The Exorcist Files - Jesus and Satan: Lent Series, Ep 3

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Father Martins continues the series in our Lenten Audio retreat.Thank you to our sponsors. They make this show possible.Go to shopremi.com/EXFILES and use code EXFILES  at checkout for 50% offBabbel! - Learn a new Language and get up to 60% off your subscription at babbel.com/exfilesGet 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code EXFILES at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/EXFILESThe Born Again Identity- Find your identity in Christ with Fr. Pine, hosted by Ryan Bethea. Available now. Click to listen!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome back to The Exorcist Files, where it's time to repent and observe the season of Lent. I'm your co-host, Ryan Bethay, and today we bring you part three of Father's Lenton Audio Retreat, Jesus and Satan. And if that title didn't interest you, well, I don't know what will. Before we start today's episode, I do want to give a little shout out to my dear friend, Father Gregory Pine, who might make a cameo in one of the ad reads later. I had the privilege of sitting down with him recently in an old beer garden and winery to talk about the very important question of how to find your identity in Christ

and discover just what to do with our lives. So if you're feeling a little lost, if you're wrestling with any spiritual questions, or you just want to hear Father Pine use words that necessitate multiple thesauri. Is that even the plural? Then check out the born again identity. Yeah, I know. The Born Again Identity, a limited series podcast,

is now streaming on EWTN.com, or you can click the links in the show notes. And with that, let's bring on Father Martins. Hello, friends. We've reached the third meditation of our Lenton retreat. In the first meditation, we learned that discipleship is the minimum condition for a relationship with Jesus. He is not interested in any relationship less than discipleship. In the second meditation, we examined a very broken disciple in St. Peter. His brokenness revealed itself repeatedly, so much so that Peter decided to leave the Lord's company and abandon him in his suffering. Peter was frustrated

that he could not give Jesus everything Jesus wanted. But Jesus never rejected Peter, never threw him away. Jesus never decommissioned anyone. He never discarded a single soul. Even Judas was forgiven by him. And if you recall, in Githsemini, at the very moment, moment of the betrayal that Judas committed, right, which was done with a kiss, at that moment, Jesus said to him, friend, do you betray me with a kiss? The Lord called him friend. The Lord was not being sarcastic when he said that. The Lord does not have a sarcastic bone in his body. The word sarcasm is a word made up of two Greek words, which mean to tear flesh. Jesus doesn't tear anybody's flesh. He is the one who allows his flesh to be torn. So when Jesus

calls Judas friend, he is forgiving him for that betrayal in the very moment that it happens. So to accommodate Peter's inability to love the Lord with that perfect love that the Lord desires, Jesus even lowered the level of love that he demands from St. Peter. So Luke informs us that when Jesus began his ministry, he was about the age of 30. This is Luke chapter 3, verse 23. Have you ever wondered what life was like for the Lord until that age? Well, the answer is easy. He lived a life like any other human would live.

a holy life. It was a sinless life, but it was a life that did not make him stand out in any way from anyone else. We know this because at one time when people from his hometown witnessed his miraculous power, they were astounded. So this is from Matthew chapter 13 beginning at verse 35. They said, is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this? And they took offense at him.

This shows, among other things, that Jesus did not perform any miracles prior to beginning his public ministry. But even if he wanted to perform a miracle, he couldn't. At his incarnation, he surrendered his divine power. He did not surrender his divine identity. Jesus was God, always was God, always will be God. He cannot surrender his divine identity. But he did surrender his divine power when he incarnated himself. He made himself weak, just like we are weak. He was like us in all things but sin. Paul proves this the fact that he made himself powerless in Philippians chapter 2. Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

Other translations say something to be taken advantage of. Rather, he emptied himself. And the word that Paul uses here for empty is canosis, which means a complete. emptying such that none of the substance that filled a container that was inside a container before. After conosis, there's nothing of that original. What that container held, there's nothing of it left. Rather, he emptied himself taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found in human appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. but all of this changed at the Lord's baptism.

And so I'm going to read that account. This is from Matthew chapter 3 beginning at verse 13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And yet you are coming to me. Jesus said to him in reply, allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens saying, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. It is at this moment that Jesus receives his divine power once again. The father sends down his spirit into his son and empowers him for his messianic purpose. To put it simply, the father here gives Jesus everything he needs to accomplish his vocation.

How do we know this? Just look at what happens afterwards. The very next verse is, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Mark uses even more explicit language. The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. This is Mark chapter 1 verse 12. The Spirit drove him into the wilderness.

So those of you who are parents, which one of you would send your child, would drive your child into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? But that is exactly what God the Father did. In the Jewish understanding, the desert was considered the realm of the devil. So kind of his homestead, if you will. Why? The desert is the most inhosponductive. despicable environment. It's hotter than Hades during the day and it is freezing cold at night.

It is a place where jackals, bandits, and just all kinds of animals, the sounds of which are haunting. I've been in the desert at Jericho in Jerusalem during the night and you hear these sounds and you think, what in heaven's name just made that sound? What animal was that? So there's a very haunting effect there. So in the Jewish mindset, the desert is the backyard. It is the homestead of the devil. It's where the devil lives. So what the father does here is equivalent to sending Jesus right to the devil's own home, ringing the doorbell and saying, here's my boy. Take your best shot at him. That's exactly what the father does. So that creates the first conversation between Jesus and Satan. This driving of Jesus into the desert by the Spirit sets the stage for that encounter between Jesus and the ancient foe. And so to understand this encounter, we need to keep one thing in mind.

We've just seen the Father affirmed Jesus at the baptism. And this affirmation has given Jesus empowerment. This is exactly what Satan wants to attack, that connection Jesus has to his father. Satan understands that if he can compromise that connection, then Jesus is defeated. In other words, Satan wants to attack the incarnation. And so I'm reading now from chapter, I'm reading the account of the temptations. I'm going to use Matthew's version, beginning chapter 4, verse two. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached

and said to him, if you are the son of God, command that these stones become loz of bread. So what does Satan challenge here? And you know what? So here's a hint. In all three of these temptations, what we usually think that they are referencing, what we usually think that they mean is wrong. Okay. So what does Satan challenge here, right? It's not simple hunger, like stomach hunger, belly hunger, right? So the temptation here has nothing to do with food, right?

If you really wanted to tempt a hungry man who's been fasting for 40 days, you're not going to to do it with bread. A bucket of chicken maybe, right? A nice thick steak, some potatoes, a salad, a cold beer, or wine, or both. But you're not going to do it with crummy bread. So what Satan is challenging here is Jesus' identity, the identity that he's just received from God the Father. If you are the son of God, command these stones to turn to bread. Ladies, you may not understand what's going on here, but you men, you will understand. Satan is here challenging Jesus to show his muscle. He's trying to challenge him into a peeing contest. women don't speak to one another like this, but men do.

There isn't a single man alive who has not heard this type of provocation in a school playground, for example. It is a provocation that one male will make to another. If your father has really empowered you, Jesus, show me. Let's see what you can do. This is Satan challenging not just Jesus' identity as Messiah as the Anointed One, but also his identity as a man. He is attacking the incarnation.

When men attack other men, they often attack their manhood. Why do they do this? Because it's effective. Jesus, by Jewish standards, was considered a giant loser. He's 30 years old, and he's not yet married. He's got no kids. He has not courted a single girl. He has shown no interest at all in women.

He has no wealth, no business. He lives with his mother. There would be murmuring, in other words. What's wrong with him? Is he funny? But notice how Jesus doesn't take the bait. He merely responds with a scripture. He said in reply, it is written,

One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Second temptation. Then the devil took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written. He will command his angels concerning you, and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

The demonic attack here now settles on whether Jesus is really loved by his father. If your father really loves you, launch yourself from this temple, and let's see if he will protect you. Whereas the first attack was against Jesus' empowerment given to him by his father, this attack centers on Jesus' relationship to his father. Do you believe, Jesus, you sweet, dainty little thing, that your father loves you? You're nothing but an embarrassing little boy who still lives with his mother. everything within a man wants to strike at his challenger who's throwing this at him by proving him wrong. Do you wake up with headaches? Do you wake up wondering why you actually don't feel amazing? Well, it could be because you had an enormous plate of nachos right before bed,

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And it would certainly have been within Jesus's power to do so. But again, he does not take the bait and responds with a scripture. Jesus answered him, again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Third temptation. Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence. And he said to him, all these I shall give you if you will prostrate yourself and worship me. The devil, in other words, is willing to hand over all humans in exchange for Jesus alone.

