And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Jesus was now entering into the greatest conflict that has ever been known to humanity.
It was the awful contest of the powers of hell with the powers of Heaven.
By praying Jesus would put Himself into direct communication with His Father as this was the best preparation for the conflict which is about to begin.
So, He sought His accustomed place of retirement in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives.
Look at His prayer and find what we can learn about Prayer.
I. Prayer was Jesus’ usual habit. (v.39)
The Mount of Olives was His usual place to go to be with His Father.
And, to pray was His usual thing to do there – John 18:1 – “When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a Garden, in which He entered with His disciples.”
Jesus had control of the situation --- He could have avoided the arrest for a longer time.
Do you see what is happening here?
II. Invitation to Pray
Jesus is talking his disciples in a Prayer Meeting with Him.
The place of this prayer meeting is, of course, the Garden of Gethsemane, which means “olive press.”
This is a name that is prophetic of the agony of Jesus, where He trod the wine press alone –
Isaiah 63:3 – “I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger, and trampled them in My wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments.”
Jesus encouraged others – His disciples – to pray because He knew that Satan desired to sift Him like wheat – to control Him.
Eleven of His disciples were with Him there in the Garden. Judas had left the others to go to make the plans to betray Jesus.
Eight of the disciples were left near the entrance of the Garden while Jesus, Peter, James, and John went further into the Garden.
They were about to face a great test, and they needed prayer in order to face and resist Satan.
III. Corporate / Personal
It is important to note here something about prayer.
Prayer is a corporate matter – but it is also a personal matter.
Jesus took His inner circle of friends with Him into the Garden, but He separated Himself from the others because He wanted to be alone.
So, while prayer is a corporate matter – there are times we need to be alone in prayer – alone with our Father – in an intimate setting.
By leaving some of the disciples at the gate and proceeding into the Garden with His inner circle – Peter, James, and John –- just a stone’s throw away - He desired to be alone in His prayers.
Jesus was often alone. This was not that Jesus wanted to be alone. This would be one of those teaching moments He so often held with his disciples.
So, what was He teaching them by leaving them behind and going forward into the Garden alone? He was teaching them that there are times when we need to be alone with our Lord.
We can see the extent of the agony was experiencing as we remember what His posture was as He prayed – He knelt down – some versions of the Scripture say that - He fell on His face – He fell to the ground.
Other accounts of the event translate it as “He knelt down. It is likely that He first knelt down, then, as the agony increased, He fell to the ground.
His posture indicates His great humiliation and anguish.
He encouraged His Apostles to pray to overcome temptation.
In fact, He also knew His need to pray to overcome His own temptations.
We must remember when we might think that Jesus could have avoided all this agony, that He was human as well as eternal.
IV. God's Will > Our Will
In verse 42, where we read the beginning of Jesus’ prayer to His Father God, He prays: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
The cup He speaks about is His lot in life – the disgrace, the suffering, the death - He is enduring and will experience even more before the Enemy has accomplished His death.
Was it necessary for Him to drink this bitter cup?
He prayed – “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me.”
That was the human cry for mercy.
It was a prayer uttered in deep humility and reverence and shows that the will of Jesus was in harmony with the will of God.
The humanity of Jesus that we see here was apparent. He was only 33 years old. No one wants to die at the age of 33. My youngest sister’s husband died at the age of 36. I know how tragic and what a great loss the family knew at that time.
So, Jesus’ human nature did not want to endure what was coming.
But Jesus willingly submitted to God’s will in this time of pain, agony, and eventual death.
His submission to God remained dominant even in the certainty of death.
The writer of the Biblical letter to the Hebrews conveys this willing submission to God’s will in this way in chapter 5:7: “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”
So, what is the lesson from all this for us this morning?
It is this: We may express our desires and preferences to God, but they must always be with the attitude
“not my will, but Yours, Lord, be done.”
As Jesus did, we must always resign ourselves and submit to the will of God.
V. Strength and Comfort
Strength comes through prayer, as in verse 43 – “Now an angel from Heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.”
Jesus was not delivered from His sufferings – but He was strengthened and supported by them.
He could have had legions of angels come to rescue Him from death – yet only one angel came – and he ministered to Jesus.
Jesus was not delivered from death because there was no other way to undo the evil that was on the earth – except that the sinless Jesus shed His precious blood to pay the ransom price.
How did the angel minister to Him? Through sympathy – words of cheer – wiping away the sweat – and even by worshipping Him as he recognized the Lordship of Jesus.
God sent the angel to how His concern for His Son.
God sends us a comforter in our times of trial – through His Holy Spirit.
I believe it is important for us to look closely at verse 44 where we read: “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.”
This says prayer produces blood. Even the appearance of the angel did not change the destiny of Jesus.
He turned to prayer – being in anguish, He prayed even more earnestly.
Now He is in an intense struggle of prayer and sorrow.
“Agony” = prayer, though never out of season, is, in a unique way, seasonal -when we are in agony. The stronger our agonies, the livelier and frequently our prayers should be.
VI. Physical
The great anguish Jesus knew in His humanity caused the sweat drops of blood.
Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke. He was a Physician so he would be familiar with the cases of great mental anguish, causing drops of blood to ooze from the body like sweat.
VII. Spiritual
Prayer also gives satisfaction and rest – verse 45.
Jesus rose from praying with a satisfied attitude. He had received His answer. He still had to face death on the cross. He accepted that answer.
He came to His apostles – He found them sleeping, exhausted from sorrow.
Sleep is a common reaction to one who has great prolonged grief, causing one to fall asleep under the strain.
VIII. Conclusion
When Jesus woke the apostles, He encouraged them again to pray.
Why? So that they would not fall into temptation.
They were facing a temptation to deny Jesus and who He was.
Two especially essential elements =of a successful life are these:
1. Watch 2. Pray
Jesus was sympathetic to His apostles. He understood their grief.
Their hour of trial was at hand, too.
They needed to watch and pray.
So, Jesus commands His apostles to wake up and pray.
Being awake and praying was their only safeguard during a crisis.
It is no different for us today as followers of Christ. We must remain awake and remain in prayer which is where we receive the strength and the courage to stand firm in our connection with our Savior Jesus Christ.
If we neglect to be alert and ready and engaged in conversation with our Lord through prayer --- neglecting our only defense against Satan, we are lost!
What is your usual habit? We must make our close fellowship with our Lord through prayer our usual habit.
Jesus had only one purpose in going through all the agony, all the pain, and even death --- that purpose was to save our souls from sin and death!
Have you genuinely responded to His teaching to be alert, watching for His return, and making sure you are ready?
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