Bible reading, Matthew 26:30-75

Matthew 26 verse 30, we'll read until 56. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night.

For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane. And saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tear ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What? Could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

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. Rise, let us be going.

Behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he hath spake, lo Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same as he hold him fast.

And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And behold, one of them which were there with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear.

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place. For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out, as against a thief with swords and staves, for to take me? I sat daily with you in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. Thank you very much, Brother Darrell.

And I know you'd like to go back and sit with your wife, but I'm asking you to stay right where you are, and give us some help. I was thinking this morning that Brother Darrell goes to a conference again, it might not be with a preacher, it might not be with this one. He's got some jobs, and I didn't get the jobs from the brother here who asked him to share in the gospel tonight.

I'm glad they did, but thanks for the greeting here this morning. Some of you brethren that are out there this morning that don't have a mic, please, please contribute, please help. Your voices are strong, I know most of you, and we're going to appreciate your help.

Very interesting passage, and I realize that our brethren obviously couldn't say Matthew chapter 26, it just would be too encompassing, so they have narrowed it down to verse 30, to verse 46, and speaking with me yesterday, they suggested we could read more of the verses and come just a little further, which our brother here has done this morning. What we're mainly going to be considering this morning, I know there's a tremendous amount of comparisons and contrast in the gospels, how they look at this chapter, the events that are unfolding, but we are in Gethsemane, and it is John that, of course, actually, two will use the word. We're going to consider Gethsemane and what takes place in Gethsemane.

We'll look briefly at the betrayal and at the denial. Now, you'll notice that when it comes to the betrayal, the rest of the disciples, it doesn't say, likewise said they all. They said, Lord, is it I? When it comes to the denial, the words are used, likewise said they all.

And I think the distinction I would make, now, some may disagree with me, that's fine. I don't believe that a genuine believer can betray the Lord Jesus, but I do believe he can deny the Lord Jesus, simply because of the expressions that are used there. It's interesting, the sayings that, I'm going to be very brief in the opening this morning, the sayings that are, the things that are finished in this chapter.

We're going to go to verse number one, which we didn't read. It says, specifically, his sayings are finished. Not only are his sayings finished, but the supper is finished.

We notice that we've read these verses where our brother read to you this morning, the supper is finished. Then the singing is finished. There's the last where he goes out and they sing together a hymn.

It is significant, and I don't mind drawing back on the garden scenes that we have in our Bible, particularly what I would call God in various gardens, okay? We would go back, of course, to Genesis chapter two, God walked alone, walked alone in the first garden. John chapter 18 would tell us that he knelt alone in the second garden. John 19, which we didn't read, he was buried alone in the third garden.

However, now when I say he knelt, we got to remember that Adam in the first garden fell. The Lord Jesus in this garden fell too, but not like Adam did. He fell on his face.

And we're going to look at that later when we look at the postures of praying relative to the scene that we have. So just to go over that briefly, he walked alone in the first garden, he kneels alone in the second garden, and is buried alone in the third garden. The first garden, he built the garden.

He built it. Now, to use the proper word, he planted it. He planted it.

And he planted it eastward. Must have been quite a garden that God actually planted. Now, he could have created it.

He could have made that garden just like he made man complete. I mean, God didn't make man like a 10-year-old and tell him to get on with his life and he'd grow and develop. He made him a complete man.

When the new creation, when he makes us a new man in Christ Jesus, he does the same thing. He makes us complete. That's how he did in the first creation.

So, he built, if you like, he built the first garden. He was betrayed in the second garden and he was buried, like I say, in the last garden. The first garden in Genesis 3 obviously was a garden of tragedy.

Garden of tragedy. Adam never, never for one moment would have got into a site down through the ages, all the graves, all the sorrow, all the suffering. It's endless to describe the result of that fall in the first garden that left the first Adam, if you like, hiding behind a tree.

The garden that we're going to consider this morning, it leaves the last Adam hanging on a tree to accomplish and put away what happened in the first garden. So, if the first garden is a garden of tragedy, the second is a garden of tears. Interesting.

His weeping in that garden, different scenes in the Bible where he wept. And the last, of course, is a garden, like I've said or mentioned earlier, it is a garden of triumph. There's something else I think, and with this I'll just leave it with you.

It's interesting the things that he predicted. He predicted to them. Those disciples could not comprehend it.

They just thought, this can't happen. It did. So, we'll look at the source of his predictions.

He was the one that predicted it. It wasn't the disciples. They wanted to put in their predictions of what would take place and he had to rebuke them for it.

We'll notice the site of the predictions in the Mount of Olives. The subject of those same predictions. The subject of it.

And then, the smiting. See, he's the one that predicted that the shepherd would be smitten. And I take that the smiting there would be all that was included in Calvary.

I know it's referring back to the prophet Zechariah. So, we got the smiting in the prediction. The scattering.

The scattering as a result of those predictions. And then, of course, the sequence in the saying. Now, having said that, we'll just leave the Bible reading open and I know that some of you will come.

And let me just add this. It's interesting. Matthew's Gospel.

Is the Gospel used the word fulfilled more than any other Gospel? The word fulfilled is used in Matthew's Gospel. Fifteen times, in fact. And how then, right here, this chapter twice, verse 54.

How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? Thus it must be. Verse 56, again. All this was done that the Scriptures, the prophets, might be fulfilled.

Then all the disciples were, took them and fled. So, there was that which was fulfilled as well. So, I think we would do well, brethren.

If you want to go back to some earlier verses, I can hold you to that. But we'll start in at verse number 30, if you like. They sung a hymn or a psalm.

They went out into the Mount of Olives. John tells us that they crossed over the brook Hedron. Right? I've enjoyed devotionally the parallel between David and 2 Samuel 15.

That's right. So, here's a king rejected by those in the city who now crosses over the brook Hedron. He goes up weeping the whole way in sorrow.

And then someone comes and tells him Ahithophel is joined with Absalom. It's a picture there. In fact, in the different verses that deal with Judas, there is a likeness, or at least a context, of Ahithophel who betrayed David.

Right? And I see the parallels there give us much to enjoy devotionally. Right. Very good.

Appreciate that. And likely it was what we know to be the Hallel psalms that were sung. And that's right, the psalm of the going up or the ascending, if you like, which would be Psalm 115, likely to 118, but you can't leave out also 136 psalms.

It would be brought in there as well. About Psalm 110, He shall drink of the brook of the way, and therefore shall he lift up the head. That's right.

Would that be yet to come so that we can see that brook in time? We have David, we have the Lord Jesus crossing, but he's going to come back the other way. That's right. He's going to Jerusalem.

That's right. And he will drink of the brook, by the way. Very good.

And of course, we see it obviously in David, but it will be in David's greater son, as you've mentioned, Dustin, when he comes back. Amen. And he sang on both sides of Calvary.

Yes. Yes. Very good.

The Hebrews said he shall lead the praise in the midst of the great congregation. He alone, likely, I shouldn't say likely, but would know what those psalms meant. Others didn't really enter much into it.

Very good. It's interesting, the verse 30, they went out. Somebody else that went out in this chapter.

Judas went out, and it was night. They went out to the Mount of Olives. So there's different things that you notice the expression that going out in this chapter.

So he is the one that gave the disciples the important predictions about the future, the evening, especially in regards to the behavior of the disciples, told them actually what's going to happen. And they likely didn't think that this would ever take place, but so it did. His predictions, as we know, were right.

Even though they disbelieved them. What's the sense of the word offended there in verse 31? All these shall be offended. Surprised at what was taking place? Yes.

Yes, we have, it also says here, all these shall be offended because of me. And we have the expression that they are offended in him. So, and I think you've already said, I just forget now off the exact word for offending that is used here.

