32 They came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him. Distress and anguish came over him, 34 and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.”
35 He went a little farther on, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he might not have to go through that time of suffering. 36 “Father,” he prayed, “my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”
37 Then he returned and found the three disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Weren’t you able to stay awake for even one hour?” 38 And he said to them, “Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 He went away once more and prayed, saying the same words. 40 Then he came back to the disciples and found them asleep; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to say to him.
41 When he came back the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come! Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinners. 42 Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”
Read Mark 14:32-42 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
On the night of Jesus’ arrest, while Jesus was in the garden, what happens before Judas arrived is amazing in my mind. Looking at the timing of this event, it seems as though only Jesus really knew what was coming. The remaining eleven disciples don’t appear to act in a way that made this night significant like Jesus did.
If it were not for the upcoming arrest, we might not even have this night recorded. John’s gospel even hints at this being a regular place for Jesus and the disciples to go when they were in the area. (John 18:1-2)
But this night was different, and Jesus knew it. This night marked the next step towards the ultimate goal of the cross. But during the night before His death, Jesus faced what may have been His greatest challenge: Should Jesus choose to go through with the cross?
Jesus could take the group of disciples anywhere else, and Judas would not have been able to find them. The remaining disciples may not have even realized they had narrowly escaped death. But running away was not part of Jesus’ character.
That night Jesus prayed, “My Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” (v. 36)
In this prayer, I see two clear things stated. First, Jesus shares His preference. Secondly Jesus shares His true desire. I wonder if this could be a model for us as well.
It is in this garden prayer where we can see a glimpse into how to pray – and how God answers prayer. While the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught the disciples earlier in His ministry gets lots of fame, it is in this garden prayer that we can really see the essence of prayer. What if we prayed our preferences to God, then submitted ourselves to His will and His timing. If we really think about our perspective when compared to God’s, He can see things a lot clearer than we can.
When Jesus prayed (and when we pray), God already knows what we need and what we want. God already knew Jesus was in anguish and that He was suffering. God knew that Jesus would make this request. But God also knew what was in Jesus’ heart – because it was in His heart as well. The whole Godhead designed this event to be an example of the love they had for you, me, and the rest of humanity. It is in this short, four sentence prayer where Jesus re-volunteers for the role of Savior-Messiah for humanity.
God does not appear to answer Jesus’ request to take the cup of suffering away. God does not appear to always answer our prayers favorably as well. However, when looking at this prayer from an eternity perspective, everything was on the line. God didn’t answer Jesus’ request because of His love for you and I. He wants us with Him for eternity. God answers prayers with an eternity perspective, and sometimes that even means saying “No” to His own Son!
Jesus deferred to God’s will and perspective in that moment, and because of that, we now have the opportunity to accept salvation as a gift. When we pray, perhaps we should be more intentional about submitting our will into God’s will – because He knows the path that will lead us, and as many people as possible, into eternal life with Him.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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