April 7, 2013
Scripture:
I’d like to read a verse in Ephesians 5. This came before me while thinking about the price that Jesus payed to have us for Himself. We thought about Calvary, but what is He doing now? Ephesians 5:25 - 27. He gave Himself so He could have us for Himself and so He could make us like Himself.
Hymn 328 – To Israel’s land when Israel sinned
Prayer
2 Kings 5:1-14
At the start of this chapter we are introduced to Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army. Naaman was a strong warrior and was great at the battle front; but unfortunately, Naaman had leprosy. Leprosy was a sickness that would eat away at the body until the person died. In Bible times, doctors did not have a cure for it. In the Bible, leprosy is a picture of sin. Each of us is born into this world in sin: we are spiritually dead.
Naaman went on a rampage in Israel, taking many people captive. One captive was a little girl which Naaman took to be a maid at his own house. The little maid would have been around Naaman and would have seen his leprosy. Even though this maid was very young, she knew of Elisha and knew that he could heal Naaman. Naaman’s case is the only time we hear of Elisha healing a leper. This maid had faith, even though she had never heard of Elisha curing leprosy. This maid had been taken away from her family. She could have been very angry at Naaman and not have cared about his leprosy. Instead, she had compassion and told him that he could be healed if he went to Elisha.
Instead of going to Elisha, Naaman went to the King of Israel with great presents and a letter from the King of Syria asking the King of Israel to heal Naaman. This flustered the king; he wasn’t sure what the King of Syria was trying to do. When Elisha heard that Naaman had come to the king, he sent a messenger to the King telling him to send Naaman to him.
Interestingly, when Naaman got to Elisha’s house, Elisha didn’t come out. Instead, Elisha sent one of his servants to give Naaman some instructions. Elisha’s instructions were to wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman didn’t like these instructions at all. He thought that the rivers of Damascus were far better than the Jordan. He left Elisha in a rage. Naaman servants suggested to him that if Elisha had asked him to do something hard, would he have done it. This made Naaman think and he finally decided to follow Elisha directions.
After washing seven times in the Jordan River, he was totally healed. There wasn’t a trace of leprosy left. We said earlier that leprosy was a picture of sin. Naaman having washed in the water and being healed is a picture of salvation. There were several key people that helped Naaman to his healing. First, the maid pointed him to the Saviour; then Elisha’s messenger proclaimed the gospel to him; and finally, his servants persuaded him. The Lord can use each of us to be one of these people to bring a person to Him.
The story of the little maid is a very good example to us. Even though Naaman had taken her from her home and family, she told him that Elisha could heal him. It’s a beautiful example of being nice to someone that has been mean to you.
Luke 22:39-53
After the Last Supper, Jesus took His disciples to the Mount of Olives, as was His custom. He often went to the mountains to pray to His Father. We don’t hear much of those prayers, but we get a peek at Jesus’ communion with His Father here.
Jesus is depicted in Luke as the perfect man. We can see from these verses how much—as a man—He felt His sufferings, and how dependent He was on God. Even though He was the Creator—fully God—Jesus still needed strength from His Father. Luke tells us more of His sufferings here in Gethsemane than any other gospel: the sweat as blood, the ministering angel, etc.
We have accounts of Jesus suffering both at Calvary and at Gethsemane. Calvary looks terrible, but we hear no expressions of suffering coming from our Lord. We need to go to the Psalms for that. Here at Gethsemane, though, we do get expressions of suffering; even to the point of Jesus asking that “this cup” be removed from Him. This was possibly Satan’s second attack on Him.
Jesus went through this agony before the cross, and even before He had been caught. He was perfectly human and perfectly Divine; and as Divine, He had no sin in Him, yet His Father gave Him this cup. Alone with His Father, He kneels down—the position of humility—and occupies in prayer. In a special location, in a special position, and with a special occupation, He was able to call God “Father”.
All of Christ’s sufferings were planned before the world began, yet Jesus asked that—if possible—they be removed. Of course, this was impossible; but it shows us how terrible and repulsive they were. This was the cup of God’s wrath, and Jesus drank it for us. He was submissive to His Father’s will, but we would never have known His feelings if He hadn’t asked for His sufferings to be removed. He was going through the sufferings of the cross in His mind, and even that was so awful that it brought blood through His skin!
These sufferings in the garden were not Christ’s sufferings from man, nor were they His atoning sufferings (He wouldn’t be able to call God “Father” if they were, because God left Him during His atoning sufferings), they were the mental agony of anticipating the cross. As we mentioned before, some think that Satan came back at this point to tempt Jesus further, causing these sufferings.
It’s amazing to have this peek into the Divine plans. Here Jesus didn’t pray for us: He talked to His Father about His Father’s wrath for sin.
Gethsemane is important because it reveals what is not seen in Christ’s calmness at Calvary. We don’t hear Him suffering there; we hear His concern for the women of Jerusalem and the thief at His side. He was able to get up from His knees and face those sufferings because He had gone through the problem in prayer with His Father in Gethsemane.
Our Lord didn’t fall asleep while praying. He knew that Judas and Satan were just around the corner. Satan tried to thwart the redemptive plan and get rid of the Lord; even though he knew what was written in the prophecies, and God had told him that Jesus would bruise His head.
Our Lord was in agony, yet we see His grace in submitting to the Father’s will and in taking care of the disciples. He told them to pray that they would not enter into temptation, and He asked the soldiers to let them go, in order to protect them. He cared for them even in His suffering. Blessed Saviour!
Hymn 274 – Love Divine, all praise excelling
Prayer