Stumble is the word that is used here. Did you have some other thoughts on that? Yeah, and it did. They stumbled at that.

It was really in disbelief. They just could hardly take it in that this would happen. They were still to the last minute hoping somehow to rejoice with the king without going by the cross, without going by way of Calvary.

Could he really be this one that would be rejected and delivered into the hands of sinners which he had told them? Would this really happen? Yes, it did. I suppose a stumbling in a way would be associated with the fact that they were scattered. Yes.

Scattered abroad. And thought so much that they would stay with him and Peter would never leave him, but it was impossible that the Lord had to accomplish the work of Calvary all alone. Exactly.

And then of course picks up the prophetic language, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Let me give you just a practical application and I realize in another sense, brethren, don't smite your shepherds. There is nothing that will scatter the flock in a given assembly than where there are those that take it upon themselves and could I use another word, to attack or to smite the shepherd.

This is the great shepherd of the sheep. He was smitten in judgment and it was judgment not because of his sin, but in burying the sin of others that caused this tremendous smiting and I take it that the smiting here that is referred to is not the smiting that received from men but the smiting that he received from God. Yes, Ahithophel had the same idea when he sought after David.

It was going to go after the king, take out the king and then the army of the king will come to naught. Right? But it definitely was a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ and Zechariah 13. And I'm quoting Psalm 110.

Psalm 109 is what Judas thought of the Lord. Oh, pretty good. But then you come to Psalm 110 and I would link that with the next verse.

He's risen again. Yes. He's on the rise.

Yes. So Judas said, wouldn't any of us live peaceably and so on? That's right. But God's answer to his betrayal is sit thou at my right hand for I make thine enemies a footstool at thy feet.

Right. So Peter comes in as the spokesman in the affirmative. Verse 33, the law men shall be offended because of thee yet will I never be offended.

And the Lord says to him, Verily I say unto thee that this night before the cockcrow is not thou shall be offended. Thou shall deny me not once but thrice. Peter said, though I should die with thee, yet I will not deny thee.

Likewise said all the disciples. Now, would you be in agreement, brethren, that a true believer cannot betray the Lord Jesus, but he can deny him? Or do you see it differently? I just would be open to your thoughts. Well, I wouldn't think a true believer would betray the Lord.

No. And it is interesting that Judas never called him Lord. No.

That's right. Well, he might have called him master or teacher, but he never called him Lord. Right.

And he speaks of this one as having no part in him. That is never said. So, like we mentioned earlier, when it comes to the betrayal, sure the disciples say, a Lord is an I. Now, whether they were wondering at that moment whether their faith was that genuine or not, but as a true believer, cannot betray the Savior, but he can deny him.

Likewise said they all. So, there definitely is a distinction between the two, and I think it's good to keep that straight, because I know there are some writings you'll read about believers betraying the Lord Jesus. Well, if they want to use it in a different sense, but in the context here, a believer cannot betray the Lord Jesus.

A true believer has come in to the blessing of Calvary's work, and in greater measure or less, so that would be one reason they would not betray the one that died for them. When the Lord sent the 70 out to preach when they came back, he told them not to rejoice because they cast out demons, but because their names were written in heaven. But when the 12 came back, he didn't say that.

No. Because there's one whose name was not written in heaven. Very good.

Very good. To Judas. That's a nice distinction to notice there.

And the Lord knew Judas. Obviously, it was quite a shock to the disciples themselves, but the Lord knew Judas. Now, for some of us, just coming in a little later, we are in Matthew 26.

We start at verse 30, and we're down to verse 34. The Lord also, if you go to John 13, gave Judas ample opportunities to repent of what he was doing. He did.

So there's something practical that I can learn from Peter's mistake here. I look at Peter's words, and you can almost sense the pride and self-confidence. Where Peter would have done better.

