Then they arrived at a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to the disciples, <\/em>\u201cSit down here while I pray.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be horror-stricken and desperately depressed.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u201cMy heart is nearly breaking,\u201d he told them. \u201cStay here and keep watch for me.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>(Mark 14:32-34 PHILLIPS)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFather,\u201d he said, \u201cif you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.\u201d <\/em>(Luke 22:42 GNT)<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u00b4s hard to imagine Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world, being \u201chorror-stricken and desperately depressed.\u201d\u00a0 And yet, it happened. Jesus was facing the greatest test of His time on earth, and He was facing it as a human being.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u00b4s difficult to wrap your brain around the concept of Jesus being both fully divine and fully human, rather than being some sort of a spiritual half-breed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But if there are any doubts about Jesus being fully human, his anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane should put those to rest. He knew what He was about to face, and He needed strength to get through it. Matthew\u00b4s account of this episode words it this way:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He took Peter with him and Zebedee\u00b4s two sons James and John and began to be filled with anguish and despair.<\/em><\/p>\n Then he told them,\u00a0\u201cMy soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death.\u00a0.\u00a0. stay here.\u00a0.\u00a0. stay awake with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n (Matthew 26:37-38 TLB)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The One who was the Light of the World, who came to bring hope to everyone in it, was filled with . . . despair.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So, considering this, is it any great wonder that we can feel despair when we face our moments of greatest testing?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And to take that one step further, usually when we are having our moments of fear and torment, the worst thing that we are facing is the unknown. Our imaginations have run amok. We are scared because we wonder what is going to happen. Will I have the strength to endure this trial? What will people think of me if I fail? What am I about to lose? Do I really want to know the answers to these questions?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He knew EXACTLY what was about to happen. And it scared Him. A lot.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u00b4s be clear about this. Jesus, the Son of God, knew why He had come to earth. He knew He had work to do, and He knew He had to finish that work.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But Jesus the son of Mary and Joseph said this:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFather, if it is your will, take this cup\u00a0of suffering\u00a0away from me. However, your will must be done, not mine.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>(Luke 22:42 GW)<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jesus knew going into this time of prayer what God\u00b4s answer was going to be. He knew what He had to do, but He was NOT excited about it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, He submitted to His Father\u00b4s will. He did not want to go through with His arrest, torture, and execution, but more than that, He did not want to go against His Father\u00b4s will.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Greek word regarding God\u00b4s will in this sentence is \u03b3\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9. This signifies that Jesus is not only saying that God\u00b4s will must be done, but that it must be.<\/em> In other words\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In light of His knowledge of this, Jesus really didn\u00b4t have any illusion that His prayer was going to be answered with a \u201cyes.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 And yet, He prayed for God to let Him off the hook anyway.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps this knowledge was the greatest reason for His despair? He knew He wasn\u00b4t getting out of this. I can\u00b4t even imagine what He must have felt like in the garden.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And yet, He remained submissive, because He never lost focus on what His greatest mission was. And that was simply for God\u00b4s will to be done. Jesus was sincere about completing His work. He isn\u00b4t just saying, \u201cYour will be done,\u201d to sound pious, like it\u00b4s the right thing to say while praying.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It is, of course, the right thing to say, but it is also the right thing, period.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Because God\u00b4s will wasn\u00b4t about Jesus the man doing something He didn\u00b4t want to do. It was about Jesus the Savior bring God\u00b4s plan of salvation to fulfillment:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to do. And because of that, we are made holy through the sacrifice of Christ<\/em><\/strong>\u00b4s body. Christ made that sacrifice one time\u2014enough for all time. <\/em>(Hebrews 10:10 ERV)<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This sacrifice began not on the cross, but in the garden, when Jesus made up His mind to agree with God\u00b4s will. Because of this resolution, and the confirmation of His purpose that it signified, we are able to approach God today as His adopted children.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Heaven will be awesome, of course, but what about the here and now?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Do you ever have situations where you know you won\u00b4t be strong enough to face it by yourself? Isn\u00b4t it helpful to know, then, that even Jesus needed strength not only from the Holy Spirit, but also His three best buds Peter, John, and James? It is much less difficult to say to God, \u201cYour will be done\u201d when you have your closest friends surrounding and supporting you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Also, Jesus\u00b4 example in the garden proves that it really is OK to pray for release from suffering. Sometimes the answer is no, but it\u00b4s still OK to ask.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It is not likely that any of us will ever have to face a crucifixion, and we DEFINITELY won\u00b4t ever have the weight of the sins of the world upon our own shoulders.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, when I am facing something I really don\u00b4t want to do, and fear is holding me back, it helps at least to know that the One to whom I pray knows a thing or two about fear and apprehension.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But it helps me even more to know that He still got the job done.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Rear](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1779\/2023\/08\/sad-depressed-depression-sadness-thumbnail.jpg\")
Despair<\/h2>\n
Jesus didn\u00b4t have the luxury of fearing the unknown.<\/h3>\n
God\u00b4s will is eternal, just as God is eternal.<\/h3>\n
But this is about more than our salvation.<\/h3>\n