Hi and welcome to the Books of
the Books series here on 3ABN.
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We're exploring
the Gospel of Matthew.
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I am Glenn Russell, Professor of
Religion at Andrews University,
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here with a friend
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and Seminary Professor,
Dr. Ranko Stefanovich.
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Ranko, it's been
a wonderful journey
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going through
the gospel of Mathew.
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Some how, it just
touches my life and I am sure,
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yours each time we
get into scripture.
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Yes, I've been
teaching Gospel of Matthew
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and doing much deeper research
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into this book for
about seventeen years.
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And every time, even
today and even during
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the taping of this
series, every time the detail
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here and detail
there that impacts my life
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and make think and to come
much closer to Jesus Christ.
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It's a wonderful
gospel of Jesus Christ.
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The wonderful privilege
to study God's word. Yes.
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Let's ask God to
direct our study here today.
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Lord as we come
into your presence,
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we don't want to rush in
with our ideas and our opinions.
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We want to pause and ask
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that you'll take
away any preconceptions.
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May we hear your word.
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May we listen
carefully for your voice.
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In Jesus name we
pray. Amen. Amen.
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You know, Ranko, we've
been taking this journey
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with Jesus through
the gospel of Mathew
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and we've come up to the very
end of His earthly ministry.
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Now we can't say the end of
His life because though his life
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ended He's a
resurrected by lord.
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But we see the end
of His earthly ministry
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here just about
the time of the cross.
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And He's just concluded
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the Lord's Supper
with his disciples.
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You know there is just a
little thought from the east
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that I think can
be worthwhile here.
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In the Middle
East where I grew up,
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if you share a
meal with someone,
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especially someone
who has harmed you,
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you're extending
forgiveness and friendship.
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And I marvel of fact
that Jesus, till the very end,
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keeps reaching out to Judas.
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He knows what he will do.
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He understands
he's the betrayer.
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He reveals he is a betrayer.
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But He still keeps
reaching out to him.
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One more chance, but
instead Judas turns away.
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Actually when we are
talking about the Lord's Supper,
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we forget to one aspect.
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The meaning of a meal eating
together as you just mentioned.
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You know, while we are
here taping this series
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we made several, you
know, visits together
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to eat to eat together.
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As you eat there are
bonds that are created.
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When we go to
the gospel of John,
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actually this last supper
begins with statement of John
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that Jesus knew that the
hour has, come and that He loved
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those who're with Him as He
loved them in the beginning.
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And actually this meal
strengthened those bones
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between--so the communal
service it's also lovely dinner
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when people come
much closer to each other
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and much closer to God.
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So as we worship
with our fellow believers
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and have a communion
service, the Lord's Supper,
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the bonds of faith and
the bonds of fellowship
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must be strengthened.
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That's why we
shouldn't avoid that experience.
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Sometimes you'll feel,
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"Eh, it's a little
uncomfortable," so they miss it.
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But it's rich experience.
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Now, from that supper we
go out to that dark experience
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that Jesus had in Gethsemane.
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Let's enter into
that journey with Him.
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So let us make a brief
survey to see what was going on.
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So after eating the last
Passover with His disciples,
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Jesus and the eleven
they left the upper room.
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Glenn, how many times
you visit Jerusalem there?
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And it's very hard to talk
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about that without
visualizing what happened.
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Jesus left the city.
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We still--when you go
there, there're remnants
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there of those
stairways by which Jesus
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was going down from the city.
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So leaving the
city they descended
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down to the Kidron Valley.
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And then they had
to climb little bit
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toward the Mount of Olives.
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But in the foot of
the Mount of Olives,
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on the western side,
there was one garden.
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This is how the gospel call it.
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It was called Gethsemane.
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Probably, that place belonged
to one of the friends of Jesus.
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So very often, after
very stormy days debating
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with the Pharisees, Jesus
needed the place to be alone
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and to pray there, you know,
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to have
communication the Father.
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Jesus would go to that place.
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That place was very
much familiar to Jesus
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and the disciples because when
Judas wanted to take that mob
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to arrest Jesus he knew
exactly where Jesus was.
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So it was not difficult
for them to find Jesus.
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By the way
Gethsemane means "Olive press."
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Because the place was
filled with Olive trees
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there at the slope
of the Mount of Olives.
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That's why we
called the Mount of Olives.
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Those Olive trees
that originally stood there
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we know that few decades later
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all those trees
were cut by Romans.
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In order to set to fire to
destroy the city and the temple.
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But out of the roots of those
old trees new trees came out.
