Gethsemane: Shadow of Golgotha #1

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces the sermon by reading Mark 14:32-42 and Hebrews 5:5-8, highlighting the historical present verbs in Mark to emphasize the intensity of the scene. He then…

The use of nine historical present verbs in Mark 14:32-42 is an analogy to describe the action as though it were happening before our eyes, signifying the Holy Spirit's desire for intense imaginative engagement with the scene.

Now let us turn together in our Bibles to the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to Mark, Mark chapter 14, and I shall read in your hearing verses 32 through 42, and then we shall turn over to the book of Hebrews and read just several verses from the 5th chapter of Hebrews. Mark chapter 14 and verse 32, and you will notice that there are a number of these present tense verbs describing the action as though it were happening before our eyes. They are called grammatically historical presence, and there are nine of them in this paragraph, the Holy Spirit signifying with unusual intensity that G...

0:04 - 1:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expresses his deep reluctance to preach on Gethsemane due to its mysterious depth and the difficulty of structuring such profound agony into a sermon. He finds…

The difficulty of structuring Christ's agony into a sermon is compared to the insult of analytically scrutinizing the cries and tears of a widow at her beloved's graveside, highlighting the profound, unquantifiable nature of Christ's suffering.

In our consecutive and systematic expositions of the Gospel of Mark, we arrive this morning at that portion which depicts our Lord's mysterious agony and his mighty wrestlings in a place called Gethsemane. And as we come to this portion of the Word of God, I confess unashamedly that I do so with great reluctance, a reluctance born of the sense of how little I have personally penetrated the dark cloud of mystery which surrounds this incident, and a reluctance intensified by the felt frustration of trying to structure into preachable form things which in one sense can no more be structured into ...

7:41 - 9:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expresses his deep reluctance to preach on Gethsemane due to its mysterious depth and the difficulty of structuring such profound agony into a sermon. He finds…

A quotation from J.C. Ryle's 'Expository Thoughts on the Gospels' describes Gethsemane as a 'deep and mysterious passage' with 'plain truths of momentous importance,' encouraging Martin to proceed despite the difficulty.

And my comfort and my encouragement in at least seeking to make an attempt to penetrate into this cloud of mystery, dark and foreboding with the agony and the bloody sweat of Jesus, and yet bright and inviting with its beautiful description of our Lord's joyful submissiveness to the Father and His resolute commitment to our salvation, I say my encouragement is twofold. First of all, I'm encouraged that others have felt the same reluctance and yet in overcoming that reluctance and in preaching and writing upon this very scene have left a legacy that is tremendously helpful. As Ryle takes up thi...

9:29 - 10:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expresses his deep reluctance to preach on Gethsemane due to its mysterious depth and the difficulty of structuring such profound agony into a sermon. He finds…

A quotation from Chadwick emphasizes approaching the story of the Savior's anguish with 'reverence and solemn shrinking,' advocating caution and reticence in speaking about it.

And then he proceeds to take up that which he knows to be deep and mysterious. Chadwick, a lesser-known commentator, writes, In the same vein, all Scripture given by inspiration, liberation of God is profitable, yet must we approach with reverence and solemn shrinking the story of our Savior's anguish. It is a subject for caution and reticence, putting away all over curious surmise and all too subtle theorizing and choosing to say too little rather than too much. And in what I regard to be the classic work on the whole event of Gethsemane, Hugh Martin's book entitled The Shadow of Calvary, Hug...

10:53 - 12:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expresses his deep reluctance to preach on Gethsemane due to its mysterious depth and the difficulty of structuring such profound agony into a sermon. He finds…

A quotation from Hugh Martin's 'The Shadow of Calvary' describes Gethsemane as 'perhaps the most awesome and solemnizing' transaction, second only to the crucifixion, underscoring its profound significance and the need for reverence.

And then he proceeds to take up that which he knows to be deep and mysterious. Chadwick, a lesser-known commentator, writes, In the same vein, all Scripture given by inspiration, liberation of God is profitable, yet must we approach with reverence and solemn shrinking the story of our Savior's anguish. It is a subject for caution and reticence, putting away all over curious surmise and all too subtle theorizing and choosing to say too little rather than too much. And in what I regard to be the classic work on the whole event of Gethsemane, Hugh Martin's book entitled The Shadow of Calvary, Hug...

10:53 - 12:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin delves into the 'profound shock' and 'sore trouble' Jesus experienced, as described by Mark and by Jesus himself: 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.' He…

The contemporary phrase 'something blew my mind' is used to explain the concept of 'greatly amazed' as a profound shock to cognitive faculties when a reality utterly defies expectation or previous experience.

We would say in contemporary parlance, something blew my mind. It's what happens when a reality dawns on cognitive faculties that is utterly the expectation or utterly strange to our previous experience. We see something we've never saw. We've never seen before.

44:06 - 44:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin delves into the 'profound shock' and 'sore trouble' Jesus experienced, as described by Mark and by Jesus himself: 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.' He…

A hypothetical story of a lawyer discovering a deed that grants a particular person several million dollars illustrates the initial shock of an unexpected reality, followed by joy.

And a lawyer... His credentials and proves...

45:54 - 45:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin delves into the 'profound shock' and 'sore trouble' Jesus experienced, as described by Mark and by Jesus himself: 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.' He…

A personal anecdote of telling a woman her husband dropped dead at work illustrates how initial shock can become the substratum for the deepest grief, mirroring Christ's experience in Gethsemane.

And remember having the... To someone's place of work and having to tell them that their husband, with no previous record of heart problems, no previous record of hospitalization for heart disease, dropped dead at his job that day.

46:30 - 46:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He went to pray... Expecting heaven... To come down... To comfort him... Instead... Hell came forth... And almost overcame him...

A powerful quotation, 'He went to pray expecting heaven to come down to comfort him; instead, hell came forth and almost overcame him,' vividly describes the nature of Christ's encounter in Gethsemane.

As one author put it... And I trust I never forget the words...

54:35 - 54:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Linger in Gethsemane until your sins are seen in that light, leading to genuine repentance and continued cleansing with a non-cavalier attitude.

A quotation from a surgeon, 'Repentance is the tear in faith's eye,' is used to describe the proper attitude of a believer who sees their sin in the light of Christ's suffering, leading to genuine sorrow and continued cleansing.

And there will always be... As the surgeon said...

67:00 - 67:03 Read in full sermon