Matthew Chapter 26
Scripture:
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane , and he said to them, “Sit here while I
go over there and pray.” He took Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and
troubled. Then he said to them, “My
soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground
and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t
you men keep watch with me for one hour?
”he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if
it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your
will be done.”
When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because
their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed
the third time, saying the same thing.
Then he returned to the disciples and said to
them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and
the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let
us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew
26:36-46)
Observation:
There are some interesting parallels here of
redemption. The fall of man happened in
the Garden of Eden, by falling to temptation.
Here we see Jesus tempted to escape his fate, but yielding instead to
God’s will over his own.
Jesus knew the end was near.
His response to the fight or flight instinct that his adrenal glands
triggered was to do neither. He didn’t
run away from the crucible that was to come, nor did he fight it (or allow
Peter to fight in his behalf). Instead,
he went down on his face in prayer. Yes,
asking to be spared, but submitting to God’s will every time and going back to
prayer when he didn’t get the answer he wanted.
In fact, he prayed three times for the same thing; persistently pursuing
God until he found peace. He never
pretended that it was an easy thing for him to do – no false platitudes or
doubt. Luke records that angels came to
strengthen him in response to his prayer.
(Luke 22:43)
I also find it interesting, that he took his best friends to
stand watch with him, and to pray while he wrestled his will to the ground. The temptation to sleep overcame them
though. And that’s where we get the
immortal words “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The implication of course, because of the
example lived out by Jesus, is that our bodies need to be trained and
disciplined along with our spirits in order to pass the test of the crucible.
Application:
A crucible is a container that can withstand very high temperatures,
temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter it’s contents… I can’t help
but think of our bodies as crucibles, the container that houses our
spirits.
A scripture is often misquoted. People say “God won’t let you have more than
you can handle” and I don’t think that’s true.
The scripture in question comes from 1st Corinthians 10:13 and it says: “No
temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can
endure it.” The scripture is
talking about withstanding temptation (the temptation to run away or to fight
back on our own power). He provides a
way of escape through the transmuting, the submission, of our will to his, as
it is so clearly shown in this passage.
It is in our human nature to seek comfort, safety, and
security. We are like children who
equate God’s love for us by how “blessed” we are. We pray earnestly for one another when any of
those things are threatened, but what do we pray for? Do we pray that they are able to conquer
themselves and their base instincts to fight or run away; so that they are able
to endure the crucible? Or do we pray
for their comfort, healing from pain, or release from their circumstances?
Jesus didn’t escape the cross. He escaped his fear, and endured. Luke says that he sweated drops of blood – he
was terrified in body for the ordeal to come.
He modeled for us, how to pick up our cross – die to ourselves – and
follow his example.
So I ask you. What
are the things in your life that tempt you into fighting back or running away?
Prayer:
Father, I feel as though I may have poked tender spots with
a sharp stick. I don’t know what place
the reader is in. Maybe they’re tempted by the heat of their circumstances to
do whatever it takes to end the pain or fear.
I pray for them, that you would send your angels to comfort, to aid them
in conquering themselves.
Maybe the reader is close to someone going through a trial,
and the only thing to do is sit beside them while they endure. For them, Lord I pray that they resist the temptation
to sleep, and actively engage in prayer, watching and waiting with them;
witnessing the battle and providing the comfort of friendship. Amen
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