St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Lenten Vesper #2. February 28, 2007

Luke 22:39-46

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

I was at the Columbus, OH airport the other day. My gate was just past the security screening area. I had time to kill, so I thought I would watch the people going through security. They have this rule—now—where every so many people—at random—get frisked! At random—is very important—so nobody can say they are being discriminated against. I watched as they did an extra security check on a 98 year old grandma. They told her to stand on this mat—with her feet apart—with her arms outstretched—palms up—so they could pat her down. She was too weak to hold her arms up! They wiped her back—top to bottom—again and again—with very careful overlap. Each time their hands went down her back—it almost pushed her down, too. Then they explained—they would use the back of their hands—so her modesty and dignity would be protected. That was nice and thoughtful, too, I thought. But did anyone really think this little grandma was a terrorist? I suppose it’s possible—but certainly not very likely—do you think? I don’t think this little grandma—with such tiny little legs—could go running down the aisle of the plane—crash through the armored reinforced cockpit door—and do fatal harm to the flight crew! But the fact is—that little grandma has horrible sins—in her heart—in her past—in her thoughts and words and actions. Oh, it’s tempting to think that people who look so weak and breakable and vulnerable on the outside—are somehow not so likely to do things that are wrong. But that just isn’t true! The inside is where we are the most vulnerable to temptation and sin! Jesus suffered to save everyone at that airport. This second Lenten Vesper—we Behold the Hidden Glory of the Cross! Today we see:

It is Hidden in the Savior’s Sighs

I. Love required his whole attention

II. Need requires our whole attention.

If you go by the Mount of Olives today—you will find at the top of it—a cemetery. The cemetery isn’t like we are used to—very carefully mowed lawn—with headstones—markers at the head of each grave—with the name and birth and death dates—of the person buried there. You won’t find bundles of flowers—real flowers nor artificial flowers in front of the stones. What you will find are stone boxes—like coffin vaults—above ground. Oh, the body is in the ground—but the monument is like a vault above ground. And on that stone vault you will see a stone—a rock—about the size of a golf ball—the lasting reminder and token of the fact someone stopped by to pay their respects! You can tell by the little pile of stones—or the lack thereof—who has been visited and who has not. If you go from that cemetery—down the Mount of Olives you will go past a hillside—a ridge covered with olive trees. And near the bottom of the mount—you will find a garden of olive trees. Very old olive trees—with huge trunks—and twisted gnarled branches—pruned again and again. It was a Thursday night—late into the night—going into the wee hours of Friday morning—that God’s Word says, Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

“Pray that you will not fall into temptation” is a warning! Is it a serious one? Pray that you will not fall into temptation! There is a hill by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks—that warns of the danger of riding an inner tube down the hill. Two students ignored the warning—slid down the hill and crashed into a tree. The man was injured—the woman died. The man got $50,000 from the school because the warning wasn’t sufficient! What does that mean—warning wasn’t sufficient? It didn’t cry out—danger! Danger, Will Robinson? It wasn’t big enough? It didn’t have bright blood red paint! It didn’t say—seriously—I’m not kidding—you could break your neck or crack your head? Pray that you will not fall into temptation! How terrible can the danger really be? So horrible it could cost you your immortal soul for eternity! Eternity!

