He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39
We are currently in a series called Deliberate. Throughout this series, we see that Jesus lived deliberately with every word and every action. With every step He took, He sought to honor God the Father, who sent Him to die on the cross and rescue humanity from sin. He honored God the Father with every step, even when He knew that honoring God would mean pain and torment due to an agonizing death on a cross.
We read about Jesus’ devotion to honor God in Matthew 26. In this chapter, Jesus went to a garden to pray after celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples. At this time, Jesus knew that His time on earth was coming to an end, and He was deeply grieved “to the point of death” (verse 38). The weight of everything happening and that would soon take place, must have weighed so heavily on Him. In the midst of this deep grief, Jesus turned to God in prayer. As He prayed, He made a request to God the Father that displays both His humanity and His complete dedication to honor God the Father. He prayed, “If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me” (verse 39). I think any of us would have prayed something similar. What a beautiful display of His humanity. His prayer did not stop there. He continued in His prayer to God the Father, Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (verse 39). As much as Jesus wanted to bypass the agony of the cross, He wanted the will of God the Father more. He wanted to honor God with everything in Him, even when obeying and honoring the Father would cost Him. Jesus prayed this prayer three times until He finally said to His disciples, “Look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (verse 45). Jesus deliberately chose God the Father’s will over His own. His devotion to honoring God the Father led Him straight to His arrest and eventual crucifixion on the cross.
What about you? When it comes to your life, are you living deliberately with the sole purpose of honoring God over everything else? Are you willing to say, in every situation, “I want your will to be done, not mine.” He is so worthy of our honor and devotion.
Take some time to follow Jesus' example. In your prayer, surrender to Him. Tell Him that, above all, you want His will to be done. Ask Him to help you live a life surrendered to Him.
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
