Harbor Presbyterian Church - Uptown

“Saying No to God”

Luke 22:39-46

Introduction

Trials come, come upon us.  James 1 describes a process of falling into trials—they just spring out at you with no warning.  That is challenging. 

But what do you do when you see it coming?  When the trial hasn’t hit yet, but you know it’s coming?  Bills coming that you can’t pay.  Layoffs that are coming and you’re pretty sure you will lose your job?  A mortgage that you can afford right now, but won’t be able to as soon as the rate goes up?  Do you see something coming and you don’t know what you’re going to do?

In this passage, we see what Jesus does when he stares into the face of his own coming doom.  As you see how he responds, you are going to moved to want to worship him, and you will find comfort and strength that you need.  We’re going to see three points. 

I. The Darkness Is Coming, II. Jesus entered Your Darkness, III. Now You Enter the Darkness of Others

1. The Darkness Is Coming

      This is the culmination of Jesus’ ministry, the final showdown is at hand.  Jesus knew that he had come to save the world.  He came to free the enslaved, released the oppressed, comfort the afflicted.  This meant that he would take on evil and defeat it.  In his ministry, the darkness of evil surrounded him and attacked him from every side.  In the desert, in the towns and cities, he was tormented by possessed, criticized by leaders, misunderstood by his friends, ridiculed and maligned.

      But in the midst of all of this, he was victorious.  Always had the right answer, always pushed back the force of evil, always was able to heal.  He was demonstrating that he was stronger than the power of evil in the lives of people. 

      Yet, in the midst of these victories, Jesus knew that this was just build up to the ultimate confrontation that lay before him.  He knew that he would have to enter into the very heart of darkness.  This meant that he would have to enter into death itself and defeat it.  “Jesus knew that his death would carry with it the full horror of darkness, of God-forsakenness.  He was going to the place where the evil powers of the world could and would do their worst at every level” (NT Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, 67).  This torture was physical, emotional, and mental and he experience full separation from God.

      The Darkness has been coming.  It is on the verge, and Jesus is preparing to face it.  Where did Jesus turn when the darkness was too much?  For him, prayer was the key.  Jesus bent his knees and cried out to God.  His prayer invites us in—we get a glimpse of Jesus’ relationship with God, the Father…

      And when the curtain is peeled back, when we have this amazing privilege of witnessing the conversation between Jesus and the Father, Jesus says no to God.  “Take this cup from me.”  Don’t make me do this!   This shows us that this is a real relationship with God.  “The cup—he spent his ministry describing that he must come and drink from this cup.  But here, he shrinks from drinking it.  So he turned that shrinking into agonizing prayer”(NT Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, 67).

      We see the passion of Jesus’ prayers.  This went on for a long time—text indicates that he “was praying”(v41) this is an extended activity—at least an hour.  These words weren’t all that he said.  They are a summary of his prayer. 

      V44—being in anguish—he prayed more earnestly.   Have you been here?  “God, please don’t make me do this!  Please don’t make me go through this!  Isn’t there any other way?”  Did you know that you were allowed to pray this way? This reminds me of Ray Cortese—he spoke out our family camp last year, and he told us the story of when he found out that his child had cancer.  It was during a birthday party at his house.  He put down the phone, walked into the bathroom at the back of the house, and he prayed, “Lord, don’t you DARE use my son to teach me a lesson!  I am a sinner, I am flawed man and a more flawed pastor.  But if you have a problem with me, don’t you DARE make him suffer for it!”

      God wants the honesty and passion of our prayers.  “At the start of your prayers, ask God for two things—absolute honesty and passionate faith.  Then be honest in your prayers—express your emotions of love and anger or irritation; don’t try to a “good Christian” who says the right things.  And let your passion flow as you pray, get as deeply involved in your prayer and your concern for people as you possibly can.” How to Pray, John Pritchard, 57. 

      Even in business, the best leaders foster honesty, passion, and disagreement in decision making.  Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, and Built to Last, says in the best companies,  “Debate is real. It is real, passionate debate in search of understanding.”  In leadership at Harbor, we seek to foster healthy conflict and discussions in meetings—because we know we’re dealing with significant issues and we need people to be passionate involved and to express themselves.

      With everything he can muster, Jesus begs God not to make him go through this coming ordeal. 

      In this we see the real humanity of Jesus.  “Drops of blood” (v44)—This is a condition that is rare, but not unknown today.  The condition is called “hematohidrosis”

Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) “Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form. Under the pressure of great stress [and fear] the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands. As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.”

Also:  Holoubek, JE; Holoubek AB (1996). "Blood, sweat and fear. A classification of hematidrosis". Journal of Medicine 27 (3-4): 115–33.

      Fear and stress.   Fear is probably too calm a word—it would be better to say that Jesus was terrified of what was coming.  Did you know that Jesus dealt with these?  This isn’t just an intellectual exercise of Jesus thinking about being afraid and stressed, this is Jesus literally having a physical reaction that goes far beyond (I’m going on a limb here) what any of us have ever experienced.  Maybe he was even more human that we are?  

      Is there any wonder that Jesus would recoil from having to endure suffering at this magnitude?  This is what drove Jesus to say no… But he also said “yes.”

      He shows humility.  Even as he says no, he shows humility.  V42—“Father, if you are willing… take this cup from me.”  It’s as though he’s saying, “I don’t want to do this, but I also recognize that I shouldn’t be left alone to make this decision.  I know that I’m being driven by forces and feelings that I can’t completely trust.”

