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V. 42. The second time. The grief of the Lord Jesus seems to have been in creased by the revelation of the helpless ness of the disciples. He went back into the garden to again bear His burden alone. I f this cannot pass away. He does not this time ask that the cup may pass away. He takes for granted that it can not be so, and expresses His acceptance of that fact. Thy will be done. There can be no true prayer apart from such an attitude as these words express (cf. Matt. 6 : 10 ). V. 43. A sleep again. It was not only weariness, but also sorrow and confusion of mind that made them drowsy (cf. Mk. 14:40). V. 44. The third time. This time with out any expectation of human help or sympathy, or any asking for it. V. 45. Sleep on now. Not words of re proach; the Master has no need of their further attempts to watch with Him. The agony is past; His spirit is victorious. The hour is at hand. This hour had been long expected. In the garden it seemed to be dreaded, but it was nev?r shunned (cf. John 12:27). The Son o f man is be trayed. The word means literally, “is de livered’’ (cf. 26:23). He was about to be handed over to the authorities. V. 46. L et us be going. Knowing that the traitor was on the way, He does not avoid His foes but goes forth to meet them (cf. Jn. 18:4-12). * * * L esson Q uestions V. 31. What is the meaning of the word “offended” ? Were all of the dis ciples “offended” ? From what Old Testa ment book did Jesus quote? V. 32. Where was Galilee? Had Jesus been there often during His ministry? Had Jesus often predicted His resurrec tion ? V. 33. What did Peter answer Jesus? Was he honest and sincere ? Was he able to do what he promised? V. 34. How soon was Peter to show his inability to keep his word ? What did Jesus say he would do ? . How many times ? V. 35. T o what limit of sacrifice did Peter promise to go? What promise did the other disciples make? V. 36. Where was Gethsemane? What does the word Gethsemane mean ? For what purpose did Jesus go there? V. 37. Whom did Jesus take with Him into the garden? On what occasions had these disciples before had special priv ilege alone with Jesus ? What made Jesus sorrowful ? V. 38. How great was the sorrow of Jesus (cf. Mk. 14:33; Jn. 12:27)? What did He ask of the disciples? Was Jesus actually at the point of death here (cf. Lk. 2 2 :44) ? V. 39. Why did Jesus go “a little far ther” (cf. Lk. 22:41) ? What did He ask in prayer? What attitude did He take be fore God? What is meant by “this cup” ? V. 40. What were the disciples doing while Jesus prayed? What does “watch” mean? V. 41. Why did they need to watch and pray? Do Christians need to be always watching? Why (1 Pet. 5 :8 ; Matt. 24: 42)? What is meant by the contrast be tween flesh and spirit (cf. Rom. 7:18-25) ? Had Peter just before this shown a will ing spirit (cf. v. 35) ?
BLACKBOARD LESSON
G olden T ex t I llustration “Not my will, but thine, be done” (v. 42). When the great span across the East River was finished, the builder was brought down on his sickbed to see the bridge—brought in a canal boat and an chored in front of the great span. There, lying on his pillows, with the drafts of the bridge on either side of him he looked down at them, and then up at the span and said, “It is like the plan.” May you and I come to our dying hour and look up to God and say, “My life is like the plan; I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”— Dr. A rthur T. Pierson. * * * The Agony in the Garden Matt. 26:31-46 M emory V erse : “He went a little far ther, 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” (Matt 26:39). Approach. —A dying Gypsy boy was told of the One who “gave Himself” for us. He had never -before heard the sweet old story of “Jesus and His love.” He to a close, He talked to His disciples about His suffering and death, but they did not understand. Later they knew that He did not die because of any wrong in Himself, but because He must bear the sin of the whole world. He saw the Cross before Him; He knew all it meant; and while His pure, spotless nature shrank from the very thought of sin, yet He never once faltered or drew back. He “gave Himself” for our sins willingly. After leaving the beautiful Temple for the last time, Jesus told His disciples that a day would come when not one stone of the Temple should be in its place; all should be “cast down.” They asked when this would be, and He talked to them again of the sorrows that should come, declaring Himself to be King and Judge. Then, as He finished His talk, He said: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” Shocked, troubled, puzzled, distressed, they could not believe nor realize the darkness and sorrow which He foretold. The last nights which Jesus spent on earth, He went to the Mount of Olivet, communing there with His Father. Mean while, the priests and Pharisees were planning His death. They could not ar rest Him publicly, because of the people who followed Him, so they must do it by stealth. They offered a reward to the one who should betray Him, and Judas Is cariot, one of the disciples, agreed to do so. They promised to pay him thirty pieces of silver; and he bargained with them to deliver over Jesus, the loving, lË îâ iâ s O v i s i o * listened e a g e r l y , then after a mo ment’s s i l e n c e , g a s p e d : “And I n e v e r t h a n k e d H im !” H a v e you ever said “Thank You” to Jesus? L e s s o n Story. More and more, as Jesus’ earthly life and ministry drew
V. 42. After warning the disciples what did Jesus do? Does the expression, “if this cup may not pass,” imply that He did not expect it to be removed? Did He still show submission to the Father? V. 43. What were the disciples doing when He came back? Did any serious results follow from their sleeping when they should have been praying (cf. vs. 56, 72) ? What made their eyes heavy ? V. 44. What did Jesus do then? How does importunity in prayer differ from using vain repetitions (cf. Matt. 7 :7, 8 ; 6 :7 )? V. 45. What did Jesus mean by “Sleep on now” ? To what did Jesus refer in the expression, “the hour” ? Into whose hands was Jesus betrayed? V. 46. Did Jesus attempt to flee from His foes? Could He have escaped had He so desired (cf. Jn. 8 :5 9 )? * * * P ractical P oints 1. The Eleven stumbled and forsook Jesus, but none of them left Him per manently. He had prayed for them (cf. Lk. 22:32). 2. The day of self-confidence and boasting is invariably followed by the night of stumbling and denial. 3. Jesus said to the disciples, “Watch with me.” “He did not say, ‘Pray with me,’ for in that work the Mediator must be alone.”— A lford. 4. In the hours of suffering in Geth semane, the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus is clearly in evidence. He was there being perfected as our High Priest (cf. Heb. 5:7-10). 5. The Gethsemane and Calvary sor rows of Jesus are beyond our depth. We cannot fathom them, but none of our trials are strange to Him (cf. Heb. 4:14- 16). 6. The Lord Jesus craves our fellow ship. We need Him but He also needs us to satisfy His heart of love. 7. When we enter our Gethsemane we invariably withdraw “a stone’s cast” from friends however dear, who cannot under stand our sorrow. Sometimes we may find one or two choice spirits who are able to watch with us, but in the supreme crises o f life we are usually alone. 8. We dare not think what would have happened if Jesus had not said, “Never theless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Do you dare to think of what will happen to you if you do not take that same atti tude toward God ? 9. Meet temptation with prayer. There is no other way. 10. It is possible to find a place of quiet, settled peace even when facing the deepest sorrow (cf. Eph. 4:6, 7 ).
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