Sunday Message
Avoiding the Trap of Temptation
Matthew 26:36-46
Pastor Wes
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What an amazing journey we’ve been on as God has been molding two church families into one church. I think it’s pretty incredible where God has landed us in where we have been studying His word together. 3 years ago, Glady Branch embarked on a journey through the gospels chronologically. That means we’ve been piecing together the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the order that the events and teachings occurred. And when Next and Glady Branch began meeting regularly together a few months ago, it just so happened that we had just arrived in our 3-year journey through the gospels, in the book of John, chapter 14. Pastor Dave and I thought this was really fitting- how cool would it be for us to continue that journey together, John 14-17, looking closely at Jesus’ departing instructions for His newly established church. We had no idea that we would end up finishing out chapter 17 with Jesus emphasizing oneness amongst His followers, on the first day of meeting together here in this facility, last Sunday, as we took a big step towards becoming one. Isn’t that incredible that God would allow that to line up just like it did? Its mind blowing. You might have been thinking, wow this is real strategic in what Pastor Dave and Pastor Wes have been doing from the pulpit on Sunday mornings- and yes, I guess it is strategic, but the strategy hasn’t come from either one of us. The Lord has been lining up the pieces, and we will continue to rely on Him, step by step through this process.
Now, if we were to continue reading through the book of John, we’d come to John 18:1… With the help of a chronological Bible, we see that another event took place in between verse 1 and 2 of John 18. That event is recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke- but I want us to look at it right now from the account in Matthew, Matthew 26, starting in verse 36… (Matt. 26:36-46)
What a contrasting passage compared to the passages we’ve been reading in John 14-17. We’ve been encouraged through the uplifting, empowering, emboldening, uniting words and prayer of Jesus with His followers. It’s almost like there was this arrival point of John 14-17, after 3 years of ministry alongside Jesus. In these chapters, it seems as if His followers are now graduating and they understand more clearly than they ever have before, and Jesus is giving them instructions that will empower, equip, and unite them no matter what lies ahead of them. But then, just minutes later, the scene sounds completely different. I can imagine the sun setting at this point in the evening, and as they enter into the olive grove of the Garden of Gethsemane, it gets even darker under the branches of the trees. The air is turning colder. There’s a heaviness in the spiritual realm that surely is being manifested somehow in the physical world. And Jesus, in ways that we might not ever understand, is wrestling with the heaviness of what is about to occur. Jesus is somehow fully God, yet fully human, and we really get a glimpse into His humanity in this moment of distress and grieving. The disciples are no longer physically united together, nor are they physically united together with Jesus, no- there’s one anxious group here, then there’s Peter, James and John falling asleep over here, and then there’s Jesus over here grieving immensely by Himself, alone.
Was this a unity test presented by Jesus or a unity attack by Satan and His evil forces? I don’t know if we could rightfully determine that or not, but in light of what Jesus had just spoken to the disciples concerning unity and the togetherness of His followers with God and Jesus, this moment seems a little odd with the physical separation that is occurring. It’s odd to me that Peter, James, and John- in realizing the extreme distress that Jesus was experiencing, that they didn’t stay by Jesus’ side, praying for Him, showing concern for Him, supporting Him mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Sure, Jesus told them to “remain here” in verse 38, but after Jesus returned back to them and they saw the physical/emotional anguish He was surely displaying, you would think they wouldn’t have let Him go on again by Himself. You would think they would have gone and rounded up the other disciples even, saying “Hey, Jesus needs us! Something’s not right, come and help us!” And after He awoke them the first time, you would think they would have realized that not just Jesus needed support, but they themselves needed support from the other disciples to get through this night. You would think this, especially in light of all the unity Jesus had just spoken of.
