Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB00023B
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00:01 Welcome back, we're here in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 7,
00:05 "In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers 00:08 and supplications with loud cries and tears 00:12 to him who was able to save Him from death, 00:15 and He was heard for His godly fear." 00:19 Glenn, we have here a few details 00:22 that we have to keep in mind in order to understand 00:25 what was going on in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:27 So we already noticed that gospel says 00:32 that Jesus went about stones throw-- 00:35 at least one hundred yards, it's during the night 00:39 but the disciples were able clearly to hear Jesus 00:45 praying and the words of that prayer. 00:50 Hebrews says, thatJesus was praying with the loud crying. 00:56 We don't here an ordinary prayer of Jesus, you know, 00:58 "Father be with me," falling down on the ground. 01:02 It was a cry of agony it was aloud cry. 01:05 So, Glenn, what was going on here in the scene? 01:08 Because this is the crucial issue of His whole life, 01:11 His whole ministry and all of human history. 01:15 This is where Jesus has to face the fact 01:20 that he cannot be the messiah without the cross. 01:23 But can you realize something? 01:25 You know, as we were going through the life of Jesus 01:27 in the gospel of Mathew, we see a constant effort of Satan 01:32 to prevent Jesus to go there to the cross. 01:36 But now in the Garden of Gethsemane, 01:39 evidently Satan with all his army is there. 01:44 We are here dealing with a most decisive battle, 01:49 or actually point of the battle, that great controversy. 01:54 The most decisive moment has come and no wonder, 01:58 can you imagine that pressure on Jesus 02:01 knowing the Satan is there. 02:03 The demonic forces are there 02:05 and there is Satan almost invisible form there, 02:08 picking up on Jesus. 02:09 By the way I will really like this moment to read 02:14 a statement that made great impact on me from the book, 02:17 "Desire of Ages" page 690. 02:21 It says, "Jesus was praying in agony. 02:25 The faith of humanity trembled in the balance. 02:29 Christ might even now 02:31 refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. 02:36 It was not yet too late. 02:38 He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, 02:41 and leave man to perish in his iniquity. 02:44 He might say, let the transgressor 02:46 receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. 02:51 Will the Son of God drink 02:53 the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? 02:56 Will the innocent suffer the consequences 02:59 of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? 03:02 The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, 03:07 'O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, 03:14 except I drink it, Thy will be done.'" 03:20 I am sorry, Glenn, I cannot contemplate of everything 03:25 what was going on there in Garden of Gethsemane. 03:27 I have tears in my eyes. 03:29 That I cannot be grateful to my savior 03:32 what he put the stake there in order to save you and me. 03:37 We are talking about cross, 03:40 and rightly doing that, but Jesus agony on the cross 03:44 actually begin here in the Garden of Gethsemane. 03:47 You cannot separate the two. 03:49 And this is the extension of that Philippian, chapter 2. 03:53 Philippians, chapter 2. That condescension. 03:56 He stepped down, he stepped down even to the death. 03:58 To the point of death. 03:59 And we see the beginning of the separation. 04:02 It will come to its fullness on the cross. 04:04 But he is being pulled away from his father 04:07 as he bears our sins. 04:08 You know then people talk about Garden of Gethsemane 04:11 they said, you know, "Jesus was God of course, 04:13 He knew that the grave could not hold him." 04:16 But keep in mind here we have a clear 04:20 that human aspect of Jesus, you know, 04:24 I wanted at this point to say something to the viewers 04:28 and among the Christians there is a belief 04:32 that death is actually nothing terrible to be afraid of. 04:36 The death is simply transition from this life 04:39 into that next life to go when human soul leaves the body 04:44 and you know human beings they continue to live. 04:48 Actually Swiss scholar Oscar Cullman, 04:53 he wrote a book on immortality of the soul 04:56 and he uses the situation of Jesus. 04:59 And he says, if death is really nothing terrible, 05:02 it's just transition from this life into the next one, 05:06 then why was Jesus so much afraid of death? 05:10 Much afraid to die? He is telling that the death, 05:15 actually death, is an enemy of the human race. 05:20 The biblical teaching of death is it is the enemy. 05:24 And we cannot take death lightly. 05:26 By the way there is only one instance that Jesus, 05:30 actually two instances, that Jesus cried. 05:33 One when Lazarus died, and second one 05:37 at the destiny of Jerusalem 05:40 what was supposed to happen to them it's again over death. 05:44 The only, the only instances. 05:47 So death is an enemy of the human race 05:51 but there is another point is, 05:53 but the death is a conquered enemy. 05:58 Because God himself, by becoming human being, 06:03 went through the experience of death. 06:06 And by his own death he defeated that enemy 06:10 so that you and me, we all, have that hope 06:14 that death is not the last word of the human race. 06:20 One day the last enemy will be defeated totally and completely 06:24 at the second coming of Jesus Christ. 06:28 That's what we see on this side. 06:29 But at that time He could not see 06:32 beyond the cross except by faith. 