Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Reverend Ben Coopers podcast, offers an inviting space for listeners to explore Christianity and spiritual growth with wisdom, humor, and a deep commitment to biblical truth. Through Rev. Ben's engaging conversations with guests, the podcast not only explores the timeless wisdom of the Bible but also tackles the pressing issues of life, faith, and hope in a way that is accessible, thought-provoking, and enriching. Whether you’re seeking spiritual nourishment, answers to life’s big questions, or simply a place to reflect on your faith, the Rev Ben podcast is a valuable resource on your journey.
In each episode, Rev. Ben guides listeners through profound theological reflections, personal stories, and practical insights drawn from the Bible and the broader Christian tradition.
Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
The 50-50 Place: Jesus's Struggle Between Passover and Calvary (#1034 - Elim)
Jesus in the Garden: The 50-50 Place – A Deep Dive into Christ’s Humanity and Suffering
Between the Passover table and the cross of Calvary lies a moment of profound emotional and psychological anguish—the Garden of Gethsemane. Here, Jesus Christ’s humanity is revealed in a powerful way as He sweats drops of blood (Luke 22:44), symbolizing His deep mental and emotional distress. Pastor Ben Cooper invites you into this sacred moment, exploring how Jesus’s suffering offers comfort and empathy for those facing their own emotional struggles.
The 50-50 Place: A Moment of Extreme Anguish
Pastor Ben refers to Gethsemane as the “50-50 place”, where Jesus faced the agony of deciding to fulfill His divine mission despite knowing the intense suffering ahead. Jesus didn’t just suffer physically, but also emotionally and mentally. His words in Mark 14:34—“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”—show us that Jesus truly understood emotional pain. This raw depiction of His human vulnerability is comforting for anyone facing mental or emotional challenges today.
Christ's Compassion for Mental Health Struggles
For those dealing with anxiety, depression, or overwhelming stress, understanding that Jesus experienced such anguish provides great comfort. Pastor Ben highlights that Jesus’s humanity means He was not immune to mental anguish. In fact, Jesus identifies with our struggles, as Hebrews 4:15 reminds us—He was tempted in every way, yet He understands our weaknesses. This makes Christ the perfect source of comfort for those battling emotional distress.
Jesus’s Early Life: Empathy Born from Loss
Pastor Ben also emphasizes that Jesus’s early experiences with grief—such as the loss of His father, Joseph—gave Him deep empathy for those who suffer loss and emotional pain. Jesus, the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), intimately understands human suffering, and His life was shaped by grief and responsibility. This made Him the compassionate Savior who can truly relate to our pain.
The Healing Power of Christ’s Suffering
This episode concludes with a reminder of the power of communion. Jesus’s suffering was not just a historical event; it’s the foundation of our healing and redemption. When we face emotional struggles, we can turn to Christ—the Savior who understands our pain and offers hope and healing through His victory over suffering.
Listen on RB Christian Radio Online
For more teachings like this one, tune in to RB Christian Radio Online. We share messages that break through traditional religious practices to offer real spiritual transformation and emotional healing in Christ. Don’t miss out on this powerful teaching about how Christ’s suffering offers profound comfort for your journey.
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Speaker 2:Good evening, bit of quietness, good evening wherever you are across the world. We thank you so much for listening on radio this evening, rb Christian Radio. We thank you for everybody that's listening across the world through podcasts, whatever platform that you're listening to us tonight. We just want to say thank you so much to every one of us, wherever you are scattered around the world. We're going to jump straight into the word of God and we're going to jump straight into the gospel of Luke, chapter 22. We're in Luke, chapter 22, and there's so much going on in the, in the word, this evening it's so difficult to find a place where just to rest our eyes. But let's go to the gospel of Luke, chapter 22, and we're going to pick it up in verse 39. We're pretty familiar with this text, you. You know it's a beautiful text and as we look at this text, it says Jesus prays at the Mount of Olives. We know what it is. It's about the Garden of Gethsemane and what we've got to do is that we've just got to trust God for every situation in our lives. And the title of this evening's podcast and, as it's live streaming, everything that's going on, if you're taking notes and you want to capture this on the in the world of audible. You can capture it later on as it goes up on buzzsprout. You know, on spotify and across the radios we're beaming across the world at this moment in time. But the title of this evening's uh study as we come together the gospel of luke, chapter 22, and it's it happened in the garden. It happened in the garden. You know what happened in the garden.
Speaker 2:When you look at jesus a bit of christology. When you study christ and you see what's going on in the life of christ now, sandwiched between from the passover table to the cross of calvary, we have a situation that is sandwiched in between two major events in christ's life. Yes, we understand that. You know the passover was critical. The passover was in preparation for what was about to happen and we understand what the Passover is all about.
