[0:00] I turn with you to the Gospel of Mark. Over the last four or five weeks we've looked at the Gospel of Mark. In the evenings while we've been doing the morning series.
[0:13] This morning I want to come back to the morning service to the Gospel of Mark. And we come actually to one of the most solemn parts in the whole of the scriptures.
[0:30] In the verses that we read we get an insight into the very heart and the mind of Jesus.
[0:43] From the last moments of this feeling before he goes to the cross. It would be good for us to consider this part of God's word very carefully.
[1:01] Because Jesus in a very strange way opens up his heart. And we see the reality of what he is about to enter into in the garden of Gethsemane.
[1:20] Now before we look at the opening of his heart. I want to look with us first at his person.
[1:34] I want to read a verse of scripture so that we know and understand something about Jesus himself. Some foolish people might be inclined to think well many people have gone to the cross.
[1:54] That's true. Painful though it is. Jesus was not the only person who was crucified. This was the way of execution in Roman times.
[2:08] Many people were executed that way. In fact with Jesus on the cross we know there were two other thieves. One who had a remarkable experience.
[2:22] And one who went to the pit. But you know my friends Jesus was different. Because when Jesus died on the cross.
[2:37] He died as a sinless person. For 33 years he had never committed a sin. And the Bible makes it abundantly clear that.
[2:51] Sin is the cause of death. Had there been no sin. There would have been no death. When man was in his infancy.
[3:04] God said in the day that you eat thereof you will die. And he died. In a threefold way. The scriptures talk of death.
[3:16] And not in the way that we talk of it. As in a one dimension. That is the taking away of our breath. And the breath going out of the body.
[3:28] And the body being left. The Bible doesn't speak of death that way. The Bible speaks of death in three dimensions. It speaks of death. When we are cut off from God.
[3:41] In his fellowship. That happened in the garden. After man fell. It speaks of death. It speaks of death. As the physical experience.
[3:53] That a man goes through. And it speaks of death then. As the eternal experience of the soul. That was created forever.
[4:04] So death in the Bible. Is always in three dimensions. Now then. We come to Jesus. I want you to.
[4:15] Read to you actually. One verse of scripture. To give a background. To the saviour himself. Listen to what.
[4:26] Paul says. To the Philippians. In chapter 2. At verse 4. Or verse 5. Let this mind be in you.
[4:38] He says. In introducing it. Which was also. In Christ Jesus. Now listen carefully. Who. Being.
[4:49] In the form of God. That word being. Being means. Subsisting. In the form of God. Thought it not robbery.
[5:02] As he was in the form of God. To be equal with God. But he made himself. He made himself.
[5:12] Of no reputation. And then he did something. He took upon him. The form. Of a servant.
[5:24] He who was in the form. Or the morphé. In the Greek of God. Took upon him. The form. Of a servant. And was made.
[5:35] In the likeness of man. And being. In fashion. As a man. He humbled himself. And became obedient.
[5:50] And to death. Even the death. Of the cross. There's five things here.
[6:02] Just in passing. Before we look at our text. First of all. In this passage of scripture. We see so clearly. That Jesus.
[6:13] Was both. Human. And divine. Who. Being. In the form of God. God. That's his deity.
[6:25] He was ever God. He thought it not. Robbery. To be equal. With God. Another translation.
[6:36] Was. He didn't think it. A prize. To be grasped. That to be held on to. He did not think it. Robbery. To be equal. With God.
[6:47] That's his equality. It was no robbery. For him. To say. He was equal. With God. Because he was in the form of God. That's his equality. And then we read.
[6:58] Of the transition. But. He took upon himself. Another form. The form of a servant. A servant. That's his.
[7:11] Humiliation. When God. Holy God. God. God. God. God. God. God. God. Came down to a manger.
[7:23] And took a human form. And was wrapped in swaddling bands. God. Taking a form. That he could be cradled in the arms of a woman.
[7:37] A sinner. And that's humiliation my friends. God. And he grew. As a child. And he grew to manhood.
