121 Good Friday: The Way of Jesus

It was probably about midnight when Jesus led His men down from the Upper Room and through the sleeping city.  Having shared the Last Supper together, Jesus and the Eleven left through the Fountain Gate, across the Kidron Valley running red with the blood of thousands of sacrificed Passover lambs. They ascended up the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane, a secluded gardenlike grove of olive trees.  

Gethsemane means “olive press.”  How ironic that in this familiar place of prayer, Jesus would be crushed, pressed to the very limit. 

Matthew says that Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled,” “overwhelmed…to the point of death.” He fell to the ground again and again, in anguish and agony.

“Abba…Poppa…” Jesus cried. “If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” (Mt. 26:39)

What cup is He talking about? The cup of God’s divine wrath poured out on sin. To “drink the cup” was to take all that judgment and punishment on Himself.

And everything human in Jesus shrank back.

Let me give you three observations. 

THE WAY OF JESUS IS OFTEN HARD.

To be sure, walking with God carries a purpose and gives a meaning to life as nothing else. But it can be so hard. 

The fact is, this sorry, old world is still under the sway of a Dark Prince who will not loosen his hold easily. Satan will fight God’s people and seek to frustrate God’s purposes every step of the way.  

And because of that there will be dark nights of the soul for Christ-followers just as there was for Christ.  There will be tear-filled, sweat-stained nights when you wrestle in prayer and groan in anguish.  There will be nights when you grapple with what submission to God’s purposes will require of you.

THE WAY OF JESUS IS SOMETIMES ALONE. 

The very fact that He took Peter, James, and John with Him shows that the Savior knew how valuable others could be – especially in times of pressure and pain.

But at the time Jesus so needed to be surrounded and supported by those closest to Him, they let Him down. Instead of praying, they were sleeping.

THE WAY OF JESUS IS ALWAYS YIELDED TO THE FATHER’S WILL.

Jesus prays, “…if it is possible may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will…if it is not possible for this cup to be taken from me unless I drink it, may your will be done…” (Matt. 26:39, 42)

With no other option provided by His Father, Jesus knew that He had to submit. Because He saw you.  He saw you as surely as he saw His sleeping friends who had so failed Him.  He saw you as surely as He saw the flicker of the approaching torches, led by one who had betrayed Him.  He saw you when the Father didn’t come through with an alternative plan.  He saw you and He saw me. And He submitted Himself to the Father’s will for our sake.

How do we respond to this?

1. With GRATITUDE and PRAISE.            

2.  By Following His EXAMPLE.

One of the nicknames given early Christians was “People of the Way.”  They were called this because they dedicated themselves to following the way of Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be great if that’s how we were known?

Text: Matthew 26:36-46

Originally recorded on April 14, 2006, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.