Crunch Time
James Merritt
Matthew 26:36-46
Introduction
1. Crunch time. If you are a sports fan, particularly, you are familiar with that term. It was invented in New Zealand in 1984 as a combination of the two phrases ''show-time'' and ''when it comes to the crunch.'' in business ''crunch time'' is the period of time immediately before a project is due. Typically it occurs between the next to the last scheduled event that is to take place before a product is ready to go to market in the final due date. In ''crunch time'' it is not unusual for a corporation to require its employees to put in twelve plus hour days, seven days a week until the product is ready to go to market.
2. In basketball, crunch time applies to the last few minutes of play in the fourth quarter. It refers especially to the last minute of the game when the score is either tied or very close and one shot can will or lose the game.
3. For the Son of God it is now ''crunch time.'' Thursday night, close to midnight - it is a week that has been full of last things, the last visit to the temple, the last sermon, the last supper and now with three of his inner circle the last prayer he will pray before he goes to the cross. For Jesus, crunch time will take place, not in a gym, but in a garden. Not behind a desk, but behind a tree. Not sitting in a comfortable chair, but kneeling on cold hard ground.
4. When Jesus entered the garden, he knew he would be arrested there. He knew it was the beginning of the end. When John described the arrival of the soldiers to arrest Jesus, he tells us
''so Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, ''whom do you seek?''
(John 18:4, NASB)
Jesus knew it was crunch time. He knew this is what his entire life had all come down to.
5. You need to listen carefully and look closely today, because if you are a follower of Christ or you ever decide to follow Christ, you too, will have to go to your own gethsemane. ...
James Merritt
Matthew 26:36-46
Introduction
1. Crunch time. If you are a sports fan, particularly, you are familiar with that term. It was invented in New Zealand in 1984 as a combination of the two phrases ''show-time'' and ''when it comes to the crunch.'' in business ''crunch time'' is the period of time immediately before a project is due. Typically it occurs between the next to the last scheduled event that is to take place before a product is ready to go to market in the final due date. In ''crunch time'' it is not unusual for a corporation to require its employees to put in twelve plus hour days, seven days a week until the product is ready to go to market.
2. In basketball, crunch time applies to the last few minutes of play in the fourth quarter. It refers especially to the last minute of the game when the score is either tied or very close and one shot can will or lose the game.
3. For the Son of God it is now ''crunch time.'' Thursday night, close to midnight - it is a week that has been full of last things, the last visit to the temple, the last sermon, the last supper and now with three of his inner circle the last prayer he will pray before he goes to the cross. For Jesus, crunch time will take place, not in a gym, but in a garden. Not behind a desk, but behind a tree. Not sitting in a comfortable chair, but kneeling on cold hard ground.
4. When Jesus entered the garden, he knew he would be arrested there. He knew it was the beginning of the end. When John described the arrival of the soldiers to arrest Jesus, he tells us
''so Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, ''whom do you seek?''
(John 18:4, NASB)
Jesus knew it was crunch time. He knew this is what his entire life had all come down to.
5. You need to listen carefully and look closely today, because if you are a follower of Christ or you ever decide to follow Christ, you too, will have to go to your own gethsemane. ...
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