[7:49] And he obeyed. And he grew with favour with God and with men. Until he came to thirty years of age. And he went then out into the ministry.
[8:00] To which God. Had ordained. He who was in the form of God. Took the form of a man. Then you read these words.
[8:12] And. He was made. In the likeness. Of men. He who took the form. Of a servant. And was made in the likeness of men.
[8:26] That's his humanity. And then. It goes on to say these words. And we'll leave this. Because these are. The background words.
[8:38] And being. In fashion. As a man. He humbled himself. And became obedient unto death.
[8:49] Even the death of the cross. And so what happened. The prophecy of Isaiah. Was fulfilled. And Isaiah said. Who would believe.
[9:00] I'll report. Here we find. His redeeming work. He became obedient to death.
[9:12] Even the death of the cross. And so you have. There at that point. These five things. His deity. The form of God.
[9:26] His equality. Was not robbery. To be equal with God. His humiliation. He took the form of a servant. His humanity.
[9:38] He became in the likeness. Of man. He was made. And being obedient. For coming in fashion. As a man. He humbled himself.
[9:50] And became obedient to death. The death of the cross. The death that. Was ordained. In the covenant. In eternity.
[10:02] Now we come to the garden. Of Gethsemane. And it's just a few hours. Before. He becomes obedient to death. What like is he feeling?
[10:14] He who had no sin. And who was soon. To be hung on a tree. And when he was. Hung on that tree. The Bible says.
[10:26] He was going to be made. Sin. My friends. He was now going to be made sin. And then as Isaiah says.
[10:36] It would please the Lord. To bruise him. He was almost in a sense. Going to suck up. All the sin. That the world.
[10:47] Had ever committed. In his body. And he was going to die. Its punishment. That's the meaning. Of the cross.
[10:59] But how did he feel? Well the Bible tells us. That he describes this. To Peter. In James and John.
[11:12] As he went into. The garden of Gethsemane. We read that. He goes in. And the figure that's used.
[11:25] Is an Old Testament figure. It's a cup. The cup is. Always synonymous. Synonymous with its contents. The cup. The cup. The cup.
[11:38] Contains. What has to be drunk. And Jesus tells us here. That. God had demanded. A price.
[11:49] Before any sinner. Could be pardoned. Their sin. Had to be punished. And as Jesus.
[12:01] He tells us. In the garden of Gethsemane. He knew what Judas was doing. He told Judas. That he would do it. He goes into the garden. And we read. He began to be sore.
[12:14] Amazed. Listen to. His own expressions. Of his feelings. He says. My soul. Because he's truly human.
[12:26] As well as divine. He says. My soul. Is exceedingly sorrowful. Even unto death.
[12:38] And then. He said. He fell on the ground. In this soul pain. And he prayed. And his prayer was this.
[12:49] Father. If it be possible. Remove this cup. From me. In other words.
[13:00] He said to us. Father. So that all. Generations in the future. Would know. Father. If there's any way. Other way. Possible. That mankind.
[13:11] Could be saved. That the door of heaven. Would be wide open. To. Your creatures. Again. If there's any way. Produced that way now.
[13:28] If it be possible. Remove this cup. If it's possible. To save mankind. In any other way. But my going this way. Remove this cup.
[13:40] That's what his human heart cried. When he looked into the cup. In this special way. But then you see.
[13:51] That Jesus had no sin. And then. He says. But not my will. But yours be done. You see.
[14:03] In eternity. In the covenant. Of grace. In the trinity of God. There was a covenant. An agreement.
[14:16] That God the father. Would plan the way of salvation. To save mankind. Mankind. And God the son. Would go down.
[14:29] To this earth. And pay the price of salvation. For mankind. And the Holy Spirit. Then would enter.
[14:39] Into the hearts of men. And enable. Them to believe. In what Christ has done. And this was part of the covenant.
[14:51] But in his human nature. Christ was horrified. We read then he began. To be amazed.
[15:02] And very heavy. And he began to sweat. As it were. Drops of blood. The pain. And the agony.
