Not My Will, But Yours Series

45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

And right after that Jesus is betrayed and the whole scene takes place leading to his death, burial and resurrection. But in this moment all of this is just coming down on him. Again, we have no clue about the intensity that's going on. Other gospels tell us that he went and checked up on them. And he went and checked up on his friends, and like, "Oh, you're sleeping. Great, I'm struggling over here, deep moment, and you guys are sleeping."

If you're wondering why in prayer meetings I walk around, if you've ever been in a prayer meeting with me, it's because when I sit down the spirit of slumber comes on me. Okay? So I just found if I walk and keep things moving, you know, I stay more alert, more focused. As soon as I sit down, then just whew. And I think that's what happened to them. It just kind of hit them. They were tired, they had just eaten a meal, they had celebrated passover. All this stuff was going, and they are just whew, down they go.

But his intensity was so strong, and he said if there is any way for this cup to pass from me, that's what I want. Now, I want you to understand what he was saying. The cup was symbolic of God's wrath, of his anger, of his punishment. So he realized this cup was about to be poured on him, that he was going to be forced to drink it. That all of this was going to come on him. That was the punishment. He's saying, "God, if there is any other plan. I know this is where we have been moving toward, but I understand what's next, and if there is any way to do a different plan, I'll take that option. I'll take that option. Because I know what's about to happen, and it's not good. It's ugly, it's painful. It's going to separate me from you. We've never been separated. This is not good. If there is any other plan." But there wasn't. There was no other way. And that's when he says, "Okay, then not my will, but your will be done."

And it really shouldn't surprise us, because Jesus lived a life of doing whatever the Father said. Whatever God said, that's what he did. As a matter of fact, John 6:38. Jesus speaking, he said, For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. Okay, so his whole life he has been living this way. John 8:29, The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

"I always do what pleases him." He's saying, "I always do his will all the time. I'm always doing whatever God wants me to do." So in this moment he's just realizing this is the biggest task, this is the biggest separation, this is the biggest pain in all of his life, and he's saying, "If there is any other plan, I'll opt for that." But then when there is no other plan, God is like, "This is the plan," he said, "Okay, not my will, let your will be done. Your will. Your will."