Luke 22:39-46

Luke 22:39-46

Luke’s report of The Garden of Gethsemane is short, matter of fact, and to the point. We see the humanity of Jesus struggling, as we all do, with the painful reality of obedience. Jesus in His divine nature knew what the cross would mean. Jesus in His human nature did not want to face that reality. Every Jew had seen the misery of crucifixion. But the physical torture would be only the tip of the iceberg of what lay in store for Jesus. The horrors of the wrath of God for all sin for all mankind were fully known to Jesus.  His human nature did not want to experience that wrath. This was no play acting example, this was not a dramatic presentation for our benefit. This was going to be the fully retributive justice and punishment of sin.  This was no sham struggle for Jesus.  The emotional battle, the psychological agony, the heart felt struggle were all real.

This passage is the most perfect example of submission and acceptance of the will of God when it is contrary to what we want. So much of teaching on prayer is about gaining what we want. But here Jesus makes a request which is rejected by the Father. Instead of having His prayer answer with a positive answer an angel is sent to Him to strengthen Him. That would have been a fascinating conversation to hear. The messenger did not offer a way out, but apparently re-emphasize the way through. Jesus's response to the angelic message was to return to agonized prayer.

The fundamental problem with our lives is a miss location of the center of the universe. This is most evident when we look at our prayers. When we make ourselves the center of the universe we see prayer as a means to get what we want. We use it to avoid uncomfortable circumstances, people or things and to acquire pleasant things for ourselves. But when the Father is the center and the focus of the universe, prayer is about His will and His glory no matter the circumstances. And God’s will is not always for us to be rich, comfortable and at ease.  Being a disciple is not easy. It is at its core dying to self in order to be alive to God. That sometimes means going through what we don't want, for reasons we may not fully understand, and even when we understand them we are still praying in agony.

“Lord, not my will but Your will be done. AMEN”