[15:13] That he felt. Internally. Put blood. Through the pores. Of his flesh. And then we read.
[15:26] In this state. Angels came. And strengthened him. It was an experience. Of anticipation.
[15:40] And my friends. If that was the experience. Of anticipation. What was the experience. Of her participation.
[15:52] And if you are a Christian. Here this morning. A real Christian. I want you to look back. At the Savior. In his agony. In Gethsemane.
[16:03] I want you to realize. It was for you. And if you are without Christ. This morning. Never. Never. Delude yourself.
[16:15] That you will get into. The kingdom of God. By any other way. But by faith. And trust. And love. For the Son of God.
[16:26] For he already. Has said in the garden. To his father. Father. If it's possible. For anybody. To get in. Except through my death. Produce that plan now.
[16:40] The experience. Passed. He was strengthened. And we read.
[16:53] That when the soldiers. Came. And they tried. To stop him. Going to the cross. He said. The cup. That my father. Has given me. Will I not drink it?
[17:06] The ingredients. Of that cup. Were. Fearful. Culminating. In the cross. The abandonment.
[17:18] Of Christ. By his father. When he became. The sin bearer. And the sin. Atoner. So that.
[17:30] You remember. He cried. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me? But my friends. What I want to make clear. This morning. Is. That this was the cup.
[17:41] That the father. Demanded. This was the cup. That the father. Prepared. And this was the cup. That the father. Presented to him.
[17:52] In a special way. In the garden. Of gifts. Eman. The cup. The cup. You know. The father knew about this cup.
[18:06] When on the mountain of transfiguration. As we noticed. He said to the disciples. This is my beloved son. In whom I am well pleased. This is the one.
[18:18] That is going to take the cup from me. This is the one. Who is going to. Drink the cup. This is the one. Who is going to save mankind. By his death.
[18:31] Yes. It was the cup. That the father demanded. Sin. My friends. Is a. A loathsome thing. Sin.
[18:42] Is a. Is a fearful thing. Sin. And there is none of us. Will escape. Its consequences. But when Jesus. In his.
[18:54] Human nature. Because it was a pure humanity. That was sacrificed. It was a pure humanity. That suffered.
[19:06] It was a pure humanity. That was a substitute. When that humanity. Looked into the cup. It trembled.
[19:18] It shook. It feared. The vision of the cup. Caused them to fall to the ground. The effect of the cup.
[19:30] The vision. Without tasting it. Made the blood to come out of his pores. And then my friends. The prayer concerning the cup.
[19:41] Tells us that. It was no light thing. If it's possible. Take it away. I want to conclude this morning. Just by. By mentioning.
[19:53] Two or three more things. About this. Cup. First of all. This cup was. Predestined. Way back there.
[20:04] In the prophecy of Isaiah. We read these words. It pleased. It pleased the Lord. To bruise him. God.
[20:15] Put him to grief. It was predestined. It wasn't a chance happening. It was a happening.
[20:26] That became the unfolding. Of the plan. From eternity. Mankind. Mankind. Mankind. Was to be redeemed. Mankind.
[20:38] Was to be. Pardoned. But the sentence. Of a holy God. On mankind's end. Was to be paid.
[20:50] Only the sentence. Was to be paid. By the son of God. God. I said to you.
[21:02] He was both divine. And human. His humanity. Made. The sentence. Perfect.
[21:17] His humanity. Ensured that. It was a perfect offering. His deity. Tells us.
[21:30] That it was. An eternal offering. It was God. Accepting from God. That which.
[21:43] Satisfies. The character. Of God. The cup. Was predestined. The cup.
[21:54] Was frightening. Frightening. To him. He sweated. Drops of blood. As he looked. Into it. We looked.
[22:08] The last. Four weeks. On the doctrine. Of eternal. Punishment. When Jesus. Looked. Into that cup. All.
[22:19] Hell. Stared. Stared. Out. That cup. As he looked into it. And he looked through it.
