1. Read John 18:1-18.
  2. When Jesus went off to pray, what did the disciples end up doing and why?
  3. Sleeping from sorrow. The disciples were so devastated and depressed by what Jesus had told them after the supper that they literally couldn’t even keep their eyes open (their eyes were heavy).
  4. Was Jesus feeling any better?
  5. No. He was in such agony that He began to sweat blood.
  6. Did He really?
  7. Yes. When a person is under such extreme physical or emotional duress, blood vessels can rupture. If they rupture in the brain, it is called a stroke. If the capillaries around the sweat glands rupture and let blood seep into the sweat glands and eventually into the sweat pores, it is called, “hematohidrosis.”
  8. In Mark 14:36, Jesus asks the Father to, “Take this cup from me.” What was in the cup?
  9. Imagine a massive trophy cup in front of you. Think of some of the gross things you’ve done and pour those in the cup. Now think of all the other sins you’ve committed and those you’re going to commit and pour those in the cup as well. Now multiply that by billions of people, and picture a massive cup brimming with filthy, revolting poison that Jesus is being asked to drink. What is being asked is for Someone who is and always has been perfectly sinless to grab ahold of that massive cup of revolting filth and drink all of it so that He becomes not just “full of sin” but sin itself (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  10. With whom has Jesus been in communion with forever?
  11. God.
  12. How will that be affected when He becomes sin?
  13. He can no longer be in communion with the Father, because if so, the Father would become sin as well.
  14. What did Jesus cry out to God while hanging on the cross?
  15. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Mark 15:34)” The prospect of being separated from the Father, whom He loved and has always been in communion with was another huge reason for His agony.
  16. Why did Jesus drink the cup in the end if He found it so revolting?
  17. As much as He hates sin, He loves us more. And as much as He didn’t want to be separated from the Father, He wanted to obey Him more.
  18. What does Jesus’ resurrection prove about His blood and what He drank?
  19. The cleansing power of His blood over all that sin, including ours.
  20. What was the “final word” on what Jesus wants from the Father?
  21. “Not what I will, but what You will (Mark 14:36).” “Not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42).”
  22. Is that what you pray for? Could you pray that if God asked you to do the thing that you dislike?
  23. How much distress does it cause you when you think about being on your own apart from God?
  24. Are you as repulsed by your sins as Jesus was with the cup’s content?
  25. John does not record Judas’ kiss of greeting which convinces the mob that this was Jesus, but Judas’ kiss marked a turning point for the disciples. How?
  26. For the first time, Judas openly betrayed Jesus before the other disciples. For the first time, Jesus’ loyal disciples ran away from Him. The band of disciples would undergo severe testing before they were transformed from hesitant followers to dynamic leaders.
  27. What does Luke record happened to Malachus’ right ear that Peter cut off with his sword?
  28. He touched his ear and healed him (Luke 22:51).

1