WORD from the woods
Matthew 26:36-50
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”
This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know, or think we know the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our mind drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we're normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do. Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted by the other disciples since he was entrusted with the group’s finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer as well. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to the Lord in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way, hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that he would be glorified in the process.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Matthew 26:36-50
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.”
This passage has always fascinated me because we see Jesus, the all powerful, all knowing creator of the universe praying to the Father, that He would remove the cup of betrayal, torture and death that was coming to him. Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, yet he still went to the Father in prayer about it. We rarely, if ever go to our heavenly Father in prayer about things that we already know, or think we know the outcome of. We tend to go to The Lord in prayer only when we're desperate and have no idea what to do. If Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, went to the Father in prayer about something he already knew, how much more should we as weak finite humans go to our Father in heaven about all things? This passage underscores the weakness of mankind and our desperate need to literally wake up and pray! Jesus had been telling his disciples for some time that he would be delivered over to be executed, but they still didn't get it. They couldn't even stay awake for one hour and pray with their Messiah about what was about to take place. It's easy to look at this passage and say "how could those pathetic disciples fall asleep so quickly?" How many times have you and I fallen asleep or let our mind drift to another place when we're praying or reading the word? I think that one of the reasons this passage was included in three of the gospels is to show us that in our own weakness, we're normal, not to make an excuse but to show us that even Christ's inner circle still struggled with the same things we do. Another person that I'd like to look at is Judas, we like to point our long self-righteous fingers at Judas in condemnation. Judas was part of Jesus' inner circle as well as the rest of the twelve, in fact, he was probably the most trusted by the other disciples since he was entrusted with the group’s finances. Jesus certainly loved Judas very much, it must have been so painful for him to watch his close friend fall to temptation and betray him for financial gain. I'm sure that as Jesus prayed and wept desperately to the Father in the garden that night, he was lifting his friend Judas up in prayer as well. As you go out this week, I hope that this passage will remind and encourage you to take everything to the Lord in prayer, even those things that you already think you understand. If there are situations where people have hurt and betrayed you, lift them up in prayer, not in a self-righteous way, hoping that God will show them how wrong they were, but that God would restore the relationship and that he would be glorified in the process.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-