Suffering out of compassion

Matthew 26:36-46

This morning is the last of a series of sermons based on questions Jesus asked in the Gospel according to Matthew. We began with, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” then “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?” Dave Robey preached on “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Two weeks ago the question we focused on was, “How many loaves do you have?” Last week we looked at the question Jesus asked to Salome, the mother of James and John. “What is it you want? In that sermon we were led to a following question, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have and have benefitted from it. Before we go on to the last question of this series, I want to amend last week’s message.

The sermon last week finished by challenging us to be willing to drink the cup of Jesus, to be willing to suffer for his sake. I tied in our communion service with this message, asking that the decision to come forward for communion be also a decision to follow Jesus even if it meant suffering.

I believe we need to be willing to stand with Jesus even in difficult times, but the problem is that we cannot do this only under our own willpower. Take a look at Peter. Big, bold, brash Peter who was willing to step out of the boat and walk on water to go to Jesus, who pulled out a sword to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. What is it Peter said he would do when difficult times came?
“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them.
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”
But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
And yet Peter disowned Jesus three times.

What I would have liked to have said last week is that we cannot boldly say what we will do and what we will not do when difficult times come. And I would have tied the message back to the previous one in which Jesus fed the 4,000. In that message I said that Jesus took too little and turned it into more than enough.

This is what I would have liked to have said last week. When the time comes and persecution is at hand, you don’t have to step boldly into the face of suffering. All that is required is to take the little bit of faith we have and resolve to be faithful and God will take the little bit of strength and faith we have and turn it into more than enough. When it is time to drink from Jesus’ cup of suffering, he will strengthen us and enable us to stand with him. All we need do is take that little step and decide we will stand with Jesus.

We are going to continue to focus this morning on sharing in the sufferings of Christ as we take a look at the question Jesus addressed to Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Could you men not keep watch with me for just one hour?”

Does it seem inappropriate to you that we do this on Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday is a day of celebration and anticipation of the day when we will all gather to praise Jesus in heaven. Save suffering for Good Friday. Don’t rain on this parade today.

But I think it is an appropriate message for this morning and so I want us to try to understand what was going on in Jesus’ mind as people were celebrating his arrival into Jerusalem.

If you take a look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels, there is a critical time in his life, a major turning point. Jesus began his ministry, calling men and women to be his disciples. He saw himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 61.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,

And this is what Jesus did. He taught, healed, cast out demons, brought light into a dark world. But then came a turning point.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

From this time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he had to die and be raised to life on the third day. This conversation with his disciples is the turning pont in his ministry.

There was a progressive understanding in the life of Jesus about who he was and what his purpose on earth was. He did not know as a child that he was the Messiah who would suffer and die for the world. But there was a gradual understanding that was given to him and it is clear that at this point in his ministry, he knew precisely what was his purpose and call.

Just after Peter’s declaration of him as the Messiah, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain, either Mount Hermon or Mount Tabor and on that high mountain, he had a conversation with the prophet Elijah and with Moses. Peter, James and John slept though most of this event but what do you think Jesus, Moses and Elijah talked about?

I believe that they talked about his coming crucifixion. Jesus had received his call, that he was to suffer and die and now Moses and Elijah met with Jesus to encourage him, to talk with him about the events that would take place.

Don’t forget that Jesus was not only God in the flesh. He was also a man and in his flesh, he had needs just as we have needs. I’ll get to this a bit later, but I believe he needed to be encouraged and was encouraged by these two great men of the Hebrew Bible.

From this time forward, Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and began to prepare his disciples for what was to come. There is a different tone in the events of the life of Jesus before and after this event.

So, when Jesus entered Jerusalem and the disciples and crowds cheered him, he did so knowing what they did not know. He knew that this would be his last trip into Jerusalem. He knew he would be arrested, beaten and crucified.

How did Jesus look sitting on his donkey? Was he beaming a great big smile and waving to the people on the left and then on the right? I don’t think so.

Franklin read the account of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry but stopped just short of the last part of that passage. Listen to what Jesus said as he came on the road to where he could see Jerusalem.
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it  42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.  43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Jesus was not caught up in the celebration of the moment. His mind was clear. He knew he would not be king as the disciples and crowd wanted him to be. He knew what awaited him and he was overcome with grief as he anticipated the suffering that would come to the people of this city.

Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France bicycle race for the last three years. When he comes to the Tour de France, he is focused. He is concentrating. He has only one thing on his mind and he is ready for the race. He knows the pain involved in winning the race. He knows the sacrifice he will have to make to win. Others around him may joke and relax, but not Lance Armstrong.

I sense a bit of this in Jesus as I read the Gospel accounts of his last week. Jesus spent that week, teaching and praying. It is interesting that the Gospel writers do not record that Jesus healed anyone that week. I don’t know if he did or did not. But the focus for Jesus was now much more intense. He knew he was running out of time and so he taught. Last minute instructions for his disciples. Last minute efforts to draw people to the truth of who he was.

On Thursday night he gathered with his disciples for the Seder meal, just as we will do this week, and instituted what we call Holy Communion or The Lord’s Supper. And then he left with his disciples for the Garden of Gethsemane.

This is where we pick up the account for this morning. The climatic event of Jesus’ life is at hand and he is intensely focused on what is about to happen. The disciples have some vague sense that something is going on, but they are basically clueless.

It’s been a strange evening. This was not the first Seder meal they had shared with Jesus but this was certainly different from all the others. What did it mean, all these things Jesus was saying? “One of you will betray me.” “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Something was different, but what it was, none of the disciples were very sure.

But Jesus knew. He knew what would happen and because he was a man, he had needs. He needed support as he faced the swiftly approaching trial coming his way.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

What do you think Jesus prayed? “Abba Father, thank you for the beautiful day, for the flowers and birds.” I don’t think so. I think his prayer was more along the lines of the prayer Peter prayed when he began sinking into the sea of Galilee. “Help! I don’t want to suffer. Isn’t there any other way for this to be done? I’m tired and weak. I feel so alone in this.”

Jesus told his disciples to sit while he went off to pray but he took with him Peter, James and John.
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Jesus did not want to be alone. He needed support and so he asked the three disciples closest to him to stay with him. As Peter, James and John walked over to a quiet spot in the garden with Jesus, what did they think? Jesus knew what was going to happen but they did not. But they did know something was wrong. They had never seen Jesus like this. What did it mean when he was obviously sorrowful and troubled? Actually, they had seen Jesus something like this once before. Not long after they had begun to follow him, his cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded and that time too, Jesus had been sorrowful and troubled, but not like this. What was happening?

Jesus, sorrowful and troubled. A man in need. A man needing support.

Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Jesus was feeling overwhelmed. He was in pain. He was suffering. He pleaded with Peter, James and John to stay with him, help him. “I need you. Help me.”

When someone suffers, there is sometimes not much anyone can do to help except to be present and to love and care for the one suffering. What could Peter, James and John have done to help Jesus? Could they stop the chain of events about to unfold? Later that night Peter tried to prevent the arrest of Jesus when he pulled out his sword, but then Jesus reprimanded him. Divine events were taking place and earthly power would not and could not stop what was about to happen.

Peter, James and John were powerless to help except to be present with Jesus, supporting him with their presence and this is precisely what Jesus craved.

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The agony of Jesus is so vividly portrayed in the Gospel accounts. Luke adds the detail that
his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus is in great need of support so can you read into this account the pain Jesus felt when he returned to his three closest disciples?
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?”

He went away again to pray and returned to find them sleeping. A third time he went away to pray and when he returned, again, they were sleeping.

Jesus needed their help. Jesus needed them and they fell asleep.

Let me ask you this question. If you could have been there, what would you have wanted to do? Wouldn’t you have wanted to be there with Jesus, holding his hand, encouraging him? Even if you did not understand exactly what it was that was happening, wouldn’t you have wanted to be there watching him as he prayed, praying also for him? Caring for him in his agony, sorrowful and troubled.

There was a day a year or so earlier when Jesus had risen before the sun came up, spent the day teaching and healing and casting out demons as the crowd kept coming and coming and coming. At the end of this long day, Jesus and the disciples got into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and Jesus fell asleep in the stern of the boat. Mark adds the detail that Jesus slept on a cushion. Jesus, exhausted and in need and was it one of the disciples who saw him fall asleep almost immediately and went over to put a cushion under his head? Would you like to have been the one who showed kindness and love for Jesus by making his sleep a bit more restful?

After Jesus had been beaten and sentenced to death and whipped, he had to carry his cross to Golgotha where he would be crucified. Jesus was so tired, so exhausted he fell. He could not continue. He was physically incapable of continuing. He was on his knees, his body bleeding from the flogging and swelling from the beatings. And then a Roman soldier ordered Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross for Jesus.

At the time, it was an imposition, but later, I wonder if Simon, who became a leader in the church and who may be the Simon in Antioch, did not view this order from a Roman soldier to have been an act of kindness toward Jesus and was grateful that he had been given this privilege of showing kindness to Jesus.

As Jesus stumbled along in his pain and fatigue, would you have wanted to carry the cross for him? Help him along?

Let me suggest two ways this understanding of Jesus helps us. First, if Jesus had needs and sought out the support of others, shouldn’t you also do the same?

There are times when we are in great need and we are weak. We may be worried, filled with anxiety, overwhelmed, or depressed. And when we are in that state of need, we sometimes resist seeking help from others because of our perception that Christians are strong and depend on God and there is something shameful about needing the help and support of others.

If you feel that way, just ask yourself this question, “Who do I think I am? God?” But even God in the flesh, human as well as divine, needed support and sought it out. Don’t ever be embarrassed about feeling weak and needing help. There are times in our lives when we can help others and times when we need to be helped.

Never be ashamed of being overwhelmed and needing help.

A second way this understanding of Jesus helps us is this: We can’t put a pillow under the head of Jesus to make his sleep more comfortable. We cannot pick up his cross and carry it for him. The events we have talked about happened almost 2,000 years ago.

But the suffering of Christ continues. The church is described as the body of Christ and that body has suffered for the 2,000 years of its existence. A couple weeks ago I talked about a man named Zewar Mohammed Ismaeel who was martyred in northern Iraq this past February. Members of the body of Christ continue to suffer in this present time. Zewar’s wife and children continue to face persecution.

How do you care for Jesus? How do you care for his body, the church, when he suffers?

Spend time with Jesus. Sit with him. Talk with him. Pray with him. Be present with him. Grow in your love and affection for him.

There are many reasons why it is good to have a daily devotional time and this is one of them. Jesus still suffers. Jesus is still in pain because his body suffers. Sharing in the sufferings of Christ, in a small way is this, to be present with Jesus in his sufferings.

Pray for members of his body. If you are able, care for the members of the body of Christ as if it were Jesus you were helping. Put pillows under the heads of his followers so they can have a more restful sleep. When others are staggering under the burden they have to carry, take a turn and help them carry that burden for a little while. When your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ are suffering, be present with them, loving them, caring for them. When you do this, you are caring for Jesus, loving Jesus.

If there comes a time when you will be called to share more directly in the sufferings of Christ, do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. Be present with Jesus, keep watch and if and when that time comes, Jesus will be present with you. He will take the little faith you have and turn it into more than enough for the trial you will have to face.

God will transform you, as he did Peter who was able to write this

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.  14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Sit with Jesus this week.  Keep watch with him. Pray for his body, the church. Have compassion on him and do this because you love him.