Now keep in mind, the very reason why Jesus came was to ransom the world. This is the purpose, the reason for the incarnation. the devil is now willing to give up the world, to give up everyone, all human souls throughout time, just to have Jesus. Now put yourself as Jesus in this moment, right? So you know you will have to endure a bloody passion merely for the possibility of saving humans. And I say a possibility because no one's salvation is assured. It is an offer that Jesus makes. Jesus offers salvation. But it is not a guarantee.

You have to accept it. If it's merely an offer, it stands to reason that some may refuse that offer and likely some will. Some have. therefore this is what the devil is offering he is saying jesus you do not have to endure the passion i offer you every soul from the beginning of time they'll all be saved guaranteed i only want you again on this third temptation jesus responds with a scripture get away satan it is written, the Lord your God shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve. And then Matthew concludes the scene by saying, then the devil left him and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Jesus is so shaken by the encounter with Satan that angels need to come and take care of him. Satan at this point must be stunned. He has never had anyone withstand his temptations like this, no one. And Satan himself has been injured in the attack. That's the reason why he leaves. But make no mistake, the attacks also injured Jesus. His humanity has hit the wall, and he is non-functional, so non-functional that angels have to come and ministered.

to him. If you notice, all the attacks are against Jesus' humanity. This only makes sense, because Jesus' divinity cannot be attacked. How can God, who is infinite and all-powerful, be attacked? It's impossible. But Satan is trying to find a seam between Jesus' humanity and divinity. And if there is no seam, he's trying to cut one. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. but the attack is so damaging to Jesus' human nature that it leaves him non-functional. Satan knows that it was the father who empowered Jesus at his baptism. He understands that the only way that he can defeat Jesus is if he is able to disconnect Jesus from his father.

This will be the plan of attack from now on, but he's going to do it differently. in the temptations in the desert, he attacked Jesus head on. From now on, Satan will attack Jesus through others, through those whom he loves. Incidentally, whenever Satan encounters Jesus from this point onwards, he never asks Jesus about his identity. In the desert, Satan began each temptation with a question, if you are the Son of God, If you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God, from this point forward, when Satan encounters Jesus, he never confronts Jesus with questions, but with statements. Each demon from this point will say, we know who you are.

This sets the stage for the next conversation between Jesus and Satan that I'd like to examine. And this occurs, well, this is the transfiguration. We're going to take it from Mark's account. So this is in chapter 9, beginning at verse 2. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. And his clothes became dazzling white,

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said, to Jesus in reply, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say they were so terrified. Then a cloud came casting a shadow over them. Then from the cloud came a voice, This is my beloved son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone, but just,

Jesus alone with them. We hear the Father's voice here again, affirming Jesus yet again. Just like at the baptism where Jesus received something big, here also he received something big. At his baptism, it was his divine power. Here he receives the executive order that the triumph of God's plan for the world is going to happen now. Two figures appear to Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law, and he was God's instrument to institute the Passover, which really you could say is the feast of the Messiah. That's what the Passover is.

Elijah represents prophecy. The Jews believe that Elijah's return will inaugurate the Passover. To this day, at the Passover table, Jews always set a place for Elijah. Elijah's presence at the Transfiguration signals that the Messiah has come. Elijah is the announcer and host of the Passover. Jesus is the one who needs to understand what is going on with the Passover, hence Moses and Elijah. Moses is here to say to Jesus, you are the one who will complete the Passover. And Elijah is here to say to Jesus, you, Jesus, will announce the Passover now.

