Make sure you read Part 1 first to get the whole message! :)
In John 14:31 JESUS said “the world must know that I love the Father and I will do exactly what the Father tells Me to do.” In Hebrews 10:7 He says “I have come to do Your will.”
In Gethsemane, Going a little farther, Jesus 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.”
Matthew 26:40
Was JESUS is praying “Take this cross Father GOD from Me. Don’t make Me go through with it—But not My will but Thine,” ?
If JESUS in not praying to get out of going to the cross what is He praying for?
Going a little farther, JESUS 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.” Matthew 26:39
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.” Matthew 26:42
So He left the and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Matthew 26:44
Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:35-36
What is the “cup “and the “hour?”
Well to get the answer we have to back up a little ways.
Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. GOD was there as well as Satan. GOD gave the people only one rule. But even though they only had one rule they disobeyed GOD. The Gospel has two parts, life for GOD’s people and death for His enemy. GOD said to the people after they sinned, “Wear this animal skin to represent how I will save you from death.”
To the enemy He said, “Her descendant will crush your head.” The descendant GOD was talking about was JESUS. Satan is not all knowing as GOD is, but He is crafty and cunning. (Genesis 3:1, 2 Corthinians 11:3) From that time way back then, Satan tried to stop JESUS from coming. He tried to kill many of GOD’s people that would become the line of JESUS to try to stop JESUS from being born.
There was the time when Cain killed Abel, (Genesis 4) and also Moses when he was a baby and his mother put him in the basket in the river to save him from being killed (Exodus 1). David the shepherd boy, who later became king had several attempts on his life that are directly related to this. Then even when JESUS was born, GOD’s enemy tried to kill JESUS several times when He was a baby and when He grew older. (Matthew 2)
Even though Satan tried his best to kill JESUS, he never could do it. Satan is a good listener and he pays attention to what is happening. Satan knew what GOD’s prophecies were and he knew he had to try everything he could to stop them from coming to pass. Satan is deceitful and desperately wicked and in his wickedness cannot see that he can only fail, so he tries to best GOD.
Now we come to a place called the Garden of Gethsamane. JESUS and His disciples were there late at night. A lot of times they camped out there, but this night JESUS came to pray. The human body JESUS was in was made vulnerable to death so that He could be sacrificed. In the garden He was physically weak because of our sin He had taken on for us.
Satan knew exactly who JESUS was and that this was Satan’s last chance for GOD’s enemies to kill JESUS. So Satan’s entire evil force were there that night to make their final effort to kill JESUS before He went to the cross because they knew if they could stop JESUS going to the cross that they would stop GOD’s word from coming true about their head.
JESUS prays: "Do not withhold Your mercy from Me, O LORD; may Your love and Your truth always protect Me. For troubles without number surround Me; My sins have overtaken Me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of My head, and My heart fails within Me."
Psalm 40:11 -12
JESUS was motivated by love, not selfishness and fear. JESUS is our High Priest and the one who sacrifices the Lamb, which is Himself! He said, “I lay down My life–No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.” (John10:17-18)
But the demons were working so hard JESUS was almost dead there in the garden.
"My enemies say of Me in malice, 'When will He die and His name perish? Whenever one comes to see Me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.
All My enemies whisper together against Me; they imagine the worst for Me, saying, 'A vile disease has beset Him; He will never get up from the place where He lies.' ” Psalm 41:5-8
“Innumerable evils” as the King James Bible says, were ordered by the enemy to the garden. They knew their only chance for survival was to kill JESUS in the garden while His human body was being crushed by our sin. That would stop Him from making it to the cross the next day.
The greek word translated “agony” in the KJV or”anguish” in the NIV —angonia— is only used once in the bible in Luke 22:44 describing JESUS in the garden: And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
We use the words “agony” or ”anguish” to mean extreme pain. In the greek dictionary the meaning is “a struggle.” Its root word agon means: “A place of assembly (as if led), a contest (held there); an effort or anxiety; —conflict, contention, fight, race.”
The verb form —agonizomai— “to struggle, compete for a prize, to contend with an adversary, or to endeavor to accomplish something, labor fervently, strive for.”
JESUS was in agonai —a terrible struggle with the adversary.
This struggle with enemy is the “cup “and the “hour that JESUS is praying about in the garden.