[22:31] Took him down to. The hell. That he was going to endure. The eternal hell. That his people should have endured. And the fearfulness of it.
[22:44] And the awfulness of it. And the awfulness of it. And the pain of it. And the prospect of its endurance.
[22:56] Gazed at him from the cross. He knew that he was going to hell. By the way of the cross. But more than that.
[23:08] He was going to be banished. From the fellowship of his father. For the first time. It was a frightening. Cup.
[23:19] Cup. The cup. Was. Feared. By him. He says. My soul. Is exceedingly sorrowful.
[23:30] He was afraid of it. You see. The cup. Was full. In Isaiah. You read about the cup. Being full. Of God's judgment.
[23:41] Toward Israel. Even to the dregs. And he knew that. He would have to take. Every drop of this cup.
[23:52] And every drop of this cup. Means. Every. Punishment. For every single sin. That every single person.
[24:04] Who will ultimately go to heaven. Would endure. It was no. Small cup.
[24:16] It was full. It had to be full. Because all sin. Had to be accounted for. And all iniquity. Had to be punished.
[24:28] It was full. But as you look at that cup. You find it was necessary. He said. If it's possible. Remove the cup. But it wasn't.
[24:39] It was necessary. That. Either he drink it. Or his people suffer it. When you are a million years.
[24:50] In heaven. When time is gone. And as well as we know it. The thing of the past.
[25:03] My friend. You'll still be looking back. To Gethsemane. To the horror. To the horror. That. He who sits on the throne. Of glory. Glorified in splendor.
[25:16] Once endured. When he looked. When he looked at the cup. You know then. It was necessary. The cup that my father had given me.
[25:28] This cup was accepted by him. It was accepted by him. With trembling. Fearful. Awestruck. Awestrucken. Awestrucken.
[25:40] Hands. But it was accepted. It wasn't wanted. By his humanity. But it was accepted.
[25:52] And as he held it in his hands. We say this cup was weighty. It weighed him down. I weighed him down.
[26:03] In a way that we don't see him weighed down. In the three years. Of his ministry. In a way that we don't even see him weighed down. On the cross. This cup was weighty.
[26:18] This cup to him. Was loathsome. Fearful. This cup was symbolic. And then this cup was carried.
[26:35] All the way to Calvary. And as I heard an old man once say. He sipped it. All the way to Calvary. And then.
[26:49] When they put him in the cross. He was sipping it. When they nailed him to the tree. And his human body was. Crushed with pain. He was just sipping it.
[27:01] Then he said on the cross. The powers of darkness came around him. And they made suggestions to him. Produce the greatest miracle of all.
[27:11] They said to him. Come down off the cross. And save yourself. Put down the cup. Stop sipping it. Stop drinking it.
[27:23] Put it down. Show yourself to be God. Forget that you're a man.
[27:35] Forget why you came. But he kept on sipping it. And between the sips my friends. He had time to speak.
[27:46] To a poor dying thief. Who turned to him and said. Lord remember me. When you come into your kingdom. And he stopped sipping at the cup.
[27:59] To tell that dying thief. Today you're going to be with me. In paradise. And the thief who was suffering.
[28:10] Physical pain. Had a joy. That transcended the pain. And he went into. To the kingdom of God. In glory and joy.
[28:23] While the one in the middle. Kept sipping the cup. And then all of a sudden. There was a great darkness. Over the whole land. The sun shut its eyes.
[28:35] It was afraid to look. The creation was not going to see. What took place next. And the darkness came over the cross. And Jesus took the cup.
[28:47] To his mouth. And he drunk it. To its dreads. And he cried. My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?
[28:57] And he kept on drinking it. And then he cried. It is finished. It's finished. The price of salvation.
[29:11] Had now been paid. And so we are. Cleansed. By the blood of the cross. But that just means.
[29:23] The blood means. What he endured. The blood is symbolic. In one sense. Like the cup. It's a symbol. Of what it costs.
[29:35] To cleanse. So when you ask. To be cleansed. In the blood of the cross. You ask that your sins. Be taken away. You're asking. In one sense. That the efficacy.