In other words, friends, this is the beginning and start of the Lord's passion. Jesus is therefore the learner at the Transfiguration, not the disciples. Peter, James, and John are invited to watch their boss as he learns about his job and mission. And the father's voice is there to affirm the communication from Moses and Elijah. Now, if you're Satan, how are you going to feel about this? Obviously, he's not happy. His kingdom is about to be solemnly attacked. So he's got a response to what has just happened. And as Jesus and the apostles come down the

mountain, they encounter it. Now, to understand what happens next, we need to understand satanic mockery. Every exorcist is well familiar with satanic mockery. In fact, every exorcist will tell you there's a constant mockery that comes from Satan. A mockery is intended to cast doubt. on everything you believe. And in terms of Jesus, he frequently heard mocking coming from Satan. Satan used it to get under his skin in order to agitate him. Evidence of this is when Peter was commissioned by Jesus as the rock upon which Jesus would build his church. This begins in Matthew 16, verse 18. And just four verses later, Peter uses this authority. to tell Jesus what to do.

So let's look at the account. And now we're beginning, Matthew 16, verse 21. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. God forbid, Lord, no such thing shall ever happen to you. He turned and said to Peter,

Get behind me, Satan. You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do. Wow. That was a sharp reaction from Jesus. Why such sharpness? Only one reason is possible. Because what Peter suggested, forget about the passion.

was tempting to Jesus. If you notice in this conversation, Satan doesn't ever speak directly to Jesus. He has apparently given up on that. He is speaking, but now he's doing it through others. Now, there are a few things I do almost every single day without exception. Pray, sing a verse from total eclipse of the heart, eat a square of dark chocolate, take a walk, and of course, take my cowboy colostrum. Now, I know some of us are thinking, just what is colostrum?

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That's 25% off when you use our code X-Files. That's X-Files at cowboy colostrum.com slash X-Files. Or click the link in the show notes. Hello, Exorcist Files fans. Ryan here. Are you struggling to find your identity in Christ? Do you wrestle with comparison issues? Do you want to know to what purpose and passion God has called you?

Well, I can't help you answer any of these questions, but you know who can? My dear friend, Father Gregory Pine, who is joining me on this ad read. Hey, Father Pine. Hey, thanks for having me on this ad read. It is a delight to be on this ad read. Absolutely.

Now, Father Pine, you and I recently sat down in a 150-year-old winery to discuss this most vital and pressing question of how to figure out just what to do with our lives. What could listeners expect if they choose to join us on this auditory journey? Well, I think they could expect some delightful conversation filled with whimsy and caprice, but theological insights, which could be of service and their own discernment and ongoing work in the spirit. Wow, that sounds amazing. So, folks, if you're interested in joining us in the born-again identity, see what we did there?

You can watch it on eWTN.com, or like always, you can click the links in the show notes. And if you do this, it will make Father Pine very happy. Right, Father Pine? Oh, beyond belief. Absolutely. So for sheer whimsy, delightful conversation, and potentially some theological edification, look no further than the born again identity. Thanks for listening, folks. And, you know, in my reading, I've seen that some scholars suggest that what Jesus is saying to Peter in saying, get behind me, is he's saying, look, Peter, you're standing in the wrong. line. You're following the wrong guy. You need to get behind me. In other words, get in my line in the line that I'm forming. And, you know, frankly, to me, though, that just that interpretation just doesn't make any sense. Because why then does Jesus call Peter Satan? If a guy is simply, if he's merely standing in the wrong line, is there a need to call him Satan? No, there's something much deeper here. It isn't that Peter is just

standing in the wrong line, that Peter in this moment, inadvertently, but thinking as humans, right, sinful humans, he's giving into that sinfulness and offering Jesus something that is tempting to Jesus, right? Jesus knows the weight of the mission that is before him. And when Peter makes the suggestion, it's tempting. And that's why this rawness comes out of Jesus. we're going to see something similar now so i'm going to take the mark an account starting in chapter nine verse nine as they were this is the fallout of that transfiguration the fallout of

them coming down the mountain as they were coming down from the mountain jesus peter james and john saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. He asked them, what are you arguing about with him? So before I go on, I just want to pause here and point out a couple of things. The transfiguration happened on Mount Haber, which is in the middle of nowhere, nowhere. So when they come down the mountain, there's a large crowd and scribes arguing with this large crowd. So if it's in the middle of nowhere, like this literally is in the middle of the wilderness, why is there a large crowd and why are there a bunch of people? And more importantly, why are

their scribes arguing with them? Immediately upon seeing Jesus, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. Why? Well, you're going to see why. You're going to see why. They ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, what are you arguing about with him? And so, So I'm continuing. Someone from the crowd answered him, teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.