I believe what we have here is an example of what not to do, once we feel like we have finally “arrived.” The intimate, special time with Jesus the disciples experienced in John chapters 14-17, as I mentioned, surely felt like an arrival point, like a graduation commencement speech, or end of boot camp pep talk. There’re all kinds of opportunities in life for us to feel like we have “arrived.” Oh, I finally got my driver’s license, I finally graduated, I finally have my own place to live… bought my own car… got married… have the job I wanted… saved up enough money… formed good habits and made some good life changes… or- we finally are really becoming one church. And often, it’s at these “arrival” points in which things actually start to get a little more unexpectedly difficult. The disciples had been through so much with Jesus, they were finally being commissioned as His representatives, they were graduating, they were given authority, they were pronounced clean and united, they were promised a helper and the glory of Jesus… and yet… they soon were tired, falling asleep, not obeying Jesus’ command to keep watch and pray- and as we see in the verses that follow- they soon entered into temptation, even becoming overpowered by temptation to: deny Jesus, scatter and leave Him, lock themselves fearfully in their homes.
How do we personally, avoid the trap of temptation that overwhelms, that leads to sin, that leads to fear, that leads to being scattered and disunified? How do we as a church, as we solidify our union together, how do we keep from entering into temptation that would kill our momentum, disunify us, confuse our people, shame us in our community, and distract us from God’s Kingdom work? Jesus gives us the answer right here, it’s the same advice He offered to His followers, as a whole bunch of unknowns-to-them, were looming over their heads. Verse 41…
The first thing He says is to “keep watching.” This same phrase is translated in other parts of the Bible as “be on the alert.” I believe Jesus is calling for vigilance, alertness, attentiveness. Peter would later echo these words, as he wrote to groups of believers scattered throughout various regions: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) No matter how well your life is going, your job, your relationships, your finances, your walk with the Lord, the unity of 2 churches- you have to be aware and alert to the fact that there is an enemy who would want nothing more than for you to become passive, apathetic, prideful, off guard, so that you might be overpowered by temptation, and allow fear, divisiveness, and destruction to occur in your life. He would love for Next and Glady Branch to become complacent, and fall out of clear open communication, He would love for pride or territorial-ness or traditions to drive little wedges that result in big wounds down the road, that ultimately would render us completely ineffective for God’s Kingdom.
So, we remain vigilant. We are watchers, looking out into the distance, scanning the horizon for little signs of enemy activity, that if not dealt with properly, would end up advancing on us quickly with destruction. The term “keep watch” has its origins as a military term. A watchman would “keep watch” in a tower on the city wall, so that at first sign of enemy soldiers, he would sound the alarm and alert the city. A watchman would keep watch through the night as his fellow soldiers rested. Note that the one keeping watch isn’t expected on his own to defeat an arriving enemy, nor does He give the other soldiers a little more sleep and wait until the enemy has fully arrived, in order to sound the alarm. No, at the first little sign of the smallest figure of the enemy approaching on the horizon, he quickly sounds the alarm, and rallies his soldiers.
If only we would be as vigilant as military watchmen, concerning temptation and sin. Unfortunately, what often happens is that we do the opposite of what a watchman would do. We first, often wait too long to deal with something. We don’t sound the alarm soon enough. The little sin creeping in on the horizon is not stopped there, but we allow it to advance, we allow it to become a habit, its force grows, and by the time we wake up and realize there’s a problem, it’s already heavy upon us, and even other areas of our life have been affected, and other sins have advanced as a result of us ignoring the first. This happens in marriages so often. One little thing unchecked creates a growing divide, and the couple just ignores it or lives with it, and one day they wake up to realize their marriage is on the rocks. We do this in other relationships. We get offended by something someone says or does, and instead of going to that person and talking it out, we avoid confrontation because its uncomfortable and we give in to just thinking negatively of that person, and we write them off, because that’s easier. We do this with personal sins. “I’ve worked hard enough to feel like I deserve a pat on the back”- and pride creeps in. Or- “My issue with _____ sin doesn’t really affect anyone, it’s ok. God’s grace is sufficient.” (Yep, even taking scripture out of context to justify a little hidden sin we have.) And so, in practice, we fall asleep as the enemy advances in on us.