We're not going to pick on Peter. But if I'm looking at it from my own standpoint, I would do better to ask the Lord for strength not to deny Him, rather than to declare I will never deny Him. Because it is possible that I could also fall like that.

You notice there in verse 35, Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise said they all. They all said that.

It wasn't only Peter himself. Right. The Lord could say, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Peter really couldn't say that. So it's wonderful, even though he did deny Him, the Lord didn't leave him. We're glad we can read later on of his restoration.

Yes, very good. The fact that the Lord could control the rooster, the bird, He could control the little colt, could control the fish, shows His greatness, doesn't it? That would be the last Adam. That's right.

Adam had control over these three things. Nebuchadnezzar was a great king, but he had dominion over the fowl and the birds, but not the fish. The Lord showed that in his life that he was the one that was in control of all these things.

Not only did he have control of what was in the sea, but he had control of the sea himself. That certainly was... It's sad when you think of it that in that first garden, as I was bringing it up in the opening, that the first Adam, he fails, he falls. We come to the last Adam in this garden, he stands.

The only time we read of him falling, he fell on his face. So down here to verse number... There's been quite a thing when he said to him, he says, You'll not just deny me once, but you will deny me thrice. Is there any significance, brethren, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the Lord saying, you're going to deny me three times.

Well, really, I think, what I could say is actually no doubt about it. It wasn't just a one slip, but it was really, he was the same as Paul that asked the Lord thrice. And that three-fourth garden is not easily broken.

Another thing, he knows all things, the Lord. You would think after the first time, Peter would catch it and say, ah, here it is. But it just shows you that he had even no power over himself.

So we notice the source of the predictions of the Lord Jesus when he tells them how they're going to behave. The site of these predictions, of course, is in Mount Olivet or in Gethsemane as we know it to be. The subject of it, Oh, you shall be offended to me this night.

We've covered that. And now we come to the character of the offended. The disciples would be upset by what was happening.

And so obviously, as I think Brother Orr mentioned, is the word for, no, Brother Bill did, the word for stumble. So there was the character. Then there was the cause of the offending, because of me.

They would not want to stand with Christ, especially when he's being abused by this world. It's been interesting that when it comes to the public standing in private, you know, let's face it, we have it today in private. Some will stand with you.

But boy, it gets to a bigger scene than that. Sorry, you're on your own. So it was with the disciples.

They could have very easily have spoken up. But give Peter credit anyhow. Peter did stay.

It would be John that would come back, but Peter is still staying there at the moment. Quick question. Does it give us a little insight of how awful the situation was that night? Yes.

We often look at the denial taking place, but it doesn't show us how awful that night was. I've often thought, and maybe this isn't very significant, but it was John that took him into the parish of the high priest. And I think that was a mistake.

Yes. He had just cut off the servants here. They were going to recognize him.

And he was taking him into a place. So what I was thinking of practically is we should be careful not to take others into a place where they're going to be tested like that. And a younger believer too.

I mean, John was an older believer, and that's maybe why John is very careful with Peter after that, after that incident. I think what... Sorry, go ahead. I was going to say, Peter and John, they certainly learned a lot, didn't they, from all these things that took place.

And they could see the Lord. And while Peter was going to be brave, the Lord was as a lamb laid to the slaughter. And when the Lord sent him at the last Passover before this, when he sent two out to find a house to keep the Passover, who does he send? John and Peter, the two men that were occupied with a lamb.

Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world, and behold, the Lamb of God. Very good. Very good, brother.

It will be John and Peter as well, in John chapter 21. The Lord has restored Peter. John is ready to resign as well.

Very good. It's one of... Verse 34, it's one of the this nights of the New Testament. This was this night of betrayal.

So he specifically tells him not only how many times he's going to betray him, but it will be this night. And the hymn writer speaks of it as that dark and dreary night, and it passed. What a mercy that the darkness of this night passed, and it would break with the truth of his resurrection that we were considering last week in Stout.

