Scripture Reading:
Luke 22:39-46
Key Verse:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)
What does this passage teach us?
The verses before us contain Luke’s account of our Lord’s agony in the garden. It is a passage of Scripture which we should always approach with particular reverence. The history which it records is one of the “deep things of God.” While we read it, the words of Exodus should come across our minds, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5).
We see, firstly, in this passage—an example of what believers ought to do in time of trouble. The great Head of the Church Himself supplies the pattern. We are told that when He came to the Mount of Olives, the night before He was crucified, “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.”
It is a striking fact, that both the Old and New Testaments give one and the same remedy for bearing trouble. What does the book of Psalms say? “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee” (Ps. 50:15). What does the apostle James say? “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray” (Jas. 5:13). Prayer is the remedy which Jacob used when he feared his brother Esau. Prayer is the remedy which Job used when property and children were suddenly taken from him. Prayer is the remedy which Hezekiah used when Sennacherib’s threatening letter arrived. And prayer is the remedy which the Son of God Himself was not ashamed to use in the days of His flesh. In the hour of His mysterious agony, He “prayed.”
If we want comfort in affliction then let us take care that we use our Master’s remedy. Whatever other means of relief we use let us pray. The first Friend we should turn to ought to be God. The first message we should send ought to be to the throne of grace. No depression of spirits must prevent us. No crushing weight of sorrow, must make us speechless. It is a prime device of Satan, to supply the afflicted man with false excuses for keeping silence before God.
We see, secondly, in these verses—what kind of prayers a believer ought to make to God in time of trouble. Once more the Lord Jesus Himself affords a model to His people. We are told that He said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” He who spoke these words, we must remember, had two distinct natures in one Person. He had a human will as well as a divine will. When He said, “Not My will be done,” He meant that will which He had as a man, with a body, flesh and blood, like our own.
The language used by our blessed Master in this place shows exactly what should be the spirit of a believer’s prayer in his distress. Like Jesus, he should tell his desires openly to his heavenly Father and spread His wishes unreservedly before Him. But like Jesus, he should do it all with an entire submission to the will of God. He should never forget that there may be wise and good reasons for His affliction. He should carefully qualify every petition for the removal of crosses with the saving clause, “If You are willing.” He should wind up all with the meek confession, “Nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done.”
We see, thirdly, in these verses—an example of the exceeding guilt and sinfulness of sin. We are meant to learn this in Christ’s agony and bloody sweat, and all the mysterious distress of body and mind which the passage describes. The lesson at first sight may not be clear to a careless reader of the Bible. But the lesson is there.
How can we account for the deep agony which our Lord underwent in the garden? What reason can we assign for the intense suffering, both mental and bodily, which He manifestly endured? There is only one satisfactory answer. It was caused by the burden of a world’s imputed sin, which then began to press upon Him in a particular manner.
He had undertaken to be “sin for us”—to be “made a curse for us”—and to allow our iniquities to be laid on Himself (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Isa. 53:6). It was the enormous weight of these iniquities which made Him suffer such agony! It was the sense of a world’s guilt pressing Him down, which made even the eternal Son of God sweat great drops of blood, and called from Him “strong crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7) The cause of Christ’s agony was man’s sin! We must cling firmly to the old Scripture doctrine that Christ was “bearing our sins,” both in the garden and on the cross. No other doctrine can ever explain the passage before us or satisfy the conscience of guilty man.
Would we see the sinfulness of sin in its true colors? Would we learn to hate sin with a godly hatred? Would we know something of the intense misery of souls in Hell? Would we understand something of the unspeakable love of Christ? Would we comprehend Christ’s ability to sympathize with those who are in trouble? Then let the agony in the garden come often into our minds. The depth of that agony may give us some idea of our debt to Christ.
We see, lastly, in these verses—an example of the feebleness of the best of saints. We are told that while our Lord was in agony His disciples fell asleep. In spite of a plain injunction to pray, and a plain warning against temptation—the flesh overcame the spirit. While Christ was sweating great drops of blood His apostles slept!
Passages like these are very instructive. We ought to thank God that they have been written for our learning. They are meant to teach us humility. When apostles can behave in this way then the Christian who thinks he can stand, should take heed lest he fall.
Questions:
1. What are the themes of chapters 1-22?
2. What did Jesus pray when He asked the Father if the cup of wrath could pass from him?
3. How does this passage show us the exceeding sinfulness of sin?
Family Application Questions:
1. When we are in trouble, what do we tend to do first? How does this align or differ with Jesus’ example?
2. What are ways we tend to diminish the evil of sin? What would the example of Christ’s suffering teach us about how to view our sin?
