S T A T I O N 3
THE GARDEN
Read
LUKE 22:39-53
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.”
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
Reflect
In Luke’s account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane we read that, “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives”. As usual.
When you think about Jesus, words like “powerful,” “holy,” “Son of God,” and “good” might come to mind. But another quality of Jesus we might not think about is “dependant.”
At this point in Jesus’ life, he has calmed nature, healed disease, raised a dead man, sparred with hypocritical religious leaders, forgiven sins, confused the proud, and brought hope to the helpless.
All of this was done in dependence on his Father. And now, at the beginning of his end, Jesus withdraws to a garden “as usual” – betrayed by a friend, misunderstood by his disciples, and hated by those in power – to pray; another act of dependence on God for this last bit of his life.
In this moment, it’s easy to think of Jesus as the God who was strong enough to suffer for us and holy enough to not fear what was coming. It’s harder to consider the humanity behind the man in “anguish” who pleads, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (v. 42).
Fully God, yes; but also fully human, knowing his need for God’s presence to sustain him. God never left Jesus in his darkest moment. And he’ll never leave you in yours, either.
Respond
Find a place to sit or stand in solitude and set your timer for three minutes of silence as an act of dependence on your Father. Be honest with him about whatever you’re facing right now. Ask him to help you see it through. Remember, God doesn’t want your cleaned up prayers. He simply wants you.