Title: HOLY TERROR
Focus: Facing death
as no other person ever has or will, Jesus, the Son of God suffered a holy
terror for our sake.
Function: To guide
the people in pondering Jesus’ suffering and death, and to bring out their
significance for our lives.
Text: Luke 22:39-46
Lord’s Day 16
Drinking the cup of suffering and
death—it’s something I’m reluctant to speak on. Unlike some of you, perhaps, I
have not drunk very deeply from that cup. I certainly cannot claim to be an
expert on human suffering and dying. But as a member of the human race, and as
a pastor of the Christian church, I’ve seen enough to know that drinking from
the cup of suffering and death is a bitter thing to do. Even though I am
reluctant to speak with any authority on the cup of suffering and death, I can
make some safe observations.
For example, every human being must
drink from this cup. You and I can’t escape the reality of human suffering and
death, for we are all tainted by sin, and when sin entered the world, so did
death. The Bible is clear: death and its power are the ultimate result of sin.
Even if we don’t consider ourselves to be sinners, we nevertheless must face
the fact that “we are dust, and to dust we shall return.” Whereas some families
in our church have experienced the joy of birth and newborn babies entering our
world, others in our midst shed tears and mourned the loss of loved ones. The
cradle and the grave are always with us.
For some, drinking from the cup of
suffering and death seems surprisingly effortless. Some people die in their
sleep. Others experience a sudden stroke or heart attack. They pass from life
into death in a shocking moment or so. Then there are others, like people I’ve
known—Andrew, Don, Bob—to name a few, who died a painful death from cancer,
“inch by inch, day by day, week by week, and month by month.” For some, then, I
have observed, death seems painless; for others it’s a relief from suffering,
and again for others it’s a gigantic struggle. It’s safe to say, however, that
death is a terrifying enemy. Thank God that Christ has conquered that enemy!
Since we all must drink from the cup
of suffering and death, we do well in this season of Lent to ponder Jesus’
suffering and death. Facing death as no other person ever has or ever will, Jesus,
the Son of God suffered a holy terror for our sake. His cup was the “mother” of
all cups of suffering and death!
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Luke, the gospel writer, allows us
to see deeply into Jesus’ cup of suffering. Luke takes us into the Garden of Gethsemane—a
place where Jesus would often go to pray with his disciples. And Luke makes us observers of Jesus
drinking from his cup of suffering. The
first thing that we notice is that Jesus’ cup of suffering is framed in the
context of temptation. On the night of his betrayal, the Lord Jesus
instructs his disciples to “pray so that
they will not fall into temptation” (vs. 40). Then from verse 41-44 we
observe how Jesus struggles against temptation and in coming to grips with his
cup of suffering and death. And then in the closing verses of this account, we
notice that Jesus rouses his disciples from sleep and exhorts them to “get up and pray so that they will not fall
into temptation.”
Now temptation connects us with the
“tempter.” Satan is the tempter. Jesus, then, perceives his cup of suffering
and death in the context of temptation. That is, Jesus recognizes that the cup
of suffering and death calls for engagement in spiritual battle.
So,
the second thing we notice in the Garden of Gethsemane is that the cup of
suffering comes to Jesus and his disciples. And we observe that Jesus, by
the power of his divinity, realizes and foresees that betrayal, crucifixion and
death and burial are awaiting him. Jesus also realizes that his suffering and
death would lead to chaos, abandonment, disillusionment, misery and sorrow for
his disciples. They will be sorely tempted in the midst of Jesus’ suffering and
death. That’s why Jesus instructs his disciples to pray fervently and earnestly
that they may not fall into temptation—and thus do the right things as Jesus
must drink his cup of suffering and death. Jesus, then, is not only concerned
about his cup of suffering and death; he also fears for his disciples.
My
third observation gets at the heart of the passage. Gethsemane is about anguish
of soul, temptation, a holy terror for Jesus, whereby inward torment leads to
the mingling of his blood with drops of sweat. Luke describes this holy
terror in vivid details. Anticipating not only the physical pain of crucifixion,
but also the wrath of God against the sin of the whole world, Jesus, the Son of
God wrestles inwardly to bend his human will to the will of his heavenly
Father. Satan, or the tempter, holds before Jesus the option to escape the cup
of suffering and death by simply running away from it. To avoid this bitter cup
of death, all Jesus needed to do was walk away from it. This was the temptation
that spoke to Jesus’ sinless human nature. It would be an easy thing for Jesus
to do.
