The Message of Revelation (1) s3

1704-09P 1 HE SUFFERED (Luke 22:39-46) A. I don’t know if it was suffering that brought you here this evening. In fact, I rather doubt that you came tonight because you were suffering. But you are here by God’s providence, and our text leads us into this matter of suffering, the unparalleled sufferings of Jesus for our sakes. We read about some of our Lord’s distress in Luke 22: beginning at verse 39: “39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” B. This is astonishing. From his earliest recollections, our Lord Jesus knew that he was on a mission, and that that mission would end at the cross. And here he is less than twelve hours from that cross, and suddenly he hesitates. It’s even more astonishing because he had had ample opportunity to escape this if he wanted. In his temptations, recorded in Luke 4, for example, two of the three temptations were to avoid the suffering and death of the cross. Satan offered to give him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would only bow down to him, a shortcut—no cross required. And then Satan tried to coax him into jumping down from the pinnacle of the temple in full sight of all, proving his divinity and compelling belief when the angels caught him, side-stepping the cross. Jesus refused each offer. And then as these dreadful days drew near, Luke 9:51 tells us that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem where he would be condemned and crucified. Both Matthew and Mark record that when Jesus announced that he would be arrested and crucified, Peter rebuked him declaring that this would never happen. And Jesus answered, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Nothing could deter him from ______1704-09P 2 going to the cross, from fulfilling his mission from the Father. But here, he pauses. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.” What in the world? Why does he hesitate? Luke continues his report: “43And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” Okay, why would the almighty Son of God require the strengthening ministry of an angel? But there’s more? “44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” I have read where some have tried to find a similar phenomenon in medical literature, where people in great, great travail and emotional distress have become so agitated that the very capillaries in their skin burst and they began bleeding. Dr. Luke may have had particular interest in this. But the point is not that others have had similar experiences. No, the point is that nobody has suffered like Jesus has suffered. “45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Was it the effect of the late hour, or the heavy meal, or the wine, or the emotional exhaustion? We are not told. What we do know is that when Jesus suffered this agony at the prospect of the rapidly looming cross, he suffered alone. C. Why did he who was always resolute and unwavering suddenly hesitate? What could possibly have caused the Son of God to stagger like this and sweat drops of blood? What can explain it? R.C. Sproul declared recently that the reason we do not understand this is because we no longer believe in the wrath of God. The incarnate Son of God who always enjoyed his Father’s favor was about to endure the righteous wrath of a holy God for the sins of his people. He was about to undergo the everlasting torments of hell to pay for this sins of his chosen ones. D. We do get a glimpse of this suffocating terror in Revelation 6 where the lost of every station of life cry out for the ______1704-09P 3 mountains and rocks to bury them alive rather than to face the dreadful wrath of God. They cry: “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (6:16-17) Jesus would soon endure that same, appalling, infinite wrath of God for his people, a wrath so frightening that it gave pause even to the Son of God. What are we to make of this? First, we should note that…

I. JESUS SUFFERED. A. If God came into the world to help us, how would he come? What would it be like? How would he help us? We need not speculate, nor must we guess or surmise. Because he did come. And every page of the Bible tells us that he came as the Suffering Servant. He came to serve his people. And he suffered. He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” In Romans 8, Paul declares that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the future glory that will be revealed in us. We should add that all our suffering is not worth comparing to the sufferings of Christ for us. No one in this life, and even in the next, could possibly suffer as Jesus suffered, because his suffering was not simply for his own sin, but for the multiplied sin of all his people! He did not endure one hell, but hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of hells, bearing all of God’s righteous wrath against all of the sins of all of his elect. B. So if you are suffering…I should say, when you suffer as all of us do suffer, you can rest in the assurance that you are not alone, abandoned as Jesus was abandoned on the cross. Jesus knows our need, our suffering, for he suffered as well, incomparably more.

II. JESUS CAN HELP IN TEMPTATION. A. Remembering the sufferings of Christ for our sake has an added benefit. It can neutralize and nullify the power and attraction of temptation. What sin continues to plague you? Is it jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness? Is it greed, discontent, ______1704-09P 4 impurity? Is it anger, wrath, malice? Is it pride, self-seeking, dishonesty? It helps in the throes of those gripping enticements to sin to recall that Jesus suffered his anguish precisely because of these sins. B. These are not small matters. There are no small sins. It isn’t a tiny indulgence, a little peccadillo, a white lie, a bit of justifiable pride. And we see this clearly because the mere thought of the penalty for these sins caused the Son of God to stagger and sweat drops of blood. An angel had to come to strengthen him, and my mind honestly cannot comprehend such a thing. One my favorite hymns puts it this way: Ye who think of sin but lightly Nor suppose the evil great Here may view its nature rightly, Here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, See who bears the awful load; 'Tis the Word, the Lord's anointed, Son of Man and Son of God. Jesus suffered. And his sufferings help us in the iron- fisted grip of temptation. His sufferings were the only thing that could assuage the wrath of a holy God for sins like the ones that call to us and promise us joy and satisfaction.

III. JESUS SUFFERED FOR US. A. And I must point out that Jesus suffered this anguish and torment for us. His mission was to glorify God’s wondrous grace by saving his people, by serving the death sentence we had earned by our many sins and offenses against a good and holy God, our Creator. We were the rebels and renegades, the cosmic criminals and haters of God. And God gave his own Son to rescue us, to save us, and to make us into his own beloved and willing daughters and sons. And so you must put your faith in this Jesus who alone can save. Do it quickly. Do it now. Why in the world would you wait? And for what? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give him your life, surrender and submit your will to the Christ of God. For if you do not, then some day you will be one of those calling for the mountains and the rocks to fall on you and bury you alive, to hide you from “the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the ______1704-09P 5 great day of their wrath (will have come for you), and who can stand?” So this is your invitation to find your hope and put your trust in the Suffering Servant, in the only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

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