Meeting Jesus - The Garden and Temptation
So I’ve been involved in ministry here at beachCHURCH for a little over 22 years…and in that time, I have participated in a lot of church-wide projects, led several mission trips, and my wife Marlene and I have had the blessing of leading the Celebrate Recovery ministry for the past 19 years. And over that time, I have seen people experience some really incredible spiritual highs in their lives-they’ve had those “mountain top experiences” and I have seen those same people walk through some really tough spiritual lows, through some really deep and dark valleys. That’s not necessarily been by fault of anything they’ve done and it’s not an uncommon thing in ministry…even Jesus experienced those moments in His life as well.
After Jesus left His hometown of Nazareth, He has been traveling around Judah and Galilee teaching the Gospel in the towns and villages along the way. But now He’s arrived in Jerusalem. And when He first got there, He was celebrated. In the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John-they refer to His arrival as a triumphant entry because He was basically celebrated as a king.
The people loved Him, they cheered for Him and laid their garments and palm branches on the ground before Him as He rode into town. But things change pretty quickly for Him because the things He was teaching and the views He was expressing about the religious establishment of the time upset the people in power-because they considered themselves the religious authorities.
Because Jesus was being proclaimed as the Messiah and the Savior, the religious leaders were plotting to kill Him-because He was a threat to their authority.
This was during Passover, a festival where the Jewish people celebrated their freedom from slavery in Egypt. And on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered up His disciples for their Passover meal-which we refer to as the Last Supper.
After Jesus had this really significant moment with His disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus went from a Spiritual High, to a Spiritual Low...
At the Last Supper, everything was amazing.
Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper
He washed his disciples feet
But now – in Luke 22, they would leave the intimacy and joy in Upper Room, and Jesus would experience such an incredible degree of temptation and internal agony, that blood would begin to drop out of his body like sweat.
Luke 22:39-46
Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”
He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
At last He stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. “Why are you sleeping?” He asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
So there in verse 44 we see that Jesus was “in agony” And right before that, in verse 43, we see that an angel appeared to Him from heaven and “strengthened Him.” In these passages we get a clear glimpse of Jesus’ humanity…
Over the course of history, there have been a lot of twisted and distorted views of Jesus. Some people or groups have tried to minimize Jesus’ humanity, claiming that He was only spirit and His body was merely a shell or not even real at all. But look at Jesus in these verses. He is extremely troubled. Again, there in verse 44 we see that “He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.”
Jesus is troubled to the point that He sweat blood. This is actually a very rare condition that is called hematidrosis and this condition has been observed by doctors on occasion when people face extreme distress. It’s a real condition, you can look it up on WebMD.
So just why was Jesus so troubled?
It was because He knows the sheer amount of pain and suffering He is going to face. In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus facing the consequences of choosing to become a human. In Philippians 2 it describes how Jesus gave up His divine rights and willingly became a human, even when He knew it would lead to death on a cross. Jesus becoming a human was always leading to this very point in time when He would take on the suffering and sin of the world. He knew this very clearly. But even though He had this knowledge-it didn’t make it any easier. In fact, this knowledge made it that much more difficult.
We’re all familiar with the old saying that, “ignorance is bliss”-but sometimes ignorance is a whole lot easier... If Jesus hadn’t known in detail what was going to happen to Him, He would not have been so troubled.
But He knew. He knew every scourge of the whip, every hit with the rod, every prick of the crown of thorns, every hateful insult they would throw at Him, every hammer of the nails, every bruise, every cut, and worst of all, He knew the weight of the world’s sin and sorrow was going to fall on His shoulders. Jesus knew exactly what He was going to experience. And that’s what made it so much harder for Him.
So this wasn’t your ordinary religious, churchy kind of prayer…this was Jesus pleading with God that He would not have to suffer the things that were to come.
If I asked you if you would be willing to die for your faith, some of you would probably say, “yes.” But if we as Christians started being persecuted and we actually faced torture and death right in front of us, that decision would be much harder to follow through with, wouldn’t it.
Would we finish the fight?
Would we keep the faith?