But the Son of God has come to do
the will of his heavenly Father; Jesus’ mission is to present himself as the
sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. For that to happen,
Jesus must drink from that bitter cup. Thus he prays: “Father, if you are willing, take
this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Thus my fourth observation
from the text: For Jesus (and his
disciples) the cup of suffering and death is about doing the bidding of our
heavenly Father. It’s about presenting ourselves as instruments, as living
sacrifices unto God, so that he may accomplish his plan and his divine,
inscrutable purposes for us. From the text, I notice that God is gracious and
reveals to Jesus his divine will. God sends an angel. And the angel sustains
and strengthens Jesus in the midst of his struggle to face his cross and death.
The angel’s presence is God’s response to Jesus’ prayer: “Yes, it is my will that you should die for the sins of the whole
world.” And the angel’s presence is a visible sign of God’s grace
sustaining Jesus in drinking the cup. By the grace of God, Jesus drank his cup
and bent his will to do the will of his heavenly Father.And in doing so, the
Lord Jesus suffered a holy terror for our sake.
Let me explain: Christ had to go all
the way to death. God’s truth and justice required that the Son of God should
drink the cup.
God’s truth rings in our ears when
we consider God’s word of truth spoken
to Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die.” Adam’s sin has led to death. The wages of Adam’s sin
and our own is death. God spoke that word of truth.
God
also made a truthful promise to the devil or serpent in the Garden: “…I
will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” In that promise
rests good news: the serpent would be crushed. Our sins would be dealt with.
Deliverance is on the way.
God’s truth-filled promises, all
throughout the centuries, expressed in the O.T. scriptures lead us to God’s
Savior, the Lord Jesus. He is our sin offering; he is our deliverer; he is our
Savior. In the fullness of time, God sent his Son, Jesus that we may live. Thus
Jesus faced the anguish of the cross and drank the bitter cup of death.
Think about it: these drops of sweat
mingled with blood point to Jesus’ anguish, pain and terror of soul. The stakes
are high: Running away from the cup would mean that God’s Word of truth would
be broken. For Jesus NOT to bend his will to the will of his Father would mean
that Jesus’ entire ministry on earth—his miracles, his teaching, his preaching,
his prayers, his modeling, his entire sinless life—would be in vain. No one else
but Jesus qualifies to pay the debt of our sins. No one else but Jesus has the
power to conquer sin, Satan and death. No one else but Jesus’ righteousness and
justice are acceptable in God’s sight to reconcile the world (and us) to God
the Father.
How deep the Father’s love “that
he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him
(I John 4:9)! How bitter Jesus’ cup of suffering and
death! How intense and inscrutably mysterious his holy terror! Thank God! Jesus
did not shy away from drinking his cup!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are three reasons for
thanksgiving (stated in Lord’s Day 16): Number One: By suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul,
especially on the cross but also earlier, Jesus has delivered us from the
anguish and torment of hell. Since Jesus paid the price for our sins, we no longer have to
endure and suffer the pain and torment of hell, which awaits all who refuse to
affirm and welcome Jesus’ death and resurrection, and who condemn themselves by
their sinful actions and evil ways. Jesus “paid it all.”
Therefore, in Jesus, we are all cleansed, forgiven, sanctified and holy in the
sight of God. Not in and by ourselves, but in Jesus, we are set free from
eternal condemnation and the torment of hell. Thank God for Jesus!
Number Two: Through Jesus’ death our old selves (are
human nature) are crucified, put to death, and buried with him, so that the
evil desires of the flesh may no longer rule us, but that instead we may
dedicate ourselves as an offering of gratitude to him. When Jesus drank
the bitter gall from his cup of suffering, Jesus broke the power of sin. Sin no
longer has dominion over us. O yes, to be sure, sin has influence; its power is
still significant; sin can create a lot of misery and havoc in our lives. But
because of Christ’s victory over sin and death, and because of Christ’s gift of
the Holy Spirit to us today, we are set free from the bondage of sin. Now the
Spirit of Christ seeks to reign in us and through us. Thank God for Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross! Now we may offer ourselves as living sacrifices to
him—serving Jesus with grateful hearts for such a great deliverance!
Last but not least: (Number Three): We thank God
for Jesus’ holy terror and willingness to drink the cup because
by conquering death and its power the Lord Jesus has provided us with access to
eternal life. Even though all people must face the enemy of death (and
therefore must drink from the cup of suffering), we now may consider death and
the grave as an entrance, a door through which we enter eternity.
Jesus is the “firstborn from among the dead,”
says Scripture (Col.1:18); he is the “firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep,” says the apostle Paul. “For since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all
die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the
firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”
Thank
God! Jesus finished drinking his cup! His holy terror means for us a whole new
life—Now and forever more! Amen.