The second way we do the opposite of what a watchman would do, is that we attempt to defeat problems by ourselves, instead of sounding the alarm and gathering others to help. Is the watchman too embarrassed to admit that the enemy is advancing on his watch? No! He realizes the extreme grave danger and doesn’t want to take any chances and he alerts all the help he can possibly muster up in order to save his life, his family, his home, his people, his city. But for some reason, we’re too prideful for that kind of action. So, we don’t say anything. We don’t trust the church or others to walk with us through something, and all of a sudden the unity that Christ desires for His people is compromised, and we have a whole mess of people who are struggling, and doing it apart from each other. We end up as a man alone sweating sweat like drops of blood, or as 3 isolated guys who are falling asleep, or as 8 other guys feeling alone and disregarded. Keep watch, and deal with things immediately and with the help of your brothers and sisters in Christ.
But it’s not just continued vigilance that will help us from suffering defeat. Jesus says to keep watching and praying. I believe we are to live in a perpetual state of watching AND praying, and it’s not that God didn’t hear the prayer we offered yesterday or that He forgot the prayer we prayed and we have to remind Him again today, no, rather in prayer we are expressing to God our reliance on Him- our need for His protection, guidance, and leadership in our lives. Don’t think for one second that if you are alert you can stay unharmed without God’s help. And don’t think for one second that you can just pray and then fall asleep. We are to remain watchful, with a prayerful spirit connected to the Lord, at all times.
Notice too that Jesus’ wording in verse 41 seems to compel us to watch and pray, not so that we won’t immediately sin, but so that we would even avoid entering into temptation to sin. In other words, we are to keep watch and pray BEFORE we enter into temptation. How often do we wait until we are really struggling with a temptation for us to then try to be alert, keep watch, and pray for God’s help? Marriages- keep watch. Relationships with others- keep watch. Personal Holiness- keep watch. Church- keep watch. Again, it’s being the watchman that sees the enemy and sounds the alarm while the enemy is still far away, long before the enemy is close enough to engage with us in a battle that we may or may not win. I think of 1 Cor. 6:18 where it says to “Flee immorality…” In the context, Paul appears to be addressing sexual immorality specifically, but I’d say it’s safe to flee all immorality, sin, and wrongdoing. It’s running the other way, it’s leaving no opportunity to have to test your ability to resist temptation. Fleeing immorality is going ahead and turning off your device late at night when you’re board, tired, and/or frustrated. It’s choosing not to “friend” that old high school sweetheart on Facebook. It’s choosing not to regularly pollute your minds watching entertainment that glorifies rebellion against God. It’s going ahead and talking to that person, just to clarify and make sure you understood their heart.
Perhaps you’ve seen the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” It’s a British comedy from the 70s- King Arthur and his knights are on a quest seeking the relic cup that Jesus used during the last supper- and it’s a whole bunch of silliness- but there’s a scene where the knights are crouched behind some boulders, and a local is advising them to be aware of the monster in front of the cave. The monster he is referring to is a little bunny rabbit. He tells them it’s no ordinary rabbit, but a violent, murdering, blood thirsty rabbit. Well, the knights assume he’s just crazy, and so they approach the rabbit and sure enough, the rabbit jumps up and latches onto their throats one by one, and eventually they all start shouting “Run away, run away!” As silly as the scene is, it’s a good illustration for us. They made the mistake of underestimating what appeared to be harmless. Jesus is warning us to be watching and praying, to take sin and temptation seriously, long before it’s too late. He says the “spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We have a heart, mind, spirit that wants to follow Jesus- to do what’s right, to live in a way that honors Him, to have a clean conscience, to live united in authentic life-giving community with other believers, but- we have to keep watching and keep praying- realizing that our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.
We have the watching and praying to defend ourselves, but these 2 actions should also be coupled with the realization that our flesh is weak. We have to acknowledge our frailty when it comes to our propensity to enter into temptation. Humbly admit that propensity so pride doesn’t take over and end up blindsiding you, leading you straight into being surrounded by temptation. May we each in our personal lives watch, pray, and humbly realize where we are weak. May we as families watch, pray, and humbly realize where we are weak. May we as a church watch, pray, and humbly realize where we are weak. And may God do in our personal lives, within our family lives, and within our church an amazing work of strengthening, encouraging, uplifting, uniting, and protecting us for the honor and glory of His name that we will one day share in.