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Football season is upon us, and it is with excitement that avid fans welcome the likes of Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tyron Smith of the Dallas Cowboys back to the field. The sport has produced many such great players down through the years, but few have reached the caliber of that all-time great player, Jim Brown. And if you lived through football in the late 50s and the 60s, then you should know who Jim Brown is. Standing 6’2” tall with muscles of marble rippling as he stepped upon the scale, Brown weighed a lean, mean, 230 lbs. For nine years, he owned the position of fullback for the Cleveland Browns and he displayed almost supernatural speed and close to locomotive power every time he ran on to the field. Every season he played, he was voted into the Pro Bowl, and he left the league in style by scoring three touchdowns in his final Pro Bowl game in 1965. Perhaps the most amazing feat is that Brown accomplished these records despite not playing past 29 years of age. Brown's 6 games with at least 4 touchdowns remains an NFL record.
And, my brothers and my sisters, just as Jim Brown faced many make me or break me moments during his football career - just as my Lord and your Savior, Jesus Christ, faced His make me or break me moment in the Garden of Gethsemane that night, so will we have to face them during this football game that we call life.
As we re-visit the week that has just past in the life of our Savior – the week leading up to our text – we see that it had been pretty much like a tough football game. The ticker-tape parade the previous Sunday to shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” was particularly challenging for Jesus because, despite the crowd’s enthusiasm, He knew that before the week was over; they would be shouting, not blessed is He who comes but “crucify Him and give us Barabbas!” Equally as challenging was Jesus’ justifiably indignant encounter with the money changers, whom He drove from the temple floor with a whip, and the disciples’ constant bickering over who would be the greatest among them. The week had left Jesus feeling bruised and beaten in His Spirit. It had been a rough one and as we join Him, it is now Thursday around midnight, and Jesus is about to enter the Garden of Gethsemane – not for a moment of meditation – but in preparation for His night of suffering and agony on Calvary. …