All of human history was set into motion on the day God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:8-9 (NIV) tells us about that day. "Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
This garden that God had planted was no ordinary garden. This garden contained within itself the potential for life and for death. This garden contained within itself the potential for good and for evil. This garden presented Adam with a choose your own adventure proposition. Adam could choose life or death. He could choose good or evil.
In Genesis 2:15-17 (NIV) we read, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.' "
Adam chose to violate every boundary that God had set for him.
It was God's desire that Adam cultivate a lifestyle of goodness and life. And so God set boundaries and he set guidelines to direct Adam toward such a lifestyle. But on that dreadful day in the Garden of Eden, Adam chose instead to sow seeds of sin and destruction and death. Adam purposely violated every boundary that God had set for him in the garden. Adam chose a lifestyle of disobedience and rebellion. And ever since that day man has repeatedly chosen a life of sin and death.
To say that Adam's choice in the garden was terribly irresponsible is an understatement. Adam didn't so much as pause to consider the enormous consequences that his choice would bring for himself and for all of humanity. In the Garden of Eden the human race endured an insufferable setback. In the Garden of Eden we valued what was pleasing to the eye over what is pleasing to God. In the Garden of Eden we excluded God from our choices and from our decision-making process. In the Garden of Eden we asserted our human wills over the divine will of our creator. In the Garden of Eden we stopped trusting God's judgment and we boldly declared our intention to live self-directed lives riddled with failure and void of God's power.
Now, why Adam chose death over life and evil over good we may never know. Sin is an utterly irrational choice. The fact that we continue to make the irrational choice of sin and death confirms that had we been in Adam's shoes we would have done just the same as he did.
Parallels between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane.
This morning you should know that the dreadful choice made in the Garden of Eden was not in anyway intended to be the final, definitive word for humanity. Late on Thursday night in the final week of Jesus' earthly life, we find a rather surreal but God-ordained recreation of the events in the Garden of Eden. Jesus is retreating east from Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke tells us that this garden was one of Jesus' favorite places. Jesus would frequently retreat to this garden to escape the crowds and to spend time in prayer.
But this night was unlike any other night that Jesus had ever experienced. For the second time in history God was allowing the destiny of the entire human race to hinge upon a decision that would be made in a garden. In the Garden of Eden the first Adam contemplated the choice of evil versus good. In the Garden of Eden the first Adam chose evil and subsequently brought the curse of sin and death upon the entire human race.
In the Garden of Gethsemane the second Adam, Jesus Christ, contemplated the choice of life versus death. In Gethsemane the second Adam, Jesus Christ, was forced to wrestle with the injustice of his impending execution. Should he, an innocent man, go to the cross, or should he try and escape before dawn? Should he choose death for himself and personally pay the penalty for our sins? Or should he make us humans pay the price for our own rebellion? In Gethsemane the second Adam, Jesus Christ, could potentially reverse the curse of sin and forever bring life to the human race by choosing death for himself.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus wrestled with obedience like no other man. Fortunately for us, in the garden Jesus rose to the challenge in every way. Romans 5:18-19 (NIV) says, "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus Christ) the many will be made righteous."
From the moment he set foot in the Garden of Gethsemane to the moment the soldiers carried him away, Jesus perfectly modeled obedience for us. Notice that there were four critical dimensions to Jesus' obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane.
His obedience was God-conscious.
In Mark 14:32 (NIV) Jesus enters the garden and says to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
The primary difference between Adam and Jesus Christ was striking. When confronted with a choice, Adam chose what felt good and what looked pleasing to the eye and he chose what brought immediate self-gratification. When confronted with a choice, Adam rather impulsively shot off on a whim without first considering how his choice might impact his relationship with God.
In contrast, Jesus was very conscious of God's will before making a decision. His first order of business was to take a knee and to search God's heart in prayer. His first order of business was to contemplate the impact that his choices would have on his relationship with God and the impact that his choices would have on our relationship with God. In prayer, Jesus caught the vision of what God wanted to accomplish through his life, through his unjust execution, and through his resurrection.
Our greatest downfall is our Eden-like tendency to eliminate God from our decisions. How often do we make prayer our first order of business when making life decisions? Do we ever realize that perhaps God has something to say about the way we live our lives? Do we ever realize that God has a vision to share with us? That God wants to fulfill his great and everlasting purposes through our obedience?
I received an e-mail from a friend who is struggling in his marriage, big time. I've been encouraging him to take the high road, to be a man of God, to take the hard road, and to completely eliminate the word divorce from his vocabulary. I've been encouraging him to catch a vision of the greater good that God can achieve through his continued prayerful, God-conscious obedience.
Before you make a life decision, before you open your mouth, before you swing your fist, before you pick up the phone to call a lawyer, before you pick up that remote or log onto the internet, before you say the word divorce, before you make the decision to live together with your girlfriend, before you engage in premarital sex, before you cheat on that exam, first stop and become conscious of God's heart before making your move.
Jesus' obedience was first and foremost God-conscious.
His obedience was God-honest.
