The Depth of His Love

“Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will , but as Thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:38-39)

It has been said that the modern church is like a river that is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” One reason is our lack of understanding of the cross of Christ. Our prayer for this week’s message is to save us from a shallow understanding of His love, so that the fullness of God may dwell in us. The experience in Gethsemane, the cup, the cry of dereliction from the cross (Matthew 27:46), the darkness from noon until 3pm at Golgotha, all point to a depth of love we could never imagine. The perfect, glorious love the Father and Son enjoyed since eternity past was momentarily replaced with wrath, alienation and punishment for the redemption of sinners.
“The center of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much. The Cross is the point where God and sinful man merge with a crash and the way to life is opened—but the crash is on the heart of God.” Oswald Chambers

“The cross is the vindication of the character of God. The cross not only shows the love of God more gloriously than anything else, it shows His righteousness, His justice, His holiness, and all the glory of His eternal attributes. They are all to be seen shining together there. If you do not see them all you have not seen the Cross.” (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:17-18)

This week’s message: The Depth of His Love

Matthew 26:36-46

One scene from the life of our Lord reveals a greater understanding of the depths of His love comes from Matthew 26:36-46, where we discover in the Garden of Gethsemane:

1. Jesus went beyond where we could go. (v.36-39)
a. Notice: He went a little beyond them and fell on His face to pray.
b. Jesus called his most intimate disciples to come with Him, but He alone could go to the depths of passion and suffering for us.
c. Related Scripture: Proverbs 30:4; John 1:29; 1 Tim. 2:5

2. Jesus felt more than we could ever feel. (v.37-38)
a. Notice: Jesus became deeply grieved to the point of death.
b. The cup was the reason for the intensity of these emotions. What was in the cup which He prayed would pass from Him?
c. The cup in the OT: Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 51:17; Ezk. 23:33-34; Jeremiah 25:15-29

3. Jesus accomplished more than we could ever accomplish. (v.40-46)
a. He bore our sin, and thus the wrath of God due our sin. (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13) He was forsaken by the Father, so that we may be forgiven.
b. In Him we therefore have the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of God. (Col. 1:13-14)c. What has He done with our sin? Isaiah 38:17; Micah 7:19; Psalm 103:12; Hebrews 9:26

“Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness . . . that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26)

*The result of this intense praying and surrender to the Father was that Jesus arose in new strength to face the Hour at hand. Likewise, when we face our times of suffering and testing we pray to our Father, surrender our lives to His will, and the strength of the risen Christ empowers us. In our weakness, He is strong. His grace is sufficient. (2 Cor. 12:9; Phil. 4:13)