Passion Week - Maundy Thursday

 

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:32-36 ESV).

 

Darkness had descended on Jerusalem. Its residents had finished their Passover meals. The lamb and unleavened bread had been consumed; the sandals, staffs, and belts put away. In Caiaphas’s house, a conference was underway with some members of the Sanhedrin, some officers of the temple guard, and Judas Iscariot. In the secluded olive garden of Gethsemane, just outside the city’s eastern wall opposite the temple, Jesus sat with his other eleven closest friends. Jesus had led them there for the final act before the awful events leading to His death.

 

Much has taken place previously in this day. But now, among the olive trees, Jesus was praying. Many times he had prayed in “desolate places” (cf. Luke 5:16). Yet, never had he known desolation like this. It was a terrifying moment as Jesus looked deeply into the final act of His sacrifice. It is clear that He did not want this pain, though He was willing to accept it. Everything in his human flesh wanted to flee the impending physical torture of crucifixion. And his Holy Spirit groaned with ineffable dread at the far greater impending spiritual torture of being forsaken by his Father. Such was his distress that He cried out, “Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (v. 36). Yet not what I will, but what you will. Nine words. Nine unfathomable words.

 

And in that moment, another mystery came into view. God the Son, perfectly obedient to God the Father from all eternity, “learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). As the Son learned this perfect and preeminently humble obedience as he yielded to the Father’s will, the first drops of his bloody agony seeped out of his pores (cf. Luke 22:44). Just across the valley, less than a mile away, Judas prepared to lead a small contingent of soldiers and servants to the familiar garden of prayer.

 

No one understands better than Jesus how difficult it can be for a human to embrace the will of the Father. And no human has suffered more in embracing the will of the Father than God the Son. When Jesus calls us to follow him, whatever the cost, he is not calling us to do something he is either unwilling to do or has never done himself. He is our great high priest who understands what it’s like to willingly and faithfully endure the sometimes excruciating painful will of God for the sake of the eternal joy set before us (cf. Hebrews 4:15; 12:2). So, today, Maundy Thursday, we should join Jesus in praying to God the Father, “Your will be done.” This is what we must remember!