Today we will be reflecting on two portions of Scripture; the first of which can be found in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 26 verses 36-44, it is entitled; 'Jesus Prays in Gethsemane.'
In summary, Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jeruselem. He had taken three of his diciples with him to keep guard as he prayed since he knew the time of his arrest was drawing near, the diciples were; Peter, James and John.
The scripture says;
'Distress and anguish came over him, and he said to them, "The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch."
'Distress and anguish came over him, and he said to them, "The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch."
So he went into the garden, threw himself on the ground and prayed,
"My Father! If it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want."
"My Father! If it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want."
Then he returned to his diciples, he found them asleep so he said to Peter,
"How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? Keep watch and pray you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Thus he goes into the garden a second time and prays, "My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done."
He once again returned to his diciples and found them asleep. Jesus then went away and prayed a third time saying the same words. When he returned he said to his diciples who were still asleep,
"Are you resting? Look! The hour has come for the son of man to be handed over to the power of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!"
This passage diplays one of the rare occasions when Jesus reacts as any of us would when facing death; he was afraid.
They say that the anticipation of death is worse than death itself, and at this point Jesus was anticipating his death. He knew what he was going to face and he was afraid, however, he still had the courage to say 'Not my will, but thy will be done.'
In life, we face similar moments, times when we feel afraid, times when we tell God, 'Please, this is painful, take it away!' So surely you can relate, however, Jesus' destiny was especially difficult because he foreknew it and he was aware that it was full of pain and suffering.
The second scripture for today can also be found in the book of Matthew, chapter 26 verses 47-56 and is entitled, 'The arrest of Jesus.'
'Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve diciples, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests and the elders. The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him! "
Judas went straight to Jesus and said "Peace be with you, teacher," and kissed him.
Jesus answered, "Be quick about it, friend!"
Then they came up, arrested Jesus and held him tight.'
This exerpt from this portion of Scripture portrays Jesus' betrayal and arrest. It dipicts the undeserved betrayal and unjust arrest of an innocent man, and this was only the begining of Jesus' trials, trials which would eventually lead to his death.
Now once again, this story sounds bleak, but we all know at this present moment that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and that he's fine, however we must reflect on his character; a person that could speak to someone who betrayed him and still call him friend, that is certainly a strong, kind-hearted person.
Of course, Jesus could have very well commanded an army of angels to come to his aid but this sacrifice had to be made in order to make us right with God so although he was afraid, he went through with it because he knew it had to be done, he even said in verses 35-56, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw? Every day I sat and taught in the temple, and you did not arrest me. But all this had happened in order to make come true what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures."
While his suffering was tremendous we must remember that God's promises must come to pass and he had to fulfill his destiny because billions of lives depended on him and we must forever be grateful for his awesome sacrifice because it couldn't have been easy but he did it!
"How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? Keep watch and pray you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Thus he goes into the garden a second time and prays, "My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done."
He once again returned to his diciples and found them asleep. Jesus then went away and prayed a third time saying the same words. When he returned he said to his diciples who were still asleep,
"Are you resting? Look! The hour has come for the son of man to be handed over to the power of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!"
This passage diplays one of the rare occasions when Jesus reacts as any of us would when facing death; he was afraid.
They say that the anticipation of death is worse than death itself, and at this point Jesus was anticipating his death. He knew what he was going to face and he was afraid, however, he still had the courage to say 'Not my will, but thy will be done.'
In life, we face similar moments, times when we feel afraid, times when we tell God, 'Please, this is painful, take it away!' So surely you can relate, however, Jesus' destiny was especially difficult because he foreknew it and he was aware that it was full of pain and suffering.
The second scripture for today can also be found in the book of Matthew, chapter 26 verses 47-56 and is entitled, 'The arrest of Jesus.'
'Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve diciples, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests and the elders. The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him! "
Judas went straight to Jesus and said "Peace be with you, teacher," and kissed him.
Jesus answered, "Be quick about it, friend!"
Then they came up, arrested Jesus and held him tight.'
This exerpt from this portion of Scripture portrays Jesus' betrayal and arrest. It dipicts the undeserved betrayal and unjust arrest of an innocent man, and this was only the begining of Jesus' trials, trials which would eventually lead to his death.
Now once again, this story sounds bleak, but we all know at this present moment that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and that he's fine, however we must reflect on his character; a person that could speak to someone who betrayed him and still call him friend, that is certainly a strong, kind-hearted person.
Of course, Jesus could have very well commanded an army of angels to come to his aid but this sacrifice had to be made in order to make us right with God so although he was afraid, he went through with it because he knew it had to be done, he even said in verses 35-56, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw? Every day I sat and taught in the temple, and you did not arrest me. But all this had happened in order to make come true what the prophets wrote in the Scriptures."
While his suffering was tremendous we must remember that God's promises must come to pass and he had to fulfill his destiny because billions of lives depended on him and we must forever be grateful for his awesome sacrifice because it couldn't have been easy but he did it!
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