Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Luke 22:39–46

 39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Commentary
Vs. 39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.”

Having kept the first Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples now leave the upper room and come to the Mount of Olives, specifically the Garden of Gethsemane, which was situated on the Mounts western slopes. This place was known to them, for Jesus frequently came here to pray. It’s a poignant sight then because from its vantage point Jerusalem was seen, and it would be there outside its wall that the Lord Jesus Christ would soon be Crucified.

Vs. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Jesus then knowing what was about to unfold, when He arrived there at the Garden of Gethsemane said to the disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” For in following the Lord Jesus Christ in discipleship that is our greatest need. For temptation comes to us all in many forms, and this night all the disciples are about to be shaken to their core, for soon they will see our Savior, seized and Crucified.

Vs. 41-43 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus now withdraws from the disciples to pray. And though He has withdrawn from them He is not out of their sight. And having withdrawn He know kneels down and prays to the Father, saying: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” vs. 42 Here then we see that though Jesus knows what must take place this is by no means an easy thing for even Him to willingly enter into, and so He is really wrestling with His own desire of not wanting to endure such horrible things that are about to happen to Him, while wanting to obey the Will of the Father, even unto His own Crucifixion death. And so, it is at this most crucial moment, where He can still walk away from enduring the Cross if He wants to, that an angel now appears to Him from heaven strengthening Him. And so being in great agony He prays more earnestly, so much so that His sweat becomes like great drops of blood falling to the ground, as the flesh and the Spirit are locked in a mortal combat for His Will!

Vs. 45-46 45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

The Lord Jesus Christ then has made His decision, He will fulfill the Will of the Father, and so He now arises from His prayer and returns to the disciples, only to find them sleeping from sorrow (vs. 45). They then must have realized on some level that something was about to happen to Jesus. Nonetheless when Jesus found them like that, He asked them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” vs. 46 For though Jesus’ has just overcome His own temptation to abort the Will of God for Himself, they must still face His arrest, and trial, and ultimately His Crucifixion which may lead them to turn away from Him.


Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson.

No comments:

Post a Comment