Following are my teaching notes from a biblical teaching that I did on a LIVE broadcast.
A Couple of Famous Gardens
There are a couple of famous gardens in the Bible — Eden and Gethsemane. We will be talking today about the latter.
Jesus was a grown man. He was a strong man. How do we know this? Well, he was a carpenter. He was not an accountant who sat in his office all day making spreadsheets and typing on calculators. Nothing against accountants. I mean, we need them too, right? But Jesus was out in the sun carrying wood and tools and having to saw the wood in half, you know, a physical job.
Gethsemane
Now the Greek word “Gethsemane” is from the Hebrew/Aramaic word “GAT SHEMANIM” meaning “oil press.” So the garden was a grove of olive trees in which there was an oil press. It’s an interesting parallel as this was a place where olives got smashed, and this was also, in all due respect, the start of when Jesus got smashed mentally and then physically.
Your Inner circle
Jesus did not bring all of his disciples with Him to the garden of Gethsemane. He only brought his closest ones to Him — His inner circle Disciples. I like to call this the inner court. We all have friends, but not all your friends fit into the inner court of friendship. Some friends are in the outer court. You might speak to them only once in a while and they probably don’t come over that often if at all. These are your outer court friends. Now if you don’t know what I’m talking about when I’m describing the outer court, then you can do a quick search on the temple and how it’s set up.
So now you have your outer court friends and your inner court friends — those who are close to you, and then you have the next level which is the holy of holies, which is reserved for your husband/wife. The holy of holies is where the ark used to be, and it was the ultimate closeness to God at that time. So as friends go, the holy of holies would be your husband/wife whom you trust completely and with whom you’re very transparent without having to mention that you’re married.
You know, a lot is lost in American culture. I guess that’s why I like and enjoy a multicultural group of friends. You can learn a lot from other cultures.
Okay, let me explain. I went to visit my son-in-law at his house. Now as Americans, we are so used to just walking anywhere in the house, but let me tell you, there was a time when my son-in-law just had a baby, and he was sitting up in bed holding the baby. Being American, I went to his house so I could hold the baby, but when I stepped into his bedroom, he politely asked me to take my shoes off first. And it just hit me, “Oh my gosh, this is the holy of holies!” These three layers can be repeated again. You don’t invite everyone inside your house. So the people that are outside of your house are in the outer court. The people that are inside your house are in the inner court, and your bedroom is considered most sacred and is the holy of holies! See how it repeats itself?!
I wasn’t even offended when he asked me to take off my shoes, but I understood right away what was going on and I received revelation as a result of that encounter!
So even Jesus couldn’t depend on his closest friends. Sound familiar? So before you went through this and found out, “Hey, I can’t even depend on my closest friends,” Jesus went through that too! Jesus can relate to anything you’re going through!
Wanting/Doing are two different things
In Luke, the stress/sorrow/heaviness that was upon Jesus was so great that He prayed, ”Remove this cup from me.” His stress was so great that his sweat became great drops of blood. Have you ever been so stressed out that you begin to sweat great drops of blood? Not likely! Now with all this stress upon Him it caused Him to call out and say, ” Remove this cup from me.” Remember the triangle of obedience from my other video? As we start out at the bottom of the triangle, there’s very little consequences to our disobedience, but as we rise and we grow and get promoted each level raises the consequences of our disobedience. Sometimes, for our protection, we may not get what we ask for immediately. Why? Because we are not ready for it!
Matthew 26:38-43
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.”
Note: Now remember, Jesus was a strong man. Imagine what could get Him to say, “Nah, I pass!”
40″ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?”
Note: Jesus could not depend on his closest friends.
41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Note: Have you ever started to read the bible and then all of a sudden you start yawning? The flesh is weak. It doesn’t want to read the bible or pray, but we are to be what? Spirit led not flesh led.
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.”
Note: Here Jesus passed the test by submitting finally and saying, “Not my will but your will, Father, may be done!”
43 “And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.”
Despite this great stress — this great sorrow that Jesus was in — Peter, James, and John fell asleep! Now before we bash on these three, perhaps this was a burden for Jesus only. Maybe it didn’t matter how many people he would have brought, they all would have gone to sleep because only Jesus could save the world, no one else.
Now it’s one thing to say, “Yes, I will do this or do that,” but when it comes time to actually doing it, it’s often a little different than what we anticipated.
For instance, prior to going jogging, I’m thinking, “You know what? I think I’ll go jogging. I’m feeling pretty good.” But then when I start jogging, I’m thinking something totally different. I’m thinking while being out of breath, “Why did I think this would be a good idea?! I can’t wait until this jog is over!”
Obviously, Jesus volunteered and wanted to save us. That’s why he came down from heaven. But as you actually go through it and you go through the steps, it’s a different experience. At this point, Jesus was tapping out, but then he submitted to the Father and said, “Nonetheless, not my will be done but yours, Father!” WOW!
The Kiss of death
Jesus showed great restraint when the guards and Judas came to arrest Him.
John 18:4-6
4 “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? (5) They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. (6) As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.”
Imagine when Jesus was looking at the guards and looking at Judas. He was like, “You guys are trying to intimidate me. I made each and every one of you!” So I think Jesus was giving them a taste of His power and letting them know, “You can’t arrest me unless I LET YOU!” He had so much power in his voice that he raised the dead! (Mark 14)
Now before the movie, The Godfather, this was the kiss of death by Judas. Judas had to mark Jesus for the guards so they would know who to arrest. Now Jesus was most famous by then, so wouldn’t the guards have recognized Him?
In The Godfather, if you messed up somehow you would get a kiss on the cheek, and then they would kill you.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, here is where it was done for the first time by Judas to Jesus. You thought the Mafia came up with the kiss of death? No, it’s right here in the bible!
Isaiah 53:7 (KJV)
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
A lamb will not run away at the slaughterhouse and neither did Jesus.
The lamb won’t run away because the shepherd is there. That’s all the lamb knows is his shepherd. The lamb will always follow the shepherd even unto death.
What about us? Are we willing to follow Jesus even unto death? Remember, it’s one thing to say yes now, but when sword comes out for your head, what will you say? Will you be bold or will you deny?
Prayer
Father God, set our hearts right. Give us the boldness to stand for the gospel. Even in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death, may we be found faithful even until the end, in Jesus’ name, amen!
Love you all,
Coach/Pastor Jeno
