The Christ of the Passion: The Garden of Hell

The Christ of the Passion: The Garden of Hell
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Re: “The Passion of the Christ” remember:
- John 12:32
- Philippians 1:15, 18
You cannot understand the ________ until you’ve been to the _________ .
- Once upon a time the human race ________ in a garden.
- Once upon another time the human race got ________ in a garden.
- “In Eden, Adam sinned; in Gethsemane, Christ took humanity’s sin upon Himself. In Eden, Adam hid himself from God; in Gethsemane, Christ interceded with His Father; in Eden, God sought out Adam in his sin of rebellion; in Gethsemane, the New Adam sought out the Father and His submission and resignation. In Eden, a sword was drawn to prevent entrance into the garden and thus immortalize evil; in Gethsemane, the sword would be sheathed.” (Fulton Sheen, Life of Christ 317)
Mark 14:32-42
- “____________ —Daddy—my dear, dear Papa”—it was straight out of a children’s book of prayers.
- “Could you not keep watch for _______ ______ ?”
  - Hours with the “Simpsons” and “Friends” and “American Idol” and the NCAA and the mall and the job . . . but not even _______ _____ with Me?”
- Luke 22:44—“His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
  - A _________ condition called hematidrosis.
What is happening to Jesus here—what is “this cup” he trembles over?
- Jesus is steeped in the OT Scriptures—and there “the cup” is clear!
  - Job 21:20—“the wrath of the Almighty”
  - Isaiah 51:17—“drunk from the cup of his wrath”
  - Psalm 75:8—“all the wicked drink it to its very dregs.”
  - (See also Revelation 14:10)
- Clearly “the cup” Jesus trembles from drinking is the cup of God’s holy______ against our unholy _________ .
- Isaiah 53:4, 6—“The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us ________.”
- Romans 6:23— “The wages of sin is death.”
  - _________ death.
  - Eternal separation from the Father, with whom the preincarnate Christ has spent eternity past.
- II Corinthians 5:21—“God made him who had no sin to be _______ for us.”
- Apart from ___________ we have no consciousness of the magnitude of the evil that grips our careless souls.
  - Hebrews 12:4—“In your struggle against ________ , you have not resisted to the point of shedding your ____________ .”
  - “Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice.” “The awful moment had come--that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity.” (Desire of Ages 690)
- Do you think for one moment Jesus is ___________ in that garden?
  - “That old _____________ called the _________ ” must gain the upper hand tonight in Gethsemane.
  - “Get out of here, Daddy’s Boy—go home where you belong!”
- Was Jesus tempted?
  - The _________ ground over which he cried in that silver darkness of Gethsemane is answer enough!
  - “... His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life.... Having made the decision, He fell _______ to the ground from which He had partially risen.” (DA 690)
In the garden Jesus decided to save us at any cost to himself—why?

Because ___________ people matter to God.
They are the ___________ of God.
And the ____________ of the Christ.
Gethsemane calls us to make them our ___________, too.
- “As I have thought of that cup trembling in the hands of Christ; as I have realized that He might have refused to drink, and left the world to perish in its sin, I have pledged that every energy of my life should be devoted to the work of winning souls to Him.” 9T 103

Answers: cross, garden, fell, saved, Abba, one hour, one hour, rare, wrath, sin, all, Eternal, sin, Gethsemane, sin, blood, alone, serpent, devil, bloody, dying, lost, passion, passion, passion