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After the intimacy of the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated the Passover with his closest followers, the Bible takes us into an even more intimate moment in a garden. He’s one apostle down, because Judas is gone now, but he picks from the 11 his core three of Peter, James and John. And once he’s taken those away from the others, he admits to them (and this is quite an unnerving verse), ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’ (verse 38, NIV).
And then he goes beyond his friends to be alone with his Father. Jesus did this a lot – Luke 6.12 has an example of him spending a whole night in prayer – and it’s a great example to us. But this time we get to go with him and share that moment. And this is what we see: ‘he threw himself face downwards on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want”’ (verse 39, GNB).
Jesus had the same conflict with sin that we have. And the essence of sin isn’t doing mischievous stuff; it’s putting what you want above what God wants. Jesus lived his life in conflict with the human disobedience that’s wrecked creation – confronting it, not hiding from it. He didn’t give in like we give in. Even in this most extreme moment, he doesn’t do what Adam did in that other garden and choose what he wants over what God wants.
This reflection was written by James Howard-Smith, from the Supporter Relations team at Bible Society.
If you have two minutes: Listen to the audio reflection and ponder how it might be relevant in your life.
If you have up to ten minutes: Read the Bible passage and listen to the audio reflection; you might want to keep a small journal, or note on your phone, to jot down words and phrases that jump out at you. Finish with a brief prayer to put what you have read and heard into practice.
What if I miss a day(s)?: Don’t worry, life happens! Just pick up the devotional again on the current day, and, if you wish, you can use the space for reflection on Sundays to listen to those reflections you may have missed.
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