Download teh notes here:  Understanding Easter – Lesson 5 – The Garden & The Guardians – March 29, 2026

Introduction:

This sermon originally was going to look at the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary; but during it’s development God kept the sermon focused on Jesus and the disciples in the Garden. In this moment you have the privilege of understanding this event in a way that those who witnessed it did not. (Even the Disciples misunderstood what was happening at the time).

The sermon will force us to look at a tragedy that occurred in the Garden and warn us not to repeat the same mistake.

The previous sermon emphasized that Jesus was intentionally on a mission to seek and save that which was lost. This sermon allows us to see, feel, and understand the suffering Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Back At the Garden of Gethsemane:  Jesus Accepts The Cup

Matthew 26:36-38 – “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

• These verses give us a unique opportunity to return to the Garden of Gethsemane and walk with Jesus, stand with Him, sit with Him through His suffering.
• Imagine Jesus looking you in the eye when He says “…My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”
• He came to seek and to save the lost; He set His face toward Jerusalem; He will not fail, nor abort His mission; BUT HE WILL SUFFER to fulfill it.

Luke 22:44 – And being in agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.

• The word, agony describes intense distress and struggle.
• As we walk with Jesus, sit with Jesus, listen to Jesus, it becomes clear he knows the suffering, and the cost awaiting him; yet he does not leave or abort his mission.

Matthew 26:39 – And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it would be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

• While you are with Jesus in the Garden, you hear Him pray this prayer about the “cup.” You heart breaks because you know the meaning of this term; you understand the word picture Jesus is using.
• Throughout the Bible, drinking from the cup of God has a dual meaning based on context. In some cases the cup represents God’s blessings.  The most recognized use of this is from Psalm 23:5 where the Psalmist celebrates God’s blessing in his life by saying: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
• But the cup also refers to God’s wrath and judgment of sin. Some examples are:
  • Isaiah 51:17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
  • Jeremiah 25:15-17 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. ¹⁶ And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. ¹⁷ Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me.
• In the garden, Jesus is referring to the cup of God’s wrath and judgment that is about to be poured out on Jesus. He is referring to the suffering He will experience at the hand of God the Father.
• As you sit with Jesus in the Garden, you realize through His words that it is not the hatred of the Jews that were inflict pain on Jesus. It is not the cruelty of the Roman crucifixion that is the root cause of his suffering. The amazing truth is that God, the father is putting the cup of judgment, wrath, and suffering into the hand of God, the Son. In other words, God the Father, is not only allowing His Son to pay your sin debt, He is administering the execution!
  • John 18:11 – Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
  • Isaiah 53:6 – All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
  • Isaiah 53:10 – Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
  • Romans 8:32 – He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.
  • Acts 2:23 – Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Pause & Process:

Take a moment to absorb this truth:  Jesus loved you enough to leave Heaven, set aside His glory, take on the form of sinful man, be despised and rejected, suffer the humiliation and the crucifixion, and endure God the Father pouring out the wrath of judgement for out sin on Him.

At the same time, we have to process that God the Father loved you so much, that He not only allowed His only begotten Son to be your substitute, He allowed it knowing He would hand Jesus the cup to drink. God the Father personally had to pour out His wrath on God the Son.

• John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Disciples Sleep When Jesus Asked Them To Watch & Pray:

After finishing His prayer in the Garden, Jesus stands and returns to the disciples. He had asked them to watch and pray with Him about this night, but three times He returned to find them sleeping. Matthew 26:40-41 “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”

What are you feeling if you are one of the disciples? If you realize how important this moment was and you slept through it?

Question: If you could go back in time to the Garden with Jesus. If He asked you to stay awake, watch and pray, how much effort would you make to do it?

There are two terms Jesus used “Watch” & “Pray”.  The word watch is a military term that means to be alert, awake, and on guard. Picture a soldier who is assigned the responsibility of guarding a post through the night. He is not just to be awake, he is to be alert, looking for signs of enemy attacks. He is to be ready to defend and sound the alarm if necessary.

This is what Jesus called on the disciples to do. Watch and pray. The act of prayer was how they were to actively rely on God the Father for strength, wisdom, ability, & deliverance from a determined enemy.

The disciples were physically “with Jesus” in the Garden; but they were not actively “with Jesus in His mission.”  Their presence in the Garden should have relieved some of His suffering, but their neglect of duty added to His suffering that night.

Let’s repeat the question from earlier: If you could go back in time, back to the Garden with Jesus this night. If you could watch and pray with and for Him this night, how determined would you be? What level of effort would you reach to watch and pray?

Good News:  You were not present in the Garden with Jesus, but NOW is YOUR TIME! Today is your day to watch and pray.  In Romans 13:11 the Apostle Paul calls on believers to wake up and get involved. He uses language that draws us back to the Garden so we will realize the urgency of waking up out of spiritual sleep.

Paul calls on believer like you and me to realize when we are not serving “with Jesus” in His mission to seek and save the lost. Some people are physically joined to a church service, but they are NOT actively serving God through the church.

Paul also called on believers to walk up, watch and pray because, just like the enemy was actively seeking to devour Jesus and the disciple that night in the Garden; our enemy is walking about as a roaring lion seeking you and me. He is actively seeking your family, spouse, kids, grandkids, cousins, aunts, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.

These are people God assigned you to watch (be alert) and pray for. These are the people for whom you are called to image God in front of, so they will not fall to Satan’s traps.

You need to wake up! Be alert! Get involved in the mission! Be active in prayer, in outreach, in guarding them from the enemy.  Wake up and educate yourself in the Bible! Read it again! Read your devotionals so you will build on what the sermons teach! And be diligent to be at church or joining through zoom. And if all else fails follow up by watching the recording and reading the notes.  Will you remain spiritually asleep and neglect your assignment?  Will you continue letting the enemy have the upper hand?