Jesus The Human

Jesus the Human

Matthew 26:39, NKJV

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Mark 14:35-36, NIV

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Setting the Scene

Prayer was one of the most familiar practices the disciples observed in Jesus. He demonstrated each day the principle the apostle Paul later described as “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV). In today’s language we might say that prayer was Jesus’ default setting, and the program was running in the background of his thoughts at all times. So it is not at all surprising that Jesus would have met the most difficult time in his extended task on earth by relying on prayer.

In his prayer, Jesus made a request (“if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me”) and declared his ongoing intentions (“not as I will, but as You will”). These are some of Jesus’ finest human moments. He was anticipating suffering and death in ways that would be familiar to all of us. But the combination of Jesus’ two statements tells us this wasn’t a case of second thoughts, but genuine emotional “due diligence.” Jesus wondered, but he didn’t waver.

The term “cup” had an established use as a reference to suffering (Isaiah 51:17). What the cup contained would be bitter and difficult. The cup itself represented the voluntary nature of the experience. Jesus was already committed to drink the cup if and when it was presented to him.

Getting Personal

How would you characterize the times you spend alone with God? At what points in a crisis are you most likely to turn to God? Why?

When have you struggled to accept what clearly seemed to be God’s will for you?

When he taught us to pray, Jesus gave us permission to ask God, “Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13, KJV) in the same sense that he prayed here. This is not “temptation” to sin, but “trials” that cause us to grow (the same Greek word is behind both of those terms). We can express our lack of enthusiasm for or our fear of training as long as down deep we understand that God’s will comes first.

Talking to God

Strip away any pretense and bring your truest feelings before the Lord, even when they are raw or hurt emotions, like those that Jesus expressed. Ask the Lord to make you willing to do whatever he asks of you and to give you courage and strength to obey.