At that moment, facing real persecution, actually doing it is harder than just saying “yes”.
That is the decision Jesus faced now. He could see in crystal clear detail exactly what He would face. Imagine again if you could view a large high definition screen of your own suffering and death ahead of time. That would be terrible-wouldn’t it?!?
And to Jesus His own death and suffering was seen and understood even more clearly than watching it here on this big screen. He knew every detail…
So it’s important for us to see Jesus’ humanity here. And the reason is this:
JESUS’ VICTORY AS A PERSON GIVES US HOPE.
Jesus was not an alien. He wasn’t some kind of super human being or something like that...
He had feelings as we do. He experienced pain as we do. He experienced temptation as we do.
So just what was the temptation that Jesus was so concerned about?
It wasn’t that His disciples were spending too much time on their cell phones on TikTok or Facebook or Twitter getting all wrapped up in the drama.
Or that they were struggling with porn addiction or lust issues, because they were looking at inappropriate websites on their tablets and computers…
They hadn’t taken Kevin Hart up on his $200 offer on Draft Kings and gambled away all the money they had made off of the big haul of fish that Jesus had blessed them with that one day…
Yes, they struggled with pride and their egos-wondering which one of them was going to be most important and seated next to Jesus in heaven; but it wasn’t like they were fighting with each other or gossiping and bashing each other on social media (I mean, they weren’t politicians…!).
No, the temptation that Jesus worried about, that He was was cautioning His friends to not give in to was the very same temptation that He was in agony over.
There in the Garden…in that period of humanity-Jesus faced the temptation to do what HE wanted to do, rather than follow through with what God wanted Him to do.
Jesus was in agony to the point that He was experiencing hematidrosis. Blood was seeping out of His pores, like sweat- because He wanted to be obedient to God; but He didn’t want to have to walk out what lied ahead of Him…
He was in agony because He wanted to obey God, but He didn’t want to have to bear His cross.
He wanted to obey God, but He didn’t want to be arrested, beaten , and tortured. He wanted to free us from our sins, but He didn’t want to be crucified.
That is why Jesus sweat blood.
He was torn between what He wanted and what He knew that He had to do...
JESUS FACED TEMPTATION WITHOUT HIS FRIENDS.
The only thing that Jesus asked of His friends was that they would stay awake and pray. And you know, these guys were more than just friends, they were the group that He had “done life” with for the past three years.
He had poured into them.
Jesus had healed Peter’s mother in law.
He laughed with them, spent time with them, and He invested in them even when nobody else would have thought twice about them.
He gave them hope and He showed them God’s love.
And now, when Jesus just simply asked His friends to pray, they couldn’t even stay awake.
So, Jesus faced the worst time of His life without His friends…
Maybe you know what it is like to face challenges, temptation, losses, and fears all alone. Maybe you don’t have any friends that will come alongside of you and pray with you as you walk through struggles in this life.
For whatever reason, you’re in this place of isolation; having walked the road of recovery for over 25 years now, I know that’s not a good place to be in. I have seen people overcome the worst of situations when they are connected.
I’ve watched homeless addicts put their lives back together…
I have seen families that have been torn apart by adultery or other addictions restored…
I’ve seen so many people overcome the brokenness that brought them to their knees and into recovery-because they got connected and they walked out their recovery journey together in a community of people who loved them and came alongside of them in that brokenness and poured into those people the very same experience, strength and hope that had been poured into them, by someone else…
God has a circle of friends waiting for you. People who will help you learn to trust in God during those challenging seasons and times of change.
And you need to understand that if you are serious about following Jesus, you need to realize that…
TEMPTATION OVERTAKES ALL BELIEVERS
But in spite of that, sometimes we convince ourselves that other believers have it all together and that WE are the only ones who struggle with sin.
We know everyone struggles with the temptation to sin – but we’re sure that they don’t struggle like WE DO.