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So we have somehow
few gigantic Olive trees
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that feature that place.
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And some of those trees really
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they can be
traced back to that time,
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even though we don't
have originally trees,
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but the trees that
they came out, you know?
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Specially that
one, the gigantic tree
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that is surrounded by that iron
fence there, I had opportunity
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to get a special
permission with my wife
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and to go there
to touch the tree.
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It was a special feeling
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and Glenn, what we are talking
is it really fill us with awe,
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with a reverence
because we are not now dealing
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with every days
activities and life of Jesus.
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We're dealing with those
last moments of Jesus life
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when that destiny
of entire human race
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was there at a stake.
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And I wanna emphasize
what you said it was Jesus'
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habit often to go
there in prayer, yes.
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He doesn't have a home address.
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He doesn't have a quite
place He can go to in prayer.
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And the disciples
usually had the routine
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of perhaps praying
with Him for a little while
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and then they would fall
asleep and He would continue.
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So they're expecting
another usual night. Right..
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Praying with Jesus
for some-- a little while
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and then they're
asleep and He'll continue.
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Jesus would pray the whole
night they would be sleeping
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the whole night and
the morning they will join.
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That this is what we expected.
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That's our expectation.
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But there was
something else that happened
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and I would like, Glenn,
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to ask you if you
would be willing to read
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first from--sorry,
its verse 36 to 46.
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So we are in the
gospel of Matthew, Chapter 26,
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continuing the chain of events
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after the Lord's
Supper and verses 36 to 46.
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Please, would you read it?
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"Then Jesus went with them
to a place called Gethsemane,
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and He said to His disciples,
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'Sit here, while I
go yonder and pray.'
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And taking with him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee,
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He began to be
sorrowful and troubled.
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Then He said to them,
'My soul is very sorrowful,
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even to death, remain
here, and watch with Me.'
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And going a little further
he fell on his face and prayed,
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'My Father, if it is possible,
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let this cup pass
from me, nevertheless,
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not as I will,
but as thou will.'
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And he came to the disciples
and found them sleeping.
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And He said to Peter,
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'So, could you not
watch with me one hour?
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Watch and pray that you
may not enter into temptation.
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The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak.'
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Again, for the second
time, he went away and prayed,
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'My Father, if
this cannot pass unless
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I drink it, thy will be done.'
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And again He came
and found them sleeping,
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for their eyes were heavy.
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So, leaving them
again, He went away and prayed
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for the third time,
saying the same words.
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Then He came to the
disciples and said to them,
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'Are you still
sleeping and taking your rest?
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Behold the hours at
hand, and the Son of Man
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is betrayed into
the hands of sinners.
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Rise, let us be going
see, my betrayer is at hand.'"
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What a scene? What a scene?
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So what we have here it is
Jesus came with His disciples
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there in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
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As you mentioned they
expect the just usual routine.
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They would go there,
find little comfortable place,
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comfortable you
know, to sleep there.
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And they knew what
the master was doing.
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He would go, little bit,
far away from them and to sleep.
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But this time
something is different.
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What is different?
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Jesus takes
those three disciples.
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In gospel of
Matthew and other gospels
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they were three
very close to Jesus.
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There is
something very interesting.
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When I was young
pastor I was always taught.
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Please, when you
are there in the church
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you cannot have close friends
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you have to
treat all people equal.
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But somehow my
response was always even
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Jesus had the church.
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Had the twevle
disciples and so many others
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but He needed three people.
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You need somebody very close
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that sometimes you can talk
to, sometimes that you can pray
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and actually
this is what happened.
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But there is one element
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that I would like
here to underline.
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You see Matthew,
provides the description
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about what is going on.
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When you see it
there is something
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always missing
in this description
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of Gethsemane, why?
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Because Matthew
was one of those,
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how many, eight,
without Judas, okay,
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who were sleeping there.
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But when we go to
the Gospel of John,
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John was one of those three.
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John provides the
firsthand description,
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account what took place.
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And also we have some
information coming from Luke
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and we know that Luke got
the most of his information
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from Paul and also from Peter.
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So the firsthand experience
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and we would really
like few times to reflect
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to those other accounts
to see what was going on.
00:11:11.84\00:11:15.03
So, Glenn, Jesus
was there and please
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what now happened there.
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Well, your point about
going with these three,
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who were His closest friend.
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And I think, we see a time
when Jesus needed their support.
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And that tells us something
about humanness of Jesus.
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Sometimes we get the impression
that this was just a script
00:11:32.56\00:11:36.62
that He was going through
He wasn't really suffering.