In Matt. 26:40 JESUS asked the disciples to “not fall into temptation. Watch and pray, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” He was talking about us, not Himself. He knows the danger, we do not, therefore the warning. We will be tested and unless we are committed to the Father, we can be lulled to sleep, because we do not see any danger (like the disciples in the garden).
The disciples were long seasoned, experienced fisherman who were used to staying awake all night to fish. They would not usually have any difficulty staying awake for a few hours late at night. But the enemy lulled the disciples to sleep so that they would not be able to pray. They were in the midst of a terrible battle and were in grave danger. JESUS knows the danger—He was not weak because He was in complete accord with the Father. We are willing but our flesh is weak, so we can be lulled to sleep, and into danger. But GOD abides in us. Though we believe not, yet He abides faithful, 2 Timothy 2:13. JESUS came to do the will of the Father and regardless of the opposition, He was faithful in carrying out His assignment from the Father. (PS. 39:41 Heb. 10:5)
I think JESUS came to wake them three times not because He was concerned for His situation but because of His great love for them and all of us. He does not want us to succumb to the enemy or be hurt by him.
So JESUS prays “Father help Me! save Me from the uncountable enemies around Me! They want to stop Me from doing Your will for salvation. I want to do what You want but this body needs Your support to stand against this attack of the enemy who want Me to die here instead of at the cross for salvation!
Do not withhold Your mercy from Me, O LORD; may Your love and Your truth always protect Me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save Me; O LORD, come quickly to help Me. Yet I am poor and needy; may the LORD think of Me. You are My help and My deliverer; O My GOD, do not delay. Psalm 40:12-13.17
But even in this dire need He is the obedient servant and He will not act on His own. Even though all of GOD’s plan is on the line, the work must be done by only the Father’s authority.
“Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
JESUS’s prayer here is to be allowed to continue to the cross, not to avoid the cross. His passion and purpose is to rescue and save us. He absolutely no thought for His own suffering. The suffering of the cross was foreseen, accepted, willingly and lovingly for us, before the foundation of creation.
Romans 6:23 states, ”For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of GOD is eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. The nature of GOD is that He can not incur debt.
Luke 14:28 says, “But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?”
GOD had to pay the cost of salvation, which is JESUS’s death before the foundation of creation or He would violate His own law. Revelation 13:8 says the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. If JESUS then tried to ask GOD not to go to the cross, He would actually be asking for a refund of the payment made before creation! GOD says His promises are everlasting. They are new like the dew, every morning they renew, as the hymn says.
When the soldiers came to arrest JESUS in the garden, He could have called for angels to rescue Him but He didn’t because the soldiers weren’t His enemy. When JESUS was on trial with Pontias Piolate, He said He could call for 10 thousand legions of angels to save Him but He didn’t, because Pontias Piolate and the people were not JESUS’s enemy and that would have been for selfish reasons. But in the Garden was GOD’s real enemy and it was in GOD’s interest that He cried for help.
But you, O LORD, have mercy on Me; raise Me up, that I may repay them. Psalm 41:10
In this context the meaning of the word “repay” is “requite” in the KJV. The Strong’s Concordance says its root means “to be safe;” the meaning is “to make completed; by implication to be friendly; to make amends; to make an end; finish; make good; to make at peace; to perfect; make prosperous; make restitution; to restore.”
Doesn’t that perfectly describe the attitude of JESUS! He is not saying, “Get me out of this, I don’t want this suffering!” He’s saying, “I love my people! I want to restore them! I want to perfect them! I want to make them prosperous in Me. I want them to be complete in Me!”
Psalm 139 says we can’t run away from Him, so why would He want to run away from us? Hallelujah! Praise GOD for His wonderful grace and mercy!
In Psalm 41 we see that JESUS’s prayer to the Father is answered with a resounding Yes!
"I know that You are pleased with Me, for My enemy does not triumph over Me. In My integrity You uphold Me and set Me in Your presence forever. Praise be to the LORD, the GOD of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen." Psalm 41:11-13
GOD gave JESUS protection in the garden that night so that JESUS could go to the cross and save us like GOD and He wanted because GOD loves us. So you see JESUS’s will is never different from GOD the Father’s. (John17:11)
JESUS wants to show us that He is always submitted and in unity with GOD and that is what GOD wants for us. The cross was not a disgrace for JESUS, but a triumph!
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