The Lord Our Righteousness
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Witnessing in awe the perfect expression of love, obedience and righteousness, as Jesus prays in the Garden.
Text: Luke 22:39-46
Date: 09/14/2025, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 210
Description:
After warning His disciples they would face great trials and temptations in the future, Jesus leads them to the Garden of Gethsemane to face the greatest trial of His own life to date. In this familiar scene, Luke will fix our attention on the temptation Jesus faces as He prays in agony to His Father to let the "cup" pass from Him. We will analyze what is in that cup and why it so horrifies Jesus that He would distinguish His own will from that of His Father. But ultimately we will celebrate the perfect obedience and love that Jesus manifests as He bends His will to His Father's and thereby maintains perfect righteousness. Realizing we are on hallowed ground, we will witness in reverence and awe the pinnacle of human holiness as it is revealed in the Lord OUR righteousness.
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I. Introduction, Jer. 23:5-6.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 22:39-46.
A. Context
B. The prayer of obedience.
1. Setting the scene, vs. 39-40a.
a. Noticing the form.
b. Looking at the words.
i. Point of departure.
ii. An act of obedience.
iii. The destination.
iv. Followed by the disciples.
v. Arriving at "the place".
2. The commandment to pray, vs. 40b.
a. The inevitability of trials, Luke 22:32, 11:1-2, 22:28.
b. Jesus' focus on the disciples, Matt. 26:40.
3. Preparing to pray, vs. 41.
a. Forming a mental image.
i. A solitary prayer, John 13:36.
ii. How far is "a stone's throw"?
iii. The body language of the prayer, Matt. 26:39.
4. Analyzing the prayer, vs. 42.
a. A deepening distress, John 12;27; Matt. 26:38.
b. Understanding the reason for distress.
i. Noticing the address, Mark 14:36.
ii. A crucial "if", Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36.
iii. The horror of the cup.
iv. Turning the prayer around.
v. The juxtaposition of the wills.
c. Interpretation
i. The cup of God's wrath, Psa. 11:6; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:9-10, 18-20, 16:19.
ii. The two wills of Jesus.
iii. Summation, Psa. 22:12-13.
5. A ministering angel, vs. 43.
a. Another "inclusio", Luke 1:11, 2:9.
b. The nature of the visit, Matt. 4:11; Luke 9:30-31; Dan. 10:17-18.
c. The reason for the visit.
6. The prayers of anguish, vs. 44.
a. Looking at the words.
i. In a state of anguish.
ii. An earnest prayer.
iii. Sweating drops of blood.
b. A critical verse in Luke's Passion Narrative.
i. What it says about prayer.
ii. What it says about His temptations, Isa. 53:4-6; 2Cor. 5:21.
iii. The blood of the covenant, Luke 22:20.
7. Return to the apostles, vs. 45-46.
a. The nature of their sleep, Mark 14:33-34.
b. Jesus' rebuke.
c. The power of prayer, Luke 21:36.
d. Failing to stay awake.
III. Application, Jer. 23;6; 2Cor. 5:21.
IV. Conclusion
