Prepare: 'Man of Sorrows', what a name!
Read: Luke 22:39-53
A famous pianist said of Chopin's nocturne in C sharp minor, "I must tell you about it. Chopin told Liszt, and Liszt told me. In this piece all is sorrow and trouble. Oh such sorrow and trouble! Until he begins to speak to God to pray; then it is all right." That is the way it was with Jesus. He went into Gethsemane in an agony; He came out with victory won and with peace in His soul because He had talked with God.
The 'cup': Crucifixion was an excruciatingly slow and painful death by which the Romans punished criminals. Thousands of people have suffered physical torture; so what was the 'cup' that held such horror for Jesus? Surely the answer lies in the spiritual dimension of suffering. Others can suffer physical pain, but only He could 'become sin for us'.(II Cor. 5:21) The 'cup' was a symbol of wrath of God (Rev.14:10). The agony endured in the garden was the knowledge that He would be forsaken by God as He would bear the punishment that we deserved. Victory over darkness was won when He accepted the 'cup', praying 'Not My will, but Yours be done.'
Testing: The disciples were tested in that hour of darkness, but they were not ready because they were sleeping instead of praying, not realizing their weakness. (33.Cf Mark 14:31). So they blundered 'fighting the wrong enemy with the wrong weapon' (Wiersbe) and deserted Jesus. That sounds very much like me! I wonder if you too might have to admit failure in some of these tests.
Respond: Praise God that Jesus overcame darkness and never deserts us in our time of need.
Read: Luke 22:39-53
A famous pianist said of Chopin's nocturne in C sharp minor, "I must tell you about it. Chopin told Liszt, and Liszt told me. In this piece all is sorrow and trouble. Oh such sorrow and trouble! Until he begins to speak to God to pray; then it is all right." That is the way it was with Jesus. He went into Gethsemane in an agony; He came out with victory won and with peace in His soul because He had talked with God.
The 'cup': Crucifixion was an excruciatingly slow and painful death by which the Romans punished criminals. Thousands of people have suffered physical torture; so what was the 'cup' that held such horror for Jesus? Surely the answer lies in the spiritual dimension of suffering. Others can suffer physical pain, but only He could 'become sin for us'.(II Cor. 5:21) The 'cup' was a symbol of wrath of God (Rev.14:10). The agony endured in the garden was the knowledge that He would be forsaken by God as He would bear the punishment that we deserved. Victory over darkness was won when He accepted the 'cup', praying 'Not My will, but Yours be done.'
Testing: The disciples were tested in that hour of darkness, but they were not ready because they were sleeping instead of praying, not realizing their weakness. (33.Cf Mark 14:31). So they blundered 'fighting the wrong enemy with the wrong weapon' (Wiersbe) and deserted Jesus. That sounds very much like me! I wonder if you too might have to admit failure in some of these tests.
Respond: Praise God that Jesus overcame darkness and never deserts us in our time of need.
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