Dear Christian Friends,

How concerned about temptation are you? Do you treat sin too lightly? Do you simply brush off temptation as no big deal? Do you pay any attention to your sin? It can be real easy to pretend that temptations in this life are no big deal and ignore the sin in our life. When we do this, we appreciate our Savior Jesus with less faith, love, and devotion than we ought. But the events in the Garden of Gethsemane teach us otherwise.

This evening we continue our Lenten series, "Places of the Passion," and make our moonlit march from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and the 11 disciples. Gethsemane literally means "oil press," and it was the name of a garden of olive trees whose olives were pressed to make valuable oil. Here Jesus is pressed between heaven's eternal expectations and hell's terrible temptations. Here Jesus presses the cup of God's wrath for the world's sins to his lips and begins drinking its bitter sorrows in our place. Here the weak flesh of the disciples presses hard against their willing spirit. Here, in the midst of the greatest pressing this garden has ever known, Jesus triumphs over temptation-not just to show us that with his help we can do the same, but to save us from the times we haven't.

1. He kept an active watch

"The spirit is willing, but the [flesh] is weak" (vs. 38). How precisely that phrase describes each of us in our pursuit of pleasing God, yet it also describes our Savior. He was also troubled with temptation, just like us, but he triumphed over it by keeping an active watch. First, he kept an active watch by taking refuge in a familiar place. This grove of olive trees became a "getaway" for Jesus during his days in Jerusalem. He knew he wouldn't be bothered there; perhaps he had a favorite tree where he'd pray. This is where we find him fleeing in anticipation of extreme temptation to give in to the devil and in anticipation of his overwhelming suffering. He also kept an active watch by seeking companionship. "Stay here and keep watch [with me]" (vs. 34), Jesus asked Peter, James, and John, who had witnessed his glory and could bear to watch his humiliation. As the Son of God, Jesus offered what these men needed, but as the Son of Man, he needed what they could offer-companionship. Finally, Jesus kept an active watch by acknowledging his limitations. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (vs. 34), Jesus admitted. "I feel very overwhelmed by this whole thing." Remember, Jesus is the almighty God, but he was also a real human susceptible to real human weakness and emotions; he didn't try to proudly convince himself otherwise. He needed help from his Father and asked for it. By keeping an active watch, Jesus triumphed over temptation.

How did the disciples do in keeping an active watch? They were about as successful as an early morning alarm is at waking up someone who punches the snooze button three times. Three times Jesus returned to these men who said they were ready to die with him, and three times he found them sleeping on the job. What a help they were! Lord, I know you ask me to keep watch, but you don't always find me aware of my weaknesses; you find me sleeping. Lord, I know you ask me to be alert to danger, but you don't always find me awake; you find me sleeping. Lord, I know you ask me to be active in serving you and others with my talents, but you don't always find me helping unselfishly; you find me sleeping.

We're just like the disciples, aren't we? We're sincere in our intentions but unsuccessful in carrying them out completely. Actually, like the disciples, we become more of a hindrance to Jesus than a help. But did you notice what Jesus did with these men? When they became a hindrance to him instead of a help, he woke them up, told them what needed to be done, and brought them along with him. Jesus never gives up on those he loves. He deals with his disciples today just as he dealt with those in the garden. He wakes us up from spiritual sleepiness, not with barking anger but with gentle love (of course, that may mean shaking us a little bit). Then he reminds us of his will when we hear or remember his Word, and he always takes us with him so that he never leaves us alone.

According to the Greek myth, Achilles, the great hero of the Trojan War, was dipped as a child in the waters of the River Styx by his mother to make him invulnerable. Later in life, however, the poisoned arrow of Paris found the spot in Achilles' heel where his mother had held him, a spot untouched by the magic water. Even the strongest Christian is in danger of falling if that Christian doesn't acknowledge his or her weak spots as Jesus did, because Satan observes Christians and seeks to plunge his poisoned arrows of evil into them every day. Acknowledge your weaknesses; then frequently go to the security of a familiar place of refuge and address them- just between you and God. Listen to God speak to you in his Word. Speak to him in prayer. Ponder what he says and how to apply it to your life. Finally, if you want to triumph over temptations, seek the companionship of a person who can help. Obviously, that person will be a Christian; perhaps that person will know the deep secrets of your soul, and that person should be able to tell you things you may not be telling yourself. Jesus triumphed over temptation by keeping an active watch, and now he helps his disciples triumph over temptation by keeping an active watch over us. Be sure to let him help.

2. He submitted to his Father's will

Besides keeping an active watch and taking an involved role in triumphing over temptation, Jesus took a passive approach and, through prayer, submitted to the Father's will. Jesus prayed to his Father: "Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (vs. 36). Jesus didn't stop short of making his own feelings and concerns known, even his own personal desires in this situation-but he only did that conditionally. He knew that his Father had established from eternity that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would save sinners from eternal condemnation and an empty life on earth. Jesus didn't question that, but he did wonder about a different way to make it happen. As he approached some of the final battles with the forces of hell and with the sins of the whole world, he wondered if he could really do it. And so he asks if there's another possible way-not to get out of helping us, but to improve his chances of success.

As a child I had asthma very bad. In fact, almost monthly I would have to go to the doctor's office and get one of those terrible shots because my lungs had closed up and I couldn't breath. I hated those shots. I despise needles. These shots would make my arm sore for days. I remember thinking it sure would be nice if there were another way to get over being sick than by getting that shot, but that was the best way. How true it is-the best way is most often the difficult way. It was true for Jesus, and it's true every day in our Christian lives. The best way to raise a teenager, the best way to keep a job, the best way to attain financial security, the best way to be a good friend, the best way to save a marriage, the best way to improve a Christian life, the best way to stay healthy, the best way to avoid temptation is usually the most difficult way. The most difficult way is good because it requires the greatest faith, which allows God to be more involved in his great work. The most difficult way is good because it requires the greatest perseverance, which produces great character and commitment in God's children.

The best way for Jesus to save us was the most difficult way. When the Father put the bitter cup of suffering, pain, ridicule, and death to his Son's lips, he didn't pull away. There's the key to understanding Jesus' prayer-he sought his own will conditionally, but he sought his Father's will unconditionally. In other words, if what Jesus wanted and what his Father wanted were different, his Father's desires came first. Jesus drank the most vile and disgusting drink the world has ever known, poisoned with our immoral thoughts, our ugly anger, our potent words, and our grimy guilt, so that we wouldn't have to take even a taste. If that's what it had to take, then that's what Jesus would give. Strengthened, reassured, and confident in what the Father asked him to do, Jesus then left the safety of Gethsemane to face his enemy and begin the final battle to the death. Winner takes all. And we know Jesus won.

The darkness in the Garden of Gethsemane that night was like no other darkness in any garden of the world, because the prince of darkness was seeking to match his power with the Light of the world, who was dimmed by his humanity. The oil pressed that night was like no other oil would ever be, because it was pressed as sweat and blood through the pores and ducts of the God-man, who was suffering for us. The triumph over temptation was like none the world will ever know, because the Savior's triumph is our very trophy of victory over sin. Since we Christians are Christ's allies, all our evil opponents in this world and the kingdom of darkness will be gearing up for us. Awake and allowing for God's will to be our choice and with our Savior at our side, we'll watch and pray. Like Jesus, we will rise to meet our evil enemies face to face, and, through faith in his victory for us, we will triumph over temptation. Amen.