So he comes to verse 36, then cometh Jesus unto a place, Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. So I think it would be well if we were would consider a little of his prayer, not only his prayer, the aspect of him actually, the privacy, if you like, of his prayer, the posture of his prayer, the privacy of it. I don't think there was any other, I think one of the gospels says that he sent them away.

The Lord did not usually send people away. The disciples did. But so important was the privacy of his prayer, the communion that he had to have with his father at this moment that he would say, You sit here.

He says, I must go alone. He's going into Calvary so he must go alone in prayer. And you know, that is likely one of the hardest things to maintain in our lives is to have privacy in our prayer.

You know, in the age that we're in, it's so easy to neglect it. And so many things start coming in the day and I'm only speaking for myself that you've got to stop and say, Listen, I've got to pray. So I know when it comes before you're taking the gospel meeting or opening a Bible reading or whatever, you're praying.

But it's nice that when his Lord faced this, he realized that intimacy, there must be in his prayer. I've thought, a little picture, you have the eight and they're not in the close position that Peter, James and John were. That's right.

And I've thought that they were like in the court of the tabernacle. And then he took three with him into the holy place but he alone could go into the holiest of all. Very good.

Could you tell us what has happened here? Just paint a picture in your mind of what's going on in the disciples and Peter and the others and the Lord. Well, he comes back to them, obviously, when the prayer is facing. He speaks to them.

I think we're going to come into that in the next verses after we get past this prayer. You're just a little bit ahead of me. I will come to that, Dustin.

Unless you had something in mind you wanted to share? Just, I guess, prior to that, him with his disciples and then him kind of going. That's right. And then it comes back and just takes Peter and John, I think, as one of our brethren mentioned, with him and moves, obviously, knowing that just going to be just a matter of moments, if you like, before he's going to be taken and actually delivered into the hands of men.

So that was the, what made that prayer of his so intimate and so tender. I mean, he's going to go and pray and seek his father's face. He's going to ask if it's possible if this cup would pass from him.

Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. So there were those that were closer that would hear that. The others, as our brothers mentioned, likely were in the temple court.

Maybe just hadn't come that close because you got to remember, we're in between likely two arrests here. The first, he's brought before Annas, okay? And he's going to go to Caiaphas. So we're just kind of in between the two of those.

And then, of course, later delivered into Pilate. There's another gospel that says he was at a stone's throw. And in the Old Testament, that's where the disobedient son was taken out to be stoned.

But here's the obedient son. Very good. Here at a stone's throw from the disciples.

And then, So we notice that verse number 38, then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tear ye here, and watch with me. Unto death.

You remember that to this end was I born. For this cause came into the world to bear witness unto the truth. And, of course, to bear witness unto the truth meant he must die.

And the result of the scripture is being fulfilled and the truth of his words accordingly. It's interesting. The sorrow and the sorrow of the disciples.

In Luke, it says, the disciples slept for sorrow. But because of the sorrow that he felt, there was no rest. It was an agony.

Luke records that because of the sorrow and the agony, his blood, his sweat was, as it were, blood. Very good. Do you think that verse number 40, that it was any surprise to him when he would come and he would find the disciples asleep? Do you think that that was really a real shock to him? Was he surprised? He knew they were asleep.

He knew they would be asleep. I don't think that I'm going to answer my own question. I don't think he would, this was something that caught him by surprise.

But you've got to remember this is naturally and humanly speaking, this had been a long day and a long night. Rather in view what the disciples being aroused to what they were doing, falling asleep in these moments of his facing distress of the cross. The Lord, he knew all that was going to take place, didn't he? And I thought even when he said, let this cup pass from me.

The Lord had told him I have a cup to drink and I have a baptism to be baptized with. And drinking the cup, the element entered right into him. That's right.

My heart is melted in the midst of my bowels. All my bones are out of joint. Then in the baptism he entered into the element under the waves and the billows of God's wrath.

