Gethsemane

Good Morning,

Matthew 26:36-46 (NIV)
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
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. "Could you men not 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 body 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."
When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

Just in case there might be some who have a bit of doubt or wonder about Jesus' being a real human being, all we have to do is to read these verses. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." He was letting His deepest feelings be known to His friends in that statement, don't you think? His humanity cried out to His friends for their comfort. He then went a short way, fell to the ground in prayer..."My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." After all, He knew what was to come, because...in addition to being a human being, He was also God. He then calls out once again for the Father to take away what was to come; His horrible death on the cross. But, He knew that it was the Father's will that had to be done and not His human feelings about it.

He let his displeasure be known to the disciples with Him, as well, when He said, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" Then, He again asked them, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." You see, because He was truly human, He knew what could happen in men's weaknesses; He knew that temptations could and would easily come to have them go astray. He told them, knowing the human feelings, "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Yes, Jesus was...IS...truly God. But, He was also a man when He came to fulfill God's plan. He was a man who knew and understood our failings and faults. Just in case we sort of forget this fact from time to time, it would be good to remember these verses and think about the Man that Jesus was and what He had to face in these moments at Gethsemane. A Man who gave His life that we might live.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David