Sunday, May 19, 2024

PT-3 "Sorrow" (Matt. 26:36-38)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/19/2024 7:32 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                        Focus:  PT-3 “Sorrow”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:36-38

 

            Message of the verses:  36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’”

 

            John MacArthur gives us some good advice to believers as he writes:  “Every Christian at times faces temptations, trials, and heartaches that threaten to overwhelm him.  In the depts. of such testings, even our dearest and most spiritual friends are unable to provide the needed solace and strength.  God expects believers to encourage and strengthen one another, and that is an essential means through which He builds up His children (see Luke 22:32; Acts 18:23; Heb. 10:25).  But there are times when only direct, intimate communion with the Lord in intense prayer can provide the strength to meet their desperate need.

 

            “Jesus ministry began and ended with relentless temptation directly by Satan.  After He was baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus went into the wilderness of Judea and fasted for forty days and nights.  At the end of that period the devil tempted Him three times, and each time Jesus responded with Scripture (Matt. 4:3-10).  While Jesus agonized in the garden on the last night of His earthly life, the devil tempted Him again three times, and each time He responded by praying earnestly to His Father.

 

            “On both occasions, the temptations were private, personal solicitations directly by Satan to Jesus, and apart from His revelation we would know nothing of them.  The two weapons He used were Scripture and prayer, weapons the Lord provides each of His children (see Eph. 6:17-18).” I will now quote Ephesians 6:17-18 “17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

 

            Jesus now goes into the garden with the three disciples, and He began to be grieved and distressed.  Jesus had before experienced grief and distress over sin and death before, and also over isolation from His Father would bring.  It was always in the plan of God for Him to come to earth to suffer and die for the sins of the world.  However the climax of His anguish now has began to intensify like never before as His becoming sin in our place and His consequent estrangement from God drew near.  The result was that His very soul was repulsed by the encroachment of His sin bearing, not because of the physical pain that He would endure but because of His taking upon Himself there the full magnitude and defilement of all man’s iniquity.  As we will see later on Jesus will be separated from His Father who will be the One to take out on Him all of the sins of the world, and so having that sin placed on Him and being separated from His Father for the first time is what would cause so much distress upon our Lord.

            Sunday mornings are at times difficult for me as I have to teach our Sunday school class, and the most difficult part is that today and next Sunday will be the last times I teach this class unless the Lord has different ideas for me.  Our class will go into another class for the summer and then we will see what happens after that.  It is a matter of prayer for me.

 

5/19/2024 7:58 AM

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