Speaker 2:But between the Passover and the cross of Calvary, sandwiched in between that was this area of real pain for Christ. You know, and I'm talking about mental health, did Christ experience areas of his life where the mental health was just racing through the roof? Did Christ experience times in his life in the garden where he was just so, in so much fear and so much doubt. He was uncertain about what route. You know, I call it for the quick concession of understanding the 50-50 place. The 50-50 place, when you look at it, it is so clear, you know, and it is sandwiched in between from the Passover table to the cross of Calvary.
Speaker 2:We have this pain, we have this anguish, we have this fear, we have this area of we can't measure the pain that Christ went through. So, wherever you are tonight, if you're struggling with mental health, if you're in fear, if you're in doubt, if you've got many labels over your life, if you're worried about finances, if you're worried about life itself, whether you're listening on radio tonight, whether you're capturing this through a podcast or you're on live stream visuals with us at this moment in time, christ went through a traumatic period in his life. We understand that Jesus lost his father, and when I reference that clearly, what I'm referencing is and I'm talking about his earthly father Joseph he lost his earthly father, joseph. So when you study the life of Christ and from from birth until death, you know 33 years or thereabouts there are areas in his life when you can see that Jesus went through a lot of anguish. It doesn't talk about when Christ went through the bereavement period because Christ Christ, the man, christ Jesus, losing his earthly father, joseph, at the tender age of 24 to 27 years old. The Bible doesn't really reference that.
Speaker 2:But understanding that Jesus Jesus came into the world as a man, the man, christ Jesus, he came all the way through the route that we've always come through and the only way you can come through as a human being. So when you look at that, there are stages in jesus's life when you can actually think to yourself actually, was christ hitting the point in his life where he was really struggling? And and I would say, yes, I, I would really uh love to have time with every one of us, wherever you are across the world, just to reason and just to have a bit of table tennis conversation about when Jesus lost his dad. You know, we understand that Christ is the everlasting father. We understand he is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. We understand that he is the great. I am the great redeemer. But Jesus came into the world as a child, as a baby. He came all the way through, you know, that route that every one of us has to come through.
Speaker 2:So there are times in Jesus' life where the Bible references extreme extremities of loss and fear and doubt, but we never hear messages of it. We never hear the preachers preaching on it. You know, on the mental health of Jesus, and I can hear almost the gasp. Are you saying that Jesus had mental health issues? I'm not saying he had mental health issues. Are you saying that Jesus had mental health issues? I'm not saying he had mental health issues, but what I am saying is he must have gone through the extremities of extreme stress to cause him issues within his thinking and his understanding. Yes, he is fully God. Yes, he is fully man. Yes, he is fully Christ. Yes, he is the great redeemer. Yes, he is the coming king. Yes, jesus Christ went to the cross and he died. So you have to look at the emotions of jesus. The church tiptoes around this. It is too scared to go into the garden of gethsemane and ask god the questions.
Speaker 2:Father, in the name of jesus, I want to know more about jesus's life when he walked this earth, when he lost his earthly father, joseph, when he finds that his mom is just a single parent. Did Jesus have extreme stress in his young life? Was he worried? Was he doubtful? Suddenly, he is thrusted into the head of the house through custom, through life, just through being the oldest one in the family line, you know, looking after his mom, looking after his family, looking after everything that was going on. He must have hit days in his life as the man Christ Jesus, in days where he was fearful, where he was doubtful, where he was worried. He must have hit points in his life where his mental health and I'm going to label it like that and I'm probably going to get batted around for saying that Did Jesus have a few times in his life where his mind was absolutely, just completely brain fogged, feared, worried, doubt, all that sort of stuff. We understand in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus Christ hit such points of sorrow. The Bible says that he was sweating droplets of blood. We understand that jesus christ was an extreme place of adversity, of extreme stress, fear, doubt, anguish. The 50, 50 place.
Speaker 2:If you're joining us tonight, we are in the gospel of luke, chapter 22, and we're going to pick it up in verse 39. So we are looking at mental health. You know the world is talking about it, you know the church really isn't doing too much about it, but when you look at these scriptures, firstly, you know I'm not going to turn to that part, but it's very clear that we find that when Jesus Christ was on the cross at Calvary, he referenced that point. He says to the disciple here is your mother. And he says, mother, here is your new son. So Jesus is clearly telling us that he was the head of the house and at that particular point he was going to give up his last breath. And we understood what, through the cross of Calvary and through redemption, everything that was about to happen. So we understand that Mary, jesus' mom, was left as a widow. That is clear to understand. Jesus' mum was left as a widow. That is clear to understand.
