Jesus' Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

Abba, Father, he said, 'everything is possible for you.

Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

The next Sunday, we will commemorate the resurrection of Jesus with greetings like Happy Easter. Before happy Easter, there is Passion week starting today. The Passion week is to remember the Passion of Christ which starts with Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane and ends with crucifixion on the cross. Jesus prayer in Gethsemane is the starting point of the Passion week. Someone might ask why the prayer in Gethsemane should be a must for the God's salvation work because in Gethsemane, we can see the personal agony of Jesus in weakness. However, Jesus has been omnipotent as the son of God. He calmed down the wave and silented the rough sea. Surprisingly Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead right before he entered the Jerusalem. He came here to complete the God's salvation work. Nevertheless, he showed us his personal weakness in Gethsemane. Through today's message, we will see how he submitted himself to the will of God and how he prepared for all the sufferings and death on the cross. On the contrary, we can see the Peter's failure in spiritual battle of prayer, through which we can learn how to follow the will of God. May God help us to learn more about Jesus prayer's in Gethsemane. Let's pray.

During the Last supper with his disciples, Jesus taught the meaning of the blood of the covenant. The blood of the covenant is God's promise that he would send his one and only Son to shed his blood for our sins because nothing can solve the sin problem of human beings except for the holy blood of Jesus. For this, Jesus had predicted his death repeatedly even three times, saying like that "The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise." (10:33-34). Now it comes near the time for Jesus to prepare for the suffering and crucifixion.

Part 1. Jesus predicts Peter's denial(27-31)

Look at verse 27. "You will all fall away.. for it is written; 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." As soon as they arrived at the Mount of Olives, Jesus told them that they would all fall away. Jesus saying was according to the prophecy in Zechariah 13:7. Here, 'the shepherd' refers to Jesus, and ‘sheep', to the disciples. Jesus knew that his disciples' faith was not strong enough to withstand the upcoming trials and Jesus' suffering. So, Jesus told them this so that they might remember what he said when they scatter away. Jesus hoped that all of them might become shepherds for those whose faith are weak.

Jesus knew what would happen to his disciples at the time of his arrest, trials and crucifixion. In desperation, they would all scatter and wander around to look for a hiding place so as not to be tracked down by the Pharisees. They would go back to Galilee one by one secretly. How did Jesus help them? Jesus gave them the promise of God about his resurrection. Look at verse 28. "But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee" However, how did they respond to his words? Peter heard what Jesus said, but he couldn't get the main point because he was upset to hear that he would fall away from Jesus like a coward. Peter could not believe that he would be a failure in his loyalty to his master. So he declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not" Look at verse 30. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth.. today- yes, tonight - before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times that night. What a surprising prediction! The disciples' heart must have been confused at his words. Among them, Peter trembled and announced firmly, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you". His heart was right at that time, but what he said was based on his feelings, not on faith. Peter did not know that human feeling is changeable, like the unpredictable weather. He did not know that no one can overcome the devil's temptation by his own effort.

We are just the same with our own weaknesses. We don't like to admit that we have weaknesses and need to be changed. We resist criticism and rebuke from others and easily become proud and self-righteous. For that reason we cannot humbly pray. No matter how we express our love, faith and loyalty to Jesus, if we are not praying in our actual daily life, it proves that we are depending on our wisdom and strength. That is the clear difference between Jesus and his disciples facing the upcoming trials. Then, what did Jesus do at that time?

Part 2. Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane(32-42)

Look at verse 32. Jesus went with his disciples to Gethemane to pray as the final preparation for the suffering and crucifixion. Gethsemane means "olive press" for it was an olive garden. It was a private place where Jesus often met with his disciples. He said to them, "Sit here while I pray". He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. Look at verse 34. 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch' Jesus was also human being and he was in the prime of life. He was too young to die. But Jesus was willing to obey God's will to drink the cup of suffering. For this, Jesus had to do battle with Satan in prayer. It was not an easy battle. He wanted his three top disciples to support him in prayer. Jesus never revealed feelings of distress before, but this time he said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" Sorrow is mental suffering and spiritual agony. The agony of his soul was unbearable. It drove him even to the point of death. Jesus knew in detail the suffering and pain that awaited him. Jesus already foretold Judas' betrayal, Peter's denials and the falling away of the rest of the disciples. All this would bring him great emotional pain. Jesus knew of the false accusations, the mocking, the spitting. This would bring tremendous humiliation. Jesus knew of the severe flogging, the beatings, the crown of thorns, the heavy cross, the nails in his hands and feet, the sword piercing his side. All this meant unbearable physical pain and torture. He also shall be cursed and rejected by men and by God, his father. But there is another pain which no other human being could not bear: the pain of taking up the sin of the world. In future, Peter expressed this saying that "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."(1 Peter 2:24)

All of us have felt the misery, regret and self-loathing of our sins, like lust, greed, lying, idolatry. But we do not know what it feels like to take up the sins of others and to be punished for it. We all know what it is like to be punished by a human authority--a parent, a teacher or a policeman, for wrong things we have done. But we have not experienced what it is like to be punished by God for His wrath on our sins. All this made Jesus overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. It was Jesus' mission from his Father God. It was his cup he had to drink. Isaiah prophesied, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering...Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isa 53:3-5)

