Matthew 26:36-46 #1

Matthew 26:36-46 #1

The scene in Gethsemane is obviously the most traumatic in the earthly life of Jesus. Never before do we see Jesus making statements like, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” Luke’s account tells us that sweat came off His body in the same way that blood would flow if he were wounded. It is at this point, more than any time in His life, that we see His humanity. This is especially evident in His prayer: “Let this up pass from Me.”

The typical explanation is that Jesus was asking the Father to remove the cross from Jesus’ future. If that is true, then Jesus was asking that God change His entire plan of redemption that had been put in place “before time began” (Titus 1:2-3). Does that sound reasonable? Consider also that just a day or two before, Jesus had addressed the issue of whether He should pray that the “hour” of His suffering would be taken away: “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27). Jesus clearly thought it unreasonable that He would pray that the hour pass when that was the very reason He had come to the earth.

Therefore, if Jesus is not praying the He avoid the cross, what else could He be asking? The answer may be found in looking at Jesus before and after His prayers. We have already seen His weakened mental state prior to His prayers. John 18:4-8 shows us the contrast after His prayer. Suddenly we see a bold, fearless man who confronts His captors with complete confidence. We see nothing of the trembling, weakened man we saw three hours before.

Add to this the fact that Hebrews 5:7 tells us that Jesus’ prayers in the Garden were “heard because of His reverence.” Assuming that “heard” means that God answered Jesus’ prayer positively, we would have to conclude that Jesus was not asking that the cross be taken away from Him – especially when we consider that Jesus already said that He would not ask for the cross to be taken away.

Therefore, my conclusion is that Jesus’ prayer in the Garden had to do with asking God to get Him through all the things He was about to endure, especially through His weakened, troubled “hour” just prior to His arrest and the time leading up to the crucifixion.

Berry Kercheville