You can imagine it's hard for I shouldn't say us, I should say for me at least to understand he's God overall, the great creator. But here I know you can't separate his manhood from his deity but you do look at him as a man. He's a real man.

That's right. And he's going to be forsaken of his God. For any of us to be forsaken of God would be doomed for all eternity.

So it was a tremendous thing. The one that was always in the bosom of the Father. Of course we know he wasn't forsaken by the Father but forsaken by God.

There's things we can't maybe understand but we bow to them. We go with them but it was a tremendous thing for him to go into a place where he's going to be forsaken all in all. Very good.

We talked about seeing as he knows all things and he's completely obedient to the Father yet he was a man. Here in verse 39 where he says if it be possible he knew it wasn't possible. That's right.

So does this have any connection then with the spirit indeed being willing with the flesh as meat with that being... What is the significance of him saying if it be possible? I think it would... Brother Daniel I think it would link with what he said earlier when he was with his disciples when he was praying he said I said it for those that would hear me. Okay? So we know that it was not... and he knew too that it wasn't possible. In other words he's just making a clear declaration there's no way around this cup.

This is the cup that I must... And of course later at the institution of the supper you remember he speaks about drinking the fruit of the vine. Not now but in that future kingdom and in glory. Does it not show us that there... as you're saying that there is no other possible way for redemption? I was thinking of the words in Philippians you thought of not robbery to be equal with God but he took upon himself the form of a servant and this is in view of the cross found in fashion as a man he would humble himself be obedient unto death.