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus drank this cup of suffering to the very bitter little crudlies at the bottom—in order to take away all our sins. This is our hope, trust and humble child like confidence—in Jesus’ suffering in our place to save us. We trust in Jesus—our substitute and redeemer! I heard the other day about a man in the Amazon Rainforest—who broke his leg. How did he do that? Was it a horrible accident? Did someone attack him—hurt and harm him—attacking with a rifle or shotgun or machete or poisoned dart--breaking his leg? No! He simply stepped wrong. He stepped into some little animal hole—and his foot stuck and his ankle twisted and his leg broke! Can you imagine just how that would go? You step wrong—and you hear this sickening click and you know what happened! Now—what do you do? You could go to the doctor and get help. Or you could trust in medicinal leaves and herbs—trust in ointment made from the milk you can crush out of thick jungle leaves. You can wrap your leg—bind to it a whole bunch of leaves and roots and vines—to the point the leaves start to melt into your skin! But it doesn’t help. It doesn’t fix what’s wrong deep inside your leg. And what’s wrong will only get worse and worse—until finally it costs you your physical life. There are in this world—all kinds of people who are putting all their trust in getting a good education so they can get a good job so they can make lots of money. Then they can get lots and lots of things and stuff. And then they think they will be happy. There are all kinds of people who think if they are the next American Idol—they will get to spend the rest of their life singing in front of people who are screaming their name and holding up signs that say they love them. They will sell a zillion CDs and life will be good. There are all kinds of people who think if they can be Donald Trump’s Apprentice they will get richer and richer. Their one or two million dollars will become hundreds of millions and they will be happy. There are people who think if they don’t get voted off the Island—they will be the Survivor who gets rich. Know enough trivia and you can be a Millionaire. Outsmart a bunch of very bright 5^th graders—remembering that Columbus Day is in October and knowing polar bears do not eat penguins—because polar bears are by the north pole and penguins are by the south pole can win you a million dollars, too! Race around the world—being abusive of your partner or spouse and that will win you money, too! But all the money in the world cannot buy you what is truly precious and priceless—the peace and rest of Heaven. Jesus paid that price for you—with his quiet obedience in an olive grove—and on a cross—on a hill shaped like a skull. Jesus knew the answer to his prayer. There was no other way—so thy will be done!

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Jesus loves us so much—he bled for us—again and again! There is an American soldier named Marissa. She was riding in a Humvee when it hit an IED—an improvised explosive device. She lost both of her legs. She lost two of her most precious friends. One was named Delgado and one was named Reynolds. She has their names and the date—November 24, 2005 indelibly marked on her back. As long as she lives—she will never forget that day—Thanksgiving time—when she suffered such a tremendous loss. It was a Friday afternoon—almost 2,000 years ago—when the Son of God—our Redeemer—died to rescue us. A dark Friday afternoon—when the sun stopped shining-when Jesus suffered to save us. We need to remember that—every moment of every day—until we are home by Jesus in Heaven!

“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” To fall into temptation puts our faith—our heart and soul and mind—in horrible danger. Sometimes the danger is gradual. It happens so gradually—like the frog in the pan of water that gets hot so gradually—it doesn’t know to jump to safety—as very slowly it gets cooked! I read the other day—that a movie called Scarlet Street—an Edward G. Robinson gangster movie from 1945 was banned from being shown in New York. Do you know why? It wasn’t because there was too much violence—too much machine gun fire. It wasn’t because there was too much “hugs and kisses” with people who weren’t married. It wasn’t because there was the abuse of drugs or alcohol. No animals were hurt in the making of that film. What made it so objectionable they said no one in New York City shall see this film—is because a murderer was still free at the end of the film. Someone was guilty—and yet the credits rolled and he wasn’t punished to the full extent of the law. Someone was guilty and they didn’t get what their crime deserved! Have you ever seen that? In this year of our Lord—it happens all the time. People commit unspeakable crimes and they get away with it! The fact is—Jesus paid for all those crimes. Jesus paid with an innocent life—free from the most technical failure or flaw. Jesus paid with a tortured passion—with bloody sweat and anguish of mind, soul and conscience that words cannot convey! Jesus paid with his agony on the cross. Jesus paid without complaint for my sins and your mistakes. Jesus paid for every one! Jesus paid the debt we owed but could not begin to pay. The holy Son of God paid—so that we might be forever forgiven!

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” I was at the airport the other day—watching the security screening. They test the luggage of people at random—every so many people—they take your luggage out of line. They would ask—is there anything sharp—anything dangerous in your suitcase? No? Good! Then they take this little wand with a small piece of paper—like a miniature coffee filter. And they rub it all around the inside of your suitcase. They poke it—through and through your stuff. Then they put it into this high-tech machine—that tests for the smallest trace of explosives or drugs. This little paper tests for something so small—so fine—so sneaky—human eyes and human noses cannot detect it! Imagine if someone could test your thoughts—your mind, your brain, your heart. Imagine if someone could wipe around your attitude and your emotions—the sin they would find. The precious good news of God’s Word today—is Jesus suffered to wash away all that sin and guilt. Jesus was in horrible anguish of heart and soul—to forgive us. Jesus suffered what he endured—so that we might know the forever peace of heaven. Let us live our lives to thank and praise him. Amen!

To God alone all glory! Rev. Anthony E. Schultz