[29:46] That the forgiving. Efficacy. Of Jesus. Suffering on the cross. Might be applied to you. So that God. Who accepted.
[29:57] The innocent. In the place of the guilty. Can. Can. Can. Pardon you. And let you go free. Yes. The cup was carried. To the cross. And the cup.
[30:07] Was drunk. The cup. Was the redemptive. Price. For your salvation. If you belong.
[30:18] To Christ. Now my friends. When you look at that. Can you not. Really believe. That sin.
[30:31] Is a fearful thing. Can you believe. That you're going to get away with it. That I'm going to get away with it. At the end.
[30:43] Can you think. For a moment. Bearing that in mind. That you'll ever get into heaven. As you are. No you won't.
[30:57] What must I do to be saved. We said last week. I bless God. That after he drank the cup. And said it is finished. It was over.
[31:11] And on the third day. They went down. To the grave. And my. There was the bandages. Just as they had gone round him. Untied.
[31:26] And he was gone. They came to the garden. There was Mary. And she said. Rabboni. That's to say. Master.
[31:40] He was alive. He had finished the work. That his father had given him to do. And he ascended up. To the hand of his father. To present the efficacy.
[31:53] Of his sacrifice. To ensure that in heaven. This sacrifice. Would protect forever. Those who trusted in it. That's being a Christian.
[32:04] It's trusting in Jesus. It's trusting in what Jesus did on the cross. It's loving him. For Gethsemane. It's worshipping him.
[32:15] At Calvary. Christianity. That's why. That's why. Christianity. Christianity is not. Coming to church. And it's not. Keeping the ten commandments. All creation.
[32:27] Is commanded. To worship God. All creation. Is commanded. To keep the commandments. Of God. That's not Christianity. Christianity. Is finding.
[32:37] A savior. Who loved you enough. To die for you. No my friends. You can come to church. Week after week. And when I say. That you reject.
[32:47] The son of God. When you refuse. To receive him. As your savior. You reject him. And that's what you reject. When you accept him.
[33:00] That's what you accept. When you're pardoned. You're pardoned. Not because of any goodness. In yourself. Or decision. That you make. You're pardoned.
[33:12] Because you're trusting. In him. And the person. Who trusts in him. Even with the grain. Of faith. Is saved. And when you trust him.
[33:24] You must follow him. Because he's worth following. That's what we looked at. This morning. Was an insight.
[33:35] Into the savior's heart. Just as he was going. To the cross. We praise God for it. As I say to you.
[33:48] This morning. Will you not love him. Will you not trust him. There's nothing more.
[34:02] You can do to savior. yourself. There's nothing you could have done. In the first place. But he. Who was in the form of God.
[34:15] And did not think. It robbery to be equal. With God. But who took upon him. The form of a servant. And became. Enlightened. And humbled himself.
[34:27] And became obedient. To death. Even the death of the cross. God. God. That's the measure of the love of Christ. For sinners. That's the measure of the love of Christ.
[34:37] For you. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. Turn away from it. George. And what? Hurry. and at the end you live nothing shall we pray our gracious God what a wonderful saviour we have and yet they cried we will not have this man to rule over us and still they cry we will not have this man to rule over us help us to know God that if we won't have him to rule over us we cannot have him to save us and so this morning again we pray thee that as thou hast ordained this word of the gospel to be preached thou hast also commanded a response to this word of the gospel remember Jesus once saying you will not come to me that you might have life in spite of the miracles they saw and the preaching they heard they wouldn't come to him we've heard something of the preaching from the scriptures we've seen something of the miracles from the scriptures but we've seen more we've listened to him tell what happened in his own heart as he verged to the cross we pray thee then this morning that there may be here in church some who would want to thank the Lord Jesus for dying and trust him as their saviour may they do this we pray thee now and from henceforth be his followers grant thy blessing then on the word and go with us this morning and undertake for us help thy people oh God to be filled with love for him afresh for Jesus sake
[37:15] Amen Amen