Right. So there's an exorcism going on. And that's why the crowd is gathered. And why are they amazed? because all of a sudden they see Jesus coming down the mountain. So there's an exorcism happening here, and they look, here comes Jesus, the heavyweight champion of the world exorcist, the guy who has never met a demon that he couldn't best.

And so now these people thought they were just in for like an afternoon matinee of like some ho-hum exorcists. That's the purpose of the scribes. In ancient Israel, you would hire scribes, and they would come with their books and they would read long prayers. This is the way that exorcism was conducted. It was a recitation of prayers read by scribes. And so all of a sudden, here comes Jesus and things are about to get awesome. This is the reaction of the crowd.

So the father comes up and says, you know, I. my son is suffering and I asked your disciples to drive it out, to drive the demon out, but they were unable to do so. And here's Jesus's reply. He said to them in reply, O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me. They brought the boy to him, and when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam with the mouth. Then he questioned his father. How long has this been happening to him? He replied, since childhood. It has often thrown him into the fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said to him, if you can,

everything is possible to one who has faith. Then the boy's father, cried out, I do believe, help my unbelief. Jesus, on seeing a crowd, rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again. Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. All right. So what is going on here? If you've noticed, Jesus is pretty raw here in his comments.

So here's a father coming up and saying to Jesus, you know, here's my boy, he's possessed. I asked for help from your disciples. They couldn't help us. I, you know, I've gone to all of them. Can you do anything? And Jesus's reply is, oh, faithless generation, how long will I put it? How long must I put up with you? So what would you do if you came up to me and made that request and I gave you Jesus's reply here?

You know, faithless generate, how long do I have to put up with you? You probably would be on the horn calling the bishop and saying, you know, Father Martin's here is not being very Christ-like. Well, you can't make that suggestion to Jesus. You can't say Christ is not being Christ-like. All right. So what's going on? well so there's a spectacle exorcism happening in which the boy's father is passing a hat around so that's the purpose for the crowd so so what's going on here is a crowd has gathered the father

brings his possessed boy and hires the scribes to generate a crowd and when the spectacle is happening. The boy starts flopping around, foaming at the mouth, the boy starts manifesting because the demons within him get agitated from the prayers. The father goes around with a hat and he collects donations. Right. So that's not written here, but that's what's implied. That's what's going on. You're in the middle of nowhere and a spectacle is being gathered. And that's when, you know, Jesus comes down the mountain and everybody's like, oh my God. goodness. I mean, we have picked the best day to come out to this. Right. So now one other thing is that there's a crucial detail that Mark does not record in his account, but Luke in his account does.

When the man comes up to Jesus, the father identifies his son as his only son. His boy is an only son. This is crucially important. Who else is an only son? Jesus. He's the only son of God the Father. So Satan is using this scene and this father, this spectacle exorcism, to communicate to Jesus, listen up. This scene I have orchestrated is exactly what your life is and what it is going to be.

when you endure the passion, you are going to be a spectacle, just like this boy is a spectacle. The father describes the plight of his son, how he is controlled by evil. Jesus hears this. And then he makes his petition to Jesus. If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Help us? I thought it was the boy who needed help. But the father says help us.

Why is the father including himself in the petition? So evidently, there is selfishness in the boy's father. What does the boy's father need liberation from? Well, his boy needs constant care. He needs to be fed. He needs to be watched so he doesn't get thrown into the fire, into the water. Really, he's a burden. In a word, he's a burden.

