We have been looking at the fruit of the Spirit as it is presented in Galatians 5:22-23, where Paul says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ...." We've looked at love, joy, and peace. This week we are skipping ahead to the quality of faithfulness, and we will look at faithfulness from Mark 14:32-42:
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." 35And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."
What is faithfulness? It means being trustworthy, reliable, true to your word, doing what you said you would do, keeping your promises, being a person someone can trust and rely on, being loyal even when the pressure is on.
Jesus was faithful par excellence, and this week's passage describes the culmination of a whole life of fidelity. When Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples to to pray, he knew the crucifixion was imminent, and the reality of it began to weigh on him. He saw the horror and felt the weight as never before. Listen to the depth of his emotion: "...he began to be distressed and troubled. And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.'" Jesus did not exaggerate; the life was being sucked out of him by the horror of what he faced.
Jesus mentions the cup he would have to drink. This was a metaphor used by the Old Testament prophets to picture the wrath and judgment of God being poured out on sin. In the Garden, Jesus saw the cup. He saw the sins of his people swirling around; he saw the deception and lies, the unfaithfulness, the adultery, the hatred, the gossip, the abortions—all the acts of sin committed against his Father. And he saw, and smelled, and tasted, and felt the horror of hell. One commentator, William Lane, says, "Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before him, and he staggered.
As horrible as all that was, something even more devastating was happening. His becoming sin for us meant alienation from his father. Jesus was all alone as the sins of his people were poured over him. Heaven was closed to the Son of God. What happened in the Garden anticipated the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He began to hear the judgment from his father, "Depart from me, ye cursed, from the presence of the Lord and his glory."
Jesus was faithful under infinite pressure. The waves of utter horror and astonishment at the coming judgment came crashing upon him, yet he was like a rock on the shore and didn't crack or give way. He remained faithful in the dark, when he was all alone. He remained faithful to his Father and to his people—faithful to you.
Jesus didn't change when thorns, the whip, and the nails inflicted their pain. No, Jesus took the chalice of sin and wrath from the hands of his Father and drank it all and staggered into the flames of hell. His beautiful body was broken and precious blood was spilled out down his body onto the cross and to the ground below, and he died. What faithfulness! He kept his word. He kept his promise.
The disciples were unfaithful. Three times Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay awake and pray for themselves lest they succumb to the temptation to be unfaithful to Jesus when the betrayer appeared. Each time, they fell asleep. The spirit was willing, but the body was weak.
How could they do that, with Jesus right there with them, suffering and writhing in painful horror? Their unfaithfulness seems incredible! Or are the disciples a picture of you in your relationship to Jesus and others?
• How many times have you been unfaithful in your relationships—not doing what you said you would do, not being a true and faithful friend, husband, wife, child, or brother or sister?
• How many times have you given in to the temptation or invitation to be untrue to Jesus by choosing to sin, doing the very things that Christ convulsed over as he peered into the cup of judgment and suffered the alienation of his father?
• Are you someone entirely different under the cover of darkness? Are you different around certain people than you are at home or at church? What do you watch on TV when you're alone in the hotel room? How do you carry out your job when the boss is away?
How do we become more faithful like Jesus?
1. Own up to your lack of faithfulness to Jesus. Don't deceive yourself; acknowledge it and ask God to forgive you.
2. Contemplate and cherish this:
• Jesus came to be faithful to the Father for you because you couldn't be.
• Your unfaithfulness was attributed to him; Jesus prayed and got hell and was ignored so that you could pray and get heaven and be heard.
• God considers you forgiven and faithful, now and forever.
• Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:18 that when you see the glory of Christ you are transformed from one degree of Christ-likeness to another. So when you see Jesus being faithful for you, that will change you.
3. Out of gratitude for his faithfulness, you need to make a disciplined, prayerful effort to be faithful to God and others.
• Identify areas in your life where you need to be more faithful.
• What will you do to change?
• Pray for God's help, for yourself and your brothers.
No comments:
Post a Comment