00:11:36.63\00:11:39.40
That really the cross--
He couldn't have failed.
00:11:39.41\00:11:42.23
But we're entering
into the hinge of history.
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This is the most
critical point in human history,
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in these hours you're
leading up to the cross.
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But there is something
very unusual and--the disciples
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were very slow to understand.
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For the first time,
in accompany with them,
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Jesus does not
go faraway to pray.
00:12:03.64\00:12:05.86
He says to His disciples
00:12:05.87\00:12:08.22
please, would you
somehow pray with me?
00:12:08.23\00:12:13.63
He's asking for
their prayers as well.
00:12:13.64\00:12:18.60
He has said, "My
soul is very sorrowful,
00:12:18.61\00:12:20.89
even to death
remained and watch with me."
00:12:20.90\00:12:22.81
And Passover was
a feast of watching.
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It was all about watching.
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They should have
sensed the timing.
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I believe the devil
is working hard here.
00:12:29.87\00:12:32.03
And prior to death he was
talking to them constantly,
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"We are going to
Jerusalem to die."
00:12:35.65\00:12:37.24
Then after last time, "the time,
00:12:37.25\00:12:39.19
the hour has come
and let's go there."
00:12:39.20\00:12:41.62
They knew but still
they did not understand.
00:12:41.63\00:12:44.29
And what a lesson
that is to us because
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there's times in our life
00:12:46.35\00:12:47.47
when we don't
sense what time it is,
00:12:47.48\00:12:49.47
we don't know
what tomorrow brings.
00:12:49.48\00:12:51.47
We don't know what's
ahead and we need to spend
00:12:51.48\00:12:54.24
those times in prayer with God.
00:12:54.25\00:12:55.67
Jesus is trying to lead them
they didn't recognize the time.
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And so they missed this
opportunity to strengthen
00:12:59.51\00:13:01.84
themselves and it would
have been wonderful if they had.
00:13:01.85\00:13:04.96
How often we
missed God's timing also.
00:13:04.97\00:13:08.12
And now there're
here a few details
00:13:08.13\00:13:10.30
that we have to mention.
00:13:10.31\00:13:11.30
According to the Gospel
of Luke, Chapter 20 to 41,
00:13:11.31\00:13:14.51
it says, "That
Jesus went far away
00:13:14.52\00:13:20.07
from them about
a stones thrown."
00:13:20.08\00:13:23.92
How far is that, Glenn?
00:13:23.93\00:13:25.41
One hundred yards? Maybe.
00:13:25.42\00:13:28.31
This is very important element
00:13:28.32\00:13:29.62
that usually the
readers of the Bible
00:13:29.63\00:13:32.08
they do not pay attention.
00:13:32.09\00:13:33.38
That's one detail, how far?
00:13:33.39\00:13:35.08
He was some distance from them.
00:13:35.09\00:13:38.96
Now we read, he said, verse 39,
00:13:38.97\00:13:42.87
"He went little beyond them
fell on His face and He prayed,
00:13:42.88\00:13:47.47
'My father if it is
possible let these cup pass
00:13:47.48\00:13:51.37
from me, yet not as I
will but as you will.'"
00:13:51.38\00:13:55.05
And then we read it
in Gospel of Matthew
00:13:55.06\00:13:57.08
we don't get the full picture.
00:13:57.09\00:13:59.06
But there're few texts,
one text is the gospel of Luke.
00:13:59.07\00:14:03.75
The same Chapter
20 to 44 when we read,
00:14:03.76\00:14:08.13
that actually there was a
sweat mixed with the blood
00:14:08.14\00:14:14.62
that was coming out of His skin.
00:14:14.63\00:14:16.62
That's one, but
another element is,
00:14:16.63\00:14:19.94
Glenn, I would like to
ask you if you can read
00:14:19.95\00:14:22.43
Hebrews Chapter 5, verse 7.
00:14:22.44\00:14:26.13
This is another
text. We have two texts.
00:14:26.14\00:14:29.04
When we put those texts together
00:14:29.05\00:14:31.38
we can see the agony
that Jesus suffer there
00:14:31.39\00:14:33.59
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
00:14:33.60\00:14:34.60
Hebrews Chapter
five. Yeah, verse seven.
00:14:34.61\00:14:39.09
We're here in
Hebrews, Chapter five,
00:14:39.10\00:14:40.63
but Ranko I think
we'll take a break
00:14:40.64\00:14:42.08
we'll comeback to
explore this text.
00:14:42.09\00:14:43.87
We will be right back
after a break, stay tuned.
00:14:43.88\00:14:46.45