Prophecies taught down through the centuries clearly speak of Jesus
as the Messiah. The words of Isaiah and Psalms testify of Salvation through Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
John 5:39 ...These are the Scriptures that testify about Me.
Luke 22:37 “It is written: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in Me. Yes, what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”
Colossians 1:13-22 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
Jesus spent His whole ministry teaching, “I am the Door, if any man enters in by Me, he shall be saved.” (John 10:9) “I am the Way, the truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father except by Me.”
(John 14:6)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
(Matthew 16:24)
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)
Jesus took on a very specific role. He came to do the will of the Father, which was to take on a body and be made the one sacrifice which could take care of our sin. But it was not forced on Him unwillingly. It was the plan of the Godhead— Father, Son, and Spirit, made in complete true unity in ages before time, for the love of the creation which He Himself made.
Philippians 2:6-8 says Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
“For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say.” (John 12:49-50)
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also.” (John 5:19)
God made Him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corthinians 5:21)
The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His Work.” (John 14:10)
By Myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is just, for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me. (John 5:31)
“If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid. Romans (14:23)
In Exodus 21:5-6 it says, “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master. I and my wife and children do not want to go free,’ then the master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door post and pierce his ear with an awl. Then the servant will be this master’s servant for life.”
In Psalm 40:6-8 Jesus refers to this when He says to the Father,
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But My ears You have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about Me in the scroll, in the volume of the book, it is written of Me. I desire to do Your will O My God, Your law is written within My heart.”
This ear piercing is mentioned in Isaiah 50:5-7,
The sovereign LORD has opened My ears (pierced) and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I have offered My back to those who beat Me, My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard; I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps Me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set My face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
In Ps. 40: 6-8 Jesus said to God “I am your loyal willing servant and I have come to do Your will. nothing else matters. I am like a slave voluntarily serving the master for life. ”
Jesus said to God the Father and us, “My ears You have pierced. I want to write it down so that all will know that I am only a servant to God the Father.” 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.”
A true servant has no will of his own, only the master’s will is important. That may cause the servant pain and suffering but he doesn’t stop, he keeps doing what master says because he loves the master and will do anything he asks.
Jesus is saying here, because of My great love for the Father, I have no will of My own. I have come to be a servant of the Father only. Jesus never usurped the Father’s role. If He had Satan would have been able to say, “See He’s not a servant! He is making His own demands! He’s a phony! He’s liar!”
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
Is Jesus is praying “Take this cross Father God from Me. Don’t make Me go through with it—But not My will but Thine,” ?
Jesus had explained to the disciples that He would be killed and raised up in three days and Peter insisted it wouldn’t happen. Jesus instantly rebuked him. Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:23
Would Jesus in the garden beg God for the same thing that He rebuked Peter for? Of course not.
Jesus continued speaking to His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Matthew 16:24
Can you imagine Jesus asking the people of the world to deny themselves and take up their cross and then go begging God to let Him out of His?
God the Father says, “But My righteous one will live by faith. And if He shrinks back, I will not be pleased with Him.” Hebrew 10:37-38
Jesus said in John 12:27-28, “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father Glorify Your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again!” (John 12;30)
Jesus spoke to them gathered and said, “This voice is for your benefit, not Mine. You are going to have the Light just a little while longer. Walk in the Light, before darkness overtakes you... Put your trust in the Light while you have it so that you may become sons of Light. When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent Me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness. As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say. When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me. All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. (John 12:35-36,44-50, 15:26)
Jesus spoke this to His disciples just after what we call “the LORD’s Supper. Would He now go to the garden and ask God to take the burden of the cross from Him? He just said He must go in order for the Holy Spirit to be able to come to us? How can He now ask to to be released from this commitment?
Jesus now prays to the Father in John 17:2-5,12 Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name—the name You gave Me–so that they may be one as We are one."
He says that He brings glory to the Father by completing the work that the Father sent Him to do. Can the Father be glorified in Him if He asks to be let out of the cross?
God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus are One and cannot have differing wills. We have only one God. Think of it this way. I am one person and yet I am many people. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, wife, mother, friend. I have many facets but all my parts must agree or I could not continue to live. God being infinitely more faceted than my human analogy can fathom, must support His own law, because He is what makes the law.
Matthew 12:25 says, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 This must include Jesus Himself.
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began. (John 17:6)
“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world. (John 17:5)
Jesus was totally submitted to the Father and never rebelled, resisted, held back or hesitated.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
Even in Matthew 4, in the desert, when Satan tests Jesus, Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the LORD your God, and serve Him only. Matthew 4:10
James 1:13-14 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is drawn away by his own lusts.
So if Jesus in not praying to get out of going to the cross what is He praying for?
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.
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)
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!
