The Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46 (NLT)

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

This event is also mentioned here:

Mark 14:32-42

Luke 22:40-46

A Step Further: When God Doesn’t Answer Our Prayer

Here is Jesus, his fully human self wrestling with his fully divine self. Anguish, distressed, his soul crushed with grief, calling out to his Abba Father. In Aramaic, “Abba” is a childlike, intimate form of “father” said in the way we’d say “daddy.” Jesus is asking his dad if he could skip the suffering. Let that sink in for a moment: Jesus asked to avoid the pain.

We often paint a “perfect” picture of Jesus: willingly doing everything, full of peace, unflappable, always serene. But the true Jesus, in his perfection, felt deeply and was without sin. He wept when a friend died (John 11:33-35). He had deep compassion for people and met them where they were even when he was tired (Mark 6:30-34). He felt pure rage when he saw people cheating and price-gouging those who came to offer sacrifices to his father in his house (John 2:13-17). These aren’t just feelings, these are deep, raw emotions. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Maybe you’re experiencing a “cup of suffering” right now. Miscarriage, infertility, cancer, death of a loved one taken too soon, divorce…it’s so much pain. Take your pain to God. Don’t let anger at God keep you holding on to your pain. Don’t think you can’t ask God to take the pain from you. Jesus asked. It’s okay for us to ask, too. Where we may differ from Jesus? He was also immediately prepared to submit to God’s no. “Your will be done, not mine,” he cried.

You have a Jesus, a savior, who has experienced everything you have. He carried strong emotions. He felt deeply. He’s lived through it, and He’s alive today. If you aren’t ready to say, “Your will be done, not mine,” ask him to help you and show you how. Jesus gave us a beautiful picture of his humanity and how to choose to yield to God in suffering. Jesus said yes to God’s no for us.

^{A Step Further written by Erin Branham. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.}

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