(Part 3 of 3)
“Then Jesus came with
them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I
go and pray over there.” And he took with Him Peter and the two sons of
Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to
them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch
with Me.”-Matthew 26:36-38.
Gethsemane and
Calvary would prove to be the most agonizing places Jesus ever spent in prayer;
scripture tells us that, in Gethsemane, Jesus was in so much agony that his
sweat was like drops of blood. He was facing his own mortality and taking upon
himself the penalty of sin intended for you and I. He laid aside His own will
for the will of God:
“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.”-Matthew 26:39.
Jesus’ prayer of submission to the will of God stands as a
reminder to each of us that we too must pray for God’s will to be done rather
than our own. Even in the face of agony and judgement, Jesus pressed passed the
natural tendency to petition for His own deliverance and submitted Himself to
the perfect will of the Father. This is seen nowhere more vividly than on the
cross of Calvary.
Jesus death on the
cross was not simply a sacrificial act securing our forgiveness; but it was
intended to be a model by which we operate our own lives:
“Then Jesus said,
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His
garments and cast lots.”-Luke 23:34.
Jesus could have uttered those words at any time, but
instead He waited until He had been nailed to a cross with soldiers gambling
for His clothes beneath Him. It was at this moment He uttered this prayer of
forgiveness. In doing so, He modeled
God’s desire for us to extend forgiveness towards those who have wronged us:
“For if you forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do
not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.”-Matthew 6:14-15.
This perhaps may be the most powerful prayer that Jesus
prayed! By it we are made certain of our own forgiveness while simultaneously
being inspired to extend to others what God has so graciously extended towards
us.
When I consider the agony and pain that Jesus experienced
prior and during His crucifixion; I am genuinely amazed by His commitment to
keep prayer a priority in His life. Jesus modeled for us the absolute necessity
and significance of prayer through His life and ministry. Even when, physically
it was difficult to maintain a disciplined prayer life; Jesus modeled a
faithfulness in prayer that God desires for each of us.
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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