They went to a place called
Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his
disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
He took Peter, James and John
along with him, and he began to
be deeply distressed and troubled.
“My soul is overwhelmed with
sorrow to the point of death,” he
said to them. “Stay here and keep
watch.” 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: 32-36
The night before he was crucified, Jesus went to a familiar
grove of olive trees to pray. Scripture says that Jesus was
“overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” It was in
his great distress, that Jesus sought the comfort of closeness
in prayer with his heavenly Father. Jesus’ emotional distress
seems to about “the cup” mentioned in verse 36. “The cup”
is an expression which means Jesus’ role in the plan of
redemption. In this plan, Jesus is to take our place on the
cross, be treated as if our sins are his own, have God forsake
Jesus on the cross, receive the wrath of God we deserve, and
give his life for our sins.
As difficult as this task is, Jesus prays, “yet not what I will,
but what you will.” Before Jesus ever sacrifices his life, Jesus
surrenders his will to God. Our problem is that we want the
opposite of what Jesus prayed. We don’t want God’s will for
our lives, we want our every desire fulfilled instead. Would
you bravely follow Jesus’ example, surrender your life to God
and pray, “God, not my will but yours be done in my life.”
