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Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. Se, My betrayer is at hand."
- Matthew 26:36-46
On Saturday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples were eating at the Last Supper or Passover Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." My study bible suggests that this cup refers to Christ's impending death. It says, "According to His divine nature, Jesus willingly goes to His death. As a man, He wishes He could avoid it, for it is the mark of humanity to abhor death. He prays if it is possible that it be taken from Him, thus giving abundant proof of His human nature. Nevertheless, Jesus is without sin and completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will."
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. Se, My betrayer is at hand." A note suggest to us that the words watch and pray give us the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation. "By this, the Lord's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage. In contrast to our Lord's vigilance, the disciples sleep. Since body and soul are united, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body. A willing spirit, recognizing the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power."
In order to understand Jesus' perspective, I think it's important to receive the great gift of His humanity. Although He knows full well what is happening, although He has indicated to His disciples several times what was going to happen to Him, and the text of the gospel has made it perfectly clear this is a willing sacrifice He is making, knowingly -- His humanity shows through very clearly. He is subject to our human passions as well. He is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. He is sorrowful and deeply distressed. He falls on His face to pray, and to ask that if it is God's will, He will "drink the cup." Notice that in both requests Jesus makes in prayer, He does not avoid the cup -- He asks God the Father, if it is possible, to let it pass. But if it will only pass from Jesus by His drinking of it, then God's will be done. In His humanity is our humanity. Jesus is not a superhuman with strange magic powers, or with the strength of a superman. He is, instead, as fully human as any of us, while at the same time also fully Divine. What we find here in the garden of Gethsemane is His human expression, and at the same time the soul that will not desert God's plan -- even the human will bending despite its pain and sorrow. Jesus remains the model for all of us not only because of His great expressions of divine power and love, of healing, and even Resurrection, but because of this great humanity that is here. When I am exceedingly sorrowful, and I have a difficult choice to make, there is no better model than Christ. I learn forbearance from His example (not perfectly, of course!) That's an ongoing process. Jesus helps me to see the necessity of my own development of detachment in faith. He also teaches that this doesn't mean we don't fully feel all our feelings and even the painful. Instead it means facing both, and choosing one: God's way. Even His closest friends, in some sense, betray Him with their sleep. He's alone, and praying. Don't we go through something similar in our lives? Let us be thankful for His gift of His humanity, His Incarnation.
