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

There is a tension here that is incomprehensible. Jesus knows it is God the father who is doing this. He's the sovereign over this entire story. And yet you'll see in a moment here that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is calling him my father.

There is a tension here that we cannot possibly wrap our minds around. I will strike the shepherd. You see this not just here in this moment for Jesus. In Matthew 26, you also see the story played out long before Jesus comes in Isaiah 53.

I want you to see it with your own eyes. Isaiah 53, we've been here a lot, but I want you to see this example. This is something that is a consistent theme regarding the ministry of the Messiah in scripture.

Isaiah chapter 53, you know, this famous section of scripture that has the life of Jesus and the ministry of Jesus from top to bottom. It is unavoidable. Isaiah 53 in verse 6, it says this, all we like sheep have gone astray.

There it is again. God's people, the sheep going astray, being scattered, that theme throughout scripture, of course. We have turned everyone to his own way. And here it is. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus affirms it here in this moment. I will strike the shepherd. That is God the father striking Jesus. The sheep scatter. Jesus acknowledges the sovereign will of the father in this moment. It is the father doing this to Jesus, of course, for God's people.

But in Isaiah 53, it says the Lord has laid on him. Who's the him? Jesus, the Messiah. That's this is the messianic psalm. The Lord has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Another example, verse 10, Isaiah 53, 10.

It says this, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days.

The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hands out of the anguish of his soul. He shall see and be satisfied. But here in verse 10, it's the will of the Lord to crush Jesus. Now, I've said this oftentimes when I've preached on this passage, there is no way you and I can possibly fathom that kind of intense love, that kind of intense and complicated love.

You have children. Some of us understand the love a parent has for a child. This was a really weird thing, right? Like you think as you have a child, you think, man, there there is no way I could love anything in this world like I love this beautiful creature right here.

Like this is this love you find even later in life. You thought you'd experienced all kinds of love and then you have a child and you realize like all of yourself sort of fades away. Everything is about them.

All of your life is about them giving up for them. I would say there's even a more interesting kind of way this turns out when you have grandchildren. You're like, well, maybe I can love something more than them.

It's right.

It's it's kind of a weird experience, like these intense levels of love. But here's the deal. Look, none of us have the capability to be able to give up our own child for somebody else.

Can you do that?

Would you do that?

Maybe.

I mean, Jesus talks about, you know, perhaps for a good man, somebody might die, right? But how about this? Would you allow your child to be murdered and brutalized for somebody who hates you? Your enemies, because that's the story of the gospel, God, the father giving his son, the son of his love that he has been an eternal fellowship with from all eternity, glory forever.

He gives up that son for his enemies. That is a divine love, and that's a love that we cannot possibly comprehend. But Jesus says, I will strike the shepherd. God is going to strike the shepherd. The sheep are going to scatter.

This is in fulfillment, of course, of Zechariah 13, 7. But note the second detail, Matthew 26. 31 through 32, in verse 32, he says, one first point after I am raised up, there's a guarantee Jesus knows this is not out of control.

This is ordained. He can tell Peter, you're going to do this. Judas, you're going to do this. He knows the future. I'm going to Jerusalem. They're going to crucify me, and in three days I will rise again.

He knows that this thing is in full control of the father. The father is doing this, and Jesus says what? First point after I'm raised up, it's guaranteed. This is where the story is going after I'm raised up.

Second point, I will go before you to Galilee. He's going to restore them. So not just he's going to strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock could be scattered. The father is doing all this, Jesus says, and then I'm going to rise again.

I'm going to go before you to Galilee and then I'll regather you. I'm going to come and get my flock again. You see, even even with the betrayal and the abandonment, Jesus has such an intense love for his people.

He knows for whom he has come. You're going to be scattered. He says, and then after I'm raised, I'm going to come get you. I'm going to gather you. He will care and come for his flock, which ends up being, of course, a global flock of every tribe, tongue, people and language.

Look around this room right now. Look around this room right now. Look at all the different types of people, the different colors, all the differences. Jesus was raised and he came to regather his flock, bring them together again.

And of course, bring the light of that gospel all over the world, which is a promise from Isaiah chapter nine. I'm getting ahead of myself. Reading in verse 33 now, Peter answered him, though they all fall away because of you.

I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, truly, I tell you this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.

And all the disciples said the same. Give him some grace. Everybody was telling that tale. All of them were. But notice that Peter says, I will never fall away. It's never going to happen. Well, he's kind of the sovereign God.