And the father wants to be free of the burden. Satan is using these elements and the caustic nature, the repulsive nature of this father, who still is going to have his hat in his hand, you know, looking for coins. He's using this to say to Jesus, your own father is as selfish and pathetic as this boy's is. your father doesn't love you he doesn't give a rip about you he just wants to be free of you he wants you to suffer for his own selfish reasons and why should you suffer if he wants the world save why doesn't he suffer for the world himself you're going to be a spectacle just like this loser boy is. When I come and attack you and make you my own, like I've done to this boy,

everyone's going to gawk and stare at you, just like they're gawking and staring at him now. This, friends, is what Jesus is hearing. and the proof of this is how harshly he barks at the boy's father oh faithless generation how long will i be with you so the arrow fired by satan is felt by jesus right and if you saw and if you heard in the last scene Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to a mute and deaf spirit, I command you come out of him and never enter him again. So Jesus, on seeing the crowd, dispatch the demon as fast as he could. Why?

The crowd is gathering. And he has no desire to be the keynote speaker at the idiot. convention. He has no desire to be a spectacle and be and put on for people at a heavyweight championship match between him and the devil. He's repulsed by the scene and just wants to get away. We move now on to conversation number three between Jesus and Satan and this one is different friends. I call it a conversation, but Satan is silent during this. So in the agony in the garden, Jesus is aware that what the father is asking him to do is very difficult. And it's not just the garden that he's aware of that.

He knows all throughout. I mean, I said it earlier that when Peter makes a suggestion for him to abandon the notion of the passion, Jesus gets sharp and gives him a very, very curt rebuke. Jesus is aware that what the father's asking to do is very difficult. And as we move to the account of the Lord's passion in the scriptures, it's clear that Jesus is aware of that difficulty. It becomes more and more aware of it and it's waiting on him. And one scene leading up to the passion especially shows this, right? So I'm going to read you, it's a little bit of a lengthy account.

It's five verses from John chapter 12 beginning in verse 23. So John 1223 to 28. Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. They came to Philip and asked him, sir, we would like to see Jesus. Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life whoever serves me must follow me and where i am there also will my servant be the father will honor whoever serves me i am troubled now yet what should i say father saved me from this hour but it was for this purpose that i came to this hour father glorify your name So Jesus here is interrupting himself. This is John 12, verse 27.

He interrupts himself. So he's talking about the grain of wheat, falling to the ground, so he's giving a teaching. Whoever loves his life will lose it, whoever hates it will find it. I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? Father saved me from this hour? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. He's interrupting himself.

Right? I mean, we all do this. We all do this. we'll be doing something and then we stop and the satyrs, why in heaven's name, why am I even doing this? Jesus is here racked with grief and anxiety. He needs the father. He needs an affirmation from the father. When we're peering into the God man who's struggling with his humanity, he's struggling with the weight of what the father is asking him to do. He's struggling with the weight of his vocation. So moving on now to the agony in the garden, which follows obviously the Last Supper.

And the devil had a very elaborate plan in place during the Last Supper, and it worked marvelously. So from a divine perspective, the Last Supper is magnificent. It's the institution of the Eucharist, institution of the priesthood. It's beautiful. but from a human perspective, it's a disaster. So Judas receives the Eucharist and then becomes possessed. It's clear, right? Right in the scriptures.

While the Eucharist is in him, is when the devil enters him. Peter, when Christ reveals his knowledge that someone would betray him, he leans over to John and gets him to ask Jesus, who it is, person's identity. Peter's the vicar of Christ. Why doesn't he ask him? Because Peter is ready and willing to betray Jesus himself. And this is proven by his denial of Christ three times in the courtyard of Caiaphas. Three statements in Jewish culture is a vow, right? It's a ratified. It's a ratification of a reality. So when Peter affirms that he's ready to die for Christ. He's flat out lying. So he's lying with the same mouth that has just received the Eucharist.

So Christ would have been able to see his teeth, teeth still stained with his own very blood from the cup that Peter drank, blood that would be forcibly extracted from the Lord to moral. And so he's looking at these blood-stained teeth, if you will, as the lie passes through them. And the other apostles, by the end of the evening, they were arguing amongst themselves over who was the greatest, right? So Luke 22, 24. So from a human perspective, this night is a disaster. So what would Jesus have been experiencing in his humanity, right? feelings of failure, anguish, grief, sorrow, profound discouragement, not just at the apostles or Judas or the world.

