Key Text: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matthew 26:39.
There is not anything the Christian world can add to the four words, "Not as I will!" These four words say it all. This is the very heart of the prayer Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. Christ had a clear knowledge and belief in His Sonship with the Father. There was no misunderstanding in His mind as to who He was and who the Father was. In verse 39, He began His prayer, "O my Father,..." and did the same again in verse 42.
There was a coal miner in Kentucky who was a faithful hard worker, but for years He was a hardened sinner and a drunkard. He would never attend church with his wife and children. Because of the perseverance of his wife and the good prayers of the church over a long period of time, the dear man one day decided to attend a revival to hear the gospel. Convicted by the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Spirit, He wept his way to God. He was converted and changed. He was now acquainted with the Son, and he had a relationship with the Father through the Son.
A few weeks later while hauling coal out of the mine, the coal car slipped off the track. A man nearby said, "The new convert is now about to lose his religion. When he has a hard time getting the car back on the track, he will start cursing."
A deacon in the church knew of the man's change and stated, "No, he is not going to lose his temper, and he is not going to curse."
As they watched to see what would happen, the new convert began thinking of a song his wife sang at home. He knew the first stanza, and he stepped away from the coal car and began singing with this introduction, "O, Heavenly Father.."
"I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord!
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need thee, O, I need Thee, every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee."
The coal miner knew the Father, and he directed his mind toward heaven as he sang the song, "I Need Thee Every Hour!" No cursing crossed his lips.
"Not as I will" were the words of the
Savior, and in the heart of the coal miner backing away from the
coal car were those same words. To do the will of God is the
greatest thing in the universe. Here are four things we will
consider in this sermon: The Darkness of the Hour, The Direction
of Christ's Heart, The Defenselessness of Humanity and The Deliverance
with Honor.
"...My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." Matthew 26:38. In Gethsemane Jesus labors under the darkest hour He has ever known. At all other times, He could say, "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. John 8:29. But, now it is different. Why is it different?
1. The guilt of fallen humanity - Man's humanity is seen in many different events, and here it is seen in its weakness. Jesus explained it in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus had instructed the disciples to watch, but instead they slept. Friend, the battle of the flesh (man's humanity) must be fought through prayer and in the Spirit.
2. The understanding of God's judgment against transgression - He feels the wrath of God against sin ..."my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death..." Matthew 26:38. There was no fear of death for He faced the grave with courage and peace. He was soon to drink the cup. As our Substitute and Sacrifice, the Savior was about to pay the sin debt. He was suffering for the sins of the world. "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." Zechariah 13:7
3. The drinking of the cup - "Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? John 18:11. The drinking of the cup was a drinking of willingness. He was willing to carry your sins, my sins, and the sins of the world. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." II Corinthians 4:21. Throughout the ages many good children of God have been hurt, beaten and thrown in prison for their faith. Some have been sent to their graves because of their faith, but only the Son of God was made sin and a curse for mankind. The drinking of the cup gives us a perfect view of the God/man, Son of God, Son of man, yielding Himself to the will of God. "...nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." John 26:39
"He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Matthew 26:42. The heart of Christ was stayed on the Father and on His will. Thy will be done! What wonderful words. Three great words are "O my Father." Four great words are "Thy will be done."
We can be grateful:
What helps us to do His will? "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, they law is within my heart." Psalm 40:7,8.
Frank Sinatra has sung the song, "I Did It My Way" for years. Fans for more than fifty years have sung along with Mr. Sinatra. As a matter of fact, Frank Sinatra is identified with the song so much that it has set him apart. The song ends with the words, "I did it my way."
Now, friend, the Lord Jesus Christ never once had in His mind to do things His way, to follow His own will. Regardless of how painful the surrender of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was, He was doing things the Father's way. "...not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:42. Whenever we feel like saying, "I want to do it my way," remember that Jesus did it His Father's way. The direction of Christ's heart was heavenward.
The reason He came to this world was to do His Father's will. He placed His will on the side of the Father's will. The whole matter was turned over to the will of heaven. "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." John 5:34.
Our salvation, everything we have believed in and hoped for, depended on Christ doing the will of His Father. Matthew 26 records three of Jesus' prayers, and in each prayer He asked that His Father's will be done. In the first prayer, He asked for the removal of the cup, but He did not express this in the second and third prayers. Instead of removing troubles and struggles, God's grace can be supplied as we pray. When Christ's cup was sanctified in the will of God, His mind and troubles were satisfied.
"And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:40,41. In this verse we can see the weakness of believers, the wisdom of God and how to walk with God..
1. Weakness of Believers - Spiritual children of God can learn a great lesson from Matthew 26. Even the best of us need to watch and pray. We see here Peter, James and John sleeping when they should have been praying. They failed to pray for even one hour. Believers, true children of God carry with them the nature of man and the nature of God; therefore the old man is constantly pulling against the spiritual man. "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7:21-23. What does the Lord Jesus Christ call these two contrary principles? He calls one flesh and the other spirit. Humanity, the human nature of man is defenseless without prayer, the Word of God and the Spirit, but does our Savior overlook or excuse this weakness of believers? Not at all! What the Lord is doing is simply this: He uses weakness as a point in favor of watching and praying. If we desire to walk with God and not fall like some of the great believers in Scripture, we must watch and pray.
2. Wisdom of God - The Lord instructed the disciples. Believers throughout all ages and those in this generation, and yes, even to the end will be instructed. "...Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder." Matthew 26:36. "...tarry ye here, and watch with me." Matthew 26:38. "Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me." Matthew 26:46. There is a time to watch. There is a time to pray. There is also a time to go forth and actually do the will of God.
3. Walk With God - Fully surrendered to the will of God, Jesus is walking for He says, "Rise, let us be going." We must not continue to sit if we are to do the will of God. If we are to walk with God, we must do as the Savior did; we must arise and go forth. "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4. Even though humanity is helpless without God, born again people of God must not make our weakness our excuse. We must recognize our humanity, watch and pray, claim the wisdom of God and arise and walk with Him.
In the court of Caiaphas, the high priest, Jesus gave the great declaration of His honor. He looked down into the second eternity. "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64.
In closing let us consider what we see as the result of the "I will" of Jesus drinking the cup, willing to do His Father's will, arising to go forth to the cross and the tomb and His resurrection.
1. The arrogant spirit of the priest - And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Matthew 26:62,63.
2. The arrival of Christ back home in heaven - "...Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power..." Matthew 26:64.
3. The arrival of Christ back in the clouds - "...and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64. The arrival of the Son of God back home with the Father and the arrival of Christ back on planet Earth is forever proof that He had a deliverance of honor, and it is also proof that He took care of man's three problems.
We have only three problems, and to every believer those three problems are now solved. They are as follows:
The great "I will" of Gethsemane made it possible.
I want to make this humble appeal. If you have never surrendered your "I will" to the Savior for salvation, please do so today. Pray to the Heavenly Father through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask God for forgiveness of sin. If you need literature on salvation, write to us. Let us know of your decision. Write to: