Going a little farther, he 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.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 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.”
Last night my brother David, our church’s teaching pastor talked about this verse as we as a community of faith prepare ourselves for Easter. During the message that David brought this verse kept replaying in my mind, and it really struck me because in this moment at the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, who knows fully well what his purpose is comes to His Father and pleads with him to see if there is another way to absolve the world of its sins.
Jesus is scared.
Jesus, the savior of the world, our redeemer is scared. He is pleading for another way for this to be done.
Jesus is Fully God and Fully Man, that is the essence of his existence. That he is God and Man in the same body. We should take comfort in the fact that Jesus faced every trial that we will ever face. Why should that comfort us? Because Jesus knows what it means to be scared, to be hurting, to be loved, to be disappointed. He can relate. He understands. He gets it.
Im going to let that sink in…..let it marinate….