The Hidden Life Of Jesus
By Johnny Tatum
#9) JESUS PRAYS THAT HE WILL NOT DIE AT THIS MOMENT
ACCEPTING OUR
NEW IDENTITY
In one sense, God does not see our sin—He sees us as totally perfect from the time we trusted in Jesus as Savior. And in another sense, God is omniscient (all knowing). So how could He not see our sin?
God
does not see our sin as originating from within us. He sees the sin of born again believers as His problem: Do not
worry; I will take care of that problem.
We tend to think that because we have sin in us, that we are sinners, but we are not.
Picture: When I get a splinter, I do not think I am a totem pole; I think that I am a person with a splinter. The splinter is not part of me; it is alien to me; it is external to me. God says to reject who you think you are: you are not a sinner; you are a new person. The sin is not part of you; it is alien to you; it is external to you.
God looks at Sin in our lives as something that plagues us, as something that He feels sorry for; He considers it His problem, not ours. So yes, God sees the Sin, and He sees it as something that is external to us and as something that His Son has already taken care of.
That is why in Romans 8, Paul says:
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Because through Christ Jesus:
Is there anything wrong with the Law? No, the Law is perfect. What could the Law not do? The Law could not make people righteous.
in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,
God’s Law was never going to save anybody. Why not?
Nobody could do it (fulfill the Law).
We tend to look at God’s Law as a way of salvation, and Paul says
clearly The Law was a ministry of condemnation. However, one Person stepped forward—Behold…In
the scroll of the book it is written of Me—and said I will do it
(Psalm 40:7). And do you know
what? Jesus
did it!
Meaning the exact representation.
of sinful man to be a sin offering,
And here is one of my favorite verses in the New Testament:
He condemned sin in a Man full of sin,
Did you catch that? He—God the Father—condemned sin in a Man full of sin. Who is He talking about? Jesus was a Man full of sin. But He was full of sin: ours! Why did He do that?—
Did you see that word fully? That is a technical term that means fully.
met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)
Here is the benefit of seeing the picture of Jesus at Gethsemane:
Jesus saying: Hey, there are [insert your name]’s sins coming on Me; they are surrounding Me; all these evils beyond number have surrounded Me; My heart has failed Me; I am not able to see! (See Psalm 40:12.)
Question: Why do we want to know that?
We
see our sins were really put on Jesus.
Question: Why does it matter that our sins were really put on
Him?
He says For everybody whose sins were put on Jesus, the righteous requirements of the Law would be fully met in us.
What we are
seeing at Gethsemane is our sins – literally, physically – being put on
Jesus. And at the same time, we are
seeing the 100 percent perfection, required by the Law, put on us.
Isaiah 50 is one of those remarkable Bible passages that was written 700 years before Jesus was born, but is one that clearly depicts Him. Isaiah was one of the prophets, who were writing things they did not understand—see 1 Peter 1:10-12:
[The prophets asked Holy Spirit directly:] Who is this?
[Holy Spirit said:] You are
writing for the benefit of people who come later.
[I think-] In Isaiah 50, clearly, Jesus is pictured after our sins were being placed on Him at Gethsemane. At that time, Jesus prays:
Father, let this cup pass, if it be Your will. (Luke 22:42)
Jesus feels like He is about to die—He is very near death from the physical shock of our sins on Him—so He is praying that He will not die at this moment.
Note: Consider the sins of King David—one of the most exalted characters of all time— adultery throughout his life and first-degree, premeditated murder. All of David’s sins were physically placed on Jesus, along with all the sins of all the saints of all time.
Yes, I am sure it almost killed Jesus; in fact, blood came out of His pores, indicating that He nearly died. And, I believe, Jesus was dozing in and out because He was about to die. So when Jesus prays Let this cup pass, He was asking Do not let Me die here on this mountain; let Me die on the Cross. And Hebrews 5:7 tells us because Jesus was the Son, His prayer was answered.
Did Jesus die at the Gethsemane? No, He woke up:
4 He awakens Me morning by morning,
Literally, He
woke Me in the morning just like He did the other mornings.
Jesus is relieved to wake up:
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
Jesus is saying that He woke up that night at Gethsemane ready to go ahead, because He knows what is coming.
Presented In The Gospels:
About one year before this, Jesus told His disciples that the Son of Man is about to be delivered over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him, curse Him, and beat Him; and He will die on the Cross:
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)
Now, at the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is prepared to undergo suffering of many things, including: rejection – death – Hades – resurrection.
Remember: It is Jesus’ choice. The reason He is willing to be our Substitute is because that is the only way sinners can be redeemed (saved)—every sinner has a debt that cannot be worked out, traded, or bartered; the debt must be paid in blood—and that is what Jesus is about to do [for us].
As Jesus is facing (looking toward) the Cross, He says:
5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
Why does Jesus say Lord GOD (Adonai Elohim—Adonai
meaning Lord, master; Elohim
meaning God of the universe)
and not My Father? The
relationship between God the Father and His Son, Jesus, has changed. Why?
Jesus became a cursed
Human Being when the sins of the world were placed on Him and the holy wrath of
God the Father (the Righteous Judge) was upon them.
As we will see, Jesus knew, intellectually, the relationship with His Father would change when He took on our sins at Gethsemane. At this point, Jesus—in His humanity—does not understand the ramifications of that; He does not know that in a little while He will pray to His Father and there will be no answer.
Jesus says:
And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.
We Can Never Forget: In His humanity, Jesus is in a weakened condition and He is somewhat confused; however, this is always His choice.
Nor did I turn back means He could stop the whole process and say No! However, Jesus says I am willing.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for this word that You have given us, and for Your Holy Spirit who wrote it. Above all, we thank You for lifting the veil and letting us see those hidden thoughts (communication) between You and Your Son, Jesus.
Thank You for letting us see His thoughts so we can understand, remarkably, how much like us that He was with the doubts – the confusion – even, the dread.
Thank You, Father, that You gave Him the choice, so that when He chose to die for us it was willingly and it was based on full knowledge.
We thank You that those sins of ours—the ones that seem small to us and the ones that seem big to us—were all put on His body, so that when Jesus went to the Cross and died, our sins were literally killed. And in Your mind, our sins do not even exist anymore.
Father, above all, we thank You for Him, for Jesus. And it is in His name that we pray. Amen.
Next: Hidden Life #10) JESUS IS IN CONTROL AND LETTING IT HAPPEN
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