Weep

“He was…a man of sorrows/pains, and acquainted with grief/sickness (knowing grief/sickness)…” Isaiah 53:3

“‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.’ And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’” Luke 22:40-46

“Then He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful even to death; remain here, and watch/keep awake with Me.’ And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.” Matthew 26:38-44

“And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch/keep awake.’ And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.’ And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer Him. And He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come.’” Mark 14:33-41

‘Matthew and Mark both focus on Jesus’ emotional experience (‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death’, Matthew 26:38; He ‘began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And He said… ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death’”, Mark 14:32-34). Luke, a physician by training, uniquely brings out the impact of the Gethsemane experience on Jesus’ body. His sweat is like great drops of blood. … Together, the Gospel accounts echo the physically and emotional violent atmosphere of the prophetic words. Jesus is drinking the cup of the wrath of God; it causes Him to stagger. … He staggers under the load, and experiences an unparalleled sense of desolation. … And even after ‘there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him’, He remained ‘in an agony’ and ‘prayed more earnestly’ (Luke 22:43-44).’ Sinclair Ferguson, To Seek And To Save – Daily Reflections On The Road To The Cross

There is a very serious, destructive, evil teaching spreading through the church of a false understanding of ‘victorious living’. In his classic style of twisting and distorting the promises of God, satan has been burdening Christians with this wrong understanding, this mishandling of God’s Word.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

The old ‘health and wealth’ gospel had been exposed, and so satan has repackaged it as ‘having life abundantly’. It’s the same old trick, the same old deception. He remains the most crafty. Claiming to be ‘speaking life and hope’ into people’s lives and circumstances, he is just repeating what we read about in the Old Testament.

“‘For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of My people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,’ says the LORD.

Thus says the LORD:

‘Stand by the road, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” Jeremiah 6:13-16

Satan is the thief of true joy, true peace, true life by offering up counterfeits. Counterfeits that will only disappoint, that will not last, that will only serve to confuse, frustrate, and distract. Counterfeits that take the LORD's name in vain.

The rest for our souls, the life, the peace, the joy that Jesus promises His people is not earthly, not circumstantial, but spiritual and eternal. It is rest for our souls because Jesus completed the work. It is eternal life because we have the very source of life indwelling us, uniting us to the LORD to intimately know Him. It is peace that surpasses understanding because we have the God of peace within our hearts. It is joy because He lives!

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

The peace that Jesus gives to His people is peace that does not make sense because it is different than the world’s understanding of peace. It is not peaceful circumstances or situations. It is not peace that comes with knowing and understanding the 'why' or having a satisfactory explanation. It is not outwardly observable, but inwardly hidden.

The example of Jesus in the garden overflows with this peace ‘which surpasses all understanding’ that Paul writes about as contentment and living in the strength of the LORD.

“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13

Paul writes about this learning process in II Corinthians 12:7-10, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that is should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul follows Jesus’ example of pleading with God to remove this cup by pleading for Him to remove this thorn. Jesus teaches Paul how to submit and accept God’s will over his own. As Jesus learned obedience, submission to His Father’s will, through suffering, Paul also learns obedience through suffering. (Hebrews 5:8)

We need to look more closely at these examples of true obedience, contentment, peace.

Peace is not the absence of great distress and trouble. It is not the absence of sorrow even to death, or being in agony. Peace is not the absence of crying out for relief more earnestly, and asking others to intercede on your behalf. It is not the absence of grief, pains, sickness. Peace is not the absence of sweating drops of blood. It is not an absence of tears or heartache or even digestive distress.

Crying, weeping, mourning, lamenting, grieving are not due to a lack of faith, a lack of trust, a lack of belief that our Father is working all these horribly painful, confusing, frustrating things out for our good and His glory.

The increase in the intensity of these emotions and responses are not evidence of God’s refusal to draw near to us to care for and comfort us in these times. It is after the angel from heaven strengthens Jesus that He prays more earnestly. The strengthening does not relieve the emotional distress. The strengthening is God drawing us closer to Himself through prayer, meditating on His Word, and building our faith in Him.

‘When trials come, no longer fear. For in the pain our God draws near. To fire a faith worth more than gold.’ Gettys, When Trials Come

When we count the cost, deny ourselves (reject our wills and wisdom), daily take up our cross, follow Jesus and take His yoke upon ourselves to learn from Him, we are enrolling in the ‘school of Christ’, otherwise known as, ‘the school of suffering’. This is completely contrary to the idea of ‘victorious living’. Jesus was always forthright with people about what it would be like to be His disciple.

"I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

It requires true, saving, living faith in Christ Jesus. We live by faith, not by sight. We live by trusting in His promises, not by feelings or circumstances. And that peace, that hope, that joy in the midst of confusion, despair, sorrow is His glory shining through us to cause others to ask, ‘What is the reason for this? It makes no sense what I’m seeing in you. How can you be singing God’s praises while you’re weeping and in anguish? How can you adore God who you also say is in control of this horrendous situation you’re going through? It’s not logical. It’s not natural.’

‘Victorious living’ is hypocritical. It is a lie of satan. It is pressure to wear a mask and to pretend that all is well, when God has made it clear that life in this world is far from well! We are calling God a liar when we pretend life in this world is good.

It is isolating and dividing us from one another to go on pretending. What God has gathered together, let no man separate. God has gathered us together to build each other up, to share our burdens, to confess our sins, to intercede for one another, to be honest about our struggles, pains, sorrows, and sufferings. He has called us to bring these things out of the darkness where they thrive and fester, and into the Light to be destroyed, purified, cleansed.

Meditate on the passages about Jesus, ‘a man of sorrows’, and ask the Spirit to give you understanding of the abundant life and peace He promises for those that follow Him. Ask for the boldness and courage to follow His example of vulnerability and authenticity. Ask for the humility to live out what the Word says about emotions.

There is so much shame surrounding emotions being expressed, and not being expressed. I remember feeling ashamed that I didn’t cry more when going through grieving Hezekiah. I still feel a degree of shame of the fact that when I get the opportunity to share with people about our firstborn son that I feel more joy than sorrow. I remember being ashamed how much I did cry, and still cry grieving relationships from our old church. I’m currently struggling with completely conflicting shame over not being more emotional when meditating on the Cross and Resurrection, and then holding in the emotions when they do come!

LORD, Your perfect love casts out fear. Cast out our fear of our own emotions, and the fear of others emotions. You have created us in Your image. Emotions are one of the beautiful common graces, gifts that You have blessed humanity with. Teach us how to use this gift to Your glory, and in enjoyment of You. Teach us how to foster this gift in our interactions with one another. Help us to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Soli Deo gloria