September 14, 2025

Luke 22:35-62

In the Garden of Gethsemane

Sunday Sermons

In Luke 22:35-62, we are taken into the dark hours of Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here, Jesus kneels in prayer, staggering under the weight of sin and the cup of wrath He alone must drink. Betrayed by Judas, abandoned by the disciples, and soon denied by Peter, Jesus nevertheless submits fully to the Father’s will. In His agony, His arrest, and His mercy—even healing the ear of one sent to seize Him—we are given a window into the heart of the Savior who loves to the end.

Whether you have never turned to Jesus or you have walked away from Him, this passage reminds us that Jesus is faithful and trustworthy, He prays for His people, and He offers forgiveness and freedom to all who turn to Him. Join Pastor Tommy as we see, hear, and receive from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Speaker

Tommy Bailey

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 22:35-62

Topics
Community Life Growth & Discipleship

Sermon Notes

Luke 22:35-62

In the Garden of Gethsemane

Pastor Tommy Bailey

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you [plural], that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know Me.”
Luke 22:31-34

Luke 22:35-62
  • See Jesus
  • Hear Jesus
  • Receive from Jesus

“What took Him to this wretched place,
What kept Him on this road?
His love for Adam’s cursed race,
For every broken soul.
No sin too slight to overlook,
No crime too great to carry,
All mingled in this poisoned cup,
And yet He drank it all
The Saviour drank it all,
The Saviour drank it all.”
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty, Gethsemane

1. The Agony of Jesus

What is prayer?
  • Listening to God
  • Speaking to God
  • Adoring God
  • Acknowledging our need for God
  • Enjoying the presence of God
  • Bringing our needs to God
  • Submitting our wills to God

“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
Isaiah 53:3

“The dreadful sorrow and anxiety, then, out of which the prayer for the passing of the cup springs, is not an expression of fear before a dark destiny, nor a shrinking from the prospect of physical suffering and death. It is rather the horror of the one who lives wholly for the Father at the prospect of the alienation from God…Jesus came to be with the Father [in Gethsemane] for an interlude before His betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before Him, and He staggered.”
William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark

“At the cross, the most powerful man who ever lived submitted to the most brutal death ever died, to save the powerless. Christianity does not glorify violence. It humiliates it.”
Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity

2. The Arrest of Jesus

“Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
Hebrews 3:12-13

Progression towards a hardened heart:
  • Unbelief (Heb 3:12)
  • Fall away from the living God (Heb 3:12)
  • Isolated from community (Heb 3:13)
  • A heart hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13)

3. The Denial of Jesus by Peter

“No eye is quicker to see the mercy of God than the eye washed with the tears of repentance.”
Charles Spurgeon

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:10

“We love until we are betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we are forsaken. Jesus loved through forsakenness. We love up to a limit. Jesus loves to the end.”
Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly

Discussion Questions

  • With his crucifixion only hours away, Jesus exhorts his disciples to prepare spiritually for the season ahead. What is spiritual preparedness? How do we cultivate it in our own lives, and in our own day and time?
  • Luke tells us that Jesus entered the garden with his disciples, “as was his habit.” Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus modeled the intentional, thoughtful, and deliberate discipline of coming to God in prayer. When we look at our lives- our habits, schedules, and patterns- are we seeing this same kind of intentionality? If Jesus prioritized prayer this specifically, how much more should we?
  • If we’re honest, we (like Peter) have denied Jesus, wrestled with doubts, and felt the bitter sting of our sin. What can we learn about the heart, character, and compassion of Jesus from his response to Peter? When we fail, are we falling into the arms of grace?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Rejoice“ Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Ben Shive, Skye Peterson…
“Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus“ by William J. Kirkpatrick, John Andrew Schreiner, and Louisa R. Stead
“How Deep The Father’s Love For Us“ by Stuart Townend
“He Will Hold Me Fast“ by Ada Ruth Habershon and Matthew Merker
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: Come, Let Us Worship

Come, let us worship God the Father, the maker of heaven and earth! Let us worship Jesus Christ,
the resurrected King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Let us worship the Holy Spirit, the promised comforter and counselor!
All glory and praise be to the one true God,
now and forevermore, amen!

Confession of Faith:

The Apostles’ Creed – I Believe in the Holy Universal Church, part 1
Article III. “I Believe in the Holy Universal Church”
ACNA, Q. 92, 93, 94

Leader: What is the Church?
People: The Church is the whole community of faithful Christians in heaven and on earth, called and formed by God into one people. The Church on earth gathers to worship God in Word and Sacrament, to serve God and neighbor, and to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Leader: How does Holy Scripture teach us to view the Church?
People: Holy Scripture teaches us to view the Church as God’s family, as the Body and bride of Christ, and as the temple where God in Christ dwells by his Spirit.
Leader: Why is the Church called the Body of Christ?
People: The Church is called the Body of Christ because all who belong to the Church are united to Christ as their Head and source of life, and are united to one another in Christ for mutual love and service to him.

Classic Prayer: John Chrysostom 347-407 AD

Lord, help us to leave behind our worries about what everyone around us thinks of us-whether it is about their insults … or their honors.
Instead, let us be diligent about one thing only: that we harbor no evil thing, nothing that displeases you, nor insult even ourselves.
That way, we will enjoy much glory both in this life and, as God grants, in the world to come.
By the grace and love toward us of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, world without end, amen.

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