06:34 And the devil as you have said was pressing upon him 06:36 and saying look it's not worth it. Yeah. 06:39 It's not worth--why you gonna go through all this? 06:41 And you can imagine the devil saying something like, 06:43 "look, I sinned in heaven and I was cast out 06:46 and now you're gonna carry the sins of the world?" 06:49 Not only had that Satan pointed to him, 06:52 "you are dieing, for whom? 06:54 For those people just in few hours they will shout, 06:58 'crucify him, crucify him.' 06:59 You want to die for bunch of your disciples there? 07:02 They're sleeping they then do not care about you." 07:05 Jesus had all the reason to say to pack things seems 07:09 and go for journey to return where he came from. 07:14 But praise God, I'm moved with emotion, 07:20 he decided to go to cross because I was on his mind. 07:26 And dear viewers, you were on his mind. 07:29 He saw you and me that one day 07:34 we will accept that merits of his sacrifice. 07:37 We'll accept him as our personal savior. 07:42 And he made the decision, "I am going to the cross 07:46 to save those-- for human beings." 07:48 I know that he died for me. Glenn, He died for you. 07:51 He died for each one of us. It's love that compelled him. 07:54 It's the love. That's the only explanation. 07:58 And it was love that faced such loneliness. 08:00 He goes through this alone. Yes. 08:04 So Jesus made decision He came there 08:06 to his disciples over they're sleeping. 08:09 They don't understand what is going on 08:11 and dear viewers, while you are now watching this program 08:15 you'll just--watching this program and you look one 08:18 strange accent here and our human efforts to illustrate, 08:23 to explain what is written in the gospel of Mathew. 08:26 But as you're watching this program 08:28 you don't understand that 08:30 what is going on behind the scene. 08:32 There is a struggle for you soul. That's right. 08:34 There is Satan who like to destruct you. 08:37 What was going on there in Garden of Gethsemane. 08:40 It was just a part of that great controversy 08:44 that we still participant in that warfare. 08:48 And the surrender of Jesus' will is a critical point. 08:53 He had a choice to make 08:56 and he surrendered his will to the Father's will. 08:59 And so we each have a choice. Yes, to make. 09:02 We also, just like our savior, need to decide, 09:05 "will we surrender to God's will? 09:06 Will we give God our lives?" 09:08 And that's the point of Gethsemane. 09:10 I am so thankful for the Jesus lead the way. 09:13 I am so thankful of that my savior said, 09:15 "yes I will go." Not an easy thing. 09:18 History hung in the balance as you said. 09:22 This is a cosmic destiny. 09:25 But he makes a decision to be faithful to God, 09:28 to be faithful to his mission and his purpose. 09:30 He said," I came to seek and to save the lost." 09:34 So as Jesus was talking to his disciples. 09:37 As they were trying to wake up He says "just look." 09:42 And suddenly, you know, it was very dark. 09:46 But suddenly lights appeared, who was coming? 09:49 May I read verse 47 as following? Please, Glenn. 09:52 "While He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, 09:56 and with him great crowd with swords and clubs 09:58 from the chief priest and the elders of the people. 10:01 Now the betrayer had given them signs saying, 10:03 'the one I shall kiss is the man, cease him.' 10:07 And he came up to Jesus at once he said, 10:10 'hail master,' and he kissed him. 10:13 And Jesus said to him, 'friend, 10:17 why are you here? 10:19 'Then I came up and laid hands on Jesus he ceased them 10:22 and behold one of those who were with Jesus 10:25 stretched out his hand and drew his sword 10:27 and struck the slave of the high priest 10:30 and cut off his ear. 10:31 Jesus said to him, 'put your sword back in its place. 10:34 For all who have taken the sword will perish by the sword 10:37 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father? 10:39 And he will at once send, 10:41 send me more than twelve legions of angels. 10:44 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled? 10:47 That it must be so." The constant feature of the-- 10:50 everything is-- the scripture to be fulfilled. 10:54 Now when Judas comes, Ranko, 10:57 and he brings this motley crowd, this mob, 11:04 it's such a paradox they couldn't come 11:06 during the day time because the crowds would react. 11:09 So they have to come at night as cowards. 11:13 Actually from this point on everything what's going on 11:17 in the gospel of Mathew and also in other gospel is, 11:22 the arrest in Gethsemane, 11:24 the trial in the high priest's house there, 11:28 a trial before Pilate, irregularity after irregularity. 11:33 Nothing is regular here. 11:35 The Jewish leaders were determined 11:38 to destroy Jesus, Can I say? 11:41 This was not about blood and flesh. 11:47 They're being used. Satan-- 11:50 they simply function as agents in Satan's hands. 11:53 And I think in our next program we'll explore 11:55 some of the illegalities of the trials and the arrest. 12:00 But then begins with something, 12:01 one of the most prominent disciples 12:03 is participant in that. 12:05 And we will see-- With the kiss-- 12:06 We will see next time another disciples, 12:09 prominent disciples-- What is going on? 12:12 Praise God we have a wonderful savior, Amen. 12:15 Who did not look his own conformity, his own good. 12:21 He came down to die for you and me. 12:24 That's the main reason why He came. 12:29 And as we're studying this topic we can say 12:31 "Thank you Jesus for everything that you have done for us." |
Revised 2014-12-17