Right. And too what he recounted refers to at the end of verse number 41 the flesh is weak. He's not speaking of himself he's speaking of the disciples because he finds them sleeping again and I use this verse too you know sometimes people talk about the wicked flesh wait a minute I'm not sure your New Testament calls the flesh wicked it's sinful it's something that we have to contend with but at the same time it is weak but I'm not sure if we can call it wicked okay? There's times when we can do things that are wicked that are wrong and that but I appreciate that your brethren anyhow disagreed that a believer cannot betray the Lord Jesus he could deny him okay? So when we come to it's interesting that when you come to the couple even to the institution of the supper now I realize to have that Matthew's gospel we'd had to got back earlier than where our brother began the reading back to verse number 26 but Matthew gives us when it comes to the Lord's supper the dispensational order and in that the betrayal comes before the institution which shows only those identified in the Lord's rejection can enjoy what we're going to enjoy this morning what we know to be the Lord's supper okay? So the conversation comes to that prior if you like to the institution of it so it reveals very clearly that only those that are identified with a rejected Christ have the privilege not even the right the privilege to partake of the supper I like what Mr. Colson said at our conference last fall when he came into the assembly fellowship and his first day an older man came across to him and he said he said Philip welcome to the fellowship he said I've been in it for I think 70 something years and you've got the same rights today as you had when I came in oh Mr. Colson said well thank you very much he said you know what they are? he said I'd like to none we don't have any rights we don't have any rights it's a privilege and so there we have the dispensation order and without going into Mark's gospel it's the historical order okay? because you've got the actual order events as they take place so the conversation concerning the betrayal takes place before the supper which we learned that Judas was not present discuss it now I know some of you are going to discuss it after we'll discuss it now John 13 and 30 says he went out he would teach that only those that are genuinely belong to Christ should participate in the supper so you've got the dispensational order here the historical order the moral order when it comes to Luke Luke always gives us the moral order and here the Passover and the supper are more closely linked than even in the other gospels okay? and the conversation comes after okay? the Passover was always the link of the feast of unleavened bread so it would teach us only those that are morally clean have a right to partake come to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 John doesn't mention the institution of supper and when we come to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 we don't have a dispensational order or a historical order or a moral order we have an assembly order it's only a local church to which that truth can be given and can function as it is taught to us in the word and that's why how many times you have the expression by the apostle when ye come together now I'm just taking it back prior to when we started reading simply because we're talking about the cup and 1 Corinthians 11 it's while he was being betrayed yes so it says in verse 44 he left them he went away again and prayed the third time saying the same words now listen I know that sometimes we can be very hard on some we almost know what they're going to say or how they will say it when they get up to pray but at least they're getting up to pray leave them alone okay not to multiply words in his presence well he said the same words again okay so I have no fault to find in some that maybe would use the same words often that I'm just thankful at least they get off their chair in worship and pray three times yes that's right not to draw a correlation between the two but the significance I believe that very good brother and I think that it's interesting to notice the significance of three times linking it with prayer remember Daniel go back to Daniel in chapter six has three times a day that he is praying so there's a whole line of teaching that can be taken up with the three times but you're right it's the third time that he he prays here saying the same word what's the number three really suggest that that's Trinity of course yes yes I don't know I don't well I might have two or three witnesses you know okay there's a lot of ways you could link it I I believe but it's just showing it's again like what Peter denying it wasn't just something that happened he's emphasizing what's taking place and how he's in a way as a man it seemed like to be shrinking from it he knows he's going to go through with it but he knows exactly it shows her what an awful thing it was that he was going to face Calvary and how he thought of it he knew what was going to take place the others didn't know they knew maybe he was going to die he told him that but to know that he was going to suffer at the hand of God and take this cup and drink it to its last dregs and so on it's just I think it's just the emphasis of the of the thing I just recently noticed maybe others have noticed before but says that he went to pray three times but what I just noticed is that he returned to his disciples the third time so in spite of everything that he was facing the sorrow and the agony that he felt yet he would still go back to his own disciples yeah I appreciate that brother Darrell it must have been something for the disciples with all that was before him with all that he was anticipating he never forgot his own and so they aren't necessarily going to him but he comes to them I think that is very precious verse 45 we're referring to where our brother's referring to then cometh he to his disciples and saith unto them sleep on now take your rest behold the hour is at hand it's interesting sleep on now you know these are not words of sarcasm he just he understands just like he does with us he understands the need of rest that's what David needed David was wore out when he went down to the king of Achish he'd been far better if he got some rest I can prove that to you from the passage but having said that he understood the human weakness even in those disciples and he was considered of that when he asked them earlier I think he says could you not watch with me one hour he's reminding them of the importance of importance of the hour that he was facing they couldn't enter into it in its entirety but they also could share in his sufferings which the apostle long for just to add with the three studying the book of the revelation chapter one three is quite significant in that chapter and it's described before there's three sets of three that's described in his garments and whatnot but I would suggest a unity and there's a unity in the law of death father son and