The Coolidge examiner., 1938-06-09


INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR
TOPIC-Courage in the Face Of Danger.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT
TOPIC-The Challenge OF Gods viii.
No man has ever faced such
crisis as Jesus met in the Garden
Of Gethsemane, for He was the Son
Of God incarnate in order to bear
the sins Of the world. No one can
ever fully understand the agony Of
soul involved when God made him
to be sin for US, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the right
eousness Of God in him" II Cor.
SID. 1t is, therefore, true that we
may never say that we have gone
through Gethsemane. But there is
very real sense in which our
Lords experience is shared by His
disciples. in lesser degree and as
ordinary human beings.
Our lesson brings before us the
closing scene of Thursday before
the crucifixion. The day has been
crowded with important events,
among them the eating Of the Pass
over, the revelation that there was
traitor among the twelve, the in
stitution Of the Lords supper, the
precious words of the upper room.
the intercessory prayer in the gar
den. Midnight is at hand, and as
the night dips to its deepest dark
ness, the Son Of Man tastes the
depth of a sorrow unto death as He
alone with His Father in prayer is
prepared for the betrayal and death
to come.
1. Exceeding SorrOwfuI wv. 81
36).
The text uses many words to con-
vey the depth of His souls agony,
as though it were impossible to ex-
press it in the faulty medium Of
speech. So it is, for our Lord here
experienced something far more Sc
riouS than a dread of physical
death. He was not a coward. He
was not afraid to die. His soul was
about to have put upon its spotless
sinlessness the stain and dishonor
of the worlds sins. Little wonder
that He was 'sorrowful even unto
death" ". 34. 1t breaks our hearts
to see His loving heart break!
Since this was the road the Mas
ter trod, should not His servants
tread it still? Service for Christ may
call for, passing through deep and
chilling waters.
ii. Alone with God wv. 81 All.
Jesus took with Him into the Sc
cluded place in the Garden the three
who were closest to Him in the cir
Gle of disciples. He counted on
their fellowship and sympathy in
His hour of anguish. Merely to
have them near Him, to know that
they were there to watch and pray
even though they could not share
His holy burden, was to be a COM
fort to Him. We try to do as much
for one another in hours of bereave-
ment and disappointment, but how
much greater was the opportunity
of these three, and how ignomin-
iously they failed. The spirit was
willing (v. 38), but the flesh took
the upper hand, and they slept! He
was alone with His Father. when He
prayed that if it were possible the
hour might pass from Him, but in
true and beautiful submission said.
mot what l will. but what thou
wilt"
The follower of Jesus will know
this experience, too. While he will
ever find it to be true that there is
nothing more precious than the
friends God gives him, he should
prepare himself to expect the arm
of flesh to fail him. There is no
more bitter experience in human
relationships than to count on those
who should stand by, come what
may, and to find that they have
slept through our hour of soul-Strug-
gle Here again let US remember
that Jesus knows all about it, and
let US, like Him, say to our heaven
ly Father, THY will be done, even
in this trying time. and no matter
what may be the outcome"
Ill. Betrayed by a Kiss (vv. AZ
46).
To betray the one who had done
nothing but good, who had loved
him and served him even in the
washing of his feet, this would have
been far more than one could have
expected of even the sin-blackened
! heart of a Judas. But he fills the
measure of his ignominy to over
flowing by betraying his Lord with
! the sign Of affection-a kiss.
We know full well that we may
not stand on the same ground as
our Lord even here, for. whereas
He had done nothing to merit be-
trayal, we at our best are not able
to stand forth without fault Never
theless, great is the hurt when we
face the betrayals of life. 1t may
be one whom we have befriended,
who has been the object of our low
ing thought and care, and who in
the hour when he thinks to gain
| himself some advantage or avenge
some fancied wrong strikes us in