      Do you see the power of this prayer?  Do you see how it opens up a real relationship with God?  It doesn’t squash the honesty of the one praying or authority of God!  Traditional religious people, if they didn’t know this was Jesus, might say, “How dare you question God!  He is the authority, you should simply submit.”

      More post-modern religious people, if they didn’t know this was Jesus, might say, “How dare you question your feelings!  Religion shouldn’t tell you to question your feelings!”

      But Jesus lays a path right down the center.  He is brutally honest—passionate, pleading, wanting to persuade the Father to go another route.  But he knows that the Father’s will is best. Whatever the Father decides, he will do.” “v42b, yet not my will, but yours be done.”  Jesus resolved himself to trusting obedience.  Jesus wrestled with God in prayer until he could finally trust him and say yes to the cup of suffering.  “He agonized until he stretched out his hands in obedience to take the poisoned chalice”( NT Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, 67).

      Jesus goes through the process that we all have to go through—the process with God from no to yes.  From “take this cup from me” to “not my will but yours be done.” 

      Praying this way makes God real.  If God doesn’t seem real to you, go to him and pour out your heart and you will find that as you are realer to him, he’ll become realer to you.

      This is a one-time commitment, but it’s also an ongoing attitude.  This is not just for people who aren’t Christians yet.  Christians have to revisit this and ensure this attitude when the tough times come.

      Jesus recoiled from the darkness, but now is saying yes to the darkness.  He will enter into the darkness of the coming evil hour, praying “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

2. Jesus Entered Your Darkness

      This cup was more than evil in general.  This cup was your suffering, the evil that you face.  It was your judgment, your frustrations, your struggles.  Why would Jesus be willing to accept this cup?  The cup that would mean the horror of evil and separate from his father?  Why would he experience the hell of being separated from the love of his father?  He did it to bring you into this love.  The only reason he would say yes to being cut off from God’s love is to share that love with you.  To enter into your darkness and bring you light.

      He allowed the Father to say no to him in his prayer, so he could say yes to you.

      The cup of judgment and suffering becomes the cup of the new covenant in his blood.  Jesus takes your judgment so that you can have a relationship with God.  

      So Jesus has entered into your darkness.  Whatever darkness you are experiencing, or will experience.  And if darkness is too melodramatic a term for your life, then it’s whatever struggles you have.  When you are in darkness, he is there.  Look for him.  When you have collapsed—spiritually, mentally, or physically under the weight of the difficulties of your life—the pain, the anguish, the anxiety, the future… he is right there beside you.  Listen for him and hear him saying, “Father, let this cup pass from me.  Yet not my will but yours be done.”  He has been there, and he is there with you. 

      When I am in this place and I pray, this image of Jesus comes flooding into my mind and I realize that he’s there.  He really does know what I’m going through, and I feel like in a small way, I have a better sense of what he must have gone through.

      If it’s not God’s will that you go through it, then go to him and convince him to let it pass.  But are you willing to enter in if he doesn’t?  Tell God no, and then tell God yes.

      Angels came to him to give him strength (v43), but when you are struggling, God sends JESUS to you.  “Inhale Jesus’ victory of the cross [and his triumph in this prayer, and he comes to you, enabling you to] hold line for another moment, another hour, another day, against the darkness”(NT Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, 67).

      Now for some, this is enough.  We could end in prayer right now.  There would be a good reason and a bad reason to stop here.

      Good reason:  Some of you are ready to go out and love the world with this love right now.  If you’re in that boat, feel free to tune out, and you can start planning to apply this right now.

      Bad reason:  As important as it is for us to rest in Jesus, as important it is for you to know that Jesus has saved you by entering into your darkness.  The Christian life doesn’t stop there.  God’s blessings come to us so that we can be a blessing to others.  God blesses us so that we can share those blessings with the folks around us.  In terms of this passage, Jesus enters into our darkness, so that…

Point three:

3. Now You Enter the Darkness of Others

      When Jesus brings light into to your darkness, you bring his light into the darkness of others.  Romans 13:12 says that in Jesus, the day has dawned. We now bring about the rising of the sun over our communities and our city as we enter into the darkness around us with the love and light of God.

      You say yes to entering into the darkness around you.Where is the darkness around you?  Darkness in the lives of your friends, family, neighbors.  Where is the darkness in the city?  You need to say yes and enter into that darkness, bringing the light of Jesus.

      You do this by Praying: 

      No God, don’t let this darkness continue.  But I trust your will. 

      Yes God, send me in.  I’ll bring your love and your light to make things better.

      You do this by loving your neighbors and the city:  In one sense, you are offering yourself—your will, your dreams, your vision for the future to God and asking him, “God, I want what you want for me.  Where can I bring the light?  What needs to change in my life so that this city can be more of what you want it to be?”  When you do this, you enter the darkness with confidence, because God is at your back.  You become light.

      Don’t be surprised by suffering.  It is your chance to shine the light.  This passage shows us that it is God

      Next verse, v47—“while he was still speaking, the crowd, led by Judas, came.”  Is that your life?  As we’re speaking, are people waiting for you?  Is there a bill waiting?  Crisis waiting?  How do you face it? 

Jesus is inviting you to come to him for comfort and strength. 

AMEN.