June 11, 2001

FAMILY BIBLE STUDY:

Acceptance of God's will brings peace & serenity
___ Matthew 26:36-56
___By Bobby Dagnel
___First Baptist Church, Nederland
___A man once boasted that he had the best hearing aid money could buy. A friend asked him, "What kind is it?"
___"Oh, about 2:30."
___Sometimes we do not hear as well as we think, especially when it comes to hearing the voice of God and discerning his will for our lives. Yet this is the fundamental pursuit in the life of faith. The greatest temptation we face as a people of God is to be diverted from doing of will. It is the constant tension with which we live. It was true in the life of Jesus, and it is so for us.
___This week's text, Matthew 26:36-56, opens in a place called Gethsemane, a garden spot located on the slope of the Mount of Olives. That Judas knew to bring the lynch mob to this very spot reveals it was a place frequented by Jesus and his disciples (Luke 22:39; John 18:2).
___Why did Jesus go to Gethsemane? Insights can be drawn from verses 37-38.
___With the cross looming on the horizon, the gospel writer offers a glimpse into the emotional state of Jesus, utilizing the words "sorrowful" and "troubled." Jesus, himself, stated, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
___"Anguish" is the word used in Luke's account, which gives this physical description, "his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44).
___Why such anguish? Was it because of the intense pain and suffering that would be experienced on the cross? Certainly, there had to be some anxiety in the anticipation of the crucifixion.
___Was it the fear of death? I don't believe there was a doubt in the mind of Jesus regarding the coming resurrection and the certainty of life beyond the grave. Even so, no one in their right mind wants to die at the age of 33, not even the Son of Man.
___Jesus was well aware of his mission and purpose in life--to suffer and die for the sins of many. He knew this was the will of God, but knowledge of God's will doesn't make it any easier.
___We would do well to remember a part of the story that lies beyond the predictable fears and anxieties. The sinless Son of Man has lived life in unbroken fellowship with God. Not once has there been an interruption in his fellowship and communion with the Father. Now, however, he was about to take upon himself the sins of the world. He would "taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9). He knew when this happened there would be a disruption in his fellowship with the heavenly Father and he would cry out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
___The anticipation of this event caused him to be sorrowful, troubled and anguished. In the context of his life's darkest hour, what Jesus longed for more than anything else was to spend time alone with God in prayer.
___While certainly not to the degree of Jesus in this instance, we all have faced those painful, heart-wrenching occasions when we felt we had arrived at a crossroad. Difficult decisions had to be made, and though we may have had the companionship of friends, we knew, ultimately, it had to be settled between God and us. It can be a lonely moment in time.
___What Jesus was praying about and grappling with was the temptation to avert the will of God. "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me" (v. 39). The cup represented his lot in life, his destiny. "Father," he seems to be saying, "perhaps there is another way of bringing your redemptive plan to pass."
___That Jesus saw this event as a moment of temptation is clear in his words to the three disciples, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak" (v. 41). Jesus speaks this truth out of his own inner struggle. Three times Jesus entered the garden area and prayed, "saying the same thing" (v. 44). It's as if he keeps going back again and again to make sure this thing he is being called upon to carry out really is the will of God.
___The battle fought in the garden wasn't about living or dying but whether or not the will of God was going to be brought to fruition. Jesus brings the matter to a conclusion in the closing statement of his prayers, "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (v. 39). This resolute statement was affirmed again in verses 42 and 44. Doctrinally it tells us Jesus had a will altogether separate from the will of God. The fact he could even be tempted implies he had a mind of his own and courses of action from which to choose. He could have chosen otherwise and, yet, he chose to yield to the purposes of God.
___Experientially it tells us it was here, in the garden, alone with God in prayer, that Jesus finally and ultimately committed himself to the will of God and the fulfillment of his task as the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Now that it is settled, peace and serenity will replace sorrow and trouble as the rest of the story is played out.

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