Sermon for Ash
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Mercy and
peace to you all, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all
people. Amen.
Matthew 26:36-46 36Then
Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. He told his disciples, “Sit here, while I go
over there and pray.” 37He
took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful
and distressed. 38Then he
said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death. Stay here, and keep watch with me.” 39He went a little farther, fell
on his face, and prayed. He said, “My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40He came to the disciples and
found them sleeping. He said to Peter,
“So, were you not able to stay awake with me for one hour? 41Watch and pray, so that you do
not enter into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42He
went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this
cup to pass from me unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43Again he returned and found them
sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44He left them again, went away, and prayed a third
time. He said the same words as
before. 45Then he returned to
his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is
betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise. Let us go.
Look, my betrayer is near.” (EHV)
“Oh My
Father…”
Dear fellow redeemed,
Throughout
the Scriptures, the Lord God invites, encourages, and commands us to pray,
praise, and give thanks. It is God’s
desire that we come to Him in any need and that we recognize His kindness and
providence. While He was still with His
disciples, Jesus assured them, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he
will give you. Until now you have not
asked for anything in my name. Ask, and
you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.” (John 16:23-24)
This evening, we consider
the 1st Petition of the Prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father,
who art in heaven.” As we observe Jesus
praying on the night He was betrayed, it is here we see His humanity especially
evident. At the same time, we see the
great strength of faith and the holiness Jesus lived for you and me, so that we
can pray just as He did, “Oh My Father…”
I am sure that most of us
are familiar with this account of Jesus pleading with His Father in the Garden
of Gethsemane. Three times, Jesus went
apart by Himself to pray to His Father.
Through these prayers, we see Jesus’ resolve to save us grow stronger
through His conversation with God the Father.
As Jesus came to
Gethsemane, He had the bulk of His disciples sit apart a ways from where He
would pray. He took only Peter, James,
and John close to where He would prostrate Himself before His Father. Jesus first implored the three men to stay
nearby and keep watch. This was most
likely as much for their good as His own.
Jesus had no need for their protection, but the mutual encouragement of
fellow believers is good for all of us, Jesus no less. Still, we see in those three our own
weaknesses. Remember, they had just
declared undying loyalty to Jesus and that they were willing to bear anything,
even death, to stand alongside Jesus.
But, like us, the flesh was weak, and in a few moments, sleep overcame
them. Three times, Jesus stepped away to
pray, and each time He returned to find those three men sound asleep. So much for faithful watchmen.
I don’t know if any of us
would consider ourselves stronger in faith and conviction than those three
disciples. Certainly, I fall asleep many
nights praying for God’s help and mercy.
Does that make me a sinner? No,
not that. That makes me human. That shows that I too am weak and need a
Savior. Yet, our focus this evening is
on Jesus.
Jesus came into this world
to live righteousness for us and to die to pay the full penalty for all the
sins of the world. As Jesus came to
Gethsemane that night, He understood the full terrible agony He would soon suffer
on our behalf. Still, we dare not think
Jesus sinned as He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to the
point of death. Stay here, and keep
watch with me.” He went a little
farther, fell on his face, and prayed.
He said, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus did not ask this out of a lack of
faith, or even a weakness in His commitment to save sinners. Instead, Jesus was showing us the depth of His
concern for those people whose punishment He would soon endure.
Jesus pleaded with the
Father for another way to accomplish their mutual goal. His human nature trembled at the awful
anticipation of the whipping, beating, the rods and staffs, the mocking and the
thorns, the nails ripping through His hands and feet, and the dehydration from
blood loss as His life was ebbing under the curse of sin. Jesus’ divine nature likewise had no desire
to be forsaken by the Father. Who could anticipate
receiving the terrible punishment of hell and welcome that terror? And still, Jesus showed His love for us as He
prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Have you ever prayed to
the Lord and wondered if He would give you a positive answer? Have you ever wondered if God was
listening? Did you ever pray, “If You
are able, oh Lord?” A father once
brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus pleading, “But if you can do anything, have
compassion on us and help us.” “If you
can?!” Jesus said to him. “All things are possible for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:22-23) At Gethsemane, we see Jesus plead for His
Father’s help, and even perhaps for a way to avoid the great pain and spiritual
separation. Yet, Jesus already knew in
His heart that there was no other way to save you and me, and though His flesh
may have trembled, He was firmly resolved to win freedom from sin, death, and
devil for you and me.
Each time Jesus went away
to pray to His Father, Jesus grew more and more committed to the task at
hand. Not that there was ever any doubt
in His mind, but Jesus wanted all of us to be completely sure of His and the
Father’s love and commitment to saving us from hell.
When Jesus returned to
Peter, James, and John, and found them sleeping during their watch, He told
them, “Watch and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.” In many ways, this is our
command as well. As we wait for Jesus’
return on Judgment Day, we need to be ever watching and waiting, ever vigilant,
and with full confidence, both in His promises, and that He will indeed hear
and answer our prayers. Whatever we ask
in line with the Father’s will shall be given to us. There is nothing good that the Father will
withhold from us. Therefore, along with
the father of that demon-possessed boy, we pray, “I do believe. Help me with my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
At the same time, we
confess that not all of our prayers measure up to the purity and trust Jesus
displayed as He prayed at Gethsemane.
For those times, though, we can be comforted by the fact that Jesus was
praying in our place and on our behalf.
Because Jesus’ prayers were perfectly holy and in line with His Father’s
will, our prayers are counted as righteous for Jesus’ sake.
So that you and I may
believe and never doubt, “He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father,
if it is not possible for this cup to pass from me unless I drink it, may your
will be done.’” Facing the most
awful and painful execution wicked men could devise and knowing the spiritual
rend from His Father that awaited Him, Jesus boldly and confidently submitted
to His Father’s will. There was never
any doubt or apprehension in Jesus’ mind.
His love for you made His commitment solid.
From before His conception
in Mary, Jesus was firmly and wholly committed to being the Lamb of God who
would take away the sin of the world.
That never changed, so no devil, no temptation, and certainly no man could
stand in Jesus’ way. This is the Savior
who opened the gates of heaven for us.
This is the Savior whose righteousness has been credited to you and me
through faith. This is the Savior whose
blood washes away all our guilt in Baptism.
This is the Savior who gives us His own real body and blood in the bread
and wine of His Holy Supper as another testimony that all our sins are
forgiven.
The final time Jesus
returned to His disciples after His prayers, He said to them, “Look, the
hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise.
Let us go. Look, my betrayer is
near.” Fully confident in the
Father’s answers to His prayers, Jesus turned boldly and resolutely toward the
cross. He knew exactly what lay ahead
for Him. Jesus knew in advance every
twinge of pain He would feel and the horrible agony of being forsaken by His
Father for the first time ever, but without any doubt or apprehension, Jesus
gave Himself up, first to His captors, then to the tormentors, finally to the
cross, to the pain, to the death. All
because Jesus and His Father have a never-ending love for you and me, and an
unstoppable commitment to save us.
Through His life and
death, Jesus reconciled all of us, who never deserved it, with the God of all
creation. By His sacrifice, all our
guilt was put away never to be seen or heard of again. Today, because of the Baptism Jesus
instituted, those of us who believe and have been baptized stand in the good
graces of God. Through Baptism, God made
us His own dear children, dearly loved, fully forgiven, holy in His eyes, and
always ready to pray to Him through Jesus with full certainty and confidence in
our heavenly Father who always answers when we pray, “Oh My Father…” Amen.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you— according
to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is
wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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