The Invitation - Day 32

“Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then, an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 

At last, he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so you will not succumb to temptation.”

Because of the significance in this story, we’re going to spend two days reflecting on it from two different perspectives.

For today, we’re going to look at the agony Jesus experienced in this moment.  

Notice verse 44, which says, “his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.”

This is an actual medical condition experienced by someone who shares extreme anxiety.  You can feel it so strongly that blood can come from your pores.  And this is what Jesus was feeling just hours before his death on the cross.

Rest assured, the devil was on full attack in the garden.  We were told that after Jesus' temptations, the devil had left Jesus until a more opportune time (Luke 4:13). Well, that time is now.

Jesus is wondering if he has the strength to make it through the following hours if he can endure something he’s never felt before - separation from the father if the pain is something he can go through and still resist tapping into his divinity (because if he does tap into his divinity to save himself, the battle is lost).

What-ifs drive anxiety: what if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if I can’t take it?  And the devil knows how to make those voices louder so you can no longer hear the voice of reason.

Why does it matter to us that Jesus endured this kind of struggle?

I think the author of the book of Hebrews puts it best, “This High Priest (aka Jesus) understands our weaknesses for he faced all of the same tastings we do, yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4: 15, NLT)

Jesus was tempted way worse than us because he could have tapped into his divinity but chose not to for our sake.

That said, whatever we go through in this life, Jesus knows.  Whatever we feel, he has felt.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace we can go to when our world is falling apart, for he can be with us like no one else can because he knows what it’s like.

Questions to Consider

1. Can you think back to a particularly challenging experience you’ve been through - a move, the loss of a loved one, a career change, a battle with mental health?  Did you feel Jesus in that battle?  If not, what do you think it would have meant to know He was there, AND He knows what it’s like?
2. Jesus comforts us in our troubles and asks us to comfort others in theirs (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4). Who do you know that is going through a tough time, who could use a word of encouragement, a call, a text, a hug, so they may be reminded in word and deed that they are not alone?
3. PRAY TOGETHER - Take some time together to sit at the feet of Jesus with all your feelings, good and bad, and listen to Him tell you what’s most true about you - ‘You are His child, in whom He loves, and with whom He is well pleased.”. Then pray this truth over each other as you end.