Jesus’ Glorious Surrender Series

LUKE 22: 39-46 [JESUS’ LAST NIGHT SERIES]

JESUS’ GLORIOUS SURRENDER

[Isaiah 53:10-12; Ephesians 6:10-17]

Once again we are looking at Jesus’ last night before His crucifixion on Friday. Like a terminally ill patient, Jesus knows death is on its way. He also knew exactly what was coming with it: Betrayal, shame, torture, trauma, thirst, loneliness, the sins of the world with it all culminating in an excruciating death. Jesus knew He must finish His preparation for it. So Jesus came to the garden to pray the night before His final confrontation with sin, Satan & suffering. There He asks God the Father for strength to carry out His will.

It was already a difficult night but it was going to become even longer and far more difficult. It’s comforting to know that even Jesus had sleepless nights. We read about His last sleepless night here when the forces of good and evil are locked in deadly combat for His will. Jesus would be dealing with all kinds of feelings—confusion, anguish, fear, anger, and doubt. [Bruce Larson and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Luke, vol. 26, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1983), 322.] But through His communion with the Father, He would find victory and the strength to surrender to the Father’s perfect will for His life (CIT).

There may be deep significance to the fact that in these final hours Jesus faced temptation in a garden. Man fell into sin because of temptation in a garden (Gen. 3). And man’s deliverance from sin comes about in spite of further temptation in a garden. Jesus, the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45), did not fall to temptation but followed the will of God which the first Adam failed to do. [John A. Martin, “Luke,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 260.]

I. PREPARATION THROUGH PRAYER, 39-42.

II. PRAYER PROVIDED PROTECTION, 43-46.

In verse 39 Jesus leads His disciples to a secluded place for pray. “And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

After celebrating the Passover, after speaking very pointedly to Peter, after warning His disciples that the times would be changing, Jesus leaves the city passing over the narrow ravine of the brook Kidron toward the Garden of Gethsemane. The word “Kidron” means “dark” or “murky” because the blood of the sacrifices would drain out of the temple and into the brook below. Since this was Passover Jesus would be stepping over a brook that ran blood red only hours before shedding His own life blood in sacrifice for the sin of the world.

Notice the phrase “as was His custom.” Prayer was a way of life for Jesus. When He was in Jerusalem He had a special place to pray where He routinely went on the Mount of Olives. He came to the garden to find strength through communion with the Father the night before His final confrontation with sin, Satan & suffering. Jesus went there frequently at night and perhaps often prayed all night.

[Luke says the place was the Mount of Olives. Matthew and Mark refer to the place as Gethsemane, which means “olive press.” The “garden” was a grove of olive trees on the Mount of Olives on the west or city side of the mount (John 18:1, 3). The garden of Gethsemane was at the foot of the Mount of Olives.]

Conscious of the temptations surrounding not only Him but all of them, Jesus urged His disciples to pray in verse 40. “And when He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Jesus gave them a prayer assignment centering on their chief need. It is a need for us all as we hear echoes of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2–4) in Jesus’ admonition to the disciples. They were to pray to escape “temptation” (1 Cor 13:10). Prayer in the Spirit which is directed by the Word is necessary to overcome temptation.

“Prayer is not only for procurement, but for protection. In other words, prayer is not simply to ask for things you need or want—but also to protect you from things you don’t need or want. Stop praying, and you will be tempted unnecessarily. Stop praying, and your kids will be vulnerable to attacks of the Enemy. Stop praying, and your marriage will be attacked constantly. Jesus said one of the keys to protection from temptation or trouble is prayer. We’ll never know until we get to heaven just how important our prayers are.” [Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 407.]

Then in verse 41 Jesus withdrew by Himself and prayed. “And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,