Speaker 2:So, as the man, as a young man, jesus, he must have experienced, through his life, areas where his mind and just through general living must have played tricks on him. Is it the right thing to say that Jesus may have experienced a few areas of doubt, growing up as a young man and everything that went on? When you look at this stuff that's going on, he had to deal with so much in his life and, if the Bible is true, as what the Bible says, jesus must have experienced stress as a young man. He must have experienced doubt and fear, growing up in a house where suddenly he finds that his earthly father, joseph, has been taken off and suddenly he is the head of the house where he is the provider and going through bereavement. You know, the bible doesn't really go into too much detail and the church doesn't go into too much detail about Jesus Christ going through the the lost period. You know he lost his dad.
Speaker 2:Whatever way you look at this, you know Joseph was very real inesus's life. He was his earthly dad, he was his stepdad, he was his father, he was the earthly dad, he was the earthly father. And that is not taking anything and that is not being blasphemous about the heavenly father, because this is fact. The bible tells us that that joseph took on the role. He took on the role, he took on the role as being the father to the baby Jesus Christ all the way up until he left the earth. So Jesus, having that emotion and having that relationship with Joseph, had to experience when Joseph died. He had to experience the power of loss, because the Bible is very, very clear that Jesus understands and Jesus has emotions and Jesus has experienced everything that any human being can experience.
Speaker 2:So we are just looking at this area of mental health, not saying that Jesus had mental health issues, but he must have had issues with his mind and his thinking. Because if the Bible is as true as it is and the Bible is without error, so I take the Bible literally as it is. It's fact as the Bible says it. It is so I have to look at this that Jesus struggled with areas of thinking. He may have had a few days in complete depression, because we understand that Jesus hit these points and it's very clear, because the scripture referenced these points in the, in the gospel of chapter 22, that we're in round about verse 39. It clearly references that Jesus had a bad day, and I don't mean in a bad day, as we may look at that. But what I'm referring to is that Jesus hit a point in his life where his mental health issues and his fear and his doubt accelerated so high in the extremities of fear.
Speaker 2:Let's see what the Bible says. So we have to bring Jesus's story into every area of life. So he went through loss, he went through bereavement, he lost his earthly father, and the Bible tells us very clearly that what Jesus went through Now it's really, really important. He was spotless Lamb of God, he is the King of Kings, he is the Great I Am, he is the Redeemer, he is without error. But Jesus Christ has experienced so many motions beyond reasoning, so much more than we can ever imagine.
Speaker 2:So if we are in the Gospels, let's have a look how Jesus was when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, the 50-50 Garden. This is the place that I call the 50-50 Garden, and it says Jesus goes out to the Mount of Olives to pray. Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives and his disciples followed him and reaching this place, he said to them pray. Reaching this place, he said to them pray that you will not fall into temptation. And he withdrew about a stone's throw beyond that. He knelt down and he prayed and he says, father, if you are willing, take this cut from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. And then, verse 43, it says an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him and, uh, being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly and sweat, and his sweat was like droplets of blood falling to the ground. He rose from prayer and he went back to the disciples. He found him asleep and it says, exhausted from sorrow. Why are you still sleeping? He said get up and pray so you will not fall into temptation. When you look at that, jesus christ was exhausted. From Now that gives me comfort to understand that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, the God of Israel, the father of Isaac, jacob and Abraham, he was exhausted and he was worn out, completely worn out, completely tired, completely exhausted. The Bible says that angels came down. An angel came down and strengthened the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Speaker 2:Do you feel like you need strengthening in your life? Do you feel like you've hit a point in your life where you need strengthening, where you need God to come down the staircase of life? Do you feel that you've gone through bereavement, that you've gone through loss? Do you feel that you are in the garden of Gethsemane? Do you feel that you've gone into this garden of life?
Speaker 2:The garden can represent so much. It can represent finances, it can represent bereavement, it can represent loss, it can represent fear, doubt. You know schooling, education, relationships, marriage, ministry, church. It has such a wide representation of what it can be. But for Jesus, what it was representing, it was representing the cross of Calvary Wrapped up in the cup. He says, if it's possible, take this from me. Is there another way out? Are we looking at these scriptures? When we come to this point and we really hit these levels, we have to talk about what levels Christ hit.
Speaker 2:It's no good listening to the preaching and the teaching and going on about the prosperity gospel. God's going to heal you. God's going to heal you. You're going to be healed right now, in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I believe in miracles. I believe we're going to see the dead raised. I believe that we're going to see the blind seeing. I believe that we're going to hear that the deaf are hearing. I believe that we are going to see the lame walking. But what's really really important here? What's really really clear, is Jesus in his earth suit, jesus in his humanity, jesus in his adolescence.
Speaker 2:Jesus went through bereavement. Jesus lost his earthly father and his earthly father. His name was what? Joseph, so jesus. If this is the christ that saved the world, if this is the jesus that created heaven and earth, if this is the jesus that went to the cross of calvary. If this is that jesus that said john 3, 16. If this is the jesus that said toodemus, you must be born again. If this is the Jesus that says I love you unconditionally, you know you can bet your bottom dollar, you know. You know that Jesus went to the extremities of bereavement. He went to a place of loss, he went to a place of doubt. He went to a place of unfamiliar territory, because that's what bereavement does.
Speaker 2:Bereavement opens the door to fear, to doubt, to uncertain ways. When your loved one, your friend, your family has been removed from the earth, then suddenly you feel like an orphan. Suddenly you feel like something isn't right. It doesn't matter how much money you got, it doesn't matter what you have in your life, it doesn't matter if you're the richest person on the earth. You can't bring back that person that has slipped away into eternity. It is impossible. So the person that is left on earth is left in the earth. So of bereavement. So Jesus Christ has experienced bereavement. Jesus Christ has experienced loss. He has experienced living in a house with his mom as a single parent bringing up children. Jesus has experienced the day when his earthly father passed away. Jesus knows what the feelings are like. So that was the start of the journey of Jesus. Now I'm going to mention it. I'm not worried about mentioning it.
Speaker 2:Did Jesus hit points in his life as a young man, as a young adult, where what we label today mental health, what we are talking about, the thoughts and the processing depression. Did Jesus hit depression in a place of depression? Did Jesus understand depression? Did he understand what fear was? Yes, I actually believe Jesus, with all my heart, understood and understands to this day what fear is because of the garden of Gethsemane. Because of the garden of Gethsemane, I've got to understand that Jesus come to this earth as fully God, fully man, fully king, fully savior. But he had an earth suit and if the Bible is true to its word, which it is, the Bible says the man, christ, jesus. Jesus Christ was birthed. Jesus Christ grew from that young embryo, he grew up and he came through the womb. He came through every way, which way every human being has to experience. Jesus Christ has experienced all the traits of being a human being.
Speaker 2:So, when you look at these scriptures and we question Father in the name of Jesus, I want to know more about Jesus as a young man, as a young boy, because he knows what it's like to experience loss. Do you know what it's like to experience loss? Do you know what it's like to lose a loved one and Jesus lost his loved one. Jesus lost Joseph. His earthly father died when Jesus was a young man growing up. Jesus knows what it's like to come up and to live in a house with a mom and a dad, but also he knows more of his life of experiencing, of just coming under the hand of his mom. You know, jesus has experienced what a house looks like with a single parent. Jesus knows what it smells like, what it sounds like, what it feels like to be in a house under tension and fear and uncertainty, because when that father figure was taken from him, you know that his mom would have gone through extremities of fear. Now I'm a single parent. What is going to happen to us? How are we going to feed ourselves? How are we going to pay the electric? You know what I'm saying. How are we going to pay the gas? What are we going to do? How am I going to put food on the table? So, jesus Christ, he's going, growing up in a house where the house was experienced bereavement. So Jesus must have hit points in his young life of uncertainty, fear and doubt.
Speaker 2:But there is a clear reference that we are going to read again and again and again in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verse 39. Let me pick this text up for us. This is when Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is when Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. So Jesus has experienced as a young man, a young adult, of losing a father figure, losing a parent in his life, and when you lose a uncertainty, it brings what is going to happen. Now Jesus knows what it's like to lose a parent and I honestly believe with all my heart, christ has experienced from that point, from that point of bereavement, up to this point, times of anguish, times of sorrow. Now, I love the fact that Jesus has experienced this because by Jesus experiencing this gives me more of an understanding that this Jesus that I follow is a real Jesus. He is a real man, he is a real boy, he is a real baby. He is a real baby, a real boy, a real young man. He is a real adult. He is a real adult, he is a. He is the real deal. This jesus christ is the savior of the world. Not only is the is he the image of the invisible god, this king that we are reading about in this scripture here.
Speaker 2:Jesus has experienced bereavement. Jesus knows what it's like to be in a house under the hand of a single parent and you can imagine what it's like to be in a house under the hand of a single parent, and you can imagine what it must have been like in Mary's house when they lost the father figure, when he lost his dad, when Mary lost her husband Joseph. You can imagine the atmosphere, the loss. So we are looking. Did Jesus experience mental health issues? Now I've hit a drum there. I can hear gasps across the world. How dare, how could you say such a thing like this? If Jesus is a real Jesus, if Jesus is a real king, if Jesus lived on this earth according to the scripture, if this is this Jesus that was birthed, if this is this Jesus that the Bible references, the man Christ Jesus, if this is the Jesus that, as a young boy, was found in his father's house listening to the Torah being read and his mum and his dad see him missing and they was worried. If this is this Jesus, let me tell you this if Jesus did experience and he had experienced the loss and the bereft of a father, his dad, his earthly father because there's no way around that, we have to accept this that Jesus had a stepfather. Jesus had an earthly father and his name was Joseph. Joseph took good care of young Jesus. Joseph protected Jesus and Mary. Joseph was a real man. He protected Mary and he protected Joseph and Joseph protected them because they went into Egypt. Now Egypt is probably one of the number one places across the world where the spiritual entities are strong. That's why God took Jesus back and it says out of Egypt, I will draw my son.
Speaker 2:Now we are in Lent and if you are a real Bible-believing believer, if you are a Christian, if you are a John 3, 3, if you are a born-again, spirit-filled believer, brother and sister, I would ask you right now to be very careful of lent, because there's two lengths. You know, we got the good old church of england, catholicism, the churches together. Oh yeah, it's lent. What you're giving up, what you're giving up, what you're giving up. But what lengths are you following? Because there's two lengths and let me tell you there's only one jesus.
Speaker 2:So lent was birthed out of catholic, out of the Pope, out of the Pope sorry, it was birthed out of religion. Lent was birthed out of a council. Lent was birthed out of a religious figure. It wasn't birthed out of Jesus Christ. Yes, there are a few areas where you could grab a little bit. Yes, this may be possible, but let me tell you this Lent has nothing to do with the biblical references that we look at.
Speaker 2:Lent has been made up by religion and if you want to know what Lent is, we need to study it. Yes, it talks about fasting. Yes, it talks about giving up. Yes, it talks about prayer, but that is over a space of 40 days, 40 nights, and it labels all that sort of stuff. But what I'm getting to? What's really, really clear?
Speaker 2:There are two types of Lent. There's a one that is wrapped up in religion in the UK at this moment in time and across certain areas of Europe. But there is also another Lent. One started. The one that started that we are very familiar with in the Church of the UK started on the 5th of March this year, and the Orthodox one. So there are two. Two started two days before.
Speaker 2:So what do we follow? What do we follow? What we got to follow is Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn't say follow the Pope. Jesus doesn't say follow Ben. He doesn't say follow Elim. He doesn't say follow religion. Jesus says, at the shoreline of Galilee. Drop your nets, come and follow me. But we are in a very, very powerful time. At this moment in time, we are in a very significant place. We are in a powerful place because religion is really pushing the drum. Religion is really beating the drum of Lent and we got to be extremely careful what we dabble in and what we follow.
Speaker 2:So where did Lent come from? Lent came from the Pope, it came out of the council. It came out of an area of a man-made institute. So I do not follow Lent, I follow Jesus Christ. I do not follow the criterias of religion, I follow what the Bible says. So, as a Bible-believing believer, I need to understand that Jesus Christ, the fundamental points of Christianity the birth, the death, the resurrection and the coming, the second coming of Jesus Christ. Do you believe in the second coming of Jesus? That is a rhetorical question. I believe that Jesus Christ is the coming king.
Speaker 2:Do you believe? Whether you Do you believe, whether you're on radio, whether you're on podcasts, whether you're live streaming on visuals tonight, wherever you are, do you believe that Jesus Christ was a man? Do you believe that Jesus Christ died at the cross of Calvary? Do you believe Jesus Christ was birthed. Do you believe in hell? There are many leaders, there are many churches, that do not believe in hell. Do you believe in hell? There are many leaders. There are many churches that do not believe in hell. Do you believe in heaven? Do you believe in eschatology, the rapture of the church, do you believe?
Speaker 2:I'm asking myself first, because this tells us and this puts us to where we should be. Do you believe that you've got to be born again? Do you believe that you should pray to Mary? Do you believe that you should go to church? What do we believe in? The Bible tells us very clearly that I've got to be a Jesus follower. It doesn't say follow church, it doesn't say follow religion. Jesus says come and follow me.
Speaker 2:Do you believe in the Pope? Are you following the Pope tonight? We've done a great podcast the other week. Are you a Catholic or are you? We've done a great podcast the other week. Are you a Catholic or are you a Christian? What are we? Are you someone that is staunch in the Church of England? Are you a Pentecostalist? Are you an evangelical? We've got all these labels. Who are you following? We've got to tell the world that we are following Jesus.
Speaker 2:Now the question is if the Pope was to die tonight, would he go to hell or would he go to heaven? I will put it on the table like this If the Pope died tonight and he is following what he is following, and if he is not born again, the Pope will go straight to hell, if any human being. It doesn't matter what church you lead, it doesn't matter what denomination you are leading, it doesn't matter who we are leading, it's not who we are leading, it's who we are following and who we are believing. So, whether you're the Pope, if I am not born again, I will be in hell as soon as I die. If I do not believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, if the leaders of these denominations do not and are not born again, there is only one destination for them. It doesn't matter how large the ministry, it doesn't matter how big the church. You've got to follow Jesus. So the reason I've dropped this into the mix midway through what we're looking at.
Speaker 2:And so did Jesus suffer with mental health. I believe he had moments. Now I'm going to get a good whipping and a licking and a kicking probably for saying that, but I'm not worried about that because I understand what bereavement is. So if you are a human being, and Jesus Christ was a human being, the Bible tells us that he was born, he died, he lived, he ate, he drank, he worked, he dressed himself, he grew up, he was a boy, he experienced every area of life. You have to be a human being, area of life, you have to be a human being. Do you believe that jesus christ was fully god, fully man, fully human? Yes, I do so.
Speaker 2:I am looking at jesus tonight, not as the sovereign king, not as the one that gave him life. I'm not looking at him, looking at jesus as the face of the invisible God. I am looking at Jesus as a man, because the Bible referenced him, the man, christ, jesus. And what other area of humanity depicts and shows us that we are humans? If I cut myself, I bleed. What did Jesus do he bled? What did Jesus do? He was sweating. What else did Jesus do he ate? What else did Jesus do he walked? What? What did Jesus do? He was sweating. What else did Jesus do he ate? What else did Jesus do he walked? What else did Jesus do? He went to work. So there is every criteria and the Bible tells us that, jesus Christ, you can only be a human being if you are birthed Very, very interesting, and the reason I'm saying this is because of these extreme extremities of stress that the Bible talks about Jesus and this is what it says.
Speaker 2:He withdrew about a stone's throw behind them, he knelt down and he prayed Father, if you are willing. So Jesus had doubt. I believe Jesus. In the 50-50 garden sandwich between the Passover table and the cross of Calvary, there is a period of Jesus's life where he experienced the extremities of fear. The Bible tells us I'm not making none of this up if you experience the extreme extremities of stress and doubt and fear and your sweat and all that sort of stuff that goes with that Jesus Christ was a human being. And as you look at this, it says he withdrew about a stone throw beyond them, knelt down and he prayed Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet, not my will, but yours be done. An angel from heaven came down and strengthened him, being in anguish. If we have a look at that word anguished, anguish, anguish is a door opener to what fear. What does anguish do? It takes us to fear, and fear is the accelerator to what, to doubt, to issues in my mind.
Speaker 2:So jesus had a mind, he had a brain, he was made up of all the chemicals because he was fully God, fully king, fully man. He was a boy, he was a baby, he was looked after, he was protected. So let me tell you now Jesus had a brain and he had a mind and he was in this garden and he was in doubt. If you can, is there another way? He was thinking as a man. If there is another way, take this cup from me and he says but not, your will be done. Uh, not my will, but your will be done. Sorry verse my will, but your will be done. Sorry Verse 43. And it says an angel from heaven and appeared and strengthened him. You only need strengthening if you're a human being. You only need strengthening if you have a skin that you walk in. Jesus needed strengthening. I love that line.
Speaker 2:I think that has a lot of strength to someone like me that experiences fear, doubt, worry, uncertainty. Yes, I experience all the emotions under the sun just because I'm labeled the way I'm labeled. I am still a human being, I still doubt, I still hit fear points, I hit places of negativity, I can't be bothered attitude because I am a human being. I am, I was birthed. You know we are not superheroes that don't experience all the extremities of emotions, all the emotions, every area of fear. You know it's so good to speak it out. I'm not worried that what people might think about me. Yes, I get worried. Yes, I hit points where I'll go God. Are get worried. Yes, I hit points where I'll go God. Are you real? Yes, I hit points where I'll go God. Where are you? Yes, I hit points where I'll go God. Is this word true? I hit points where I'm in doubt. I hit points where I'm worried, I'm scared. I hit points where I'm not sure.
Speaker 2:I have days and moments of brain fog. I have moments where I can almost freeze with so much going on, when my mind is just overrun with everything going on, because we are human and the church and religion doesn't allow us to be human. But Jesus Christ shows through the Word of God, I am the way, the truth and the life. But I am a human being. I know what it's like to grow as a young boy. I know what it's like to go to work. There's a thing for the kids today If Jesus Christ went to work, that's good enough for every one of us.
Speaker 2:For every one of us, jesus was a young man in a house where he had the experience and the pleasure and the good understanding what it was like for a mum to bring up boys and girls. Jesus had the experience. He knows what it's like to have a single parent family. I think that is absolutely amazing. I think that is so good. I think that is so real. I think that is so important to understand that Jesus, for a big time of his life, he grew up in a time where there was no father figure and his mum was doing everything. Everything was going on. Jesus was doing everything. Everything was going on.
Speaker 2:So in the garden we really find reference points to the extremities of fear. The Bible is clear. The Bible is without error. That's why I've gone all the way around in a circle just trying to get myself and every one of us an understanding that Jesus Christ was fully God, fully man, fully word, fully savior, fully king. But he had an earth suit. He had organs in his body, he had eyes, he had ears, he had hair. He was a man. He had every feature. He was a man. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was a man and I've got to emphasize tonight.
Speaker 2:Jesus knows what it's like to be stressed. He knows what it's like to hit fear. He knows what it's like to lose a, a parent. So he experienced bereavement and we all know well, we don't all know, actually, because there are many that hasn't lost parents. So for the us that have lost parents, we know what it's like and the feeling to lose a loved one, someone that brought us up. Now we got to remember that, joseph. Joseph was jesus's father, his dad on this earth, and joseph taught him and showed him. And joseph Now. What a reward in heaven. Think about that for a minute. Think about that. What a reward. Joseph, the earthly father, when Mary dropped the line to him. Joseph, I've got sanctitary. I'm going to have a chavvy. We're going to crack a son out, but I can't tell you where it comes from because that's going to blow your rocker.
Speaker 2:Joseph went hang on a minute, girl. What's going on here? Joseph experienced emotions that the church doesn't preach. The church can't preach on that one. Imagine that shouting out across the sofa or just comes in from work. Joseph, I've got something to tell you. Oh, didn't the milkman turn up today, darling? What happened? What's going on? Oh, I couldn't hang me washing out, could you? Because no, I'm carrying child. What do you hang on a minute? What are you talking about? How can you be carrying child girl? What's going on here? Imagine how Joseph felt. The church won't preach it, the church won't talk about it, but that is biblical fact.
Speaker 2:And Joseph hit a point in his life where he had to choose and he was thinking about legging it, he was thinking about disappearing Because his brain is going. Hang on a minute, I don't get this. How can my wife to be? How can this be? How can we be having a child? I can't work this one out. So another area joseph had doubt, but god, god strengthened joseph, god sent him a word. So jose Joseph reacted to the word of God and Joseph picked up the baton. And Joseph, joseph, his earthly father, picked up the mantle of carrying this little chavvy ain't mine, but I'm going to treat him like mine. Think about that. I've got to talk in normal language sometimes, when you think about it, when you really think about it, think about it long and hard. But right now the church is doing Lent. It's floating about on its holy segue in and out and all that, but we need to be that.
Speaker 2:Jesus Christ come from a dysfunctional house. Jesus Christ was birthed into an unusual situation, but he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. So Jesus knows what it's like to be brought up by a stepfather. Jesus knows what it's like to lose his stepfather. Jesus knows what it's like to come under a father figure. Under a dad, jesus would have been clipped around the back of the ear. You know all that sort of stuff. Get to bed, jesus. Go on up. You go, son. Get up there before I come and kill you around the back of the ear, imagine, because this is a house, this is a normal household jesus knows what it's like to be a human being. So, wherever you are and when you think about what I've said yeah, I might have been a bit flippant, but that's me. So, as we come to the table in just a few moments, we're really time conscious at this moment in time. We're really conscious of the time. So I've got to be a bit quick because we're going to come to the table in just a few months.
Speaker 2:There are so many places we could take this tonight, but what I want to get to is that Jesus had to be strengthened in the garden. Jesus had to be ministered to. Jesus had to be strengthened because he hit extreme sorrow and the other scripture says that. Jesus Christ, he said my soul has reached a point unto death. He hit a point where the scripture says in the New Testament he says I'm in sorrow, I'm in anguish, my soul has hit such a low place. I wonder what Jesus was really thinking. I wonder if he thought this do you know what? I'm in the garden and I preferred it back in heaven, where the angels will give me a foot rub, where I could just do what I wanted. I think I might go back to heaven because I've got to go to the cross. But there is something about Jesus. Love carried him through, love carried him through. Yeah, I'm flippant, but that's me all over when you look at the scriptures.
Speaker 2:Jesus Christ experienced mental health issues. Uh-oh, he said it again. I feel the P45 coming down the line. Jesus experienced thought issues, bereavement, troubles, knowing what it's like to be brought up in a house where we're knowing. Hang on a minute. What happened to mary? Hang on, what's going on, mary? Hang on, what's going on? The word might have got out through the street and the town. Yeah, do you think Joseph is Jesus' dad? Have you heard the story? Have you heard the story about that, the carpenter's son? But is he really his son? There are so many ways. You can imagine everything that was going on.
Speaker 2:So Jesus experienced loss, bereavement, fear, doubt, gossip on his own family being pushed aside. He went to work. He grew up as a boy to a man. He knows what it's like to lose his earthly father, his step father joseph. He knows what it's like to be in a house with with brothers and sisters and everything that went on. We understand that that jesus was the head of the house, so Jesus had to take on responsibilities. That Jesus Christ had to take on responsibilities as the older one of his brothers in the house and his sisters. Jesus had sisters. Oh, yes, he did, the Bible tells us. So Jesus knows what it's like to carry responsibility. So Jesus knows what it's like to carry responsibility. He knows what it's like to come up and to grow in a house with just a mum. He knows what it's like.