We think, “They read their bibles all the time, they go to church every Sunday, they’ve got their act together-they don’t struggle like me…So something must be wrong with me…”
I’ve seen some of those same people that have had incredible recovery experiences lose it all-because they got complacent and they disconnected. They became isolated and when they faced new challenges and temptations, they did it without friends…they went into those dark places all alone…
And when temptation overtakes them and they give into that temptation and choose to sin rather than to obey God’s will..They find themselves thinking:
I was on such a good run…
Things were going so well…
I had my family back…
My marriage was back on track…
I can’t believe I did this….
How did I wind up back here all over again…?
Why am I at this bottom AGAIN…?
I think that a lot of it has to do with the memories of our past.
Our MEMORIES can stir up our desires and temptation to sin.
Think about it. Jesus was and always will be God. Jesus existed long before He became a human. He knew what it was like to EXIST as LORD over all. Before He became a human, He could do all He wanted to do.
But when He became a human, He gave up His rights as God…He experienced and felt things, just like we do and there in the Garden…Jesus was tempted to TAKE UP His rights once again.
His MEMORIES of His LIFE AS GOD stirred up this DESIRE He faced now, to take control of His own life and do what He wanted to do. Not what God wanted Him to do…
And you and I need to understand that…with certainty:
MEMORIES OF SIN CAN STIR UP TEMPTATION
Memories of sin can stir up temptation in our hearts…
Memories of those “good times” can stir up temptation in our hearts…
God doesn’t cause us to be tempted, we’re reminded in
James 1:13-14
“God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.”
We are only going to be tempted to do something that we find pleasure in. I’m never tempted to go to the opera…but I love a good Christian Concert. I’m never tempted to walk around with club in my hand and chase after a little white ball…but put a gun in my hands and send me out in the woods and I’ll chase after an animal all day long! I promise you that I have never in my life been tempted to eat broccoli or cauliflower, I think I could probably do a 40 day fast and still not be tempted…but Ice Cream or French Fries, I’m all in on that one-Father forgive me, for I have sinned!!!
A DESIRE to sin occurs only because we have EXPERIENCED it or something SIMILAR to it before…and we liked it! It made us feel good…
Maybe the experience came through people, places, or your past.
Trust me, there are things I don’t do and there are places in Myrtle Beach from my past, that I need to stay away from and guard against. Places and things that I used to find pleasure in-before I found my way back to Christ…I have to stay on guard against those old memories…
Memories of experiences or places that appealed to us in the past, can stir up temptation in our present and future. If we liked it in the past, our flesh tells us we will like it again. Put up guardrails to help you stay away from those kind of temptations.
WITH PRAYER AND FRIENDS EVERY TEMPTATION CAN BE OVERCOME.
If you feel like you have been walking blindly and stumbling into temptation after temptation…strengthen your prayer life. Pray more, and pray harder!
Begin to pray on a regular basis what Jesus prayed in the Garden – not my will, but your will be done.
Ask God for His will to be done in your marriage, with your children and how you parent them, at your work…Ask God to help you be content and trust in His plan for you. You’ll be amazed at just how much better His plan is-than anything that you ever could have planned or imagined...God’s not trying to tease you.
God’s desire is to BLESS you not to MESS with you.
The brother of Jesus writes in
James 4:7-8 (NLT)
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”
This passage is what we see Jesus demonstrate there in the Garden…
He humbled himself before God. He bared his soul. He resisted temptation and God strengthened Him.
God gave Him the willingness and courage to face what laid ahead of Him…
Jesus walked away from His prayer differently. He was no longer distressed and troubled. He walked away as a man on a mission!
He was resolved. He was assured. He was confident.
His prayer didn’t change the outcome, He still was tortured and crucified; but He knew His Father had a plan and He knew it was a perfect plan.
Jesus will strengthen you today.
-Whatever it is that you are facing.
If you surround yourself with friends. If you begin to pray like never before and humble yourself to God…Every temptation you face in life CAN be overcome. You have Jesus on your side fighting for you…
Since He himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested. (HEBREWS 2:18)
He has given us friends, He promises to help us himself.
God does not promise to deliver us out of our difficulty. He may not save you out of your trial. But if you come to Him in prayer, He will give you what you need to get through it and to be victorious.