In Mark 14:33-36 (NIV) tells us that "He (Jesus) took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.' Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.' "
We falsely assume that obedience was easy for Jesus because he was the Son of God. We need to remember that Jesus had a human body, a body with a sinful bias, and a body that naturally craved sin just like our bodies naturally crave sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) tells us that in Jesus, "..we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin."
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus experienced incredible pressures of temptation. The very name of the garden, Gethsemane, means olive press. In the Garden of the Olive Press Jesus was placed under incredible pressure. The pressure was so intense that Luke tell us that Jesus' sweat become like drops of blood. Did you know that there is actually a rare physical phenomenon known as hematidrosis in which under great emotional stress the tiny blood vessels in the sweat glands rupture, producing a mixture of blood and sweat?
There is a lot of debate about the cause of Jesus' distress in the Garden of Gethsemane. Was Jesus distressed about the physical pain that he would suffer on the cross? Was Jesus distressed about the humiliation he would experience as Roman guards stripped him and beat him and cursed him and mocked him?
I believe that Jesus was distressed about the prospect of taking on the sins of the world. For Jesus to take on the sins of the world meant that for the first time in his eternal existence, the Father in heaven would have to turn his back on his Son, Jesus. The thought of the Father forsaking him created great distress for Jesus. Had we been in Jesus' shoes we would have run! I would have run!
But Jesus' obedience was God-honest. He laid his temptation before God's feet in prayer. "Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." When obedience was tough, Jesus laid all his cards face up for the Father to see. Jesus shared his struggle with the Father and with the disciples. He pleaded with God. He begged God for there to be another way, but there wasn't.
Listen, obedience is tough! It is good to be able to talk to God about it. When you are ready to give up on your children, on yourself, or on your marriage, tell it to God. Whenever you grow weary of doing good tell it to God! Tell him your frustration. Tell him how weak you are. Tell him how tempted you feel. Tell him how distressed, discouraged, depressed, and disheartened you are. Tell him that your heart at times seems set on disobedience.
God listens. He has big shoulders. Be honest with hm. Tell him like it is! Jesus' obedience was God-conscious and it was God-honest.
His obedience was God-submitted.
In Mark 14:36 (NIV) Jesus courageously resolves, "Father, not what I will, but what you will." In contrast, Adam asserted his own will over the divine will. Jesus submitted his will to God's will.
A while back I was talking to a guy about his relationship with Christ. At one point in our talk I asked him to name the one thing that was keeping him from becoming a Christian. He told me that he could never ever submit himself in obedience to something outside of himself! I appreciated his complete honesty, but his words horrified me!
Without submission to God we cannot have a relationship with God. God's kingdom consists only of those individuals who willingly and obediently submit themselves to the will of the king. It is impossible to be a member of God's kingdom while disobeying the king. To disobey the king is to forfeit the blessings and graces of God's heavenly kingdom.
Jesus took the all-important step of submitting his will to the Father's will. This morning I would suggest that all of us need to take that same all-important step. So often we talk about God's grace as if obedience doesn't count for anything. But God really does expect us to submit ourselves to his kingship and lordship. Good intentions mean absolutely nothing in God's kingdom. Our good intentions need to materialize into good behavior and godly living.
Will we ever live perfect lives? No! Will God's grace make up for our shortcomings? Yes! Will God extend a warm kingdom welcome to rebellious, unsubmitted wills? The scriptures tell us no.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus resolved to submit his will to the Father's will. His obedience was God-conscious, it was God-honest, and it was God-submitted.
His obedience was God-strengthened.
The best part of the Garden of Gethsemane is found in Luke's account. In Luke 22:43 (NIV)Jesus is praying when suddenly, "An Angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." Jesus the Son of God received strength from the Father in order to obey!
Last Wednesday night at our Manna Prayer event I read Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:16-17 (NIV). In that prayer Paul says, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." God wants us to ask him for inner resources and for the strength we need to obey!
If there is one last mistake we make, it is in not relying upon God for strength. Having become conscious of God's will and having struggled with the implications of obeying God's will and having chosen to submit ourselves to God's will, still so often we try to obey on our own strength.
We think that suddenly after all these years of trying that we are going to mysteriously find within ourselves the gumption to succeed. We think that somehow, success at obedience is simply a matter of inner willpower. We fail in our obedience because we do not ask God to strengthen us. God wants us to ask him for the resources we need to obey him. If Jesus Christ the Son of God had to be strengthened by God in prayer, so do we.
Jesus' obedience was God-conscious, God-honest, God-submitted, and God-strengthened. That was the only reason the Garden of Gethsemane didn't end up a total disaster!
Our garden of choice.
This morning God has placed each of us in a special garden in a special place. In your garden, what sort of lifestyle will you choose? Will you choose an Adam-like lifestyle of sin, rebellion, disobedience and death? Will you choose a Christ-like lifestyle of obedience and life? Will you value what is pleasing to God more than what is pleasing to the eye? Will you include God in your decision making process? Will you include God in your struggle of obedience, honestly confessing your weakness to him? Will you willingly and obediently submit your will to the Father's will? Will you rely fully upon God's strength and stop relying upon your own strength in trying to obey?
What kind of lifestyle will you cultivate in the garden God has planted you in? What kinds of seeds will you sow? Seeds of life or death or good or evil?