He would have been tempted to think about them himself. After three years of teaching these apostles and teaching the world with them, this is where we are. Have I failed in my mission? Am I up for the task of saving the world? Can I do this? if you don't think that Jesus was tempted to doubt himself, then you have not understood the incarnation and the Lord's passion. When he was sweating blood in the garden,

this is part this sense of failure, this temptation to doubt himself is part of what made him bleed. The devil is always going to attack you at your sense of worth and identity. right in fact that that's the only thing he ever does he attacks yourself of worth an identity he gets you to try to accept a counterfeit in lieu of the real thing so jesus in his divinity would have been incapable of being attacked in this way but his humanity was a sitting duck so moving on to Matthew's account, Matthew 26, beginning verse 36, of the agony in the garden.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemini, and he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, my soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me. He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. When he returned to his disciples, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, so you could not keep watch with me for one hour. Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Withdrawing a second time,

he prayed again, Father, if it is not possible that this cup passed without my drinking it, you will be done. Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time saying the same thing again. So there are two if-then statements by Jesus. if it is possible, let this cup pass. So there's two kinds of cups in the ancient world. A plain handiless cup, if you were eating alone, or a cup with a double handle. Imagine, I mean, the best way to describe it would be like a coffee mug with two handles, a double handle. So one on

each side of it. So the purpose of the double handle cup was that. you would grab the cup by the two handles, drink, and then extend the cup to the next person who would grab it by the empty handle and then accept it. And this is how these were the cups used in Passover supper. So the image that Jesus is implying is that the father is standing there with a two-handled cup at a banquet, in other words, the heavenly liturgy, and is saying to Jesus drink this and Jesus in reply says father pass me by give it to the next guy this is really an incredible moment we've reached a point where the world will be liberated from its suffering and bondage to sin in other words we've reached the point of the exorcism of the world and the father is holding out a cup that will bring

this about. And Jesus's answer is, I don't want it. Give it to someone else. Father, don't make me do this. If it is possible, don't make me do this. And yet, Jesus doesn't refuse the cup. He says to his father, you take it away and pass it on if it is possible. So we've never heard this kind of thing before from Jesus. His humanity has hit the wall and is at the breaking point. There is no seam between Jesus's divinity and his humanity, but we are very, very close to seeing one being cut into him right now. This is the first time that we hear about there being two different wills in Jesus. We've heard about elsewhere in the gospel that there are two intellects, right we've seen him demonstrate divine knowledge and we've seen him exhibiting the limitations of human

knowledge i'm thinking of for example when he was discovered in the temple and his mother the blessed mother comes up to him and says and challenges him you know how could you do this uh to us did you not know that that we've been looking for you all over and he looks at her confused and he says did you not know that i had to be in my father's house so so there's a lack of understanding in his part. So there's two intellects, obviously, in Jesus, right? He's got two nature. He's got two intellects. But now for the first time we hear, there are two wills. There's a divine will and a human. So Luke phrases the Jesus's statement to his father slightly differently. Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. And what is the answer, the father? The father,

gives? No. How many times, friends, have we read the passion account and simply glossed over what's happening here? Jesus is here making the most dramatic request of his father, pleading with him, with blood oozing out of his skin. He's so filled with anxiety that he's sweating blood, and the father's answer to him is no. The father's love. The father loves. leaves the issue with Jesus. Jesus has to choose to obey or not. To be clear, even though he doesn't want to drink from the cup, Jesus offers his obedience to the Father. He doesn't want to obey, but he commits himself to obedience by staying still, not my will, but yours be done. I'm willing, father, but please don't make me do this. However,

By the time Jesus makes his second statement to the Father, things are different. And this is what he says, Father, if there is no other way, then I drink this cup. So now he's not asking God to take away what is coming. He accepts the responsibility for doing the task ahead, the task of doing the Father's will. The transition between his first statement to his father and now this statement is a mystery. But now, Jesus has decided that from now on, everything is totally only and exclusively about the father. So much so that from this point onwards, Satan is unable to attack Jesus even through other people. Jesus is now focused exclusively and solely on the Father.

And we now have, with this, the fulfillment of what is written in Hebrews chapter 9, verses 8 and 9. Son though he was, Christ learned obedience from what he suffered. And when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. Jesus has now learned obedience from what he suffered.