spirit precise in the triangle of course but that applies you might suggest yeah no it's it's good brother and with that of course three days journey into the wilderness you remember Abraham takes Isaac his son on the third day lifts up doesn't see the place until the third day significance with this we're going three days journey by time they got to the end of the third day be time to run come back so there's a whole significance of teaching when it when it comes to that the suffering I guess to continue with that our brother Daryl mentioned the Luke passage and his sweat became I think that's the the idea is sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground and maybe another P for your outline is the place of the suffering yes so it is the place of the olive press and that we're going to to see in in later chapters the place of the skull Golgotha place of the pavement Gabbatha but the place of the olive press was also a place of intense suffering that's right very good and pressure so he again comes back to what he had reminded them earlier verse 45 then cometh he to his disciples Seth and then sleep on now take your rest behold the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners rise he says let us be going behold he is at hand that doth betray me of course then we have the coming of of Judas and so on and of course the sign that is given and he comes and he kisses him and knows the Lord Jesus verse number 50 calls him friend however the few minutes that are left that we only have some minutes that are some minutes that are left let's go to Peter to all that's taking place in Peter's mind at this now unless somebody just want to refer to something here in the betrayal fine go ahead I was just going to say Mary let us be going he wasn't going to escape no you hear people say that the Lord could have gone back to heaven without going to the cross he couldn't no this is eternal counsels that's right definitely there's no other way that's what it's showing us here that's right and the words he must suffer he must suffer also his willingness let us be going he had to go and yet they could only go so far couldn't they brother Robert and then he would go into that alone when the Hebrews were cast into the fiery furnace it's interesting not one of them went they went in there the three of them together Daniel's the man that goes alone into the den of lions if you like but while they're there there's a fourth that appears unto them like unto the Son of God often wondered how he knew that that was the Son of God but I think there was no doubt in his mind just who the Son of God was so we'll just come if you don't mind just to the end of the chapter and we'll come down to verse number 69 now Peter sat without in the palace and a damsel came unto him saying thou wast with Jesus of Galilee but denied before them all or before all saying I know not what thou sayest when he was gone out into the porch another maid saw him and said unto him this fellow was with them Jesus of Nazareth again he denies with an oath I do not know the man and so on it's interesting Peter was a man that had a hard time concealing his voice do you remember when he comes to the door and the little maid she recognized she could tell it by his voice and I think there's something there's shepherd character obviously in Peter because Peter is the one that writes and tells us about shepherds and it's nice to know the shepherd's voice the shepherd's voice but it's nice to know our own shepherd's voice I'm speaking of shepherds in the assembly it's interesting too that it doesn't tell us here in Matthew that it was Peter that cut the servant's ear off John is the one that tells and I think the reason is that Peter was still alive in Matthew Mark and Luke but John had the courtesy to wait until after he was dead to give his name and the Lord put the ear back in place and removed the evidence of all that had taken place as far as Peter and I know we were taking away from Peter's skillfulness but I think he was going for more than just the ear he was getting ready to take his head off but it may have been like David's stone there's no doubt in my mind I'm not sure how David I'm not sure how it away from his ability to throw things he never convinced me otherwise if that stone had taken off behind David's head it still would have found the giant's brow so it was not so much a human ability but God directed it this moment it was the Lord himself that it just took the ear off I take a practical lesson for my own use of the word of God if a sword is a picture of the word of God and I have all kinds of zeal but I have no skill it's very likely that I'll do damage Peter later on uses the word of God super effectively but it's just a picture so where are we now? we're in verse number 70 okay right at the end of the chapter and I'll tell you right now you know I'm not gonna let this go over we have three minutes now verse 74 does not mean that Peter was using profanity in this okay it was affirming that he was so confident right to the end that he would not deny him and says I know not the man and immediately the cock crow and Peter remember verse 75 Peter remembered the word now it's interesting we didn't take time to go through it but the different times that the word the word the word you think more even in John's gospel and in Matthew's gospel is used so Peter remembered the word before the cock crow thou shalt deny thrice and now he went out and he weeps bitterly too his master wept and remember he mep he wept in that house in Bethany where he was always at home and now he read he went out and he wept bitterly I'm not not to speak for myself there's not too many times that I have wept bitterly over things I can tell you and I'm sure I'm speaking for my fellow servants I wept over people who were not saved and I wept with rejoicing when I got a call that they were saved but to say that I've actually wept bitterly over things in my life that were wrong I can't say that I've done that but Peter went out so you see the brokenness of the man and how can you not have your heart go to one who is so broken as a result of that and something to pick up on that I don't think Peter ever would have been a man if he had never went through this that's right this left a profound mark on him and he was never the same again and it's Peter that is easy on Lot when he speaks about Lot because Peter could relate not that Peter went to the distance that Lot did but it's only from Peter that we know about him being a righteous man I think one of our brethren has spoken on that now any concluding remarks brethren I know that they want this over on time Peter was also going to be a shepherd of sheep and he was going to be able to relate to sheep a lot better after having failed himself that's right it's good to be tender and the Lord wept over a corpse and he wept over a city yes and he wept over a cross that's right but not that he would be taken from going to the cross but you have the resurrection very good thank you very much for your help brethren Amen