CHRIST IN GETHSEMANE

“Jesus went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”  (Matthew 26:29 NKJV)

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Yet the Christian insists that salvation is free. Well, yes and no! It is freely offered to the sinner, but at a tremendous cost to the Savior. Our appreciation of salvation is directly related to our recognition of its cost…

[In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed an agonizing prayer.] He knew that He would rise again in a matter of days, so death held no fear for Him. It was the uniqueness of His dying that horrified Him. He would become a sin offering (2 Corinthians 5:21), He would carry the responsibility and the penalty for the sins of the entire human race (Isaiah 53:5), and He would experience being forsaken by His Heavenly Father (Matthew 27:46; see Psalm 22:1). In agony Jesus contemplated not so much the physical suffering, although this would be considerable; nor the emotional anguish, although this would be excruciating; but the spiritual dimensions of His death, the likes of which no other human has ever experienced or ever will (see Mark 15:34). Yet He was willing to suffer even to that extent for the salvation of a sinful world -- He was committed to His Father’s will (Matthew 26:29,42). 

-- Excerpted from “Daily Study Bible for Men” with daily studies by Stuart Briscoe

#5825

WHATEVER

To be honest, the word ‘whatever’ isn’t my favorite word as a parent. It’s often a dismissive word that can have disrespectful undertones, but I think it’s redeemable. In fact, it’s one of my one-word prayers to God. When used in a submissive way, the word ‘whatever’ is a statement of absolute surrender.

Think of Gethsemane, the garden where Jesus Himself wrestled with the will of God. He said to His Father, “Take this cup from Me.” It was a reference to the cup of wrath. Jesus knew He’d have to drink it to the dregs, but before He did, He asked the Father if He would take it away, if there was any other way. But then He qualified His request with the ultimate all in prayer: “Not My will, but Yours be done.”

This was Jesus’ all in moment. This was His ‘whatever’ prayer. 

-- Mark Batterson in “All In”


#4435

WHERE OUR FEARS GO TO DIE

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”  (Matthew 26:38)

Jesus made His fears public. He "offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death" (Hebrews 5:7 NIV). He prayed loudly enough to be heard and recorded, and He begged His community of friends to pray with Him.

His prayer in the garden becomes, for Christians, a picture of the church in action -- a place where fears can be verbalized, pronounced, stripped down, and denounced; an escape from the "wordless darkness" of suppressed frights. A healthy church is where our fears go to die. We pierce them through with Scripture, psalms of celebration and lament. We melt then in the sunlight of confession. We extinguish them with the waterfall of worship, choosing to gaze at God, not our dreads.

-- Max Lucado in Fearless

#3850