Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this evening comes from our Gospel lesson (Matthew 26: 30-46).
It's easy to look good � just compare yourself to the right person! I wish I had a quarter for every time I have encouraged someone to begin coming to church only to have them start comparing their own goodness with that of others: "Pastor, I live a pretty good life. I haven't killed anybody or stolen from any stores. I try to be nice to people. I'm doing pretty well in comparison to all those bad people we see in the news every night." When we compare ourselves to newsworthy criminals, we all would probably look pretty good. In our country we've lowered the standards for goodness to the point that if someone keeps a promise or does something that is right but difficult, it's practically front-page headlines. We've often chosen not to look at God's standards of performance.
The theme of our Lenten services is "Not our plans, but HIS PLAN." The contrast in our text tonight is about performance � How the disciples do with their plans, and how Jesus does with HIS PLAN.
Jesus sets the standard for performance for staying loyal to Him � and He declares that none of them will perform it. "This very night you will all be caused to stumble because of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." (v. 31). But every last one of His disciples claims "I'm willing to die rather than deny you Lord" (v. 35). They haven't been tested yet, but they will be. They are all so confident and proud of their connection with Jesus. Peter sets himself apart even more than the others "I'm different, I'm stronger than these others!" (v. 33). To his friends Peter must have sounded pompous, arrogant.
Is there any of that arrogance living and lurking in us? Even if others would sin, I won't! And when others do fall, we look down on them and say "that wouldn't happen to me!" Whenever we see newsworthy sin, do we look down on those sinners, or do we think "there but for the grace of God I could fall into such sin also.
How well do Jesus' arrogant disciples perform? In the Garden we see nothing but weakness � pathetic weakness. At first all Jesus asks of them is to stay with Him, that they watch and pray (v. 38), that they support him in this lonely hour he is enduring. � But they are too weak � unable to watch for even one hour. (v. 40). The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (v. 41). The road to hell is literally paved with good intentions. They fell asleep� because their eyes were heavy (v. 43). Pathetic weakness. Their weakness is later followed by outright desertion and denial!
Our goal tonight is, quite frankly, to destroy any sinful pride that might be lurking in me, or in you. So let's talk frankly about performance. How strong is our devotion to His Word? If we compare ourselves to others, we're perhaps not doing to bad. We're here tonight, X# of us, considering his Word, pondering his plan for salvation for us. Most of you here tonight I know are involved in weekly or frequent Bible studies with your fellow Christians, but if we truly are honest, how devoted to his word are we on a daily basis? How frequently does our daily devotion to him take us through the entire Bible or even the entire New Testament? How well equipped with God's Word are we to reach out to others to help them hear God's plan?
How committed are we to loving one another? Do we sometimes just find ourselves tolerating each other rather than reaching out in sacrificial love? What about our zeal in prayer? Do we show our love for each other by praying fervently for each other, for missionaries, for other congregations and pastors? Do we fully show our zeal in supporting the preaching and teaching of the Gospel here and abroad, knowing He could return at any moment? Or do we simply compare ourselves with others and think "I'm giving more of my income and time than many people are?" When we are truly honest with ourselves, we admit that our zeal for Him fades, much like the disciples in the Garden.
We don't set the standard. God does. And it does matter which standard we are compared with, which standard is beside us. Here we see the disciples' utter failure. Here we see our own weakness. And we can do nothing but bow our heads and be silent�.
The plans and performance of the disciples, both them and us, fails miserably. But next to them is the standard. Next to them is Jesus. Let's talk about His performance.
With eyes wide open to what lies ahead � He knows how He must perform for us. God will strike Him, the Shepherd, and all the divine wrath against sin will pour out on Jesus. He knows! I can't even imagine the agony of knowing that ahead of time�.
In the face and agony that no human being has ever known, Jesus proceeds on with the plan. He calls to them: "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" � the words of Psalm 42:11 and 43:5. But here is the difference. In the Psalm, the psalmist prays, "Hope in God and he will deliver you." But Jesus knows that for Him, there will be no deliverance. He is the one through whom deliverance will come. He is grieved and distressed as no human has ever been before (v. 37)
And WHY? Why such strength, such performance? Out of love for His sheep, for sinners, for you and me. Not once, not twice, but three times he prays a prayer for our salvation. That was his whole ministry � Father, "Let thy will be done." And now it has begun� and He comes so meet it! Behold the hour has come, my betrayer has come � let us rise and go. He doesn't say let us get away from here. He says let us go, to the grief and agony, to the cross. All praise to Him!
Our eyes are focused on Him and His Plan! We thank God that when it comes to punishing our sin, He places Jesus beside us.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)
(This sermon series was suggested by Rev. Dr. Jeff Gibbs of Concordia Seminary to pastors in the Kansas District at our convocation in January 2003. This particular sermon is modified from, but heavily dependent upon suggestions by Dr. Gibbs.)