The Cup He Did Not Refuse

Mark 14 records that Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed. He took Peter, James, and John a little further, and he told them that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Then he went on alone, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him.

He addressed God as Abba, Father, and said that everything was possible for him. Take this cup from me, he asked. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Three things stand out. First, Jesus did not pretend. He told his friends the truth about his sorrow and told his Father the truth about his desire. There is no stoic mask in Gethsemane. This is the same honesty we heard in Psalm 13 this morning.

Second, he asked for what he wanted. He did not assume that a good prayer must be resigned from the start. He asked for the cup to pass.

Third, he submitted, and the submission was not defeat. It was trust in a Father whose will he knew to be good even when the path led to a cross. He got up from that prayer and walked toward Judas.

When we do not know how to pray in a hard hour, we can borrow his words. Everything is possible for you. Take this from me. Yet not what I will.