Saturday, April 29, 2017

Your will be done

DEVOTION
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
YOUR WILL BE DONE

Matt 26:36-46
36 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."  37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."  39 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."  40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."  42 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."  43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" 
NIV


We should remember that Peter, James and John were the same three he took with him when he was transfigured and Moses and Isaiah were there as well. They certainly saw the glory of Jesus then and now they see the humility of the humanity of Jesus. He is exceedingly sorrowful, the Greek word carries the heaviest of heart meaning. Although we could focus on the sleeping disciples and perhaps we might learn something from them, we should focus on Jesus here. It would be inconsistent with his divinity, with his foreknowledge as we have seen him exhibit, that he would be sorrowful about suffering and the cross. The reason we consider this is that he would also know that he was going to be raised from the dead, and that he would return unto his rightful place in heaven. This was merely a path to get there, he should be rejoicing that his time in the flesh is about to end and he will be once again be in all his glory. Yet his sorrow was over our sin. He came for the express reason to go to the cross as the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Some of our scholars make the point the sweating blood was an overwhelming physical stressful condition. But his body was not weak, his body was perfect otherwise he could not be the sacrifice. He was without spot or blemish, pure as the white driven snow. His comment about the flesh being weak but the spirit is willing was regarding Peter, James and John. Surely he knew their love for him, their desire to follow him. He knew their spirit, he knew their heart, but he also knew their humanity, they flesh, the weakness of it. He has lived in the flesh, he had been tempted by all temptations we will ever face. Yet he and he alone could withstand yielding to them as he was also divine. He knew Peter, James and John and we are not divine and our flesh is weak. No matter how strong we are in our faith, no matter how much our spirit desires God, our body, our mind fails and yields to temptations. Again if we are to boast in anything, it would be our weakness. This is why Jesus needed to fulfill his purpose. This idea of him asking the Father if that cup could pass from him was not to try to escape the reason he came. This was again a teaching moment for us. We might ask the Father for all sorts of things, but it would be best for us to consider his will rather than ours. We might think we have the best insight into what our needs or even our wants, but again God sees our heart and knows our every thought. His will for us is so far better than anything we could devise. Jesus did not want to not go to the cross, although we have to also realize that in the flesh he was painfully beaten and the physical pain on the cross had to be enormous. There is no doubt in the physical he was not looking forward to the experience, yet he submitted to the will of the Father. This was the plan they had from before the foundation of the earth. This was already done in the eternity of time, in the all present time frame God moves in. Yet Jesus, on earth, was limited to the linear frame of time as we are. So he had to live through the experience in the physical. Yet he was willing to do so for us. We might have to live through experiences which may not be pleasant. We also need to consider many believers have suffered unto death for their faith. We have not been called yet to do that and we may never, but yet we need to always be not just willing to submit to his will, but be asking for his will to be accomplished in our lives. Again that is not our will, it is not asking him to accomplish the things we what to do, but what he wants us to do. It goes back to that Proverb regarding in our heart we make plans, but God orders our footsteps. Should we not be walking in the path he has set before us? Jesus was certainly all about doing that. If we say we are followers of Jesus then certainly we should be all about walking in the steps God has ordered. In reality unless we are praying a prayer of thanksgiving, praise or forgiveness, which then would be a prayer of pentation, we might well end every prayer with, nevertheless your will be done. 

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