Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
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.”
According to the possible available scripture analysis, Jesus and His disciples walks from the upper room where they Had Lord’s supper along with the betrayer, now other disciples except Judas the Iscariot, walks to the Mount of Olives and reached Gethsemane by 11 p.m. approximately might be fifteen minutes’ walk went with singing Hallel which is most probably Psalm 136 as mentioned by Mark.
until now, Jesus was having an ultimate uninterrupted relationship and communion in the upper room, but then in V3 the traitor rejects to be with Agent of God and falls into the temptation and becomes an agent of the devil.
V30-34 anticipation of Peter’s denial serves as an introductory statement and corresponds to the following verses in a chiasm structure.
Here, Luke omits the disciple names but in Matt, he mentions that it is Peter, James, and John who went up to the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew does this to match his audiences with OT narratives where Moses – go into God’s presence with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, (Exd 24: 9). But here Luke portrays Jesus as the centerpiece of the gospel and emphasizes prayer life and not to fall into temptation like Judas!
Temptation is inevitable (1st Point) V39-40
, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation”
None of us are exempted on earth facing temptation, in a general observation -from the very beginning of our life we see, kids are tempted to eat mud and keep nearby things in their mouth, children are tempted to steal erasers and pencils of other students at school, teenagers are tempted to social media and gadgets, adults are tempted to escape wok at office and aged people are tempted to eat more creams and sweets! As swingy captures by advertising the old diabatic man in the middle of the night walk to the refrigerator and eat Gulab jamun!
What are our temptations? pornography, fornication, and lustful desires.
Friends Temptation is inevitable, Since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, temptation has been a constant, unrelenting part of human life, even the Son of God was not exempt on earth,
Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” You can't keep the Devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them. pe??asµ?? - pi-ras-mos’ peirazo has several basic usages. Here in this context, it is testing to discover the genuineness of one's faith. So, when we look back to the first Adam in Eden and last Adam in Gethsemane, we will understand better!
Adam faced temptation in the best possible surroundings, the garden of Eden. Jesus faced temptation in the worst imaginable setting—the wasteland of the Judean desert. Adam lived in the sinless perfection of the pre-fall world. Jesus lived in a sinful, fallen world. No overwhelming build-up of temptation lured Adam into sin, because he yielded to the first temptation he faced. Jesus, on the other hand, faced repeated temptations over the first thirty years of His life (Heb. 4:15), and intense temptation during the forty days before the final three recorded here. Adam feasted on all the lush provisions the garden had to offer. Jesus was
weakened by forty days of fasting. In the best of circumstances, Adam fell; in the worst imaginable circumstances, Jesus did not. The consequences of Adam’s fall to temptation were lethal to the human race; the consequences of Jesus’ triumph over temptation were life-giving.
Every Temptation is an opportunity either to go away from God or to grow deeper in God!
And we see that in the final clause of the Lord's Prayer; Lk 11:4 “Lead us not into Temptation”
Application: Friends, many have followed Jesus for Kabbuz and Artos, for fish and loaves/bread and has wondered at the act of miracle and overwhelmed at the power of the signs but couldn't really look at the person Jesus behind those signs, and Dr. David Turner comments on John 12:37 as the saddest verse in the Bible (Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him)
We must notice that only the inner circle went with Jesus and probably the eight other disciples were left at the gate of Mount of Olives and Judas has already left Jesus and became Devil’s agent, we must draw pastoral application here that not everyone will walk with the Lord and be with Him till the end, some will never become a pastor even after semaniry graduation- some will give up on their calling to pioneer and go as missionaries to North India. ; while some end up working in bakeries and cafes and shopping malls and backslide in their faith, Let none of us expect that happen with anyone reading this now and pray like Jesus that we will not fall into such temptation of leaving God and His calling and become traitors like Judas,
somebody said rightly quoted that “We give too much of attention to missions and methods than to pray” Also, from Paul’s writing exhorting to pray without ceasing- with imagery of a continuous military attack. Dear friends, how is our relationship with God? Our prayer life will answer that question,
We have seen that Judas left Jesus, Peter’s anticipation that he will fall into the temptation of denying and going away from Jesus! So, Jesus’ command to Pray ???se??es?e is in the present imperative as per the context it means an ongoing commitment as opposed to a single movement to pray, and complete dependence on God, He can spare from temptation.
Let's make use of all these opportunities to be balanced in life and give priority to God, in our temptation and trials let's look to Jesus and pray more earnestly like Him.
Tension about foretaste to be forsaken (2nd point) V41-42
This tension is seen in Gethsemane – Jesus said- Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Gethsemane – (Ge?s?µa??*); However, we have discussed that Luke has omitted this name but referred as a usual place in Mount Olives as per scholars’ opinion wealthy people owned gardens in Mount Olives and probably one of them must have given Jesus and His disciples to use this garden, The spelling has variations of this name in the Greek Manuscripts; however, this name has its origin from the Aram- ?? ????? Hebrew word for Gethsemane that gives the- Aramaic meaning of “oil press”. But John called it as ??p?? (Kepos-noun) which is a garden in Jhn 18:1,2
Father” (V.36.) as a desperate child and helpless. (as in Matt 18 He who teaches that we must become as a little child to inherit Kingdom finds His words coming full cycle back to Him”
The cups are used in Bible at various places and in various forms and contexts such some cups are used in figurative towards the experience of joy and sorrow (Ps 116:18 – the cup of salvation in O.T) and in the NT used in terms of the suffering of Christ (Matt 20:22, Mk 10:38-39). However, we need to know that the literal sense of usage in (Matt 23:25, Lk 11:3) and the use of figurative cup is classified as “wrath and sufferings” and the cup of Lord’s supper (Lk 22:17)
The tension is in knowing what is the cup Jesus is referring to So, some people think; there is a struggle going on in Jesus’ mind and spirit to face that tremendous event about to happen this insist and shows Jesus’ humanity and further interpret as Jesus as a human went through what a man never in history faced and will never face again and supports their argument with the reference from the epistle of Hebrew chp 5. Then the question is
“If Jesus is so sacred of the cross, how could He be so confident in His ministry and teachings and preaching’s about death and resurrection and gospels show He is heading towards cross but not escaping what about Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb.”
