In my readings this week in preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, I came across Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. This event happens after Jesus and his disciples have finished the Passover supper and moved across the brook Kidron to the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane was located. Detailed accounts of what happened there can be found in Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46, and Mark 14:32-42. There is so much we can learn from what happened here, but today we are going to focus on Jesus’ prayer, instructions to the disciples, and what that means for us.
Jesus knew of the imminent suffering he was to endure, in his sacrifice, for man to be reconciled to the Father. Jesus needed to pray to discern God’s will and strengthen him for the unimaginable suffering that lay ahead. In Luke 22:40 Jesus prayed saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus also told Peter “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” in Luke 22:41 and Mark 14:38. Luke 22:44 tells us of the intensity Jesus prayed saying “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Finally in Luke 22:46, after returning from prayer, Jesus tells his disciples “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Amid our own trials, when we have come to the end of our strength, Jesus, as always, is the perfect example for us. It is OK to ask God to remove the suffering from us because our flesh is weak, but above all, we need to ask for God’s will to be done, as Jesus did. God will strengthen us in whatever situation we face, and in any and every circumstance (read Philippians 4:10-14 God’s Provision). Here, Jesus prayed for hours, producing drops of blood falling to the ground. The intensity of what we are facing should reflect the length and intensity of our prayers. Following Jesus’ example of prayer, he gave instructions to his disciples, and ultimately to us.
When Jesus tells his disciples to pray that they may not enter into temptation, he is speaking about being tempted to seek fleshly desires in conflict with God’s will, and following what we want instead of seeking to understand and follow God’s will. Jesus knew he was about to be arrested in the garden and knew the disciples would be tempted to fight those seeking to arrest him. They would do this seeking their own will of trying to preserve Jesus’ life, and not God’s will. We see this play out when Simon Peter cut the ear off Malchus, a servant of the high priest who came to arrest Jesus in John 18:10. The disciples were found sleeping instead of praying more than once when Jesus returned from praying. We can learn from this and listen to Jesus’ commands. During our times of trials and suffering let us not succumb to our exhaustion and sadness by falling asleep instead of praying. Let us pray with intensity, to seek God’s will and not our own, for His strength and not ours, and for us to not enter into the temptation of seeking our will and desires and not His.
Bob Scaia
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