Speaker 2:So may God bless you wherever you are. We're going to be a bit quick on our toes. We're going to have to come to the table and we're going to break bread as quick as we possibly can, wherever you are across the world, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we are live, we are on air, we are on radio and we only have a few minutes left. So we've got to be extremely quick. We've got four minutes. Wherever you are tonight, may God bless you and carry you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you for this bread that symbolizes the body the body of Jesus, the broken body of jesus, the broken body of jesus, christ and father. As we come to you right now, spirit of the living god, will you stir us, will you carry us tonight? Lord father, I thank you that this bread symbolizes the body of christ and father. As I take this, as we take this, father, in the name of jesus, thank you that your body was broken. Amen.
Speaker 2:The Bible says in the same way after supper, he took the cup and when he had given thanks, he blessed that and he prayed over that and he said as often as you come together in my name, wherever you are across the world, tonight I want to invite you, whoever you are, whatever is going on in your life right now. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Whatever is going on in your life right now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, whatever is going on in your life, everything will be okay. I guarantee you, god will make a way. Jesus will make a way. He has already made a way. Whatever the extremities of stress you are going through, god will make a way and Jesus knows what it's like. He experienced the emotions, the fears and the doubt.
Speaker 2:Father, I pray that you will bless this cup in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Father, I thank you, lord, that I am a sinner saved by grace. Lord, that I am no one in the eyes of the world, lord, but in the eyes of jesus, I am a son. I belong to jesus. So, father, I thank you, lord. Wash us from the crown of our head to the soul of our feet in jesus name, amen.
Speaker 2:Wherever you are across the world, you know Jesus Christ is the Savior, he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and I just pray that one day we'll have more time to go back and to study what Jesus experienced. So, wherever you are right now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray that you will feel the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and whatever your life is reflecting at this moment in time, just remember when jesus was in the garden of gethsemane. When he was in that garden, he experienced extremities. Now, what we've got to remember is is that jesus, at that particular point, he was the only one on earth knowing that he was predestined to die. That's why christ oh, I'm not laughing, forgive me, jesus, but it's like it's like fear has made my voice go a little bit funny then that jesus was destined to die hours away from when he was in the garden of gethsemane. So the extremities that he felt, the extremities that he went through, the extremes that he went through, the extremes that he went through was not just because he was having a bad air day, simply because I'm going to die in a few hours. I'm going to take all the sin of the world, all the filth, all the muck, all the religious junk. I'm going to take everything on me and I've got to go to the cross. So no wonder he paused and he pondered in the garden of Gethsemane, but he said not my will, your will be done. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We're out of here. We are gone. Wherever you are across the world, just remember that Jesus Christ is the savi, kings and the Lord of Lords. We're out of here. We are gone. Wherever you are across the world, just remember that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world and he is the living word, but more than that, he is the son that come to die. So, whatever and however you look at Lent, what Lent are you following? And I would give you this last word from me you know, do not take any notice of Lent. Are you following? And I would give you this last word from me you know, do not take any notice of Lent.
Speaker 2:Lent was birthed out of Catholicism, the Church of England, and are you following that Lent, which was birthed this month, on the 5th of March or the 3rd, which the 3rd of March was the Orthodox one? So what one are you going to follow? Let me tell you this I'm not following Lent at all. I'm following Jesus Christ, because he is my Redeemer and he went to the cross for me. No pope died for me, no leader of Elim died for me, no pastor died for me, no human being died for me except Jesus Christ, the man. Christ, jesus. God bless you. We're out of here. Have a great evening. Wherever you are across the world, whatever your time zone is, whatever is happening in your life, may God strengthen you and carry you in the mighty name of Jesus. God bless.
Speaker 2:So about the introduction. Reverend, should we Hang on a minute? You called me Reverend. Yeah, you want to hear what he called me when the mics are on. Should we Hang on a minute? You called me Reverend. Yeah, you want to hear what he called me when the mics are on. Should we have the Lord's Prayer read by our friend called Maisie? You could do that, couldn't you? You could do that. Go on then, press the buttons, let's listen. God bless you, wherever you are across the world. Good evening, good night, good morning. Whatever your time zone is, we're going to have the Lord's Prayer. God bless, we'll see you on the radio.
Speaker 3:I invite you to say the Lord's Prayer with me, our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to us today on Reverend Ben Cooper's podcast. We hope you found inspiration and guidance in today's audio. Remember the journey of faith is a continuous one and your questions and thoughts are important. You can send us a text or an email and we will get back to you. So, wherever you are around the world, thank you for listening to our podcasts and radio ministry. For more information about our ministry, please find us on pastorbencoopercouk. Please support us with prayer. Also, you can sow a financial seed into this ministry. You can also leave us a legacy to support and continue the work of this radio ministry. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with others who might benefit. Until next time, stay blessed.