Everyone wants to enjoy life. No one wants to suffer. Everyone wants to live happily. No one is willing to die when he is young. But Jesus was willing to obey God's will for world salvation. For this, Jesus had to die, crucified on a cross like a criminal. He had to drink the cup of suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was lonely. He needed his disciples' prayer support. This was the reason Jesus took Peter, James and John and said, "Stay here and keep watch"

What did Jesus pray? Look at verse 35. "Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him" His prayer begins with the request that 'if possible the hour might pass from him'. Here, "the hour" refers to the time of execution on the cross. That hour was appointed by God, according to his promise. It was the hour when Jesus would shed his blood as the Passover Lamb for the sin of the world. When he thought about that hour, he trembled. So he prayed that the hour might pass from him. If possible, Jesus wanted to avoid that hour. But he did not stop there.

Let's read together the verse 36. 'Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will' He prayed that God would help him not to drink the cup. In short, he prayed that he might not die, but live. He wanted to avoid this cup of suffering. Among all human desires, the desire to live may be the strongest. So he prayed that if possible, God would not allow him to drink the cup.

Loot at verse 36b again. "Yet not what I will, but what you will" This phrase clearly tells us that he prayed to overcome himself and obey God's will. Jesus knew how to struggle in prayer to overcome his desires. He overcame his desire through prayer. Jesus is the greatest man who ever lived because he overcame his human desire by prayer. Though he was the Son of God, he could not obey naturally. He needed to battle against himself in prayer in order to obey the will of God. Hebrews 5:8-9 say, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" Without the prayer in Gethsemane, he might not have accomplished the work of salvation. The same is true to us. If we want to be servants of God, we must have a night of prayer at Gethsemane.

Jesus prayer in Gethesmane was a spritual battle. Through the time of prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus received new spiritual strength from God. This is true. After prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus was full of spirit, ready to withstand the trial, the suffering and even death. Here we can learn that there are physical battles and spiritual battles in the world. We must fight the spiritual battle in prayer like Jesus. When we are in trouble, we want to improve the situation or fight against our opponents. The devil always leads us to do physical battles against the situation and person. At that time, we must follow the example of our Lord Jesus. We must fight the spiritual battle in prayer. Through fighting a spiritual battle in prayer we can overcome our human desires.

Lastly, through Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, we can find that the time of prayer is the time of conviction of God's love. When Jesus prayed, he said, "Abba, Father" at first. Even in this terrible time, Jesus had a basic attitude toward God. God was still his Daddy. He never doubted God's love. Even though he had to die on the cross after rejection both from people and his Father, God was still his loving daddy. As long as Jesus prayed, this graceful love relationship was not changed.

While Jesus was struggling to do spiritual battle through prayer like the above, what did the diciples do? Look at verse 37. When Jesus came to his disciples, he found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak" The word 'willing' can also be translated as in 'eager to do the right thing.' Our spirit is often eager to do something good, even something great. This is especially true when the Holy Spirit is working within us. When we have a Bible study, we are often inspired to do something for God and his glory. We want to overcome our condition, our situation and our human limitations. The problem is that our human natural desires often block the way and make us spiritually paralytic, mute and blind. After hearing an inspiring message, we resolve to share the gospel with others like a 'Fishing man'. But as time goes by, our courage diminishes to become 'Bang-kok man'. What is our problem? Our problem is that we do not pray. We do not depend on God. Rather, we live by the flesh, that is, by our own strength, determination, ability, effort and thinking. As long as we rely on ourselves, we are destined to fail. Like Jesus, we must return to the Gethsemane and surrender to God: not as I will, but as you will.

And then Jesus returned to his disciples the second time after praying. He saw they were again sleeping. But this time, Jesus did not wake them up. Perhaps he covered them with a blanket so that they could sleep better. When he returned a third time, he saw that they were oversleeping even snoring in symphony. So Jesus said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough!"

On the other hand, Jesus himself was fully prepared to meet any kind of trial, even crucifixion. The time of suffering came upon him, but he was ready to confront it. Jesus' heart was not shaken by his beloved disciple's betrayal or by being handed over like a criminal. Rather, Jesus was full of spirit and said, "The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of the sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

In this passage we learn how to fight spiritually in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane. The life of faith in this world is the life of a battle in prayer as our Lord Jesus did. If we are eager to do the will of God, we must learn the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Now it is time to pray like Jesus. The campus students are coming here, Anam center to hear the word! The 50th anniversary of foundation of UBF is also coming near! If we wish to do something great for the glory of God, we must pray at first. Nowadays, it is a good news that Anam Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are preparing for the 50th anniversary event through early morning prayer. I believe that the early morning prayer is challenging to layman more than anyone else because it is difficult to change the mind set from company mode to center mode. May God help us to go in the place of prayer every early morning. Praise to Jesus who showed us the example way to do God's work. I pray that through the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, we may overcome ourself and do the work of God every day. Let's pray.