Struggling in Triumph – Matthew 26:36-46
Many people would not have fallen in love if they knew before hand the amount of pain it can cause. Many would not take certain jobs if they knew the job created too much anxiety. Many would have opted not to take the journey if they had any idea that the trip would have cost what it has cost. Sometimes when the situation seems most distraught you are on the verge of victory. Sometimes when defeat seems imminent victory is around the corner. It can be that when you are in the worst struggle of your life you may very well be at the crux of triumph. Yet on the threshold of such an event Jesus was in the greatest struggle of His human life. The garden of Gethsemane was the site for three important events in the life of Christ:
1. His agony over facing the cross;
2. His betrayal at the hands of Judas Iscariot; and
3. His arrest by the Jewish mob.
Jesus’ motivation for coming here is simple – he needs to gather his thoughts. His words to the three men with him are a command and a plea – he not only WANTS them there, he feels that he NEEDS them there. He lived as one of us – not like one of us- not pretending to be one of us- BUT AS ONE OF US.
In Jesus’ prayer we see a brief moment of weakness, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me…” which is quickly followed by “…yet not what I want but what you want.” From this we learn that to face an Matthew Gearresponsibility and waver, if only for a moment, is a natural reaction. We also learn to go to our God and pray for strength to go ahead and face what we must anyway, if only because it is His will for us to do so. And ultimately we see how truly amazing our God is, for no where else in history do you have a God which is ready to reveal this kind of vulnerability to his followers. When Jesus went off to pray, and the disciples quickly fell asleep, who told them what he prayed? Who told them the words that came out of Jesus’ mouth? Only He could have! They were all asleep! He must have at some point let them know what he had prayed. Why would he do this? What does he have to gain by sharing this moment of weakness? Nothing but our deepest respect, love and worship, as we see our Savior open himself up completely to us.
So in this quick prayer we learn much about our Savior and ourselves – as people – when we see how the disciples behaved during all this. For when Jesus comes back to check on the disciples he finds them all asleep. They just do not have the strength to stay up to watch over him – not the three closest to him, and not the others waiting nearby. No matter who they were or how strong their bond with Jesus; they are all sleeping like babies while he’s in such inner turmoil that he’s sweating drops of blood. He rebukes them, saying “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. This is the biblical way of giving someone the gears for something they’ve done wrong. He cannot help but rebuke them, for they have failed at the task given to them, and this cannot be ignored.
But in the same breath he instructs them on how to avoid a repeat performance – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation”. These are words both for the right now and the what’s ahead – they need to be in prayer right now, and they will need to be for a while to come. “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” He wants the disciples to understand their need to seek help from God to bring them through what they are all about to experience.
Betrayal, mockery of a trial, judgment, denial, crucifixion, and abandonment is a struggle like no other. In the midst of the struggle God was giving him victory, the victory was at hand triumph was laden with struggle. Are you struggling with something today? Are you in the midst of a battle seemingly for the life of your family, your job, and your sanity? “Your victory is at hand.”
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