While others get more attached to the emotional tone of the passage and think about the humanity of Jesus and interprets that Jesus as a human went under severe distress/anxiety/agony which a human being can experience maximum in life such as taking the Greek word study and explains as blood veins stretched out to its maximum about to break and spill out the blood as a vine is crushed in the thresher. But this thinking sees Jesus was emotionally imbalance and Luke as physician presented the best way Jesus as human and collapsed on the Mount of Olives
and scared that this anxiety will stop Him at that place not to reach cross and die in the garden. So, the interpretation is Jesus requesting Father to take of the cup of immediate death of anxiety or cardiac arrest on Mount Olives and help Jesus to die on -the cross.
But the tension has to be understood with theological than to caught up with the emotional tone,
Iam more convinced that the cup was about to go with the relationship that Jesus had enjoyed the unbroken relationship with His Father and disciples but now at this point of time He must die alone and His disciples will deny Him, and also His Father will have to leave Him. Therefore, “the combined weight of sin and loneliness is the most more than He can stand, so He to His disciples then confesses, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” v.34.
Jesus could not withstand that interruption, brokenness, looniness, and the foretaste to be forbidden; recalling His celebration of the Lord’s supper best can be said as Communion and fellowship but now the tread of this relationship will be broken for a period of time both the Father will have to turn His face from Jesus and His own disciples who have with Him will deny Him. And the sin of mankind will be upon His shoulders the climax of His life will be the absence of His father and that silence and brokenness of fellowship is unbearable to Jesus and He could not able to digest but cry’s to his Father, Then He prepares Himself to face the cross and death as Man and fulfils the mission to reconcile the broken fellowship of the first man in the garden of Eden through facing and accepting this brokenness of relationship and faces it alone as the last man in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We see the submission of the son to His Father’s perfect will then of His preferred will!
Application
Jesus’ cup was not easy to let go and as He pleaded God, we must also take a shift and submit to God’s will and must say Father it is your will, take this cup filled with the bias language, religion, caste, colour, region, gender, let your willed will be done in my life.
Jesus couldn’t tolerate that unbearable interruption but today we must ask God to interrupt us in our bias.
Friends for Jesus Himself came to reconcile us, why shall we build walls between us? We must pray that we will be able to lead and pastor all kinds, classes, and caste people and triumph over the problem of Ethnocentrism and remember what Paul writes in Gal.3:28. There is
neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Triumph in Tough Times
“An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”
God often helps His people to triumph in tough times by protecting, healing, and working in misterioso way, its not amazing if God really sends an angel from heaven as mentioned in Matthew 18:10, though a different context but most probably they have never been penned by the evangelist but have been copied by the early scribes to show the immediate answer to Jesus' prayer from His Father. But again, these manuscripts were written by Christian scribes to shown an immediate and dramatic answer to Jesus’ prayer. In Bultmann's opinion these accounts are an individual story of a legendary character, which really does not survive even in mark. Therefore, belongs to a later stage of tradition.
However, on the other hand we need to consider that Angles had a significant role in Luke; Gabriel guided Zechariah, announcing Johns Birth (1:18-19).and Gabriel also told Mary of Jesus’ birth (1:30-38; cf. 2:21). Also, Angles delivered Jesus' birth announcement to the shepherds (2:9-14). Angles also prepared for the coming of Jesus and for the exodus of Jesus as he looked the cross.
we must understand this text is still inspired, life-giving breath and helps benefits us today, God allowed in the process of canonization, my recent experience when Iam sick and effected with Virus, I asked God to heal me and strengthen me as Iam Weak, I prayed and slept on that night, in dream, I saw an angle saying God has healed and strengthen you and disappeared as I woke up mooring Iam truly strengthened and healed! This increased my faith level!
V44 Agony/Anguish - ??????; Used to denote intense emotion; severe emotional strain and anguish which is used among the Greeks as an alternative to “Agon” for contests and games which took place there to denote the intense emotion. Like an intense movement of India and Pakistan world cup match!
“And his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Luke as a physician record carefully that it was like drops of blood not blood, an athletic will know this experience of sweating sometimes as like drops of blood. so Jesus wrestling with such anxity and pressure and praying for His disciples to be spared from falling into temptation like Judas fell and left and is about to betray!
Now Jesus knows His disciples are filled with sorrow and exhausted so prays for them more earnestly later with a synoptic understanding of the incident we see Jesus’ took the initiative and gave a call to His disciples “raise up, let’s go and see who betrays Me” with much dignity as a king who prepares himself to face death with honour for his people.
Conclusion
“Every temptation is an opportunity either of our going away or getting nearer to God.
“My temptations have been my masters in divinity”. - Martin Luther
With Two challenging question I close,
In my temptation am I to go away from God or to get nearer to God?
Will I emerge triumphant?
Have a Blessed day!
