Jesus arrived at Gethsemane. He went deeper in with three disciples. He then left them, went further alone and fell to the ground. Temptation was awaiting the Lord. The sadness and suffering He faced was so great that even He was shocked. The people’s rejection, the disciples’ betrayal, and all kinds of insults and physical abuse - for sure, these were good reasons. But what grieved the Lord more than anything was that He had to bear sins and suffer God’s wrath on account of it. The One who did not know sin had to become sin - this was so terrible that it was beyond mankind’s understanding.
It was in these circumstances that Satan persuaded the Lord to evade the cross. If his attempts were successful, the plan God was trying to fulfill through the Lord would have failed, and the Gospel would have become meaningless. The Lord understood the crisis that was before Him and prayed with fervent cries and tears. “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will!” The Lord was not rejecting God’s plan, but He was checking if there was another way to fulfill God’s will.
The disciples fell asleep while the Lord prayed like this. He asked the disciples to “stay awake and pray” so they could overcome the spiritual assaults that would come on them. The Lord went away and prayed the same thing again. He prayed a third time a moment later. The Lord did not try to twist the Father’s will and carry out His own. He was opposing the impulse to rebel and asking for God’s strength so He could submit Himself to God’s will.
The Lord prayed so agonizingly and earnestly that His sweat was like drops of blood. Eventually, He prevailed in obeying the Father’s will. The Lord said, “Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” The grief that covered the Lord’s face just a moment ago was gone. Though the Lord had to drink the cup of God’s wrath, He was no longer afraid. The Lord bravely made His way to the cross.
The Lord saved us from sin by suffering on the cross. So that He can protect our spirits to the end, He now speaks to us like this, “Stay awake and pray so you will not fall into temptation!” We can never overcome temptation by our own strength. The world tells us, “Follow your feelings!” “Do what you want!” If we follow the desires of the flesh in every decisive moment, our spiritual state cannot avoid becoming corrupt. Therefore, we should choose what is helpful for our spirits. Let’s pray for this. Let’s not try to attain what we want before God, but always stay awake and pray so we do not fall into evil and so that we have the strength to do God’s will.
(Lord’s Day Service on February 6, 2022)
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