In today's passage, Jesus is praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemene prior to His betrayal. Many have wondered about the prayers of Christ in this passage. There are two interpreatations. First, the man Jesus was weary of the consequence He was to bear (the sin of the whole world) and desired to excape it if possible. Even in this prayer however, Jesus still desired more to do the will of the Father, regardless of its impact on Him. The other interpretation stems from the fact that Jesus was "weary unto death" (vs. 38) as He went a little further to pray. Some say that Jesus was asking the Father not to let Him die in the garden prior to His appointed sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus did for a certainty understand what was to come and the gravity of the matter. Either way, we do know that Jesus rose determined to do the will of the Father, to suffer in our place (vs. 46).
While the disciples struggled to stay awake while Jesus prayed, they were reminded of the fact that the spirit was willing but their flesh was weak. This was not necessarily a rebuke by Jesus. The next time He came to them he encouraged them to continue sleeping. It was however a powerful lesson for every Christian. We all should desire to follow after Christ. But there is a battle going on within us between the spiritual man and the sinful nature. We must watch (be alert) and pray (ask for God's guidance, protection and help) in our battle against our own sinful self.
Remember the example of Christ. Even when the flesh warred over a spiritual matter of such a great magnitude (the crucifixion), Jesus prayed and was ready to take it on, knowing that He was doing the will of the Father. He defeated death and claimed the victory. And now we can be sure, in any situation, that our victory has been won!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment