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. “Couldnʼt you men 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 flesh 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 has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I read this passage I am struck by the intensity of Jesus' sorrow. I feel sad for Him and ashamed for us. I say I feel ashamed for us because I see myself and all of Jesus' followers from all time in Gethsemane that night. After all, if all the sins of the world hung upon Christ and His cross, then surely the eternal mind of God had all of us in mind that night in the garden.
Normally I would think that Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow because He feared for His life. He didn't want to suffer and die upon the cross. I know I would be afraid and saddened at the thought of facing such suffering. But Jesus shared foreknowledge that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. That doesn't mean that the fear of suffering is lessened, but there is a profound hope that comes with the pain and somehow transforms it. No, I am thinking differently on the matter today. I think Jesus' sorrow had less to do with fear over His impending suffering and more to do with the sins of the world laid up Him.
Consider a couple verses. First is the idea behind atoning sacrifices.
“ ‘If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering... They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering... In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:32-33, 35 NIV
Laying the hand upon the head of the sacrifice is symbolic of transferring the sins of the people to the sacrificial animal. I am suggesting that the divine hand of God laid upon Jesus the sins of the world that night in Gethsemane.
As a second proof consider Jesus attitude about His death in John's gospel. One can argue I'm not comparing apples to apples by comparing Matthew to John, for these are very different gospel accounts with differing theologies. That would be correct. However, both gospels are canonical, therefore both carry the same authority. Therefore we can have a conversation between the two.
In Matthew Jesus is sorrowful unto death. In other words he feels so bad he could die. In Luke 22:44 Jesus' stress was so great He sweat drops of blood, a rare clinical phenomenon called hematohidrosis. But in John, Jesus repels any notion that He is a victim in this circumstance.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
John 12:27-28a NIV
Is John correcting the notion that Jesus was afraid to die when the early gospel accounts have Jesus asking for the cup to be taken away from Him? The cup is symbolic of His suffering and death to come. John clearly reveals that Jesus was ready to die. He knew all along that His destiny was the cross. Did Jesus have a moment of doubt in Gethsemane? It's possible. We know that Satan tempted Jesus just like He does all of us. Jesus felt every temptation just as we do. But even still Jesus was God in the flesh with full capacity to handle these emotions. His human side perhaps feared His impending suffering, but His divinity followed God's will obediently.
I think the pain and shame of our guilt was what was overwhelming Jesus that night at Gethsemane. And the failure of His closest companions to be faithful to Him is symbolic of all our failure to stay alert and spiritually awake in a state of perpetual God-consciousness. Peter, James and John were Jesus' inner circle. They were from Galilee. They were hard working fisherman. They were His very first disciples. They were with Him from the very beginning. Peter would one day lead the church in Jesus' place. But on this night while Jesus was overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness, they slept.
Jesus told them, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." That may be the defining verse for me in this passage. This statement is what is driving my interpretation of this narrative in Matthew. The slumber of the church can be seen everywhere. Yesterday I was reading a memoir called VJ, covering the early years of MTV. One of the VJ's (Video Jockey) told of God Rome in college when Christians were not restrained by their morality during spin the bottle, and other college shenanigans. It was a passing statement having nothing to do with what he was writing about. It was simply an observation. How many times have you seen Christians not doing as Christ would do? How often have you behaved in ways that reveal you are not making a choice for holiness? We are called to pray and wait for Jesus to return.
The garden scene is a mini-apocalypse. It reveals the condition of the church. Jesus went to heaven and intercedes for us there as both high priest and sacrifice. We are called to wait faithfully and attentively for His return. While we here on earth are willing to worship and serve the Lord, we are weak. Our bodies betray us, as does the ethos in which we live, for the world that also forms us does not pursue God. We disciples want to do right by Jesus, but we fail miserably.
Consider America. We've become increasingly secular where God is no longer honored. In some cases God is cursed by our contemporaries. The slumber of the church is directly related to the moral collapse that is occurring. According to a 2014 study, “The Bible in American Life,” conducted by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, only 9% of Americans say they read the Bible daily. Biblical illiteracy is at an all time high in this country and the erosion of active church engagement reflects this lack of spiritual readiness. The word of God is nutrition for the soul and we are dying from a steady diet of junk food, literally and figuratively.
I could yammer on about our failures as Christians, how we fail at our mission to make disciples and transform the world, but let's turn our thoughts to the good news. God knows this about us. We are idolatrous at heart, exchanging the glory of God for created things. We go for the quick fix and immediate pleasures instead of waiting upon the Lord. And that is why Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. With the full weight of all humanity's sins, past, present and future, He prayed "not my will, but Your will be done." Like a lamb led to the slaughter Jesus chose the cross for you and me and everyone. He did so that we might be reconciled to God and live for God in peace with others. He did so that we, the kingdom of heaven, might be light in the world and yeast within the dough, a blessing to the world bringing the knowledge and love of God to all.
Your sins are forgiven you. Now go and sin no more. Be that light. Be a blessing. And when you fail know that your sins are forgiven and try again and again until Jesus takes you home. God is love. Therefore love others with the love Christ has shown you.
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. “Couldnʼt you men 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 flesh 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 has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I read this passage I am struck by the intensity of Jesus' sorrow. I feel sad for Him and ashamed for us. I say I feel ashamed for us because I see myself and all of Jesus' followers from all time in Gethsemane that night. After all, if all the sins of the world hung upon Christ and His cross, then surely the eternal mind of God had all of us in mind that night in the garden.
Normally I would think that Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow because He feared for His life. He didn't want to suffer and die upon the cross. I know I would be afraid and saddened at the thought of facing such suffering. But Jesus shared foreknowledge that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. That doesn't mean that the fear of suffering is lessened, but there is a profound hope that comes with the pain and somehow transforms it. No, I am thinking differently on the matter today. I think Jesus' sorrow had less to do with fear over His impending suffering and more to do with the sins of the world laid up Him.
Consider a couple verses. First is the idea behind atoning sacrifices.
“ ‘If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering... They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering... In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:32-33, 35 NIV
Laying the hand upon the head of the sacrifice is symbolic of transferring the sins of the people to the sacrificial animal. I am suggesting that the divine hand of God laid upon Jesus the sins of the world that night in Gethsemane.
As a second proof consider Jesus attitude about His death in John's gospel. One can argue I'm not comparing apples to apples by comparing Matthew to John, for these are very different gospel accounts with differing theologies. That would be correct. However, both gospels are canonical, therefore both carry the same authority. Therefore we can have a conversation between the two.
In Matthew Jesus is sorrowful unto death. In other words he feels so bad he could die. In Luke 22:44 Jesus' stress was so great He sweat drops of blood, a rare clinical phenomenon called hematohidrosis. But in John, Jesus repels any notion that He is a victim in this circumstance.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
John 12:27-28a NIV
Is John correcting the notion that Jesus was afraid to die when the early gospel accounts have Jesus asking for the cup to be taken away from Him? The cup is symbolic of His suffering and death to come. John clearly reveals that Jesus was ready to die. He knew all along that His destiny was the cross. Did Jesus have a moment of doubt in Gethsemane? It's possible. We know that Satan tempted Jesus just like He does all of us. Jesus felt every temptation just as we do. But even still Jesus was God in the flesh with full capacity to handle these emotions. His human side perhaps feared His impending suffering, but His divinity followed God's will obediently.
I think the pain and shame of our guilt was what was overwhelming Jesus that night at Gethsemane. And the failure of His closest companions to be faithful to Him is symbolic of all our failure to stay alert and spiritually awake in a state of perpetual God-consciousness. Peter, James and John were Jesus' inner circle. They were from Galilee. They were hard working fisherman. They were His very first disciples. They were with Him from the very beginning. Peter would one day lead the church in Jesus' place. But on this night while Jesus was overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness, they slept.
Jesus told them, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." That may be the defining verse for me in this passage. This statement is what is driving my interpretation of this narrative in Matthew. The slumber of the church can be seen everywhere. Yesterday I was reading a memoir called VJ, covering the early years of MTV. One of the VJ's (Video Jockey) told of God Rome in college when Christians were not restrained by their morality during spin the bottle, and other college shenanigans. It was a passing statement having nothing to do with what he was writing about. It was simply an observation. How many times have you seen Christians not doing as Christ would do? How often have you behaved in ways that reveal you are not making a choice for holiness? We are called to pray and wait for Jesus to return.
The garden scene is a mini-apocalypse. It reveals the condition of the church. Jesus went to heaven and intercedes for us there as both high priest and sacrifice. We are called to wait faithfully and attentively for His return. While we here on earth are willing to worship and serve the Lord, we are weak. Our bodies betray us, as does the ethos in which we live, for the world that also forms us does not pursue God. We disciples want to do right by Jesus, but we fail miserably.
Consider America. We've become increasingly secular where God is no longer honored. In some cases God is cursed by our contemporaries. The slumber of the church is directly related to the moral collapse that is occurring. According to a 2014 study, “The Bible in American Life,” conducted by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, only 9% of Americans say they read the Bible daily. Biblical illiteracy is at an all time high in this country and the erosion of active church engagement reflects this lack of spiritual readiness. The word of God is nutrition for the soul and we are dying from a steady diet of junk food, literally and figuratively.
I could yammer on about our failures as Christians, how we fail at our mission to make disciples and transform the world, but let's turn our thoughts to the good news. God knows this about us. We are idolatrous at heart, exchanging the glory of God for created things. We go for the quick fix and immediate pleasures instead of waiting upon the Lord. And that is why Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. With the full weight of all humanity's sins, past, present and future, He prayed "not my will, but Your will be done." Like a lamb led to the slaughter Jesus chose the cross for you and me and everyone. He did so that we might be reconciled to God and live for God in peace with others. He did so that we, the kingdom of heaven, might be light in the world and yeast within the dough, a blessing to the world bringing the knowledge and love of God to all.
Your sins are forgiven you. Now go and sin no more. Be that light. Be a blessing. And when you fail know that your sins are forgiven and try again and again until Jesus takes you home. God is love. Therefore love others with the love Christ has shown you.
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