Yet Not What I Will

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When do you pray?  Not all of us in the room are necessarily followers of Jesus, but I assume that at some point in our lives most, if not all, of us have prayed.  Certainly we've already prayed corporately in this service, and will do again before we finish.  Christians pray regularly, but there are times when we seem to pray more readily.  We often find that our praying drops off when we're experiencing easier times and picks up when we have problems.  But sometimes it can take us a long time to pray in the hard times.  Sometimes it only occurs to us to pray when we've realised that the solution to our problems is beyond us.  We realise that we need to rely on God, and that realisation of reliance gives birth to prayer.  But right prayer is always an expression of reliance on God, whether in the hard times when we call on God for strength and relief, or in the good times, when we realise that everything good comes from God.  In fact, reliance on God is central to prayer.

That's the big idea of this morning's passage in our Great Prayers to a Great God series.  I want to look at the passage under two headings, which are:

1)     Relying on God, Jesus prayed

2)     Relying on themselves, the disciples slept

Here's the context: Jesus has just instituted what we now call Holy Communion, this meal of remembrance of Jesus' death, of his body broken and his blood shed.  Then as he and his disciples came out to Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot slipped away to fetch the mob who would arrest Jesus that night and take him to be crucified the next day.  So let's look at this first heading,

1 – Relying on God, Jesus prayed

And we take up the story in verse 32:

     32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  33He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  34"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch.

Now, this is pretty strange.  Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled.  "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said.  Jesus knew that in a matter of hours he would die a gruesome death, and no-one in their right mind looks forward to that.  But he wasn't the first man to be martyred, and he wouldn't be the last.  Many martyrs faced death with much more composure and courage.  Read how Stephen reacted to his stoning in Acts 7 or read about the 2nd Century Christian leader Polycarp, who was burned to death, refusing to renounce Jesus.  Was Jesus a lesser man than these and so many others?  Was he a coward?  Well, no!  Jesus is the man who walked on water, who stilled a storm, expelled evil spirits, fed multitudes, baffled the teachers of the law, touched lepers and rather than contract leprosy himself, he healed them.  This is the man who raised the dead and who stepped out in utter control of every situation.  Something was different about Jesus' death.

Physical death is part of the punishment meted out by God to Adam and Eve when they rebelled against him.  "Dust you are and to dust you will return."  But death is more than the physical shutdown of our bodies.  Death is when we come face to face with God.  And if God is angry with us for rebelling against him, we come face to face with an angry God.  Death is when we face God's wrath against rebellion.  Jesus knew that as he bore the sins of the world, God would be angry with him.  God would pour out his wrath on Jesus for the sins of his people.  Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow because he could see that within 24 hours of this prayer he would cry out from the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  Jesus knew that in his death, he faced not only the horror of crucifixion but the full terror of hell, of God's abandonment, the withdrawal and rejection of God the Father, with whom he had been in eternal perfect union along with the Holy Spirit.

Let's look at his prayer.  Look at v35.

     35Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  36"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Jesus addresses God with 'Abba, Father'.  Abba probably means Father and is intensely personal and intimate.   Jesus' relationship with the Father was one of perfect intimacy.  And Jesus brings to his Father this two-fold request: "Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.  He prays that the hour might pass from him.  'Father I know that this is what my whole mission on earth is about but please, not now.  In fact, not ever.  I pray that this hour will not come.  Everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.'  (the cup standing for God's wrath).

And the stakes are high because God could have done that.  Everything is possible for him, as Satan reminded Jesus during his temptation in the desert.  Satan quoted Psalm 91, "[God] will command his angels concerning you [Jesus] to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."  Jesus was probably thinking about that promise at this very moment.  Matthew records that when one of the disciples drew his sword here at Gethsemane to resist Jesus' arrest, Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"

Jesus was desperate not to suffer God's wrath.  But the second part of his prayer is the reason we are sitting in this room today.   "Yet not what I will, but what you will."  Jesus knew that it was God's plan for him to suffer in our place for our sin.  It was written all over the Old Testament, the scriptures of the day.  In fact it was ordained before the creation of the world.  We've sung it already this morning, taking our lyrics from Isaiah 53: 'For our sin and for our guilt, you were crushed, you were killed, all of this for God's own will, that by your death we might live!'  And not only did Jesus know God's plan, not only did he know that there was no other way for sin to be dealt with, but he made himself obedient to that plan.  We've sung that as well: 'God's will prospered in your hand, Servant King, obedient Son.'

So, relying on God, Jesus prayed.  He cast his deepest anxieties and longings on God, but he also honoured God by deferring to God's will.  And we can imitate this pattern in our praying.  We can cast our deepest anxieties and longings on God.  None of us experience the distress that Jesus knew.  None of us face the prospect of bearing the sin of the world, but we do face many troubling and anxious times in our lives, and we have a God for whom everything is possible, a Father who wants the very best for us and proved it at the cross.  We can bring any request to him.

Some of us need to pray for forgiveness and new life in Jesus for the very first time.  If that's you, please hear the encouragement the answer to that prayer is always 'yes', with rejoicing in heaven.  But of course, the answer to other prayers is not always a 'yes'.  Jesus' prayer right here is answered with a 'no'.  God does not grant Jesus' request for the hour to pass from him.  That's why, like Jesus, we should honour God by deferring to his will.  He is the sovereign God who knows what is best and right and good, so it's right that we defer to him.  'Your will be done on earth as in heaven', as Jesus taught us to pray.  And of course as we read our bibles more and more we learn God's will for many circumstances, just as Jesus had for his death.

So, relying on God, Jesus prayed.  Secondly,

2 – Relying on themselves, the disciples slept

Look at v37:

     37Then [Jesus] returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?  38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

And twice more Jesus returned to find them sleeping before Judas returned with the mob.

We're thinking about reliance on God being central to prayer and while Jesus demonstrated that positively, the disciples make the case by their failure.  They show that self-reliance is the enemy of prayer.  Let's rewind slightly and glance up to v27.  Jesus and the disciples are on their way to Gethsemane and the conversation is not exactly about the lovely still night or the full moon.

27"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."  29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." [Peter's not having it.  'Even if all these others abandon you, Lord, I won't.'  Not winning any friends with the other disciples here…]  30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today— yes, tonight— before the cock crows twice you yourself will disown me three times."  31 But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you."  And [not to be outdone by Peter] all the others said the same.

'I will die with you, Lord,' says Peter.  'You can rely on me.  More than anyone, I will be the one you can rely on.'  Peter is relying on his own strength, his own resolve and his own courage.  Now, in Gethsemane, we haven't even got to the part where Peter does disown Jesus, swearing that he never knew him, but already Peter is leading the others in letting Jesus down.  His master, with whom he is apparently ready to die, is praying in agony, and Peter is asleep at his post!

Why do you think Jesus called him 'Simon'?  '"Simon,", he said to Peter'... Simon was his name, but Jesus had renamed him 'Peter', which means 'rock', saying "On this rock I will build my church."  '"Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?'  How can I call you 'Peter'?  How can I call you 'rock'?  A rock is solid and reliable.  I've asked you to keep watch for one hour while I pray and you're asleep!  After all your self-reliance, claiming you would die beside me, you can't even stay awake while the salvation of the whole world hangs in the balance!  38"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Peter's reliance on his own strength sees him sleeping at his master's hour of need.  Even with this rebuke ringing in their ears, in their physical weakness with their tired, heavy eyes, they couldn't keep alert and awake to keep watch and pray.

Self-reliance is the enemy of prayer... for the disciples and for us.  When we're being self-reliant, we lapse into thinking that we are responsible for the good times we enjoy.  When we're being self-reliant, we lapse into thinking that we have the strength to deal with the hard times we face.

How do I know if I'm being self-reliant?  I don't pray.  And I don't just mean a few spur-of-the-moment prayers like when we pull into the car park at work ahead of that awkward meeting.  I mean intentional, regular praying, praying with a prayer diary or a set of lists of people to cycle through, or the latest prayer letters from missionaries or organisations - some sort of system and discipline.

If you don't do that, why not?  What's your excuse for your praying being less than it should be?  Are you too busy to make a plan?  Are you too busy to make time to pray?  If so, you're just like the disciples, self-reliant and sleepy.  Maybe you're rushing around at 100mph but if you're too busy to pray, you're asleep at the wheel.  That reading from Ephesians warns us not to be ignorant of the spiritual reality we face.

…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. …With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints [meaning other Christians].

We are caught up in a war as the devil strains to drag mankind down with him to defeat and as God redeems sinful people, lifting us up to make a people for himself.  How can we rely on our own strength to live as God's people in a war like the one we're in?  We have no strength except that which comes from him.  If you really, genuinely believe that that's true then please block out some time to assess your praying.  If it's not as it should be, if it's not regular, disciplined, alert and intentional, make a plan to change that.  Don't get caught sleeping in self-reliance like the disciples here.  Repent of that.  Instead, rely on God in every circumstance and defer to his will, just like his Son, our Lord Jesus.

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