February
8th
Christ
prays in Gethsemane
36:
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith
unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37: And
he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be
sorrowful and very heavy. 38: Then saith he unto them, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with
me. 39: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and
prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40: And he
cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto
Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41: Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak. 42: He went away again the second time, and
prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me,
except I drink it, thy will be done. 43: And he came and found them
asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44: And he left them, and
went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45: Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on
now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of
man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46: Rise, let us be going:
behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
Christ
arrested
47:
And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with
him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests
and elders of the people. 48: Now he that betrayed him gave them a
sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him
fast. 49: And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and
kissed him. 50: And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou
come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51: And,
behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and
drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote
off his ear. 52: Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword
into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with
the sword. 53: Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and
he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54:
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
55: In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out
as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily
with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56: But
all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be
fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
Christ
before Caiaphas
57:
And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the
high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58: But
Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went
in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59: Now the chief
priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness
against Jesus, to put him to death; 60: But found none: yea, though
many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two
false witnesses, 61: And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy
the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62: And the high
priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it
which these witness against thee? 63: But Jesus held his peace. And
the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the
living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of
God. 64: Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say
unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right
hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65: Then the high
priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what
further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his
blasphemy. 66: What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of
death. 67: Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and
others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68: Saying, Prophesy
unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Peter
denies Christ
69:
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him,
saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70: But he denied
before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71: And when he
was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them
that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72: And
again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73: And after a
while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely
thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74: Then
began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And
immediately the cock crew. 75: And Peter remembered the word of
Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me
thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Christ
was now in the struggle of his life. He knew that this was a struggle
only he could face but he wanted – expected his disciples to be
there with him. It says ‘he went a little further’. Yes he did.
He went further in prayer. He went further in obedience. He went
further than any of us could ever know. And he went further for us.
Did Christ want to go to the cross? No of course not and he asked
many times to be excused. However although he shrank back from the
horror of the cross he nevertheless was willing to do his Fathers
will. From the moment he set out on his life work he was led of the
Spirit Now the spirit leads to the Cross. Each of us in our lives has
to face the same issue one way or the other. Are we willing to do the
Fathers will? Will we be like Christ who says? Not my will. But your
will be done. George Muller, said once, There was a day when l died,
I died to this world, I died to George Muller, to what George Muller
wants, to his ambitions, to his concerns. This was to be a night of
no sleep for Christ. The issue was too great for sleep. In the
morning Christ woke the disciples because Judas was on his way. When
Judas and the high priests servants and soldiers arrived Peter tried
to cut off a servants head and cut off his ear. (How often do
preachers do that?) Christ said NO! And he reached out and healed
the man. Christ said can l not call on 12 legions of angels to
deliver me? (One day 12 legions of witnesses will arise. Not to fight
but to preach) the disciples fled as Christ had foretold. In the
house of Caiaphas Christ had many false witnesses brought against him
but none of them could agree. The only charge brought against him was
a misunderstanding of theirs about what Christ said regarding the
temple. They mistook him to mean the temple in Jerusalem Christ meant
the temple of his body. Christ did not clear up this
misunderstanding. The High priest tried to goad Christ into a public
confession of his authority But Christ told the High priest that one
day he (that is Israel whom he represents) would see Christ coming in
glory. The high priest tares his clothes, thus bringing his ministry
to an end. They spat on Christ and beat him up. They gave him a
blindfold beating and mocked him. Peter outside denied him. Peter
remembered Christ’s prediction of his denial and he left and wept
bitterly.
- How great was the issue that Christ faced in the garden?
- What happened when Christ was arrested?
- What are your thoughts on the Trial before the High Priest?
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