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Posted At: 1:43am by Brent Kuhlman
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Wednesday of Lent II Trinity Lutheran Church
15 March 2006 Murdock, NE
+ Jesu Juva +
The Passion of Our Lord Drawn From the Four Gospels: Gethsemane (Lenten theme: “I believe in Jesus Christ my Lord.”)
On the night before Jesus dies on the Cross, He’s in a garden. The Garden of Gethsemane.
Do you remember another garden? The Garden of Eden. Where Adam and Eve decided to no longer trust in the Lord. They decided to trust in themselves. To dethrone the Lord. To set themselves up as gods. They believed the lie of that satanic snake that God was holding back on them. That God could not be trusted. And they would not die by eating the forbidden fruit. What rebellion! What sin! Curved in on themselves. And this mistrust, this idolatry, brought more sin and the promised death to them and to the world. Creation wrecked. Humanity ruined. Cursed. Look at the results of Adam’s sin: Peter, James and John can’t stay awake. Peter makes promises he can’t keep. Peter swings the sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. And we’re no better. Thanks a lot Adam!
But now in a Garden – the Garden of Gethsemane – the Lord Jesus trusts only in His Father. He is faithful even as He endures agony and bloody sweat. He will go to the Cross. “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, your will be done.” To undo the curse of Adam’s sin. To redeem Adam’s sinful and condemned children like you and me. Jesus will do this salvation job as the second and last Adam. For He is the head of a new humanity.
But in this Garden of Gethsemane Satan goes to work too. To oppose and thwart the Lord Jesus’ work for Adam, Eve, Peter, James, John, Judas, you, me, and the world.
“Look, he is at hand who betrays me.” And there stands Judas. With the police officers from Jerusalem. Lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Weapons. Must be looking for a hardcore criminal. But there are no criminals here in Gethsemane. Just the Lord Jesus with Peter, James, and John. Praying and sleeping. No crimes there.
But Satan uses Judas. To betray the Lord Jesus. The great “I AM.”
“The one I kiss,” Judas tells the police, “that’s the one. Arrest him. Cuff him. And take him away.”
What treachery! A kiss. The mark of friendship! And with that Judas goes right up to Jesus and shouts: “Hail, Master!” and offers the kiss.
What will the Lord do? He should take a sword and run Judas through shouldn’t He? He should call down twelve legions of angels to come and wipe these insurgents out shouldn’t He?
He doesn’t. The Lord Jesus suffers it. “Friend.” He speaks to the betrayer still as His friend. “Friend, why have you come? Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” And the police put Him under arrest and cuff Him.
Satan believes He’s won. Nothing like doing in the Lord Jesus through one of His own. But just the opposite is taking place. Jesus wins. Even when He is betrayed into death.
Behold the Lord Jesus. All this He suffers for you. For me. For the world. He suffers the sin and death of all. He defeats Satan through His bitter passion in this Garden of Gethsemane. And so if you’ve seen Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion, it’s in this Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus crushes the head of the snake.
And then from the Garden to a Tree. The Cross. The new Tree of Life. From which we may eat and live forever.
Thank you Jesus. You truly are my Lord.
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Comment on entry entitled "Wednesday of Lent 2"
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