In The Garden
Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Reflection:
We've been talking about the humanness of Jesus, and nowhere is this more prominent than in today's story, where Jesus goes into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before his journey to the cross. He took his three closest disciples with him, because he knew he needed emotional and spiritual support. And it says he was distressed and troubled. And in fact he is so troubled, he says his soul is in trouble. And it is in trouble to the point of death. And what is it overwhelmed with? It says, "sorrow". I had really never seen this before and makes me wonder what made him so sorrowful. Was it what was going to happen to him on the cross? Or was it sorrow for why he had to go to the cross? Maybe a little of both.
It might be the former if we read on. For we learn in the next couple of verses that he prayed three times that if possible this cup, the cup of suffering, might be taken from him. Meaning Jesus prayed that maybe there was another way to accomplish what he came to do. But let us remember how he finished his prayer, "yet not my will be done but yours!" And then he came back to see how his support group was doing. And he found them sleeping. At the time of the greatest need for Jesus, those who he needed the most were asleep. This is repeated two more times, where Jesus goes back and finds them sleeping. So what can we deduce from this?
1. The disciples did not yet know how to rely on the Spirit, when the chips were on the line. On another day filled with the Holy Spirit, they would do the right thing, but not today.
2. Jesus went to the cross was utterly alone. His friends had forsaken him and God His Father was seemingly absent in the moment he needed him the most.
So even though he was the Son of God, he was going to face the physical, emotional and spiritual pain of the cross by himself. So what can this mean for us? Well first of all it means that there is nothing we go through that our Lord and Savior hasn't gone through. That means when you are at your lowest low and maybe even those closest to you seem far away, you are NEVER alone.
But the Good News is when Jesus went to leave he had a new resolve to go to the cross. He says, "Arise my betrayer is at hand." At some point in his prayer time Jesus found the inner strength to go to the cross. God's will was going to be done, and Jesus is empowered to carry it out, perhaps not even in His own strength. Where is your Gethsemane? Where do you need to know you are not really alone? As we submit to Jesus in the power of the Spirit, we too can do the will of God. Amen.
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Reflection:
We've been talking about the humanness of Jesus, and nowhere is this more prominent than in today's story, where Jesus goes into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before his journey to the cross. He took his three closest disciples with him, because he knew he needed emotional and spiritual support. And it says he was distressed and troubled. And in fact he is so troubled, he says his soul is in trouble. And it is in trouble to the point of death. And what is it overwhelmed with? It says, "sorrow". I had really never seen this before and makes me wonder what made him so sorrowful. Was it what was going to happen to him on the cross? Or was it sorrow for why he had to go to the cross? Maybe a little of both.
It might be the former if we read on. For we learn in the next couple of verses that he prayed three times that if possible this cup, the cup of suffering, might be taken from him. Meaning Jesus prayed that maybe there was another way to accomplish what he came to do. But let us remember how he finished his prayer, "yet not my will be done but yours!" And then he came back to see how his support group was doing. And he found them sleeping. At the time of the greatest need for Jesus, those who he needed the most were asleep. This is repeated two more times, where Jesus goes back and finds them sleeping. So what can we deduce from this?
1. The disciples did not yet know how to rely on the Spirit, when the chips were on the line. On another day filled with the Holy Spirit, they would do the right thing, but not today.
2. Jesus went to the cross was utterly alone. His friends had forsaken him and God His Father was seemingly absent in the moment he needed him the most.
So even though he was the Son of God, he was going to face the physical, emotional and spiritual pain of the cross by himself. So what can this mean for us? Well first of all it means that there is nothing we go through that our Lord and Savior hasn't gone through. That means when you are at your lowest low and maybe even those closest to you seem far away, you are NEVER alone.
But the Good News is when Jesus went to leave he had a new resolve to go to the cross. He says, "Arise my betrayer is at hand." At some point in his prayer time Jesus found the inner strength to go to the cross. God's will was going to be done, and Jesus is empowered to carry it out, perhaps not even in His own strength. Where is your Gethsemane? Where do you need to know you are not really alone? As we submit to Jesus in the power of the Spirit, we too can do the will of God. Amen.
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