Matthew 26:36-45
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
Transcription
(Transcribed by TurboScribe)
Thank you for your words, gracious Lord. Thank you that we may bow before you in these moments. Open our ears, open our hearts.
We want to see Jesus and only Jesus. Amen. Our scripture reading today comes from Luke chapter 23.
I'm going to read verses 32 to 43. And I'm reading from the NIV today. Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing. And they divided up his clothes by, sorry, by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him, and they said, He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One. The soldiers also came up and mocked him.
They offered him wine, vinegar, and said, If you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. And there was a written notice above him which read, This is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him.
Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us. But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we're getting what our deeds deserve.
This man has done nothing wrong. And then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
Nicodemus came in the middle of the night. The centurion came in the middle of the day. The woman who was caught on adultery stood in the middle of the crowd.
Zacchaeus stood in the middle of the tree. The educated, the powerful, the lonely, and the wealthy. A little bit of a motley crowd, right? But here's the thing, they all had one thing in common.
They had nothing to give. But they asked for everything. A second birth, a second chance, a fresh start, and a clean conscience.
And without exception, each of their requests was honoured. And now there's one more beggar, who comes with a request. Just moments before both of them would die, he stands before the bread of life, and he begs for just a few crumbs of bread.
Because there, there on Calvary's hill, hanging naked on a cross, there's no place to hide anymore. There's no place to pretend anymore. He knows he's hanging there, dying as a sinner, lost forever.
And he asks for a few crumbs. Then he looks at this man. Who, who is this man? Who is this, this Jesus, who, who when they were to nail him, did not resist the nails? Who, who is this man hanging here with all the insults, and the jeering, and the making fun of him, and spitting at him, and still uses his last breath to pray, Father, forgive them.
Who is this man, who, who is innocent, but has no anger in his eyes, but only tears of compassion? Could it really be that he was who he said? That he really was the Son of God? That he really was the one who would come to change everything in this world, to give life where there was no life? Could it really be that he could do this thing of forgiving sin and changing a life forever? But before he could even speak a word further to Jesus, his thoughts are interrupted by the other criminal hanging there, hurling insults. He too saw Jesus, but all he had for Jesus were the insults and, and making fun of him. Verse 39, so you're the Messiah, cool.
So take care of yourself, get yourself off the cross, and while you're at it, why don't you just don't get us out of here, so we can go on with what we were doing as well. He sees what the other man sees. That's all he has.
How sad, how strange. They both see the same Jesus. They both hear the same words.
The one, the one sees hope, and the other one, he just sees himself as his life has always been, because isn't that the life of a sinner? It's all about me, and all that I can do, and my style. But then something else strange happens in that moment. This criminal, the other one, speaks up for Jesus.
Verse 40, don't you fear God? We're all going to stand before God, and, and, and we're, we're in big trouble. Don't you fear God? Don't you realise who this is? What a strange moment. Who's the one who speaks up for the Son of God on the cross? The criminal, the one whose whole life was a mess.
And I wondered as I wrote that, so where's Peter, the loudmouth, the leader of the pack, who was always ready to get in there and say a word? But I forgot for a moment, the rooster crowed, and he abdicated, right? Pilate had a chance, but Pilate also had a bowl with water in it, and he could wash his hands. He could have said something and stopped it. And where are the disciples? Oh, oh yeah, it happened in the garden.
They're all kind of scattered, right? It's left up to a criminal to defend the Son of God. Don't you fear God? He said, since you and I are under the same sentence, we are punished justly for we're getting what our deeds deserve. This man has done nothing wrong.
What a beautiful moment when a lost sheep stumbles into the pen just before that door closes. Notice two things. You and I deserve what we're getting, but this man, he did nothing.
Could those be the words that we need to echo? He was without sin. But boy, what does the book of Romans say? There is none that could say that I have not sinned and would not stand under the judgement. We deserve He.
We are so dirty with all this stuff, and He is so pure. We are so lost, but thank God that He sees. For you see, Jesus did not hang on that cross for His sins, each.
And it's in the moment of realising that, that this criminal has only one thing to say. Jesus, without you, I'm done. Please remember me when you come into your kingdom.
No fancy words, no big speech, no, I'm sorry I didn't do the right stuff. Please forgive me. Please help me.
And in that moment, in that moment on that cross, my friends, Jesus does the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of forgiveness. When a sin-soaked sinner is received by a blood-stained Saviour with that promise, today He will be with me in my kingdom, in the paradise. He asks for only a few crumbs and receives a full loaf of the bread of life.
Oh, oh, for such grace. But, but, you think, it's Friday, correct? It's a wonderful day to ask for a whole loaf of bread. Amen.
Take a few moments of silent prayer. Oh, bread of life, thank you that again today we can stand with our hands and ask for the bread. You, you give that freely through your grace, for it is by your grace that we have been saved.
Thank you for this dark day that changed our lives forever. We love you, Lord Jesus. It is finished.